Two birthdays and a move in the works

It's been a month since I posted last and it feels like so much has happened in this last month. We have celebrated two birthdays.

 Maëlle turned 11 at the beginning of March.

The birthday girl modeling her new spring jacket thanks to Grandpa and Grandma

James entered a new life decade in the middle of the month.

Very fun candles to remind him of this monumental birthday :)

Enjoying his birthday cake

For the 40 days leading up to James' birthday he was surprised with little gifts and notes from our family and friends from the states. The gifts ranged from funny and sweet cards, to funny gag gifts (e.g. magnifying glass, large print crossword puzzles) to all things gym inspired (e.g. workout clothes, protein bars) and of course some of his favorite foods (e.g. beef jerky, peanut M&M's). It was really fun watching his expression each day and seeing the smile on his face. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you who participated, showered him with love and gave a reason to have a  big smile on his face each day. 
For his actual birthday I made a Korean dinner at home and it was pretty low key with the plan to celebrate with his friends sometime soon...in our new home! Yes, that is the other big news of the last month. We will be moving this next week into an apartment. We have been blessed to be able to stay with family for the past 6 months to help with the transition to a new city closer to Paris (then where James had been living) for me to find a job and to help me have easier access to work in Paris. We are very excited to make the move and get a little settled in before our next visitors arrive. My mom, aunt and cousin will be here in a month! Very much looking forward to this as well!
I will post some more details and pics of the apartment soon!