Jardin D’Acclimatation

I’ve loved amusement parks for as long as I can remember. Some of my favorite childhood memories are my dad taking my sisters and I (and usually a neighbor or 2, and sometimes a cousin) to Six Flags Great America on a hot summer day. The roller coasters, non-stop candy and ice cream, the freedom to walk around the whole place without paying attention to cars and traffic, and of course a day out with my dad always made for a memorable time.  There’s a small amusement park right in Paris, the Jardin D’Acclimatation, that I’ve been waiting to go to with Lilah, and we finally went last week with our friends Nancy and Thomas.  It was a really warm day and the jardin wasn’t very crowded which was an added bonus. Lilah rode her first roller coaster like a champ.

Little L on her first roller coaster.  She loved it!

Boat ride!

This ride was hilarious - galloping horses that went around a pretty long course, neighing and all. It was my favorite!

Nancy and Thomas on their horsey.

Two tired toddlers at the end of the day

Quick visit from Grandma Susan

Grandma Susan finagled her way to Dublin for a business trip so that she could come visit Lilah before flying home.  Lilah loved spending time with her Grandma, which is no surprise considering Grandma Susan was full of hugs, love, playtime, praise, and presents.  I guess she had to catch up on 8 months of spoiling, in the form of clothes, shoes, toys, and even a night out for me and Chris!

Lilah and I were excited to show Grandma Susan all of our favorite things to do in Versailles:

We rode the train

We walked around the Marche after stocking up on fruits, veggies, and cheese

We went on an adventure to the aquarium with Thomas

We went to Paris 

We went to the Chateau gardens with Arielle 

We played, snuggled, and laughed with Grandma.

Thanks for visiting!  We can't wait to see you and Grandpa Jon in June!

Happy new year

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Village Christmas

Neuschwanstein Castle

The day Chris accepted his job in France, our friends Trynke and Arne invited us to spend Christmas at their house in Germany.  Actually, I'm pretty sure Tynke had started planning this Christmas since I told her Chris was applying for the job in France.  And then the day Mart got his job in Switzerland, Trynke's Christmas offer was immediately extended to Mart and Ann as well.  Needless to say, Christmas in Germany had been on the radar for a long time; so when the time actually came to pack our bags for this trip we were all giddy with excitement.

Lilah enjoying some German Pastries

When Lilah was first born and would nurse/sleep on me all day long, I got really into The Amazing Race.  The season I happened to watch had an episode where they went to Bavaria to the 'original Disney castle'.  I have wanted to see this castle in person ever since.  I'm not a huge Disney fan, but it just seemed like such an iconic place to see.  Trynke and Arne live a few hours away from the castle, so we decided to all meet there for a couple days before heading to their house in Regensburg. We stayed in a very quaint hotel/bed and breakfast in Fussen, the kind where you grab beers out of their fridge and just tell them how many you had the next morning.

Bavaria

King Ludwig II built Sleeping Beauty's castle, and after learning about him during the tours of Neuschwanstein (the Sleeping Beauty castle), and Hohenschwangau (the equally exquisite castle his father built that he lived in while his castle was being built), I think he'd be pretty proud of this accomplishment.  The castle was just as beautiful in person as they made it on TV, and I was happy to bring my own little princess to see it.

Neuschwanstein Castle up close

Family shot with Neuschwanstein Castle

Ann, Mart, Chris, Lilah, me, Arne, Tynke, Melle in front of Hohenschwangau Castle 

After a few days in southern Germany, we headed to Trynke and Arne's house.  They live in a little village outside of Regensburg where the main attractions include horse stables and one restaurant, a pork-house where you can eat pig anything out of a trough (I'm both bummed and relieved we didn't eat there).  We spent a very cozy week at their place filled with cooking, baking, board games, walks around their neighborhood, and German beer.  We ventured into Regensburg a few times to visit the Christmas Markets, which were exactly what you think a Bavarian Christmas market should look like - little chalets set up selling food, crafts, mulled wine, pottery, etc.  In the main food/drinks area there was a tiny carousel set up for the kids which kept Lilah and Melle busy allowing the rest of us to enjoy an awesome lunch of cedar-plank salmon, potatoes, brats, and spaetzle.

Regensburg, Germany

Lilah at the horse stables

Cute toddlers in the tub. And blackmail.

Inside the cutest Christmas Market in Regensburg

Melle and Lilah riding the carousel

Wood-fired salmon.  It was as delicious as it looks.

We had a fun-filled Christmas morning opening presents in pjs, eating cinnamon rolls (a Wheeler family tradition), and sitting by the fire.

Lilah and Chris trimming the tree

Lilah, Melle, Mart, Ann, Huxley, and the train

Melle loved helping Lilah open her presents

Our cute little rascal

PS. Shout-out to Ann, Mart, Trynke and Arne for some of these awesome photos!

Friendsgiving in France

We have a lot to be Thankful for this year - living abroad as a family is an amazing experience, both getting to know life in France, and also having access to travel to new places often and easily.  Even so, it's of course hard to be so far away from our family and friends back home, especially during the holidays.  I feel really lucky that I have made some close friends in Versailles who have kids Lilah's age.  Jess and Nancy make me laugh a lot, are excellent sounding boards for all of Lilah's ailments and cheerleaders for her excitements, and have awesome kids who are Lilah's best friends.  I don't know what I'd do without them, seriously.  Since we're all American (well, the Moms are - Chris is the only American Dad), we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving all together.  It was as delicious as it was fun, and almost (almost) made me forget I wasn't with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Nancy and Jess, I'm very Thankful for you!

Nancy, Fred & Thomas; Stephen, Jessica & Arielle; Kimmy, Chris & Lilah

The Bird.  Fresh from the farm.

The guys carving the turkey

The spread

Melted Cheese. And a visit with Ann & Mart.

While Chris traveled to Portland, Oregon for a conference, Lilah and I traveled to Zurich, Switzerland to spend some time with our friends Ann & Mart (and their dog Huxley).  Last time Chris went to the US for a conference, Lilah came down with some virus, so although I figured there was no way she would get sick again, I really didn't want to chance being alone with a sick baby for another week.  Well, I was proven wrong that she wouldn't get sick again, and right that I should have left town.  Thank goodness for my wonderful friends who kept me sane, cooked for me, and cleaned up after a very sick baby girl for 2 days.  

Luckily we had some fun before Lilah got sick!  We toured all over Zurich, which is a beautiful town on a lake, with views of the Alps.  We ate so much melted cheese (in the forms of fondue and raclette), along with lots of amazing chocolate.  Lilah and Huxley developed a friendship that consists of Lilah feeding Huxley treats, throwing him a ball, eating out of his kong, and playing in his water bowl (hmm...maybe this is how she got sick...).

Me, Ann, and Zurich

Mart and Ann

Lilah and Huxley, friends forever.

Fondue. Why eat anything else, ever?

First break

There are many attributes I would love to pass on to my daughter; however my clumsy self with easily breakable bones is certainly not one of them.  I hope for Lilah (and for all of us), that this first broken bone is also the last, and not a blip on the long line of times we go to the emergency room.

Lilah fractured her left wrist while we were in Paris taking some family photos.  She was walking around a park picking up chestnuts that had fallen on the ground and carrying them with her.  She fell while holding a chestnut and must have broken her fall awkwardly because of the nut.  She cried a little more than normal for a typical fall, but was consoled within a few minutes. Her wrist never bruised, swelled, or showed any physical signs that there was a problem.  We only knew it was hurt because she wouldn't bear weight on her hand, so we took her in for an x-ray.  The x-ray showed a Torus Fracture, which is pretty common in toddlers.  Their bones are very malleable, so instead of actually breaking, they bow out slightly.

The fracture is the little piece of bone that bows out on the inner part of the bigger bone in her wrist (yes, that is the medical definition).

Close up

Little L and her little cast.  She was a really good sport for the most part.

Of course she still had a few meltdowns.

The cast came off after 20 days, and she went straight into the tub.  Bathing a toddler with a plastic bag on one arm is not easy!  We were both pretty happy to get her back in the tub where she could splash around.