Parents' Night at School

Friday afternoon after school, parents were invited to come into Estelle's classroom so that the children could show them all the things they had been doing lately. I paid a babysitter (an American exchange student who is unfortunately leaving in a week) to stay home with Léna so that for once I could concentrate just on Estelly Welly. At 4:45, the show began:
Croquses
This is the calendar, absentee list, etc. Girls on the left, boys on the right. The little green names you see added on to some days all part of the advent calendar idea this teacher cooked up.
See some of the French names of the other girls with Estelle:
There are more boys that girls:
It's an interesting mix of names: Elie and Elias are Jewish boys' names. Wissem and Amar come from Arab families and thus have Arab names. Alexandre is African but he comes from a former French colony in African which explains the French name despite the fact that he and his parents struggle to communicate with the teacher. Everyone else is "French", more or less. Marco's father is Italian but his mother is English.
Above: Estelle shows one of the many things she has in her "book". Below: Every morning when she arrives, Estelle picks her card out of a pile on a table and goes and hangs it up on this little house on the wall. Below she recreated this for the photo opp:
These are lentils which they sprouted.

Advent goodies, hanging from an upside down stripped umbrella. Good idea! The kids all made these cones filled with candies (which they sorted and counted by category and color as a math exercise) and then each day they pick by lottery a number and that kid gets to take home his advent candy. It's a great system. Estelle STILL hasn't had her number called. She is very patient.
Above: Estelle shows her "book" to Thomas. Inside are all the different projects they have done which teach a different skill - like coloring in the lines (whatever) or putting things in order, matching, etc. Below: With a Christmas tree she had made:

Thomas surprised us by coming home early and showing up at this event. That made it extra special for Estelle.
Here is Françoise, Estelle's teacher. She is an absolute delight.
It was so great to have a chance to really get into her classroom and get a gander at stuff. Though, I have started volunteering a little English lesson in Estelle's class 3 times now so I am getting to develop a relationship with the Teacher a bit off the beaten path which is useful! I struggle to remember all those names though. And I think I butcher some of the pronunciations.
The photo below just is a cute one of Estelle and Léna watching a video sent by Aunt Laura of people singing the Hallelujah Chorus. They were transfixed.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like....

...peanut butter balls. Thanks Aunt Mart & Mary for the recipe!

"I wish my brother George was here"*

*Bugs Bunny , 1955
Can you make out that old man wheeling my blanket-wrapped piano into my building?
Wednesday, our new used piano was delivered. It is a white Hanlet 6-octave.
This was around flight of steps #5. They carried it all the way up using straps that went around their backs. Up and around all the landings.
Here's the grandfather and the grandson - you don't see the father on the other end...
15 minutes later...
Thursday afternoon, getting home from school, right at it again.
I feel lucky to have found a compact affordable solution to my 2-decade piano dream.

Ironically, being in a small apartment seems to have one great advantage - the piano is front and center and not in the basement or up against a discreet wall out of the way someplace.
It is very soft compared to the piano I was raised on, and it feels smooth under my fingertips, light, resonant. Everytime I walk past, I am elated.

Musical Genius?

Here are a few old photos I found of Estelle when she was around the same age as Léna now.


Okay this one is not the same age but it is so cute:


And here's a video of our musical genius:

Advent Season!

This is Estelle yesterday with her great PlayMobile Advent calendar that Papy & Manou got her back at Halloween time. She has been waiting and waiting!


You see the little 3-D scene on the left, and in the middle box each day there is a new piece behind one of the doors to put together and then place on the scene. Below: A different kind of Advent calendar, by a Vermont artist, given to Estelle by my Dad's cousin's wife Emilie who has an art gallery. She gave this to us in February and I squirreled it away and dug it out yesterday!
It is all about what animals do/where they go in winter, very informative. It's called Wildlife in Winter, made in Vermont! So far Estelle has learned that skunks spend their winter in "torpor". Have no clue what this means! (Cedric, little help plz). This morning we learned that ladybugs "overwinter in large colonies". I seem to remember them on my mother's parlour curtains!
Meanwhile, last Sunday we had lunch at my old Scottish boss' place. They had their wood stove fired up and Léna just kept peeling off clothes - we all did! Reminded me of my dad. Then she found a helmet and a water noodle and that was all she needed for the whole afternoon.

P.s. those yellow fruit you see in the bottom corner are quince.
Below: the annual olive harvest at Xavier's house. Rain, cold, awful conditions but I was there anyway.



We had 320 kilos that day.
Back at the ranch, if she can put in on, she will:
One evening several weeks back we had some anglo-friendly friends from down the street over for a drink. I met them at the pool whilst pregnant with Léna. This is their daughter Salome who is 3 months younger than Léna.

Cuddle time:


And here's an old video from September. Dancing with the stars!

A visit from Londoners

This lovely woman is my friend Janette, who lives outside of London with her husband and 5 kids but has a stylin' pad here in Nice as well. I met her in 2005 when I answered an advert for someone looking for a Latin tutor for her 11 year old boy, Benjamin.


Here's Benjamin now, and Eleanor, showing Estelle how the Brits draw!
They visited us at the end of October - they don't live here anymore like they did that year I tutored Benjamin, but they still come often for vacations. We always enjoy seeing them!
Estelle loves having "big kids" to play with!
Below, an old video from one of our last trips to the beach this year which I never posted. Estelle sings an old favorite tune....