May Flowers

It's a BEAUTIFUL spring here in Paris... most days! We're getting back into our routine after a 2-week trip back to NY (all 3 of us) and MI (just Beth and Josie). The NY leg was, for me, mostly running around to various doctor's appointments... the terrific news is that my thyroid scan was CLEAN. We're all really psyched. Hannah and Papa Rothman graciously hosted us, and we had lots of fun seeing family (Jaxi, Roger, Manny and Jake who came from Lewisburg, "Emine," Hilary and Todd, Delila and Scarlett, Aunt Louise who came up all the way from Virginia and of course Grandma Rothman) and friends and celebrating Passover, lovingly and deliciously prepared as always by Anne. Another highlight was SHOPPING at wonderful boutiques like... Target and Designer Shoe Warehouse for American sundries and clothing! We also spent a morning wandering up and down a Tenafly grocery store missing all our favorite U.S. foods! It was weird.

In Michigan we had fun meeting up with friends Annie, Amy, and Anna, and all their children, as well as our neighbors Jayne, Delphine and friends like Carol and Eugenie. More shopping, chicken in Frankenmuth, brisk walks outside with "Nam," as Josie calls her. "Bee-Pa" Mark seems to like his new nickname too! The flight back alone with Josie was a bit stressful but we survived -- and hilariously, saw my rabbi friend Carol Levithan, who was leaving her Parisian vacation, on the air-train from our remote terminal at CDG airport! Crazy!

Now we're back, and Josie is adapting to nursery... still crying a bit when I drop her off but now she's happily playing when I return, and cheerfully bids all her little friends "au revoir" with lots of bisous (kisses). She can "count" most numbers up to 10, and still loves to sing and dance. She actually sang us her first song in the car ride from NJ-MI (after hearing her softly saying "bing... back!" we realized she was crooning "My bonny lies over the ocean!") and is slowly adding tunes to her repertoire. She can also - as you'll see from the video - climb up and slide down the 3-year-old slide!

I'm finishing up French lessons for the summer and looking forward to starting a class at the American University in Paris on the History of Paris. I'm just auditing, but it will be fun to be a student again! We're taking advantage of some long May weekends to hit Champagne country and the Loire Valley, hopefully seeing lots of Chateaux and vineyards! More sooner, I promise! Now that Josie's in nursery I'll have more time for blogging!