VIDEO: Genevieve on parade

Genevieve walking around after the Memorial Day parade.

Memorial Day

Ok, so the following 2 pictures are not from Memorial Day, but almost. They are blurry because they're from my phone. Below: The kids in their beloved Cozy Coupes. Below: At the Dracut library: Genevieve decided to join Sebastien and the big kids in listening to the story with the group instead of playing in the back. She didn't last the entire story (about halfway through she started tasting some of the other kids' shoes), but it was still pretty good.
Below: Memorial Day! We took the kids to their first parade today. I remember all of the parades I went to as a kid in South Bend so this was particularly exciting for me. It was a nice, albeit short, parade. It was perfect for their attention spans. Both kids sat happily in their lawn chairs and watched the bands, people, and vehicles go by. I was a little disappointed that no one through candy at the parade, but maybe that's just one of those midwestern things that isn't done anymore.

After the parade, there was a ceremony at the cemetary. Sebastien sat patiently through it but Genevieve had to strut her stuff and wave her flag.

We came home after the parade and worked on the garden. I also took a picture of the apple tree to show it's progress.Below: Sebastien and Dan sowing the seeds.

Below: Notice Genevieve in her chair "supervising"

These crazy kids

Oh how they keep me laughing!

Precious princess LOVES sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Luckily for us, it doesn't happen often - or I should say we don't allow it too often because this little princess would become addicted in no time. Friday night we had some friends over and since I didn't have time to make a proper dinner, beef ravioli in a can, it was. It's almost as if Genevieve knew that I was hoping she'd stay clean so I could skip her bath that night because we had company coming. Nope. She went the extra mile. At least it made for a great picture. This will be known as her Oompa-loompa picture.

This morning Sebastien told me he wanted to take a nap on the floor. Obviously, I encouraged this, so he proceeded to make this little nest. Genevieve joined him and their little "nap" lasted less time than it took him to make the nest.

Tonight in the bathtub, Sebastien said "I am a princess!" and put the pink washcloth on his head. I think maybe all of Genevieve's toys are starting to rub off on him.

Jungle Boogie

Here's Sebastien and Genevieve grooving to the beats of a jungle-themed toy.

Quebec

As you probably already know, Dan and I had our weekend getaway this past weekend. Instead of doing a B&B closeby in northern NH or VT, we decided that since we don't often have kid-free weekends, we would go the extra mile. And that is how we ended up in Quebec. It was quite a drive (7-8 hours), but it was a great experience. I am still flabbergasted that we can drive like 3 hours north of our home and be in a French speaking country. It's just so odd and awesome. Now, unfortunately, the Quebecois accent is WAY different than the France French that we're used to so understanding was quite difficult. We still managed to understand ok and spoke to them pretty well too. Out hotel was in the old, walled part of the city, very close to Chateau Frontenac.

Below: Chateau Bellevue - our humble abode for 2 nights Below: Kim in front of Chateau Frontenac, an old historic hotel

Below: Dan stands in front of a Champlain statue that also has Quebec's motto: "Je me souviens," which means "I remember." I certainly will.
Below: View from lower Quebec. Note the Funiculaire - elevator that takes people from upper to lower town.
Below: Funiculaire
Below: Us riding the funiculaire
Below: Us near the Citadelle fortress with old Quebec and the St Lawrence river in the background.

Below: Dan getting a glass of wine from the automatic wine dispenser in the hotel lobby. (Imagine if every lobby and waiting room in the US had one of these!)

On Sunday morning, we went to Mass at Sainte Anne de Beaupre cathedral, outside of Quebec. It's a pilgrimage site for many Catholics and we were really impressed with the enormous size of it.

Below: While we were away, the kiddos had a wonderful time with Grandma, Grandpa, Becca and Phil. Sebsatien talked and talked on the car ride home about everything he did. Genevieve apparently got to model some sunglasses.

Sick and Swim

We had a pretty average week this past week. Of course, that doesn't mean that things were uneventful. Exactly 3 days after visiting the daycare at the gym (where Sebastien has swim lessons), Genevieve got a nasty cold, complete with a fever. I've never seen her looking so miserable. Luckily it only lasted 2 days and by Wednesday she was up to her usual tricks. Speaking of, I walked into the den the other day to find the situation below. Sebastien had lured her into the dog's bed (which had no blankets because they were in the laundry) and locked her in. Although he was told not to do that again, I have to admit it was kind of funny.

Below: A picture of the Masse family on Mother's Day.
Below: Sebastien smiles before swim class. Dan and Kim are very happy that he likes swim class and doesn't seem afraid of the water. We're just hoping that it transfers to our own (and much colder) swimming pool in our backyard come summertime.

Below: Sebastien and Kim in the water. (I'm bummed this came out blurry.)

Well it's Friday and soon Grandma Masse will be here to take the kiddos for the weekend while Dan and Kim go to Quebec. To say wer're excited is an understatement. We get to travel to somewhere Europe-esque, speak some French, enjoy a scenic car ride to get there, and most of all, we get to be kid-free! I'm sure there will be many pictures to come. :)

Tractor Time

Sunday we borrowed Grandpa's tractor to till our garden. Sebastien really liked being on the tractor with daddy.

Here are some pictures of Genevieve at almost 14 months. She's been walking more and more each day but VERY gradually. Her main mode of travel is still crawling but there are more and more walks across the room each day.