Awe Paris at the ripe old age of 22 months - what a lucky girl! And at this point in our trip we are into a traveling groove. We arrived in Paris on New Years Eve around 5pm to find out that once again the apartment I pre-arranged wasn't going to work out - I was quite mad to say the least. Dylan is screaming up and down the street excited to be out of the car, Matt's chasing after her and I'm trying to figure out how to make an international call and use my rusty french to try and talk to people to make other arrangements. It wasn't so much the money lost that I was mad about (we've since gotten that portion back) it was the time in arranging another place - ON New Years Eve evening with a toddler! Luckily it all worked out, we were able to book a hotel for a few nights before Matt found a great little apartment in the Montmartre district - which we loved.
Our New Years Eve was pretty low key - we found a quite little restaurant and had a yummy dinner and then headed back to our hotel. It was an early evening for the Clarks. The next day we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, which apparently there was a big hoopla the night before because there was all kinds of trash - confetti, champagne bottles, paper, beer cans.... Well little missy being the eco girl that she is saw all the garbage and started picking it up saying "trash" and taking it to the garbage can. Well this was cute for the first few minutes but after 5 and not seeing the end of the garbage in sight we had to steer her in another direction as we'd probably still be there picking up all the trash!
One thing that really helped our travels in Paris was our sitter, Madison, taught Dylan a few french words - like Bonjour and Merci - with just those few words and that cute little face the French were like pudding in our hands.
Here's Dylan back on the Chou-Chou, like I said before it was her favorite part of the trip. She even memorized the entrances and when we'd pass by one she start yelling "chou-chou, dadda chou-chou".
Sweet picture of a girl and her dad.
Here's a few shots of Dylan and what we called her "chou-chou" dance as she'd get so excited to see another train pass by us. Her arms would start waving, her legs start jumping, and she'd yell (loudly, I might add) "Chou-Chou, Chou-Chou, bye Chou-Chou".
Well Dylan learned quickly that when in Paris you shop and being our girl she learned quickly you shop for shoes. She eyed a nice purple suede pair in this window - luckily it was after hours and they were closed!
Uh, guess someone was a little hungry...
Driving miss momma.
Awe, Notre Dame.
Back at the apartment Dylan found a tool kit. Usually we wouldn't really let her run around the house with a screw driver and hammer but after constantly through out the trip telling her 'don't touch this and don't touch that' we figured the girl needed a few toys to play with. And by the looks of her from the picture she had it all figure out what tools you use to fix what.
Here's a picture of the Sacre Coeur right by where we were staying. One night we hiked up the hill to check it out - it was quite a sight and even better was the view of all of Paris!
The next day we found a really awesome little bakery just a few blocks from our apartment. We stopped in for a baguette and found ourselves munching on chocolate croissants and cappuccinos and warm steamed milk for miss d. It was one of those really fun unplanned moments.
Back at the apartment again and I guess this time the dryer needed fixing - yes, those are wire cutters, come on the girl needed something to play with!
We even had her reviewing maps for the next day's event.
(notice the crossed feet).
"Hum, well if we took that subway to that stop then transferred to the red line...."
Awe the Pere Lachaise Cemetery - one of my favorite places to visit in Paris (besides my very favorite little Indian textile shop - which we did find!). It's a very old and very beautiful cemetery - I just love it. It was a nice day and we thought it would be a great spot for Dylan to run off some energy.
Okay so maybe she ran off a little too much energy! Before heading back to the apartment we ducked into a bike shop Matt wanted to check out - honestly we weren't in there very long when we looked down and found Dylan passed out cold. We weren't sure what to do (as if we moved her it would risk waking her up) - We felt a little bad as she didn't look to comfortable but figured sleep out weight comfort. I wrapped my scarf around her head to keep it warm and make it a little darker for her to rest. We ducked into a restaurant and had a nice quiet little lunch together (as usually one of us is chasing after d). We even got to enjoy our after lunch cappuccinos!
Bath time fun!
Make sure you read all the labels Dylan.
And here's a little video of Dylan running after her dad in the Pere Lachaise Cemetry.
"Hey Mom, looks that's me in that book." For Dylan's up coming birthday our dear friend Madison surprised Dylan with a book about Dylan and all the good times they had together over the past few years. It was a VERY touching sweet sweet book and Dylan thought it was soooo fun that she was actually in a book - as she LOVES her books. Thank you Madison - what a very touching and very thoughtful gift. We love it and we love you!!!!
...today while Momma was away. Madison and Dylan bought some face paints and went to town. Is that my daughter or do we now own a kitty? Ha! They had a great time and I got a good laugh! That Madison is always thinking of the best stuff to do! The other day I asked Dylan "What do you want to do today with Madison?" and all on her own she says "Go shopping and get my nails done". Talk about a good laugh!!!!
This entry is a dedication to Madison. Oh how we would be lost without her! It's hard to know exactly what to call her - friend, babysitter, nanny, playmate.... The list is long but what I do know for sure is that she is AMAZING! Every time I come home not only is our house is covered in art project and fun activities that she's come up with to entertain Miss d, the house is clean, dishes are done, Dylan has learned where she lives, her age, name, to count and other things in many different languages, there are new songs, dances, oh the list goes on and on. And best of all at the end of the day/night there is always a cute little detailed note of what they did everyday with a little titled piece of art on it. I save every sheet and add it to Dylan book so she'll know the amazing influence she had. Time to time Madison talks about going back to L.A. - oh how I dread the day!!!!! She had not only been a huge lifesaver - I know whenever I leave for a day, a night, a week that Madison has it covered, no problem! So we wanted to give a shout out to Madison and let her know how much we love, appreciate, respect, and NEED her to stick around! Plus she's sweet (and funny) to have around. AND Dylan "Madison's girl" just adores her. Thanks Madison!!!! You are the best and we'll be lost without you!!!
Here's a couple of fun video's of the event.
Awe Paris at the ripe old age of 22 months - what a lucky girl! And at this point in our trip we are into a traveling groove. We arrived in Paris on New Years Eve around 5pm to find out that once again the apartment I pre-arranged wasn't going to work out - I was quite mad to say the least. Dylan is screaming up and down the street excited to be out of the car, Matt's chasing after her and I'm trying to figure out how to make an international call and use my rusty french to try and talk to people to make other arrangements. It wasn't so much the money lost that I was mad about (we've since gotten that portion back) it was the time in arranging another place - ON New Years Eve evening with a toddler! Luckily it all worked out, we were able to book a hotel for a few nights before Matt found a great little apartment in the Montmartre district - which we loved.
Our New Years Eve was pretty low key - we found a quite little restaurant and had a yummy dinner and then headed back to our hotel. It was an early evening for the Clarks. The next day we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, which apparently there was a big hoopla the night before because there was all kinds of trash - confetti, champagne bottles, paper, beer cans.... Well little missy being the eco girl that she is saw all the garbage and started picking it up saying "trash" and taking it to the garbage can. Well this was cute for the first few minutes but after 5 and not seeing the end of the garbage in sight we had to steer her in another direction as we'd probably still be there picking up all the trash!
One thing that really helped our travels in Paris was our sitter, Madison, taught Dylan a few french words - like Bonjour and Merci - with just those few words and that cute little face the French were like pudding in our hands. 
Here's a few shots of Dylan and what we called her "chou-chou" dance as she'd get so excited to see another train pass by us. Her arms would start waving, her legs start jumping, and she'd yell (loudly, I might add) "Chou-Chou, Chou-Chou, bye Chou-Chou".
Well Dylan learned quickly that when in Paris you shop and being our girl she learned quickly you shop for shoes. She eyed a nice purple suede pair in this window - luckily it was after hours and they were closed!
Driving miss momma.
Awe, Notre Dame.
Here's a picture of the Sacre Coeur right by where we were staying. One night we hiked up the hill to check it out - it was quite a sight and even better was the view of all of Paris!
(notice the crossed feet).
"Hum, well if we took that subway to that stop then transferred to the red line...."
Bath time fun!
Make sure you read all the labels Dylan.
Finally took the coat off and worked up a thirst.
G-ma Montana was coming at the end of the week and I had been prepping Dylan for her arrival. We had been working on saying Grandma as a surprise. Since I was down in Ashland working I asked Madison to work on it with Dylan. Madison being the fabulous sitter that she is had Dylan not only saying Grandma in 6 different languages but also writing Grandma in two (at least that was our joke). Madison held up her bargain and Dylan was shouting out Gandma (yes, I meant Gandma) upon her arrival.
(And yes, for those noticing that is a ponytail!).
Watch out we have a new Picasso amongst us!
Dylan just loves Teacher Dana! And she's really fabulous with the kids.
Here's a great shot of our friend, Madison, and miss d heading out for a walk! They are the best of buds and always have so much fun together.
