Some video...

For anyone who'd like to see Madison (and Angus) in action, I've attached 2 short videos. The first is of Madison attempting to crawl ...she's so close! The second is just of Madison sitting with Angus on one of her playmats. Angus is reallly amazing with her.

Disney!

This past Saturday we decided to visit Disney. It was a really easy subway ride (about 40 minutes) and the weather was beautiful. The park was a smaller version of Disneyworld in Orlando and had all of the big attractions: Cinderella's castle, Tea Cups, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Main Street, etc. Madison was able to sit on our laps for most of the rides...roller coasters excluded :) The park was decorated for Halloween and had a few Halloween-themed character shows in front of the castle. We didn't stay for the evening parade on Main Street. We're going back in November to see it decorated for Christmas (b/c I am such a Christmas nut!) and we'll do all of those things then. Madison definitely enjoyed herself...she was leaning out of her stroller to look at everything and during the rides her head was going back and forth so fast trying to take everything in.

Sunday we went down to Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter just to stroll around and get some lunch-again the weather was beautiful.

Madison's top left tooth broke through and the right one isn't far behind. She's still not crawling but it will be any day now.

I've found 2 English speaking playgroups to attend in the next couple of weeks. It'll be nice to meet other couples with children who speak English and live in the area. We're trying out the babysitter on Saturday for the first time. The cleaning lady came last Thursday and it was great!

We're all booked for our first adventure. We're headed to London on November 7th. Here is the link to the hotel where we'll be staying:

http://www.landmarklondon.co.uk/

Our First Road Trip

This past weekend we all got in the car and took a little road trip. Because Angus has such strict regulations in regards to entering the U.K., we wanted to make sure his documentation and microchip were in the right before we hit the 6 month marker for our return trip on the Queen Mary.

So we set off on Saturday and made the 3 hour drive to the Eurotunnel in Calais, France. Once we double and triple checked Angus, we did some shopping and eating in Calais. We found a baby store which was the Bloomingdale's version of Babies R Us. Kevin had to pull me out of there before I bought one of everything.

Madison and Angus did beautifully during the drive and practically cuddled the entire way there. As you can see in the picture, Angus spent most of the time with his head on Madison's lap while she was in her carseat. They really are so cute together.

Now that is squared away, we are back to planning fun weekend excursions. We'll probably go to Disney this weekend if the weather is nice (it's been warm and sunny pretty much the entire time). We are currently planning a trip to London for early November. We have found a babysitter and a dog sitter and she actually lives right here in our building. She speaks both English and French, which is perfect.

Madison is doing great. You can see the start of her top 2 teeth coming in and she's getting so close to crawling. You can clearly hear "Mama, Dada," and even "Angie" in her babbling rants. We can't believe she's already 9 months old!!! It really does go by so fast.

Kevin has been absolutely amazing during our transition here (as always). He really goes above and beyond to make sure Madison and I are perfectly set up and happy. Not to mention all of the trouble he goes through just to make sure Angus makes it home with us. He's hired a cleaning lady so we can enjoy every minute of our stay here...she starts tomorrow and I'm so very excited :)

We miss everyone very much! PS-Happy Birthday to George! See you soon :)

Still getting settled

We are just about officialy settled in. The clothes are unpacked and Madison's playthings are all set up. We decided against Disney this weekend, as we are going to go either this or next weekend when the Halloween decorations are set up (and then again for the Christmas spectacular....because I love Christmas so). We still have to sign Madison up for Gymboree. We have a playdate this Saturday at a park with other American expats, which will be nice to meet other people in our same situation. I joined the gym last week. I go in the mornings while Kevin is on breakfast detail with Madison.

This weekend was a lot of fun. An old friend, Jill, was in Paris for Fashion week and invited me to the Rock and Republic Party at the Eiffel Tower on Friday. It was such a good time (and a good excuse to get all dressed up). Kevin was so sweet-Friday after work he came home with a surprise for me....a brand new pair of gorgeous Ferragamo shoes to wear with my outfit for the party! I was completely surprised, he said I need a pair of fancy shoes to wear to my fancy party. He's such a doll.

Then on Saturday we did a LOT of walking around. We walked all of the way from our place up to the Notre Dame area (approximately 4 miles each way)...stopping at the Jardin de Tuileries, St. Germain, St. Michael and the Latin Quarter.

Sunday was a lazy, rainy day. We mostly stayed at home (afterall, my feet were still recovering from Friday and Saturday). Today we have an appointment with Madison's new pediatrician. This week we scheduled potential babysitters to come in for interviews. We still have some shopping to do for the apartment to add our own touch. Once we're officialy unpacked and squared away, I'll post pics of the apartment.

Our home phone broke, so we're replacing that today and then I'll be reconnected and able to make some calls to the U.S. Email doesn't always cut it :) But we do have our new computer and it's wonderful.

Hope all is well!

We're here!!!

Where do I begin? Madison and I arrived in Paris last Wednesday morning. She was such a trooper on the flight, no meltdowns, no tantrums, nada. We are still unpacking and settling into the apartment. Today the internet, cable and phone were installed and I am happy to be reconnected to the world.

As, for Kevin and Angus's transatlantic travels and European road trip, all was as smooth as could be expected. Angus was treated like royalty on the ship and I do believe the other passengers thought Kevin and Rocco were a couple :)

Our neighborhood is spectacular! There are so many shops and restaurants and things to do with Madison. It is really a perfect area for families. We can walk everywhere, which is perfect. It is still an adjustment to "apartment" living....2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, small kitchen, etc. but the location is perfect, the layout is great and the views are amazing. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get our new computer...our desktop didn't quite survive the transistion.

It only took Madison 3 or 4 days to adjust to the time difference and she's doing beautifully now. She seems to really enjoy the walking and outdoor eating and people watching. We've taken her to the Eiffel Tower (which is about a 10 minute walk from our house) and to Montmartre. Plus, she's already nibbled her first piece of croissant. The baby stores in our neighborhood are gorgeous. We've already hit up a few this past weekend.

This weekend we're going to Disney to walk around while the weather is nice. We know Madison is too young to really enjoy it but I can't resist a good photo op :) Then we'll be shopping around town to get a few finishing touches for the apartment to really make it our own.

I'm looking forward to posting pictures of our place and neighborhood...just bear with us for a week or 2 until we get our new computer.

Hope all is well in the States!

2 Weeks and Counting!

In 2 weeks Kevin and Angus will be boarding the ship and starting their journey to Paris...a transatlantic boat ride, drive through England, train to cross into France and yet another drive to get to Paris. All to get our beloved pup into Paris! 2 weeks later Madison and I will be flying over to meet them at our new apartment.

Tomorrow we have our appointment at the French Consulate in NYC to have our interviews for our Visas. Hopefully it won't take too long and we'll be able to take Madison for her first walk through Central Park.

These last few weeks will be filled with shopping and getting things ready for the movers to pack us up and ship all 1200 lbs of our belongings to Paris.

But before we left we just had to have our family photos taken! Alicia did an amazing job and we can't wait to use her again. As you can see, we HAD to include Angus in the shot :)

Less Than 2 Months and Counting!

It's hard to believe but the big move is less than 2 months away. We have picked out our apartment and have met with the moving company. They will be coming to pack us up on September 2nd. Kevin and Angus depart on September 4th aboard the Queen Mary and Madison and I fly out to meet them on September 16th.

There is really not much to prepare for the move-Kevin's company handles all of the paperwork and the moving company packs us, ships us and unpacks us in the the new apartment. I'm still working on my French( and will continue to do so while I'm over there) with my Rosetta Stone :) Alexa was thoughtful enough to get us two fabulous books about Paris-one that list the best brasseries and the other that lists all of the kid-friendly places in and around Paris. I've been devouring every little tidbit about them since she gave them to me on Saturday.

Our apartment is in the 16th district of Paris, which they say is the equivalent to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The photos look amazing. We're on the top floor with an amazing view, tons of huge double windows, great hardwood floors, 2 bedrooms and baths. There will be plenty of room for all of our visitors-we'll have 2 queen beds, as well as a pull-out. It will be an adjustment to go from 2800 sq feet to 1100 but we'll make do :) It's centrally located around shopping, restaurants and a park that is twice the size of Central Park. It's really everything we were looking for and more.

Madison just had her 6 month check up and shots, so she is all set for the big trip as well. Kevin's co-worker in Paris is recommending a pediatrician and veterinarian for us to use during our stay.

Well-our next post will be the first official post in Paris! I'll be sure to include pictures of the aparment and neighborhood and, of course, of Madison. Afterall, she's the real reason we created this silly blog in the first place :)