les Petits | things to do with kids in Paris

Paris is a great city for kids. We could have planned our entire vacation around activities for Ezra, but that would have been a bit much. Instead, each day we did something for us (the Louvre, for example) and then something that we knew Ezra would enjoy. Here are a few of our favorites...

- la Grande Galerie de l'Évolution - within the Jardin des Plantes, this museum has loads of animals to look at. I liked it even better than a zoo because you can get super close to the (fake) animals, but they're very lifelike.
- Centre Pompidou - Paris's modern art museum. After walking through the main exhibit areas we spent some time in the children's section. The current exhibit was about the funny words kids say before they can pronounce the actual word (for example, Ezra says "mout" but he means "milk"). You could go into a booth with your family and talk about the words your kid says (or your child could recall something they used to say) that are funny and then be added to the exhibit.
- Le 104 - on the outskirts of Paris but worth getting to. It's a cool exhibition space that has a (free!) play space for children called La Maison des Petits, which was like a combination of a children's museum and the child development center where I worked when I was in college. One of the current exhibits there was a giant cardboard labyrinth that we walked through, and there were also breakdancers practicing everywhere. Unexpected and definitely not an official part of Le 104, but fun to watch for a while.
- Deyrolle - amazing taxidermy store that is more like a museum than a shop. Picture yourself standing right next to a giant stuffed polar bear and you have the general idea.

In addition to the larger gardens around Paris like the Tuileries and the Luxembourg, there are little parks everywhere. We stopped almost every time we found one to give Ezra a chance to run around and ourselves a chance to sit down. Square Paul Langevin was a particularly nice one (located on the corner of rue des Ecoles and rue Monge) where we spent the better part of an afternoon one day. Also, metro rides function as transportation of course, but they're also great entertainment for a toddler. Ezra loved putting the ticket in the machine, counting down the stops, and sitting in the fold down seats or hanging onto the pole while we rode. If you're headed to Paris with children, be sure to check out this book, as it lists places to go along with nearby family friendly restaurant recommendations. If you're questioning going to Paris (or any foreign city) with your child, just do it! It was definitely worth it and I'm so glad we went. One more post coming next week on the typical tourist things we did while we were there...

camping 2012 | a recap in words and pictures

It's the Monday after our camping trip and although we've been home for a little more than twenty-four hours I still feel like I'm in recovery mode. Camping creates so much laundry! How was your weekend? Filled with fun things, I hope. Even though it's a lot of work to prepare for a camping trip - making the reservations, shopping, planning meals, packing, etc. - I'm always glad we go because it really is a lot of fun. Here are some highlights from our weekend...

no shoes inside the tent! 

 venison stew for dinner (thanks, Tom!)

 enough wood for nonstop fire burning

 long afternoon naps 

 the annual bocce ball tournament

(My friend John and I won! We unseated the two-time champions, Matt and Matt :)

 dinner prepared al fresco (and babies in diapers) 

 a visit to the playground

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have so there is a lot missing - volleyball, home run derby, ultimate frisbee, wiffleball, and lots of lounging around the fire. It's hard to believe but I'm already looking forward to next year's trip!

go fly a kite | Brenton Point, Newport

Have you ever flown a kite? I only have a few times but Matt and I want to find a great kite flying location so we can go this summer with Ezra. Brenton Point in Newport is one of my favorite picnic spots and it's always full of tons of people flying kites. There's even a kite festival there every summer... I think we'll check it out this year. We'll be the ones flying a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kite :)

image by Paul Octavious via 20 x 200

and we're back!

Some of you may have realized that I promised to be back last week after camping if doing so with a baby didn't tire me out too badly.  Well it didn't, but we discovered upon our return that we were having internet difficulties so my planned posts went unwritten.  I'll be here every day this week (promise! unless the internet messes with me again) with some fresh ideas that have been popping up around our house lately.  

A few things about camping - I love having a tent larger than a two-person!  We bought an orange and gray Coleman 8-man that served us well.  I brought along a quilt that my mom made for us as bedding as well as fun polka dot sheets from Target, similar to these.  Ezra slumbered on after our first night at the campground, tuckered out from crawling around the expansive tent while we set up the rain fly.  And by we I mean Matt.  I already can't wait for next year.