Thursday, March 22, 2012

Spring Break!

Hello faithful 10s of readers! I am back with a little life update. It's been a hectic few months, I'm defending my prospectus in a month and have been submitting drafts to my advisor, applying to grants for summer research, and trying to keep up with teaching and coursework. We had spring break a few weeks ago and I managed to relax a little and think about something other than school. Auntie Sara came for a few days to help Antonia buy her first pair of outside shoes and discover the dinosaurs. 

Antonia is such a little PERSON now! She says all kinds of things, feels VERY strongly about what she wants and doesn't. Favorite things: baby dolls, pictures of animals, toes (piggies), blowing kisses, drinking water, hitting you on the face yelling "Doh!" (No). Taking walks, being chased, books, ATTENTION.




After spending a long time getting Antonia sized and trying to sell my kidney on the black market to pay for a pair of baby shoes, we got one pair then wizened up and went to a second hand (foot) shop where I found a little pair of uggs and four other pairs of cute shoes for the same price as the first pair! 


Guillaume had to let off some steam too. So he rented a chainsaw to trim the hedge. Nuff said. 





Two days before we were supposed to leave for Montana, Antonia spiked a fever of 103.1! It turns out she had an ear infection. It's a good thing we're still nursing, that and sleeping with Mama and Papa really helped. 


Mischievous little thing. 




The easy part of the plane ride to Bozeman. Luckily Antonia slept most of the way. The rest of the time she was squirting yoghurt into her hair and all over me. We were bumped to first class and so our fellow travelers must have been extra excited to hear the "Polar bear polar bear, what do you hear?" book read 449 times in a row. 



First thing's first, we left Antonia with Mumia and headed to Bridger! It was GLORIOUS. Because it was Wednesday, the slopes were empty, they had had 60 inches in the past week, it was sunny but not warm enough to make the snow swampy. In short, some much needed fresh air and parent bonding time!




Ski lift rides with Guillaume are usually places to dream about our next trip. So we had to quickly check prices to Australia while taking a "thigh" break on the North Bowl. 


Skiing is the best seasoning. 



I was super proud of this picture. I called it "Sky lift and land lift." From Pierre's Knob. 


Just checking some Sessy street before going to bed. 


The Bozeman Public library was fun (mostly for Guillaume, who had to build a major tower with the blocks. Antonia just ran around pointing at animals and saying dothhtdododoodotth!!)





Hanging out with friends, singing various national anthems and giggling. 





Sled/hiking at Hyalite. It was so balmy! Then it was time for the trip back... Antonia was SOOOO good. She was just an angel, really. Slept the duration of the two flights and was happy when she was awake. 




Back in Pittsburgh. 

We'll be going to Philadelphia next week to visit friends! (I'll be presenting at a conference at UPenn). Then I have a few more weeks of school, my prospectus defense, and we're off again to Montreal.