Paris monuments

After the department stores we walked over to the old Opera...




















...and then jumped on the metro to the Champs-Elysees, where Chris thought we'd see some mad Christmas decorations. Turns out things were pretty subtile. Here's the standard shot of the Arc de Triomphe by night:




















The Champs was lined by beautifully lit trees.





















At this point Sawyer had fallen into a deep coma, so we strapped his head in, which was very alarming to him when he came to.





















We thought for sure he would wake us up in the wee hours of the morning, but to our surprise we all slept until 10am. After a quick breakfast we head to Montmartre (boy was that artist square empty in the snowy weather) and made a quick stop at Sacre Coeur.





















We lunched in Pigalle just across from the Sexodrome. Classic.

Christmas windows

Les Galleries L. and Printemps are much like New York's Macy's and Bloomingdales, and the whole city comes out to see their elaborate window displays each holiday season. And they were something. Something hallucinogenic. Most of the scenes combined marionnette bears, rabbits and gingerbread men with Bladerunner-esque mannequins, but others just had the bears, rabbits and gbm involved in cultish scenes of glutonous depravity, ie. holiday excess taken to weirdly impish levels. But the best (worst) part was the music--some kind of North Pole candy cane casiotone techno (a new genre, perhaps), with occasional robotic children's voices saying things like "Qu'est-ce qu'il y a la-dedans" (what's in there?) and "Je veux un cadeau!" (I want a present!).



















They have little platforms set up for the tiniest onlookers to be able to get in close and oh and ah. Sawyer laughed hysterically, as you will see on the video that I'm going to post in a minute.
















More crazy bears doing semi-lascivious things to a snowy log.


















Only in Paris would the Christmas bears wear cone-boob lingerie.






















Inside the Galleries there is always a terribly impressive Christmas tree that reaches nearly to the top of the cupola.





















Here you can see the giant presents suspended from the cupola.

Night walk in Paris

Nous sommes les rois de la galere. Or we were, but now we're settled. Finally arrived in Paris after three long flights and two layovers--thank Log for the free children's museum at the Chicago airport where Sawyer ran his little heart out before getting on the flight to Paris (he fell asleep before we even took off; too bad he didn't stay asleep). Flight was late getting in, and then the usual trouble, confusion and exhaustion navigating the RER and metro with bags, car seat, child. Stayed in a friend's fabulous apartment in the Marais, but had to sack out for a bit before going out. Once we'd roused ourselves, we made a short tour of French monuments in a mini-blizzard. First stop was Notre Dame, just across the river from the apartment. Sawyer couldn't have cared less; he was still making peace with the idea of being slung on my back like a baby scorpion.




















And then, time for mass quantities of kebab meat and fries. We headed to the Les Halles neighborhood for cheap street eats and somehow ended up with enough food to last us for two days. I love how Europeans crack an egg in the middle of their pizza; it's just so sublime.




















Sawyer got this Elmo doll from his aunt and uncle for Christmas, and it hasn't left his side since. He's dragged it along the ground in every airport, train station, metro stop and bus. It kind of grosses me out when he demands that I kiss it.


















That is one jet-lagged-out toddler.


















Next stop was the big department stores--Galleries Lafayette and Printemps--famous for their Christmas window displays; but first a shot down the Boulevard de l'Opera to Place de la Concorde.

A birthday card that brought much joy

This is a card that Sawyer got from Uncle Steve and Aunt Jennifer...it's been getting a lot of play.

Sawyer is two!

Thursday was Sawyer's 2nd birthday; we had a small bash at the house with his best toddler friends and their grown-up parents, our friends. At first Sawyer was a little overwhelmed by all the people and excitement, and hid behind Dad's leg.


























But then he plucked up his courage and started to interact with our neighbor Anna, Of course, they talked about the weather. What else is there to say at your own party?






















I love this picture; it's what I imagine a toddler modern dance performance would look like: each spinning in his/her own space to demonstrate the alienation of the technological age.




















Sawyer's two lady-friends, Makena and Chelsea.
























Grandma Judy brings out the cake!

























And it's time to sing the birthday song!














































Blow out the candles!























You did it!



























Mmm...digging in.























Sawyer opened a couple of presents that night, but most were saved for the morning.





















Fer cool, Dad, a race car movie!! Blu-ray no less!





















Mom helps him disentangle pretty much the coolest truck ever from its impossible packaging.




















Thanks, Jack and Cael, it rules!!





















No surprise that he slept with it that night...

























It's hard to imagine that he could like it any more than he does, but he probably will, once he learns what Superman is...





















In the morning Sawyer dug into a few other gifts--totally awesome dino puppets from Makena!!






















Cool! French flashcards and a video from Grandma Bates, and a sweet jacket and hat!

Making the cake

I spent Wednesday evening getting Sawyer's birthday cake ready. Lemon-butter cake with lemon curd filling...









































...and lavender buttercream frosting. Mmm...











I had this vision of doing a blue and white swirl fondant, but try as I might I just couldn't get it to work, so we ended up with plain blue. Hopefully my mind will be working out a trick while I sleep so that I can eventually realize my swirly dream.














Tinted bits of fondant many colors and used animal cookie cutters










Oh the poor, hairy zebra. I've decided to get some lessons on old-school cake decoration: pastry bag, tips, piping, etc.
















I think the lion is my favorite.

Monkey Bizness!

Jack and Cael celebrated their 5th and 3rd birthdays respectively at Monkey Bizness, one of those lawless emporiums filled with dangerous inflatable playgrounds. Much fun was had by all, and no serious injuries were incurred (except for the removal of several layers of skin from Chris and Sarah's elbows).

Sawyer really enjoyed the enclosed trampoline:

































Floating in mid-air!


























Then he took some time-out for the toddler zone. Nothing is quite as much fun as placing a duck-shaped cushion on the slide, and then crashing into it as you come down. A great idea, Grandpa Gray.












































Now it's time for the serious slide, AKA, the Skinner!








































This is about the moment where I left some flesh behind. Note to self: wear long sleeves next time.





























Sawyer loved it!



























Too fast? There's no such thing. Whiplash? Never heard of it.

























After the party we went back to Doughtery's to open presents and play some more; Sawyer had a great time exploring Jack and Cael's new toys.
























Father proudly looks on.