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We must have a masochistic vein in us: barely two weeks after coming back from Italy, we boarded back on a plane to trek across country to Virginia. And this time we upped the ante: we took a red eye on Thursday night, and we got back late Sunday. So, did we finally loose it? No, no, don’t worry, we are still of sound mind, as least as much as we have been. However, Matt’s best friend Carter decided to get married, and we figured we should have shwon up to make sure this miraculous event really happened. Jokes aside, it was great to participate to the happy day.

We left on October 16 at 10pm. We chose a red eye flight not to waste the whole day flying, and to hopefully having Keegan sleep though the flight, being his bed time. Getting everything ready was a nightmare, as Matt had to work in the afternoon, so he only had a couple of hours to get everything ready. Tempers were flaring a little but we got everything done. It is amazing how much crap you need to bring when traveling with a baby. For an extended weekend we had: a large checked bag, two carry-ons, a overstuffed diaper bag, the car seat, the stroller and a bag with water. Oh, yeah, and the baby. Once again going through security was so much fun, especially because I had to take Keegan out of his car seat while he was fast asleep. I am still waiting to hear what incredible threat was stopped by having this procedure…

Anyway, the trip went well. We could not bring the car seat on board, but he slept on us the whole time. And we even got an hour or two of sleep. Direct flight, this time, so all we had to do, once landed was getting a car, and stop at the closest rest area, where we crashed for a couple of hours. Keegan slept a lot more than that, and we started our drive to Charlottesville. We were very early, of course, and since we couldn’t check in before the afternoon, we took the long, scenic route out, via the Shenandoah National Park. It was beautiful! We grabbed some sandwiches and had a pic nic overlooking the beautiful vistas. The trees were all shades of red, yellow and orange, and still quite a bit of green, and we got the chance to experience ” the change of season”. Yeah, very beautiful, but no I don’t miss it. In fact, thinking about the 80 degrees we left in San Diego, I almost felt homesick…and of course worried about the fire risk.

We took it all in, and we made it to the hotel just in time for check in. Friday night we had a BBQ/rehearsal dinner…outdoors. It has been really warm and beautiful all week, but, as fate wanted, the temperatures dropped 20 degrees on friday. It was Friday 17, after all (the Italians know what I mean). So, it was quite chilly, but we were prepared: we finally got the chance to use some of the cute outfits that Keegan received, never wore, and almost outgrown, because it is still so hot in San Diego.  We really enjoyed the company. It was also the first chance for Tizi to meet the bride to be. Keegan was great. We kept him on San Diego time, which means we could stay out till 10.30pm. he was his usual social self. In fact, Abby took him for a good 15 minutes, and took him around, and he didn’t even look to search for us. I almost forgot I had a child…J/K.

with Abby

The night went well: our little guy slept all night through. he did wake up a little early (San Diego time), but still a nice solid night. The next day was sunny, and we just hung around, did a little clothes shopping for Mattie (so he could look even more smashing at the wedding), and Tizi could finally got a present for his birthday: yeah saturday was Matt’s birthday. Quite an unusual way to celebrate it, but still. Tizi also bought a Rubick cube for him. Very old school, I know, but when we were in Italy, Matt got hold of the original one and spent many hours solving it:he was almost there when we left, so I figured he need his own to practice. Hey, it must be popular again since it is still sold…at Toys’r’Us (recommended age 8+).

The wedding was at 4pm in a winery…what? Never heard of the famous Virginia wine? Shame on you!. The weather was nice but a little chilly, but this didn’t stop Gwyn from wearing a beautiful sleeveless gown. The ceremony was brief but pretty…as far as I could tell anyway. I had to stop away since SOMEONE decided to be very vocal and refused to sit in his stroller. Carter and Gwyn looked radiant.

the happy couple

what a smashing pair: my two favorite men

After the ceremony a reception was arranged. We didn’t know too many people, but Abby and her hubby was there with little Nina. Keegan was happy to see her again, and  they played together…mainly taking toys from each other, and walk away.They were good troopers, though: no crying or fighting: they simply took turns. maybe days care is to credit for it.

Old  friends (and their additions) with the groom

the toy’s tug of war

Later, after the winery closed, the inside room was open up to the wedding guest,just in time for the chilly evening. A fun fire pit was also set up outside. Keegan was very good: he played in the grass, ate snacks and dinner, and even took a nap in his new travel stroller. After long considerations, we did buy a lightweight stroller, a Combi Helio.

Dueling stroller

It is not as cool as Tizi would have wanted, but at 11lb and with an easy compact folding and a carrying starp it did fit the bill. And we have found it gently used on Craigslist, so we saved some cash too. Plus it reclines, has a front bar and has removable top straps, which were high priority for us and our little traveler.

 the wedding cakes

Again, by staying on San Diego time we were able to hang out till past 10pm: Keegan was the last baby standing. He promptly passed out in the car, and we easily transitioned him to the crib once we arrived at the hotel. We had to take a couple of pics of his interesting sleeping positions: , face down, on his side, legs bent and butt up in the air. How can he sleep like this? it is a mystery. However, we learned the hard way not to wake him, regardless of the uncomfortable position he is in. In Italy Tizi had the brilliant idea to reposition him when he feel asleep sitting up, whith his head against the corner of the crib. He woke up, and promptly cried for a good 20 minutes.

 interesting sleeping position

Sunday was our travel day. Keegan, was a little cranky all day. He got wakend up when we stopped to have breakfast at IHOP (punishment fro trying to actually have a sit down breakfast???) and he was probably still tired, but couldn’t get back to sleep. So, while he had been sleeping peacefully for most of the car drives, he was awake for the whole two hours we were driving back to Washington. Awake, and super cranky, I must add. He finally fell asleep just as we arrived at Matt’s brother Michael’s house.  We had a quick, but pleasant visit with him, little Ella and Carol’s mother. Keegan woke up in time to play with his cousin and aeat some lunch, and then it was back to car again and to the airport. The return flight was challenging. The flight was, noce again packed, so we had to keep Keegan on our lap…well, that was the plan anyway, but mr. cranky pants was having a little cabin fever, and did not want to stay put. We took turns to take him on the back of the plane and make sure he would not do anything too dangerous. We tried to get him to sleep, but he protested, LOUDLY. He finally passed out on our lap, and we go about half the flight to nap a little.

Back home, he was awake and ready to play, but fortunately went back to bed easily. The house was still in one piece and no major fires broke out during the weekend. We had a good time but we were definitively ready to go home and rest. And NO MORE FLIGHTS for a long time, hopefully. We will limit ourselves to car drives. Talking of which…we have to start looking for car seat, as this little one (not so little anymore) is basically grown out of his infant one.

passed out after the wedding

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I am sure I sound like a dork, but man, Craigslist rule. I know that I am dating myself right now, but I am so amazed how this works so well. I guess we can trust the internet after all. (-:

We have used it in the past, to got rid of stuff, to sell stuff, even to buy Tizi’s car. Now it has a whole a new usage: buying baby stuff. Since he is outgrowing so much of his toys and equipment, we are finding out that Craigslist is a great way to find gently used things. We got the exersaucer there, and a lightweight stroller for the upcoming trip, and now, the LeapFrog activity table. After noticing how much he liked it at Hannah’s house (see previous post) and daycare, we figured we could get one too. Since he changes tastes so quickly we ended up finding one of Craigslist for $10. He is enjoying quite a bit, and he hasn’t driven us crazy yet with all the sounds and music.

In another news, on Sunday, October 10, we took Keegan  to a restaurant for a Sunday brunch….while awake. Ok, it was not really a restaurant, it was Denny’s, but still. We took him out before, including in Italy, but usually he starts out asleep. I know this is not a big deal for most “normal” babies, that sit quietly, but since he is “such an active baby”, it is always a crapshoot. This time, however, he sat quietly, well babbling, the whole time. We took our portable high chair with us (gift of Aunt Beth), and he was quite content to watch us eat and devour his Cheerio’s. Oh yeah, did we mention this is his new drug? Like our friend Jennifer said it best, Cheerio’s and those puffy Gerber things are “crack for babies”. Everything is better with Cheerio’s in his mouth. At least they are multi-grain.

I am big boy: I can eat out too.

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Another month. This one went by quickly, because of the trip…we spent the day at a play-date, at Tizi and Matt’s friend Jennifer’s house. For the first time, Keegan and Hannah almost played together. It was fun to watch; of course Keegan was trying out all the toys, including a cute wheel wagon meant for kids that are a little more apt at walking, so while he was fine at standing up on it, he was promptly falling as the wagon would roll away. Quite entertaining.

oh, so I have to share toys then

well, sharing is not too bad with such a cutey

The first week at daycare went great: he is back on his schedule, and eating lots. He has started eating Cheerio’s and similar finger food. He still needs to work on his “pincer grasp”, as they call it, but I would say we get a 70% success rate in getting these little things into his mouth: not bad at all. He is also back on his night schedule: it took only a couple of days this time, and fortunately with minimal crying involved. In fact, he has been sleeping a blessed 12 hours stretches most nights, even pushing his wake up time to 7am!  Naps are still a little more difficult, but we have been managing.

eating Cheerio’s

We weighted him again: an incredible 19lb 3 oz (8.7 kg)! Not quite as much as we thought from the imprecise scale in Italy, (the grandparents will be happy to know that their scale adds about 1 kg) but he has gained 1lb and 8oz in a month (700g).  Not sure if it is the Italian food, but still we are happy about it. So, while most babies slow their growth by the 6/7 month, he is accelerating.  For some reason, our baby does everything backwards. Bottom line, according to many website calculators, he is now between the 10 and the 25 percentile!!! (closer to the 10%,  but still). He is getting chunkier too, and more solidly built. The height is harder to get, as he can’t stay still to measure it. We estimate to be somewhere close to 29 in (73.6 cm).

This months pictures are not the greates, because it is almost impossible to have him sit still long enough for a picture. Check out the belly in the shot!

As far as development goes, not much since the last post. He still pulls himself up using anything, including Tizi’s skirt or Matt’s leg and even flat surfaces, like glass doors. He has learned how to go down wide steps, and back up again, without hitting his head: we figured it was easier to teach him how to go down safely head first, since this is how he always goes down, than how to turn himself the other way. Now we don’t have to worry about closing the glass door to the sun room, since he knows how to negotiate that large step. He is also more stable on his feet, and he makes more little steps when we hold his hands. He is quite good at walking laterally, while holding on to something, and all three of his teeth are now easily visible.

 let me out of here!

look ma, one hand

His favorite toys are toys that makes noise, and paper, especially crinkly one. And of course any dangerous object such as wires, cords, computers, water filled vases, etc. As we are getting ready for our next trip to Matt’s friend wedding in Virginia, we are also getting ready to move on to the next stage: we are getting more stimulating, “learning” toys, and we will be soon retiring the infant car seat. Goodbye convenience, and small size seat! Now we will have t wake him up if he falls asleep in the car; besides, he may not like it as much, as it doesn’t recline quite as much. And, we will need to buy two seats, one for each car, as the seat does not have a removable base. Now the challenge will be to find one that fits in Tizi’s car.

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So, we made it back (FYI: we did upload the pictures of the weird baby food, so check them out below, in the previous posts). The trip back went well, all considering. Having both of us available to entertain the little guy made it easier, especially because, traveling back to the US you have an extra 3/4 hours of traveling time (blame it on the winds). The first flight was almost 11 hours (versus the 8.5 hours going there), but it was actually easier. Once again we were able to get the car seat on board, and this time we sat in the bulkhead seats, the three of us. This meant lots more space for all our stuff, and for stretching out. Keegan took a couple of naps, and walks on the airplane, but we were able to watch , on and off, three movies. So between feeding him, playing with him, watching the movies, and walking him up and down the aisles, time went by.

The layover was basically spent passing customs and immigration and getting our bags, AND another security screening: why in the world we have to re-screen if we were just off an airplane it is a total, infuriating mystery to me. It is totally stupid as well. We could notice immediately we were not in Italy anymore: security people over there were absolutely fantastic, nice and helpful. In Atlanta we had a bunch of arrogant jerks, that made that process even more frustrating. The people at the gate were not much better: they were arrogant, gave us attitude and were not helpful AT ALL.

We were not seated together, and so we had to ask someone to switch seats, and he fortunately accepted. We couldn’t bring the car seat on board, even if there were some empty seats. The plane had videos in the headsets, but the Entertainment system was not working, so we had nothing to do for 4 hours, which royally sucked, because Keegan slept for almost two, sprawl on our lap, so we would had the time to watch movies. To top it off, there is not ONE changing table in any restroom on this plane. So we had to change poopie diapers on the seat, precariously positioned, hoping to avoid turbulence. Delta SUCKS!!!!! Add to this no free food, $7.00 alcoholic drinks, no blankets or pillow and a basically non existent and and friendly staff. The only positive was that the flight landed on time, and our bags also arrived early. Unfortunately there are very few options left if you want to travel to Italy, so we don’t really have much choice.

We are now settling back into our San Diego life. Tizi misses everyone already, but she is looking forward to her sister’s visit at Christmas, and possibly her parents as well. The weather is very beautiful and extremely hot: quite a change from the already fall-like weather in Italy. We are already enjoying this late summer. Keegan is still adjusting to this new change. The past two nights had been a little challenging, as he has been waking up every couple of hours. it is a lot better than Italy though, as he sleeps in his crib, and usually falls back asleep by himself. We are hoping to be back to normal in a couple of days. He started daycare and he is having a good time, playing with all his friends and teachers. This is great news, especially for Tizi that needs those free hours to get everything done. She will be back to work next week.

So we are slowly getting back into our routine. We got some pictures from Tizi’s friend Loredana, so we decided to post them. A couple are from our trip to the Castle (castello Sforzesco) and a nice image of the “adults only” day at the Navigli, an ancient system of waterways, where we had a wonderful lunch. We also made it to the Triennale to see an exhibition on italian design. Looking at these images is not helping how homesick Tizi is feeling, but it is a nice memory nonetheless.

nice tourist shot in front of the castle

lunch in the Castle’s courtyard

Tizi and Loredana at the Navigli

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