Jake and Dannie 
Our departure date for our trip to Paris is just over a week away, and that means it’s time to make absolutely sure we have all of our ducks in a row. It’s been a particularly hectic month here at Jake and Dannie. I’ve been busy editing photos from wedding season, and Jake’s had his hands full with Lisa (especially since she had a nasty cold)! At the same time, there have been some changes in the extended family as my mother moved away, and Jakes parents came back to town. We’ve also been trying to refocus ourselves on living a healthy lifestyle, which was made all the more challenging when we both caught that nasty cold Lisa had! Anyway, packing!
Packing it All
We decided we probably ought to go over our packing lists and make sure we had everything we needed, and that we could fit it all into our suitcases. I don’t want to brag, but I feel like we’ve been pretty good about these preparations, and we’ve come up with some pretty good solutions. Our biggest concern was probably where Lisa was going to sleep. Jake mentioned earlier that we’d bought a peapod tent for Lisa to sleep in, but for the last week we’ve been working on actually getting her to sleep in it. I was afraid it was going to be a nightmare (no pun intended), but after fussing the first couple times we put her in there, she now just lies down and goes to sleep. Jake helpfully lies outside her tent with her until she drifts off. Sometimes he falls asleep on the floor, but the stiff neck is worth it to know that she’s getting her rest without the risk of falling or wandering off while we sleep at night. The best part is that unlike a crib or a pack n’ play, the peapod folds up and takes up nearly no room in our suitcase.
I’ve also been working on the wardrobe, I’m in the mood for vintage inspired pieces, and I want to wear modern but romantic dresses (as much as I can) while we are in Paris. The Trench coat was actually the hardest piece to accuire, I want a long length trench coat that can withstand a few drops of rain, but also long enough to cover all of my midi and maxi cut dresses. I packed alot of earthy colors: french navy and hunter green. I’m still looking for the perfect shade of red lipstick to complete the effortless romantic Parisian look 🙂 The Alice blue Kate Spade dress is saved for a very special location - Versailles. Beacause Lisa has a powder blue princess dress that we are planning to dress her in at Versailles. Even though I never like the matchy matchy mother-daughter look, I figure, it’s Versailles! Let’s just live our Princess dreams. (Jake is sitting somewhere rolling his eyes)
Keeping Healthy
Of course I want to look good in our photos, but lately staying healthy has meant a lot more than minding my figure. It’s the first time since Lisa’s been born that we’ve had any problem with illness in the house. I guess we should be proud that we’ve stayed healthy for over a year, but it’s still a bit frustrating, especially since it sometimes taps us of our will to go out and take photos. Nothing makes you feel less photogenic than sniffling and coughing. Luckily Lisa got better quickly, and only Jake and I have symptoms anymore.
I remember early on we were so worried that we would catch something and bring it home to Lisa. Turns out it went the other way. We’ve been packing cough drops with us wherever we go, and resting as much as possible, so think we should be good to go on the 13th when our plane takes off (I’d hate to be one of those people coughing on the airplane who everyone glares at out of the corner of their eye).
Changes Around the House
We’ve also been adjusting to Lisa’s growth and maturation. She’s walking all over the place now, which is great for photography, but creates new challenges as well. We’ve had to expand our baby proofing to cover an additional couple of vertical feet. Last week she even reached up and turned a doorknob to walk out of the room - I didn’t know 12 month olds could do that!
On the plus side, now that she’s a year old we feel comfortable expanding her diet. She enjoys eating a lot more, now that we give her food that looks more like what Mommy and Daddy are eating. It’s still a struggle sometimes, but a lot less ends up on the floor than it used to.
We booked our Airbnb only 10min walk from the Eiffel Tower and I can’t wait to have a picnic with Lisa, Susie and Jake under the Eiffel Tower.
That’s it for now. Back to packing.
