Ménagerie de Felix.

Felix was a very lucky little boy today because his Mummy came home with a present for him.



Some miniature animals to add to his fast growing zoo collection. Cow, Horse and Camel.



Felix loves playing with his hand painted animals, taking them out with him in the pram, having meals together and comparing tail size. So far Panda wins the smallest tail competition, with Piggy a close second.


They always appear at different places around the apartment - by the window, on the armchair, in the back of the truck, in the bathroom, etc.

Daddy was a little shocked to stumble across the brochure of all the animals. It's huge! Over 34 different horses alone. After having flicked through the brochure Daddy can understand Felix's (and Mummy's) addiction.

The question is which animal will be next chez nous? Actually, word on the street is that it will be Hippo. Interestingly enough, is that it is the same company who does the Smurfs!!

Felix's 1st chat on the phone.

This morning we decided to call Nanna in Sydney for a chat to see how she was going and give her an update on Felix and his new blog. (Hello Nanna in Sydney if you are reading this over the weekend!!)

Felix had his own red phone (with in-built bell) and was very interested in his conversation and was chattering away, especially when Nanny was speaking to Nanna.





They looked very cute together.



Of course Mummy had to capture the moment for Nanna in Sydney.

And that was when Felix decided to give up on his phone and actually have his own real chat with Nanna on the phone.


Something clicked about actually talking to people on the real phone (with some help from Mummy to hold the phone). It was his first real phone conversation and the topics included lion roars, ducks and parks.


No doubt there will be many more in the future!

Photo-of-the-Week.

Okay it seems there is a new favourite Photo-of-the-Week. After all, it is a new week.

This morning Felix was having one of his dreamy moments gazing out the window at the two big trees that are just behind our little zen garden. It's his favourite spot in the apartment and he often sits and gazes out the window lost in thought.

Funnily enough it is exactly the same spot we had his bassinet when he was a tiny newborn.

I'd love to know what was going through his mind.

Jardin Atlantique.

It was a rather gloomy day outside today, with grey clouds lingering in the sky all afternoon. So we decided to keep relatively close to home and visit Jardin Atlantique on top of Gare Montparnasse.


As soon as we were out of the lift, Felix wanted to walk or rather push his stroller. So I set him free and he was off. This particular park is very good exercise as there is a long hilly path he can follow, grass to play on and other things to amuse him along the way.


Of course the mini stroller is the best toy to have here as he can get himself into all kinds of trouble.


Note the holes and the LONG GRASS!!


EEEeeek. Where have your legs & feet gone Felix??

Picnics, Sunglasses & Merry-Go-Rounds.

Being a public holiday here today we decided to take Felix for a picnic at Park Montsouris. The great thing about this park is you can actually enjoy the lush grass and sit on it, play ball on it and even roll on it. A novelty for Parisian parks.

So we packed up the stroller and set off whilst the sun beamed down on us (finally). As soon as we arrived in the park Felix let us know he wanted to walk (both signing and saying walk).

The grass was quite long after all the rain we have had recently which made it a bit tricky for Felix to fight his way through it - it was knee level after all!!

But he did look rather funky in Mummy's sunglasses.


And if you look really carefully in the shot below you can see Nanny and Pappy.



We found a lovely shadey tree and set up our picnic rug and really enjoyed ourselves eating yummy food and generally having a very relaxing time.


Felix was in toddler heaven!


And then it started raining. Eeek. With only one umbrella between the 4.5 of us (Nanny and Pappy too) we were a bit stuck so we camped under a big tree for shelter.

Luckily after about 30 minutes it blew over and we continued down to see the horses (ponies really), ducks and turtles. Felix even had a ride on the merry-go-round.

Top this off with some delicious crêpes and all-in-all a great afternoon was had by all.

The red raincoat.

It's been pretty wet and cold in Paris recently (yes rather odd for summer in Paris) so Felix has been sporting his brand new red rain coat around the little lanes near where we live.


He was pretty chuffed with himself as he loves to be wearing something new. Even better, he was also wearing his red gum boots - his favourite shoes for puddle splashing.


He took himself very serious exploring the cobblestone lanes for puddles. But alas there weren't too many to be found. But that didn't stop him from stomping everywhere.

Pudd-dell? Pudd-dell? Pudd-dell?


We found a few puddle remnants for splashing and had a great time wandering (at toddler pace) through the little lanes.


The outting came to a sudden close when it started raining and we ran (at toddler pace) to get home as silly mummy didn't have a raincoat or an umbrella.

Thankfully Felix stayed nice and dry in his coat!

Fave Photo-of-the-Week!

This is Mummy's vote for favourite photo of the week.

It was taken Sunday morning whilst M&D were on the phone to Aunty Caitlin in Bris-Vegas. We'd just finished a delicious croissant & pain au chocolat breakfast (our traditional Sunday family treat) with Nanny and Pappy and decided to call Aunty C to say hello.

Felix wasn't overly chatty but was very keen to show off his lion and tiger growls, which of course was greeted with many smiles, especially from a very proud Aunty Caitlin.

Wishing you were here!!

New discoveries.

So having done the rounds of most of the local parks Felix and Mummy were rather proud to have made a new discovery yesterday of a nearby park.

Only 5 minutes away with lots of interesting things for a boy of 20 months to entertain himself (and if you look carefully in the background you can see a few long benches for Mummy to have a wee rest too).


Felix was pretty excited by it all as he ran, climbed and pushed his pram everywhere as if to mark his territory.


He especially love the tunnels with very special transulcent windows.


All-in-all a succesful afternoon!


Even better is that when we arrived home he was EXHAUSTED!

Felix da Vinci.

So we decided to explore the art of indoor finger-painting. Felix wasn't into it to start with (being a bit on the anal-retentive side - as most toddlers are).

Yuck, what is this gunk on my fingers?

But after some persistence, he was completely in the spirit of it all and really started to get into what he was doing whilst being oblivious to the ever present paparazzi (except for the occassional glare).


He was quite taken by mixing the colours - adding a touch of colour here and there.



But all in all a pretty impressive piece for a 20-something (month that is).

Having said he enjoyed it, when it was time to get clean ... it was time to get clean NOW mummy!!!

Word of the month - 'Pea-zse'

Over the past month Felix has been getting his mouth around the word 'Please' although with his toddler accent it is more like 'Pea-zse' with a nice wide grin at the same time. I am sure he knows that when he says it we would do anything for him. Something about the little cheeky sparkle in his eye tells me that.

Nevertheless it is very sweet and we are very proud that at 20 months he has already mastered the art of please and thankyou.

The world will definitely be his oyster. Who could resist?

Zee-Zeat.

Felix is quite a difficult name to get your mouth around and that sure is the case for a little 20 month old toddler. Recently Felix has started saying his name. Only thing is it sounds more like 'Zee-Zeat' than Felix. (One could point out that it has a remarkable likeness to his favourite football star ZZ, who has only fallen a little notch since the head butting incident). Nevertheless it is a start.

Zee-Zeat also has taken quite a fondness to studying his reflection in the hall floor-to-roof mirrors. He pulls different faces and studies his expressions. From what I have read (yes many many books) this is quite a normal phase.

As is the phase of repeating all his favourite words before bedtime, whilst he is trying to get to sleep. More often than not at the moment it is Nan-ny, Pap-py, Dad-dy & Mum-my. Definitely the words of the week!!!

Nan-ny and Pap-py!

Felix is being COMPLETELY spoilt at the moment as his nanny and pappy are visiting from Mooloolah Valley for the month of August.


Their first weekend here we visited the viaduct between Bastille and the 12th. There is a lovely garden (or elevated linear garden) and down below are all the artisans and designers housing various pieces of modern furniture or contemporary art work.

It was quite a warm afternoon so we caught some rays, refreshed ourselves on some lovely Eric Kayser tortes and generally had a lovely afternoon wearing the little man out surrounded by greenery, flowers and sunshine!!




Felix has also been brushing up his football skills with his Queensland grandparents. Watch out Thierry Henry you might have some competition in a few years (especially if daddy has anyhing to do with it!!).

And the pram is still pretty popular (although somewhat more lifesize now!!).


Felix even looked after nanny and pappy last weekend whilst M&D galavanted at Fruitstock in Regents Park. Nanny and Pappy were very well behaved for Felix and didn't seem to have any tantrums...and vice versa which is good. Three nights away from the little man and he didn't seem to mind at all - perhaps had something to do with being completely spoilt and entertained all weekend.

Although M&D did arrive back to a strange new Felix fascination in tails...especially panda's.

MMmmmm.....tails!!

Summertime.

So Felix has been on summer holidays over the past few months - Crete and the South of France. Crete was lovely and very relaxing. Just what the family needed. Some rest and relaxation in the sun. Felix went swimming morning and night and seemed to enjoy the jet-setting european lifestyle.

Next stop Vence.


In Vence (20 minutes from Nice) we visited Bon Papa, who Felix was thrilled to see as was evident by the consistant 'Bonpa, Bonpa, Bonpa'.

Each day we went in Bon Papa's car which seemed to start Felix's love of cars & trucks. And of course hot afternoon's were spent by the beach with Mummy, Daddy and Bon Papa.


Felix also loved exploring the paved streets of Vence and in particular the water fountain which was a great way to cool down on a hot afternoon.



Of course no trip to the south would be sufficient without a visit to the next town St Paul de Vence where daddy spent his summer holidays (before the tourists arrived). And why not really?


And now it seems now that we have returned and are to spend August in Paris it has turned cold on us. Brrrr...its been down to about 13 degrees recently...what's with that???

Felix's Grandma from Sydney called the other day to ask how we were surviving in the heat. I had to hold back my laughter and explain that we have all been struggling with how many layers to wear.

Nevertheless Felix seems to be oblivious to 'the weather' and instead is just going about his days being entertained with local parks, balls, keys, cars, cars and more cars. Did I mention he loves his cars at the moment? We'll he drives them everywhere. He is also pretty crazy for tractors and trucks too.

Brroooooooommmmm ... there is certainly no confusing he is a little boy!!

Pool Party.

Nothing beats a hot summer Parisian day better than enjoying a pool party with the girls. And that is exactly what Felix did this 30 something degree afternoon.


Felix had great fun with Max, Freja, Lucy and then Alex dropped in too for some fun towards the end of the afternoon.


What a fun way to enjoy a playgroup!