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Family

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New York, again

About a month ago, I booked us all on a flight to New York for the first week of the new year. Gui and I had been thinking about taking a quick trip somewhere to break up the monotony of the 3+ week winter school break. We never really settled on going anywhere because the thought of all the planning, reserving, renting, etc. that we'd need to do ahead of time kept us both in that talking phase and incapable of moving into the action phase. Planning for trips is so exhausting now. I remember when Gui and I would make a decision to go somewhere, book a flight and jump on a plane within a few weeks without so much of a misplaced hair to show for it. Although it's easier now than it was with younger kids, I will say that planning trips for 4 instead of 2 is not something I ever look forward to doing.

Family NYC travel

NYC...a month later

It's been a little over a month since our family took a little trip with another favorite family to our mutually favorite city (New York, of course). Since I'm feeling the itch to get out of Austin again, I thought, what better time to recap all the fun we had on our last little jaunt? We made it there just in time for some crazy cold winter weather, lots of snow and lots of sludge. With the exception of one extremely lousy day that kept me with Loden in the apartment for 24 hours, we had a pretty swell visit.

Family

Christmas in Paris

It's hard to believe we're already 2 weeks into a new year! After two consecutive Christmases spent stateside, we headed to Paris this year for the holiday. It was a short but sweet whirlwind of a trip, and we left with full bellies, hearts and an extra checked luggage. Avienne is at the age where she actually grasps the idea of Christmas, so it was really fun to introduce some of my and Gui's favorite traditions with her this year.

We had our fill of all the traditional and seasonal French fare, including foie gras, cheese, buche de noel and of course way too much champagne. I really enjoyed not having an agenda for the trip, focusing instead on spending as much time as possible with family and relaxing whenever possible. Avienne played lots of games, baked cakes and indulged in so many goodies, it was hard to convince her to get on the plane back home!

We were able to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen for a good while, and the weather was so mild for December that we were able to spend a day out at the local Christmas market and a bit of time at the enchanting park where Amelie was filmed (that swan!). Paris is truly magical this time of year, and I know we're all pretty grateful that we get to bask in its magic from time to time.

Family Moving Paris

Together again

It occurred to me last week that I'd been pretty vague about what we've been up to lately and the plans we've been making & following through with over the past few months. Even to close friends and family, I hadn't been publicizing our plans because the truth is, we weren't really sure how or if they'd all unfold the way we wanted.

Family la belle vie NYC travel

Faux New Yorkers

We love New York. Really love it. I wish we could live there, but things like preschool and toddler soccer are forever wait-listed and just too dang expensive for us to even seriously consider living there. So, we go when we have a good excuse and let ourselves pretend like we live there for those few precious days.

Last weekend, Gui's mom and sister were visiting his aunt and uncle who live in the city, so we decided to meet up with them for a few days of their stay. We hadn't seen them in person since January, which feels like a lifetime ago. They Skype with Avienne nearly every weekend, so it wasn't a huge surprise when she saw them in New York and went a little crazy-happy with the hugs and smiles. It's the first time she's really been old enough to get excited about traveling and seeing relatives.

It was really cold for the first 2 days and rained cats and dogs on our last day, but the weather is part of what I love about New York, and for me, cold and rain just mean more time spent at our favorite restaurants and coffee shops. We stayed in a different area than usual and discovered some new great restaurants and neighborhoods. As creatures of habit, it's hard to get us to move out of our comfort zone, but we managed and succeeded in falling in love even more with our favorite Stateside city.

Austin Avienne Family la belle vie travel

A few moments with Nana to be remembered

: : Margaritas en terrasse with plenty of sunshine . . .

: : Lots of backyard swinging . . .

: : A few mandatory tourist stops . . .

: : Plenty of walking and exploring . . .

: : The sweetest goodbye kisses . . .

Avienne Avienne firsts birthdays Family Food

A birthday party

I know this was two weeks ago, but here is [finally] a recap of Avienne's first birthday party:

The weekend after Avienne's first birthday, we celebrated with a party at our house with friends and family. Our place is pretty small, so I was a little worried about how everyone would fit and if anyone would be uncomfortable celebrating in our cramped quarters. It was definitely cozy, but we managed to fit in and enjoy the company of friends and family all at once.

I started planning Avienne's birthday about a month in advance. I'm not really good at picking themes, so we thought it would be nice to have folks over for our favorite mealtime - brunch. I dusted off all of my crafting supplies and rediscovered my creative side when I set to work on the party invitations. I had so much fun making them, I even started daydreaming about having a greeting card business. (Maybe someday!) We invited a handful of friends over who have babies, too, so we figured having a party at 11:00 versus later in the afternoon would suit their weekend schedules better. In the end, I think it worked out pretty well for everyone.

I mixed up some fruit, bought a few Mexican pastries, croissants and beverages, but the breakfast tacos that my amazing mom whipped up earlier in the day were hands-down the highlight of our brunch spread. You really can't beat homemade breakfast tacos in the morning. After a grueling week of cake taste-testing, I settled on a vanilla and strawberry cake from Capital City Bakery. It was pretty delicious, but next time, I'll order a much smaller one - we have so much cake stuffed into our freezer right now! Avienne had her own smash cake, too, but she hardly smashed any of it. I think she may have had her fill of cake a few days before when she had her first cupcake.

It was a fun time, and I'm glad so many of our closest friends and family were able to spend some time celebrating for Avienne's first birthday. Next year, though, I'm designating someone else photographer! These were the only decent pictures I was able to snap during the party.

Americaine Easter Family Home love Shopping

Auntie to the rescue gets rescued

So, my spontaneous trip back to the good ol' US of A seems to have pushed me back to the side of sanity, which is precisely what I had hoped it would do for me. I can't even explain how much of a difference it's made to my nerves to have a few consecutive days of real life family - drama and all - back in my life. Even pulling an all-nighter on the plane-ride back and going to work for 5 hours just after couldn't bring me back to the funk I was feeling before I left.

Besides soaking up the giggles and snuggles and cries and shouts of my loveable nephews, I also got a little "I-just-need-to-be-an-American-and-do-American-things" in while I was visiting my sister in midwest America. It ain't Texas, but I still managed to find a delicious plate of enchiladas, tacos, rice and beans to grub on pretty much as soon as my plane slid onto the tarmac. I made a few Target runs, browsed through the local Banana Republic, J.Crew and Nordstrom stores, grabbed a couple of Starbucks cinnamon dolce lattes (which haven't made it onto the Paris menus, yet), stopped by Michael's and an LYS to check out the yarn scene, ran through the Taco Bell drive-thru, and had breakfast and three lunches at Chick-fil-a. Oh, how I missed thee, Land of Liberty!

I'll admit that it felt a little awkward being back at first - it's so much easier to be somewhere that doesn't require a bit of reflection about how to phrase a sentence before speaking. But, the awkwardness didn't last long and I fell back in the sadle in no time. The weather was pretty cooperative, save for the couple of nights of violent winds and rain that kept me awake. Luckily, it cleared up before Easter and I got to watch the boys hunt for eggs and fly kites.

I even got in a bear surgery while I was there. It's tradition for my dad to give his grandsons a bear when they're born, and they've become the boys' doudous, which of course means they take quite a beating after the years of being dragged around everywhere. Well, my nearly 6-year-old nephew asked me if I could stitch-up his bear (of the same age) in a couple of places because he'd had a bit of wear-and-tear. So, Dr. Auntie held a surgery and made Mr. Bear (as he's named) as good as new! I could tell my nephew was so honestly happy afterwards to see his Mr. Bear all fixed up. But, he had no idea how truly grateful I was to be there to do that for him. My last-minute planning couldn't have been better timed!