Catching my breath...

The snow samba

Michelle C — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:30:00 GMT

The snow samba, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

This is Arnaud after finishing shoveling for the second time. That was at about 3pm. Right now there is about another inch on the ground but it has FINALLY stopped.

Claire turns one

Michelle C — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:52:00 GMT

Claire turns one, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

Seeing all these photos together in one place makes it more believable that it really has been one year!
This little girl is such a joy in our family. She is all smiles all the time. She has been walking for a month now. Babbling and making herself understood. She uses several bits of sign language to help in that effort. She idolizes her big brother and is totally in love with her papa. She keeps me company all day long (I hate the mornings that I have to hand her over to the babysitter to work at the bakery.)
Of course, we are on a fast track to toddlerhood and all the "fun" that goes with that. But with such a sweet temperament to begin with, I'm hoping that it will be easy sailing. Keep your fingers crossed!

Lil pinky

Michelle C — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:36:00 GMT

Lil pinky, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

This little one is so curious about everything. And she wants to do and touch everything I have - including my camera. It makes it virtually impossible to get any decent pictures these days. Unless that is, you stand on the couch above her, perched with your leg against a big window to get the light just right. Oh, the lengths I will go ;)

Pretty blue eyes

Michelle C — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:29:00 GMT

Pretty blue eyes, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

I just realized when I uploaded this, and a couple of other photos, that I haven't uploaded in almost an entire month. Now, what's up with that? I could enumerate all the excuses but what good would that do. It's just, as with the rest of the world, I was too busy. Days quickly turn into weeks and just as quickly turn into months. And so many things I've been meaning to do are still piling up the to-do list.
This passage of time is even more evident when I think about the fact that this sweet little baby (or should I now say girl?) is turning one in a week. Last time this year, we had settled in to the "big wait." Grammy and Bompie were finishing up her room. I was having false labor and everyday seemed like the longest in history! Funny how that is, really. We are never satisfied with the speed at which things are moving. Last year too slow, this year too fast.
It all reminds me that this year, instead of a New Year's resolution, I chose a word to remind of what I want and need. I chose "FOCUS". I want to keep focus when I so easily get distracted, I want to focus on what's important, I want focus on who's important. Just focus.
So picking up my camera this afternoon, that's just what I did. After running around most of the day, I slowed us down for a bit. Put on some music and focused on just Claire.
Focus.

Speedy

Michelle C — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:03:00 GMT

If she's going this fast after 6 days, I suppose she'll be sprinting at her birthday?

11 months old

Michelle C — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:27:00 GMT

Cutie, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

It truly blows my mind that this girl was born 11 months ago today. In the blink of an eye, it seems like I went from being enormously pregnant to now having a toddler in the house.
I was looking through photos on New Year's Eve, trying to pick my 12 favorites. And it was so amazing to see all the changes in all of us. But of course, the changes with Claire are the most obvious. In the last couple of months, I've been so busy keeping up with her that it's been hard to keep up with updates.
She's now able to walk. But she doesn't always choose to do so. You see, she's in a real hurry. Have to catch up to big brother, have to try and catch those darn cats. And many other wonderful attractions. And when you've mastered the speedy head-down crawl, you really don't have time for toddling to your goal. So little steps have been made and continue to happen but it's perfectly alright with me if she slows down just a little.
I have to keep reminding myself to slow down and take it all in. Savor all these little moments. I have to stop myself from rushing through things like giving her a bath or feeding her. Because I know from my blurry, vague memories of Julien as a baby that these moments are minute compared to the years ahead of us. Just as these 11 months have flown by, so will the next and the next after that. I sometimes wonder if my memories of his baby-hood are so vague because I didn't stop to take it all in.
So tonight as she was crazy happy as I turned on the water to her bath, I watched her splash a little longer and I held onto this little day a little longer.

12 Favorite photos of 2009

Michelle C — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:06:00 GMT

12 Favorite photos of 2009, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

Seeing as it's the last day of a very memorable year, I wanted to do something to look back at it all. BUT the task of looking through all my photos was just way too daunting. So it was a relief to me to read a challenge on a blog I read: Set a timer for 12 minutes, search your digital photo library for 12 photos you love.
OK, so I have to admit that it took me a tad longer than 12 minutes. But I did stop myself from taking too long at it. Obviously, this is not at all an exhaustive collection of my favorite photos for the year. But in the 25 minutes I took, these are the ones that either popped out at me or I went searching for.
A wonderful glimpse into our 2009.

Look out world!

Michelle C — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Snowstorm December 2009

Michelle C — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:31:00 GMT

Snowstorm December 2009, originally uploaded by jmcouraud.

It started falling Friday night and continued non-stop until 9pm Saturday. Snow, lots and lots of snow. We measured 19 inches on our front step. Julien measured 16.5 inches on the sidewalk.
It was quite a weekend!

Big Snowstorm

Michelle C — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:47:00 GMT