Cá! Cá!

We visited Auntie Ngan in L.A. last weekend and she took us to the Long Beach aquarium. Needless to say, Sophie loved it.

Sophie performing the "Aquarium Shuffle"

Surfin' in the USA

We've been back in the U.S. a week now and Sophie's already acclimating to the Cali lifestyle...

Who is she talking to?

Sophie often holds up random things to her ear and chats away.

American Idol 2028?

Sophie likes to give us a song and dance as we prepare her evening bath. Sorry for the poor quality of the first video--we're still getting used to the camera. Guess what song she's singing in each video...

Just Desserts

Sophie loves her dessert! Every time we bring some out, she giggles with glee. She loves chocolate...

but macaroons always win.

(Eat your heart out, Auntie Tran! We know you're salivating.)

Moulin Rouge

The infamous Red Windmill

Look what the cat dragged in...

Check out my new hat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sophie's impersonation of a lost tourist...

Looking Fiiiierce!

The Louvre

According to Dan Brown, Mary Magdelene is buried beneath the main entrance (the glass pyramid behind us).

Mommy's favorite ancient sculpture, Winged Victory (aka Nike)

Daddy loves the large Renaissance masterpieces

Enough with the Art 101, Mommy!

Looking a little glazed over...

 

This was how we left...I guess Sophie didn't care much for the art

But she perked up for the Tuileries

(garden pathway leading from Champs Elysee to the Louvre)

Paris!

Some pictures from our first week in the city of light.

Sacre Couer (just a 10 minute walk--but lots of stairs--from our apartment)

 

Sophie loves riding the metro.

Musee D'Orsay (Impressionism Museum, used to be an old train station), Sophie's holding her newly purchased book on Van Gogh!

 

Rubbing elbows with Frenchies at a brasserie.

Contemplating what Rodin's "Thinker" is thinking about...

What's that mommy?

Chillin' after a long day of sightseeing.

 

Au Revoir Aix!

Tomorrow we leave for Paris.
We will miss many things about this bourgeouis town...

The market just down the street.

Sophie loves these fried raviolis.

  The many fountains around town.

 and of course, our favorite park, Jardin Vendome.

Fall in France

Sophie loves the crinkly leaves...

Goofy laugh!

Don't know where she got it from but she's been doing it a lot lately!

Goin' Fishing!

...at the park

Making friends

If you listen carefully to her "conversation" with the French girl, you can hear that it consists of her favorite words: "ca" (fish in Vietnamese) and "woof woof" (referring to dogs).

We miss Sophie's high chair!

We had to leave the lovely wooden high chair in Vietnam. Thus, dinner time has been more eventful...

Making sure mama eats her greens.

I love pasta!

Bonjour tous le monde!

We left Vietnam a little over 2 weeks ago and after a looonnnggg travel day (30+ hours), we arrived to France. We've settled in and are now enjoying our time in Aix-en-Provence. Here are a few pics from the past few weeks.

Settling in for the long flight.

Duty Free!

Enjoying the Oryx Lounge in Doha Airport

First steps in France!

Enjoying gelato in Aix

Catching some sun in Cassis

Lost in Nice (again Maman?!)

Ha! I found the way--Sophie wasn't too impressed.

Putting Sophie to work...

Sophie helped clean house the other day.
First, she made sure our dustpan and broom were clean.

Then she swept...

and mopped!

Harvest Moon Festival!

Last Monday was Harvest Moon which is a popular kids holiday in Vietnam. Daddy bought Sophie a lantern which he used to have when he was a kid. At first, Sophie didn't know what to make of it.

 But then we added fire...

Our apartment complex also threw a celebration for all the kids. Sophie received a warm welcome from her French amie Emma.

We all scream for ice cream!

Sophie often insists on feeding herself these days...

mostly, it's just the trying that keeps her content.

This is what happens when you stick your finger in a moving fan...

It looks much worse than it really was.
She had full use of her hand by dinner time...

Check out my new dance moves!

How do you put this darn thing on?

What is she doing?

If it ever snows in Vietnam...

Sophie is ready! (Thanks Auntie Tran for the threads!)

Have you seen my pearls?