cooking with Adrien . . more than fun!

Adrien and I have a few things in common , same sense of humor, we love to sing and dance, and the most obvious one . . . WE LOVE TO EAT : " MMMHH" .

I 've been realizing the last few weeks that we also share the same enthusiasm and love for cooking. He's been helping me around the house so much lately, and when we cook together we always have a wonderful time. There's a profound sense of accomplishment when you bond with your child and you know you are both enjoying the experience. I love to see the sparkle in his eyes, we share winks (well he blinks when I wink ;) ), laughters . . . it's become my favorite activity. So as we were making lemon mousse together on Friday I decided to start another blog dedicated to cooking with children. I will post a recipe each week and post a few pictures of how we prepared it together. I hope other parents can try the recipes out with their kids and share similar joyful experiences, and even if no one ever sees the recipes I know Adrien and I will always cherish these special times together.

Who's ready for 52 simple and delicious recipes ? I will start this weekend, but right now I am trying to come up with a good name for the blog . . . something catchy . . . anyone has any suggestions ?

we love summer

Awesome pool birthday parties, BBQ with friends, pool playdates, favorite frozen yogurt place Yummylicious, sweet cuddles between Duff and Adrien, fun workouts with friends . . . Can summer be any more fun ?

Feeling fortunate for everything we have, the love, health and friendships. LIFE IS GOOD!

Lucky girl

Funny how fast you evolve and grow as a parent.

Two years ago I could barely leave Adrien for 15 minutes, now I am able to go to Austin with wonderful girlfriends and stay overnight :)

Christophe used to be a little nervous around newborn Adrien, and now he's a pro with him :) He was able to take care of a puppy and a toddler for two days, clean the entire house and take the weeds out in the front yard . . . I was truly impressed when I came back ! The best part is that he acknowledged how much harder it is now to juggle both of them the whole day. Just to know that he "knows", makes me feel so much better. Having an empathetic & helpful hubby really made my day!!! I feel so lucky !

The past few days all the excitement was building up . . . three more days, two, one, . . . and finally it was time for our much anticipated GIRLS TRIP TO AUSTIN :) Woohoo !!

There were seven of us, two cars, pillows, suitcases and updated IPod playlists ;) How fun !!

I am truly lucky to know such a wonderful group of women who all have amazing qualities and talents. I respect them and learn from them on a daily basis and felt so relaxed the whole weekend thanks to all the laughter and camaraderie that was going on. Thank you all for a wonderful weekend and fun memories I will always cherish!! Who's up for another weekend in a few months ? Hi hi hi :)

All we wanted to do on Saturday afternoon was to RELAX and enjoy the pool. We were the first ones there and got the lounge chairs. No toddlers to watch, babies to nurse . . . a nice change of pace. We told people we were all here for Elizabeth's bachelorette party ;)

We went to Malaga Tapas & bar on Saturday night - the best place for a fun and delicious dinner (perfect choice Jodie;). We shared Sangria and tapas and delicious deserts !! Mmh Mmh Mmh :) Each bite was delightful and we all had a wonderful time !!

Elizabeth (can't really tell she's due soon ), Maggie and Jodie

After dinner we went to a bar that had a rooftop - forgot the name of it - the sangria probably impaired my memory :) - We got to sit there for a little while ;) until other people arrived and ordered an expensive bottle of alcohol (over $200) . . . could not compete with that but we were ready to go back to the hotel anyway.
Jodie, Maggie, Elizabeth, Czarina and I - Watch out Austin Here we come !

Czarina and I on the rooftop :)

Marissa and Lisa were both nursing and were amazing. They were pumping every few hours :), had to leave after dinner to pump, and came right back to join us :) Impressive !

we really belonged in the VIP lounge - Look at us !

Brunch at Corbey Lane on Sunday morning - I got to taste Migas for the first time : DELICIOUS

We were all pretty hungry :)

The rest of the girls headed back home after brunch. Lisa had to feed sweet Aubrey Jane who got through the whole reserve of milk she had prepared for her. Duty calls ;)

Maggie, Jodie and I decided to take a little drive around the city, and I played tourist, popped my head up the sunroof and took pictures as Maggie was driving and Jodie telling us about the city. It was fun !

I loved the vibe of the city. It was beautiful, a lot of areas reserved for pedestrian & bikers, eclectic mix of old and new buildings . . . really enjoyed it !!

We ended the trip with a "quick" stop of the outlets and were home by 5 pm.

What a PERFECT weekend!!

Our little Chef

Last week we went to a great playdate where all the kids got to make their own pizza. Adrien really enjoyed it and so tonight to celebrate his last swimming lesson, I promised him we would make our own pizza at home. Adrien was so cute, he was really excited. We went shopping for the ingredients together but could not find a roller, we'll have to go to Target next week to get one.
Adrien was very focused and liked to flatten the dough.
He chose his toppings: cheese and ham . He would cut a little piece put it on the pizza and then cut another piece and eat it . . . reminded me of what I do when I cook ;) hi hi hi :)

Adrien was super happy to see his pizza and happily exclamed: " Miam Miam " and " MMMHH" . He ate his whole slice and insisted we keep a slice for "papa". I asked if I could get a slice and he said no, only for dad and I . . . Christophe LOVEd that reply and really enjoyed eating his slice.

I am so happy our son shares our enthusiasm for cooking and eating ;) It's such a big part of our every day routine... Simple moments bring us so much joy !

pool lessons and potty training

Fun week at Stroller Strides , we had lunch afterwards and Adrien and Claire practiced with the tubes :)

Adrien started his swimming lessons this week with his buddy Carter. The instructor comes to the house and the boys are improving so fast. Today Adrien got to swim from the border to the stairs under water. We got it on film but I did not get to download it yet. He seems to prefer swimming under water , it scares us the first time he did it but it was fun seeing him so happy and proud of himself.

Duff loves to lay down near the fireplace and stay inside in the afternoon, it's gotten too hot for him.
Big improvement this week, Adrien has been wearing underwear now for three days and constantly asks to go ... no accidents so far :) He still prefers to pee outside but is also using the potty.

Adrien likes to pretend he's napping on the mat . . . wish it was true ;) hi hi :)

We got the furminator and were so happy to see all the hair coming out . . . less hair in the house.

We celebrated that our big boy is clean and potty trained by having dinner at Cici's pizza. Christophe and Adrien's favorite place :)