Paris est un escargot. . .

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows us that we fully expect Esme to have inherited our Francophile gene. And since we both have some command of the French language we feel that this is something we can share with her. Besides, since her name is officially spelled with an accent, she's got to at least be able to sing a few rounds of "Frere Jacques."

For the most part we're just exposing her to French children's music which, we're learning, is a perfect reflection of the culture. For example, much of the music focuses on food. There's a song, "Monsieur Bibendum," that concerns a literally larger-than-life fellow who loves to eat. The song assures us that his kilos are not the result of eating at MacDonald's, but instead of indulging in the finer things, "Monsieur Bibendum ... the good life, personified" the chorus goes. And though it may seem cliché, there are dozens of songs about snails. One lists the foods infants can look forward to eating once they're bigger... croissants, croque monsieurs, and, yes, escargot. Could you imagine the bastions of chicken-finger-eating American kids being plied with the promise of breaded snails in their futures?!

There's a little rhyme that pops up on one of the collections. My rough translation: "Little green mouse, hiding in the grass. I'll catch you in my hands, then dip you in water and dip you in oil and that's how you make escargot." How sweet.

Anyway, that blows paddy cake out of the water, non?

Esme's cute little snail tee is courtesy of Elk Inks.