French for Life (warning: random, run-on thoughts!)

On our wedding day, Aunt Jenny sang us a song she wrote entitled, "French for Life".  It is arguably her best song yet (I'm biased!), and everyone had the catchy tune in their head for weeks after our special day!  Dad has lived in the states now for nearly 11 years, but still very much appreciates his roots in Grenoble.  It is where he learned all about life, and where he considers home to be.  After all he is French for life, and now so is his wife (me!).  One thing I have always appreciated about your dad is the time he takes to help me understand things, whether it be something silly or something as complex as family dynamics other than my own.  It has been such a blessing to learn from him about your Tabailloux side, and has given me such a strong relationship with each of your Aunts and Uncles, and especially your Mamie and Papi, thanks to your Dad's thoughtful consideration of "letting me in" to all the inner workings.  It's easy to just think every family is like your own and get hurt, confused, lost when you realize in fact that is not the case at all.  Dad makes sure that doesn't happen.  You will understand some day, just how wonderful your dad truly is and all the times I have said it will all make sense in your mind when you grow to know it for yourself.  What I am really trying to say is, France is home to your father, and now it is home to us for this time in our life, and I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity to get acquainted with the area in which your dad was raised and build deeper relationships with the family that surrounds us.  We are excited to see what this year has in store for us, and I couldn't be happier to be spending it in your father's home town with you sweet girl by my side.

People say a lot of negative things about the French, and as much as some of those things may be true, I refuse to listen to any of them and instead enjoy each minute we are here and learn things on my own.  I have already soaked in a lot of knowledge on giving birth here in France from all the young moms I have met in my short three weeks here, and feel a bit more prepared and educated on what to expect and how to deal with certain things that may or may not happen in my stay at the hospital.   I had been reading a "French Mama" site started by an American woman who moved to France, got pregnant, had a baby, and is now raising her children in the south.  Seemed perfect and fitting for my current situation, but as much as it is a fun read, I have already found by talking to real women, in the flesh, from their own experiences here in Grenoble, that not every bit of information I had gathered from this one woman's experience holds true to the practices here in this area of France.  Just as in the states, France has many different regions, many different sub-cultures, and just different ways of life all together depending on where it is you live.  From this point on, I will listen and learn from the relationships I build and will do my best to form my own opinions on situation I am faced with.

So far all have been great experiences and filled with kind people that reach out to the silly American that can't put a full sentence in French together :)  Even a sweet old man in the store that couldn't take his eyes off you, after I politely told him in my shaky French that I didn't understand what he was saying, spoke a few words in English to tell you that you were a pretty little girl with a beautiful smile.  It made my day!  You seem to make everyone smile here, just as you did at home, when we are out shopping.  We are working on getting you to say "bonjour", but for now you continue to say, quite loudly and on repeat, "Hi, Hi, HI, HIII!!!" to all those that we pass by.  You make life so much fun sweet girl!  We feel honored that we get to be your parents.

It's been a great first three weeks here in Crolles.  Other than Marc being home the first two weeks, we have had the house to ourselves.  It has been great to be able to settle in with no real agenda or plan, and has made for good times as just our family of three.  We are soaking in this time with dad before he goes back to work, and we are loving it.  He has been getting up with you every morning and allowing me to take my time to get out of bed.  It has been absolutely wonderful!! :)  Our mornings are lazy, and it is perfect that way.  Since arriving in France, we have transitioned you to one long nap a day, which has been good and sufficient most days.  On occasion, you still need a second, but you are getting used to the new routine.  You sleep in every morning until between 8-9, and that is with your shutters open, as we don't want you to get thrown off by the darkness having them closed.  We all seem to sleep well here, and we are so thankful for that fact.  The first thing you want to do when you wake up is open the curtains to look at the mountains.  You point and exclaim, "oohhhhh!" and when you spot a Para-glider you wave frantically while yelling, "HIII!"  It is the cutest thing.

We spend most of our time outside watching you dig with your little red shovel, transferring rocks from one bucket to the next while dad and I play Rummikub on the front porch.  You are having so much fun here with so much room to roam and explore.  Mamie Suzanne joked yesterday that I will never have the chance to get fat, as you will never let me stop moving with all your energy.  She loves having you over, and you seem to adore her, giving her plenty of snuggles and kisses.  It has been so nice spending time with family with out the rush of only being here for a week or two at a time.  Everyone is so patient with me, and makes sure I am included in the conversation.  They all try to speak bits of English with me, and always teach me new words in French.  It's a lot of fun, and I'm eager to learn more!  We've had a few family dinners with the cousins, and have enjoyed our time with each of them.  You are particularly fond of Aunt Christine, Amandine, Jacqueline (Mamie Suzanne's niece and sister-in-law, ha!), and persuade them to take you out places when I don't feel like moving :)  Andre (Papi Marcel's brother) refers to you as the queen, and finds it amusing how you can steal everyone's attention and get them to follow you.  He is very sweet and makes me wish I had known your Great-grandfather.  Along with family time, we have made our first friend here in France, Annalou.  The two of you play well together in the dirt and rocks, and yesterday we even had a little playdate at her house where you two played for hours in the kiddie pool splashing and laughing uncontrollably.  It was so fun to watch you two together.

Life has been so good these past few weeks, and we are getting used to the way of life here.  We have shopped at every store to compare food prices and quality, and have had fun figuring out things I (the picky one) will enjoy.  It's no surprise, but you my dear girl LOVE chocolate croissants.  You always eat a full one, and aren't a fan of sharing.  I don't blame you though, they are incredibly delicious.  I on the other hand, have been craving cheeses that I normally wouldn't be a fan of, but always make sure they are at least pasteurized.  Your brother must know we are in France :)  There is a bakery a few towns over that makes a delicious goat cheese quiche, and it is SO good and always on my mind.  Since my second trimester began with your brother, I have been craving salads and fruits which is a good thing since we eat a salad at every meal here.  Mamie taught me how to make the perfect mustard vinaigrette, and I always have fun making it.  It's tricky here when it comes to shopping as I am a last minute shopper a lot of the time, and all the stores close by 7:30 and aren't open on Sundays.  Also, you have to bring your own bags as they don't have bags for you, unless you want to pay for each one, and in order to get a cart you have to have a 50 cent coin or a Euro to release it from the rest of the carts.  You do get it back when you return the cart, but it is still something we often forget!  Most businesses close every day from noon to 1:30 for lunch, and bakery's are closed on Monday's and some on Thursday's as well.  Life moves to a different beat here, and I have to say so far I like it.  Things seem much simpler here, and people seem to embrace life more.  Families are always outside, eating, playing games, and just enjoying life other than being inside in the air conditioning neglecting the beauty that surrounds them.  It may be the fact that there is no air conditioning here, but I like to think it's because they look at the importance of the small things a bit more.

Zaylee girl, I am so excited for this time in our lives, and pray we be richly blessed by this experience in every way possible.  You seem to be loving it so far, and I pray that you continue to enjoy yourself and learn and grow from all that is being taken in around you.