Exploring Fuiuli

Today I convinced Aunt Tracy to drive us to some nearby towns. Mommy found on the internet that the town of Palmanova was having a food festival. When we arrived it turned out that the food festival had ended on Sunday but we visited a large market in the town instead. The town of Palmanova was a neat fortified star shaped city. Mommy and Daddy had their first of many cappuccinos while I watched the people and absorbed the local culture. We had pizza for lunch, it was yummy!

After visiting Palmanova we drove on to the town of Trieste, this town in known for its Castello del Miramare on the bay of the Adriatic. We didn’t visit the castle but observed it from the harbor walkway. There were a lot of Italians sunbathing on the shore and swimming in the water so Mommy thought it’d be a good idea for us to put our feet in the water. She didn’t realize how cold the water was going to be; but typical Mommy put our feet in it anyway. I wasn’t very thrilled with the idea but didn’t have much of a choice. I screamed as soon as the water touched my toes; I think that taught Mommy a quick lesson.

On the way back home we stopped at an Agip for another cappuccino and a quick diaper change. Finally we ended the day with a visit to an Italian toy store, we were looking for a stroller but didn’t find one that we really liked so I just window shopped for toys. I thought I had Aunt Tracy wrapped around my finger and she’d buy me some toys but I guess I’m going to have to wait until I’m bigger and can ask for them.

First Day in Italy

Wow, I’m in Italy! Today was the final day of the Bella Befana bazaar on the Aviano airbase. Aunt Tracy took us to show me off and let Mommy and Daddy check out some the cool stuff that vendors from around Europe bring in to 2 huge F-16 hangars. We had our first meal in Italy; gyros and some sort of Philipino food – I know, that’s not Italian right?! But the military personnel had prepared food to sell at the bazaar. Mommy and Daddy were so hungry and jetlagged that anything sounded good, but they did bypass the hotdogs.

Aunt Tracy’s friends and colleagues were all very excited to meet me and of course thought I was a very cute guy. We shopped around for a while and bought some Christmas gifts for people and a few bottles of wine for Mommy and Daddy.

After the bazaar we made a quick trip to the Base Exchange store and Commissary to pick up some food items, mostly bottled water for me, and stuff that we would need while visiting. We came home and I was so tired that I had to take a nap, I had screamed so much the night before that I really missed out on some precious sleep time.

Aunt Tracy, Mommy and Daddy woke me up in time to go eat dinner at a true Italian restaurant in Aviano called the Spaghetti House; no really that was the name of the place. Daddy and Aunt Tracy had pizza and Mommy had spaghetti carbonara. I decided to sleep during most of the meal, I guess I looked pretty angelic because all these Italian women were fawning over me as they would pass by. Mommy and Daddy got their first lesson in Italian as a lady tried to tell them about her grandchildren. We got home and got ready for bed, I went to sleep pretty easily and only woke up once during the night. Mommy and Daddy are so happy to now be a bit more well rested. I can’t wait to see what we do today!

Journey Man

We started our Journey to Europe with a ride from Papa Boogs to the airport; he got us there in plenty of time since our flight was delayed leaving Seattle. By the time we boarded it was close to my bedtime. There were a lot of other babies on the flight; I think Mommy and Daddy were relieved by this since I wouldn’t be the only one crying. Once we were airborne the flight attendant set up my bassinet, this was great – I had my very own bed for the 9 hour flight. Mommy and Daddy were jealous. I slept until the cabin lights came on for us to have breakfast. I did really well on the flight and really only cried when we were landing at Heathrow.

In Heathrow I got my first stamp in my passport and after trekking around the airport figuring out where to go I finally found the shuttle to the Gatwick airport. We only had a 2 hour flight from Gatwick to Venice, this time I was the only baby on the flight and no bassinet. I had to ride in Mommy and Daddy’s lap the whole trip. I was a good boy and just cried a few times on the trip but was jet lagged enough to sleep through the landing.

We arrived in Venice, I got my 2nd stamp in my passport and after a bit of waiting Aunt Tracy arrived to pick us up! It was so nice to see her, she was really excited until I cried almost the entire drive back to her house. At that point I had had enough of all this traveling and wanted to get to bed. I did not do very well and woke up a bunch at night; Mommy and Daddy did their best to comfort me but I’m surprised Aunt Tracy’s neighbors didn’t come knocking on the door to fuss about all the noise I was making. I ended up finally going to sleep in the bed between Mommy and Daddy and I woke up with Mommy around 11:00 AM, Venice time.

It May Be a While!

I don't know if I'm going to be able to post many blog entries or photos while I am on vacation, because we're not sure how accessible the internet is going to be.

With that in mind, here are some recent photos of me until I see you again.

Almost Time

Well, it's about time for my European vacation. Life has been hard lately, so, it's definitely time for a break, as you can see from this recent photo of me.

Mommy, Daddy and I leave tomorrow at 6:45pm.

Reflux

Mommy and Daddy have really been struggling for the past month trying to figure out why I don't have a very sunny dispostion. I kept telling Mommy that my belly hurt but I guess she does not understand baby language. She asked all sorts of experts what could be going on but they kept telling her I was just a cranky kid who wanted more stimulation but that I'd grow up to be extremely bright. While Mommy and Daddy thought this was awesome news they still thought something had to be going on, and boy am I glad they didn't stop the investigation.

Today at the doctors office he told us that I have a case of reflux, it is pretty common in babies and most of us go through small bouts of it. I don't projectile vomit like some kids do so I guess my case isn't too severe. The doctor prescribed me some Prevacid, it is a cherry flavored tablet so it tastes pretty good. I also get to have some rice ceral in my bottles to keep the good stuff down.

As I am writing this I've had my first dose of the Prevacid and feeling so much better; Mommy is relieved and feels like our outlook on life has greatly improved.

I Rolled Over!

This growing up stuff is getting easier. Today I rolled over from my tummy to my back. Mom missed the video the first time but got it the second time. As you can hear in the background she is quite a cheerleader. Oh, and Dad spiffed it up a bit too.

How to Download Pictures from this Site

After you click on an image in a blog post, you get sent to Google's Picasa web site.

Click on the download button at the top of the page.

Happy 3-Month Birthday to Me!

This weekend we invited Quincy, and his Mommy and Daddy over for a BBQ. It was a nice sunny day and Daddy grilled up some yummy burgers. Quincy is getting so big; he's 6 months old now and is crawling. I'm so jealous - I can't wait until I'm mobile. Quincy enjoyed chasing Cisco and trying to tackle me. I think that kid is going to be a pro wrestler before he turns 2!

Today, according to Grammy, was grandparents day. We met up with Grammy and Grandpa in Edmonds to do some window shopping and talk about plans for our trip to Europe. I really liked a toy store that we went in but Mommy and Daddy said I wasn't quite big enough for the toys so I didn't buy anything, they promised we can go back there one day soon.

Tomorrow Mommy and I are starting a yoga class in Kirkland. She's really excited but I'm a bit skeptical. I mean what kind of yoga can a 3 months old do? I wiggle so much I can't even do a good shavasana!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend Pawpaw and Kathy came up to see me from Oregon. We had a BBQ at our house and went out to eat a lot. I tried to be good while we went out to eat, and even slept though breakfast on Labor Day.

They brought up some tax-free diapers from Oregon (not sure what this tax thing is, but oh well, Mommy and Daddy were happy).

Dad had off 4-straight days from work, so we got to spend a lot of time together as a family.