Quarter of a Year

It hardly feels like three months have passed since little Miriam came into the world. Yet such extraordinary changes have occurred in such short time. Little squeaks have changed to real phonetic sounds - she currently favors the 'g' and French 'r' sounds. Squirmy little hands are reaching out for toys and still constantly in her mouth. She even traded in sleepless nights for ten hour stretches of solid sleep when she turned 10 weeks! She is chubby and happy as ever, and we're enjoying what each new day brings.


Here are some snapshots from the last month:

Already the avid reader

Protecting her beloved pacifier

Enjoying Boston Commons with Aunt Kristiana

Finally enjoying tummy time - she's such a strong girl!

And finally a video of her latest noises - belly laughs...

Happy Two Months, Miriam!

   One Day               One Month               Two Months

Well, after a six and a half month hiatus from blogging, we've seen our fair share of life changes:


We moved across continents to plant ourselves in Boston amidst snow drifts and gale winds. We spent a great month and a half with Zach's dad during our apartment search. We trusted and waited and trusted some more during Zach's job search which ended perfectly with his hire at the Harvard School of Public Health. Then just eleven days later, nine months of waiting came to fruition on May 20th at 2:35pm. Little miss Miriam Amina Ward came into the world healthy, happy, and beautiful. It's hard to believe it has already been two months. Here are some highlights from her first two months of life.

We hopped on a plane to Colorado to attend Matt and Callie's wedding in Amarillo on June 18th.  Then Miriam smiled consciously for the first time on Father's Day just before Zach left to return to Boston and then France.

First 4th of July in Colorado Springs

First bath time back at home in Boston

Now at two months, Miriam is weighing in at a chubby 12lbs. 12oz. and is 22.5 inches long. It's hard to believe that she has almost gained six pounds! Here's to many many more months with you, Miriam.

Ottie & Lula Come for a Visit

 One of the perks of living in one of the most-visited cities in the world is that our friends come to us rather than us having to go to them. Shortly after Christmas we welcomed Ottoline and Tallula MacIlwaine to our rather humble abode in the City of Lights for their first ever trip to Paris. I lived with the MacIlwaine family last year in Aix en Provence while teaching English part time. They were British expats in France, and my duty was to help the girls with their French homework. Unlike many such 'au pair' situations these girls became more like little sisters rather than charges as they are two of the most delightful 10 and 11 year olds that I have ever met.

After having lived two whole years in France and moving back to England, the girls had still never been to Paris, and that was something that their parents and I agreed that we needed to change. For two and a half days we traipsed around the city seeing sights, eating delicious food, and trying to keep warm in the wintry cold. We climbed the Eiffel Tower where they ice skated on the rink on the first level. We indulged in macarons from Laduree, and we saw the city from the giant Ferris Wheel that is put up every Christmas season.

                                     

In our day to day routine here in Paris we rarely go into the 'touristy' parts of the city. We are more likely to be found underneath them zipping around on a metro to get to work or school. Seeing the girls' wide-eyed amazement of everything here reminded me of my own first trip to Paris which I will always remember well. There is nothing like taking in this magnificent city with fresh eyes, walking down its tree-lined boulevards, or partaking in a real French pastry for the first time. 

As we prepare to leave Paris and move on to Boston in just a few short weeks, it's hard for me not to want the days to go more quickly. It's difficult to settle in somewhere when you know how temporary it's going to be. However, it was so good to rediscover this wonderful city alongside Ottoline and Lula and remind myself exactly why I love it and will miss it.

Seasons of Preparation

I love seasons of preparation such as Advent and Lent. They often don't get much recognition - especially as the hype of Christmas overshadows the celebration of Advent. Don't get me wrong. I love the Christmas season - the lights, the decorations, the Christmas markets, the food - but it all feels so empty if there is no meaning behind it.

How many of us countdown (if only in our heads) to our own birthdays? Advent gives us a way to mark the days leading up to the celebration of Christ's birthday. We may never fully grasp the beauty and mystery of God Incarnate, but Advent gives us a month to reflect on the wonderfulness of this Gift during a season that can become chaotic if we lose sight of it all.

This year we are marking the days of Advent with a garland that I made. Each little 'tree' has some delicious German chocolate inside, and we enjoy it alongside selected Biblical Advent readings. I found the idea for the 'calendar' from here. It's pretty simple as Christmas decorations go, but it has spruced up our apartment nicely along with our little sapin de Noel (French for Christmas tree) aka the evergreen UFO. It was cheap and is not quite the shape of a Christmas tree, but we love it.

Many of you know by now that Advent isn't the only countdown to a baby's birth that we are currently taking part in. Only this other countdown thankfully has a bit longer to go...approximately five and a half months to go. Yes, our tiny Parisian studio is now home to three Wards, though thankfully one of us is really small for the moment. This was quite an unexpected surprise and after having a few months to take it all in and freak out quite a bit, we are both very excited and looking forward to welcoming this little one.

Thanksgiving en France

Whenever you take something that is quintessentially American and try to recreate it elsewhere you are bound to have interesting results. Sometimes it is actually a success, as with the cheesecake I made for Zach's birthday without using any cream cheese at all. Most of the time, however, it turns out just not quite right as with any attempt at Tex-Mex food here in France. So take a holiday as American as Thanksgiving, then have it hosted by a Franco-Haitian professor with guests coming from at least five continents, and you've got something quite interesting indeed.

This past week, Zach teamed up with a professor of his to help plan a Thanksgiving feast for his classmates. It was impossible to coordinate who was bringing what with over thirty guests, so the invitation was open to bring anything, particularly traditional Thanksgiving food if possible. What do you get when you ask university students in France to bring something to a party? Wine and cheese and more wine...except for the three American students who brought stuffing, green beans, and an apple pie.  Now Moise, the professor, had already bought several kilos of cheese and a few cases of wine. This Thanksgiving smorgasbord was quickly shaping up quite differently than expected. Thankfully we did have two turkeys, but Moise insisted that one be smeared with foie gras and stuffed with more foie gras.  While foie gras is delicious, if you don't know what it is, it's better not to find out before you eat it. We had volunteered to bring mashed potatoes, but they were definitely trumped by the HUGE, delicious dish of gratin dauphinois that another professor brought.

There we were in a very crowded apartment in the Marais spending Thanksgiving in a most untraditional way. However, maybe Thanksgiving has become too much about the traditions rather than what it really was meant to be about. Upon taking a second glance, the crowded apartment (which had a view of the Eiffel Tower I might add) became full of the people who have become like family to Zach and now to me, and the haphazard selection of food became filled with all sorts of French delicacies that we will miss dearly when we leave France. We have much to be thankful for. Sometimes, it just takes a second glance.

Wedding Weekend

We spent a lovely weekend last week in the countryside east of Paris where we celebrated the marriage of our friends Katie and Jonathan. They are friends from my time in Aix who have also moved up north to the Paris area, and we couldn't have been more pleased to take part in their wedding festivities.

Zach and I met up with our friends Josh and Julia who had flown in from Aix and who let us trek out with them in their rental car. How nice to get out of the city and take in the misty countryside where the trees were in full autumn splendor.

Weddings in France are required to take place at the 'mairie' (city hall), and the church ceremony we attended was focused on seeking God's blessing and recognition of their marriage. It was an immensely pleasant surprise that the preacher giving the message was Hugh Wessel, a friend from my time in Marseille three years ago. Three months into our own marriage, it was a beautiful reminder of God's purpose in marriage.

And after the ceremony...celebration! In France this generally means lots of good food and drinks over a long period of time spent in good conversation, oh and yes, more food. Guests lingered at the church for a couple hours grazing on appetizers and countless, beautiful bite-size desserts (I lost count how many Zach sampled) while the bride and groom greeted everyone.

Later in the evening we migrated an hour to the south to a quaint farm that had been converted to a reception hall and guesthouse. Then ensued a six-hour, multiple-course meal interspersed with speeches and games about the newlyweds. We ate and learned more about Katie and Jonathan than I ever thought possible! Amazingly, we found room for dessert and at 1:30 sleepily made our way to our lodgings for the night - thankfully located just next door. What a joy to have been included on all this! Sadly my camera was left in the car for the evening, but I doubt we will easily forget this first French wedding we attended.

Ashkenazy Conducts Rachmaninoff

On Zach's birthday last Sunday I didn't let him have his present right away. Instead, in his card I jumbled up the letters of the following words "Philharmonia Symphony: Ashkanazy Conducts Rachmaninoff." You see, Zach likes a challenge, especially with word games, and I thought that this would prove to be at least a small challenge. Wow was I wrong. The little stinker sat down with relish and solved all five words in a few moments. Really? Ashkenazy and Rachmaninoff are that evident?

Backing up a bit, Vladimir Ashkenazy is a world-renowned Russian pianist who began conducting in the latter part of his career. My heart skipped a beat when I found out he was conducting in Paris a week after Zach's birthday...so perfect.

So we dusted off our nice clothes and hopped over to the Theatre de Champes Elysees yesterday afternoon for a very memorable performance. Ashkenazy conducted London's Philharmonia Orchestra as they played Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto number 3 and Symphony number 2. We had previously found out that the third piano concerto is rarely heard in concert. The sheer difficulty of the piece intimidates most pianists. Even the pianist that Rachmaninoff wrote it for never attempted it! Needless to say the pianist we saw, Nikolai Lugansky, was exceptional.

Perched up way high in our box seats, we were well placed to see the pianist's hands. Lugansky played with stunning ease and stability, even through the extremely complex segments when he would momentarily rise from his bench to make the reaches that were required. This song was evidently embedded in his soul. From the conductor's stand, Ashkenazy deftly led the orchestra with such passion that he frequently had to wipe the sweat from his face. He was so clearly enjoying every second as were we. The Symphony number 2 that followed was also beautiful, and we left inspired and fully grateful for the opportunity to hear and see such excellent music played.