Thank Goodness for some Sun!

We're pretty happy to finally have some sun and a non-sick child. Here's two of the three moms who celebrated mother's day:

Il Nonno tried to convince us that he was a mother and that he should get presents too. We said, no.

From today: Here's the big sailboat in Baltimore. We visited the Inner Harbor while we waited to eat lunch.

We toured the submarine that is docked outside the Aquarium. LOTS of things to bang your head and knees against if you're an adult...and lots of knobs and switches to twist if you're a little toddler.

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory in the Harbor...yummy! Then, we headed to the zoo...I found it to be a little easier to handle than the DC zoo. It's smaller and you get to see more animals in a shorter period of time.




And...my favorite picture of the day!

The Sheep and Wool Festival

We decided to go to the Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds. We got lucky...it wasn't cold or hot or rainy. Here's the sheep herding dogs...those were pretty neat. I think we should get a couple of dogs for herding the babies when we've got a group of them.

Siamo andati alle Sheep and Wool Festival. Non fa caldo o freddo o pioggia.


Amedeo got a giggle out of watching the sheep and dogs run around the ring.

Amedeo si divertiva a vedere il cane e le pecore quando correvano sulla recinto.



Though, dogs and sheep are not enough.... when you are running around in a field of cow poop.

I cane e pecore non errano abbastanza....voleva anche correre nel prato.




He screamed every time I tried to take him back to see the dogs....

Amedeo ha strillato cuando ho portato via del cane...



Because there was a TRACTOR!!!! Tractors trump everything else. Thank goodness Nonno Romi put me up here on this fabulous machine.

Perche che' un trattore!!! Trattore e' meglio di tutto. Grazie che' il Nonno Romi lo ha messo sulla machina fabulosa.



Look at how big it is...I think Amedeo would be happy all day long if we had one of these in our livng room.

Penso che Amedeo sara' felice tutto al giorno si che' un trattore cosi' nell suo salotto.


Grazie, traductione della Nonna Annita.

SAND!

Today we went for a nice walk, followed by an intense wallowing in the sand. If Amedeo were in charge, he would spend all day in the sandbox. All of his clothes and shoes and socks are still on the porch because they're impregnated with sand. We were going to go to the zoo today, but reading the newspaper scared me off that idea. This Pandemic Swine Flu stuff is scary. I guess we'll wait to see how virulent it is before we go to lots of public places. Which kinda sucks since the Sheep and Wool festival is this weekend. We'll see. Anyhoo, here's a picture of the children playing in the sand.

Come and Play in the Water!!!

Here we go....one way to beat the heat is....


Playing in the water!


Il nonno Romi arriva e giocare un po'.



Anche, oggi e' il compleanno della nonna Annita! Tante Auguri, Nonna! Abbiamo mangiato una torta di ciocolato che fato io.

I Nonni Arrivano!!

Amedeo is very very happy to have his Swiss Grandparents here. He LOVES being the center of attention. More to come later...

Saturday was Nice!

Well, folks, like just about everyone else in Columbia, we spent a fair amount of time outside on Saturday.

Amedeo and Pietro did some ball kicking and carrying...



Amedeo was tired enough to enjoy some swinging time with me...usually he doesn't sit still this long!!!


Amedeo was showing Poppy some interesting dirt digging techniques...



And, a special guest appearance from Violet, the Wonder Cat. She was delighted with the warm weather and enjoyed lounging in these little green plants...I planted them two years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember what they're called.



Zenzero, our little fraidy cat...also loved being outside. His favorite activity is chasing bugs of all kinds.

Amedeo continues to build his rock collection...future archaeologist?




After spending lots of time running up and down the yard, Amedeo had a small meltdown...poor kid.

Today I finished sewing the curtains for the guest bedroom. Pietro hung them. Woo Hoo! Cross another thing off the To Do list!

Two Day Recap

Yesterday, we played with Emily and Jack. Jack taught Amedeo some new tricks.


Amedeo had never looked twice at the chairs until he saw Jack doing what comes naturally...climbing! Thanks, Jack!


Aaand, today is our fourth wedding anniversary. We left Amedeo with Grandma and Grandpa while we ate dinner at PF Chang's (off the Columbia Mall). The food was the best I've had in a long long time. Pietro gave me some lovely roses and another flower that I can't identify. He sure is my sweetie!

Before the babysitters arrived, I was outside with Amedeo, hoping to relax, when he took a sudden craving for getting very very VERY dirty. He dug in the dirt with both hands (like a dog)...rolled in it....and ATE it ! Geez! I had to give him a bath. Thank god they have wine at PF Changs.