ThanksAdriana

Thanksgiving Album

Our 6th Thanksgiving in Pecetto was a success and had just enough Landlord drama to keep things interesting. It all began when Mark told her a week in advance that we would be hosting our annual Thanksgiving dinner and that she was welcome to come. Well, the next day I got a call on my cell phone from her, the first time ever, and she wanted Mark to come down and talk to her. After a 20 minute interrogation it seemed like Thanksgiving would have to be held elsewhere. She requested that 10 guests would have to enter the building at a time to make sure the minimum amount of heating left the building. And kept insisting that we were hosting 35 people. Well, it called for a letter, so I wrote her one, for the 3rd time this year. I told her I would remind guests to close the door gently behind them and assured her we would be in 20 adults and their children. So the morning of, we got this lovely letter from her stating "By your Word...I ask you to keep the chaos to a minimum and when I come back I will count how many you are in." She then highlighted where I said in my letter "20 adults and their children."

Dear, dear Adriana. Well, the show went on, we framed her note with the Obama family, and in the end we were in 18 adults and 5 babies.

Many thanks to our turkey raisers and butchers, Carmine & Piera, our dear neighbors Valeria & Marco that are always there to lend a hand, or lend anything we might need, or not know we need! Thank you to all our guests who made this dinner a success with your wine, desserts, potatoes, appetites, and good company!

Special side note: Michelle & Guillaume could not make it to Thanksgiving because they were busy with baby Sophie Mercier who was born on Thanksgiving Day! Hooray!

Parole

Just a nice excuse to post a photo of ella bug in her sweater and hat made by nonnie betsy

Parole, words, we are getting lots of them lately and some of these words put together are just little exchanges that will never happen again and will more than likely be forgotten if i don't write them down.

Ciao Bug!
Bug, aka, Ella. This is the cheerful greeting Ella gets from L as soon as she wakes each morning.

pancake bells
pancakes were first introduced to L for his first birthday and has become somewhat of an obsession. After storytime and being tucked in each night, he says in a whisper, pancakes! He's putting in his order for breakfast. This has evolved into pancake bells, now that L is sleeping in a big bed. At 7am our church bells ring 45 times waking up the town, they have now become the bells that let L know he can get out of bed. No, it doesn't work super easily, but atleast he knows he can't get breakfast until he hears the pancake bells.

bite ella
Ella rarely cries, God bless her, but when she does, she bursts into tears with a proper girl cry. The other day Ella was hanging out in her swing when big brother came for a visit. It appeared to me to be an affectionate embrace until Ella broke into said cry. L immediately said, Bite Ella and indicated his finger. I was very cross with him, but his immediate confession was touching.

snake
we know a lot of animals thanks to L's giant library, but snake is special. This was L's reference to every bowel movement he made in his little potty this summer when we were training. We were always so proud to hear the word snake.

baby like
we talk a lot about what we like now, especially when it comes to Ato (gelato). When we read L's favorite truck book he loves pointing to each type of ice cream and saying luca like this, baby like this, momma like this, daddy like this....it was my first indication that he recognized ella as member of our family.

ciao nonni
ever since nonni coletti left on a plane a year ago, all of the nonni who have since come and gone get saluted when a plane flies overhead.

poppie's boat
any yacht is poppies boat. occasionally L says it, but then retracts his statement and says poppies boat BIG!

one, two, three, four, cinque, otto
ever since school started, we're mixing our english and italian together. It will get straightened out eventually.

Ciao Claudio!
Claudio is a pecetto farmer, more importantly, tractor owner, that looks like he was pulled straight out of the 19th century. Ever since L learned his name last summer, he gets a shout out and L gets a polite nod.

fuoco
everything is a fuoco (fire). This usually means all of Ls toys pulled out and dumped in some corner of the living room or under a couch pillow. He made a very nice one at school just in time for me to pick him up. I almost got down on my hands and knees to help pick up but there was another boy involved so i left him the fun.

trat-tor-re-re and rimorchio
tractors are another obsession and can be seen from miles away. They have their own cheer, T-R-A-C-T-O-R, what's that spell, TRAT-TOR-RE-RE. once again we're mixing some languages together. Rimorchio is italian for trailer, or whatever the tractor could be towing behind it. It was one of L's first words.

pane, fish!
L gets served a 4 corse meal at school everyday. Usually a pasta, then a meat or fish, a side of veggies, and then fruit or cake for dessert. The first week I picked him up, I would ask, what did you eat today and the response was always pane, fish!

daddy vin
daddy's alcohol is something of a novelty for Luca. He calls beer and wine, Daddy vin. The other day we were sitting at the dinner table, and mommy took a sip of Daddy's wine, while he was getting something. As soon as Mark sat down, he was alerted by Luca that "Mommy drink Daddy vin!" Little tattle tale! The glass recycling truck comes a couple times a month and makes a raucous coming down the street. As soon as L hears the familiar dumping of glass, he puts his finger up in the air pauses, and says, Daddy vin!

I'm sure there are many more, so I'll just have to keep updating.

Snow-liday

Four day weekends are the best. Especially when you're only 2 hours away from a place like this. We hope to return someday soon, hopefully with a load of family members or friends. For album, click on link below.

Snow-liday Album

spooky week

There were so many plans for this week, but this one like so many others reminded me of what it's like to have kids. Things don't really go according to plan. The weekend was low key and we were feeling well rested, until Sunday night hit, and Luca fell asleep on the couch for 10 minutes. Something is not right when Luca is actually resting outside of his bed and not during a nap time. Then he fell asleep as I was reading him his bedtime story, a definite first. An hour later he was busy throwing up all of the delicious pizza he had eaten for dinner. After changing clothing and bedding, he was down with a bit of a fever and we left a nice bucket next to his bed, just like what my mom used to do.....sigh.

Monday, no school for Luca, and Tuesday which was supposed to be his first ever field trip with school, collecting apples and making apple marmalade...we missed that too. Bummer, but I was determined to keep him out of school until Thursday, tomorrow, when we go to the French Alps for a much needed 3 days of being cooped up in a rustic mountain cabin with a fire aglow all waking hours.

But the nice thing about having kids, is they still can surprise you in the sweetest ways, even when your plans are not fulfilled.

 2 years and 7 months, first time reading on the job

 finally, a fire in the fireplace

 sick day choo choo train

 Last minute Halloween dash...

sweet success

Look who's standing, with a little help and constant supervision

Jolene

Ever since Mark introduced Luca to the White Stripes version of Jolene, he's been yelling his version of the chorus ever since. 

White Stripes: "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging you please don't take my man."
Luca: "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene's a man!"

Sweet Sound

This past week we decided after 2 weeks of Luca waking up 2 or 3 times a night, and Ella on the contrary, sleeping through the night, that it was time for a change. Two changes. Change number one: We got the boxes out of the laundry room and Mark assembled the Big bed that Luca got for his 2nd birthday. Change number two: Ella got a new bed (luca's crib) in her big brothers room. I figured part of the reason Luca was waking up at night was knowing the 3 of us were together, while he was all alone in the other room. As soon as the last screw was screwed and the mattress fitted, Luca was jumping, like only a Super Sardus could. Then, i shooed Luca and Mark out of the house while I cleaned and made the transformation of Luca's room into LucElla's room. Luca's old crib got a girly makeover and Luca got a comforter and a pillow to make his Big bed the real thing.

That night, Luca and Ella had their storytime together. Ella crashed first (not much of a pillow talker yet), and then finally Luca. An hour later when I was heading to bed, I stuck my head in their room and the sweet sound of two babes sleeping together was enough to draw tears to my eyes. I can only imagine what my own mother thought the first night me and my sister slept together, and bond that lasted until she moved away for college.

Well, Luca and Ella slept through the whole night. I, on the otherhand did not. I think I was too excited about this beautiful moment, and was listening to every pin drop to make sure one didn't wake up the other. It was short lived, Ella and Luca both got sick and haven't slept in the same room since, but they'll be together again soon. In the meantime, Luca might need a nightlight and a gate to keep him from wandering around the house too much.

Big bed!

Storytime together

What a Laugh

Celebrating 5 months of Ella-bug today. This week was very eventful as Ella started sleeping for nearly 10 hours at night, had her first taste of homegrown, homemade applesauce, and broke into hysterics when Luca randomly started ramming into my back with his head. It didn't feel so good, considering how hard his head is, but it was well worth the bruising when we watched Ella's reaction! 

Trattor-re-re!

Once upon a time last January, they had a blessing of the tractors in front of our church and from that moment on, Luca has been in love with these large, noisy machines. Living in a small town in the middle of rolling pastures means they come rattling past our door on a regular basis. Luca from his chair in the kitchen can tell by the motor whether there is a Trattore, Truck, or Bus coming down the road. Only the Trattore is worth making a mad dash to the window to see. His father is very proud.

Nonni Coletti were here in January to see Luca's obsession develop and Nonno made it his mission to find a trattore for Luca to ride when they got back to the states. The large package was due to arrive some time around his second birthday in March, but for some unknown reason, the italian state sent it back to the states. This simply was not acceptable, and Nonna got on the phone. Six months later, the very heavy large package made it's way back to Pecetto, and over the course of 2 evenings and one sleepless night, Mark and Luca put this full steel construction John Deere 7930 together. Grazie Mille Nonni!

Growing up

Coming back from 3 weeks vacation in the hot sun to the coolness of the sudden fall at home made perfect sense. It brought back memories of excitement and anxiousness for the beginning of a new year, with new friends, a new teacher and surprises. Luca started his first day of preschool today. We started the day off with Pancakes, by now Luca's favorite to make and eat. Then Luca took care of business in his potty, another great sign. I dreamt all night about him relieving himself all over the classroom and being sent home! We got dressed, left Ella downstairs with zia Valeria, and made the 3 minute walk to school. It was only an orientation day, so i picked him up 1 hour later. He was still wearing the same pants (hooray!), and was appropriately sweaty from non stop activity.

The Real Naked Chef

Luca's Classroom, see if you can find him lost among the new toys.

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

Ella and Sofie the Giraffe

She can roll over at 4 months....keeping up with her brother!

Summer '12

This summer we stayed East of the Atlantic and took advantage of the places a little closer to home. We spent 5 days in Munich trying out every playground, beer garden, and public swimming pool and visiting good friends that have since moved there. Then it was off to Sardegna for 12 days where our italian neighbors hosted us and showed us the best of the beaches, food and wine that Sardegna has to offer. See links below to see the complete album.

 Sardegna Album

Munich Album

Raspberries

cappuccio time

Enjoying our daily cappuccino with Nonni Coletti.

Potty Training: Take One

So we took off the diaper on Sunday and so far so good. Luca sees it as a personal challenge to do his thing in the toilet, plus there are rewards: such as a lollipop, gummy bears, tic tacs. The bigger the result, the bigger the reward. Whatever it takes, we will bribe our child without shame.

But the biggest reward for Luca is that he gets to do everything Nakey!!

something to smile about

July 6th, and 2 months old today! We love you Ella Inez and the happy little baby you are no matter what form the chaos may take around you!

Nonni, part 2

This morning we said goodbye to the last of the Nonni, the last of the Help. The Nonni did it all; continuous loads of laundry, pimping the light fixtures, mowing the lawn, toating kids, kid's equipment, taking out the garbage/recycling, cooking, cleaning, leaving a spotless kitchen (you should see it now!), cuddling, counseling, rocking, playing, golf lessons, singing, swimming, dancing, whatever was asked for they did, and did with pleasure.

Thank you Nonni! The four of us are forever grateful and we'll be calling upon you again, shortly! Much much love, Mark, Erin, Luca-bubbers & Ella-bug

Haircut

2 years and 3 months later to the date we finally got our first haircut. Nonna Coletti was getting her haircut, so with a little help from a cherry lollipop Luca was ready to shed a few goldilocks, but not too many. Here's a before and after shot:

Perfect bike riding do!

Siblings

Siblings, you love them sometimes, want to bite them sometimes, whatever the mood we're better off with them than without them, I'm convinced of that. Luca's been warming up to little Ella. In the hospital he was fairly indifferent, preferring to climb the hospital beds, and take high speed laps down the halls with Ella in the bassinet. At home, he's usually the first to hear "Baby!" and go running to calm her with a stroke on the head, put a giant baby doll in her crib, or a forced "ciucci" in the mouth. As soon as he wakes up in the morning, he goes to greet Baby, and is especially interested when Smella Ella needs a diaper change. One morning he described to Nonna that Ella had a Big Poop. While two may be more work than one, it's a priviledge that we are appreciating in new ways every day.

Ella makes Itty Bitty look like Oompa Loompa

 Going in for the kiss

Luca, hold your baby sister, E & L not too sure if this is a good idea

Future best buds

ELLA INEZ is born.  Ok I am a week behind in filling out the blog, but not for the reasons one might think. Being a second child myself, I have spent the week doting on my new arrival instead of sharing with everyone else.  Of course that is not 100% true.  I am learning that while #1 got 100% attention, #2 is a great balancing act.  
That aside, I can say that this birth went very well.  For those keeping score...first contractions around 4:30am (also the time of the full moon)...and Ella was born at 9:32..weighing in at a whopping 2.7kg (6 lbs) and 48 cm.  
So far she is a dream.  Erin wakes her up to feed her in the middle of the night, and lets daddy sleep...and during the day, she hardly cries.  After having Luca (who was a very easy baby), I was scared that #2 might be a handful.  So far, that is not true at all.
As the days pass, we are learning more about our little girl. We can see already that she has picked up a few traits from daddy....sorry Ella, but your long skinny toes will be useful from picking up things, and sleeping with your mouth open makes it more likely to eat while you are asleep!  

Only time will tell what or who she will resemble, but  for now, having our little girl at home could not make me happier.

Nonnie Betsy is Here....let the party begin

We picked up Nonnie from the airport this morning and Luca was thrilled to help her carry her 3 suitcases through the yard and up the stairs. We've been patiently her arrival, and now we can relax, Erin can eat spicey food and run/hobble around as much as she wants and know that Luca will be in good hands should Nutella decide to come! Stay tuned for more....

Not quite over....

We're not quite over with the birthdays yet, and I don't think Mark's quite over the hill yet either even though we celebrated the infamous 40 yesterday. It's been quite the year, Mark and I make 70, Luca turned 2, and really anyday now, "Nutella" could come to town. I'm officially 37 weeks along, so that means full term and good to go. According to many italians, the next full moon, along with some hot curry, or papaya, could help do the trick. Next full moon is May 6th, due date is May 8th. However, I'm really hoping that Nonna Betsy makes it here in time. If not, we've been informed by just about everyone in Pecetto, that they will take care of Luca at a moments notice. We came home at 3am on Friday night. Our neighbor, Valeria below was convinced that I was going into labor and got ready to act, but when all fell silent she was confused and too excited to go back to sleep. Glad to know Valeria's ready, even if I'm not! Stay tuned for one more birthday.....

Look who's 2....Luca's 2

Hard to believe we started this wild ride called parenthood 2 years ago. I can't even remember what we were so busy doing before March 22nd, 2010. With Luca life has been anything but boring. We are so fortunate to have such a good natured, adventurous, curious and affectionate boy. He greets each day with a smile and 1,2,3 jump from his crib. He lives between naps going at 110%, but then loves hitting the pillow after reading a book or two. We're looking forward to adding to the family and having a live-in playmate for Luca. She will have a good example to follow.

For birthday photos click on link below:

Party Photo Album

A foggy day....in London Town

Four beautiful days in London and Norwich, enjoy our highlights by clicking on the link below:

One last trip

birthday surprise!

Thanks to my boys, 30 was a birthday to remember.

 Luca helps blow out my lemon ricotta pancakes in bed!

 Upon seeing my name and balloons at the top of this random beautiful hill,  "there must be another Erin having a birthday today"

 surprise!

 the man behind the plan

no age limit at this festa

 babies and bumps

 he's got skills!

blowing bubbles

the one and only Erin in Italy

a weekend in Brescia

after months, no, years of hearing how beautiful the land of Brescia was, our neighbors Valeria and Marco organized a trip to show us the finest this mideastern region of Italy has to offer. It all started with a slab of Polenta.....

the next day, a passaggiata to admire Lago di Garda, Italy's largest lake, 200km across (according to Marco)

and a mere "puddle" according to Valeria

Luca hunting for salamanders

picturesque Verona

family portrait, include panciona!

Visiting Solive Winery

Luca reading outloud to Mati and Alberto about the wineries history.

nice!

just when Luca was getting bored, a forklift was discovered!

lots of gorgeous wine to stock

and a vintage tractor Luca's size!

Finally, some refreshment

A beautiful weekend, and the best part, Luca slept the whole ride home!

Thank you Este's and Nonni di Alberto for hosting us so graciously!