Boston Day 4

Here we go...day 4...the end of our journey. Breakfast...here is Poppy feeding Amedeo Nutella. Clearly Nutella is full of vitamins and nutrients needed for a growing boy.



Pietro again lets his inner child free as he creates a lovely train station...too bad pictures don't give sound effects...
Our hosts are lucky to have a little swimming pool a short way away from their apartment. We had fun splashing around. Leo gave his mom another scare when he stepped into the pool without his floaties. Luckily, Pietro snatched him up quickly. He had to toss Amedeo onto the concrete to catch Leo. I admit to yelling at Pietro for dropping our son as he saved Leo from mortal peril. It's the mother bear instinct that prompted me to yell. You did a good job, Pietro! It makes me nervous around pools with these little ones...they can get into trouble in an instant and you have to be on your toes.


This is the jacuzzi. Ahhhhhh....



A little relaxing before we had to finish packing to go home.



And...we created a monster by offering muffins from the evil Dunkin Donuts to our little Amedeo...he loved it. Maybe that's why he isn't eating anything now...none of the stuff I've been giving him lately tastes like muffins or donuts. Why didn't I see it before?!? Silly mamma.


And the last picture...Amedeo loves to travel. He likes seeing new things and meeting new people (unlike his mother, who is a teensy bit of a worrier.) We'll have to take another trip soon! Of course, another thank you to our hosts, Fabiola and Mattia...Leonardo and Luna!

Boston Day 3

On day 3, I start to lose track of exactly when we did things...so forgive me if it isn't quite in the right order. We decided to have a rest day and play with the toys with a little trip to the playground.

Here's Leo with one of Amedeo's cars. Leo went nuts over it and even took it to bed with him. Amedeo has about a million cars at home, so we left that one in Boston.


And here's little Luna...so cute and such a lovely smile!




Here are the boys at the playground. They had this gigantic blacktop area full of push toys and cars. Amedeo nearly lost his mind with happiness. Fortunately, there were two lawnmowers of exactly the same kind for Amedeo and Leo. Otherwise, there might have been some bloodshed. Leo wanted to do what Amedeo was doing and vice versa...monkey see monkey do!





Resting in the shade....that blacktop was HOT!



I love this picture...Amedeo looks like he's driving a Smart Car! Tee hee hee!




Tomorrow will wrap up our last day in Boston...today was fairly full of stuff...we went to look at tile and then to Deadalus Books. A too short nap. I served lunch...Amedeo refused to eat it. Went to the pool...had fun....went home. It was a pretty good day, but now we're back to the short napping and the not eating. At least it's the weekend!

Boston Day 2

Here are the seasoned travellers: Mattia, Fabiola, Luna, and Leonardo on the train to the city...(we were staying in Woburn)


It was a peaceful train trip. Amedeo again expressed his love of sleeping in loud moving vehicles. I had a good time talking to the guy sitting next to me...mostly because of his Boston accent. One thing I noticed about Boston after we entered the train station: They have a Dunkin Donuts every 200 feet. Seriously. They had two of them in the same station. So, now I'm back in MD and thinking about donuts.



Here we are in the city...we didn't take many pics while we were there...it was a very hot day and super crowded. I've learned (once again) that I'm not much of a city person. Too noisy, crowded and polluted for me. Amedeo enjoyed watching all the trucks.


We stopped to eat at a little seafood restaurant. The food was great (very good lobster roll), but the service was slow, so the munchkins were eager to get out.


Here are Mattia and Leo waiting for their lunch...


We all ate under the flying fish...I want some of these in our house, but I couldn't figure out how to get them down without anyone noticing.



We checked out the sailing ships that were populating the harbor that weekend...Amedeo wanted to go IN the harbor, so we didn't spend much time gazing at them. Silly child. A little factoid about Pietro: he used to build elaborate sailing ship models out of match sticks.



Poppy and Amedeo walking around near the harbor...


Another group shot of our very nice hosts (who gave us their bed...while they slept on the floor!!!)...this was just after they were separated from Leo on the train....fortunately, he didn't stray very far!



The boys watched a little cartoon after our trip to wind down.


And then we all crashed....it was another long, but fun day!

Next...day 3!

Visit to Boston AND our 100th Post! Wow!

Thursday morning, we rose at 4 am to get ready to head to the airport. Amedeo was thrilled to be getting up at that time. As soon as we woke him up, he was super happy. Here are Poppy and Amedeo watching the airplanes. The airport is a great place for a little boy to hang out. He didn't mind waiting at all.

We flew Delta and I think I should mention a little incident...hee hee...We got on the WRONG airplane! They scanned our boarding passes, we walked down the flight of stairs, checked our giant carseat and stroller, and then got in the little bitty plane. We settled down in our seats. Pietro went to the bathroom. As he was coming out, the stewardess made the announcement, "If you are NOT going to New York, then this is not your plane." HOLY COW! We booked it off the plane and charged back into the terminal. Apparently with Delta, you can get on any old plane that takes your fancy, no matter what your ticket says. And, lest you think that we're a little on the slow side to be getting on the wrong plane...we were not the only ones who got the wrong airplane. Another lady did the same thing.

Once we were seated on the correct flight, everything went smoothly. Amedeo slept for the whole flight. I wish we had a flight simulator in his room for naptimes.


Here we are in Boston! We were visiting Pietro's second cousin, Fabiola, her husband Mattia, and their son, Leonardo, and ity bitty daughter, Luna. They are in Boston for about 4 months for Mattia's work. Right away, they took us to a park with a lake. We had Amedeo's swimsuit, but didn't know to bring our suits, so we enjoyed the sand and a little wading. It was a very nice day and the beach was a huge hit for our sand loving fellows, Amedeo and Leo.




The sign on the back of the lifeguard chair says, "No Lifeguard on Duty." Hmmm. Then who is that sitting on the chair? Is it an existential comment about life, or just something the lawyers thought would be a good idea to post?



Fabiola and Luna. Luna is 14 weeks old and a super calm little girl. She always had lots of smiles for us...can't wait to see more pictures of her in the future!



Amedeo was perplexed as to why he couldn't lift this rock out of the water. I found this to be very amusing!



Here is Pietro and Leo relaxing in the apartment after a long day. The two of them really hit it off...I think Leo recognized the little kid inside of Pietro.


Next...Day 2 in Boston!

Beginning of July Stuff

Too bad I didn't take a picture of Amedeo sleeping in his highchair. Here he is after Pietro took him out still all covered in food. He woke up at 6 am as is normal...but wouldn't take a nap until 1pm, in his highchair!

I think he must have been last in line when they handed out sleep. Geez! This was on Sunday...I bought him a crib aquarium that afternoon and he loves it! The stuffed animals in the crib were not enough...apparently he needs fish and turtles and lights. Chris suggested the aquarium since she has a child who shares a similar sleeping pattern as Amedeo. It certainly helped to talk to people who have similar problems to our boy....he took a two hour nap today, which he hasn't had in ages. I finished sewing a dress! Wow...keep it up kiddo!


Eating corn on the cob at Grandma and Grandpa's house!




On Monday...chatting with Grandpa about important stuff!



And, today...at EmilyK's house...we had a great time! I took many many pics, but the picasa web albums are sloooooow right now, so sorry, I can't share them right now. Maybe tomorrow.




And, EmilyK captured this awesome shot...it sums up how much fun we had!

Happy 4th of July!

Nicky and John and James invited us all over for a cookout...here's Jane in pink, cuddling with James. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do, mostly because I was busy eating!






Amedeo and Poppy...Amedeo was warming up to the party. We were pretty surprised when he wolfed down any food that was placed in front of him. That's an unusual thing around here!!! I learned that he loves watermelon...guess I'll have to get some since I love it too!

Nicky and John have a lovely backyard...perfect for playing ball. And fighting over balls...etc.

Our little host, all wiped out. Thanks for having us over, James. (Thank your mummy and daddy too!!) I managed to not get any pictures of all the other guests...my apologies, Karen and Rob...and Evie's family!

After Amedeo fell asleep...he went down like a prize fighter, we got to see the fireworks from our front door. Yay for living close enough to the lakefront!

Patapsco Waterfall

Today I went with another mommy from the MOMS club of Columbia East to Patapsco's Avalon Area. They have a waterfall that isn't too far off the trail. We had a little picnic lunch...here's mommy, Sarah, and daughter, Morgan, 11 months. Amedeo chose to walk in circles around us...and stole most of Morgan's raisins. Thanks, Morgan!


In the water...



This fellow LOVES water...water with sand is even better. We'll definitely have to visit Sandy Point Beach the next time a group goes up there.



And...afterwards...I was not well prepared...both of us were very MESSY. I guess that is the sign of a day well spent!


All tired out! He did take two naps today...he hasn't done that in a month and a half! Yay for Patapsco!