Saved by Santa

Luckily, on the evening of the 25th, our somewhat 'lost' Christmas was saved by 'Babbo Natale' (Santa Claus) who dropped by with a bag of presents. Auro, who last year had still been completely unimpressed by Father Christmas, this time looked at Santa with some suspicion while he greedily accepted the presents that were handed to him. He needed some convincing, but he even posed with him for a picture right before he disappeared back into the dark night ;-)

A merrier Christmas!!

(25/12/2010) I should be in Belgium right now posting photos of our Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree and preparing for the big family dinner that I had been looking forward to so much, but instead I'm writing this from the house of my in-laws in Cesenatico (which is in Italy and not in Belgium) and the only photos I can show you were taken at the airport and on the train yesterday.

Let me tell you what happened. Last Tuesday (the 21st) we left the house at 8:20 in the morning for the airport of Pisa, where we arrived just before noon. We stood in line for the check-in and after we had checked in our luggage and gotten our boarding passes, the lady behind the counter noticed I was pregnant. We told her we had a letter from my gynecologist saying it was safe for me to fly. When we handed it to her, however, she noticed that the letter didn't literally say that I was healthy enough to 'fly'. After she spoke with her superiors, she told us the plane would have to leave without us unless the gynecologist could fax them another letter immediately. After some calls to the hospital, we found out that our gynecologist wasn't there on Tuesdays and no one else was certified to fax a letter like that. So, we got back on the train to Genoa. On top of that, Auro was not only exhausted, but had also developed a fever in the meanwhile.

The next morning Remo went to the hospital and got another fit-to-fly letter and in the afternoon we bought a new ticket for Friday (the 24th). On Friday we again left for the airport of Pisa (though a little less excited than on Tuesday). We checked in, they saw the letter and we made it to the gate... where we waited for some time (some hours) until they finally canceled the flight due to the bad weather in Belgium! Remo's parents, whose flight for Belgium from Bologna had also been canceled that same morning, told us to take the train to Cesenatico. And so that is what we did. 

Hoping that we will have better luck on Monday (third and final attempt), I end this post by wishing everybody who reads this a merrier Christmas than ours :-)

Pisa airport

Train between Florence and Bologna

Station of Bologna

Paper shoe

Last night, Saint Nicholas, the Belgian/Dutch (and original) version of Santa Claus, made a detour on his horse and visited our apartment in Genoa. When he came here last year, Auro still didn't have a clue why I was making him leave one shoe in the living room before going to bed, but this year he decorated a paper shoe days in advance. Yesterday evening, before going to bed, he neatly put it under the TV together with a glass of water for the thirsty Saint Nicholas and a carrot for his tired horse. When we went to check his shoe this morning, we found it full of chocolates and candy. Auro must have been a good boy the past year, because he also was rewarded with some toys, a book and a DVD. He discovered everything with great excitement and showed us proudly what the saint had brought for him. Only after a while he interrupted his play for a breakfast of chocolate and candy ;-)

November rains

I know I haven't written in a a while, but not much has happened since the last time I wrote. Remo has been going to work every day while I'm at home with Auro. The rainy  weather that seemed to last forever kept us locked up inside of the apartment most of the time. But here are some pictures of  the past month's 'highlights'. 

Almost one month ago, Auro's nonni (Remo's parents) came to visit us in Genoa. They were here for only 2 days, but it was as 'intense' as a one-week visit for Auro, who, (and as a pregnant and therefore most of the time exhausted mother I have to admit this) to my great joy, needed some extra long naps over the following days to recover from all the excitement. Since it was raining nonstop, we took Auro to la citta' dei bambini (a huge indoor playground/museum for children) here in the old port of Genoa. Needless to say he had a great time and the moment we had to leave (to make it on time for our lunch reservations) was, quite understandably, accompanied by the unavoidable tears... the poor thing!

Auro and I looking into all kinds of mirrors that give funny reflections

Auro dressed as one of his 'idols': Bob the Builder

And here are some photos of what we did at home while it was pouring outside.

Auro with his 'helmet' on his head, saying "Auro moto! Auro moto!" (moto = motorbike)

Auro showing off his 'new' bed (We removed one side, so he can get in and out of his bed by himself. I decided it was time for this, because lifting him in and out was becoming a bit painful for me. Also, with my ever-expanding belly I wasn't able to bend over and give him a goodnight kiss anymore. We are nearly one week later now and, except for the one time he kept climbing out of his bed during his nap time  because he didn't want to sleep, he has slept like an angel in there!) 

Auro posing proudly in front of the Christmas tree that we put up last weekend. He also knows that a Christmas tree is to look at and not to touch (except for the one Christmas ball that is hanging from the lowest branch, which he occasionally touches, ever so delicately, with one finger!)