Postcards from the Edge of France

(As you can see this post is a long one...mainly for Rob and I because we'd like to remember this trip as best as we can later.)

We finally did it. Rob and I took our first extended trip without Elijah. I remember before we even planned to have Elijah how I used to spout the virtues of parents leaving parenthood behind and enjoying a trip alone from time to time. Having finally done it, I can now say with experience that it is indeed very important. We had a fun, romantic and relaxing time. It basically felt like a second honeymoon. Our batteries are fully recharged.

But let me just say, I was not prepared for the amount of anxiety I would feel about being away from Elijah for almost an entire week. Of course, it sure did help that we were heading to the south of France. But that was also part of the problem...if something (God forbid) happened, we'd be so far away. The fact that he was in my mom's care certainly helped though, especially because she's a nurse. So then the only other problem I had was that, being only 2 1/2 years old, maybe Elijah wouldn't understand why we weren't around anymore and would feel abandoned or something. I know, I know, I was being melodramatic, which is easy for me to say now because I learned after-the-fact that he loved every minute of his time alone with his Nana.

Apparently, we did a darn good job explaining to him beforehand that mama and papa were going on "vacation" (we were careful not to mention that airplanes were involved because then he'd have a fit about coming along. Anytime he sees or hears an airplane it's, "Ji-jah fly airpane, toooo!") We left right before he was about to take a nap. We explained to him that we'd be gone when he woke up. My mom said that when he did finally wake up, he cried a good cry as the vague concept of "vacation" actually sunk in for him. But then that was it. After that, it was all about Nana, Nana, Nana. In fact, when we got back, he called me "Nana" for a few days. I'd say, "I'm not Nana!" And then he'd smile a wicked smile and call me "Papa" instead. Such a jokester. While on our trip, we called him once a day at the same time (okay, so maybe I called twice some days) and he sounded like his normal happy-go-lucky self. That really helped us enjoy our vacation. That, and the fact that we were in Nice, alone, with no toddler-duties.

Needless to say, we were extremely excited on the plane ride back home. It almost reached the level of anticipation we felt when I went into labor, and so without the labor pains, you could just imagine how excited we were to see him. We thought he might be in the middle of his nap when we reached home, but nope, to our great surprise, he was standing in the window waiting for us! There was lots and lots of hooting and hollering and hugging and kissing all around.

He looked and acted older than when we first left. Apparently, he had a crash course in Phonics while we were away. Thanks to being around my mom who didn't quite pick up most of what he was saying at first, he was forced to really pronounce his words. It kinda freaked us out actually. He seemed almost a year older.

Well, it was so beautiful in Nice that I just had to post a few pictures...knowing me, I'll never get around to developing them, so at least this way, there's a mini-album somewhere.

We took a short trip to Monaco as well (see down below.) I never knew it was a country that was nestled in the mountains, much like San Francisco. All the roads are basically switchbacks that zig zag up and down the mountain sides. It's just beautiful and makes for breathtaking views everywhere you look.

Of course, we had to check out Monte Carlo while we were there...

Monaco is insane. Beyond even "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." Yep, that about sums it up. C'est la vie. ~Nasreen

P.S. I'm finally catching up on some posts that I've been meaning to make on this blog, so in case you haven't seen it yet, scroll down below to my posting from earlier today to see some latest pictures of Elijah...