Happy Easter!

Susannah's first Easter was so much fun. So much fun, in fact, that we forgot to take any pictures of her by herself in her adorable dress. We were too focused on church, family picture, lunch, and the egg hunt to remember the most important part, baby photo shoot in adorable monogrammed Easter dress. (Thanks to Mommy's best friend Elizabeth who sent this to her all the way from Nashville.) Here are some of the photos we did manage to snag during all the action.

Even though we haven't been going to church much lately, (our church doesn't have a nursery and while we think Susannah's chatting and squealing is adorable, we are pretty sure the rest of the congregation wants to hear the sermon.) we decided to brave it for Easter. I prayed all morning that Susannah would be in a quiet, mellow mood and she was! She was perfectly behaved during the entire service. Here we are singing....



Susannah was excited to meet her friend Christine Rose, who was born just 2 weeks before Susannah. Eloise and I were pregnant together and have been so excited for our daughters to meet. They just stared and stared at each other. After several attempts, this was the best photo we could manage. Notice how Susannah seems to be tiring of the photo-shoot.


After church we walked home to take a family photo in the park before heading out of the city for our lunch plans. It was really muggy and hot and I was tempted to skip this photo shoot, but Peter pointed out that half of the fun of family photos is everybody being miserable, so we decided to go for it. It also occurred to me that this year will probably be the easiest Easter photo ever because Susannah isn't mobile yet and we only have one of her. After some adjusting and situating.......

and despite our nap-deprived sleepiness.....

we actually managed a nice family Easter photo.




Our friends Phillipe and Evodia were kind enough to invite us to join them for their family lunch. Their grandchildren were there and Evodia hid Easter eggs and other prizes in her backyard for the kids. She loves Susannah and insisted that Susannah participate in the hunt with the other kids.



With a little help from Evodia, Susannah found the toy that the Easter Bunny had left her.

And she loved it!

After the egg hunt came delicious dessert and coffee. We forgot to take pictures of the table before lunch, but it was beautiful. Decorated with an egg tree as is tradition in Greece, Evodia's home country. As part of our salad course we each had a dyed egg to eat. They were each different colors and patterns. It was such a fun, festive meal.


Susannah also made friends with Evodia's youngest granddaughter, Naomi. She loved Susannah and only wanted to play with "le bébé."


The day was so fun-filled that we missed out on our naps, so by late afternoon, we were ready to go........


But what an amazing day it was! God has blessed us so abundantly with a "family of friends" here in France and we are so thankful for all of their kindness and hospitality. When we leave Strasbourg in a couple of months, we will take these sweet memories with us and be forever grateful for them.

Mum-Mum Gam, Papa, Aunt Liz and Uncle Will

In the past few weeks, we have had a busy apartment. Peter's parents were here for the first week of April and then a couple of days after they left, his sister Liz and her husband Will arrived. Having them meet Susannah was so fun for all of us.

We were so excited for Susannah to meet her Mum-Mum Gam and Papa that we probably acted a little too dramatic, which led to Susannah being a little on the scared side for the first few hours of their visit. Everytime they held her, she would poke out that lower lip and cry. But, by our afternoon coffee outing, she had already started to warm up to them as you can see in these pictures.


On the second day of the visit, Peter had class and I needed to do some grocery shopping, so we left Susannah with Mum-Mum Gam and Papa. Lucky for us, they had four kids and don't mind a little crying since Susannah apparently wasn't the happiest of campers during my absence. But, by the time I returned, she seemed pretty comfy on Gam's shoulder:


We took advantage of the beautiful spring weather by driving into the Black Forest for a short hike and lunch with a view.




Susannah loved the view from the restaurant.

We had several delicious Alsatian meals on sunshine filled terraces:



Susannah was even sweet enough to let us eat in peace......most of the time at least.

Since dinner time coincides with bath time, we ate most of our evening meals at the apartment. The highlight dinner was definitely the "Tour de France" cheese basket. Paired with some Alsatian Pinot Noir, fresh fruit, and salad, this meal was close to perfect.



By the end of the week, I think it was safe to say that Susannah LOVES both her Papa

and her Mum-Mum Gam.


A couple of days later, Susannah got to meet her Aunt Liz and Uncle Will.


It turns out that this trip was perfect timing for them to get a little hands-on practice with babies as they brought the amazing news that Susannah will have her first little cousin in early October!! Congrats you guys! After watching you both with Susannah, we have no doubt you guys are going to be great. Honestly, I kept thinking how you guys already know way more than I did when Susannah was born. :)




In addition to baby care practice, we checked out some of Strasbourg's highlights, such as the weekly market:


and the tasty Tarte Flambée:


Thanks to Papa, Mum-Mum Gam, Aunt Liz and Uncle Will for such wonderful visits! Susannah is already looking forward to July when she can be reunited with you all!

Paris

We headed to Paris a few weeks ago for a quick three day trip. It was Susannah's first trip to the most romantic city in the world, and a great chance for Peter and I to say au revoir to the city where we started this big Olmsted adventure.

We had a great time, but quickly realized that sightseeing in a big city happens at a very different pace when you add a baby to the mix. (especially one that doesn't take a bottle.) By the end of the trip, we determined that from now on, to accurately plan our time, we should map out an itinerary we would have followed pre-Susannah and cut that by 2/3 to make our new realistic itinerary.

We decided to spend our first afternoon at Notre Dame. Peter had never been inside the church and we were excited to check it out.


After Notre Dame, we spent the evening on one of the Seine River cruises. We had never done this before and it seemed like the perfect little family excursion.


We managed to salvage our planned Eiffel Tower family picture despite Susannah's perfectly planned diaper incident.


Overall, the boat ride was a great success!


The next day we took a long, sunny walk from our apartment in the Marais district to the Army Museum. Here are Peter and Susannah outside the Louvre.


We also walked by Quai d'Orsay (France's ministry of foreign affairs) and happened upon the president of Guinea as he was leaving.



Here, Susannah and I are in front of the Army Museum where Napolean also happens to be buried.


After a lunch at our favorite restaurant, we headed over to the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower to enjoy the sunny afternoon.

During our two years of traveling in Europe, Peter and I have determined that an afternoon of people watching in the local park is almost always time better spent than in a museum or church. This is even more true now that we have Susannah. This was probably our favorite time of the entire trip.

After 5 full minutes of Mommy trying to get the perfect shot of Daddy and Susannah with Eiffel Tower in the background, I'm pretty sure she was thinking, "Give it up and just enjoy the afternoon, Mommy!" Or at least that's what I think this face is trying to say.


Our last day consisted of a morning photography exhibit that didn't allow photos and an afternoon with another Olmsted Scholar, Tim Gallagher. We forgot to take pictures with him as well, but loved hanging out and seeing his apartment. (Susannah thanks baby Tim for allowing us to use his nursery so she could eat.)

It was a sunny fun-filled trip that we were so happy to have shared.



Leaving was bittersweet as we knew it would be a while before we visited this beautiful city again. But no worries, we will most definitely be back one day. :)