Didier and Pamela's News page!
Didier and Pamela's News page!
August 2004: yes, an update! I managed to make an album out of our trip to France. Look at this link and please tell me what you think. Is it worth it?
August 2003: yes, an update! I managed to make an album out of our trip to Vermont. Look at this link and please tell me what you think. Is it worth it?
February 2003: We got a little bit of snow. About 27 inches in one shot. It made for a nice picture initially. We went out the first night, and met our neighbors at the playground! Their two kids were there too. The next morning, though, we had quite a bit of snow on the deck, and it looked even worse from the bottom of the stairs! (can you see Julian's head?). There was enough snow that Arianne and I made a functional tunnel under the snow...
August 2002: we seem to have misplaced the digital, so until we get a new one, it will take scanning paper pictures to get them on here...
Auntie Karyn now lives nearby and can give early anatomy lessons about the mouth to our little Buddha
In the middle of August, it was also time for Julian to change daycare. The one he had been to had been great though, and he misses his caretaker Robin. Just before leaving for California, though, we went for our annual pilgrimage to County Fairs, like the one in Prince George County. Arianne is not quite ready to go to the front of the roller coasters , though. The day was spent with Courtney and her impossible to take a picture of mother, Barbara. I did manage a picture of Courtney from the front , though!
A few pictures missing from our trip to California, here... Upon coming back, Arianne took up the cello. Let's hope she keeps it up!
July 2002
In other news, Julian is growing ,
and Arianne is helping by feeding him cereals.
Speaking of Arianne, she asked to go fishing, so we went to a park near the house
(at McKeldin, see
this link).
Arianne and I tried to fish for a while without success. Then Maman came and
after hooking the worm correctly and only 2 casts
she caught something (what is it?).
We learned something... (what is it?).
June 2002
Unfortunately, what with the move, it was the end of the academic year at a
very very good school: Evergreen Montessori school.
Arianne's class (with Ms Gallard, of the extended
day).
Arianne's teacher, Mrs Nedimala , and Arianne's teacher's assistant, Mrs Conn . Finally, Arianne's best friends, Ashika and Manuela .
In other news, Julian is growing in the vertical dimension, when he is not sleeping on his mother's mother's shoulder. Arianne, on the other hand, still sleeps in her favorite position and can still fall asleep while drinking milk.
End of May 2002:
At the end of the month, it was time to move to Ellicott City, since both
Pamela and I have jobs in Baltimore now. We got
help from quite a few family members!
It was one of these occasions when the three sisters
are together .
From left, Debra (Pam's older sister), Pamela and Arianne, Karyn (Pam's
younger sister) and Stephanie (Debra's daughter).
The last night in the old house, some were exhausted . Finally, we moved, and almost right away flew to Memphis for the Bat Mitzvah of old friends of ours, the Lothsteins. They have kids who seem of the same cloth as Arianne, both Katie and Alex. They could almost convince us to move to Memphis, what with their chickens and their horses (3 of them, only 1 in this pic). Almost.
But finally, it was time to say Goodbyes, individually and globally (compare to the top xmas 2000 picture). Finally, we came home to a house we still had to unpack in, but at least the Jacuzzi was working... In other news, Julian is gaining weight nicely.
May 2002: Julian is growing fast, already 2 inches after 4 weeks! I guess
you don't have a scale on this
picture, though.
Most of my interactions with Julian are summarized by
this picture.
Thankfully, he is becoming more and more
aware (humans are so altricial),
working hard at lifting his head,
and even beginning to smile when his Aunt
Deb comes for a visit.
March 31 2002:
Arianne has a brother!
And a few more pictures:
Papa just after the birth (about 30 minutes). It's 5:30 am, but I am happy! (I have aged... Compare similar pic with Arianne
Auntie Deb came by in the morning
Another picture of the proud sister!
And finally, the family
leaves the hospital.
At the center, Nesma and at right, Arianne, dancing
to "How much is that doggy in the window
Iiiiinnnn the wiiiiiinnnnndooooowwwww
Then we went to see Maman
at the local diner.
The meal took a while to come,
but after the meal, we were full
and sleepy!
Arianne pretending to be Maman(?)
and we're ready to leave with a Ketch-up
moustache .
1 ,
2 ,
3 ,
4 ,
5 ,
6 ,
7 ,
8 ,
9 ,
10 ,
11 ,
12 ,
13 ,
14 ,
15 .
It's never too early... We haven't even left
the house yet ! But we were on our way to Sky
Meadows!
Papa exploring new territories and stuff... and
a close-up...
Various pictures from of a pre-Christmas party:
I was having a bow put in my hair, and
on the other side ,
but it takes a while!
At least, it's up to my standards!
I hope it's up to Mammy's standards, too?
Papa from wayy too close.
Maman at work.
Testing our Y2K readiness , but at the
stroke of midnight, nothing special happened.
Papa finally got Ari a bike seat and other
dangerous implements . A few weeks later, we went
on a trip to Massanutten,
to ride a horse among other boring things.
Go Shawnee, go!
No wonder there are
cats who love to live there!
Pictures from the trip to Belgium/France (Provence):
We rented a house near Vaison-la-Romaine. We had to eat
outside, every day, since it was sunny all
the time. We were force-fed fresh cheese, meats,
breads and pastis . It was tough.
The surrounding country was filled of small villages, with nice fountains for Ari to play in, ,
places to just lounge in in spite of the
traffic (ha-ha), mountains like the
Mont Ventoux
to climb (next year, Papa brings a bike), and big holes to come look at,
at Fontaine de Vaucluse. Arianne liked
the indoor games , though.
Back in Belgium, Arianne was was playing on the
terrace at Papa's parents house, letting herself be trapped in the garden .
Finally, it was time to go! Ari's cousins
came to the airport, and Papa and his
brother tried to see if they had some family resemblance.
In March, we had an ice storm,
so we had the day off (and the electricity too), and went
in the garden with Papa (but compare with
this picture!)
Then we went for a careful thread
around the block,
during which I experimented with touching a lot of
stuff with a stick...
At the Christmas party, at the Shoe, with Maman.
Are you selling you something?
No one was buying, so I went where I usually go, behind the chair
to read some books.
Don't you think I look pretty enough for New Year ?
Sleeping (and taking as much space as I can) in
Papa and Mamman's bed!
Waking up and finding comfort
in Maman's hands.
Another day of playing with hats.
Apparently, I always put stuff on my head (compare to this!)
Sometimes, I see the camera and I refuse to open my eyes!
With Papa, at Great Falls, VA.
Playing behind the curtains, again, (compare to the May picture!)
At school, a picture taken by Susan, , my great teacher!
An experiment: Movies!
How I got brain-damaged, in mov format.
Saying "Chaussette" (socks) in mov format.
"Don't touch!" in mov format.
Please, tell me I look good in hats!
Don't I just plain look good, though?
Hey, who put a button there?
In Virginia, visiting a mansion with Maman.
Waiting for my dinner, I put these glasses on
all by myself,
but Papa insisted on putting them the wrong
way up before I could eat!
I didn't think anyone could see me!
Whatever it was I was doing on the table, it was
fun!
But it was so tiring, I fell asleep drinking my
cup, later on!
I have this obsession about hats!
and then taking them off.
and then back on.
And how about this one?
With Maman's mother
and then with Maman's mother's mother (who is 92, I am
told).
My first birthday party (the big one) at the Children in the Shoe, the
daycare I go to!
Just as we arrive! The others are already ready to eat
in the background!
Maman insisted I wear this hat, but I spent a good
part of my time trying to remove it!
Except maybe for a few seconds.
I may be just one, but I already drink from a cup.
Maman made chocolate muffins for us, but we spent our
time just destroying them...
Ok, so I am still drinking!
And more drinking (since these are the only times I lay
still)
My caretakers Julianna, Cecelia, Susan and Roxy.
And more drinking...
Getting this hat off my head! finally.
Getting ready to leave and to take a nap!
More portraits of me, Arianne!
We received this picture of me, the first time I was able to stand
on my own! ()
Papa brought a digital camera home, and I took a picture of
myself! ()
People tell me I look cute when I dry myself after taking a bath. (10k)
Enjoying sitting on our bench in the garden with Papa. (20k)
Papa was making a salad, with some of the tomatoes we grow in the garden, and
had sat me on the counter. I decided to try and see what
tomatoes taste like! (27k)
Playing hard and learning to spin around and around
on my stationary
walker (!) (24k)
After playing hard!
(19k)
Nothing like reading a
book with my great-grand-mother upon waking up! (32k)
I was exploring London when I met up with this guy!
I am inspecting
my Aunt Maryvonne (14k).
Mamy is feeding me
(39k) and
I like it (31k)
a lot (17k)
Dancing a waltz with
Maman (16k)
To be in Belgium, in the Summer time, with my love,
Waddle! (18k)
Slightly unrelated pictures:
My father's brother Eric
and my cousin Justine.
The family, on Mom's side: in May 97:my cousin Scott, Aunt Karyn,
GrandMa, Auntie Debra and Mom
A profile
(16k) taken at about at 9 weeks
The heroes
(9k) are tired.
Maman just put me in
Milk Heaven (17k): Is mother's milk really a legal substance?
My family (21k)
taking me on my first Cherry Blossom tour!
Another profile at 10
weeks (12k).
Stephanie and Arianne
(18k):
About 2 weeks after birth! (Stephanie is Pamela's sister's daughter)
Arianne sitting at
the table, (17k) telling me something, I think.
I think she just told a
joke (20k) and Pamela can't believe what she heard?.
Arianne (20k) finally
associating me with something other than a diaper change
Arianne (16k)
after a bath. Cute!
Portraits of Arianne: I have compressed the images a lot, since some
complained the other pictures took too long to download.
arianne1.jpg (13k):
Pamela and Arianne, the day they came back (worth it!...)
arianne2.jpg (10k):
A portrait of innocence
arianne3.jpg (12k):
And another. Is that a smile? (methinks yes)
arianne4.jpg (12k):
She's waking up. Where's that food?
arianne5.jpg (32k):
My favorite so far. Arianne waking up and yawning!
pam1.jpg: Pamela the day
before the real work started!
pam2.jpg: Me holding
Arianne, 20 minutes after the birth!
pam3.jpg: Arianne
(she's the one in the middle...), Pamela and Didier, 30 minutes after the birth.
pam4.jpg :
Arianne, Pamela and her sister, Debra. Debra was there for the birth...
Thankfully!
pam5.jpg :
Arianne's great-grand-mother... 90 years of difference between Arianne and
Nanny!
You can also look at news from December 11th: Does Arianne look anything like
her sonograms, asks Len Lothstein?
d1.jpg ,
d2.jpg , where you can
see the cord (with the three blood vessels) under her neck (middle left of
the picture).
You can also look at news from September 9th:
c1.gif ,
c2.gif ,
c4.gif ,
c7.gif ,
March 15 2002: Arianne's two lower front teeth were
wiggling! (the left one is almost horizontal!).
Then one
came out!
She's a big girl now, and even got a
bird for her fifth
birthday. It's a
cockatiel
called Ceci.
March 2002: we bought a new house. Go for the tour
here!
February 2002: Arianne is getting quite serious about her dancing.
Inspired...
Careful, now,
she says,
this is the
hard part!
June 2001: Arianne gives a recital of Ballet at Magruder High School (with
the Miss MaryLou Dance company).
June 2001: Arianne got her new violin:
violin 1
News Year 2001: the pictures we sent to family and close friends,
xmas1 and xmas2 .
December 2000:
Arianne was at work with Papa (the schools were closed)
when out of the blue, she wrote her
'anme' on the whiteboard all by herself!.
May 2000: at Montgomery Theatrical Center, where Arianne and Sierra went
every monday afternoon. Here are a bunch of pictures, taken with a digital
camera.
March 2000:
Januark 2000:
Millenium:
Sep-Dec 1999:
Aug 1999:
March 1999:
January 1999:
December 1998:
October 1998:
July 1998:
June 1998:
May 1998:
Feb 25th 1998:
Feb 16th 1998:
Feb 2th 1998:
Jan 10th 1998:
Oct 10th 1997:
May 7th 1997:
April 5th 1997:
February 25th 1997:
You can also look at old news, 22nd of August 96:
b1.gif ,
b2.gif ,
with a legend: b3.gif ,
Email: D e p i r e u x at y a h o o . c o m
