Week 22/52

Gio lu.a ai oi !
Mai dzô, mai dzô

Reconnaissance

I was especially stoked when I heard Lil Miss N utter

'Je sais que tu travail très dure tous les jours mama.' with an utmost respect and recognition of what I do for her and her siblings everyday.

I feel vindicated and that my efforts are worthwhile even if they are not renumerated or have not materialised into a paycheck and will not be recognised by society at large as home duties, child rearing and housework are considered banal. It is as if those who simply tend their nests and take care of their own families are worthless because they do not contribute positively to society by way of paying taxes.

Aside from polemic and what not It is for those few touching words that I strive so hard for.

'Je t'aime de tout, tout, tout mon cœur'

Those are words to melt a mummy's heart.

Awww
It is not merely sentimental but purely love that ultimately renders us happy and balanced or whole.

Je vous aime tous mes chers, chers enfants pour toujours !
Ta maman cherie

Milestones

Petit Suisse
began teething and had his first tooth at 3 months
began walking at 13 months
spoke his first words at 2 and a half and spoke fluently at 3 years
was toilet trained during the day at 3 and a half
and had his first amourette at 6 years old

Lil Miss N
began teething around 10 months
walked her first steps at 10 and a half months
spoke at 2 years
was toilet trained at 2 years and a few months (it has become hazy since I did not document this at the time)

Baby Taz
began teething at 6 months
walked his first steps at 12 months
speaks a couple of words around 2 years and 3 months
is still in the process of being toilet trained

Baby Ben
had her first tooth at 10 months (sort of following in her sister's steps)
walked at 14 months
is already babbling 'mama', 'papa' and most impressively of all she utters 'Me.' which is Vietnamese for mum(not all that easy to pronounce and acquire) at 15 months
has not been put on the toilet training seat as yet

Week 21/52

Fête de l'espoir

Labour of love

Why I named these photos labour of love you may ask ?
It took a hell of an effort to transport the beloved chandelier from where it came to our home in one piece and then a mighty effort to drill a hole in the ceiling powerful enough to withold the weight and defy gravity, painfully putting all the pieces together pendeloque par pendeloque and finally suspending the whole structure to the hook.

It is indeed my pièce de resistance.

Vocabulary of a 2 year old

Baby Taz has added to his impressive vocabulary the following


'Oui Mama' which I love, I have got to admit the boy is right here

and
'Yo yo mec!' which has the equivalent of 'Yoh dude' or 'Hey dude!'

Week 20/52

Learning the alphabet with the help of foam is FUN !


Another memorable dish :eggplant stuffed (figuratively speaking) with pork paste

Week 19/52

My Mum's day gifts from my highly gifted, artistic and creative children


Lil Miss N's adorable and personalised table setting





Petit Suisse's thoughtful card


Lil Miss N's flower poesie

All their gifts together

Fêtes des Mères

First steps

Baby Ben aka Super glue has begun to take her first few tentative and ginger steps unassisted. She is well on her way to walking by herself. Out of the four she is in fact the one who starts walking the latest.

Marcher, marcher et marcher encore.

Interestingly she began climbing stairs well before she could walk several months ago at the tender age of 10 and a half months. She was already a pro stair climber back then and we all thought that walking was just a few steps away but she has taken her time. We are all entitled to take our own sweet time in physical development or psychological and mental... We are unique individuals and should not be pigeon-holed by our older siblings.

Baby Ben you're not so much a bébé as une petite fille now.

Bête noir

I do not know what it is exactly but the numerous attempts at creating an aromatic and flavourful Bun bo Hue has always fallen short of expectation. It is a recipe which I have yet to master and am close to just giving it all up. I deplore the lack of fresh ingredients which I can access in Geneva but in my humble opinion have still a long way to go before I perfect this dish. It is disconcerting because eventhough I do not like bun bo Hue all that much (which is another incentive for me to just give up already) I do want to attempt to at least make a decently satisfying version of it which has evaded me and yesterday was no exception.

I will definitely attempt it again when I have my mum babysitting kids so I can concentrate and not rush hence ruin my effort.

I will post pictures of the satisfying results.

Week 18/52

An ogre with finesse

A man of action and few words and more importantly who has a keen eye for attention which can be attributed to feminine traits