Boys In Pink #IWouldn'tTakeThemOn

I thoroughly deserved my night off after helping Small Fry adjust to his new schedule this week and decided to use my Social Life Pass for a night at the rugby (men in shorts, gettit).

This match was the first in the newly renovated Stade Jean Bouin, home to Stade Français, the local Parisian rugby team (home colours: pink. Hence the goal posts).

What other sport in which other country would get away with those colours? Anyway, parachutists clad in shocking pink jumpsuits arrived to get the evening started: 

 And then the game began:

 It was actually a lot of fun, although I always find the first half better than the second when tiredness, cold and missing my baby start to set in.

 The half time entertainment kept our spirits up:

 And once the game was over, the lights started to dim:

 And we got a laser light show to mark the reopening of the stadium.

And then I followed 20,000 other people into the metro. There's a reason I don't use my Pass for such events...

Change #TheOnlyConstant

This week, Paris is noticeably busier ahead of the rentrée next week. As most parents are back at work but schools are still shut, the parks are full of weary-looking grandparents, called out of retirement to provide full-time childcare.

Small Fry has also started at the childminder. He will eventually go three times a week for four hours at a time, but this week was spent getting used to all these changes. He went for one hour each day from Monday to Wednesday and I decreased the amount of time I spent with him. Thursday and Friday he was there for 2 hours and I only stayed for the first 15 minutes.

In many ways it went well. He is fascinated by his minder's ample chest; she adores him. But it's clearly very tiring for a 9-month old and each day he came home and did this:

He also managed to fall over twice from a seated position on Friday, so he must have still been knackered. The whole thing has thrown an enormous spanner in our wonderful routine that saw Small Fry sound asleep by 19h30. He now needs a nap at 5pm which means dinner time is now when his bed-time used to be and he only gets to bed at 20h30....which delays our evenings a bit. Well, I'm sure we'll all get used to it soon enough.

And what was I going to do with those spare couple of hours? Not quite enough time to get into work, so instead I found a way to use up my spare buttermilk: scones. 

Sweet dreams are made of these #HappyDays

We got a couple of shots through to whet our appetites for the bulk of the wedding photos which we will probably get in a month's time or so (plus the video).

Here is a selection of the selection.

Now just to pick one for our thank you cards...

Small Fry's Week Summed Up #WayTooMuchFun

Mamie #80 #Impressive

I must admit that we actually went to Brittany to work. Well, I worked while Small Fry played with a never-ending stream of suitors. La Moz and Le Poz provided the childcare, good food and wine, for which we are most grateful.

But for the weekend we all (Poz, Moz, Puma, SF, mama, Pacotio, Tonton Drouze and Miel) went to Nantes to celebrate Mamie's 80th birthday.

For such a grand occasion we all got a tipple of our favourite drinks.

 For the adults, some very impressive tipple indeed.

 Here I am with 'my' vintage:

 And here is our very special Mamie:

 Small Fry helps blow out the 80 candles.

Joyeux anniversaire!

Salsa #BitTooNorthernEuropean

Turns out there are many reasons to go to the beach in Brittany, and not all of them during the daytime. This evening there was a brilliant, extroverted and fun live band playing Salsa music.

The people I've met from Brittany are also brilliant, extroverted and fun. But it was still sometimes hard to get them dancing Salsa.

Summer Lovin' #WhoKnewIt #BeenMissingOut #LoveTheWater

The Indian Ocean perhaps?

Or the Mediterranean?

A sun-drenched island getaway at least?

No my friends, this is Brittany at its very best. And Small Fry, El Puma and I all swam in the Atlantic Ocean.

 We weren't actually being all that brave because it was absolutely gorgeous weather.

OK, there was a sharp intake of breath when my tootsies met the incoming tide, but I swear it was one of those occasions where you 'soon got used to it'.

We have visited Brittany in every month from November to June but never from July to September, and clearly we have been missing out. Here's hoping this is the beginning of Small Fry's love for the sea:

We couldn't resist one last paddle before we left:

Baby Love #ToeKisses

Merlin catching up with his latest girlfriend: the beautiful Jasmine

The Power of Love #DaddyStyle

For the past few nights I've been expelled from the bedroom we share with Small Fry to an airbed in the lounge while I left daddy to deal with the night wakings. We went though a bit of a rough patch with SF waking up to 7 times a night and not going back to sleep without nursing, which was making us all tired and grumpy.

I guess SF was ready for whatever magical powers daddys have as our little fun guy is back and he is now eating better, sleeping better and napping better.

Yes, as I was saying...

Happy 9 month birthday! #AsLongOutAsIn

A week in the life... #Where'sWally?

Oma came to Paris to help us out while I went back to work...from home, which required childcare to be out and about. And so out and about Oma and Small Fry went. I think he saw more of Paris in 3 days than in the previous 9 months...when he wasn't fast asleep of course. Thank you Oma!