Kids are universally cute. It’s evolution. Just like puppies, they do little cute things that make the older generations want to feed them and clothe them and love them and stuff. However, foreign kids have an extra level of cuteness. The accent to my foreign ears is already adorable and then there are the language differences that translate funny. An American kid can like a bunny and yeah it’s cute, but when French kids say, “Lapin! Lapin!” my heart just melts. When they try to speak English, it is like the ultimate cuteness collision of bunnies and puppies and children and French accents.
Victoire is obsessed with explaining (with big eyes and grand enthusiasm) to people “what Elyse says” and “what Victoire says” being that she thinks my language is all my own and vice versa. For a long time, it hasn’t been English she has been learning but my own Elyse language. “Me, I say fromage, and you, you say CHEESE.” One day her mom asked her, “How does Elyse say ‘Bonjour’?” Victoire responded with a hearty, “CHELLO”. Her mom laughed and corrected her, “Hello, Victoire, Hello.” Victoire responded very seriously, “No, Mom, Chello like Charlene”. Charlene is the cleaning lady. Whose work area, the laundry room, Victoire frequently refers to as the ‘chambre de Charlene’ or Charlene’s bedroom. She has since continued this little ‘h’ pronunciation into phrases like ‘Chelp me’ which soon became ‘Felp me’. Chelp us all.
Margaux can be curious about boyfriend stuff. One day she said to me nonchalantly, “I know you could find a French boyfriend, you’re blonde, you’re skinny and you have blue eyes.” When I laughed, she just shrugged all knowingly. That’s the equation for a little kid, they know what they are talking about. The subject came up again when I was babysitting the two together. Margaux asked, “Do you want an Italian boyfriend?” then did a little impression of an Italian speaking with their hands. Then, “A Spanish boyfriend?” acting like a little matador. Then, “A Chinese boyfriend?” while speaking a made up Asian language. Then Victoire, all giggling, jumps in and says, “Do you want a boyfriend put camembert?”…stinky cheese fart boyfriend.
LOL, hope it is not a sign of my declining maturity that I actually found this idea of hers really funny. What would a stinky cheese fart boyfriend even look like? I don’t know, but these are some of the best moments of an au pair.
elyseinwonderland 