onicox's blog

Arthur is growing up well. He is testing us a lot and it's not easy every day.
He speaks better French. After spending more than six weeks with his mother, including four in Strasbourg, his vocabulary exploded.
Back in England, he speaks in English but not to his parents. I heard him talking to the childminder, the children at the playground ..
For the Italian, he fully understands it, but he doesn't say a lot of words and generally responds to his father in French. The few worda he knows, he doesn't use them with me anymore.
He recently turned 2 and half years old, so I decided to potty train him. It works pretty well. He ask for the potty to wee, sometimes he even manage to undress himself when he has just an underwear or pyjama. For the poo, is not yet done, but I know it takes longer, so I'm not worried.
For the motricity, his new trick is to jump. He is doing it really well.

About Rémi, he had a rather difficult beginning. He was crying all day, was sleeping only in our arms and ate very often which make him vomit.
I went to see some osteopath in England who only managed to make him feel better during the day of treatment, I went to see my chiropractor it was better, but not more than two or three days.
In France, Marc went to see an osteopath-magnetic and he did miracles. Rémi had a problem with his diaphragm, his left shoulder and his left side of the crane. Since then he has been seen, he has no more problems to burp, doesn't cry, except of course when he is hungry or sleepy. He sleeps better during the day and sometimes manages to fall asleep on his own.
Now he is a baby who smiles a lot when he looks at someone, especially his big brother. He is very ticklish and laughs often when he hears us talking (or just looking at Arthur!)
He loves to spend time on his play mat. But doesn't like being on his tummy.
I'll still go to see a physiotherapist because he still turns his head mainly on the right side (in consequence he has a flat skull) and he is often bent to the right side when he is standing or sitting on our knees. I want to be sure he won't have any problem of developement.

This is it for the children. Next episode: the parents.

That's it 30 years, Check - Done. Next!

It was a very nice birthday that I spent with my family. It was really hot during the day, so hot that in the evening we did a big BBQ. For my 30ies I've been spoiled, I'll spend a day driving cars around a tarmac track in the morning and a dirt one in the afternoon. At the end of the day I will have driven a Porsche AND a Ferrari AND a Lamborghini AND an Aston Martin AND a Subaru Impreza AND a Mitsubishi Evo 8, and because I will have my senses up side down I will have a round driven by a real driver to put everything back in order. It will definitely be an EXCELLENT day.

Then I spent the week with Jacopo, my Italian friend, to work with me on a project. We were so motivated that we did 9:00-23:00 during 5 days. Outside his job Jacopo take pictures, nothing to do with the kind I do no no, he takes real pictures with a real camera. Which give us the week from my point of view 1 2 and by Jacopo 1 2

But mostly those wonderful shots of our big boy. Thanks Jacopo.

Friday Jacopo went back home, Sunday it was my mother, so Marie was so sad that she's sick again and take again Amoxicillin, "miam miam" for Arthur.

Now we are waiting for the Carlucci-Leroux 2 !! It's going to be coooool !!

I thought I will have more time to post more often, but I was wrong!
Time flies really quickly! I am taking care of Arthur on Monday and Friday all day, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday he goes to the childminder for 6 hours which are these hours which go the quickest. I am taking the time on my own to prepare the baby's arrival, to do everything I can't do when Arthur is around and all the things I would like to do before the baby comes and takes even more of my time!
So, May is already gone and June has well started!
In the event which took place the past month:
- we enjoyed a really hot week end mid-may to go to the paddling pool and see some beautiful old cars. That same day, we had the pleasure to make one of our first BBQ with some new friends from Wallingford, Will (the Australian father), Belinda (the English mother), Lizzie (2 and half years old) and James (14 months)
- our friends, JB and Mimi, came to spend two days and one night at home with their children before to go back to Strasbourg.
- we went to do a 36 weeks scan to make sure that the placenta is not in front of the exit any more, which is the case, so I can have a natural birth is everything goes fine.
- Marc run 10K in Oxford, we were really pride of him, at least me
- Arthur and I went to the hairdresser. For me, she straightened my hair so I have two versions of my new do!

or

- we went to my Italian teacher's son's first birthday party and for once Arthur was pretty shy and wanted to play with the other children when we were leaving, typical!
- and at last, last week end, my cousin Sandrine came to visit with her children really quickly. It was short, but sweet!

Apart from that, Arthur is well, but he is going through a really hard opposition stage. It's not easy everyday. Me, I'm growing slowly everyday. We are in waiting process! My mum is coming in a week time and I have the feeling I will have even less time to post, but I am pretty sure Marc will do it to let you know about the great news!!!

Here we go again, one month spent in the speed of light.
The last news that we gave where just after Arthur's second birthday party. So many things happened since, that's why we were so quiet on the blog front!
From the 8th of April, we hosted Rosa (Marc's mum), Le nonne (Marc's grand-father) and Luc (Kathia's son, Marc's sister) for 11 days, but not long ago after there arrival (the 9th!), Dutschke family arrived for a week!
So to summarize, we were 6 adults and 3 children in the house for a week.
Melanie and David rented a car, so they spent the week traveling around the English countryside with or without us. Our evening were spent by play cards game or « Let's buy Hollywood », to eat some chocolate and to laugh around a cup of herbal tea.
The children liked each other more or less. Arthur was getting on Luc's nerve, scared Samuel in the bath, but he has being really friendly and let them play with his toys most of the time.
When all these people left, my sister Nathalie arrived on her own for 3 days. It was great, we discovered back each other. We see each other twice in the year and all the time with all the rest of the family, so in a difficult situation to talk about everyday things. She introduced to us a English girl who spent three months in her house, Sophie. It's the proof that the world is small, Sophie and her family leave half an hour away from us. We spent a lovely evening at her parents' house.

Adding to all the visits, we celebrated some birthday. Yes, all Arthur's friends turn 2, now. The 12th of April, a week ahead, we went to Elliot's party, the next day to Ben's (but we don't have any picture as we just poped in) and finally, last week end, Luke's party.

We also enjoyed the warm weather which chase the snow:
- we went to have a walk at Millet Farm with a colleague of mine, James and his family.
- We went to the park to play with bubbles.

In all the cheerful events, however we had a bad news. Fiona, the childminder, decided to quit to work in a nursery. It was a chock, but we found a couple which are both childminders. They are Fiona's friends, so Arthur knows them well, there names are Natalie and Robbie. His first week with them just passed and apart from a lake of sleep, he is really happy with them, he doesn't want to go home in the evening. He loves Robbie.

Now, in the everyday life news.
Arthur speaks more and more Italian, he repeats everything we say, does everything we do and we have to be really careful to not set the wrong example.
He is in his opposition phase and it's not easy every day.
He had his first dentist appointment to get use to him and of course didn't want to open his mouth i front of him, but it was his first contact. He started a homeopathic treatment for his asthma and he doesn't cough for a month now. He also stopped to drink cow milk and drinks goat milk instead which seems to make it work too.
He talks a lot about wee-wee and poo, but he is not interested by potty training at all.

Marc went to Malta for 4 days, but he will tell the story himself. He came back tanned.
He still has a lot of work.
He also started a homeopathic treatment for his sinus and he is blowing his nose less and less.

About me, I am on maternity leave at the end of next week. We will have a scan next Friday to see if the placenta is not in front of the exit anymore and will allow me to have a natural birth. Baby is moving still a lot.
I am suffering of swollen ankles and feet because of the pregnancy and the heat, but I can have a foot massage almost every evening so I am not complaining

Here we go, I tried to go to the essential. Soon, for sure, I will have more time to write more.

Yesterday, we celebrated Arthur's birthday with our post natal group. Two of the children were missing, Jacob and Eva, but we were still 6 children and 8 adults.
Arthur had difficulties to blow his candles, but he was happy. He has been spoiled. He got a puzzle with vehicles, a truck which caries a digger, a book about a Kangourou and some painting pen.
Here are some pictures and a video:

Olwen and the truck:

Luke and the Beatle:


Emily:



And to keep going the party, today we went to Ben's with Olwen!!!!

First of all, we began the week with a good and a bad news. We won’t go to Nantes to see my family because of a lack of organization and money, but our friends HK and Kaia will visit us from Paris. Good reason to stay in England.

Arthur chose both at the same time!!

OK, my New Year resolution of writing a post per week hasn’t been followed, but I have good excuses!!

We were supposed to go to Bristol to celebrate the English prisoners arrival in Australia, with our Australian friends of course (it's bank holiday, over there), but the three of us are sick. Arthur has a big cough and Marc and I have a cold. So we stayed in our warm home. Arthur still managed to make himself a big bruise on the forehead!
But we had the pleasure to see our unborn baby, Friday morning.
Everything is fine and we managed to see every single detail except the sex as planned.
Here is a picture, but it is shy as it is showing its back!