12/07 4eme semaine/ 4th week

Apres avoir passe Noel a Las Vegas, nous avons decolle pour aller a Rifle dans l'etat du Colorado. En croisiere relativement basse puisque nous etions a 29 000 pieds pour eviter des turbulences plus haut, nous nous sommes retrouve dans mon coin favori: le triangle entre Las Vegas-Lac Powell-Bryce Canyon. Ce fut de nombreux vols effectues dans ce secteur, plus de 500 hrs en fait, avec des Francais de tous coins, de Tahiti a la Nouvelle-Caledonie, du club de St-Quentin a celui de Cannes.

Or j'ai reconnu la faille de la photo. Mainte fois traversee a 90 degres, elle se trouvait sur le vol entre Page et Bryce Canyon, et on la survolait souvent entre 1500 pieds en ete, car on avait du mal a aller plus haut avec la densite altitude. J'ai souvent entendu des exclamations de surprise dans les casques, et peu apres, ces passagers devenaient songeurs. C'etait une des parties les plus fumantes de ce periple, et apres tant de voyages offerts, c'est maintenant plein de souvenirs pour moi, ou pour eux sans doute, qui sans doute ne s'effacerons jamais.

Alors, evidemment, du Citation la haut, il y'a presque eu un regret de ne plus faire ce genre de vols. Mais ainsi va la vie, et c'est pourquoi je me suis retrouve au dessus de ce spectacle une fois encore, mais cette fois plus haut, plus loin, plus vite....

Je n'ai plus 20 ans, et maintenant, il faut bien reconnaitre que la charmante Florence est une autre source de plaisir. Et meme si nous trouvons qu'elle grandit a vitesse grand V: elle arrive maintenant a faire le tour d'une table en la longeant et a se mettre debout toute seule. Et deja je trouve, sa tete n'est plus aussi ronde.

De bebe, elle se transforme deja en petite fille.... Soupir!

Dernier message de l'annee, alors je fais le plan aeronautique: 590 hrs de vol, 21 hrs de monomoteurs, et 130 hrs de planeur. Ils ont fermes l'ecole ou ont loue les monos, alors j'attends que Kate ait le temps de reprendre les lecons pour me faire relacher quelque part. Je doute donc que 2008 nous fassions beaucoup d'heures la dessus.

J'ai mis mon nom pour une nouvelle qualification de type pour l'annee prochaine, la formation prend du temps alors on verra bien si j'arrive a battre les 600 hrs dans l'annee!

Technically, I am supposed to only write about this week, but it has been a long time since I wrote at all so I will indulge myself, by your leave (not really, but it sounds cool to say that regardless).

Florence has been growing by leaps and bounds, not physically, necessarily, but in skills and achievements. In the last month she has graduated from the hellacious helmet of terror. Yes, it made a difference but the question is whether the difference will remain. Regardless, the difference it has made it that Mom, Dad, and Baby are much happier without it. Oddly, it took a while for her sleep patterns to normalize after removing it. I guess she got used to being miserable and, most likely, had to get used to feeling pressure directly on her head. Regardless, goodbye Mr. Helmet.

Ms. Florence has also budded teeth, two already showing their heads, and demonstrating quite remarkably razor sharp edges (from experience I speak!). And two more are already gearing up to say hello, wherein they repeatedly announce their upcoming visit by keeping our li'l baby up repeatedly for the last weeks or so. Funny, some baby books say it doesn't hurt when the razor sharp teeth rip through the delicate baby flesh. Considering (God hoping) that the baby has no previous experience with pain, I would think that it would be quite a dramatic, and miserable experience. After all, can't see that she's crying all the time just because she can think of nothing else to do. Poor li'l baby.

Further Ms. Florence has taken to walking, standing, cruising, and fast crawling. Realized she was wanting to stand in the sixth month, when she kept trying to put her tushy in the air, as a way to raising herself off the ground. Since then we've been helping her to learn to stand and walk but, frankly, she only needed it for about a week and her strength grew tremendously wherein she just uses us for balance now. By her 8th month I expect her to take her first unassisted steps (she already stands without help now and then) and by her 9th month I expect to be chasing her around the house, in horror at the dangers she can get herself into. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.....

In addition, she's been eating solids, her favorites include Cheerios and prunes. She attempts to master self feeding of Cheerios but because she self feeds herself solids, wherein she gets herself all slimy from the attempt, the Cheerios perma-stick to her hands when she picks them up. When she attempts to deposit them to her mouth, she wonders why they don't come off her hands. By the end of a session, she must have at least ten Cheerios stuck to each hand, held their by essense of prunes or pears or some such thing.

She's learning No and having more fun learning how to push the envelope on my saying No. She smiles this big smile after I tell her No, I think having fun to see how far she can take it. Usually, she'll stop the offending behavior after about three or so No's but once in a moon she'll completely ignore me. What can one say? She's French and American. That means a total inability to not question authority. Revolution! Revolution!

She got to hang out with the extended family for Christmas this year, wherein Richard and I braved a commerical flight to Texas. We were so fearful of the flights. It wasn't fun by any stretch, but this is when breastfeeding is beyond a Godsend. She miffed for a moment after takeoff but then willingly gave in and went to rest.

She loved being at Grandma and Grandpa's, so much that she was so wired from the experience that she began to wake 8 times per night. Yep! Count 'em! Eight! Eight! Yes, won't mince words. It was hell. Plus she would barely take naps for the same reason. You'd think she was a first time college student at some crazed rock concert. Frankly, we're still trying to get her to go back to sleeping through the night since then. Though, honestly, the lousy nights began with the helmet. Shortly after, the teething, practicing standing in her crib at all hours, and the visit pretty much put our li'l girl over the psychological edge to wear she barely slept at all at night. Add a dose of nighttime separation anxiety and you've got Crapsville.

I've been working with the No Cry Sleep Solution to rectify matters. (Don't even say cry it out to me, else I'll try it on you first). We're now down to only one wake up which, frankly, is fair since it also seems she grew a half inch recently and probably needs that extra feed to feed the growth. (And, frankly, all "experts" say it's actually quite normal for babies to wake up at least once a night for a long time. I guess we just got spoiled since she's been sleeping ten hours uninterrupted since about 4 months. Hell, I'd pay her to go back to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On other fronts, Richard is working hard at work, and at home, to help us grow and help me keep what remains of my fragile sanity. And he's suffering from a severe case of no flying due to crappy weather and the fact that our local airplane rental place closed down. The ever shrinking world of GA.... (general aviation, you non-pilots, you!)

But he was able to get out to fly once the last week he was home and he bounced like a little boy when I pushed him out the door to go. Hated to see him gone for the day but, frankly, you shouldn't kill the child inside the man. Lord knows I'd kill anyone who tries to take away my comics!

Well, that's all for now. The new year is coming. Never been much of a New Year's person. But, now, especially with Florence, you see the year pass like the turning of a page, the moments moving too fast wherein the page turning makes a loud, uproarious noise signalling to hold on so desperately to each and every moment before you. Oh, I try. Then I pass out from exhaustion.

She's grown so fast and even Richard and I are amazed how quickly it has gone, time, since we met, got married, moved to this house and now, we look whileyed (spelling) at the daughter before us who I have already vowed is never allowed to move out or move away.

Only one wish the for the new year, which shall be the wish for every year coming, that before we go that we shall she her settled, content, and in love.

Best wished to my husband. Like the best French wines, he only gets better and better as the hours pass, as time goes by....

"You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply as time goes by...."