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The long awaited day is finally here: Tizi’s sister and her family traveled on Christmas day and arrived in Los Angeles, making the drive to San Diego the following day. They arrived around 10.30 am in a record 1.5 hour drive from LAX.

Of course we just put Keegan down for his nap, so the kids were a little disappointed they had to wait more to see their little cousin. Matt baked some delicious banana nut muffins, and we all settled in with some hot tea, set up all the gifts and stockings around the tree, and Nara and Samuele could barely wait to open them.

Keegan woke up shortly after, and he was, of course a little perplexed. His separation/stranger anxiety has been improving but it still took him a little bit to get used to the new visitors. He was quite shy, looking for mom and dad, but very interested and curious about the little cousins. He did not know what to make of his uncle, so tall, but in a couple of days all reservations were gone, and he was happily enjoying all the extra attention.

It was finally presents time: watching Naraiana and Samuele opening the gifts and getting all excited gave us a nice preview of Christmas to come. It was fun seeing them so excited. Keegan’s gifts were wrapped up in newspapers, since he didn’t really care either way: it all goes straight to his mouth.

It’s presents time, finally

check out the stockings

Everyone got many cool gifts, and Keegan was really spoiled. I have to say, though, we have a clear winner in the gifts category: the cheap cellphone from Target. He just loves it! Plus, since it can have a recorded message, his little cousins had a bast recording on it, so he can hear their voices even when they are gone. Now, will it stop him from taking the real phone? The jury is still   out.

and the favorite gift is…the cellphone

Tizi also got some comic relief. Aunt Cinzia recommended a wonderful booklet, “Fai La Nanna, Bastardo”, roughly translated as “Go to sleep, you bastard”;while it does not teach anything, it makes sleep deprived parents laugh.

The week flew by. It was great having them here. We did some tourist stuff together, but they did quite a bit on their won as well: Keegan (and quite frankly Tizi as well) could not match their stamina. (-:

Together we went to la Jolla and Pacific Beach, in a beautiful and somewhat warm Saturday and we took a nice ride along the coast. Breakfast at Kono’s was mandatory. We took a nice walk on the beach and played in the sand. While they visited Cabrillo Point, we went home. They graciously offered us to babysit, so Tizi and Matt sneaked away to watch a movie, “Slumdog millionaire”: while not completely uplifting it was nice to have some adult fun.

 crashing waves in la Jolla

The Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach

Cousin Naraiana is practicing her babysitting skills

Sunday was Seaworld for them, and a quiet day for us. We did some errands, finally installed the new car seat and ordered one for Matt’s truck. Matt cooked some excellent lasagna so we had quite a feast. On Monday Matt went to work: Keegan woke up very early, so were were quite exhausted all day. Aunt Cinzia, helped a lot, giving lots of breaks to Tizi and taking Keegan for a stroll. In the afternoon, they all went to Coronado, while Tizi and keegan stayed home. Keegan was a little cranky, and Tizi really was not feeling well, but fortunately, when the cousins came back, Keegan’s mood changed as well. Some rest and an ibuprofen did the trick for Tizi and the next day she was a s good as new.

Tuesday was zoo day. Another beautiful day in paradise: sunny and warm. We got there around 10, and stayed the whole day…well, Keegan and Tizi left around 3 but everyone else stayed till closing. Keegan was amazing: he LOVED being at the zoo. Compared to a few months ago, when he would not care too much about it, this time he was mesmerized by all the animals and people. He was quite in his stroller and fell asleep without fuss when tired, and slept about an hour and a half. Unfortunately he missed the pandas and the Koala, Tizi and Cinzia’s favorite animals. We are sure glad we have a zoo membership, so we can come back soon.

New year’s day was quite mellow. We spent the morning at home, and called the grandparents, and went for a nice walk in Mission Bay in the afternoon. Again, keegan was good: he fell asleep in the car, and slept through half of the walk. Then at the playground he wondered all over: definitely walking is is favorite game at this point. The weather was changing: thick fog was rolling in and wind was blowing. I guess it is a good thing it happened on aunt Cinzia’s last day.

I am ready to go

playing with his own shadow

walking is more fun than any play equipment

 two sisters at Mission Bay

Keegan was excellent all week, except for the sleeping: he didn’t make it past 5, 5.30 in a good day, and it was hard to keep him quiet not to wake everyone up. We started taking him into our bed , after attempting to put him back to sleep, giving him some milk, and cuddle with him till it was time to get up. We all enjoyed this little ritual, and it really helped dealing with the early wake up. He was a lot better than last month when we had visitors, which made us feel better:maybe he passed the acute phase of separation anxiety. Or maybe just having kids to play with made the difference. All and all he was really very good, in a great mood most of the time, and always smiling and happy.

Even eating was a little easier: he ate a slightly larger variety of foods, and more and more finger foods. He now loves cherry tomatoes (in fact he can’t get enough of it) and mozzarella. he still not liking pasta much, but hey, 2 out of three is not bad. Pears and bananas are still his favorite fruits, and of course he would beg for any food the adults are eating, only to spit it out in slow motion if he does not like it. He has quite a sweet tooth, as he loves croissants.

We were all a little sad by the end of the day. The week flew by, and we will miss each other a lot. They will continue their trip to US visiting the Southern California desert and we will slowly get back to our routine. Matt is back at work on January 2, while Tizi and Keegan are back to their own daily schedule on January 5. We are however glad of the good times we spent together and are looking forward to seeing each other soon in a hopefully near future. Thank you for coming and have a good trip back.

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While this is not Keegan’s first Christmas, last year he was too small to understand. This year he was a little more aware, so it was a lot more fun for all of us. Of course, we got to the big day in a total frenzy: despite all her good intentions, Tizi’s was struggling to get everything done in time.: between a demanding class to prepare, Keegan’s birthday to organize, and friends visiting it was hard to find time to get everything done. While we bought the tree semi-early, on December 13, Tizi didn’t decorate it till the 20. We still used a white, silver and blue theme, and Keegan’s initial was gracing the tree this year. Fortunately, Tizi’s vacation was excellent this year. Her last day was the 22 of December, and since daycare was open till noon on December 24, she had the chance to enjoy a full vacation day on 12/23. It was great to have a few hours for herself to get stuff done and just relax. it is incredible how much you can accomplish when you know you only have a few hours.

Most of the shopping this year was done on line, with only briefs stops at the mall. it was an unusual Christmas also because Tizi’s sister Cinzia, her husband Sandro and her kids Naraiana and Samuele were coming to visit on December 26.  So the actual Christmas was pretty low key. On Christmas eve we finished up most shopping and cleaning, and after putting Keegan to bed we had an adults-only celebration: some alone time and an amazing dinner with appetizers, filet mignon, side dishes and cheesecakes, accompanied by excellent wine. It was nice to take a breather.

Christmas day we woke up to a cold and rainy day. Tizi breastfed Keegan for the last time: he is now more than a year old, and her milk production has been steadily decreasing, so it is time to move on. It was definitely a bittersweet moment. While she has been preparing for this for a while, and while breastfeeding has never come too easy, it was still a little sad to close this chapter. We spend the day at home, finishing up our chores. We also wrapped the rest of the presents, and let Keegan open a couple of presents, saving the rest for the following day, for our belated celebration with the cousins. He was wearing his cute Xmas bib, “I have been good, mostly” which of course lasted the time of the picture.

what will it be????

a xylophone bird house…

We called Tizi’s parents with Skype. Keegan has grown quite a bit from when we were last in Italy. Of course he now walks and climbs on stuff, but we also noticed a lot more complex babbling. Also, after months of signing to him we got our first signback. What was it???? AIRPLANE! The least important, and the least used sign. Taking from a family tradition, now every time he hears an airplane he stops and points to the sky.This kid continues to defy any rule. As for the other sign, he created his won. To say he is finished, he pulls on his bib (even when he is not wearing one). To show he is hungry, he pulls on mom and dad’s legs. The sleepy one is simple denial…

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