First week without Nonni

Last weekend, Pietro's parents left us to go back to Switzerland. Here's a few days before they left. Amedeo had been a complete booger with me, so I extracted a little benign revenge.



"Oh, Poppy is calling me, I had better go and check it out."


"Hmmm...that's interesting, a sprinkler."



"I wonder why everyone is running away..."



"Yikes! Freezing cold water!"


So, I'm pretty sure that i Nonni thought I was being cruel. I blame it on my brother for giving me the idea.


I would think it was cruel too, but later that afternoon, we filled up the baby pool with water from the hose. It was really really cold. Every time we took him out, he screamed and cried to get back in. Now I don't feel so bad about squirting him with a little cold water.




Here is the last dinner with i Nonni. We had chicken and peppers on the grill.




Just before Pietro took Romi and Annita to the airport we took a moment to sit on the front porch. We miss you Nonni!!!




Amedeo definitely misses his Swiss grandparents. He wasn't actively looking for them, but he has been more obstreperous than usual. Maybe he's starting on another molar...maybe he was just mad since it was raining and he couldn't go out and play. Since it was going to be a nice day on Saturday, we thought he'd perk up if we took him somewhere different, like Frederick. He spent much of his time mad at us since we wouldn't let him climb in the canal, or walk in the street. So many tantrums!!!


We decided to take a walking tour of Frederick, after eating a very mediocre lunch at a Mexcian restaurant. Frederick is an amusing place to wander about, but the tour was booooooring. Partly because we don't appreciate history and partly because the guide was dull. We were the only ones on the tour, so we couldn't just duck out. Ah well...this is the trompe l'oeil bridge. It's entirely flat concrete...all of the bricks and ivy are painted. Very neat!




The most exciting tidbit from the tour...building on buildings.



And, the highlight of the tour...the coffee and chocolate cake! Note Amedeo's chocolate moustache!
Today, we mowed the grass and ran errands...a very busy weekend!

Weekly Check-In

There's no way I'm gonna get something up here daily, maybe weekly. Today, I worked on a few projects. The first is what I'd like to call "Kill Walgreens." The road behind our house is zoned for businesses. Right now, it's housing a failed bank. Walgreens has applied to the Columbia Association to put a new pharmacy where the bank used to be. I'm fairly certain CA has approved their request. I'm worried that we'll have more noise and light pollution, and that our property value is doomed (well, even more so than before.) So, I've been worrying about this for a few days...I called our real estate agent to see what she thought. She's been an agent in Columbia for at least 25 years and could have some insight for us. We're going to meet next week...stay tuned for part 2 of "Kill Walgreens."

The second thing is our sad little bathroom. Amedeo has been living the hillbilly lifestyle. He takes a bath in a jumbo sized plastic tub from Target, since our tub is too RUSTY! I'm afraid that the tub is going to fall through the kitchen ceiling soon. Now that our guests have gone, I can concentrate on Operation Bathtub. One small problem...it's a darn small bathroom. I'd like to have a whirlpool, but it might not be an option. Anyways...I'm hoping to have a plumber install the tub while we do the tile work. I see some intense DIY in our future. Check out the poll...what do you think?

4 Week List O Stuff

I'm not very good about writing things down in a baby book...and I also tend to forget what happened when...so I thought it might be interesting to write a list of all the new things Amedeo has experienced since his Nonni have been here.
1. Cut 1 tooth in the front and 1 molar
2. learned how to clap his hands together
3. Has figured out how to climb up on the red chairs in the living room
4. Will go down for naps awake, I'm still in the room, but I don't have to do anything!
5. Caught and recovered from his first chest cold.
6. Can open the front door...now we have to deadbolt it during the day.
7. He's got a bunch of new facial expressions...frowning, a new smile...
8. I'm sure that there are more things that I'm forgetting...maybe I'll do a part 2.

I have a bunch of days to recap...let me see.

We have been taking lots of strolls in the woods. This picture doesn't show the belly bar that I bought for Amedeo's stroller. Amedeo seems to like being in it since he now has something to grab...it seems like such a silly small thing, but it makes a big difference. I also bought a raincover. We had so much rain at the beginning of Annita and Romi's visit...we were so happy to have nice weather. Now I wish for a little rain so I can test it out.




Last weekend, Pietro, Romi and my dad went to the Uzvar Hazy Space Museum near Dulles Airport. Romi was super excited to see the space shuttle.



Here are my dad and Romi eating at McDonald's. This is Romi's first time! He's 80 and has never had McD's! How neat is that?!? He dined on chicken nuggets and french fries. He reports that they were excellent.



While the boys were doing space stuff, Annita, Amedeo and I hung out at home. Annita made lasagne....mmmmmm!!



My dad couldn't resist bringing a little toy home for Amedeo...this thing spins around and has flashing lights...what's not to love? He was absolutely captivated. I'm saving it in a drawer for an emergency.


Around here, we can't get enough pictures of messy babies. Rarely does he eat a meal without wearing a fair amount of food. You can see that new molar too!



Yesterday afternoon, we had three babies over for some frolicing in the grass.



Em1 and Marla...I learned about time outs from Marla...I think we might try that a little bit and see what happens.



Nonno Romi spent some time coralling Brooks around the yard...he remarked that Brooks was very tranquil about being guided away from dangerous stuff.




Amedeo and Brooks together in the swinging hammock chair. I believe that they are sharing the secrets of picky eaters. "Have you tried blowing a raspberry and spitting food at the same time yet? No? Definitely pull that one out when you're bored!"

The National Arboretum

Yesterday, we had lunch near Pietro's work at Pasta Blitz. We fueled up so we would have lots of energy for visiting the National Arboretum.



Adults at the table...babies on the floor.

This picture pretty much captures the emotions Amedeo felt yesterday. He was desperate to do all of the things that were on the NO list. Like....splash in the water and throw rocks and tear plants.




These river rocks were his favorite...he would pick one up and move it to a different location. Over and over and over again.




There were lots of rocks all over the place...little ones, big ones...in between. Heaven for Amedeo. He spent most of his time picking them up and putting them into holes...taking them out, sprinkling them on the ground. I really do like these river rocks...in gardens like these, it makes me want to get out into my own yard and improve the chaos.




After several minutes of plant shredding, I took him to a big grassy field to do as much tearing as he wanted. When Amedeo first started walking, he was delighted all the time. Now, he's discovering more things to do and is encountering boundaries. All of this boundary testing makes him a bit crabby. I can't wait until he can communicate a little better, because he seems to get more and more frustrated.




And finally, I Nonni...on different benches. We had to separate them...too much fighting. (hee hee).

Poor Pietro had to work that day. But, today he is going off with my dad and his dad to the Uzvar Hazy Center to look at the gigantic areoplanes. Us girls and the baby are staying home to relax and make lasagne for dinner! Mmmmmm!

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.