Starting to Walk!

It's official, if we hold onto one or both of his hands, Mr Jack now loves strutting his stuff about the apartment.

Before we had to kinda coax him forward, but now he all but begs to be 'walked' about the place :-)

Yeah, the changes just keep on coming!

Meet my new friend, Rody

Jack is slowly making acquaintances with his new friend, Rody. They've only known each other since Jack's birthday but it looks like they will be friends a long time. Jack pats Rody's face and gives him cuddles; Rody allows Jack to sit on his back and, only occasionally, bucks him off. Rody is also watching now as Jack gets closer and closer to walking: Jack enjoys walking as he holds onto our hands and keeps on parading by pushes objects like chairs around our living room. To commicate, he claps his hands with us and makes bubbling noises when we do! It's all completely daft but quite, quite fun!

Happy Birthday

Here are a couple of photos to celebrate Mr. Jack's very first birthday! He had great fun opening his presents and eating his birthday cake... and just generally seems very proud of himself for being just so old!

Rocks

Taking advantage of a day's holiday, Ben, Jack and I took a short drive to Dieffenthal and then a walk around the 'Circuit des Roches.'

This walk took us past 6 grantite rocks which are oddly located in the midst of vineyards, far from their cousins higher up the hillside. History has accorded them rich meaning and names, like Hansel & Gretel and Wolfskirche.

The rocks in the pictures are the 'Roches des Celtes' where, according to legend, women publically gave birth . All I can say? Rather them than me, as there's a chill wind that blows up from the plain!

The perspective is lovely, though, because with the Vosges as backdrop you have a grand view over the valley towards Colmar, Frieburg, and the Black Forest.

Changes

Mr Jack can now climb onto the couch by himself and is occasionally - when I have enough energy and can face the task of tidying up - given the chance to feed himself yoghurt! He also enjoys passing things to us and taking them back (and if he sees us with 'his' teddy he comes trundling over to reclaim 'his property!'). He's still pointing to everything and anything and talking as much scribble as possible!

Forest Walks

I felt like staying inside on Sunday but Benoit persuaded me that it was wrong to waste such a day. I'm glad now he convinced me as we really took a walk through Autumn, rustling our feet through the leaves and collecting chestnuts to roast later on the fire.

keeping warm as the fire grows cold

Unusually, Jack's having a morning sleep - so I have a little time to finish the last blog!

Last Saturday, my neighbour Martine and I went to the local spa in Soultz-Les-Bains and - ooh lala! It was my first time in a spa but it won't be my last! Spending time in the sauna, jet bath, and in the thermal pool felt so good that, even one week later, I feel refreshed: http://www.sulzbad.com/

And, if that wasn't enough, on Sunday, Ben and I visited a little island located on the Rhine river. The weather was a little grey and rainy but, bundled up nice and warm , we still had time to take a walk around the island and to admire the various birds (egrets, ducks, swans) adorning the river: http://alsace.nature.free.fr/reserves.htm

So, yep, all in all it was a weekend well spent even though the autumn winds are beginning to chill the land and turn flaming leaves to ashes.

Winter is coming

Winter is coming... my fingers have that chill to them as I write that encourages me to stop and to rub my hands together. It's not even that cold in here - the fire's on and it's old 9am so the place is comfortably cosy - but the idea that outside it's 0* and cold and damp makes me want to feel cosier that ever! We've had a lovely week because, although Ben and I are still busy with work, coming home to Jack is such a delight. He's learned to clamber onto the couch by pulling on our clothes and loves pointing at things (plants, pictures on the wall, things he knows we'll take him to touch). He also always talking in 'scribble' (thanks Melanie and Claire), telling us about his days and belingering the passing of the days!

We've also just had a great weekend - as I went to a spa and we all visited an island.. but more of that later.. as I have to go and give Jack his breakfast!

Eleven months old

Yep, our boy is fast becoming a year old and so his baby days are being left behind. And the changes just keep coming. He has, for instance, two new toys: Buzzy Bee and Teddy. Buzzy Bee is from Uncle Graham and was bought in New Zealand; Jack drags him everywhere. Teddy is from Alena and Vince in Ireland; Jack has chosen him as his new cuddle pal. Then there's Doudou, his comforter - and this is the cool part - when we ask Jack "Where is Doudou?" he goes and gets him! Cool, huh? And when all else fails? There's his socks.. which as you can see from the picture never stay in place for long. This is turn means his feet are always dirty.. as he's on his feet as much as possible, still holding onto things but now also 'walking' by pushing chairs in the direction he wants to go. Meanwhile, Ben and I? We're there at his side, and left wondering 'just what will he get upto next?' We're also both pretty busy with work at the moment which means we're all the more appreciative of how happy Jack remains at Mme Trapp's. It also means that Saturday mornings, like today, remain precious... this morning, for example, as the autumn lay its cold, misty blanket over the valley, Ben lit the fire and we all settled down to watch a movie to start the morning in peace. So, as the days become colder and as November 6th 2007 approaches, our lives continue to change with the seasons.

Mont Sainte Odile

Last Sunday, I went for a lovely walk with a friend up at Mont Sainte Odile and more specifically along the 'Pagan Wall' - an immensely old (Iron Age?) structure, measuring 1.5 metres in width and sometimes 2 metres in height, and testifying to the mystery of life as it stretches for 10 miles along the ridges that surround this beautiful monastery and ancient ceremonial site

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A great wee holiday

The weekend before last, Ben and I took Jack on no less that 4 plane rides as we spent 2 days in Glasgow - for my cousin Penny's wedding and to visit with Shona and Mackie, Sam and Fraser (the photo shows us all walking along the side of the Clyde) - and then 2 days in Dublin - with Melanie and Simon, Alena and Vince.

We had a fantastic time visiting with friends and family... and Jack seems to have really thrived on all those new environments.

My dear husband...

.. bought me a hammock, which he then neatly installed in the living room. Trust me, there's no better place to have an afternoon kip that curled up inside a gently swaying (bright orange) hammock. I love it... and so do Ben and Jack as they get to play inside!

Jack continues to grow and change - this week he began using me, instead of the table or wall, to take little steps forward. It's really cool to watch as only uses me when he's really motivated to get to an object which is just out of his reach. And, you can bet, that makes the wicked side of me want to heap his toys into a big bundle just out of his reach....but I hold myself back because, you know, I just want to see the boy doing it for himself.

The weekend ahead should be fun, too ... as it's to be filled with travelling.

But more of that on Wednesday, when we return......

Ten Months Old

Things are busy, busy, busy at the moment but all is well.

Jack's busy, for example, growing his third tooth (upper right) and practicing taking little steps along the sides of and in between furniture.

We've had a couple of (possible) language moments. 1) Jack was crawling towards Ben when Ben said to him that he had 'forgotten his Doudou/comforter'. What did Jack do? Well, he just turned right around and went and got it, and that as naturally as can be! 2)Late one evening, Jack and I were looking for 'Doudou' when Jack started calling out 'Doudou' with me.

Of course (and I mean, of course) both of these wee moments could have only have been co-incidences but, even if they are, I don't care because its just magical to see him changing and to think that language is a step only just around the corner.

Imagine, just what will we all have to say to each other!

love n hugs,

Robyn

Two Front Teeth

It's official: Jack's two front teeth are here!

Okay, so they're still pretty tiny but they're there and we're proud of them :-)

Otherwise, things are still going well - Ben and I have both had a busy week and so are just as glad as ever that Jack's doing so great with his nanny, Mme Trapp. Back at the ranch, Jack's pulling himself to his feet as often as possible and then, from time to time, is edging forward with little steps to reach things.

We're generally having a pretty peaceful time of things just now and so hope you are too, where ever in the world you are reading this blog from :-)

Openings and Closings

Jack's all into discovering how things open and close at the moment.

Doors, cupboards, books - it's all the same to him. Here he is emptying one of the drawers in our bedroom. Needless to say, I was in the midst of puting things into the cupboard as he was busy taking things out!

The other big thing is that at the weekend, and for the first time, he started taking small steps to reach things. What do I mean? Well, yesterday he was standing by holding onto the table when he started crying because he wanted a toy that was at the other side of the table. As I played the mean mother and wouldn't give him the toy, he edged his way around the table to get to it. Okay, so he only took three or four wee unsteady steps but we celebrated for him. Another example? He was standing holding onto a chair and he turned, reached out, and took two little steps to reach my knees. Cool, huh? Looks like we'll soon be able to send him out in the morning to get out bread and croissants!

Back from our holidays

We're back home in Mutzig now after more than three weeks away. It's good to be home, though it was great to be away and to spend so much time with the Cnockaerts. Annette's still in Monaco hospital but her heart operation went well and she's hoping to move to a re-education centre by the end of this week. In many ways it was ideal that we were with her when it happened because Ben was able to go to the hospital and see her most days. Jack also really benefitted from being in new surroundings and being able to meet so many new people. In fact, returning home yesterday we saw some real changes in him. Now, not only is he sporting 1 bottom front tooth but he's also even more agile and determined in his explorations. It's great to see - but, hey, you have to keep up ;-)

Visions of home

Traveling as we have done in the last few months, I've realised how much the landscape dictates 'who I am' at that moment. So, I've collected pictures from each of the places I have the honour of calling home. You'll immediately see the similarities that bind all four: the open land and the wide skies, the potential to walk, and the need to be outdoors!


Here's the view from the veranda in Cagnes sur mer in the south of France. The planes are carrying firefights to a local forest fire. The photo was taken just two days ago:

This is a photo of Les Omergues, taken just last week from the hill above the village in Provence, France:

This photo was taken last December from the vineyards that lie above Mutzig in Alsace, France:

Then, here's a photo which was taken in May overlooking New Deer, the village where my parents live and where I grew up in the Northeast of Scotland:

And then there are all the parts of the world which are important to me - but there just isn't space for me to record them all here!

Nine months!

A good friend once told me that the nine month anniversary is an oddly important one because it's the point when they've spent as much time on the outside as on the inside (so to speak). I didn't really get it when she told me, but now I do because at this point Jack's becoming more and more independant of me. When he's sad or needs a cuddle or food, he crawls to me but otherwise 'he's off exploring the world.'

And he has had much to explore because after spending a great ten days in Provence we're now in Cagnes. We've come down to the coast to be with Mami Annette, who will have heart surgery this coming Monday. Jack's done well at adapting once more to a new environment and spends most of his time crawling from room to room and standing up against tables and chairs. He's even grown his first bit of a tooth, but not without some suffering (for him and for us!). The good news is that we've another week left here before we leave which should give us the time to introduce him to the sea and some old friends from the region...

Holidays!

Our summer holidays started tonight - and so first thing tomorrow morning we're off to Les Omergues in Provence for at least 2 weeks of relaxation, family time, and generally all things good and outdoorsy. I just can't wait - and it'll be so fun to see how Jack develops during our time away. This week saw him not only pulling himself to his feet with greater ease but also climbing up the 4 stairs leading to the bathroom and his bedroom. Yep, it's true - he's off and exploring the whole apartment, not just the living room and he often seems to have a set pattern to his travels (almost as though he was making a baby-shaped map in his head). I'd love to know what that map looked like, as I'm sure it'd have little in common with our own adult perceptions. Categories would probably include: things to climb over (our wooden chairs), things to pull on (our books, DVDs, electric cables, sigh..), things to suck (any of his toys or our cushions), things to get lifted up onto (his bike, his chair, our couch), things to slide off (the couch!), and generally places to get into trouble (which is basically everywhere - and his various small bruises prove it). Now we'll just have to wait and see what he thinks of the house, and way of life, in Les Omergues....

Booklists.....

relevantgirl listed 100 random books and noted whether she'd read them or not. It seemed like a daft enough thing to do that I thought I'd copy her list and do the same.

If you're interested, copy the list below.

Bold the books you’ve read.*
Italicize the ones you want to read.*
Leave in normal text the ones that don’t interest you.*
Put in ALL CAPS those you haven’t heard of.*
Put a couple of asterisks by the ones you recommend.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) **
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) **
9. OUTLANDER (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A FINE BALANCE (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) - to be delivered Wednesday!
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)**
16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
17. FALL ON YOUR KNEES (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)**
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)**
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)**
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)**
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)**
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) - but Ben's favourite!
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) - oops, caught out!
35.The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) - received as a present 20 years ago but not yet read... (thanks Angela Sobey :-)
36. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH (Ken Follett)
37. THE POWER OF ONE (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much Is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)**
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43.Confessions of a Shopahaulic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)**
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) **
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)**
56. THE STONE ANGEL (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
5. FIFTH BUSINESS (Robertson Davies)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)**
71. Bridget Jones's Diary (Helen Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson)**
76. THE SUMMER TREE (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)**
81. NOT WANTED ON THE VOYAGE (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)**
83.Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. WIZARD'S FIRST RULE (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. BLINDNESS (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. IN THE SKIN OF A LION (Michael Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)**
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)**
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)*********

There you go - now it's your turn (but keep me informed, I want to know what's on your reading table.... at the moment I have Mary Higgins Clark 'La Nuit est mon royaume' and 'Soil and Soul' by Alistair McIntosh ...)