09/07 4eme semaine/ 4th week

Helas, je n'ai pas vole cette semaine, Kate me demandant son aide cette semaine. Le manque de sommeil, un bebe qui ne dort pas forcement quand il faudrait, le fait qu'elle est coincee seule a la maison lorsque je suis au travail, et elle commence serieusement a fatiguer la pauvre!
Du coup, j'en profite avec les calins, les sourires, et donner un bain a mademoiselle et lui revetant la serviette ours polaire!

Love my husband and baby girl.

09/07 3eme semaine/ 3rd week

Je n'ai pas beaucoup vole cette semaine. Au decollage de Houston, la lumiere " R LO OIL PRESS" s'est allumee, ce qui veut dire que le moteur n'a plus de pression d'huile. Parce que nous etions encore en vitesse basse, l'interruption du decollage n'a pas pose de probleme. Retour au parking. On met de l'huile dans le moteur, seulement on en met beaucoup, pas comme d'habitude! et en plus le moteur fume un peu quand on l'eteind, pas bon signe tous ca... Les mecanos viennent avec leur ordinateur telecharger les donnees du moteur, et le verdict tombe: il faut changer le moteur!

Tous cela a pris du temps, et meme en prenant une airline pour aller chercher un avion a l'autre bout du pays, le resultat est qu'on a pas fait grand chose cette semaine...

J'ai fini dans les Appalaches cependant, cette superbes chaines de collines dans l'est du pays qui et qui s'étend de Terre-Neuve au Canada, jusqu'a l'Alabama. C'est joli d'ou la photo.

Good evening from the White House. Or the beige house, which, frankly, looks like all the other beige houses here in wonderful Arizona.

This week was another busy week of full time Mom and new daughter. We worked hard on our exercises for the torticollis because I was bound and determined that we would have improvement. Sometimes I've very, very tired, nearly too tired to do all the exercises after just a few hours sleep and many missed opportunities for daytime naps. But I forced myself. God knows where the strength comes from. Probably from that same stubborness that got me up and down that mountain five times per day year around in AZ. But, mostly, from being determined that Florence would have options other than only dating men who live in bell towers in Paris churches, I guess.

So, yeah!, she is making progress. Yeah! She and I were slowing down again, though, when she seemed to be missing alot of her naps. No, not that they weren't being offered but that things were interrupting. For those who never took 24/7 care of an infant, it can take hours to convince the li'l devils to nap because when they should be sleeping they decide it's much more fun to play. And then when, mercily, you do finally get them to a state of slumber, something unexpected wakes them - a dog barking, your joints cracking, the wooden crib doing "creak!" or, it never fails, some gigantic sneeze that no matter how hard you try you can't seem to control and, oh, how it just nearly makes you cry, because you're so tired from all the hours without sleep and oh so desperate for even 10 minutes of rest. But the noise comes and "boooowb!" her little eyes pop open again and you cry inside and out from the thought of how much longer it will be for her to sleep again. (Though there's also this very odd phenomenon wherein you can let a big sneeze rip and nothing, she doesn't wake, but a teeny, tiny joint makes a teeny, tiny crack sound and her eyes pop open....go figure...God surely has a grand ol' sense of humor, does he not?)

Sigh....

I'll tell you. The US Navy Seal training isn't tough. Ha. Cake. Taking care of a newborn 24/7 nearly 70% by yourself with no backup - now that'll train you for anything. No need to send the Marines. Just send some sleep deprived Moms up that hill and tell them comfy beds are on the other side and I guarantee you that hill WILL be taken!

Anyway. Thank the Holly Heavens of God and all for chocolate. And Diet Coke. Even if it has to be caffeine free (for baby). Trust me, if a baby made you cry before, try one trumped up on caffeine.

Good night and Good luck! Out!

09/07 2eme semaine/2nd week

Pas grand chose de nouveau pour cette derniere semaine de vacances. De beaux vols en planeur, avec des plafonds hauts a 13500' et de beaux Cumulus.

Florence grandit toujours, et c'est impressionnant. Pres de 2-3 cms par semaine! Les mains s'allongent, les pieds se modifient, les jambes deviennent bouffis. Les gargouillements suivent les sourires, et c'est un plaisir de passer du temps avec elle.

This was, sadly, the last week of Richard's vacation. Alas, back to work. But, regardless, we had a great last week, albiet a busy one with little sleep. Florence had her usual doctor appointments, we continued working on her exercises, and, good for Richard, he was able to get in a great gliding day (one of his best per his words) and also have a nice, albiet short, visit from a good friend, Eric.

As for Florence, again, we're still working away at her exercises. They aren't as easy to perform now, as her awareness of the world around her is growing daily, wherein she is easily distracted by seeing so many things for the first time. A cat, a sign, a light flashing, a new sound. All is new to her and oh so fascinating. Thank goodness, she is making progress, albiet slowly (apparently albiet is the word of the hour!). Again, I think the slowness is due, in part, that she will not stay in an exact position which would allow us to perform her exercises to the utmost degree. She wiggles and squishes and shifts so as to move her face toward the latest vista. She sure is a cutie.

Also on behalf of Florence, Richard and I fall in love with her more, day by day, as each morning sees a new branch of her personality arise. Oh yes, taking sweet care of her can be tiring but the myriad of laughs and giggles and sweet, albiet wet, kisses help allay the grand fatigue in a most grand way.

As for Richard, he's a champ indeed, staying the course of kindly husband as I attempt to make my way from moment to moment bleary eyed from a mixture of exhaustion, hunger, and mental fatigue. In fact, the fatigue highlighted itself not just this week when, after Richard called to let me know he arrived at the glider port, our having a small conversation prior to his hanging up to start his gliding day, I called a few hours later to said same glider port wanting to know if they had seen him, as I had (thought) I had not heard from him and feared for his safety, especially as he way making his way to the glider port via a single engine (airplane). It was only after threatening to call out the Marines to commence a search and rescue did my tired memory recall that I had spoken to him post touch down not just a few hours earlier. Sigh.... Fatigue? Or just plain ol' losing it????????? Sigh again.........

Regardless, life is grand and on this late day during this late hour I call myself a lucky woman, though my hair is a mess, my clothes are a mess, my face is a mess, I'm just a plain ol' mess, and, pretty much, I'm guaranteed not to get too good of sleep tonight. But, alas, I am loved and love two most precious people - truly, madly, deeply.

So, who can complain, n'est pas?

Out.

09/07 1ere semaine/ 1st week

De nouveau en vacances ce mois ci. 3 semaines tous les trois mois. La vie est dure!
Ca a beau etre septembre, les temperatures continuent d'etre a 41C, ce qui fait que quand je prends l'avion pour aller faire du planeur, je vole avec les fenetres ouvertes. C'est beaucoup plus agreable. Et vu que l'on perd 2 C par 1000 pieds, bien souvent, je me retrouve dans les 33-35 degrees, ce qui est quand meme moins fournaise, meme si pour la France, ca reste chaud quand meme!
En planeur, le but du jeu est de se retrouver en altitude le plus rapidement possible, de maniere a etre dans les 20 degrees. Mais helas, le vol a voile ne permet pas toujours de monter aussi haut, et c'est pourquoi bien souvent je suis oblige d'ouvrir l'ecope de la verriere, et de glisser ma main a l'exterieur pour faire rentrer plus d'air dans le cockpit. C'est penible a force, mais ainsi va la vie dans une contree a la meme latitude que le Maroc.

Nous avons finalement vire notre pediatre cette semaine. Des docteurs, y'en a des bons et des moins bons, c'est comme les pilotes! et celle ci etait plus occupee a rentrer les coordonees de Florence dans son ordinateur plutot qu'a nous ecoute.
Alors, nous sommes alles a l'hopital pour enfant de Phoenix, le meilleur de tous l'etat, on va pas y'aller de main morte tant qu'a faire. La helas, c'est le fiasco. apres 1H30 de retard, on nous apprends que le docteur avec qui nous avions rendez vous n'est pas la, qu'il y'a eu erreur puiqu'il n'etait meme pas suppose etre la ce jour la. La bonne nouvelle, c'est que du coup, on nous donne le docteur en chef, responsable de tous l'hopital. Fichtre! le chef des chefs!
Et la, c'est le jour et la nuit: Nos questions sont repondues, elle nous offre des informations en plus, et on peut vraiment s'apercevoir que son boulot, c'est sa passion, plutot que d'etre un vulgaire "job". Normalement, elle ne fais pas de visite reguliere, mais elle aime tant Florence qu'elle demande de la revoir! Avec plaisir docteur!

Loll and behold....

This week was another busy week of appointments for Miss Florence. After yet another disappointing visit with her current doctor (whom both Richard and I question if she really has a doctor degree at all) we decided once and for all to chuck the old and find a new.

Worried that Florence was not on track to getting better, tired of wasting time on fruitless doctors, and wanting the very best for our little one, we went straight to the top of the medical food chain and made an appointment at Phoenix Children's Hospital, a part of "Children's Hospitals" around the US which cater exclusively to the needs of children. The Best of the Best, as it were.

So, we made an appointment. And went to the appointment. And waited, and waited, and waited. In fact, we sat in the doctor's office for 1.5 hours. Finally, after some belly aching to staff, we got someone to come in. Turns out that the doctor whom we were to see was not there that day and we were kinda "forgotten." Hmmmmm. Doesn't bode well at all. But, alas, although Florence was starving and exhausted from a missed nap, we were starving and tired from a missed lunch, and we were destined to be hours from home due to now homebound workweek traffic, our visit turned out not only to be good but great.

Turns out the doctor who was covering was one of the best doctors there. Not too shabby. She was smart, inquisitive, knowledgeable, determined, and just also a great pleasure to interact with. And, ta da, she liked kids. (Never got that impression too much from our old doc.)

So, all was not lost. She layed to rest fears that Florence may have Scoliosis and believes we should be on track to rid her, in time, of her Torticollis. And since this woman was brimming with information (I always prefer my doctor seem smarter than me. Never like it when they seem to be reading back word for word something I just read on the Internet. If I need a monkey as a doctor, I'll go see a monkey!) we felt entirely confident that we had finally found the help we needed.

Sigh.....

Outside of that, just trying to survive the dog days of an Arizona summer, with temperatures above 110 and humidity which just builds and builds and builds. Egad. Last year, just to get through this time Richard and I had a "Freezing Movies" marathon watching only movies based in winter, like Fargo and Snow Dogs and Eight Below. It did help, I must say.

Well, back to Mommy stuff. BYE!

08/07 4 eme semaine/4th week

Il semblerait que parfois, nous sommes en retard pour mettre a jour ce blog. Mea Culpa. Il se trouve qu'il n'ya rien de nouveau de toute maniere, et qu'au jour ou j'ecris ces lignes, Florence est repartit dans une cadence d'enfer, ou on a l'impression de retourner en arriere lorsqu'elle se levait toutes les 2 heures! Heureusement qu'il y'a les sourires, et que j'ai aussi un emploi du temps qui me permet de profiter d'elle, bien mieux que pour quelqu'un qui bosse de 9 a 5 heures.

Florence turned 4 months old. Send gifts in care of Kate and Richard.

On another note, it seems little missy has somewhat departed from her 9 hrs a night schedule. We have been attemting to give her money in her allowance to get her back on board. But apparently money has no effect, as of yet. (Sigh!...)

To help with the sleepless nights, Florence got a series of painful shots. Coupled with teething and growing pains it has been a regular laughfest. But we love her anyway.

Her personality is really coming out now. She is easy going, easy laugh, easy to smile and very cuddily. I take full credit. (smile)

Continuing with her physical therapy. Seeing small improvements. Regardless of all the pains and suffering, life is good.

I love my baby. I love my husband. And I really, really love chocolates.