Our girl was sick and teething and coughing recently (yes, all at once), so when she wasn’t too keen on supper, we were indulgent. On Monday night she was well again, but when I came home, Daddy was already engaged in the supper battle with her. Since sometimes she’ll eat with one of us but not […]

It’s been a while since I last ran after my girl with the mike. Not for lack of expression on her part, on the contrary, but rather for lack of mastery of said mike, which is integrated in my walkman, one of her favourite “tech toys”. But this morning she was so engrossed in sorting […]

Do you know the difference between German and French fire-fighters? The German ones drive a big red truck with a blue light and a siren that goes “tatütata”, as any German child will tell you. The French ones drive a big red truck with a blue light and a siren that goes “pim-pom-pim-pom”, as any […]

It is a special moment when your child first says her name. I still remember the midwife in the hospital telling me to call her by her name often so she would understand that it meant her. She was less than a day old then. And now she’s 18 months and two weeks, and she […]

A friend, mother of four, told me just the other day that “every day she may surprise you with something new”. And so she did. I was on the phone with my mother today, with the loudspeaker on so my girl would hear her granny, and when we’d finished my mother said a few words […]

I knew I’d forgotten some in my list yesterday. And now I’m wondering what counts as a word – does it count if she repeats after us? In which case she said “va” for “vache” (cow in French) today and “go-go-go” when we say it when we want to get going. But this one I’m […]

Over the Christmas holidays at her German granny’s, our little girl (18 months old as of yesterday) has perfected the art of saying “yes” and “no” with her head. We have made some educated guesses at the syllables that she’s been uttering in the past two weeks: “ga-ga” – (rubber) duck – from “quack-quack” (sound […]

We know for sure our girl understands both our languages. Whether Mommy asks “Gib Mama ein Küsschen auf die Wange” or Daddy requests “Donne un bisou à papa”, she knows we are asking for a kiss on the cheek (and we usually get it, unless she’s crying or really occupied). For some reasons, her Dad […]

This is one of the funny things that happen with young children. Not mine, since she’s neither reading nor writing yet, but the 3½-year-old son of our friends. He started pre-school this autumn and already scribbles some letters. So when mommy and daddy recently said he should write a letter to Santa, he proudly wrote […]

Last night, I regretted having neglected the teaching of baby signs, when my little girl cried and cried and wouldn’t stop. Then her daddy had a great idea: He put her down and let her walk off. Where she went? Straight into the living room and to her high chair. The message was clear: “I’m […]