Neuchatel-Geneva via Bruxelles and Boston

Around Tokai

2012-01-30T19:13:00.002+01:00

So after the pictures from the trip from Geneva to Tokai, here are a few pictures taken around Tokai, where our life was about Vishal going to bring Nandu to daycare/taking care of him (awesome job!) and me taking night shifts and attending the collaboration meeting.

On his way to pick up Nandu from daycare

In our messy room.

At the beach just behing J-Parc... very cold and windy

But Nandu is well protected... and sleeping

Beautiful shrine close to J-Parc

With very modern water dispenser at the entrance ;)

At daycare

During the meeting

Trip to Japan (part 1)

2012-01-22T07:27:00.000+01:00

We arrived in Japan after nearly 24 hours and Nandu didn't cry once... I am truly impressed by my son today.

It started well in the kid's car in the train to Zurich:

And it continued even better in the awesome family lounge of Zurich's terminal E:

And for the rest I have no pictures, but Nandu had the good sense to sleep when we were given food in the plane so I could eat both my meals. He was smiling at everyone while awake and then slept a good 3-4 hours. Finally the bus trip to Tokai was also very smooth, and we arrived at Masago (the hotel) tired but not even too stressed out!

So far so good... in a few days he'll try the Japanese daycare.

Future house :)

2012-01-16T16:24:00.002+01:00

A few views from out future house while we were repainting what will be Nandu's room. Thanks a lot for Manu and Anouk for the help!

First spaghetti

2012-01-05T10:39:00.004+01:00

First you just play with spaghettis (tied by grandpa)

Then they end up in weird places...

and you give us this weird smile just for fun.

Christmas Holidays in Pechalifour

2012-01-05T10:33:00.000+01:00

We went to my Mum's house in Pechalifour for Christmas. As you'll see the vacations were mainly about eating truffles and sleeping with piles of clothes on top of us and a big fire in the chemine... And of course "running" after Nandu who learnt to crawl over there.

On commence par les choses serieuses

Et le plaisir que meme Nandu a eu de la sentir

et de la manger!

Puis on passe a la serie calins

Pour ensuite entrer dans la serie: je fais la sieste sur Papa. Or in English, let's nap on Papa.

Catching up

2012-01-03T22:40:00.002+01:00

Nandu is 10 months, and I still have to upload pictures from my grandma's 90's birthday which was in November...
So here it goes, and I'll upload Christmas pictures later. But just as a sneak preview, he is now able to crawl as fast as a neutrino, he claps happily and is able to point at the food he prefers to eat. And all that happened during the Christmas break, it's actually quite amazing! Oh and he got so good and blowing yoghurt around that we now have to teach him not to do it.

Blowing yoghurt

2011-12-10T20:33:00.001+01:00

Just because it is so much fun to blow yoghurt on papa's face.

Nandu actually started to play jokes on us, trying to suckle papa's nipple, blowing yoghurt or apple sauce.. always followed by a big laugh.

How to go from laying on your back to sitting in 20 secons

2011-12-04T20:54:00.001+01:00

Lesson given by Nandu, 9 months, 2 days and yellow pajamas!

9 months and the usual stats

2011-12-02T20:27:00.001+01:00

So here it goes:
76 cm
9.47 kg
47 cm of head contour

And even if now solids played a big part of that, he still gets his fair share of mom's milk :)

First is a picture of a few days ago

And here is a picture of tonight, after we forgot to take a picture all day long. This is just at bedtime, and Nandu was basically already asleep. But that's the only 9 months picture we've got.

A few memories from November

2011-11-29T12:14:00.001+01:00

We also went to Brussels and took the plane for the first time, but I didn't have my camera... sorry.

8 months, 3 teeth and a great kid!

2011-11-02T20:16:00.002+01:00

Just a normal day for his 8 months birthday and two pictures.

Not sure what that face means

That means: bring me to the potty now!

Fête des Pedroli

2011-10-26T10:47:00.001+02:00

(Post in French, because it matters mainly to my French speaking friends :) )

Superbe fête ce week-end pour les 60 ans des Pedroli! Nandu a "dansé", et fait des sourirs à tout le monde pendant 6 heures d'affilée! J'étais très très fière. Voilà juste un petit exemple de sa concentration pendant un des intermèdes musicaux.

Par principe, je ne poste pas trop de photos de gens sur mon blog si je n'ai pas leur autorisation, donc se sera la seule photo de cette fête magnifique. Mais on s'en souviendra!

Hard to be a physicist's son...

2011-10-16T11:06:00.001+02:00

Here is what happens on Sunday when I have to give a talk at a conference on Monday...

The trick starts by a good session of feeding, then I just have to wait for the monster to collapse in a milk coma, and then work can happen!

And even when he wakes up, I actually have a shot at working a bit more.

7 months

2011-10-02T13:07:00.000+02:00

and a new hat!!

I have to enjoy these moments because soon, he won't agree to wear the silly hats I knit.

Stawberry hat

I also have to enjoy the naps... this is so nice on a Saturday afternoon!

Nap time

Nandu is now also able to "walk" when we hold his hands. It's funny he has been able to stand for a long time now, probably about 1-2 months, but he finally figured out that if he moves his feet he can actually go forward.

Train ride

2011-09-26T19:45:00.001+02:00

It's been a while since I posted a train picture, so here it is :)

In the train

Standing

2011-09-24T20:45:00.000+02:00

At not even 7 months, Nandu is now able to stand on his own... Luckily for now he can't crawl, so we don't quite have to babyproof yet. But I guess it won't be long.

Here is a little proof... the video has no sound, so don't worry about not hearing anything. And of course I actually missed the first time he got up and had a huge grin on his face...

Random

2011-09-21T10:56:00.003+02:00

Since we got burglared last week and they stole the camera, I only have bad iPhone pictures... Need to get a new camera very soon. But here is a little selection of September pics.

It's getting colder... time to get the bear out.

Still in a bear theme... but red sox this time!

And everyone knos there is nothing better than feet.

Les Giettes (ter)

2011-09-12T20:54:00.002+02:00

And another trip to Les Giettes, with a whole bunch of people. Some from Neuchatel, some from Geneva, and some from Boston. And an absolutly perfect weather!

Taking a bath in the pure Giettes tradition

With Orion

Alex and the cow

Hanging out

The arms are still rather short...

Sittin n' eatin

2011-09-12T20:44:00.002+02:00

Just a few random pics from early September.

Proof that Nandu can now sit unassisted!

and while smiling...


If we feed him the right type of fruit, he can handle them alone... even without teeth.

6 months!!!!

2011-09-02T20:04:00.004+02:00

First the numbers: 70.5 cm, 8.08 kg and 45.5 cm of head contour... All on mum's milk!

The day was just nice, very sunny, nicely warm. A few hours at daycare just to be sure he is ready to start for real next week. Then Vishal got home and he got to sit on his belly.

Now, serious stuff is going to happen. Mummy's milk is awesome but it's time to start real food! We decided to start with some delicious steamed pear:

We let him play with it for a bit and then we mashed it up, to let him play some more.

Are you ready.....

Not super convinced at first

really not convinced...

Let's see if it tastes better when daddy feeds it.

mmmh not sure.

really not sure.

Actually, Nandu did great! Ok, he didn't much but he kept asking for more for at least 15 min despite making weird faces everytime he actually succeed in getting some in his mouth.
We mainly hold the spoon in front of his mouth and let him play with it. It was awesome :)

And to wash up this delicious dinner he played with his sippy cup for 10 min. Don't think he got any water out though...

At home

2011-09-01T12:54:00.003+02:00

Tomorrow Nandu will be 6 months... and we'll give him shots for his birthday again... we are aweful!
He started daycare and this gives me a second to post 2 random pictures from around the house, between finishing a talk for a video meeting and doing laundry.

Random pics

2011-08-28T20:38:00.001+02:00

Just because it's fun !

Bath time on the balcony

2011-08-21T20:10:00.002+02:00

With the gorgeous hot weather of the last few days, we decided to have bath time on the balcony yesterday. Since nowdays posting pictures of naked boy (or girl) parts is frown upon, the selection of pictures that I could post was limited, but here are a few.

First Nandu had to figure out how to sit (which he does better and better everyday now)

Then he could play with his Indian elephants

and look at Papa!

Second trip to les Giettes

2011-08-16T08:51:00.003+02:00

Just a reminder of the view we actually get from the chalet on a nice day :)

and what breakfast can be like.

Then Nandu's new obsession is whatever we eat/drink:

He doesn't get any water yet, but likes to pretend:

Meeting the cousin again.

And taking good habits right from the start:

Playing with grand-ma:

And flying with Papa!

just the right light!

2011-08-06T18:57:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, there was a perfect light in the living room... here is the result.

5 months: Let's get serious

2011-08-02T20:03:00.005+02:00

At 5 months Nandu was now clearly big enough to attend his first neutrino conference: NuFact 11!
Pictures were taken with my phone so they are note great but it's better than nothing.

This is just too prove that he actually attended talks,

even though he didn't pay much attention to everything.

The new chair

2011-08-01T19:43:00.003+02:00

So we splurged and got Nandu a fancy high chair. It's adaptable and all so he is supposed to be able to use it until he is 18 and goes off to college... let's hope he'll like purple or will have to make a little sister. He doesn't stay in it for more than 5 min without leaning dangerously forward yet, but we tried a few minutes here and there and he seems to enjoy it!

He also tries to eat the table whenever he can... but that's another story.

Here comes the pictures, the first one is blurry obviously but I like it and the second one speaks for itself...

Random facts

2011-07-28T21:23:00.003+02:00

Just a few fun facts of these last few days:

1) In the evening, Nandu can be screaming bloody murder around but time, the moment I sit him on my knees to read his evening story (thanks Kathryn for the books!) he calms down and listen religiously to the story... which amazes me since he doesn't understand a thing yet!

2) He started showing a strong perference for some toys. If I try to trick him and give him something else than what he obviously want, he complains.

3) After rolling over for a week, he decided that was not very interesting anymore... I guess having his hands constantly in his mouth even when on his belly doesn't help)

4) He falls asleep super easily after a bath, story, feeding, then usual wakes up around 1 am and 5 am to eat. He also wakes up once or twice in between but falls back alseep easily as long as we kiss him or let him suck on a pinky.

5) He looks at every bite we put in our mouth and seems to really wonder what we are doing.

Playing catch

2011-07-26T13:47:00.002+02:00

Nandu playing catch for the first time... not too bad (says the proud mamma)!

Anna and Claudio's wedding

2011-07-25T20:32:00.003+02:00

Most of the pictures are posted on Picasa, but here are just a few. Overall we had a wonderful weekend in Pollzeno, close to Torino in Italy. Now that we have a car and that I discovered that it is only 3 hours away... we might go back!

Bride and Bridesmaids:

The Groom:

Vishal and Nandu:

The BU crew:

And Nandu again, just because he is soooo cute!

Nap time

2011-07-20T20:59:00.003+02:00

It's been a while since I posted some naptime pictures. So here it goes:

Otherwise, we actually received my dad's car today... I hoped I would never own a car, but I guess this will be useful to overcome my fear of driving. It will also be quite convenient for vacations and weekends. On Nandu's front, he has been waking up about twice per night lately, after being very good and waking only once for two months... I hope it will go back to once soon, because as much as I enjoy my 1am and 4 am facebook/google+ browsing, I enjoy my sleep much more!

Just because I like them

2011-07-16T19:54:00.002+02:00

Just two pics, because I like them. Not much to say, we are having a quiet weekend before going for a crazy weekend to Italy next week.

Found his elbows

2011-07-15T15:53:00.002+02:00

Nandu found his elbows... it's getting harder to put him in the stroller!

After the shots

2011-07-12T20:07:00.002+02:00

Here are just a few pictures taken today. Nandu got his 4 months shots yesterday and was feeling crappy all evening, but today he was back to his normal happy self... with teeth bugging him but that's normal by now!

Doctor's visit

2011-07-11T13:17:00.003+02:00

67cm, 7.08kg aka 26.4in, 15.6 lbs for 4 months and 9 days. All on mum's milk!

So Nandu is about as healthy as he can be :) He is growing very smoothly, and moving (ie rolling around), grabing objects, laughing just like he should be. That means he gets another two months of mom's milk only diet. I am quite happy about it, I really enjoy feeding him now that it is so easy.

What we thought was a tooth a few weeks ago is actually a little harmless cyst, but I had started guess that it was the case since it was not growing. No vampire for us. That said, I hope that he'll sprout his first thooth soon because he spends his whole day with both his hands in his mouth and I really think he hurts a fair amount already!

His nights are now quite easy to start but he wakes up once or twice to feed, which is ok with me as long as he goes back to sleep easily after.

He got more shots today and we'll see how he'll react. So far so good (he didn't even cry for one of the shot) but I am guessing the fever will appear tonight, like two months ago.

Rolled from belly to back :)

2011-07-05T18:09:00.002+02:00

So Nandu rolled from his belly to his back for the first time today. I was busy trying to take a picture of how well he does mini push-up:

When he just rolled over! I put him back on his belly and he did it again 2-3 times, then I waited for Vishal to get home and he did it two more time. I think a new era is opening :) And my guess is that he is not far from rolling from back to belly as well. He came a few inches from actually doing it today.

Otherwise I am also convinced that he has a favorite song. I sing a whole bunch of french songs to him, adults and kids songs and when I start "Le sorbier de l'Oural" he always calmed down and smiles. It's pretty neat. I tried to sing other songs when he is upset but nothing works like that one.

And, he started sucking on his thumb. Which I actually hope he'll do because he always has a huge need for suckling and my pinky could take some vacations!

Anyway... interesting week so far.

4 months

2011-07-02T20:56:00.002+02:00

For his 4 months birthday, we started by eating breakfast at the bakery, then off to the market to buy vegetables, cheese and fish for the week; by a nice sunny Saturday, this is very pleasant! Of course I forgot to bring the camera to the market, so you'll just have a few house pictures, where Nandu poses, smiles, grabs and reads instead.

Holidays (part 2): Pechalifour

2011-06-29T15:06:00.006+02:00

Then we went to my mum in Pechalifour. We spent more time reading, picking mushrooms, playing angry birds, and eating too much. It was perfect. And to top it of, we discovered that Nandu made his first tooth! I have no idea when it actually came out because it is the top right canine... my son is a vampire.

Chantrelles gathered in an hour :)

Tonton Robin

Holidays (part 1): Cadaques

2011-06-28T21:34:00.008+02:00

So we are just back from a two weeks of vacations. The first one in Spain, the second in France.

Cadaques at 7.30 am, on our way to get bread:

We went to Spain by night train, and this went quite smoothly. Nandu cried a bit at first but then we had a fairly peaceful night. After that we arrived in the house, and spend most days trying to make him laugh in every possible ways, which includes eating his feet.

Did a few nice shots in the living room to keep up with the family picture series:

And went on walks along the sea.

To finally finish days at a terrasse eating tapas.

99 days

2011-06-09T20:39:00.003+02:00

Today Nandu is 99 days, and after a day with a friend and her kids, I got home and managed to snap a few good pictures.

Here is a proof that at 99 days Nandu is nearly sitting. Ok he is leaning on Vishal but still!

And I think my son actually is spider man. It always start quite innocently:

But with a little bit of work

And an agile finger,

You can get pretty serious web material!

Spécial dédicace pour Raphaël

2011-06-07T21:15:00.004+02:00

Parce que cet après-midi Nandu ne voulait pas s'endormir...

Nandu écoutait bien cette chanson pendant que j'ai filmé la vidéo. J'ai juste rajouté le son au montage pour qu'on l'entende mieux.

Et je tiens à préciser que la musique vient bien évidemment des petits chanteurs à la gueule de bois: là, ils sont géniaux. Même que Nandu est déjà allé à un de leur concert.

Flying

2011-06-05T09:32:00.003+02:00

This week's new game for Nandu is to fly:

And this is not completly in focus but I figure it was nice headshot so here it goes.

Otherwise Nandu did his first successful car trip between Neuchatel and Geneva (with me driving!) He was super quiet on the highway and cried the whole time we were driving in Geneva.. I guess that means that long car trip will be ok, at least I hope so since we have at least 2 coming up this summer!

Cake

2011-06-02T20:43:00.002+02:00

The best thing about making a cake for your three months old son's birthday, is that you get to eat it all (even if I am sure it will be fun to watch him eat chocolate cake soon enough).

And it still makes an opportunity for nice pictures. First we have th butterfly mode, and second we have the spider mode, trying to build a web with its spit.

3 months :)

2011-06-02T11:08:00.005+02:00

The good thing about a three month birthday that happen on a holiday, is that Vishal and I can take turn napping with Nandu. Note for safety caring people, we usually don't put our comforter over him but it made the picture cuter and we had just opened the window for a bit!

More laughing today

2011-06-01T17:47:00.005+02:00

Today was a very grey and gloomy day outside, but inside it was quite fun!

It was impossible to catch what we did next on video, but it was so much fun! If both Vishal and I try to make him laugh at the same time, each with our own tricks. Nandu freezes and open his eyes very big, like if just overloaded his circuits... so much fun...

And because it was actually quite cold we got to try the hat Aude gave us:

Another sleeping picture

2011-05-31T20:34:00.001+02:00

But this time, it is just before going to bed for the night. Vishal can basically hold him in any position and he keeps sleeping (if he is tired and it is his bedtime).

Sleeping in the stroller

2011-05-29T20:50:00.003+02:00

Since this is his favorite spot to fall asleep lately (except from Vishal's arms of course) I figured it was worth a picture. I love the raised pinkies... it's the eighth of british genes in him that is very much expressed, Granny would be proud!

Laugh and iPhone

2011-05-28T10:05:00.004+02:00

So Nandu (who he often nickname Kuchu as you'll see) knows the iPhone so much that as soon as we try to take a picture of a video with it, he looks at it and stop doing whatever he was doing. This is good for face shots, not so good to take video of him laughing. But here is our attempt (sorry it's a bit long and parts are boring but there are a few nice sequences)

Les Giettes

2011-05-23T20:50:00.004+02:00

This weekend was an important weekend for Nandu: his first weekend in Les Giettes!!!

As always, it started by a nice train ride, where I thought that even if everyone says that Nandu has the same way to look at stuff as me, sometime he just looks like his dad.

Then, after a tram, two trains, a bus and 20 min of walking which Nandu handled perfectly, we arrived at the chalet, where after 15 min he decided to poop. I was so proud of my son's timing!

Time for a feed, and then time to "play" with Nandu's cousin. Well they don't play much now, but I can't wait to see these two hang out in a few years.

After a pleasant afternoon in the sun, we were reminded that we are in Les Giettes and the warm clothes we brough were barely enough.

The day after we woke up to a sunny day perfect to introduce Nandu to the best part of a weekend in Les Giettes: Breakfast in the sun!

A little tour by the kitchen to get things ready for lunch:

And enjoy a beautiful hail storm.

Finally, we had a second gorgeous breakfast this morning, followed by a pleasant morning and a peaceful trip home. Very successeful trip!

Tata Aude

2011-05-20T20:31:00.003+02:00

My aunt Aude was visiting for last few days, so here are a few pictures taken with her.

The first one was taken in the train during a day trip to Neuchatel.

And this was during our lunch in Pierre-a-bot.

This is a reminder that my brother lives in Peru!

And this coming weekend we are going to Les Giettes, the chalet of the family in the Alpes. I am looking very forward to seeing how Nandu will like it! And you should see pictures next week unless we give up on bringing the camera. This will be decide tomorrow when we pack... Since we don't have a car, it will take two trains, one bus and 20 min through the forest to get there!

First laugh

2011-05-16T09:58:00.001+02:00

Just to remember that Nandu laughed for the first time today. Just had to kiss him on each cheeks quite fast and the single giggles he had been doing for a while transformed into a laugh!
What a nice day...

The more the merrier

2011-05-15T21:24:00.003+02:00

This weekend was a very successful one. Yesterday we went to my uncle 70th birthday and Nandu was so perfect it's embarrassing! We arrived, and he started by smiling to everyone, then he had the good manners to fall asleep right as lunch started and slept soundly for a good 2 hours until just before dessert. He was fed, then he went back for another round of charming smiles. Honestly I think this kid just loves to see faces, he was just beaming :) (Ok, proud mamma talking...)

I was wondering how he would sleep after being so stimulated all day long, especially since Friday was also a very full day, with us hanging out with Tibor for three hours at Bain des Paquis. Well Nandu decided that after such a nice two days it was time to reward us with his first sleep through the night! He fell asleep at 8.30pm and woke up at 6.30 am! To be honest I have to say that I was up since 5am, waiting for him to wake up, so I wasn't so rested, but this is good news anyway. I don't even dare to think that he might to the same tonight, but at least we are on a good trend, and we've learnt that he is fine hanging out with people all day long.

And finally here are two pictures:

The first one is to show the ratio of a baby head to his arm... just put your arm against your head and you'll see why we were amazed.

And the second is to show how well Nandu can "sit" now :) Ok I am holding his back, but I am not holding his head! So again, I am proud of my 10 weeks old son. (That's my job for the rest of my life right, being proud of my son?)

No pictures

2011-05-11T20:52:00.003+02:00

But just a little note, to remind myself that Nandu now smiles at himself in the mirror. I don't think he know it is himself, but he find a smiling face in there and just smile back. And he "talks" more and more, I can basically have minute-long "conversation" with him.

One day, he might hate me for this

2011-05-10T21:13:00.004+02:00

but I couldn't resist posting the following picture:

Notice the sticking out of the tongue.. anyone who ever looked at Vishal focusing on anything will know where it come from.

On another note, Nandu seems to be sleeping better and better at night. We are down to 1-2 feedings between 8pm and 7am, when everything goes right. But on the other hand he doesn't seem to enjoy napping at all. If we can get him to sleep 45 min in a row (outside of the scarf) during the day this is considered a good nap. So I guess it's good that we got accepted for daycare three days a week starting in Septembre!

Bathroom fun

2011-05-09T21:09:00.002+02:00

Since bath is part of our bedtime routine, I decided to keep a memory of it.

Signs of a good Saturday

2011-05-07T14:11:00.002+02:00

Number one: Messy table after a very nice brunch with Anouk and Manu

Number two: A baby that fell asleep for a nap after only 5 minutes of rocking!

Number three: a general good mood because everyone slept enough last night. Nandu slept from 8.30pm to 2.30 then ate from 2.30 to 3, and fell back to sleep until 7am. Probably my best night since he was born!

bottle

2011-05-06T13:47:00.002+02:00

Since I'll have to go back to work eventually, we have to make sure that Nandu is able to drink from a bottle. So once in a while I pump my milk and Vishal gives it to Nandu.

Well... since Nandu was able to drink around 100ml in one sitting and was crying bloody murder if we tried to remove the bottle before he was done, I guess we are good to go.

All in 26 seconds

2011-05-05T09:04:00.003+02:00

Here are 26 seconds in which Nandu is in deep discussion with his bears... The actual talking happens only at the end, but still!

This chair is magic! No need to entertain him when he is in there.. And on top of that he managed to grab his blanket.

Poor baby

2011-05-02T20:38:00.002+02:00

Shots were a nasty birthday present... I'll try to remember that next time.
Nandu was ok until about 7pm, but then he started a fever so we gave him some paracetamol and since then he has been sleeping on Vishal... I guess that's not so bad.

But before that happened I was a very proud mom because for his birthday Nandu grabbed an object for the first time (well if you exclude grabbing my shirt while nursing). I am sure it was intentional because he has been trying to grab that thing for about a week now! And I have proof:

Ok, and this one is just for fun:

2 months statistics :)

2011-05-02T10:01:00.003+02:00

First of all, happy 2 months birthday Nandu.

As a present we got him his first set of vaccins... not sure he enjoyed it much, but he doesn't look traumatized, so I guess it's ok.

Right now he is just sleeping in the scarf on my chest, and I am sure that soon he will want to eat.

And this time it's official, we have a big guy. He is now 60 cm, 5.5 kg and his head is 41 cm... It's nice to know that everything is going smoothly. And to make things even better he slept from 8pm to 2.30 am last night. Then he ate and wanted to play a bit, but we got him back to sleep around 3.30 and he then slept till 7am... I hope this will become a trend!

Today it's just pure cuteness

2011-05-01T18:14:00.002+02:00

and not much to say... except that Nandu will be 2 months old tomorrow :) And we go see his pediatrician for the occasion so I'll be able to update you on some fascinating things like his size and his weight... Vishal and I have bets open on his size. Vishal says 62 cm and I say 63cm... Results will be posted tomorrow!

More everyday life

2011-04-29T10:03:00.002+02:00

As usual Nandu sleeps on his dad's lap while we eat :) Vishal has become an expert at one hand eating!

And here is my orchid in full bloom. I wonder how long it's going to last!

Half a smile. He smiles a lot, but not at the camera, sorry!

Here we are trying in new clothes he got for Easter, with the shoes that his Indian grandma knitted for him.

Bath time

2011-04-27T21:15:00.002+02:00

Just a little post to keep a memory of what bath time looks like with a 7 weeks old baby... (This was taken last week, because those who pay attention know that Nandu is actually 8 weeks today!)

Weekend in Neuchatel

2011-04-25T21:13:00.006+02:00

This was Nandu's first visit to his grandpa's house. And it was also the Millenium of the city where I grew up which meant that lots of my friends where in town. We were lucky and it was a very successful first trip out of Geneva, pleasant, relaxing and a lot of fun.

The train ride went smoothly as you can see below. I start to really enjoy feeding him and being able to do it anywhere, so it makes traveling that much easier!

Then, on Saturday, we spent the day having friends over, and Nandu was smiling to everyone (very gratifying for the parents!).

Also, I discovered that I stare at my son a lot... there are basically no pictures of me not watching him! And he spent most of the weekend on his dad's lap, he is always very happy there.

On Sunday we went for a little walk in the city, where we run into a whole bunch of friends... one of the good thing about small towns!

And Vishal decided it was time for his son to become a mac addict.

Finally we took the train back to Geneva and Nandu enjoyed the view before asking to be fed again.

New tricks

2011-04-22T18:30:00.001+02:00

We just discovered today that Nandu actually loves his play mat! Last time I tried (maybe 4-5 days ago) he couldn't care less and just wanted to be picked up. But today he managed to reach for the ball (which has bells in it) and he was mesmerized! Let's hope it's the beginning of him being able to entertain himself a bit...

Avant la balade

2011-04-19T10:44:00.002+02:00

Voila a quoi ressemble les departs en balade pour le moment. Franchement, vive l'echarpe, c'est genial pour se balader tranquillement sans etre encombre d'une poussette.

So here is what going for a walk looks like nowadays.. Slings are the best invention... so simple yet so efficient!

Interactions

2011-04-17T12:46:00.003+02:00

So here is what nap time looks like at my house :)

And here is a little game we play with Nandu, alternating between making him laugh and scaring him a bit with lips noises...

edit: ok, the quality of the video is bad, but this give you an idea.

Learning to pee

2011-04-15T15:19:00.003+02:00

Crash course about baby boy parenthood: When a baby boy has to pee, it is quite obvious, so instead of wasting a diaper, we took the habit of bringing him over the sink, and with the help of a little sounds like "psssss" and some cold water, we usually manage to get him to pee in the sink. So here are a few pictures of such a session:

And here is a visit of the grandpa :)

Yeah!

2011-04-13T08:13:00.000+02:00

Vishal managed to get pictures of Nandu's smile while I was sleeping yesterday :)
He has been smiling for more than a week, but until now none of us had managed to take a picture of it. These are taken with Vishal's phone and from very close, so his head looks a bit deformed, but still you can enjoy the smile.

And here are two versions of the same kid

2011-04-11T20:19:00.000+02:00

The awake kid, probably wondering why I play with my phone instead of feeding him

And the sleepy picture, after the belly has been filled.

Daddy's turn

2011-04-09T19:21:00.000+02:00

Vishal getting a taste of what it means to be pregnant :)

Needless to say that the delivery was much shorter.

Nandu is really getting used to being in the scarf, which is super convenient. As soon as he is in it (and given that he was fed and changed) he sleeps for at least an hour without complaining a bit, regardless of whether we are in the grocery store, the park or home.

Orchids and kid

2011-04-07T14:10:00.000+02:00

In December I brought back an orchid from my mum's house in France. It was blooming when I left but when I arrived in Switzerland it quickly lost all it's flowers. It probably didn't like the trip. But 3 months later, here what it looks like... let's just say I proud :)

And here is the real reason you are visiting this blog...

So in summary this winter I had a kid and an orchid... pretty productive winter!

1 month old

2011-04-02T19:33:00.001+02:00

1 month old and watching India win the cricket world cup :)

well... at least enjoying daddy's shoulder while he watches India win the cricket world cup!

No pictures today

2011-04-01T18:04:00.000+02:00

But a little stat update :) Nandu fait maintenant 56 cm, 4,06 kg et a un tour de tete de 39 cm, c'est passionant comme nouvelle non?
Pour les non-inities, ca veut dire que tout va bien, qu'il grandit beaucoup, grossit correctement (il pourrait grossir plus) et a deja la grosse tete :)

For those who don't understand French, this was just an update of Nandu's numbers (we are physicits after all...) So he is now 56 cm tall, 4.06 kg and his head is 39 cm in diameter... He could be a little fatter for his height, but everything is good.

I'll post new picture soon, promise!

Entre 4 semaines et un mois

2011-03-31T12:10:00.001+02:00

Les sourirs commencent a poindre, mais c'est encore difficile de les photographier, alors en attendant voila 2 grimaces:

Et demain c'est la visite chez le pediatre... curieuse de savoir quel poid il fait mon poulet :)

Here are three more pictures of this third week :)

2011-03-22T07:40:00.000+01:00

Nandu keeps being a little champion, doint everything he is supposed to be doing.. which at this stage is all about eating pooping and sleeping, but he is a champion at all of these things. And we are just proud of him like only parents can be!

According to the friends who were visiting (and who took the picture), Nandu seemed to be in extasy in my arms.. (trick for later, this is a very good thing to say to a first time mom.. it made me quite happy).

And when I am not available, Vishal sooth him with a pinky. It seems to do the trick, but I don't think we fooled him.

Up to now

2011-03-19T14:55:00.000+01:00

Because a few people asked for more pictures, here is a little selection taken over the last two weeks. Nandu is not quite able to smile yet, but he is pretty good at making funny faces. Unfortunately I am especially bad at taking pictures of these funny faces.

So, this one is "Why are you taking a picture instead of feeding me"

There you have "Why on earth did you wake me up, when dad is still sleeping in the background"

And this is Nandu trying to explain something to Vishal but I didn't quite get what they were discussing.

Nandu Robin Sood is here :)

2011-03-04T13:24:00.001+01:00

So here is the before picture

And a few after pictures :)

And a few hours later when Vishal annouce it in India:

And this is this morning, starting to be a little bit more interactive.

In summary, he was born at 12.35 pm on March 2nd 2011. A big guy of 3.750 kg and 51 cm.

What to do on your due date (2)

2011-02-26T20:53:00.000+01:00

Since nothing happens apart from one tiny cramp that could maybe resemble a contraction... we went on to cook the fish:

Well, the fish ( a fera from the lake) was a bit too big for the pot we had, so we had to go to some drastic measures...

The rest was a thai sauce with a lot of ginger, coriander and chilis.. very good, tried to make it as hot as I could handle to maybe speed up labor... but of course forgot to take a picture of the cooked meal, so you'll have to imagine.

And I think this is the end of my due day.

What to do on your due date...

2011-02-26T12:21:00.000+01:00

OK, so what do you do on your due date, when the bean has no intention of coming out.

First you go eat breakfast at the best bakery in town, since you might not have a chance to go there often over the next few weeks:

Then you go by the farmer's market and by a 1.5 kg fish, that you plan to cook with thai spices in the evening. (Maybe pictures of that meal will come after tonight). You get 2 kgs of random leafy green stuff because your husband can't help but inventing saag with leafy green stuff every week. You buy a macaroon because it's so good and then you go home for lunch.

But before cooking lunch, you tell your inside shrimp that it's time to get out now. It's not so cold outside, winter is nearly over, and we are getting impatient to know if you are a she or a he!

Belly contest with the futur grandpa

2011-02-14T11:04:00.001+01:00

So here is a picture taken at 38 weeks and 1 day... I do beat the future grand-pa easily but you have to admit he put up a good fight!

Variations on scones

2011-02-07T10:56:00.000+01:00

More food pictures... because it seems that the only thing we manage to do on weekends these days: cook! The good thing is when we manage to transform a very good scones recipe, into an awesome indian-fusion experiment.

So here are the chives and cheddar (ok, and chorizo) scones... very good, quite standard.

And this looks very similar, but this is the same scones batter, but filled with some steamed potatoes and peas and fried indian spices.

Next time we'll use the same batter to make our own keeman naan... I think we are holding a winner here!

37 weeks and 1 day

2011-02-06T21:23:00.000+01:00

To love is to look in the same direction...

So from yesterday, if the kid is born, it is officially not premature. This is a cool milestone:)

35 weeks and 5 days

2011-01-27T21:44:00.001+01:00

So here, you not only get to see the belly, but you get to see the new iPhone, our office/future baby room (for when the baby will actually need a room) and the fact that a pregnant woman is by definition always to warm and will be in t-shirt even in the middle of winter... well at least I will.

Just to say...

2011-01-26T11:50:00.000+01:00

How do you explain to your foetus that once you are standing straight, there is no way you can make more room for him/her, regardless of how much he/she kicks you?

Food :)

2011-01-16T20:57:00.001+01:00

Just for a change, here is what went into my 34 weeks pregnant belly today for lunch. Idlis, Sambar, mint chutney (all home made), and some store-bought pickles... very very very nice. And even better: dinner was made with left over sambar, fresh-made fish curry, more idlis, more mint chutney.

33 weeks and 4 days

2011-01-12T21:40:00.001+01:00

OK, I know these are dark, and you don't see much but if I wanted to upload any 33 weeks pictures it was these or nothing. Next time I'll try to take them in daylight and outside.

Still a fairly smooth sailing even if I do start to be a bit tired, and I wish I could take hour-long nap in the afternoon. I certainly miss the couch of our BU office!!!

About 6 weeks to go before this egg is fully cooked :) (And then I guess I forget about naps all together)

31 weeks

2010-12-29T12:18:00.001+01:00

Time is flying... and I don't keep my promises!
But here it goes, week 31 and 4 days.

This time it's not pasta that I ate too much of for a week, but cheese, goose, chicken truffle and potatoes... not bad either.

29 weeks

2010-12-12T21:38:00.001+01:00

I swear from now on, I'll take one picture per week.

So here it goes:

As you can see, I am entering the serious part of the whole thing! (And I was in Rome all last week.. stuffing my face with awesome pizza and pasta... but that's another story.)

Everything keeps going very well, and I keep knocking on wood for it to stay that way.
Next picture will be from my mum's house since I'll be going on vacation on Friday.
Have a good week :)

21 weeks

2010-10-17T15:30:00.000+02:00

Here it goes. I don't like posting pictures on facebook so I'll put my pregnancy pictures up here.
This was taken today and I am 21 weeks (aka about 5 months) along. Vishal and I decided not to know what the sex of the baby is, so it's a mistery in there!

Probably not my best head shot, but you are supposed to look at the belly :)

Bike path

2010-07-27T11:19:00.000+02:00

I know it's been ages since I wrote anything here, it will get better soon I promise!

But for today I wanted to tell you how much I like my bike path to work:

First of all, half of it is in a bike/pedestrian street. Yep, it's not just a bike lane, it's an entire bike street. On the sides their are parks with tiny swimming pools and games for kids. It's brilliant. It's like a whole street of green and friendly goodness, but unlike most parks, it actually goes somewhere. I know there is a project to extend it roughly all the way to CERN, this would be even more brilliant if it ever happens. Big bike arteries to go into the city would be awesome.

Second there is the bike lane/bike street light on the way down towards the pont Sous-Terre. For a long time the bike lane was nice, it's a mix bike lane/bus lane so it's very wide, but until two weeks ago there was a traffic light right in the middle of the way down, which is really annoying when you bike and are enjoying the speed for once! Since the traffic light is for incoming traffic from the left, there is asbolutely no reason for the bikes (in the bike lane) to obey the traffic light unless they are pedestrain wanting to cross, so I was in the habit of not obeying that light (after checking for pedestrian of course). A few months ago I saw cops regularly at the traffic light, so I slowed down but didn't stop. They never arrested me, so I kept on going.
Since 2 weeks ago, there is a special bike street light which is always green unless a pedestrian wants to cross. This again is brilliant city planning. The cops actually observed what the bikers where doing, realized it made sense, and change the street lights accordingly so we are not breaking the law. Honeslty if they do that all over the city, Geneva will be a dream form bikers!

Sleep experiment

2010-03-20T17:27:00.000+01:00

Since I needed to take shifts in Japan, I decided to do an experiment on myself.
I picked 7 days of consecutive night shifts with no free day before or after. So basically, even if I am in Japan, I am on European time. Now, if we always lived inside, and the sun didn't matter, this should work just fine. But with my current schedule of going to bed at 8am and waking up around 4pm, I basically see the sun for about an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. Which is not so different from being a grad student in a windowless office, like I was for the past 6 years. The only remaining variable is that I cannot make my room completely dark, the curtains are not good enough for that. I decided to try to go running everyday when I wake up at 4pm, just to make sure I go outside when there is sunlight. I am curious to see how I'll feel in a week and if I'll be jet-lagged when going back to Europe.

Right now, one and a half day in the experiment, I feel ok, but I do have the impression it is the middle of the night. Somehow my body knows it.. let's see if it will change.

Je m'insurge!

2010-03-03T10:10:00.000+01:00

Le Croque-menus, le livre de recette de mon enfance, celui que l'on nous donnait a l'ecole, celui que j'utilise encore souvent quinze apres, le croque-menus va etre re-editer sans les recettes contenant de l'alcool. Plus de fondue au vin blanc, plus de jambon au Madere!!!!!! Mais c'est quoi cette histoire. Heureusement j'ai encore ma vieille version, mais je plains deja les futurs ecoliers. Je ne recommande evidemment pas les cuites a 15 ans, mais il ne faut pas pousser le politiquement correcte trop loin non plus. Une goutte de vin dans la fondue n'a jamais fait de mal a personne.

Swimming in lakes and rivers

2009-07-08T10:41:00.000+02:00

It's amazing how much I love swimming in lakes and rivers.
Over the last few days between a trip to Paris and hours debugging/learning c++ code in my office, I had time to go swimming twice in the Rhone, and a few times in the lake. Even if I had full work weeks, this feels just like holidays.

If the Charles was clean enough to swim, can you even imagine how awesome Boston would be! I love Boston, but I always missed swimming.

Otherwise, being back home is really nice so far. Lots of family time, lots of friends time, and lots of good food. I know winter will be harsher, it tends to be just grey and boring, but at least now, Geneva is just a pleasure.

One more day

2009-06-09T21:19:00.000+02:00

Two more birdy pictures. Because Geneva was spoiling me tonight.. we gorgeous rainbows over the Alps, and raimbows over the bird.

Otherwise not much to say. Tomorrow I'll go listen to a concert by my childhood friend Lole, one more thing I have been dreaming to do when I was in the US. I miss Boston though.. I miss you guys a lot.

So from now on this blog will be in English

2009-06-08T11:45:00.000+02:00

Because the whole point of a blog is to let your friends far away know how you are, what you doing and stuff like this. And now that I am back in Switzerland, well most of my friends far away are in Boston. So here it is, now this blog is in English (with probably some exceptions once in a while).

Geneva has been really nice to me so far. Decent weather, good old friends, welcoming family, weekend in the Alps, evenings at "terrasses", and.. and... my cousin (who is my current roommate) lives just above one of the best bakery in Geneva (ergo I live just above on of the best bakery in Geneva). This means perfect chocolate croissants whenever I want except on Mondays when they are closed. I swear I'll post pictures of my office soon, but right now here is a little bird taken from my balcony..

These defendue et tout et tout

2009-04-29T21:42:00.000+02:00

Voila deux semaines que je suis docteur :-)
Entre temps, j'organise mon demenagement a Geneve, j'ai chante "Cenotaph" d'Argento et la grande messe en do mineur de Mozart a Symphony Hall avec le choeur de l'universite, et je profite du printemps qui est arrive a Boston a tout vitesse. C'est chouette quand les choses avancent!

Et voila une photo d'apres ma defense:

De retour

2009-04-07T14:13:00.001+02:00

Dans une semaine je defends ma these, et dans deux mois je serai de retour en Suisse. Apres onze ans, ca va faire bizarre de pouvoir manger des Caracs quand je veux, de devoir me soucier de mon numero d'AVS, de pouvoir voter autrement que par correspondance, et de raler contre le brouillard en hiver. Ceci dit, je me rejouis beaucoup.
Post-doc a l'uni de Geneve, je commence le premier juin... ca m'a fait tout bizarre de recevoir la paperasse pour mon premier boulot en Suisse.

Bon bon.. ceci dit il faut que je defende ma these lundi, et pour ca, j'ai interet a preparer mon talk maintenant.

The magic of wifi and laptops...

2008-11-30T20:33:00.000+01:00

Depuis quelques semaines, l'endroit ou je travaille le mieux c'est dans un cafe pres de Central Square (Andala). L'ambiance est decontractee, les serveurs veillent a ce que j'ai toujours un verre d'eau plein. La musique est tranquille. La plupart des gens travaille, quelques uns causent. C'est tellement plus agreable que mon bureau sans fenetres ou je suis seule la plupart du temps.

Jusqu'a peu, travailler dans les cafes etaient reserves aux ecrivains aujourd'hui avec mon ordi, et une bonne connection internet dans le cafe, j'ai tous ce qu'il me faut pour bosser. Dans mon bureau je n'utilise rien de plus.

Un vrai plaisir de bosser un dimanche, alors que dans mon bureau je l'aurais ressenti comme un punition..

Balade dans le Maine

2008-11-26T18:03:00.000+01:00

Un peu dans le desordre, il faisait froid donc on s'est balade un peu dans les collines, un peu au bord de la plage, et on s'est beaucoup rechauffe dans la voiture.
Un joli week-end a dans la parc national d'Acadie, dans le Maine, avec Anouk et Manu.