turning one: the birthday
I know it's such a cliche, but I can't believe my little baby is one! And I also know that in a blink of an eye, I'll find myself back here again repeating the same thing - how I can't believe she is two, three, four, etc. This is how we spent her birthday weekend.
On Saturday morning we quickly headed out right after breakfast to beat the traffic and crowds in town. Our destination: the Franz Carl Weber toy shop on Rue du Rhône, the same place we shopped on The Bun's birthday. We spent ages and ages there but we didn't buy a big-ticket item or anything extravagant, even though I think J and I would have been happy to splash out if we had found something suitable. It's just that being the younger sibling, Bao has a ton of baby toys handed down from The Bun, and I've been looking for something different that she might like but it's not that easy. I did find something that would appeal to both children and that will probably be a joint Christmas present for the both of them.
Bao's love of soft toys is clear so we took our time in the plushy department letting her look around. I had thought that she would pick a stuffed dog, since she loves dogs, but although we gave her some to hold she wasn't too interested in them, dropping them the moment she spotted something else. In the end her pick was a small stuffed duckling from Steiff, which she immediately cuddled right into the crook of her neck, so that was it. For its size this duckling really is one of the most expensive stuffed toys J and I have ever bought, so I hope she loves it well and keeps it as a cherished toy.
We browsed endlessly in the toddler department, and finally my pick for her was a set of dolphin bath toys that make different whistling sounds in the water. I figured that since she loves baths and has been bored with our current stash of bath toys, she would love something new to play with. Plus this was a good way to teach The Bun a lesson about sharing, since the toy would be something both of them would play with together. The night before he had gotten very upset over the fact that we were going to the toy store to pick out a present for his sister, but not for him. Telling him that Christmas was almost here didn't work, and he just couldn't get over the fact that she was going to get something but he wasn't. Anyway the next morning he felt better about it and when we were at the toy store he looked around but didn't kick up a fuss about not getting anything.
So those were Bao's two gifts, the same way The Bun got two gifts for his birthday too. Birthdays have never been extravagant in our household, and for now I think it's a good family tradition to keep it that way.
We shopped around a bit more after that, then went to get take-out sushi at Mikado nearby. For its price range the sushi is really quite decent, but the dining area of the restaurant is not very baby-friendly at all. The last time we were there I had to gulp down my food while trying to hold on to a squirmy Bao in my lap, and we have learnt that it's much easier for us to grab take-out and eat it comfortably at home. On birthdays we tend to always pick Japanese food to indulge in, and so we initiated Bao into this family tradition with a bit of avocado and crab sushi for her.
J and Bao spent the afternoon napping while I took The Bun out shopping with me. We haven't gone out like this, just the two of us, for ages and I think that we should do it more often. I treated him to a lollipop for being good at the toy shop in the morning, and he happily accompanied me while I tried on some jeans and did some Christmas and grocery shopping.
Instead of cooking dinner J suggested that we eat dinner out, so we made reservations at a Thai restaurant a quick drive away and headed there at 7pm. Dinner turned out to be a bit frazzled. They didn't have a high-chair and luckily I had brought a sack-and-seat along, but knowing Bao's limited tolerance of it I suggested that she only be placed in it after the food arrived. She spent her time walking around our dining area, looking at the fish tank and trying to wander off, so J was busy keeping an eye on her and barely sat at the table. The Bun was whiny because he was hungry and tired, and nothing I said could make him happy.
A couple of servers gave us the evil eye for bringing young children into the restaurant, but we spoke Chinese to a young Chinese server and she became quite friendly to us. When the food arrived it turned out that the pad thai was too spicy for The Bun, so he ended up eating just pandan chicken with plain rice. Bao had already had her own dinner at home, so she sat and snacked on dried apricots (good because it takes her a long time to chew them) and raw bean sprouts. Towards the end of the meal The Bun, overtired and already done with his food, started talking about Pokemon and Digimon in a loud voice and jumping around in his seat, despite our repeated instructions to quieten down. You'd think the kids had rarely dined in a restaurant, the way they behaved, even though The Bun practically grew up in restaurants when we lived in Singapore. I guess it had just been a very long day for him. The price tag for the meal? 100 francs. The food was okay, not mind-blowing but not bad either. Now maybe things are clearer to some of my friends who wonder why we don't really eat out much here. Take-out is the way to go, for now.
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Sunday - Bao's birthday! She woke up as usual at 7am and I put her in a new outfit for her special day. I had thought about going out for brunch but the very chilly and grey day made me change my mind, plus we had a Skype appointment with J's family in the morning. We did go out to a French supermarket, though, where our newly-minted walker refused to sit for longer than ten minutes in the supermarket trolley and then tried to pitch a fit when she was restrained in her father's arms. She just wants to walk everywhere and touch everything.
Back home, she took her usual long morning nap (she's down to one nap a day) while the rest of us had lunch and I baked her birthday cake. It was a lemon cake and The Bun helped me decorate it with confectioner's sugar and Smarties. I was quite happy with how it turned out - a little plain but with a kind of homemade prettiness.
After Bao woke and had her lunch (her brother was so excited he kept standing next to her hurrying her to eat) we all sang the birthday song (two or three times!), took many many photos, and all had cake. Bao managed to reach over and steal a Smartie for herself, but she wasn't too impressed with the cake and ate maybe two bites and crumbled the rest in her fingers.
J and I had thought about taking the kids to the museum in the afternoon, but by the time we were done with the birthday cake and gifts there wasn't much time and we didn't want to spend our Sunday rushing about. Anyway as J pointed out, Bao was happiest at home with her brother and her new toys and she simply walked cheerfully from room to room cuddling her duck, following The Bun around. I did the usual load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and made roast chicken with homemade fries for dinner. Just as well we didn't go out because just like that, the afternoon had vanished and the kids were eating dinner and getting ready for bath and bed.
The bath toys were a hit and Bao wailed when we finally had to remove her from the tub. As simple as they were as a birthday gift, the point is that she enjoyed them. Her first birthday didn't have much fanfare, but it had loads of love and affection showered on her, and that was plenty enough.
And just like that, I now have a firecracker of a toddler at home.
On Saturday morning we quickly headed out right after breakfast to beat the traffic and crowds in town. Our destination: the Franz Carl Weber toy shop on Rue du Rhône, the same place we shopped on The Bun's birthday. We spent ages and ages there but we didn't buy a big-ticket item or anything extravagant, even though I think J and I would have been happy to splash out if we had found something suitable. It's just that being the younger sibling, Bao has a ton of baby toys handed down from The Bun, and I've been looking for something different that she might like but it's not that easy. I did find something that would appeal to both children and that will probably be a joint Christmas present for the both of them.
Bao's love of soft toys is clear so we took our time in the plushy department letting her look around. I had thought that she would pick a stuffed dog, since she loves dogs, but although we gave her some to hold she wasn't too interested in them, dropping them the moment she spotted something else. In the end her pick was a small stuffed duckling from Steiff, which she immediately cuddled right into the crook of her neck, so that was it. For its size this duckling really is one of the most expensive stuffed toys J and I have ever bought, so I hope she loves it well and keeps it as a cherished toy.
We browsed endlessly in the toddler department, and finally my pick for her was a set of dolphin bath toys that make different whistling sounds in the water. I figured that since she loves baths and has been bored with our current stash of bath toys, she would love something new to play with. Plus this was a good way to teach The Bun a lesson about sharing, since the toy would be something both of them would play with together. The night before he had gotten very upset over the fact that we were going to the toy store to pick out a present for his sister, but not for him. Telling him that Christmas was almost here didn't work, and he just couldn't get over the fact that she was going to get something but he wasn't. Anyway the next morning he felt better about it and when we were at the toy store he looked around but didn't kick up a fuss about not getting anything.
So those were Bao's two gifts, the same way The Bun got two gifts for his birthday too. Birthdays have never been extravagant in our household, and for now I think it's a good family tradition to keep it that way.
We shopped around a bit more after that, then went to get take-out sushi at Mikado nearby. For its price range the sushi is really quite decent, but the dining area of the restaurant is not very baby-friendly at all. The last time we were there I had to gulp down my food while trying to hold on to a squirmy Bao in my lap, and we have learnt that it's much easier for us to grab take-out and eat it comfortably at home. On birthdays we tend to always pick Japanese food to indulge in, and so we initiated Bao into this family tradition with a bit of avocado and crab sushi for her.
J and Bao spent the afternoon napping while I took The Bun out shopping with me. We haven't gone out like this, just the two of us, for ages and I think that we should do it more often. I treated him to a lollipop for being good at the toy shop in the morning, and he happily accompanied me while I tried on some jeans and did some Christmas and grocery shopping.
Instead of cooking dinner J suggested that we eat dinner out, so we made reservations at a Thai restaurant a quick drive away and headed there at 7pm. Dinner turned out to be a bit frazzled. They didn't have a high-chair and luckily I had brought a sack-and-seat along, but knowing Bao's limited tolerance of it I suggested that she only be placed in it after the food arrived. She spent her time walking around our dining area, looking at the fish tank and trying to wander off, so J was busy keeping an eye on her and barely sat at the table. The Bun was whiny because he was hungry and tired, and nothing I said could make him happy.
A couple of servers gave us the evil eye for bringing young children into the restaurant, but we spoke Chinese to a young Chinese server and she became quite friendly to us. When the food arrived it turned out that the pad thai was too spicy for The Bun, so he ended up eating just pandan chicken with plain rice. Bao had already had her own dinner at home, so she sat and snacked on dried apricots (good because it takes her a long time to chew them) and raw bean sprouts. Towards the end of the meal The Bun, overtired and already done with his food, started talking about Pokemon and Digimon in a loud voice and jumping around in his seat, despite our repeated instructions to quieten down. You'd think the kids had rarely dined in a restaurant, the way they behaved, even though The Bun practically grew up in restaurants when we lived in Singapore. I guess it had just been a very long day for him. The price tag for the meal? 100 francs. The food was okay, not mind-blowing but not bad either. Now maybe things are clearer to some of my friends who wonder why we don't really eat out much here. Take-out is the way to go, for now.
__________________
Sunday - Bao's birthday! She woke up as usual at 7am and I put her in a new outfit for her special day. I had thought about going out for brunch but the very chilly and grey day made me change my mind, plus we had a Skype appointment with J's family in the morning. We did go out to a French supermarket, though, where our newly-minted walker refused to sit for longer than ten minutes in the supermarket trolley and then tried to pitch a fit when she was restrained in her father's arms. She just wants to walk everywhere and touch everything.
Back home, she took her usual long morning nap (she's down to one nap a day) while the rest of us had lunch and I baked her birthday cake. It was a lemon cake and The Bun helped me decorate it with confectioner's sugar and Smarties. I was quite happy with how it turned out - a little plain but with a kind of homemade prettiness.
After Bao woke and had her lunch (her brother was so excited he kept standing next to her hurrying her to eat) we all sang the birthday song (two or three times!), took many many photos, and all had cake. Bao managed to reach over and steal a Smartie for herself, but she wasn't too impressed with the cake and ate maybe two bites and crumbled the rest in her fingers.
J and I had thought about taking the kids to the museum in the afternoon, but by the time we were done with the birthday cake and gifts there wasn't much time and we didn't want to spend our Sunday rushing about. Anyway as J pointed out, Bao was happiest at home with her brother and her new toys and she simply walked cheerfully from room to room cuddling her duck, following The Bun around. I did the usual load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and made roast chicken with homemade fries for dinner. Just as well we didn't go out because just like that, the afternoon had vanished and the kids were eating dinner and getting ready for bath and bed.
The bath toys were a hit and Bao wailed when we finally had to remove her from the tub. As simple as they were as a birthday gift, the point is that she enjoyed them. Her first birthday didn't have much fanfare, but it had loads of love and affection showered on her, and that was plenty enough.
And just like that, I now have a firecracker of a toddler at home.