adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

Ramona Rose at 5 Months

Sweet Ramona is 5 months old today. What a difference a few weeks makes. Ramona's first month of life was difficult, like it is for most newborns. Unbeknownst to me, our battle with evil, evil thrush had begun and our poor, Little Miss had her days and nights mixed up. By her second month of life, she had flipped to a normal day/night schedule, the thrush was being treated, and her disposition improved, as...

Ramona Rose at 4 Months

Four months.  Already.  I think I'll be using that word a lot.  I never knew time could move this swiftly. We have a very happy, smiley baby girl these days.  And quite the little chatterbox! She literally spends hours babbling ooh, ooh, agoo, agoo, gah, bbrrr, ahh!  One time she even sighed, Ohhh yeaaaahhhh.  She loves it when we mimic her sounds and "talk" with her.  I think we're in serious trouble when...

Baby’s First Passport

We're 15 weeks into this gig and, to be honest, Michael and I are still pretty Nervous Nelly first time parents when we're out and about with Ramona. Ok, so maybe it's just me. I don't know if it's being in a foreign country, parenting in a different culture, or the fact that we can barely communicate with the people around us, but I'm terrified of being in a situation where I'm out in public with Ramona and...

The Evolution of a Roll

On New Year's Day, just shy of 12 weeks old, Miss Ramona Rose rolled over. I know, I know. She's the first baby ever to do this. We're sending out autographs upon request. Michael and I were so excited and proud. Watching Ramona's determination to flip from her back to her belly and begin the journey of mobility was fascinating. She worked hard all day and by the evening, she had mastered the roll. This girl...

Holidays in Montpellier, Part 3: Ramona’s First Christmas

Hmm, January 6th today.  Am I still allowed to write about Christmas?  I hope so because it was a special one - Ramona's first!  Last year we spent Christmas Eve driving home from our Italian Road Trip and didn't give a whole lot of thought to presents, stockings, or a tree.  But we wanted to do things differently this year, because even if Ramona won't remember her first Christmas, we will! We started off...

Holidays in Montpellier, Part 2: The Return of Grandma (and Grandpa!)

In mid December, Grandma came back to Montpellier.  And this time she brought Grandpa with her! I was really excited for Ramona to finally meet her fourth Grandparent.  She immediately greeted him with a big smile.  She always seems to be smiling with she's around her two Grandpas!  She's a charmer already. We had a really nice week with my parents.  My Mom was so amazed with all the ways Ramona had...

The Namesake

Do you remember when you used to be able to wait for visitors at the gate in the airport?  You would sit in the hard, plastic chairs watching the plane land, waiting for the jetway bridge to be attached, listening as the gate opened and searching eagerly to find your loved one as all the passengers filed through the door.  That's what I think of when I remember my Grandpa.  I think of waiting in airports, excited...

The Story of the Fortune Teller

So, I think I'm finally ready to share the story of the Fortune Teller. Back in July, when we were in Switzerland, a man claiming to be a Fortune Teller approached me on the street and asked if he could speak with me.  It's not that this Fortune Teller told me anything particularly profound or even foreboding, but for some reason I felt very strange about the experience for a long time.  I've been working on a...

Postpartum, The French Way

Ramona's first month has flown by and it's been exciting, awesome, terrifying, challenging and beautiful all at the same time.  Many days have been hard, as expected.  Postpartum hormones were a bitch and caring for a colicky baby with thrush has been no picnic either.  But sweet Ramona is the light of our life and we are learning from her every day. Ramona's schedule is constantly changing, so we're doing...

And Then There Were Three

We've been so lucky to have my Mom in town helping us out these last three weeks.  My recovery has been long and painful, so I'm honestly not sure what we would have done without her!  She cooked, she cleaned, she shopped, she rocked, she bathed, she swaddled.  Initially her trip was only planned for two weeks.  My Grandma hasn't been doing so well, so there was even a point during her trip when we thought she...

« Previous Entries

Design by RoyCreative