Carnival

Last Sunday, we took the kids to see the carnival parade in Pontedecimo, a neigbouring town, less than 10 minutes drive from here. Even if it wasn't quite what I had expected, it was still quite spectacular. Auro didn't want to wear a costume at first, but when I showed him the Japanese happi coat I had been saving for him, he changed his mind immediately! I got the happi coat in Japan many years ago. I can't even remember the exact place nor the occasion, but I have always kept it neatly tucked away in some cupboard, hoping that one day I'd have a child that could wear it. Dream fulfilled ;-)

Auro in his Japanese happi coat

Tractors pulling the carnival floats

The grand finale (for the kids): a huge pentolaccia filled with candy!

Auro waiting for the candy to fall (Unfortunately, we couldn't get to any of the candy that had fallen on the ground because of the many people, but a nice lady saw Auro's disapointed face, opened her purse and gave him a bag of chocolate coins!)

Smile!

I almost forgot to share this news: while Tosca was trying to fight off her cold with a high fever, tooth number 7 showed itself! With 4 teeth on the top and 3 on the bottom, we nearly have a full smile! Time to start brushing!

Tosca and her 7 teeth, ready to eat and put on that lost weight!

Meltdown

the icicles on the rocks are slowly melting and dripping into the river

It seems that the temperatures finally have decided to stay above zero. And as much as I love gazing at the fireplace and I absolutely adore the kind of warmth it spreads throughout the house, I really really hope spring will arrive soon!!

Since the last time I wrote, both of the children caught some colds again and Auro stayed home from school for nearly 10 days. After 6 days of high fever, I couldn't look at that little pale face anymore and we gave him antibiotics (the 2nd time this winter). He is fine now and started going to school again the day before yesterday. Tosca caught the same feverish cold from her brother and was attacked by high fever that kept her awake many nights. I was about to throw in the towel after 7 days, when on Monday we finally saw the fever dropping. She still wakes up during the night because of a very persistent cough, but the colour has returned to her cheecks and her appetite is slowly coming back too. My goal is to make her eat as much as possible now, so she can put on the weight that she has lost. Not just because she is turning 1 soon and I want her looking healthy and chubby in the pictures, but also because, on the 9th of March, we have to go back for her vaccinations. The last time we went (2 weeks ago and right after 8 days of antibiotics and another 4 or 5 days of tummy bug) we were sent home because Tosca had lost too much weight!

Tosca with her 2 bears. She can NOT fall asleep without the pink one ;-)

Tosca discovered how to stick out her tongue. If you show her yours, she will show you hers!

A top model in the making? I think so!!!

Auro on the beach in Pegli. This photo was taken on the only Sunday in February we were all healthy enough to go out!

Yesterday was Martedi Grasso and Auro returned from school with this mask and a bag full of candies!

Cold

So far, winter has been everything except cold. Last Saturday, however, temperatures dropped a lot and by the evening it finally started snowing. When we woke up Sunday morning, everything was covered with a thick white layer. Yesterday, the schools were closed because of the snow. This morning, Auro left with the schoolbus, but they have predicted new snowfall for this afternoon. Down in the city, all schools have been ordered to send the children home at 2 o'clock. We might get a call from the school here too, asking us to come pick up Auro before it starts snowing too heavily....

Year of the dragon

I'm a little late with this, but: HAPPY NEW YEAR! May the year of the dragon bring you lots of once-in-a-lifetime chances, countless happy moments and an inexhaustable energy supply to face the less perfect days!

To start the new year freshly, here is a long overdue update on 'us' ....

December 2011

Auro started December by going to school happily, but soon he caught a nasty cold and had to stay home with fever. Still not feeling too well, but wanting to sing "zie ginds komt de stoomboot" to a live Saint Nicholas, we took him to Milan where the holy man was visiting all the Belgian and Dutch children living in the region. A little scared and slightly intimidated by the Saint and his enormously tall black helpers, Auro patiently waited his turn and totally lit up after Saint Nicholas shook his hand.Totally worth the long drive!!

The rest of the month, however, Auro spent mostly at home: caughing, sneezing, vomiting and looking pale. Many sleepless nights and an intestinal flu attack later, he recovered just in time to celebrate Christmas, which, despite the big plans to have a big Christmas dinner with my in-laws, we spent at home by ourselves. It was just perfect! Remo cooked, I baked a cake for the first time in my life and the children where healthy and happy!

My in-laws finally joined us after Christmas and we ended up having a very relaxed time then ast well, so we really enjoyed our holidays!

Auro doesn't look very happy in this picture, but I can assure you that he was.

After meeting Saint Nicholas, the children got some candies and a little present.

And then they tell me I am tall!! Even Tosca was impressed!

ready for Saint Nicholas

the next morning ;-)

Xmas Eve

Xmas Eve

the Xmas cake

January 2012 

Right before the end of the year, Remo's parents took Auro to the mountains with them. The week he was there, he was outside inhaling the fresh mountain air every day while stuffing himself with chocolate and other goodies that he usually is not allowed to eat in large quantities. When he came back to us he looked slightly chubbier, but the healthy colour had returned to his little face!

Anyway, after the Befana's visit, Auro was ready to start kindergarten again. He lasted exactly 2 weeks, until, on the morning of my birthday, he woke up with a fever... again. Soon the coughing and vomiting followed, but, now, one week later he seems to be on the betterhand. Unless snow prevents us from leaving the house, Auro will give it another try on Monday ;-)

the money (=chocolate) and lumps of coal (=sugar) that Befana left for Auro

On my birthday... Auro enjoying the return of the sun on our house (after about one month without direct sunlight)

The bus

A little before 8 in the morning: Auro waiting with the other children for the schoolbus

Getting on the bus with a smile!

The magic number

Many friends have always told me that once your child turns 3, things become much easier. Auro has indeed changed a lot over the past couple of months and has become much more independent. On the 17th of September, we celebrated his 3rd birthday with a little party at home and some days later (on the 21st) he started school (a small kindergarten or asilo in a beautiful place, high on a mountain, with an amazing view) . In Italy, sending a child to school for the first time is taken very seriously. The first days or weeks (depending on the child) is called the inserimento period (or acclimation period). During this time a child is allowed to gradually get used to this new world that is opening up to him. So, the first 3 days he went from 10 o'clock until 11. The first day I stayed with him for an hour. The next day for half an hour. The 3rd day I was asked to wait outside. On the 4th day he took the schoolbus and we followed by car. The next day he took the bus by himself and I went to pick him up before lunch time. After that he was ready to be picked up after lunch. And, today, exactly 2 weeks since his first day, he will stay in school the whole day. A little before 8 this morning he got on the yellow schoolbus, and around 16:15 I will be waiting for him at the bust stop!! I don't know if this inserimento period exists in other countries, but I had never heard of anything like this. I must say: it seems to be a good thing. After all, it is a big change for a small kid and this way he can ease into his new situation without too many tears. Of course, Auro did cry a little bit the first days, but now he seems to be ok with the idea of being away from me and spending time with other children playing, drawing, listening to stories...  

While Auro was busy turning 3, also Tosca went through a big change. Except for the fact that she caught her first cold (fever, stuffy nose and lots of crying and sleepless nights), she woke up one morning with a little tooth sticking through the gums on her lower jaw. Some days later, a second one showed itself. Tosca is no longer toothless! Her nights of undisturbed peaceful sleeping, unfortunately, have not returned yet. She still wakes up almost every night and cries, cries, cries...

Auro with his birthday crown (to my surprise he wore it practically the whole day!)

 

First day of school!

Tosca and her 2 first little teeth

A bit messy, but very tasty cookie!

News

It`s been a while since the last post, so to bring you up to date speedily, here`s a list of some of the more important `news`.

*Me and the children spent most of the summer in Cesenatico while Remo stayed in Genoa to work (at the institute and in the house). For little Tosca the heat and humidity was a bit overwhelming (read: lots of crying and desperate thumb sucking), but Auro had the time of his life. Not just on the beach, but also in the garden, in the city park... basically in any other place where he could find `toys`.

On the beach: Tosca sucking her thumb because she is sleepy

Tosca and her cousin Ginevra

* While we were in Cesenatico, I took Auro to the hairdresser for the first time. Since the day his hair became long enough for a haircut, I have been the one who did the cutting, so I figured it was time for a professional to get a go at it. It wasn`t easy to convince Auro to have a stranger touch his hair, but 2 visits later (the first time he wouldn`t even sit down, so we had to go back home) he looked like this!

*It took some time and effort, but, while we were enjoying ourselves in Cesenatico, Remo built a wall! We have been trying to come up with a plan to re-organize the garden and after seeing this wall, we have decided to buit a lower version of this beauty and a fence on top all around the garden.

*Only the part where the garden stops abruptly and there is a small stream running 2 meters below, we decided to put a net fence and have climbing plants make a natural wall. The poles are already in place and soon we will put up the net and plant the plants.

Unfortunately, we had a little accident with one of the unused poles (it fell on Auro`s face and cut right through his upper lip-cheek area) and he needed to be rushed of to the emergency room where he got 6 stitches. After the inital swelling went down, Auro cheered up again and if he doesn`t touch the crust too much it shouldn`t leave too big of a scar!

*Since the accident, Auro has not slept by himself anymore. The first night I took him in bed with me (more to soothe my guilty conscience than anything else), and from the 2nd night on Tosca has been sleeping in the same room as Auro! (Auro now sleeps in a big bed, while Tosca sleeps in Auro`s old bed.)

*Tosca continues to grow and she does something new nearly every day. She has started rolling over (from back to stomach and the other way around) and has no difficulties anymore in grabbbing even the smallest toys and bringing them to her mouth for closer inspection. 

Since she recently turned 6 (months), I have started to give her solids.The first day not much actually made it to her stomach, but from day 2 she devoured her new food and she is now eating three meals per day (and I still breastfeed her 4 times a day!). Today she successfully had a meal in her high chair (supported by cushions and towels), so from tomorrow she will join us at the table when we eat!

paediatrician visit

On Wednesday, we took our children to see the new paediatrician (because we moved out of the city, we also had to change doctors!). She had a thorough look at Tosca and updated the info in Auro's file. Tosca has doubled her weight since birth and now weighs 6,2 kg. She has also grown quite a bit and is now 64 cm 'tall'. Auro wouldn't keep still on the scale and therefore weighed only 14 kg, but at home he weighs about 15 kg. Whereas his weight is within the norm, he is 98 cm tall and is still considered a bit tall for Italian standards.

In September, Auro will start going to the kindergarten and since they serve hot meals for lunch, we also needed to ask the paediatrician for a letter saying that we are vegetarians. Unfortunately, she said that she couldn't do that, so we will have to write our own letter to the school and hope that they will respect our wishes and not give meat to Auro. We will see how that goes...

I also had another try and asked whether she could help with my breastfeeding problem (the pain I had before disappeared for a while, but then it came back, though luckily not as strongly as before), but, even though she seemed very empathetic, she couldn't help me. I was, by the way, recommended to get an ultrasound of my right breast...

Forget-me-not

Lately it seems that I'm always writing about Auro and I  never have any news about Tosca, so here is a post entirely dedicated to my little flower. 

In short: she is doing great. She is growing and becoming more beautiful every day. Since she started sleeping through the night (more than 2 months ago), she has not woken up again during the night. That is until last night... She woke up around 2 this morning and wanted to be fed. Actually, she seems to be going through a bit of a difficult period recently, because she also cries more often than usual. Also new are the ear-piercing shrieks of frustration she lets out when she doesn't succeed in grabbing the toy she wants. I wonder if that is typical for girls? Auro certainly didn't do that.

Tosca is nearly 20 weeks old, but I have no idea how much she weighs, nor how 'tall' she is. On Wednesday we have an appointment with the pediatrician, so I will have more numbers by then. Today she did skip her 3rd nap (the one towards the evening) for the first time, so I'm hoping that is what she needed to return to her uninterrupted night's sleep.

Success story

Potty-break during dinner

It's official: Auro is finally potty trained! It took some time and all the positive reinforcement techniques I could think of (from encouraging and complimenting to awarding every effort and result with little stickers, candies and presents), but it seems that the final step, and I'm not proud of this, was taken with an old-fashioned punishment technique. After he had 'soiled himself' for the 3rd time in one day, I lost it and slapped him on the hand (in my defense: I had warned him after the 2nd time). I then left him crying outside while I went inside to fight off the urge to hug him and apologize (no matter how angry I am, it's always heartbreaking for me to see him in tears). Anyway, more than 1 week has passed since this episode and I have not had to change his trousers even once! I'm going to relish this new-found happiness for another bit (and regain my powers) and then... that diaper he still wears during the night is coming off too!

I had wrapped all these Duplo blocks separately and every time Auro sat down on his potty and 'produced' something he was rewarded with a present (small present for number 1 and a big one for number 2).

Genovese

 I like our new neighbors. Let me tell you why. They own a piece of land up in the mountains where they grow vegetables. Apparently, we have entered the zucchine season and, yesterday, we were presented with a bag full of fresh zucchine (with the flowers still attached). Not only that, they also gave us a big bunch of basil leaves. As soon as I get some eggs from the store, I am planning to make zucchine ripiene (zucchine stuffed with ricotta cheese), but in the mean while, like a real Genovese, I processed all the basil into pesto. Since it was the first time for me to try this, I wasn't sure if it would come out OK, but seeing Auro eat 3 plates of pasta, it couldn't have been too bad ;-) 

Wet

Who needs to go to the beach if there is enough sand in the garden and a big bucket with fresh spring water to play with? And now that we are on the subject of 'getting wet', Auro has been 'dry' and without a diaper for 3 days already! It took a while and I was about to give up, but it seems he has got it under control now...

60

On the 19th of June, Remo's mother turned 60. A special birthday requires a special gift, but what do you get for someone who seems to have everything already? Luckily, Lara (Remo's sister) remembered that one of the things her mother once mentioned as something she wanted to do before dying is to ride in a sidecar. So, all we had to do was find a motorbike with sidecar (preferably with driver). Easier said than done. It actually took some weeks (and some visits to a local biker's bar) before we (read: Lara) found a guy owning a sidecar, willing to come down to Cesenatico and drive my mother-in-law around for a couple of hours... and all for a reasonable price! But it was so worth it.Tears of commotion upon seeing a bike with an empty sidecar pull up in front of the house. 

Dream fulfilled!

Mission accomplished!

Dance

During the latest auditions of So You Think You Can Dance, a young dancer of unparalleled talent was discovered. Some of you might remember the little happy dance Auro so proudly performed in a Chinese shopping mall  a little over a year ago? Well, he had rhythm then and he still has it!