Princess "P" and her tree house

This picture is not in focus but, out of the 15 self-portraits I took, this one is the best. PJ is supposed to be taking a nap. The funny thing is, while sitting on the couch in the living/dining/office/2nd bedroom we can see her in the reflection of the bathroom mirror - goofing off and not sleeping! So, I knew we should capture it so I could remind her for the rest of her life how she would not take a nap and would not go to sleep at night until I came to bed.

I'm so proud of her that she has no fear of climbing the ladder up into the tree house. As soon as she saw the ladder, she scrambled right up, with no assistance, but with me and Lisa cringing and ready to catch her if she slipped or fell. She isn't afraid to look or even hang her head over the side, either.

I enjoy the close quarters of the apartment. I have slept with my kid every night and each time she either holds my hand or curls up on my shoulder to fall asleep.

Paris, or maybe it's all of Europe, is family oriented and they do not hate the site of little children. Last night our server/bartender/cook/restaurant owner took our dinner order with a 14 month old baby on his hip. You would never see this in Scottsdale, maybe in the mountains of Colorado, but never have I seen such a pleasant sight. I have never felt welcomed let alone empowered because I am mommy&baby like I do here in Paris. This is how it should be. Maybe in America we would not have so many self esteem problems if, as little children, we were appreciated and not set aflame with the glares of retirees. I live in Carefree, AZ - a retirement town - and everything in the baby aisle of the grocery store has gone stale and when I enter a store or restaurant I am met with many unwelcoming eyes. You can maybe sense I am a little scorned that they don't appreciate us, after all, my kid is not screaming or throwing fits. She is just there, that brat, how dare she?

Look at this wonderful painting of baby Jesus and his mommy. I know, I know there is a lot more going on in the painting but all I see is the basic life that is mommy and her baby and I love it. So many people find breast feeding inappropriate and shameful. I, however, have never felt closer to God than the first time my baby was able to latch on and I was feeding her, and then for the months following as I got better at feeding her and the closeness I felt to my baby. It's so natural and wonderfully weird. I think in America this painting would be banned and here it was one of the first we got to see.

Here is one of the oh-so-famous rose windows of Notre Dame. One of two incredible works of art. Again, the quality of the photo is not perfect but it gives great depth. The tiny little people and the giant stained glass windows.