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Welcome to Italy Matt! The day has come: Matt’s arrival in Milano. We left for the airport bright and early:  no need of mechanical instruments since we have our natural alarm clock, who decided to wake up at 5.20 since Tizi has been out late the night before.

Matt’s plane was 1.5 hours late, but fortunately, Keegan was easily entertained. We even found some sort of kids playroom (no toys, mind you, but lots of brightly colored furniture) and Keegan spent the time running around.

It was great to see Matt, and we were all happy to hug him and kiss him.

welcome to Milan, daddy

catching up with daddy and Keegan’s favorite books

On the way back, Keegan fell asleep in the car, and that has been his only nap all day, so he was extra cranky all day… unfortunately this was a trend that continued in the following days. We are not sure what happened, but our happy, sunny Keegan of a few days before has changed into a whiny alien, just as the weather has suddenly cooled off, and the sun has been replaced by dark clouds. Could the two events be related? Not sure, but all I know is that the night wakings started again, and the whining increased significantly… fortunately, grandpa and grandma were still his favorite playmates, so we could get a little break, and take morning naps and afternoons rest. Maybe, for as happy as he was to see daddy, it was another destabilizing event for him. Not sure, but all I know is that, between Matt’s jet lag, and Keegan’s crankiness, we had a very mellow week: we just did not have any energy left. We still found time for fun, of course.

The next morning, October 5, was our Wedding Anniversary (wedding number 2): 7 years! If there is something called “7-years itch” we surely have not felt it. Are we maybe too busy with our  little hurricane? Just kidding. It seems impossible that it has been so long ago, it feels like yesterday and we are still grateful every day we have found each other.

That morning we woke up with the smell of a freshly baked cake: Tizi’s mom made this great rose shaped cake for us. Keegan of course wanted in the action, and ate quite a bit.

bleary eyes and jet-lagged but still celebrating

On Thursday,  we all piled up on Grandpa’s car for a trip to a Safari Park, that is only an hour or so away (and Keegan slept the whole way up). The sky was gray, and being midweek, we basically had the whole place all for ourselves. It was fun. The park is divided in two sections: the safari park, where you drive around a loop and the animals move freely around you and your car; and the amusement park section, with more traditional cages and displays and also many rides targeted to the little ones.

All of us really enjoyed the safari park: it is interesting seeing emus, zebras, giraffes, lions, tigers, etc. so close. Maybe a little too close…one of the tigers basically licked our car window! And who really needs to see a zebra’s butt this well?

After the safari drive, it was already lunch time so we took a break eating yummy sandwiches: think lots of cured meats and cheese. Keegan enjoyed trying a little bit of everything, but mainly chomp down on focaccia bread.

After a nice lunch, we headed towards the rides part. There are many rides, and he enjoyed them all…well, maybe he was a little perplexed on the water ride, but other than that it was all good fun.

Keegan loved running in the aquarium, and checking out the reptiles and of course trying out some rides. We went to a caterpillar roller-coaster, and to the Lion King carousel, and also, Tizi’s favorite thing: a huge bumpy slide. It was actually set up for adults, and no kids under 4 was allowed, but since there was no one checking (you must love Italy), we gave it a try. It was not really too steep, and Keegan loved the thrill. We already know he will be a big adrenaline junkie! Since there were hardly anyone in the park, we got to go on the rides without waiting, and sometimes we have them all for ourselves.Mom was usually the designated ride person, but daddy and grandpa also got in the action.

The next day, mom and dad got a day off. We left the little guy with the grandparents and went to Torin. Yes, I know, not a very exotic location, but it has been really cleaned up for the Winter Olympics of a few years back, and it really nice. We walked on old streets, lines with luxury shops, and see all palaces and castle, and ended up at Mole Antonelliana, the city symbol, now hosting a large Cinema Museum. We took the panoramic elevator to get a beautiful view of the city, and the river Po. It was sunny and warm, and of course we forgot our camera…oh well.

We then visited the cinema museum: it is really very well presented, if a little light in content. A great experience we recommend to anyone: it really puts you inside the movie experience. We had lunch in the trendy cafe, and we left n time for going back to the train station…and for a nice thunderstorm. It was great to have some time all for ourselves, to chat and just do whatever we wanted without worrying about nap times and lunch times and whining. Even the train ride gave us the chance to relax and read… except when Matt got stopped by the train police (yes, there is really a Poliza Ferroviaria, or train police): not only they asked him for his ID, which he fortunately had with him, they checked it thoroughly, even calling someone to check his entry stamp.I could not believe it was happening. Did we land in Switzerland without noticing it? With all the illegal immigrants they have in Italy, they are “harassing” and American tourist? Funny! Little scary as well, because, I did not have any document on me that proved I was Italian, but I guess they took my word for it.

Keegan was a little angel with the grandparents, or so they said. After all, he reserved his worse behavior for us: I am not kidding. When he was alone with grandma and grandpa, he was a perfect child, but as soon as Matt or I joined in, the crying, tantrums and whining started…I guess we had an excuse to leave him with the granps more often.

We got the chance to have a few afternoons, as my parents took Keegan to see his cousins: they live in a remodeled old farmhouse, with an internal yard, that has been restructured to include 4 apartments. All the families that live there have young children, so it is a great, communal life. Keegan loved to see all the older kids and to play with them.

We also went out a few nights, either with Tizi’s friends or alone. There is a cute bar right below Tizi’s parents apartment, which, while is a nuisance when you are trying to sleep, is very  convenient when you want a cocktail and are too tired to go anywhere fast. Good and cheap too.

Fortunately, as the week approached its end, the weather started improving, with colder temperatures but also sunnier days, and Keegan’s mood seemed to improve too. The last week, he returned the happy boy we all know, and his whining dramatically decreased. His sleeping somewhat improved, no more night waking, and most importantly, he did not call out for mom when he woke up: so, while grandma was getting him up and giving him his milk and his breakfast, and playing with him at those early hours (5am), we could get a little more sleep.

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