Margaux Montage... and about time, too!

Our little girl is growing right before our eyes, so I'm taking as many photos as I can to try to keep these precious moments alive...


But first, though, I found this little treasure from July that managed to escape previous posts... Margaux even manages to look cute and sad at the same time.

 

 

Going from Left-Right, Top-Bottom:

Margaux and Thomas outside the complex where she has swimming lessons; going for a walk on the beachfront with Mel and her daughter, Lilliana; a colour co-ordinated father-daughter team, who crashed at the end of a clearly busy day; Margaux working on her commando crawl; enjoying her new play pen; posing with Pappy and a jester teddy; our little girl, growing right before our eyes.

I'll do another photo update soon...

All roads lead to Rome

The colosseum was the main architectural highlight for me .

I found a tour that included delving into the underground of the stadium, where we learnt all about how the inner sanctum of the arena operated. Fascinating stuff.

Did you know that the colosseum had the same capacity as a modern Olympic stadium and yet, in case of an emergency, could be emptied in about half an hour?

Margaux tried very hard to be captivated, but after a brief teary episode she fell asleep in her baby carrier and slept for the rest of the tour.

Following this, we headed up to Palatine Hill, which was home to all the then dignitaries, and where Thomas got very excited about some fossilised earth.

Margaux, now awake, returned to her extremely photogenic self.

From there it was on to the Roman Forum, however we didn't give this the attention it deserved as we were rather dead on our feet. Still, the majesty, history, and significance of it all held me in awe.

All too soon it was Sunday morning, where we enjoyed (yet more) pizza for breakfast at a local café. We visited the Fountain of Trevi... unfortunately it is undergoing restoration so all we saw was a lot of scaffolding.

We also did a *spot* of shopping for me... we went into a boutique looking at a skirt and I came out with essentially a new wardrobe of Italian-made clothes! I've been finding all sorts of excuses to wear them now that I'm back, because they are just oh-so-gorgeous.

It was an amazing weekend, which I hope to continue some day... we still have so much to explore!

And then I fell out of bed...

It seems that falling out of bed is a four-step process, starting with establishing the height difference between the mattress and the top of the bedrail, an ability and desire to stand up, and the tipping point of the would-be faller...

On Monday Margaux went from commando crawling to standing very unsteadily and with a lot of support. We were all absolutely shocked when she managed to tip herself out of bed - no-one more than Maria, who had lightly tucked her into bed about 30 minutes beforehand.

I hear Margaux screaming, as she often does when she wakes up to find nobody there, and as I entered her bedroom I was staggered to find that I almost trod on her near the doorway. Poor Popette.


Very kindly, she re-enacted the stages for us - leaving the tipping bit for our imagination!

Unfortunately I had to have the flash on and Margaux suffered from the light, hence the closed eyes.

 

As you can imagine, we promptly adjusted the mattress to its lowest rung... hopefully it will be a while before she reaches the height to fall out of there - and that we're more aware that it's bound to happen! 

When in Rome...

We have just come back from the most wonder-full holiday in Rome, which was so awe-inspiring with its history and culture.

We ate, drank, visited colossal monuments, and delved into the wonders of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

But first, I must include the following photo. This was on the train from the airport to the city... what a cutie!

I was so happy none of us is gluten-intolerant, as we focussed on pizza and pasta in a big way! And it tastes so much better in Italy...

St Peter's was so majestic and fantastic. Oh, the splendour of the place! We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time: we managed to get inside a mass being held... and, as we were some of the first to enter, found seats in the plushy third row! Since neither of us is Catholic it wasn't too worrisome that we didn't understand a word of what was being said; I was loving the ambience of the place.

Margaux, however, was not a contented little Poppette. It was getting on for feeding time, which was hardly appropriate in the Basilica! After much fussing on her part and trying to keep it discreet on mine, we left the mass early and found the feeding area in the ladies' toilets.

It was just sooo cute though, to see her adored by everyone - other tourists, the guards and staff in the Basilica, even the roaming priests would stop and coo at her!

(The bottom left photo is actually a carving by Michelangelo in a little church.) 

 

 

We were eventually joined by Thomas, who also left the mass early, having fallen asleep!

 

 

It was a wonderful start to an unforgettable weekend escape...



A teeth and hair update!

It seems that Little Miss Cuteness has become even cuter! She's now in a competition to see who has the largest teeth and is coming a close third. She's even started grinding hers, which is a particular achievement since she only has four...

Over the weekend she went from one tooth to four. A couple of rough days and nights for Margaux were involved, but the result is spectacular:

When you're busy being as effortlessly gorgeous as Margaux, it's important to take care of those locks as well. Maggie had her very first haircut this week, much to her Daddy's disapproval... he likes long hair, but I like hair that isn't straggly and fine. It was the first of perhaps many (or equally likely not) mother-daughter trips to the salon...

 

Look at that last photo again, would you?

 

Now we're really going to have to dress her in pink so that people don't think she's a boy!!

 

The Long Crawl to Freedom

Margaux is getting to be quite the little wriggler these days! She'll clamber over any obstacle in order to reach her goal, which is usually a wide-open door. For a commando crawler, she's doing very well!

I usually manage to snatch her up before she can venture outside, but it's becoming more difficult to get her in time. And whoever decided that white is the best colour for children's clothes obviously never had kids... I can see now why we were never allowed white clothes when we were young!

A couple of times now I've stepped out of a room and she's managed to get as far as the door... and then close it in front of herself! It's a rather stressful situation all round: Margaux gets upset because she's stuck inside and can't open the door, and I get stressed because if I try to open the door I'll most likely hurt her. Nothing has happened that will cause permanent psychological damage, so fingers crossed...

No wonder everyone calls her a cutie!

The Visconde La Luz Carousel

Through Mums and Tots there is now a weekly happy hour at the carousel just down the road from where we live. It really looks like something from a picture book - and was installed, initially, as an art project and continued to live on long after the project was finished.

 

Margaux wasn't sure what to make of it at first... no tears, but she was examining everything very seriously and taking it all in. By the third spin (first an elephant that didn't move, followed by a carriage that rocked gently back and forth, then onto a spinning thing) she seemed more confident.

There were about 5 other Mums there - plus Gio, one of the newer members to Mums and Tots, but who is a stay-at-home Dad! Valeria and Julie were in attendance with their daughters, as you can see in the top right-hand photo.

When Mammy and Pappy came to visit: Sunday to Wednesday

Sunday:

What a wonderful lunch we had at Monte del Mar! This time it was Jean-Paul and Rita giving us our birthday treat, and it was fantastic.

Poor Margaux was still having teething issues and was upset a lot until she completely crashed in Daddy's arms... such an angel.

 

Monday:

Monday morning I took Margaux with me to training and then we spent the afternoon with Maria Rosa. We met up with Jean-Paul and Rita at dinner, however, where Rita cooked us a sumptuous meal.


Tuesday:

Rita and Jean-Paul joined Margaux and me at Mums and Tots on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately I was in charge of directions so it took us a much longer time than expected to reach our destination. It was nice to spend some time with them in a different environment, although I think Jean-Paul was a bit at a loss for where to put himself!

Tuesday night was a special one for all of us. I headed out with most of the Mums I know here for dinner at Pateo de Petisco, which was great!

The rest of the family spent some precious, purely French-speaking time with our star attraction for Jean-Paul and Rita's last night with us.


Wednesday:

And all too soon it was over! By the time Mammy and Pappy's trip had ended my French had improved dramatically (relatively speaking) as had their English. We all had a thoroughly wonderful time.

Au revoir... until the next visit!

When Mammy and Pappy came to visit: The first week - Thursday to Saturday

Thursday:

Thursday I declared as a day of purely Margaux and me. Jean-Paul and Rita took the opportunity to explore some of the golf courses in the area, while Maggie joined me at training, then spent time with Maria and me, before joining me at Kari's - where I had arranged to enjoy a relaxing massage with Fiona... only Margaux cried incessantly and had to be with me. Poor Margaux was having teething issues  - and, it seems, some separation anxiety... she had to be able to see me, so even the floor of the massage room wasn't an option. As a result the massage was cut a little short, but there'll be a next time for sure!

Unfortunately, Thomas had to disappear to Milan for work over this night, so Mammy and Pappy came over for dinner. Margaux was a complete angel and let us enjoy our meal... speaking a mishmash of French and English as second language... It was tricky at times to make our point understood, but a combination of patience, gestures, and at least one dictionary helped things along!

Friday:

Rita and Jean-Paul, and I shared independent time with Margaux on Friday. Again, it was a successful day for all involved. Thomas came back at about 9:00 that night, complete with half a kilo of Parmesan cheese straight from the source for me!

Saturday:

This was a very significant day for us... it marked 1 year since we arrived in Cascais!

That morning, the French contingent took Margaux to swimming while I partook in a combination of fitness training and paddle-boarding (aka SUP, or Stand Up Paddle, for those in the know!).

It was a lot of fun and I only fell off the board once. I think it's a record. I'm in the grey T-shirt in the collage below...

The Bouchery seniors and Thomas continued their day of golfing and generally having French family time, while Margaux and I headed off to Finian's third birthday party.

We teed up Jean-Paul and Rita to babysit Margaux on Saturday night... including a sleepover in their apartment! Meanwhile, Thomas and I had a very special dinner and a lazy morning together. It was the first time we'd spent 'away' from Margaux for the whole night, and it seemed to go rather well... not that we're planning on both being away from her at the same time any time soon!

Firstly, we enjoyed a cocktail - or mocktail on Thomas' behalf... who orders gazpacho (Virgin Mary) in a glass on a night of celebration, really?? - at Paradigma, followed by a fantastic tapas dinner at Tip & Tapas, and then a short walk home. It was the perfect way to celebrate a year spent in this place we call home.

When Mammy and Pappy came to visit: The first week - Monday to Wednesday

This week was spent with Margaux dividing her time between her grandparents and her parents (mostly me, since Thomas was at work).

Monday:

Sunday night had been a bit of a rough one for Maggie, who is seriously teething at the moment. She was up twice and then woke for good at 6:30am, so I was very unsurprised that she crashed at her normal (desired) nap-time of 10:30.

Rita and Jean-Paul were rather unimpressed by this... They came to collect Margaux at 10:00am for three precious hours. They promised to have her back by 1:00pm, as that is when Maria (our empragada) starts. The moment they walked in the door Rita exclaimed, "Two hours!! Two hours!! She fell asleep at 10:30 and slept for two hours!!" Thankfully for all of them there was a 'next time' to come. :)

Tuesday:

Tuesday morning saw Margaux and me at Mums and Tots, meeting up with Rita and Jean-Paul afterwards. The plan was for them to take Margaux for a walk on the beachfront, with joining them for the first little bit and then heading to the supermarket and leave them to enjoy the promenade... except that when we reached the supermarket we all headed there and spent the whole day together! It was a case of Rita and Jean-Paul trying their best in English, while I tried my best in French. I think for the most part we understood each other, which was quite a feat!

Wednesday:

On Wednesday Jean-Paul and Rita they came at 11:00am to take Margaux out for the day. This was the first time I'd handed Margaux over to someone else for an extended period of time, so it was with a little trepidation from me - not that I was worried about their ability to take care of Margaux; more a bit of separation anxiety on my part! I said they could be with Margaux for as long as they wished... I packed formula, lunch, a ridiculous amount of nappy-changing gear, smothered her in sunscreen, and said good bye.

And then the day was mine! I spent it having some rare 'me' time and assumed that no news was good news. It wasn't until 6:00pm that Jean-Paul and Rita returned a sleeping Margaux, having had a delightful yet slightly exhausting time with her.

 They were really happy to have a day together with Margaux, and it seems that Margaux enjoyed the opportunity to get comfortable with them. Rita commented that she felt Margaux and they had become familiar with each other now, which is a lovely observation. It really validates their holiday here.

When Mammy and Pappy came to visit: The first weekend

Margaux's Mammy and Pappy (Rita and Jean-Paul) came to visit us from September 19th to October 1st. It was great for them to get to know Margaux and for her to become comfortable with them... such an important step in her development!

Jean-Paul and Rita arrived on Friday afternoon. They came straight to our apartment and were immediately inseparable from Margaux.

Of course we forewent homemade dinner that night and introduced them to the amazing Indian restaurant next door!

Saturday morning was marked by the French contingent taking Margaux to swimming lessons. She was in the water with Thomas and Jean-Paul consecutively, while Rita took some wonderful photos from the side-lines. By all accounts it was a great introduction to them spending some quality time together.

 

Our unforgettable highlight on Sunday was a birthday dinner for Rita and Jean-Paul at Fortaleza Hotel. On top of the food and the company, the view was one of the best in Cascais... overlooking Guincho Beach with the western-most point of Europe in our sights. Truly amazing.



In the above photo Margaux was mobbed in the foyer by a bunch of Chinese tourists who were taking photos of her and with her like she was a celebrity. I think none of them had ever seen such a blonde-haired, blue-eyed person before!

Our little star attraction, enjoying some quality time with Pappy. (Take the time to look at the smaller photos; she really is such a character).

... and Thomas' other photo muse. Yes, that would be me.

 

After enjoying such a sumptuous feast we were ready to face the coming week!