days with friends

play days

mothers Group
these guys have been together since Hugo was 2 weeks old. their play and experiences get better and better. life long friends in the making

threading

Hugo has been having a lovely time of late, threading beads. he will sit for a long time threading beads, sorting them out, matching colours, shapes and sizes

first day of 4 year old kinder

today was our first day of 4 year old kinder. the other kids have been back for a couple of weeks, but because we were away in France we are starting today.

Hugo is excited about seeing some of his friends from last year as well as a very special friend from mothers group, F.

i am looking forward to a wonderful year of growing, exploring, experimenting and developing through play and many many fun experiences, with a wonderful teacher, Connie.

images of Chamonix

chamonix

next stop; chamonix
ten days of beautiful snow and lots of fun.

images from Vald'isere

Val d'isere

after leaving Paris we took a train to a beautiful snow village called vald'isere. we had a week here skiing. the snow and weather were great. Hugo was amazing. he had a 3 hour ski lesson every morning. the instructors had a little English, but mainly french and all the other children were french, but he loved it. by the end of the week he was linking turns, riding the poma and chair by himself. what a star.
we had some great meals. Hugo and i enjoyed snails.

Paris

well we made it. the boys were fantastic on the plane. we flew out of Melbourne at midnight and once supper had been served both Archie4 and Hugo slept all the way to Hong Kong, which meant that we slept as well. our saving grace was the Qantas club, where the boys had space to sit, eat and have a base. we had a 2 hour stop in hong Kong and we all had breakfast. the big leg was next to heathrow and with sleep, TV, games and drawing we managed to pass the time. we eventually landed in Paris without our ski bag ( which they delivered the next day) both boys had fallen into a deep sleep on the plane from heathrow to Paris and didn't wake till the next morning.we had a car waiting for us, thank goodness and we all arrived at the hotel around 9pm local Paris time. the skyline on the way to the hotel was beautiful, however my eyelids hardly stayed open. we all slept well, woke at around 7am refreshed and ready to start exploring. Hugo keen to practice bonjour was excited. we went down to the hotel for breakfast and then set on our way. Hugo and Archie were amazing. Archie was on our back in a back pack and at sleep time he just slept in it. for a little boy that is only just starting to cut day sleeps out, Hugo walked all day. we lest around 8am just getting light. we walked to the notre dame and then to the louve. we caught a double Decker bus to galleries layfette the most amazing shopping centre in the world. had some lunch, back on the bus we went right round Paris hoping on and off to explore. we eventually arrived back at the hotel around 5pm. Hugo didn't complain once, absorbed sooo much and asked many questions, about details on buildings, odd signs, people and all things different, some that i wouldn't have ever noticed and some that children can only see. the wonder of a mosaic picture in the pavement with some tiles broken, the gargoyles on the churches, the nativity scene in notre dame.
i had never been to Paris before but i am so glad i did with a 4 year old by my side. i got to experience all the beauty and wonder of Paris the amazing city through an adults view as well as the wonderful view of a child's.

Paris

here are some snapshots of our brief 2 days in paris