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This year we had a wonderful and long Christmas vacation: 11 days! Amazing! And even more amazing was the fact that we were all home for the whole time, since Matt took some time off. We considered going somewhere, since it is such a rare occasion we all have time off, but then we thought the most relaxing way to spend these days was staying at home, so we took a “stay-cation’. After all, many people choose to spend their vacation here, so we played tourists in our own town.

Matt planned a lot of activities, and we improvised too, resulting in a fun time for all. We started up with Keegan’s last gym class. He is now too old for that class, so it was a little bittersweet. Lucky for him, though, he got to do his favorite activities on the last day: trampoline and marshmallows pits. Everyone was super nice and said goodbye. He even got to pick an extra stamp.

After class we played outside with Alyce and Betty and we went home in time for lunch. After nap, we went to the zoo, for Jungle Bells, the nighttime Christmas celebration. It was definitely different to be at the zoo after dark, and there were many beautiful lights and music, but Keegan did not really want to do many holiday oriented activities, so we watched his favorite, reptiles, and strolled around…and of course we had to take the skyfari. Keegan posed with the Christmas Koala, and then we headed home.

The following  day we took it easy. We first stopped by IKEA (the first of our three trips to complete our entertainment center…finally) and Keegan played in the play area…with some resistance, even if he did make some friends. We bought some pieces and went home. I had lunch with Lina and Matt and Keegan napped and put together IKEA pieces. We finally put the new TV together, and it looks good. It finally starting to look like a real living room, not some temporary frat house room.

On Christmas Eve we went to Balboa park, at the Natural History Museum. It was raining, so the museum was pretty crowded, but we still enjoyed our visit. As always, we checked out the dinosaurs’ models and skeletons.

Keegan posing with a model of a Oviraptor

There was also a special exhibit on Chocolate: how it is made, its history, where it comes from, etc. It was great, and the wonderful chocolate smell pumped into the exhibits really enhanced it. Keegan rushed through it, but he really enjoyed the video showing the whole process, from cocoa beans to chocolate. I loved the over-sized chocolate box.

We got home pretty late, and Keegan was too excited to sleep long, but he was pretty good, and played on his own as we were cleaning up and preparing dinner. Matt cooked an amazing Christmas Eve dinner and we all ate together…well, Keegan did not try any of the delicious things Matt cooked, but that meant more for us: pork chops, asparagus, scalloped potatoes, spinach appetizers…yum.

Keegan was even able to stay still long enough to pose for a group shot.

After dinner, we got ready for Santa: we read books and prepared the cookies and milk, without forgetting the carrots for the reindeer.

Despite all his excitement, Keegan went to bed with not too much effort…nothing comparing with last year! Matt and I relaxed a little, and when we were sure Keegan was fast asleep we started the wrapping fest. No Christmas Story movie this time, but we played the Pandora Christmas Station, which was quite good. It was really fun, and as always, it felt we had way too much, between our gifts, my family’s and the neighbors’. However, when it was all done, it did looked beautiful.

We even made it to bed before 12…I guess not having to build anything, such a bicycle helped. Keegan woke up at the usual time and he still did his usual routine. When he got to the living room, though, boy was he excited!

Santa came!

As always, the opening was a blur, and we barely had time to stop and take pictures. I was surprised we convinced him to wait to open the Italian gifts, especially because they were the biggest ones, so we could do it “live” via Skype.

Keegan was also happy to see Santa tasted his cookies and left him a letter, commending him on being mostly good and reminding him to be a good listener in the next year.

I think this year we all got what we wanted, or most of it (Keegan is still pining after a McQueen with wings, a huge chunk of expensive plastic I refused to buy).

check out my creative wrapping…

After all the opening was done, including the stockings, I went back to sleep — my favorite present— and when I got up we had a wonderful video call with my parents, my sister and her family. Keegan was very excited to see his cousins, aunt and uncle and his nonni, of course, and he was even more excited he could finally open their gifts. Nonni sent him a huge box, which contained a very cool Palymobil boat. I felt a little guilty about it as I selected it when I was in Italy from a catalog, hoping I could bring it back to US with me. Unfortunately it was not available yet, and my poor parents had to go multiple times to the store till it finally arrived, only to discover it was HUGE. I did not pay attention to size, and thought it would have been much smaller…they did ship it anyway, and I am very grateful. Keegan really liked it. It took us a little bit to build it and place all its stickers on, but the end result was worth the wait.

The afternoon was mellow: Keegan took a nice nap, and I started organize my new closet. Then we all played with our new toys, and Matt cooked another wonderful dinner: his famous cream cheese and pepper appetizers, steak, creamed potatoes, squash, corn bread…He is such a great cook: I am so lucky.

After Keegan went to bed, Matt tried out one of his Christmas gifts: an Atari system that can be connected to the TV. It included 75 games, even if we all know the only ones that matter are: Asteroids, Centipede and Space Invaders. It even came with a wireless joystick. Pretty cool, and quite hard to find…I guess it was THE popular toy this season, and I had to run around to finally find it.

Even Keegan wanted to give it a shot, but quickly gave up, realizing it is still not as easy as it seems.

The following day was a busy one. The weather was changing, so we figured that Birch Aquarium would be a safe bet. It was quite busy, as probably many other had the same idea, but we we had a good time watching all the different tanks and playing in the tide pool area.

As we were going through the Climate Change exhibit, we run into Julia, his friend from school. What a happy coincidence! The kids were happy to see each other and they played together in the kids area.

We had lunch together, dodging the drizzling rain, and at 2 we saw the tide pool feeding, including the elusive gigantic lobster that only gets out at feeding time. It was fun.

We went home to take a nap and then we headed downtown for Betty’s birthday party at the Downtown Bowl and Tavern, just as a beautiful sunset was paining San Diego skies, and the full moon was rising.

It felt really weird to go downtown after dark with Keegan, and even weirder to go into a bar with him, but the bowling area was very nice and kid friendly. The lane had bumpers for the kids and a special stand to help them roll the ball. There were colorful lights and a full bar. There were only a few kids and Keegan felt comfortable and had fun trying to bowl, if you can call drop the ball on the lane bowling.

The adults bowled too, and it reminded me why I don’t do it more often: I really suck at it. Of course, my best hands were when we were leaving, and I scored a strike and a spare in a row. It did not compensate for all the other horrible hands I had, but I really did not care. It was a fun evening.

The next day was the Annual San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade, an annual warm up for the college bowl game. I only been there once, more than 10 years ago, and at that time I walked to it from work, so we were not well prepared for what expected us. Despite our plans, we ended up leaving later than we wanted to, so when we got downtown we realized that parking would have not been easy to find. After a few rounds, Matt dropped Keegan and me off, so we could meet Jennifer, Dave, Hannah and Natalie. They settled in a nice open space, and we could have a great view of the parade. It was great for the kids to be together, so they entertained each other before the parade started. It was really cold, so the running around helped. It took Matt more than an hour between parking and physically being able to reach us, but fortunately the parade was long and he got to see most if it. There were tens of large balloons, marching bands and other groups parading around.

shamu was my one of my favorites

Keegan loved the T-rex…

…and the Storm Troopers

The weather was quite windy, so it was difficult for the handlers to keep the balloon in the air.

Once the parade was over, we took a walk by the bay, and saw the dueling bands. We had a quick lunch and headed home. Keegan did not want to go to nap and was stalling, but I had errand to run, so I left and told him to put himself to sleep, since Matt was napping too. I was really surprised to see he really did that, and he was soundly asleep when I got back.

The following day we decided to go to Legoland. I had a nasty sinus cold, but nothing some good drug can take care of. Obviously we picked the worse day ever: I have never seen Legoland so packed. However, we got a discount coupon we needed to use that gave us access to the park and the Legoland aquarium, and also a free ticket to use before March…so we will be back in slower season. The aquarium turned out to be a great idea, since it was basically empty, and Keegan enjoyed watching the fish interacting  with the Lego features.

peeking out from the underwater bubble with daddy…

and alone…

one of my favorite sea creatures

Legoland itself, though, was a mad house. We only made it to one ride, the Fairy Tales Brook, as Keegan did not want to wait in line…good luck at Disneyland! He did not even want to go in the snow area. He “raced” in the cars area though…

… and we watched the Star Wars replicas (this is the cantina, completed with music)…

…and posed next to the tourist caricature, since that was exactly how we felt.

It was a long morning, so we stayed home after nap, and tried to figured out the living room arrangement, which brought us to two more trips to IKEA in the next two days, but we finally got a workable solution.

On December 30 we went to Seaworld. The weather was again hard to predict, forecasting rain, but we brought our rain jacket, and it only drizzled for a few minutes. The real storm broke loose after we got back home. It was not too crowded, at least not compared to Legoland, so we got to enjoy the Dolphin Show, and the Sea Lions show. We played in the play area, and finally Keegan got a chance to play with snow. Seaworld’s snow zone is a lot better than Legoland’s: no lines to play, and the line for the sleds is quite short. Keegan was finally old enough for sledding, and he went up and down many, many times.

We also built a mini snowman and enjoyed a snowballs fight.

Ready…

set…

go…

On the way out, we checked out the Christmas decorations: the Christmas tree, the giant sleight, the real reindeer enclosure.

We even got the chance to see some of the “animal ambassadors”: an Eurasian Eagle Owl, and a sloth, which, to my surprise, was very active. Keegan really enjoyed seeing the animals and asking questions about them. I loved seeing the sloth, and Keegan got to feed her a carrot, after a couple of failed attempts.

December 31 was a beautiful, clear day, so we decided to celebrate the end of the year by taking a hike at Torrey Pines. Keegan was not too keen at the idea, and did a good amount of whining, but we tried not be bothered by it. It was beautiful, and we tried a couple of short paths we never hiked before. The views were unbeatable.

This photo capture his whole attitude during the hike

We had lunch overlooking the ocean and headed home. Keegan napped and when he woke up, we decided to say goodbye to 2012 by watching the last sunset of the year at the beach. So, we headed to Pacific Beach, and made it just in time, as the sun was plunging into the ocean.

We walked to the tide pools, but it was getting too dark, so we just played around, run and enjoyed the beautiful colors of a San Diego sunset.

We left when it was already dark.it was the prefect way to close a perfect vacation. We really enjoyed playing tourists and having so much time to spend together was a real gift.

After Keegan went to bed, we had a nice dinner, and waited the end of the year watching Blade Runners, a movie we both love…even thought it may have been a little too slow for the occasion: we were both so tired, it was hard to wait till midnight. But waited we did, and we were able to cheer the beginning of a new year.

Goodbye 2012!

This year, the traditional Christmas season felt very long, since Thanksgiving was so early, so we managed to pack in lots of holiday activities. The weather was not the best, as a series of storms brought rain and cold weather but we did not let it deter us. The weird weather also brought bizarre instrument malfunctioning. This is what we saw one morning on our weather station.

Granted, it was a little cold, but 10 degree? And snowing??? We had to take a picture, as we will never see a snow forecast for San Diego again! Or so I thought. A few days later, my car gave me a snow warning, with beeping alarm. It was really ironic, because I was struggling to see the road, blinded by the sun when the snow alarm went off… (do you see the snowflake next to the temperature?). It actually warns you about the possibility of black ice, but still I thought it was funny.

Anyway, cold and rain aside, we started the season with a bang. We had a fun weekend in Laguna Mountains with our friend Sara and her daughters Alyce and Betty. We rented a cabin and we spent two nights there. We were hoping for some snow, but not such luck: the snowflakes fell promptly three days after we left. N0 matter: we still had a great time.

We left on Friday, December 8 and arrived at the cabin around 5pm. Matt took the day off, and did an amazing job at preparing everything for the trip. He is really the best planner. The cabin was a cute two bedrooms, with a fireplace right inside Cleveland National Forest. The kids went along pretty well, and Keegan found that Betty was his perfect audience as well his perfect companion for loud, crazy games…does that mean Keegan has the emotional maturity of a three year old???

That evening we prepared dinner and we started a nice fire. It was beautiful, and it was perfect for indoor s’mores. The kids were excited, and the huge, flavorful marshmallows that Jennifer gave Keegan for his birthday were a big hit.

The night was a little challenging, as it was very difficult for the kids to settle down, and poor Sara took the brunt of it. Early in the morning the kids were up, but I was so tired I did not really hear them. Sara took them for a nice walk, then Matt cooked a wonderful pancake and eggs breakfast. Nothing better that to wake up with the smell of warm eggs and syrup.

After breakfast, it was time to get out and burn some energy.

We took the kids to a short half-mile hike, which became better known as “the longest half a mile” in history. At one point or another each of the kids had a nice meltdown or whining episode. We adults, though enjoyed the walk, on a pretty sunny day. We stopped at the top of the Kwaaymii Trail resting at the mortar holes used to grind acorns to take pictures.

The shop/museum at the beginning of the trail was much more of a hit, and the kids enjoyed touching different pelts and embalmed animals.

Miraculously, all kids (and Matt) took a nap, so Sara and I were able to kick back and relax. When all the kids woke up, we got ready for our big adventure: The Santa Train, the main reason why we were there. This was an hour train ride, on an old train, modeled on the famous book, The Polar Express. The kids were excited and so were we. The train was in Campo, about 45 minutes away.We arrived just before sunset, and posed for pictures with the resident Hobo, who let our kids borrow his stick.

We boarded just before 5pm, and soon the train left the station. Elves went around with Santa’s lists to fill out, and hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies.

The kids were so excited they could not stay still a second, especially Betty and Keegan, who were feeding off each other. Next, the elves were supposed to read the Polar Express story and lead us into Christmas carols, as we traveled towards the “North Pole”, and they did try…but as Sara mentioned, probably we had the “elves in training”, as it was impossible to hear them. They did not have a microphone and their voices were very soft. It was so bad that some of the parents took it upon themselves to start up Christmas caroling. The kids did not care. All of the sudden, the train came to a stop, and right outside the window we saw Santa’s workshop! We all waved, and as the train started his way back, Santa boarded the train, and stopped with each family. Keegan was very shy, and only asked for “toys”, despite being very aware of what he wanted.

After sitting on Santa’s lap, each child received a silver bell, like in the story. We were very careful not to lose it, though, and it went to adorn Keegan’s small Christmas tree at home.

At the end of train, all the kids were brimming with excitement, and all the parents were looking forward to a nice, cold one. At least, the kids were all tired, and the night went much better. Us adult enjoyed some wine and nice talks before a well deserved sleep. We left the next morning after breakfast: Keegan had a birthday party that afternoon, and we wanted to have enough time to rest. We had a really good time, and we were happy to see the kids went along well. It is the first real “sleepover” Keegan had and it is great to see he did so well.

Back in San Diego, after a nice nap, we headed back to Pump it Up for Gaia’s birthday. It was interesting to be back just a week later, and even more interesting to see how Keegan behaved: while on his birthday he was a mad man, running around and trying all jumpies, this time he was really shy, and did not want to participate. Fortunately, Matt agreed to play with him in the inflatables, and so he had a good time.

swinging upside down is his favorite thing to do.

The second week in December was busy. Keegan had his annual check up and everything went well. He is growing at the appropriate rate, and in fact is now almost at the 50% for weight, and 30% for height. Quite a far cry from the 2% that had us worried when he was a baby. He is 40lb and 42 inches, and even his drawings have improved from the scribbles of last year. He started drawing himself (the big one in the middle) and upon request he added me on the right, with hair (I asked for it) and Matt, the small one on the left. What a masterpiece! Well, hopefully he takes after daddy, and he will be an engineer.

On Wednesday, our local library was hosting a Ginger Bread Decorating event, and thanks to a cancellation we were able to participate. It was pretty fun. Each kid had a plain house and frosting to decorate it. Everyone brought candy to share.

Keegan enjoyed selecting the candies and placing them over the frosting, even if he needed some help cementing them down.

At the end he got to take his house back with him. Of course is way more fun decorating it than eating it, so we still have most of it around.

This year we have been encouraging his belief in Santa a little more. I guess I felt guilty not encouraging this fantasy while he is still young enough to enjoy it, so we cranked it up a little. I wrote a letter from Santa to Keegan, and brought it to the post office, so they can send it back with the stamp from North Pole (Alaska). Together we also wrote a letter from Keegan to Santa, asking for toys he wanted.

We picked a day to mail it in the special mailbox inside Macy’s: ever year, this department store pairs up with Make A Wish Foundation (a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill children) and donates $1 per letter to Santa it receives. It then brings the letter to the post office. So it is a win win situation. And as I found out later, if you include a return address, you receive a letter back from Santa, thanking you for your note. So, Keegan got 2 letters from Santa this year!

We went to the local mall to drop the letter off, and take our annual picture with Santa.

Of course, it started raining, no pouring, the moment we arrived. Matt met us there too, and we all get completely soaked. It makes for an interesting Santa shot. After a large remodel at the mall, Santa now has a new setting, completely bathed with red lights. It was somewhat unsettling, but I guess they do this to prevent parents from taking their own photos.

Of course there was no line, since it was raining so hard, and we were lucky it was open at all. Oh well, it makes for an interesting story. At night, we grabbed some pizza and watched Monsters Inc: Keegan loved it, and I really enjoy it as well. I got to cuddle him the whole movie: it meant so much as it was the same day as the tragic school massacre in Connecticut. How lucky I am to have him, my little boy, to cuddle. our hearts and thought were with these Connecticut parents.

On Sunday we went to my annual Christmas Brunch. Our sitter flaked on us almost at the last minute, but fortunately Van’s mom Gayle offered to watch him and planned a fun play date at Balboa Park. We were so grateful, and we really enjoyed our brunch. Keegan had a blast!

The last week before vacation was a busy one: between work meetings, medical exams, assembling goodie bags, and Christmas time errands time flew by.

This year I have been pretty good, getting most of my shopping done early, but I still found myself assembling gifts and wrapping till almost Christmas. So, as Matt was baking cookies for the cookies exchange at Keegan’s school, I was wrapping and writing cards.

delicious sugar cookies

We finally made it to Friday, the last day before Christmas vacation. The work days went by fast, and Matt and I went to Keegan’s school for the annual Christmas party. As always, the kids were all ready to sing Christmas (and Hanukkah’s) songs, with their elves’ hats and their bells.

Van, Keegan, Brady and Elliott

They were adorable as always, even if it was complete chaos. After the songs, Santa came to visit. Unfortunately they did not hire the great couple that was here in the past two years, and the guy that showed up was a little lame. No singing, or dancing, or involving the kids. He simply sat on his chair and the kids posed for pictures. They did not seem to mind, though.

Then it was cookie time! There were a lot of delicious cookies to exchange and we all enjoyed some socializing with other parents. After the party, we went home to get ready: Keegan had another pool party to attend! It was a Parents Night Out, but this time Keegan was excited, especially because they promised pizza and a movie. We dropped him off at 5.30, and we had a nice date night, a very Clairemont date night: we watched the movie Hitchcock, ate greek food and finished off with an ice cream…all within the strip mall by our house. It was perfect, and we were just in time to pick him up. Keegan had a blast and made new friends, and we enjoyed some adult time…what better way to start our Christmas vacation???

Wow, it is hard to believe that Keegan is already 5…we reached the last page of his baby book-which means I have less than a year to actually complete it. (-:

Anyway, my little guy is getting big. This year he had been really anticipating the big event. This time around I did not want to deal with the stress of weather forecasting, so by the end of October we reserved our spot at Pump It Up, and indoor play area filled with 4, huge inflatables. I had never seen the place, but heard great things, and Keegan saw one of the locations and was enthusiastic. Of course, at first he was disappointed I did not book Cuck E Cheese, but this is where I draw the line.With the location settled, I only had to stress about the party itself.

We started the preparation a few days before, with our annual trip to the store to order the cake. Keegan originally wanted a very expensive, three tiers Cars cake, but I convinced him to pick a simpler one. The winner was Captain America, and this year, they even spelled his name correctly. I did not think it was that exceptional, but Keegan loved it and that is all that matters.

Back at home, Keegan helped me putting the goodie bags together. He had a great time, but the whole process took more than two hours (for 24 bags). The final result was worth it: they were very cute bags.

all the supplies are sorted out

Keegan being a good helper

Each kid got dinosaurs gliders, a mini stress ball, a space sticker scene, stickers, space stamper, a rocket bookmark, marshmallow, and Keegan’s birthday personalized m&m’s.

This year December 3 fell on a Monday, so we planned the party for the day before, in the late afternoon. I was a little worried about a late party, but it turned out to be perfect: the kids got really tired, had dinner, and crashed. The hardest thing was to manage Keegan’s excitement: he was literally bouncing off the wall, and was quite a handful the whole weekend, leading up to the party. Nonni and zia Cinzia, zio Sandro and his cousins called and wished him a happy birthday. He was hard for him to stay still since he was so excited, and even Skype was a challenge.

After the usual RSVP game, we ended up with 18 kids (2 were sick and could not attend). Honestly this was the best party for us. We really did not have to do much. Matt stopped by Costco and got some food supplies, then we picked up the cake, and we headed over. The staff brought out a cart for our stuff, and took care of everything. They monitored the kids, set up the room, and then gathered our gifts and cleaned everything up.

Right at 5pm, the kids watched a safety video, and then they were unleashed inside. It was a nice place, reserved just for us, with a huge slide, an obstacle course and two other large jumpies. Upbeat music was leading the kids on.

Since it was only us, most of the parents joined in the festivities and jumped or slid down the slides. I guess we all brought our inner child out to play. The kids were mostly independent, so we had the chance to relax, take picture and just chat. With the exception of a couple of short lived dramas, all the kids, from big (8years old) to small (2 years old) had a blast.

the fighting bouncie was a big hit, literally…
 

Natalie, dazed and exhausted

After an hour and a half, the kids got a chance to catch their breath and posed for a group photo or two.

Then, sweaty and starving, they were lead into the party room, which was nicely decorated. All the presents were piled on one corner, and plates were waiting with warm pizza, chips and fruit. The adults got a few healthier choices as well. Keegan was surrounded by all of his girls. Coincidence? Kenzie was sending him kisses from across the table.

There was a large, inflatable throne…which I had to try on. I felt like royalty…and after all, Keegan would not be here if it wasn’t for me, right? So I deserve some recognition too. (-:

But of course, the throne was for the birthday boy, so Keegan enjoyed his moment in the spotlight, while all his friends sang happy birthday. He loved this part, and was all smiles. Then he blew the candles out…in 4/5 takes.

My little prince kindly shared his throne with me.
 

He got the first slice of the cake and then all the friends followed.

By 7, we were all done, and the staff gathered our gifts in large bags and we loaded them up with our limited leftovers.

look at all these gifts…one spoiled little boy
 

We already told Keegan that no presents would be opened till the following day, his actual birthday, and honestly, he was so tired he did not complained. He went to bed easily and we got everything ready for the big day. First order of business was placing Fifi, our elf on the shelf, on the tree, with a birthday card in his hands.

Keegan had insisted Fifi (the creepy little doll that is supposed to magically fly back to Santa every night to report on his behavior) would not wait till his birthday was over to come back, so here we are trying to find different locations for the darn thing everyday…and usually wake up in a panic, as we forgot to move him. How crazy are we? Well, not as crazy as other “elf in the shelf overachievers”. I already linked to a post last year dealing with these overachievers, but if you want to see more of the craziness, try this site. We definitely WILL NOT do anything that time consuming.

We baked our chocolate chip muffins, actually I baked them, which is remarkable. The fact they came from a box, Hershey chocolate chips included, is not important: I still count this as baking.

robot and rockets liners and toppers
 

The next morning, I woke up Keegan: this is a nice change, as we sometimes have to wake him up, always, and rigorously on week days, never on weekends. On Saturday and Sunday he is always up shortly after 6…too much fun stuff to do to miss it sleeping.

He was very excited to see his presents form us, and rightly so. Because we had nonni’s, Lori’s and my sister’s ones, it was quite a sight. In fact, I even forgot to bring one out, the biggest one of all: his dinosaurs.

He ripped through the paper, and was excited about his books – we read 4 before school – his Lego, his playmobil, and his building robots. Before leaving for work, I sent out Keegan to grab the paper, and he discovered the Cars birthday banner hanging on the garage door.

He was excited about going to school, and bringing treats to his friends. He had a fun day: his friends celebrated him again, his teacher offered him a crown, and he had his yoga class, but when I picked him up,  he was ready to go home. Many more presents awaited him.

At home, he listened to the birthday message Loredana and Francesca left him, and he was very excited hearing their voices. And yes, we still have a land line, and, even worse, we still have a corded phone…but guess what? During the last blackout, our corded phone was the only one working!

The lure of the gifts, though, was too much, and he dove right in. He started with the dinosaurs: he was so excited, since he really wanted them. Now his humongous T-rex had  friends dinosaurs to play with.Then he opened our babysitter Jennifer’s present: she packed a great collections of Cars related stories, in a huge bag, filled with large marshmallows.

Check the size and quantity of the marshmallow…

We then opened them all, one by one. I am always amazed by how many toys exists in stores: I never saw most of them, and I’ve spent PLENTY time in the toy store section at Target. Keegan was happy. He got books, superheroes, cars, a garage and all sort of other stuff. Most of the presents contained more than one toy. He got so much he actually told me: ” I got too many toys. Maybe next year we can tell my friend to only bring one present each!” I am not joking…

While we opened them all, we put some away, and he has been playing only with his favorite ones for now. The house looked like a tornado hit it, even if I tried to gather the wrapping and boxes by the time Matt arrived. Keegan showed him immediately all the cool stuff he got.

After dinner, we cut one leftover slice from the cake, and lit candles and wish him, again, happy birthday. Keegan, proudly wearing his school crown, blew the candles out again.

When the evening was over, I am not sure who was more tired, Keegan or us. Keegan was ecstatic, and he repeatedly thanked us, spontaneously, for making is birthday so special and beautiful. He promised to make my birthday special too, maybe buying me some jewelry. What a sweet little boy!

After all the preparation and anticipation, we almost felt “deflated”, but there still one more birthday-related task to do: the thank you cards. While Keegan was enthusiastic about thanking his friends, he started losing interest after card number 3…but we stuck to it, and we finished them all by the Thursday night. Some of them even had drawings in it. Julia’s card had a princess. Can’t you tell?

So, here we are. Keegan is a healthy, happy, STRONG WILLED, little boy. He is 42″ high  (106 cm…he pass the 1 miter mark!) and weights an healthy 40lb (18kg). We are definitely not worried about his size anymore, since he is now in the 50% for weight and 30% for height. His 4 years have been somewhat challenging, in a “clash of the titans” kind of way, but watching him grow, learn and develop, both physically and emotionally is really an amazing experience. We are looking forward to see what next year will bring us and what he will become. And we are especially looking forward to seeing more of his smiles that can light up a room.

We love you Keegan, our little fiery one.

What a great Thanksgiving weekend we had. This year Thanksgiving came really early: in fact, November 22 is the earliest it can ever fall on.

The celebration, as always, started with Keegan’s school party. It was a nice, relaxing event I got to socialize with some of the other parents, and had some of the delicious potluck food. The kids played and run around and had a blast.

We left after lunch. Keegan had a very short nap, and I relaxed in the warm sun on the deck. In the afternoon, Keegan and I worked on some Thanksgiving craft. We put together some paper turkey, to collect our thankful thoughts. Glue was everywhere, especially on my hands, but it was fun. Matt got home early and we filled in our turkeys and hung them in the kitchen. Keegan’s was thankful for: food, home, us, school …but no toys!

Thanksgiving morning, Keegan and I did some more crafts (!), played with bubbles on the deck and read books. I actually convinced him not to watch TV…I was very proud of myself.

All this activity made me tired, and  I took a wonderful late morning nap when Matt woke up. In the afternoon Daniele, Gaia and Daniele’s friend Angela came over for dinner. The kids played well together, even if you start noticing the age difference a little. Dinner was wonderful as always, and Matt did a great job.

Dinner was pleasant, and Keegan made sure it was entertaining, asking embarrassing and totally inappropriate questions such as:

“Angela, will you spend the night at Daniele’s?”
“Angela, will you marry Daniele?”
“Angela, why aren’t you married?”

Quite funny, even if we all blushed a little.

At night we did some intense shopping…of course on-line. You could not pay me, well us, enough to brave the crowds on Black Friday, as it was this year, Black Thursday. We ended up buying a new tv, to replace our 12 years old monster….about time. I am telling you: there is nothing like on-line shopping. I have not been in the mall for serious shopping in years, and I love it. Plus with many sites offering either free shipping, or free ship-to-store, there is really no reason top go out and struggle with busy stores. Now of course we need to buy the new entertainment center and set everything up…for now it sits patiently  in the kitchen.

The next day, we were invited at Jennifer and Dave’s house for their annual Thanksgiving dinner, which is always on Black Friday. It was really nice. Keegan and Hannah played wonderfully together,they even shared the iPad peacefully. Keegan liked to pay Angry Birds Rio.

and Keegan overcome his fear of big dogs, a little, and warmed up to the three large dogs that were there. And I have to say they were quite scary, as they liked to jump up at you. I had bruises on my leg from their “effusions”. However, he played with them and gave them treats.

While the children played, us adults talked and had a delicious lunch. Jennifer cooked a 20+lb bird, and it was a sight to behold.

Jennifer posing with the huge bird

Dave carving the beast

check out all the trimmings

Jennifer’s dad baked three delicious pies and the kids helped him rolling out the dough and decorating the crust.

The kids ate at the counter…and not surprisingly Keegan barely had anything. “Baby” Natalie was the best eater of all.

We went home in the evening, exhausted and in a food coma…but it was all worth it.

Even thought the official Thanksgiving celebration itself was over, we still had a full weekend to enjoy, and enjoyed it we did. Saturday was a beautiful day and so we went to the beach. It was cooler now, but still warm enough for Keegan to play in the water…well, with his wetsuit. He loved it, and had a lot of fun.

The beach was beautiful, and the sand was sparkling with golden grains of sand. After the ocean, Keegan built castels and wrestled with dad. Nothing different from our ordinary day at the beach.

Later that evening, our sitter came and we left for our date night. We watched a movie, Flight, and picked up some great food to enjoy at home ( it was a long movie, and we did not want to spend a fortune)

On Sunday we headed to the zoo, and got to see lots of cool animals. Keegan enjoys the bears and the reptiles. He skipped his nap, but he played on his own for his nap-time as he was supposed to…yeah!! So i got to do some Christmas shopping and relaxing.

So, all in all it was a great weekend: we relaxed, ate lots of great food, visited with friends, and had fun. As an added bonus, with all these activities, the weekend felt really long, in a good way…what more should we ask for?

Well, we really feel blessed and are thankful for everything we have and for all the wonderful people in our life.

I know, I know, it is getting old, and yes I say this every year, but Fall in San Diego is exactly why I am glad I live here. Yes, we don’t have as many trees that change colors (boo-oh) but what we do have is intense blue sky, shining sun, and a cooler version of summer. Who can ask for more?

This month started out  really warm, and even the ocean was an unusual 68 F (20 Celsius), so we spent some time at the beach. Keegan swam and splashed around without fear. I am very happy he loves the ocean and he is not scared. Hopefully he will soon start body-boarding.

charge!

However, winter is visiting San Diego too, so, since Keegan is loving getting into the water, we bought him his first wetsuit. We got a Spring wetsuit just to minimize the hassle of putting it on. It is a little big for him, but hopefully he will fill it in by next spring.

For now, he uses it as a dress-up suit, or as a Spiderman suit. At least we get some use out of it.

Since days are getting shorter and shorter, we have to resort to indoor activities. What is better than practicing golf in the living room??? Obviously, this was not MY idea.

Keegan was also Star Of The Week at his preschool in November. This has nothing to do with merit, but it is on a rotation base. It is a cute thing: each kid gets to be Star Of The Week. It entails having your photos and favorite things posted on a bulletin board, telling the class about them, and most importantly, being the “line leader”, and directing the other kids all week long. Of course, Keegan promptly got sick on the Monday of “his” week, but fortunately he recovered quickly enough to enjoy the rest of the week.

We are now looking forward to a somewhat quiet and relaxing 4 days holiday for Thanksgiving. And the weather forecast is again sunny skies and warm temperatures. We are definitive thankful for that.

We had another presidential election. It has been a brutal campaign, and we were all glad to see it ending, even if we were spared the most relentless marketing attacks: nobody really cares about California focusing instead on swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania or Florida. Still, we were submerged by mailers and we could not escape the negativity.

This election was also very important for me because it was the first election for which I was eligible to vote. Very exciting! I waited till the late afternoon, because I wanted to bring Keegan along, so he could see how the whole process worked. Well, his only comment was: “This is so boring!” (-:

He did not even want the sticker.

To add insult to injury, once home, I told him I wanted Barack Obama to be re-elected, and he took one glance at the paper, and confidently said he wanted the other guy to win, because he had a nice smile (?!) This goes to prove how far a stubborn 4.5 year old would go, just to contradict his parents!

Election night was a little more tense than 4 years ago, when we headed to the polls, already knowing who won. Furthermore, I was worried that I would “jinx” the results. I know, I am totally superstitious. I tracked the results till 10.30pm, when concession speech arrived. I was actually amazed by the result: I was surprised to see how many of my candidates/propositions went the way I wanted.

The following day, even Keegan came around, and dropped his opposition.

Now, let’s hope that our leaders will be able to put aside all the partisan bitterness and bickering and actually come together to bring us all a better future. And we sure need it.

Good luck Obama!

Keegan is almost 5 years old, and while we don’t fill every post with all the new things he is learning and doing, there are a couple of “firsts” that is worth mentioning.

At the end of September, Keegan had his first fishing experience. We went out on a boat with my friend Gary, and tried to catch some fish. Keegan helped set up the bait on the hook and casts the line, and he got really good at reeling it in. He also got to live the real fishing experience of not catching anything! He was quite disappointed, but he still enjoyed the trip.

pretty stinky stuff! No wonder no fish bit the line!

Another important first was Keegan’s first movie at a theater. We have been waiting so long because he has not been able to stay still, and most importantly quiet, for the whole movie. However, after seeing how well he behaved during the outdoor movie this summer, we figured it was worth a try. Finding Nemo was being re-released in 3D (which was pretty much a waste), so we took him to watch it. I had a little sticker shock, since the price was quite high for a matinee, but we had a good time. Keegan is still too light to sit on the chairs without additional weight, but usually my purse works. He loved the experience, and he even enjoyed the previews and commercials.

Last but not least, Keegan went to a Parents’ Night Out event, by himself, which is a HUGE thing for us. This is the first time we can drop him off somewhere and leave. The event was organized by his pool, and while he initially told me he would like to go, he immediately changed his mind as he realized we would not be there. I signed him up anyway, and “worked”on him for 4 days. We finally convinced him, somewhat, with the promise of a present if he did not have fun.Or better, we simply stopped asking him if he wanted to go, and told him he was going.

It turned out that Jada was there too, which helped, and seeing his teacher made him feel better. We had a nice, leisurely dinner, and when we picked him up, he was happy and had a good time. We too are very happy, since usually these events are cheaper than a traditional sitter, and they are probably more fun for him. So we are looking forward to another Parents’ Night Out.

Since we were in Italy, we had to concentrate all our Halloween activities in two weeks, but I can honestly say that Keegan has not been deprived. We began the day after we got back from our trip, by decorating the house, inside and out. We hung bats and banners inside, made door hangers in the sleepless mornings in which jet lag was waking Keegan up well before dawn, and created fun foam pumpkins. We added window decals and attached large spiders to our wall. And of course, we hung our ghosts from the tree in front of our house.

The first major event, thought, was Kenzie’s Halloween Party. Keegan had been looking forward to it since we were in Italy. Kenzie actually moved the party to October 20 so Keegan could be there. How sweet! Some of Keegan’s friends from school were there: Elliott, Van, Julia, Rozelin, and even Keegan’s old teacher in the infant room, Ms. Georgia. All the kids were showing off their costumes. The masks only lasted a couple of minutes, though.

There was a bouncie and many game stations set up for the kids to play and win prizes.

Event the food was spooky.

At the end of the party, Keegan was full, exhausted and carrying a bucket full of prizes. What more can you ask for?

The following week, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. This year I prepared in advanced, and got a coupon for 50% off the rides. Julia came with us, with her mom and her little brother Ivan. Keegan was happy to have a friend with him. He immediately went to the giant slide, his favorite since when he was 3. He is now the perfect size for it, and he still enjoys it a lot.

The little train ride, however, is now passe’. Good thing it was a free ride.

The petting zoo was a big hit this year, and all the kids enjoyed petting the animals — mainly goats and chickens — and feeding them. Man, it is true what they say about goat eating anything. One of them tried to eat Julia’s mom’s skirt.

After the rides, we actually looked at the patch and picked out our pumpkins.

We have learned our lesson: this year, we did not carve it too soon, since, in San Diego, a carved pumpkin lasts only a couple of days before molding…at least at our house. So, instead, we bought some pumpkin stickers and decorated it this way, till it was time to carve it. This also allowed us to add three faces to the same pumpkin.

We actually carved it only on Sunday night, three day before Halloween. It was the perfect timing: by November 1, white mold was forming, and turned into massive black mold by November 2.

Keegan’s school had a carnival, and for the first time in two years, they held it at night. All the kids were dressed up, and there were various games set up in every room.

with his new teacher, Ms.Jill

Keegan and his friends, however, were more interested into running around and playing with each other. It was quite a site, as they were all dressed like some sort of super hero: Batman, Iron Man, Captain America, Ninja, Darth Vader (well not really a super hero).

It was a fun event. The weekend went by quickly, and we made sure to keep the Halloween theme going with spooky hamburger and themed plates and napkins.

Halloween finally came. Keegan went to school all dressed up, and all the kids got to run around for most of the morning in their costumes.

I met him at 10.30 for the annual Halloween Parade around the block. Even if only 2 establishments gave them candies, the kids had a blast. Some of the houses in the neighborhood have pretty elaborate decoration, so it is always fun to check them out. No masks allowed for the parade, out of safety concerns.

After the parade, the kids played outside for a while, then they got inside, read a book and got ready for lunch. Some of the parents helped out setting up the potluck meal.

The lunch included “hair and eyeballs” (=spaghetti and meatballs), bread, fruit and spooky desserts.

With some other parents, I stayed though lunch to help out and to serve out food and sweets. I loved the little witch’s hats.

I picked up Keegan in the afternoon, and we went home to get ready. Kenzie and her family came Trick or Treating with us, and we also met up with Jada and a couple of other kids from the neighborhood.

I am ready to get some candy!

This year the kids were really independent, and were running from house to house. It also felt like the number of children going around the neighborhood exploded since last year. I am not sure where all these kids were coming from, but I know I run out of candy for the first time ever since I lived here. I remember years when we did not even have 1 single trick or treater. It is nice to see the change. Both Matt and I went around with Keegan, so we left a bowl with candy outside the house. We were obviously not the only ones.

I really like Dante’s quote on the door, quite appropriate for the occasion, even though I doubt it was meant to be a literary reference, as demonstrated by the pirate flag below it: All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here” (lasciate ogni speranza o voi ch’entrate).

We saw some amazing decoration and effects, but my favorite was the pumpkin representing Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas that our neighbor had out. Maybe we should try to do it next year.

Once again, the kids were exhausted and were begging to go back home. The buckets were heavy and when it was all said and done we netted more than 4lb (2kg) of candy. Keegan immediately categorized them and grouped them, and then picked his favorite ones to eat in the following days — we always put a limit on the number of candies he can keep.

This year, however, we have found the perfect solution for all this excess candy, which usually ends up either in our belly or thrown away. We brought all our booty to our local dentist, who offers a Candy Buy Back program: the candy get sent to the troops, and the dentist will give you $1 per pound as long as you bring in also a non perishable food item for the Food Bank. It is a win-win-win solution. Keegan made $4 for his piggie bank. He was pretty excited about that.

It was a great Halloween for all of us, and  now we are gearing up for the crazy end of the year time: Thanksgiving, Keegan’s Birthday and Christmas. As always, I promise myself I will not get stressed out, and I will be done with my shopping by the end of November. Will I succeed? It never happened before, but there is always a first time. And if it does happen, then, maybe this is really the year the world will come to an end. (-:

After a few rough days of adjustment, we have started our routine as we got home. And we immediately got busy celebrating. We started with Matt’s birthday. While he is not much of a birthday guy, we still wanted to celebrate the special day that brought him into our lives. I actually got him to go out for lunch— a rare event — and we enjoyed a leisurely meal at Sammy’s Pizza. When he got home from work, the real celebration, the one that Keegan was looking forward to, began. Sure there were presents and cards, but most importantly…there was ice cream as for Matt’s request! As always, Keegan was the designated Candle Man…and ice cream taster.

We also had a couple of fun parties: Kenzie’s Halloween Party (more on this later) and Alyce’s Birthday party.The latter was held at a park, on a beautiful, warm fall day. Even if it was only a couple of days before Halloween, it was not a costume party. There was a jumpie, though, and lots of food. Keegan was actually a little shy, as always when he does not know most of the kids. He did manage enough courage to bounce around a bit, and of course to eat all the frosting of the cake.

There was also a huge piñata, in the shape of a mermaid. I have to say that watching the kids whacking the poor mermaid was somewhat disturbing, especially when the banging brought dismemberment. Keegan proudly cut her arms off…

So it was a very busy return to normal. All these fun activities helped us getting back into the swing of things, and mitigated the sadness for leaving our family and friends behind in Italy.

Our yearly trip to Italy happened in the first weeks of October this year, a little later than usual. In fact, like most of our trips this year, almost did not happen at all, since my mom had to have foot surgery and we were not sure when they would schedule it. However, all went well, and as “luck” had it, the operation was set for the day after we left. Keegan was really looking forward the trip this year, and had been telling everyone for weeks he was going to Italy to visit his nonni.

I had hoped Matt could join us this year, so we would have had the chance to celebrate our 10 years anniversary with a couple of days alone, but unfortunately work was too busy for him to leave. I guess our trip to Maui was our celebration…and who can complain about that? Keegan is now old enough to be easier to travel with, so I was not worried this year. For the first time, we traveled “light”: 2 carry-ons and two personal items. The car seat was checked in and I really tried to pack light. Keegan was a big help, and he loved to carry his pirate bag (Simona’s baptism gift) himself. In fact he did not even want me to put it on the cart, not once, from beginning to end.

The flight went well overall. I definitely still like this British Airways flight: it leaves at night, it arrives at night, it stops only in London (no picking up bags in the States), it has personal entertainment system with movies, and it arrives at Linate Airport, only 20 minutes from my parents’ house. This was the first year Keegan did not have the car seat on board, so sleeping was a little more challenging, but we managed. The fuzzy socks and blanket helped a little.

We both watched movies and caught some sleep. The layover was made even longer by an annoying delay, including, more than 4o minutes sitting on a plane while they changed tires… seriously. We finally made it to Milan, an hour late. Keegan warmed up to his nonni quickly, and immediately tried to help pushing the bags’ cart.

The first night was, as expected, difficult. Keegan slept a couple of hours and woke up. I had him sleep with me, even if sleep is an euphemism. The following nights, we figured out that it would be probably easier to let him sleep with my mom, something that both of them apparently enjoyed it somehow. It was definitely Keegan’s dream, since he often asks us to sleep with a “real person” instead of his sleeping buddies. We mad it very clear, however, that it would only happen in Italy. Therefore, the following nights were a lot better for him, and he woke up a few times, but adjusted in a week or so. I, on the other hand, had a really hard time with jet lag. Fortunately I brought a good book with me, which kept me company during the sleepless nights.

The first day was busy already. Loredana came to visit us in the morning and brought an awesome Batman sweatshirt that Keegan tried right away.

Keegan really likes Loredana, and she responds to his affection. After this trip, I am sure he will like her even more, since she gave him, not one (like I got) but three reflexology massages, “massaggini” as he called them. He almost fell asleep on the first one: it was amazing to see him this relaxed! After that, he would scream and demand “massaggino!” every time he saw her. I tried to learn the best I could, since, even now, he asks for it. And I better do it right: he remembers everything, from the mood, to the moves and even to the sound effects she was making, and he corrects me if I get it wrong.

goofing around

Keegan also enjoys spending time with Lori’s daughter, Francesca, and again, the feeling is mutual, even if she is now 10 years old. We played together, and enjoyed Keegan’s favorite ice cream, Luk.

Francesca’s favorite holiday is Halloween, so we brought her some Halloween fun. Even if it is getting more popular in Italy and we saw plenty of pumpkins and decorations, you can’t beat the abundance of Halloween stuff here.

are you scared yet?

The afternoon of the first day we also had other visitors: zia Cinzia and the cousins came to visit. Keegan was so excited! He missed them a lot. Fortunately, even as they approach adolescence, they still enjoy playing with him, and cuddling him, and he was soaking every ounce of the attention. One of his favorite game is to pretend to be a baby, so Naraiana was carrying him around as he “cried”. I obviously don’t enjoy this kind of game, having lived the real baby phase, which was not really the most fun time in the world.

The cousins spent lots of time together. Keegan loved to go to their place, 4/5 linked houses that open on a common yard. Cinzia’s place has a small yard, where they grow different fruit trees, and right now is was grape season. Keegan helped pick the fruit…but no wine making or grape stomping.

The yard also has a small play area, and Keegan was showing off, swinging on the monkey bars, and climbing on the slide.

One Friday night, another of Keegan’s dreams came true: a sleepover with his cousins. He was so excited! Of course they slept in different room, as they actually needed to sleep since they both had a game the following day, but it did not matter. We had dinner all together, with Cinzia and Sandro, a nice fancy dinner, with crystal and silver utensils. Keegan immediately asked for a different glass, fearing he would break the crystal. How cute. We were even able to eat in peace, as Keegan went to play after he was finished, while waiting for dessert.

Then all the kids donned their PJs, mainly to convince Keegan to go to bed…even then he did not make it to bed till 10 pm at least.

check us out in our fashionable pjs

I am so high, I can teach the sky

He was so happy they could play in the morning when they got up. And they were very nice, taking turns playing and studying. Saturday was my “day off”. Keegan went to watch both of his cousins’ games (volleyball for Nara and soccer for Samuele) and I had lunch with a friend and went shopping, and then simply relaxed alone, enjoying the peace and quiet. Keegan had a great time (and my parents were exhausted). He was even able to catch a short nap in the car.

One time, we also got the chance to enjoy an outdoor lunch at their house. It was a beautiful sunny day, so it was great to eat and play outside.

For me visiting Milano, of course, also means meeting old friends. There is really nothing like rekindling friendships that are decades old. Even if we only see each other once a year, and rarely communicate during the year, despite the miracle of technology, we always pick up where we left off. I guess I cram more social life in these two weeks, than I do in many months. It is great to see how our lives are evolving and getting to know each other’s families.

Simona and Francesco are two of these people. I met Simona when I was in preschool, pretty much at the same age Keegan is now. I don’t remember much of that time, but I do remember Simona and playing together. Mom also remembers her, as the girl she swore she would NEVER invite over again, after our first earthquake-like playdate. And here we are, many decades later, having our kids play together. We went over one evening for playing and dinner. Last year, Simona was pregnant, and had her third child. This year we saw Margherita walking and talking.

Keegan took this pictures of us…he is getting better.

The kids played and we chatted. Keegan even got to watch How To Slay Your Dragon, and our hosts, graciously, let him watch it in English.

While the weather was decidedly cooler than on other years, and grayer, it was still pleasant. Not that you could tell from the way people were dressed: we definitely stuck out, Keegan especially, as he strolled around in short sleeves, while every one else was wearing a jacket. But really, except for a couple of days, it was not that cold, regardless what the calendar said. During these mild Autumn days, we took the chance to explore some of what Milano has to offer. Food and treats were probably his favorite things about Milano (and again, who can blame him?). Keegan was also somewhat bewildered by some of the things he saw, heard and smelled in Milano.

1) Parking. Also called “Sosta Selvaggia”. He constantly pointed out and noticed all the cars/motorcycles parked on the sidewalk or in wrong areas. I do have to say that I also notices a much higher enforcement: I actually saw policeman writing tickets to cars parked  in the wrong spot. And it was not even the most egregious examples.
2) Smoking. He noticed and smelled any cigarette, and loudly complained about it, reminding me how bad it was to smoke. As a good Californai boy, he was asking me why people in Italy smoked so much.
3) Ambulances. There is an abundance of ambulances in our neighborhood, and every time one passed, Keegan would stop and say how sorry he was for the person being taken away because he was sick. I did appreciated his empathy.
4) Noise. Since the arrival at the airport, Keegan remarked how loud Milano was.
5) Tagging. He was amazed by how much tagging there was and wondered why would people do that. I guess I have to give this to him: I never understood it either. Tagging in Milano does not even spare playgrounds.

5) Subway. One of Keegan’s favorite things was to ride in the subway. He loved it and he was surprised at how it sometimes travels underground and sometimes above ground. He enjoyed watching the tunnels and stations. However, Keegan likes the subway assuming that:
a) it is empy
b) he can sit down comfortably

Well, good luck with that in Milano! Granted, traveling at odd hours helped, but he would last a day in a normal routine. I still remember having to push to be even able to get in in the morning on school days. Or feeling claustrophobic on warm summer day,when there was barely space to walk.

a nice uncrowded train, and Keegan riding peacefully

With that, Keegan really enjoyed Milano and we visited some of its best places. One of Keegan’s favorite is  the Giardini Pubblici, a large park, pretty close to us. He usually enjoys the Merry Go Round and play structures, but this year we went on a weekend and it was really crowded. It is funny how both of us were taken a little aback. Keegan, however, did not want to play on any traditional structure, and felt intimidated by the crowds (nothing compared to Legoland or Seaworld on a bad day, mind you) but he “warmed” up with a nice popsicle. I just HAD to keep him company.

He then discovered many places to climb around, and hidden rocks that lead to different paths. And then he was climbing and running and climbing again. A nice workout, for both of us, since I had to follow him.

climbing trees is serious work

I have to say that some of the climbs were impressive, and it gave me hope for our future hikes.

Giardini Pubblici is also where the Natural History Museum is, another of his favorites, just like it was one of mine. It is cool to see all this huge scenes with embalmed animals in their environment.

And then, of course, there is the dinosaurs’ room. I still love this room, with its huge Triceratops and the T-rex and Stegosaurus’ bones.

We also visited tourists spots. Knowing how much Keegan likes the subway, one afternoon, we proposed a trip to Piazza Duomo, so we could ride a while and change trains. Now this backfired somewhat because 5pm is rush hour, which meant crowded trains. He complained the whole time how much he hated crowds. In any case, we made it to Duomo, and brought our Flat Stanley with us, to fulfill his assignment from school.

waiting for the train in our home station

on the train

in Piazza Duomo

Keegan was fascinated by the Duomo, “the big church” as he called. I guess I still am too; no matter how much I dislike Milano, I find the Duomo and the area around beautiful. Keegan wanted immediately to go inside and was amazed at how big and beautiful it was, and of course at the beautiful window. He was somewhat scared by the burning candles but posed in front of the memorial for Carlo Maria Martini, archbishop of Milano — and one time papacy contender — that recently passed away.

Notice Keegan’s clothes compared to everyone else…

Then we moved to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, il Salotto Di Milano (Milano’s living room). I had to take him to the Bull’s Shield and make him spin on the Bull’s Balls. I just had to, touristy or not. It is supposed to bring you good luck, and we can always use some, and many people must believe this, since that area displays a visible indentation. (-:

We even met Cinzia, by pure luck, and we spent some time together in a bookstore, where, of course, Keegan got two new books.

One other great thing about being in Italy is all the food treats (focaccia, pastries, gelato) he gets to eat, as well all the attention from adults and kids, and of course all the presents. This year’s bootie included: clothes, books, Lego sets, cars, Batman characters, shrinky dinks and a fun plastic mecchano-like toy, a gift from zia Cinzia.

He enjoyed them all, even the Cars Watercolor Book I thought he would never look at in a million years. But I guess, he is not as adverse to coloring and painting as he used to be. And my mom, who is being doing quite a bit if painting and watercolor herself was a great mentor, even lending him her own, expensive watercolors.

He got presents till the last day: Birgit, my mom’s friend, came by to bid us goodbye and brought him a GeoMag Panel, a magnetic building toy, which he loved. Nonni have a similar set, and now he has his own to take home.

The best part of all, though, was visiting with Nonni. They are really his best friends and playmates, and he enjoys spending time with them immensely. They are always ready to play, and to invent new and exciting games, and they have all the patience we, his parents, don’t have. They would make him laugh all the time and squeal in delight, they would even chase him around, despite their aches and pains. And of course they would read and create fabulous stories for him.I t was great also seeing all my old toys come to life again, in a completely different way.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to nonni, then,, not only because I got to take a much needed break, but also for making him feel so loved. It is really a special bond they share, and it is a joy to see them interact and love each other this much.

For as fun as being away was, though, Keegan missed San Diego, his dad and his friends. Thanks to my trusty iPad, Skype was actually easy and painless, so we were able to talk and see each other once a week, when the time difference allowed it. Keegan loved showing dad all his new toys and telling him about all his adventures.

As for his friends, we sent a couple of pictures, including one with a message for them, saying how much he missed them. It was so cute, and his teacher printed the picture and posted in their classroom.

at school, on its bulletin board

And just like that, these two weeks flew by, as always way too fast. It was already time to say goodbye. We took our annual group photos, as always somewhat of an ordeal but a great memory.

Then we had to say goodbye to the cousins.

On the last night, a chilly October night, we lit up the fireplace and enjoyed each other’s company one more time.

Keegan was very sad to leave, and so was I. We only hope it will not be too long till we get to see each other again, in Italy or in San Diego. The memories we made, though, will accompany us in these long months.

The return trip was again, overall pretty good. We had a difficult hour or two, when Keegan was way too cranky to sleep, but he finally settled in and so did I. We were able to see the beautiful Alps, and even London, with his new constructions and Big Ben. We watched movies, ate, played and we made to San Diego on time.Getting the US passport was definitely a great thing, as it drastically cut the time we were in line for immigration check. It felt nice!

Matt was waiting for us at the airport. It was so great to see him, we both missed him lots, and it softened the sorrow for leaving so many people we love behind. What really helped Keegan were the gifts waiting for him at home: a Batmobile and the Penguin character.

Now we are slowly getting back to our routine. Nonna had her surgery and she is recovering home and doing well, considering. We already had the chance to Skype once and Keegan got to play with her some more, and to show her his new Batman Halloween costume. Keegan’s jet lag has been painful, as always, but now, a week later, he is back on track. I got a nasty cold, but starting to feel more like myself again, and ready to start work, later  this week. Good thing I left a few days after the trip to recover, because between sleeplessness and the cold I would not have been able to do much.

We are definitely grateful we had the chance to take this great trip: we both had a great time, and I got a lot of rest and me-time. Thank you again Nonni, for the warm hospitality and all you did for us during our trip.We are looking forward to next year’s trip,: it will be somewhat different since, with Keegan starting school, we will have to go somewhat during the summer. It will be a new experience (better stock up on anti-mosquito sparys, since we got eaten alive this time, and it was October). Regardless, it will be wonderful to be all together again.

Starting on Tuesday, September 4, Keegan  is officially in the Pre-K class, the Golden Lions. He is very excited about it, not only because he is among the oldest kids at school now (in fact he may be THE oldest), but because this is the only expanded classroom. It was originally an apartment that opened up to the outdoor area, so they have extra space. Basically it is three connected rooms with a kitchen and a bath. The new teacher, Ms. Jill, is also so much nicer and warm. From what I could see in the classroom and from talking to her, they will have a great year and will learn a lot. I can already tell the difference: he comes home excited and willing to talk about what he has learned.

She is more organized and has a very structured day routine. Kids are encouraged to play with different toys and engage in different activities, including computer games, but she is also leaving them free to experiment. She is focusing on encouraging the kids and on pre- reading and pre-writing skills. Parents are expected to help out as well.

For the All About Me week, the kids created a self portrait, and I was amazed by Keegan’s. He never, ever wants to do any kind of drawings, so to actually see eyes, a smile and arms was quite a a nice surprise (even if there is no body to speak of).

And honestly his classmates were not much better at drawing, which made me feel better. I guess it is the advantage of a male dominated class: there are only two girls, Julia and Rozelin, and both of them enjoy rough playing.

One other great improvement is his willingness to try writing more. Again, baby steps, but we almost have a fully readable name! The other day, HE asked to practice his writing and drawing with chalk on the driveway! He wanted me to trace his body (they did this at school), and he even made another self portrait.

a self portrait by the artist. I suggested adding a body this time. (-:

So, it is only been a couple of weeks, but I am already happier about his class. His artwork is nicer and seems to have some educational purpose. For example, during My Body week, they made a little skeleton of themselves, gluing “bones” on a silhouette.

He is also more excited about learning new things… I know it will be a good school year. Roar!

Traditionally, Labor Day Weekend  is the official end of summer. In San Diego, however, it usually not quite the case. The end of August, and the whole September are some of the best months because the weather is still nice and all the tourists went home.

This year in particular, we had two massive heat waves at the end of August and beginning of September. The warmest day of the year was measured on Saturday, September 15. We had over 100 degrees (close to 40C) in Clairemont, where it never gets hot and 90s is a rarity.

While this made our life a little difficult, with no AC, it gave us the chance to cram in more summer activities!

Labor Day Weekend was a busy one. It started early, on Thursday, when Keegan’s school organized a field trip to Kid Ventures, an indoor playground. I chose to chaperon, and it was so easy. The moment the kids set foot inside, they were gone. There were organized activities as well as free play. We did not see them till it was time to go. So we kicked back and relaxed and had some adult conversation.

they are all listening to the rules

The best part: after the field trip, all the kids went back to school to eat pizza.

The following day, the school was closed, so Matt stayed home with him in the morning. In the afternoon with had a play-date with MacKenzie. Keegan has been talking about it for a while, so we got the two kids together. She brought him a cute card with little hearts she drew, and they played quite well together.

Saturday was an easy day: gym class in the morning, playing in the blow up pool in the early afternoon, a nice nap and more playing. It was also our date night, so he got more playing time with our babysitter Jennifer, while we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and dinner in Del Mar.

On Sunday, Keegan had the brilliant idea to go to the beach. Granted we have not been at the beach too much, but among all days did he have to pick the BUSIEST and most crowded? Even in the morning finding parking was a challenge, but we managed. It was crazy, especially because we were in the middle of the heat wave.

However, on the plus side, the water was amazingly warm, and even I had to swim. It was so nice. I do miss swimming in the ocean, if only it wouldn’t always be so darn cold. Keegan spent a lot of  time playing in the waves and sand and we finally left in the early afternoon.

All that playing paid off, because Keegan took a nice, long nap.

On the actual Labor Day we went to check out the relocated Sand Castle Competition. While a little smaller than the original Imperial Beach event, the works presented were amazing. Some artists even said they prefer the new location because of the extra space and because the sand that was trucked in was easier to sculpt with. These are some of my favorites.

even Keegan liked this one and was fascinated by the baby

this one was created by an Italian artist

this is also very cool

We had a wonderful dinner outside (Keegan’s request) and got the ready to start the new school year, the last one before Kindergarten.

The weather kept on being really nice, so we crammed in more summer activities in these past few weeks than we did in July.  We went to the beach a few more times. My friend Daniele has started going surfing again, and so Matt tagged along and we all found ourselves at the beach a couple of afternoons.

We tried body boarding, but after being thrown off by a wave, Keegan decided it was not for him. At least for now.

One time, Daniele’s daughter Gaia was there and the two played together in the warm ocean at sunset. It was the first time Keegan went in the ocean by himself…well Gaia was there, but she is only three years older. He was not afraid at all, even if he got quite a few wipe outs.

they are the two little dots closest to shore

On another day, we met Jennifer and her daughters at an amazing outdoor YMCA pool. It had play structures, and slides and lanes for swimming. They even had an adult slide and I just had to try it. I blame it on the heat wave.

We ended the day with a trip to the Ice Cream store. Yum!

One final(?) summer event was the yearly swim party at Van’s House. The kids have been talking about it for weeks, and quite frankly I was looking forward to it as much as they did just not to hear about it anymore. The heavy marine layer over Clairemont (sunny everywhere else of course) did not stop the fun, and all the kids splashed around and swam. Just like last year, Keegan was the best, most confident swimmer, so not only he did not need floaters, but I did not need to be in the water either: yeah!

It was great to see them playing and having fun. After the pool they all got some dinner and watched some movies, while us adults enjoyed a glass of wine and good company.

Julia, Van, Elliott, Keegan and Rozelin

It is bittersweet to think that by this time next year they will be all going to different schools. I will definitely try to keep some of the friendships going, but it is not easy, when everyone gets caught up in their own life. I just hope Keegan will be able to keep at least a few of his friends: there is nothing like a lifelong friendship.

We were able to pack lots of activities in few short weeks. After our camping trip, we immediately threw ourselves back into our normal summer routine. Keegan’s school’s Summer Fun program was in full force, with lots of water play, and messy fun. When I was picking him up he was either dirty (paint mud, you name it) or wet or both!

They had swim day once a week, and fortunately this year the weather cooperated. And every week they had a different theme: teddy bears, paint, animals, or pirates. AArgh.

Another yearly event at his school is Cowboy Week: the kids dress up as cowboys, have outdoor picnics and even nap outdoor.

cowboy Keegan and his loyal horse

Of course, the week’s best part is Pony Pictures. Two real ponies are brought to school and the kids take turns riding them. We have come a long way from the “crying cowboy” days, and Keegan now enjoys the photo op and the rides.

We have also had a couple of parties: we went to my friend Gary’s BBQ in Mission Bay, which is always great, especially for us adults. Then we went to Mila’s 5th birthday party…It is hard to believe we are already celebrating 5th birthdays.

The party was at an indoor playground, which is wonderful because now the kids play independently and the adults can relax and chat (and munch down on some good food).

Keegan discovers Air Hockey

Pool days are also aplenty, and we are fortunate, living in San Diego, that many of our friends have pools larger than ours. Alyce have invited over three different pools so far! And even without play-dates, there is fun to be had with super soakers!

Naps are now more irregular, and Keegan have skipped them many times, which is not good for anyone. He is cranky, tired and irritable and so are we…He still need some rest. However, the silver lining is that we can stay out later in the day, since he can nap even at 2 or 3 pm.

He has also using his bike a lot more…still with his training wheels, and he will sometime join the neighborhood’s kids riding around. In fact, peer pressure works so well with him, we got him to ride for a couple of miles, all the way to the park and back. For one thing peer pressure is not working: getting rid of his training wheels. We will not give up.

We closed up the month with a trip to Inflatable World, one of Keegan’s favorite places. It is an entire parking lot filled with inflatables slides. It was really hot, but Keegan was a trooper and he had a blast. He even conquered the Sunken Ship, which somewhat scared him last year.

What a great month:  if you don’t get to go on vacation during the summer, San Diego is definitely the place to be!

Every year we try to get some photos taken, more or less professionally (meaning without spending as bundle), since we don’t really have lots of pictures all together. This year, one of the moms at Keegan’s school was looking for some families to shoot for her portfolio(=free session), so we took advantage of the offer.

We met with Fatima, who turned out to be Italian, born and raised. It was quite funny, actually, since we did not find that out till half way though the shoot! And I have seen her at school many times before, and never suspected she may be Italian. Funny. Anyway, we met in Mission Bay, in a very windy, but sunny day, and we spent about an hour shooting.We started out by the water, on a large pedal boat, and then moved to the grassy area.

I am posting some of the images, which turned out very nice. Thank you Fatima.

some of the shots were family portraits…

… some of the shots were all about Keegan…

… and some of the shots were more fun…

We finally made our much talked about and much postponed camping trip. We have bought a large tent at the end of last summer, and we were all looking forward using it, especially Keegan. We finally made our first micro trip the first weekend of August. Keegan was so excited and he has been talking about it for a long time. This of course, did not stop him from whining and complaining the whole trip, and really making it very difficult for all of us. But we will not give up.

Keegan has been skipping (or better refusing to take) his naps lately, unfortunately, so we are in this transitional time where he does not want to sleep, but he is very cranky if he doesn’t. Fortunately, the campsite was about 1 hour away, so he got a short one in the car (do we need to go back to driving around so he sleeps??? Flashback).

We picked a camp site near Lake Cuyamaca., in a pretty forested area.

Our spot was perfect: large, shady and somewhat away from other campers. We easily set up our cool tent: it is a “6 people” tent (not sure how they would all fit), but fits us perfectly, with a zippered divider in between the two sections.

We blew up our mattresses and got settled in. Keegan especially liked his sleeping bag and his cool McQueen backpack.

We tried to go for a walk, but Keegan did not want to walk. So we had dinner instead. Matt got everything perfectly organized, and he grilled delicious hamburgers.

Keegan smiling before his meltdown because we forgot ketchup

We finally dragged Keegan to a short walk at sunset. The mountain top seemed like it was on fire. The picture does not do it justice.

Keegan’s portrait of us

We saw a few rabbits and various bugs and an amazing tarantula. WOW, I never saw one in the wild.

We got back to camp just before it got dark. It was past 8, so we started the sleeping routine. Naively, we thought he would be tired, since he did not have a long nap. Our plan was to get him to sleep, so we could enjoy some quiet, adult time, maybe watching the stars, or a movie. Ah! Someone had different ideas. He was literally bouncing off the walls (or mattress), and would not go to sleep. He complained it was too loud, or there was too much light, he would constantly peek in our “room”, and did not quiet down a second. We had to just lie there, in the darkness, pretending to sleep, hoping he would go down. By 9.30, he was still bouncing around, at which point, we figured we may as well go to sleep. I put ear plugs on and I could swear we fell asleep before he did.

The next morning, he was up at 6. We set him up with the DVD player and his favorite movies so we could rest a little more. At home, we can’t take him away form the tv, but of course here movies did not do the trick.

He lasted 20 minutes at most, then  he was back with us, ready to go…but did not want to do anything. He was loud enough to wake the whole campground. I guess it was payback for all he other times WE got woken up by other campers’ kids. Still, we felt guilty, so we had breakfast and packed up the tent. We headed to the lake, a nice, beautiful place nearby. Matt rented a row boat to go for what could have been a nice ride, enjoying nature. Keegan complained the whole time, and he whined he wanted to go back to shore almost immediately, so we headed back and drove home.

We were home by 11 am. The whole trip lasted 18 hours! The irony is that afterwards, Keegan said how much fun he had and started asking when we can go camping again and stay longer. Maybe next time we can try for a whole 24 hour. Jokes aside, even if Keegan made it difficult, we will not give up, and we will try again and again, till he is used to it. We all like camping, so this is something we will do again, hopefully soon. Maybe we can try to go with someone else, so he has a friend to play with, and it would make it easier. I sure wish he would not find us so boring he can’t have fun with us alone. (-: