Week in Rewind: June 27

The week before my baby turns four. Scary to think that those days of chubby cheeks, diapers, and mommy assisted feedings are behind us.  In its place, a smart, thoughtful, rambunctious little boy.  A self proscribed Super Hero.  As we approach his day, I'll resurrect, the top ten things we love about him

1.  The way he attacks life. This is not a boy who will let life overwhelm him
2.  His sensitive side. He's still not afraid to give mommy a kiss, even in public
3.  His love of singing. There is nothing so sweet as to hear that little voice
4.  His inquisitive side: Mommy, what does that mean? And "why"
5.  His ability to make others laugh.  I may have a class clown, at least amongst his buddies
6.  His love of food. The boy definitely likes his food
7.  His role playing. Me thinks I have a Super Hero or fireman
8. His independent side: this is a boy who likes to do things HIS WAY.
9. His creative side. The boy does a mean coloring job, and don't get me started with paint
10. His longing to always be with us.

We've been lucky to watch him grow.  While the sentimental part longs for those younger days, there is another part that can't wait to see what lies beyond the horizon. Something tells me we just touched the surface.  I just hope that wickily cute smile never goes away.

Week in Rewind: June 20

And so it begins. The little guy saw his daddy hitting golf balls and screamed "golf" making a dash to the door.  The boy seems to be taking a liking to it.  And he already knows about mulligans, as in I'm moving my ball to right next to the hole. Oh, if it really was that easy.

Speaking of easy. The little guy proudly exclaimed that he is building a shore house, with some rather unusual features. Brick, two story with no windows. When mommy pointed out how would we see the sunrise and sunset, he said, ok one window on the top floor. And the dogs, well, they get their own smaller, beach house in the backyard. A man with a plan. Me likey.

Last weekend, we took the boy out to a local lake to canoe.  And let's just say that someone will no longer be the back steer person. After a rather shaky start, mommy and daddy literally righted the ship, but not after a very erratic criss cross around the lake. Meanwhile the little guy was stuck in the middle with his tiny, "go fish game" fishing pole. When he told us, he wasn't catching anything, daddy told him that he needed different bait. Which prompted a big "uhh".  Exactly, if only it was that easy.

Week in Rewind: June 14

Friday, the 13th with a full moon.  Oh boy.  Oh boy. Oh boy

That explains a lot of the craziness this week. It started with our fresh farm pickings. Someone sure likes strawberries. And someone sure doesn't want to tell him that those days of fresh strawberries are limited. Perhaps, I'll try to pass of off some raspberries, but I must say the boy is pretty smart that way.

And there was karate. We had our belt ceremony yesterday. And despite a full moon (and a 102 temp earlier in the day), the boy killed it.  The master mentioned that a few of the kids would be skipping belts...and never in my mind would I have suspected the little guy. But, he skipped the orange belt and went straight to green. I think Mommy's mouth dropped. That's my boy.

We also celebrated his moving up party. All week we practiced his song: you have a friend in me.  We may have a little entertainer on our hands. At first, he stood there like a deer in the headlights. But when that music came on, the little guy sang and danced his tush off.  That's my boy

Finally, the little guy is starting to swim without his floaters, underwater. And he touches in the shallow end, crazy tall for his age.  But the freakiest part (and the one that made me laugh), the little guy proudly claimed (with floaters on) that he was going to dive off the board like daddy. So up he went and with no hesitation, attempted his dive. Now imagine an outstretched little guy (floaters preventing the true dive) and the loudest upper body smack upon impact...not a pretty site and fairly loud. But true to form, he came up, laughed and wanted to do it again. That's my boy???

Week in Rewind: June 6

It's been quiet the week for us. We left Venice mid week. But not before a Gondala ride, another fabulous dinner and yummy Gelato.

Italy was an amazing experience. And we enjoyed every minute of it. But we were ready to come home.

As we made our way through customs, the anticipation built. And it didn't disappoint. The little guy came running at us yelling Mommy and Daddy and several kisses and hugs. That was quickly followed by "did you get me a sail boat", his one request before we left. And let me tell you...one would think finding a toy sail boat that works wouldn't be that hard. But I stand corrected it. We looked every where in every point of destination. And just when ready to give up, we found one, on our final day, at a newspaper shop. Holler!

We also got some amazing news. My brother had his baby girl. A full 9lb baby with super pinchable chubby cheeks.

Final Night in Venice

After lunch, we walked (yet again) to the train station to catch the vapretto slow boat. We sat there listening to Rick Steves explain various highlights along the way. The funny part, the lady in front of us was holding his book and was happy to listen in.

We ended our day by doing a Gondala ride. No trip to Venice would be complete without one. And it was wonderful. It gives you a completely different look. And our driver was vocal, giving us history and talking with the boat in front of us. They navigate through narrow passage ways and low bridges, very impressive.

We then headed to dinner. Pasta, pasta, pasta. I can't believe how good their food is, fresh and not salty.

And, of course, we hit our last Gelatto. Mike found the mother load with a chocolate sundae. I love the lemon and cherry.

Did I mention the run in with toy Trojan and Mattie? It cracked me up. They actually move like breathing.

Ciao Italy. We've had fun. Lots of walking (crazy amount). Great experiences. Cranky tired at times. Funny stories that happen along the way (will do separate post about hotel elevator). Worth every minute of it.

But we're ready to head across the pond to see the baby boy and pups. There is only so much American shows you can watch in Italian. Was that Dukes of Hazard?

Day 9: Accademia Area

Pizza for lunch. These guys have perfected the pizza, no doubt.

We then walked over to the area across from St Marks. To the very tip we went. And then sat watching the boat traffic

The highlight of this walk was the Santa Maria Della Salute. Our as I like to call it, a church with a view. It opens up right into an amazing view of the lagoon.

Day. 9: Venice

Our last full day. Part of me is excited to get home. Part is sad to leave.

Today, we got another early start. Wanted to get to the St Mark's Bascilica before the masses. We got in line and listened to Rick Steves tour of the square. Intro to Doge Palace, the Bell Tower, the Bascilica. This is the first area to flood, lucky for us perfect baby blue skies above. The floor to the square was raised recently in an attempt to turn back flood waters. The old bell tower actually has a high water mark

While we waited to enter St Marks, a ceremony was held of all branches of the Italian military. No pictures allowed inside, but imagine beautiful golden frescos on the ceiling with 7 domes in shape of a cross.

We then did the Rick Steves walking your to St Marks to Rialto. And then the Steves to Friar Church

Day 8: Venice

Today, we rushed to the train station and made it just in time. Someone thought we were leaving an hour later. But we made it. We took the high speed line to Venice. As we approached you could feel the energy of the place. Perfect weather brought everyone out and it was electrifying. It took us forever to buy our vapretto ticket to St Marco and with luggage it was an adventure but we made it to the hotel safely

Where the kind gentleman (and super cutie) told us to head to the nearby islands. Sundays are the worst day to be on Venice. So off we went to Mureno, know for its glass. Lots and lots of shopping there, someone was not to happy. And just when he thought I was done, I mentioned Bureno, know for its pascal colors and lace. You could almost see his face contort. But like any dutiful hubby, we boarded the vapretto to Bureno. And after some more shopping, i was done...

That's when it got interesting because we needed to get all of the way back to Marco (and I'll be honest it was no longer visible). So we got in line. When suddenly the other vapretto driver yelled boat to St Marco. So off we headed with the masses. Ever heard of the slow boat to China? Well, I'm pretty sure we were on it. Let's just say we got a complete tour of the islands. And someone was hungry...so as you can imagine.

We finally arrived, dropped things off at the hotel and headed for dinner. We settled in with our wine, ordered and waited and waited and waited. When I noticed that the other table got what appeared to be our meal, I broke and asked where our meal was. To which, she quickly grabbed ours off of the other table, and rushed to the kitchen.

An interesting day, no.