First Father's Day

Father's Day totally snuck up on me this year!  For some reason, I thought it was much later in the month, and only realized mid-week that I would only have two days to prepare something for Gui's first Father's Day.  Total wife fail!

Somehow, though, we managed to have a really wonderful and totally unplanned day yesterday.  We enjoyed pasteries and coffee en terrasse in the morning, walked around downtown before grabbing some fancy barbecue, spent the afternoon with my Dad, brother and nephew, and ended our night eating tacos and watching the Spurs win Game 4 with my mom and step-dad.  It was a pretty perfect day.

Gui is an incredible papa who both Avienne and I adore more than we could ever communicate through a greeting card or gift wrap.  We are two really lucky girls to call him ours.

24/52

"A portrait of Avienne once a week, every week in 2013."

Vignt-quatre :: Future football star.

Avienne and I spent a few days this past week visiting my sister and her family in Kansas.  Avienne is the only girl of all six grandkids, of which four boys are my sister's.  She was, of course, doted on by the older boys who find her to be an interesting anomaly in their household.  The second-youngest, only 4 years old, kept calling her a "he," not really making the distinction between her and the other boys.  I guess there really isn't much of a difference between her and them right now that she's so young.  And, although she'll probably grow up to be a bit more "girly" than they are, it's nice that she can be "just one of the boys" for a little while.

Linking up with Jodi's 52 Project.

23/52

"A portrait of Avienne once a week, every week in 2013."

Vignt-trois :: Her messy hair.  Her blue eyes.  Her dreamy gaze.  I love everything about this little girl of mine.

Avienne spent one morning last week (I'm a week late, once again) with her papa who took her out to brunch while I enjoyed a late morning out with friends.  I didn't realize he'd taken any pictures while they were out gallavanting around town, but I'm so glad I discovered this beauty of a shot while sifting through the camera photos today.  I love this pre-afternoon-nap look that Avienne often has on her face - it's such a familiar one to me and I'm happy to have record of it for the future.  Thanks, Gui!

22/52

"A portrait of Avienne once a week, every week, in 2013."

Vignt-deux :: Gummy grin.

Avienne has been teething for a while now, and we're finally seeing some swollen top gums where it seems two teeth are about to make their debut.  I thought this picture befitting since it may be the last week she's all gums up top.  It's sad that her days with two little bottom teeth are coming to an end, but I'm looking forward to her having more chomping power.  She'll finally be able to dig in properly on some real food, and that's kind of exciting (for both of us).

Linking up with Jodi's 52 Project.

21/52

"A portrait of Avienne, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Vignt-et-un :: Standing herself up on everything in sight.

Last Monday, Avienne officially made the transition from immobile infant to exploring rugrat.  And ever since, she's been crawling all over the house and climbing on anything that offers a new view of her world.  She started scooting here and there while we were in France, but it took her a couple of days back home to get into a good groove, and now she's zooming all over the place at full speed.  Her current favorite place to crawl to is here, the entryway of our house, where she pulls herself up to take a peek outside before trying to reach for the doorknob.  After a week of near-heart-attacks, I'm finally starting to trust her wobbly stance as she figures out how to use her little body to discover new views.  It's a little terrifying, but I'm loving this very momentous phase of her babyhood.

Linking up with Jodi's 52 Project.

Tour de France : Part 2

The largest chunk of our time in Paris was spent catching up with family and friends, so luckily, our little girl typically enjoys being around crowds of people. It's a good thing we kiss and squeeze her so much, too because she barely had an inch of personal space during these two weeks.  With all the attention she got back in France, she'll never have a reason to doubt how immensely loved she so is.  

► Avienne spent some precious time with her nana and I couldn't get enough of all the tulips sprouting around the city.

► There was a lot of this going on when Avienne finally met some extended cousins. 

► Getting a photo with all of them looking at the right camera and smiling just wasn't happening.

► We brunched with friends at my favorite brunch spot in Paris.  So happy!

► One of Gui's very best friends joined us for the day out.

► Our friend Aimee finally met Avienne!

► We took a long walk around Paris after brunching.

► Avienne loved meeting all of Gui's old buddies

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► We rounded up a bunch of friends and had a crazy-awesome picnic under the Eiffel tower on what was probably the most gorgeous day ever.  We brought a few of our favorite picnic snacks, but we obviously have a lot to learn when it comes to French picnicking.  From prociutto ficelle to chocolate brownies, our friends know how to do it right! 

► Gui's dad threw us a lovely brunch, which turned into a family reunion of sorts.  It was really special that Avienne was able to meet one of her great-grandmothers.  Both of Gui's grandmothers are still living, and we're really lucky that we were able to spend time with both of them on this trip.  I think having a baby really underscores how important family is, and that was made even clearer on this trip over.  We will always be far away from family no matter where we are living, so we try to soak up as much time with our loved ones whenever they're closeby.