Italian Vacation – week I
Once again we are back from our Italian vacation. This year, only Keegan and I went, and so we were only gone for a couple of weeks. With the house completely under construction, we thought it would have been better to have at least one person home to take care of things. And with us gone, Matt had some sort of vacation as well, and three full bachelor weekends.
We left, bright and early, — or should I say dark and early (4am) to go to the airport. Keegan was very excited about flying. Even if we had to wake him up early, he got up immediately, with a big smile and said: “Good morning. We are going to the airport!”. Sometimes I wonder where he comes from: I could barely keep my eyes open and I don’t remember ever being this happy as soon as I wake up.
This year the carry-on madness got even worse: I actually had 1 piece of checked luggage and 7 pieces of carry-ons: my own carry-on and Keegan’s pirate carry-on bungee jumped together (and hooked to one side of the stroller), my bag draped around the stroller, his cooler bag with food hanging on the stroller, his penguin backpack inside the stroller, and the car seat in a backpack. Insane. I definitely went overboard. Next year I will cut down A LOT. Somebody actually asked me if I was moving to Italy. I did get many compliments for the organization, though, and some pitiful looks.
Of all things, though, I have to say that the car seat was actually the one piece of carry on worth the effort. Keegan felt comfortable in it, it was familiar to him, and he spent a lot of the time actually seated AND buckled. I had it on board for three of the flights and he slept on it too. The flights over were not too horrible, with a few exceptions. Keegan was a little tired and hyperactive at times, but after I got him to nap he was a lot better. During layover Keegan got to jump and run and play with bubbles, inspiring comments from an other passenger on how active he was. In the second flight he slept more than three hours, so I could nap a little too. The dvd player helped too, but he got bored of it pretty quickly.
With all the stuff I had on board,we were the last ones, by far, to leave the plane, but that meant less wait for the bag.We arrived on time and my parents were waiting for us. Keegan was a little shy at first, pulling his stroller shades down, but he quickly warmed up to them.
getting his first hugs and caresses from grandma
They played games all the way home and once there Keegan immediately had gifts to open and chocolate to eat. We also had guests. My old friend Loredana and her daughter Francesca stopped by to say HI. After lunch, we all went to nap fr a few hours, and in the afternoon, Keegan’s cousins and my sister and her husband stopped by. It was time to tumble and jump and play on the furniture, and Naraiana and Samuele were happy to oblige.
Getting reacquainted with the grandps
The following day was mellow: grocery shopping, nearby park and basically resting. Keegan did not sleep much at night so we were all tired. Nothing too exciting, but, this is really what I wanted. After the exhausting and stressful life of San Diego, I needed to rest, and sleep. And between naps and my parent’s help, even with Keegan waking up a lot, I got more sleep that I usually do in San Diego.
On Monday we went to visit my sister and her children. Keegan loves hanging out with his cousin and there is always so much going on at their house. He played ball, jumped, run around the yard with the tricycle and even did some daredevil stunts.
driving the excavator
look ma, no hands
The only negative part of my sister’s house are the mosquitoes the size of an helicopter. They are also very aggressive; I got stung on my butt: they went through pants, tank top and underwear. Crazy. Keegan got a huge bite right on his cheek too. Poor guy. Of course it did not slow him down a bit.
The next day he spent a lot of time with my parents, and I had some time off to see friends and just unwind. He played and demonstrated his musical skills by banging on the piano.
By Wednesday night, his sleep was almost normal. He only woke up briefly once or twice, and by then, my mom could get him, so I could sleep. We were all more rested and full of energy, so we spent a good couple of hours in what I can only call Bouncie Paradise. Right in the median of a large street, there is a permanent kids play area, with 5 huge bouncies, including large slides, and lots of other kids playthings: cars, motorcycles, tricycles, little house and ball pits. It was also somewhat inexpensive: for about 10$ you can stay as long as you want. Keegan LOVED it. He bounced and slid for more than 1.5 hours! His favorite was the giant slide, but all other bouncies received their fair amount of attention too.
ready
set
jump
Being a Wednesday afternoon, it wasn’t too crowded so there was no lines and he could roam the place undisturbed. He liked it so much we went back twice.
Of course, no matter how tired he got (he even told me his legs were tired) his sleep pattern was the same, meaning, multiple night wakings. Fortunately for me, my mom in also an early riser, so they both got up early together, while I caught some zzzzs. Thank you mom.
Every day there was something fun planned for the little guy. On Thursday, we went to visit and play with Lori and Francesca. Despite the age difference the kids really get along and the both tumbled on the grass, and chased each other, and we even introduced Keegan to his first official Hide and Seek game. While he kept on peeking as he was counting, he quickly got the hang of it.
testing out his somersault skills
playing horsey with Francesca
upside down with mom
On Friday, we went to the Giardini Pubblici, a large park in the city. We had a quick run (literally) through the Museum of Natural Science where Keegan enjoyed all the stuffed animals (yes, kind of creepy). Then some time at the playground, a few rounds of the merry go Round and even a quick ride on the resident pony, since he is actually enjoying them now (see previous post). So much fun!
The weekend, however, it was mommie time. I decided to go away for a short weekend with Loredana, and Keegan spent the weekend with his grandparents. It was basically the first time I left him for this “long” so I was a little nervous. Keegan, to make things more difficult, had been really cranky and whiny since I told him I was leaving, and the weather forecast was rain, but none of this deter me.
We left on Saturday morning and took the 3 hours train ride. We went to Sestri Levante, where I spent all my summers when I was young. It was so weird not to have to worry abut nap times, and tantrums and potty breaks. Very liberating. We arrived with the sun, but clouds quickly came in. It did not matter. We were having a good time, and we did not let a few drops spoil it. The hotel was very nice, right on the beach, and after checking in we went for a nice lunch and a stroll on the boardwalk. There was some kind of celebration that weekend, so we look at various booths and did some shopping before retreating in the hotel as the rain grew more intense. It stopped early, though, and we went out for a nice late dinner.
The next day the weather was absolutely gorgeous, bright blue skies and no clouds in sight. We had a nice breakfast on the outdoor tables overlooking the ocean and the Baia Del Silenzio, taking it all in.
And then it was beach time! We laid in the sun and I even took a long swim. I miss swimming in the calm sea, looking at beautiful scenery. The water temperature was just perfect and the sea was somewhat clear.
We ate the unbelievable Focaccia and lots of other goodies, and strolled some more. We bought a huge Barbaforte balloon for Keegan (well hidden in a plastic bag), and slowly made our walk back to the train station. We were back just before Keegan’s bedtime. Keegan was very excited to see me, and gave me a wonderful welcome. It made my heart melt. We cuddled and he asked me ALL about the trip, and I mean ALL. He was worse than a jealous husband. He shot a barrage of questions, mainly: where did you go? why? what did you do? And then what did you do? And after that what did you do? He wanted the full sequence of what we did, ending with his Why did you go to the beach? It was funny. He never asked me that many details about anything.
According to my parent, he was pretty good, and while he did asked for me a few times, he had a good time with my parents and his cousins. On my part, I had a wonderful time, and it was nice to take some adult time away. But it was also very nice to come back home and see him again. And the Barbaforte balloon was a huge hit (literally). He really liked it and his favorite thing to do with it, was hitting it, really hard. Is it time to get him a punching bag?
