Peeeepeeeeee!

No photos to accompany this major event, but for all those of you who follow such developments, three days after we got a potty for Emma, she christened it. I'm sure we're not out of the woods yet, but it's a heck of a good start. Happy New Year's indeed.

Big girl bed.

Emma has officially graduated from her baby bed to a big girl bed. She had her first nap in it this afternoon, and only spent a brief moment upside down on a blanket on the floor beside it.

Under this lump of blankets lies Emmanuelle.

Flakin' out!

We finally had some snowy weather and a chance to get out of the house for a little winter action. Dressed up like an arctic oompah-loompah, Emma didn't actually move that much, but the rest of us enjoyed ourselves. Mélanie and Léanne led the activities, with Léanne teaching Emma how to use the slide. The next day also showed a lot more confidence in her use of the word "no", though I'm not sure if that was Léanne's influence or just a natural progression. Whatever the cause, we're in a world of no-no now.

The Fatman Cometh!

A big kiss for grandpa who, as chief elf, was in charge of distributing Emma's loot.

Exhausted but still smiling!

The Yule log and Christmas pudding.

Christmas morning and still more presents!

A Christmas appetizer

As we all know, Santa makes his list of the naughty and nice, and the good little boys and girls get presents at Christmas. What isn't mentioned so often is that some kids are so good that Santa just can't resist giving them an early taste of the Christmas haul to come.

Emma and "Pierre" Noël

Who gets to play with it first?

Santa's main sponsor. Thanks for the party Nancy!

No gifts for bad boys! Tasso's trying to hide his disappointment under a velour façade. Don't worry buddy, there's always next year. (Isn't that the NDP mantra?)

Y, you ask?

Exclusive photos of the newest member of the clan - a little boy expected around April 21.

Getting ready for Xmas.

That's rain on the window, but we're still hoping for a white Christmas.

Santa, for your reference, we don't have a fireplace, so the stockings are hung on the buffet.

Outtakes from the Christmas card photo shoot.

Visits!

My first Sunday back we had Denis, France, Yan, Mark, Mala, and Kaya for supper. It was my first time seeing Kaya and an opportunity to thank Annick's family for their help getting us set up here.

Emma smiling after polishing off two bottles of vino with Kaya and Mala.

Kaya and Emma introduce France to Baby Crackenstein. The first hit is free.

This time in Montreal

Another bike cadaver.

Back in Montreal

Finally back! Finally with the family again. The first few days were mostly spent recovering from jet-lag and wandering the neighbourhood, but finally I got back to my household duties.

Emma in the new apartment.

Feeding Emma.

Washing up.

Night train to Paris

My time in Europe ended with a jaunt over to France to visit Charlotte, Daphne, Isabelle, and Andre. A good time was had by all. Too good, by some accounts.

While I wasn't able to snap my crushed bike in München, I saw this one in St-Malo.

And another out-of-place bicycle: This Deutsche-Bahn renter was locked up in outside a metro station in Paris.

Also out of place, also in Paris.

Ever wonder if Canada is behind the times on the environment front? The answer is: yes. This is parking in Paris reserved for electric cars.

And the reason they do it? Voila les Jardins de Luxembourg, 4 December, 2006.

Paris Observatory, birthplace of the metre and kilogram.

Arrival in Rennes. This aquarium in the train station is actually the non-smoking section. Oh well.

This litte peach is Charlotte.

Isabelle made one of the best ossos bucco I've had in my life. Daphne prefers tartines with nutella. (That ambivalent look Daphne was giving me in this photo pretty much sums up her attitude toward me the whole weekend. It was probably my bad haircut - for reference, see the photos from Tuscany.)

Andre in front of the oldest house in Rennes. (At least, that's what he told me, and since I don't know any better, why not believe him? And since you don't know any better either, why not believe me?)

On the way to Mont St-Michel.

Mont St-Michel

A presquile that became an ile because of tourism. The road out to the site blocked the natural clearance of silt by the tides. The road will soon be torn out and the bay dredged to remove the accumulated dirt and restore the natural situation. The Dutch are up in arms.

Andre and Daphne at St-Malo.

Daphne about to get two soakers.

Last days in Munich

My last week in Munich was hectic and there were lots of people I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked, as well as things I didn't get to do, like visiting the Deutsches museum. There was also that one photo I wanted to snap but didn't get to it, the crushed bike in the pedestrian underpass... Oh well. I suppose it might still be there in ten or twenty years when I go back again.

A giraffe at the Fliegenpilz circus. Did you know that giraffe stink is one of their least endearing characteristics?

The wretched (and now disused) factory that marked the entrance to our street.

A marker next the path beside the Waldfriedhof cemetery. Always wondered if it was a migrating tombstone.

Frost-covered blooms, Nov 29,2006.

The WWI cemetery.

The bittersweet Max Planck experience.

A couple of my favourite graffiti, not far from our place on Würmseestr.

It's a Fishel.

Montreal - Ariane Moffat
Je reviens à Montréal
La tête gonflée de nuages
C'est le transit d'Amsterdam
Qui s'est chargé du glaçage
Je reviens à Montréal
Le corps tatoué de visages
Des anges dandys au dense plumage
Ont mis en lumière mon passage
Le soleil inonde le terminal
Le dub fait danser mes scandales
En format original
Je rentre à Montréal
Je reviens à Montréal
Le coeur emballé de courage
Je serais rentrée à la nage
Si je n'avais pas eu tant de bagages
Je reviens à Montréal
Portée par un héritage
Enfin je suis un peu plus sage
Il était temps, à mon âge...!
Le soleil inonde le terminal
Le dub fait danser mes scandales
En format original
Je rentre à Montréal
Mon ivresse n'a rien d'un mirage
Paris a engueulé ma rage
Finis les enfantillages
Je range mes pleurs au garage
Et je reviens à Montréal
Mon sourire est un alliage
Ultraléger et malléable
Totally natural
Le soleil inonde le terminal
Le dub fait danser mes scandales
En format original
Je rentre à Montréal

Visit to Canada

Just before Grandma and Grandpa came for their first visit, Emma and mom were in Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec visiting other friends and family. Here Emma is on the train back from Ottawa, where she probably picked up the Norwalk virus that landed her in the hospital in Quebec city just before mom's friend Nat's wedding.



As you can see, she was in good spirits in spite of it all. And mom and Emma were kind enough to bring the bug back to Germany to share with dad.