tizimatt.info

These three weeks, as always, went by really too fast. Once again we found ourselves having to say goodbye to everyone. We did have a nice send off, though.

On Sunday, Matt’s birthday, we had a nice lunch with Tizi’s family: her parents and her sister’s family were all there to celebrate and to say bye bye.Tiz’s mom prepared a wonderful 3 course lunch with some of Tizi’s favorite food (spinach and besciamelle tagliatelle, and green pepper filet mignon, and fruit cream cake and gelato). Keegan missed most of it, as he slept though the majority of it. He did wake up for dessert, though. Call him stupid! So he got the chance to eat gelato, and cream covered blueberries. Not bad.

happy birthday dad

He also got the chance to play some more with his cousins and spend some time with aunt and uncle.

our little pianist

We took the famous group photo, among many technical difficulties and many cameras (so the results are not the best…). And then, just like that, it was time for them to leave…

Tizi with mom and her sister Cinzia

The rest of the afternoon was spent between packing and saying goodbyes to friends. We actually managed to get everything done reasonably early, so we were able to catch some zzzz in preparation of a long trip home. And long it was. And stressful. Ironically, the solo flight was easier than the return, when there were two of us. I am not sure why, but a combination of scheduling, length of trip (it is always a few hours more when you fly west. Something about the winds…), general crankiness, maybe the sadness of leaving.

So, here is a lengthy description of our painful fight…feel free to skip it, but this maybe will explain why we really don’t travel much with Keegan.

Anyway, we arrived at the airport bright an early for our 10.45am flight. No much line at check in, but we started with our first surprise: Delta decided to change our assigned seats (I guess they switched airplane) and, surprise! we are not seating together. Not even close. Fortunately Matt thought about checking it AFTER we left the check in line, so I went immediately to complain.The agents in Milan were super nice and apologetic, so they not only seated us together, but they also put using the bulkhead section, so we would have more space. Unfortunately they could not switch our seats in Atlanta, but they said they place a note in our reservation and to talk to the agent there.

The flight to Atlanta was not too bad, considering. The bulkhead seats allowed us to have more space for Keegan to get up and walk around…or for Tizi to sit on the floor as Keegan enjoyed her seat. We played, read books, did multiple poopie diaper change in the cramped airplane bathroom, did lots  of eating…basically everything but sleeping. He did feel asleep the moment we sat down on the plane and slept for about an hour and then fell asleep again as we were landing…but the whole 9 hours in between he was wide awake.

We also watched some photos of Keegans friends on the iPod. We were trying to get him all excited about getting back to his old life and it seemed to be working, as he was constantly repeating the names Yadira, Isella, Titti, Hannah…

We landed on tine in the huge Atlanta airport: it took us more than 15 minutes to reach the gate after landing! We had a long layover, which was a good thing since we had to clear immigration. So, with Keegan sleeping on his stroller we started clearing security; now US residents get the same treatment as visitors: full fingerprints and iris scan…so pleasant. Then we grabbed our bags,  and we had to dig through them because one of them was beeping…we really did not want to get our bag blown up! It was just the baby monitor, but still…then, after custom, back to security screening. Why do we have to do two screenings, since we never left the airport is beyond me, but here we are, trying to pass all of our crap through again, waking up Keegan to get his stroller through x-ray….and his car seat back for multiple screening…

I really would like to know is all this extra screening EVER resulted in finding something suspicious or dangerous, because at this point it only seems to be inconveniencing people that have done anything wrong.

Anyway, once we cleared everything and Keegan settled back down and fell back asleep we went to the gate to change our seat assignments. We had about 2.5 hours before the flight, so we thought there should not be any problems. We were  wrong. We showed up at the gate which was already showing our flight number on the board and the agent asked us if we were going to San Diego. When we said yes, she barely looked at us and said: “5.55”. Is that some kind of cryptic Delta message? What is that supposed to mean??? With a very annoyed tone she said she will not even look at our flight till 5.55.  So we went to grab something to eat and tried to rest. It is about 10pm for us at this point. So we wait and then we come back. The attitude did not change. Despite being there an hour before departure she said there was nothing she could do, the flight was completely full and all seats assigned. Showing her our reservation with our seats together and explaining our situation did not even make her look at us. No apologies, no attempts to be helpful. I have to admit that at this point I am pissed, and not very polite, since it is THEIR screw up, once again, and she was not willing to help us in any way. She sent us to customer service if we wanted to talk about it. We did, and they were even less helpful, telling us that it was the agent responsibility to re-seat us. So we went back, and still more attitude. So we are waiting to board, hoping some kind soul would switch seats. In the meantime, at least 7 stand-byes get seated!!!!! And they are all in our area of the plane: one of them gets the seat next to me!!!! How is this possible, if there are no seats? Shouldn’t we have precedence in seat assignments? Obviously not.

Chuck this one to DELTA AIRLINES SUCKS!!!!!!!!!

So we got in tired, cranky and pissed off. Fortunately Matt and I were in front of each other, and he had an aisle and I had a window, so we could easily switch the middle seat with the window. Still we were not happy. And guess who else was not happy? Keegan. He woke up as we got him off his stroller, and never fell back asleep again…so we had a 5 hours flight in a small, crammed airplane, with a kid who is awake in the middle of the night, super cranky and that only wants mom, who is also at her wits’end, and very tired. What a fun flight. Sleeping was basically impossible since it was Monday Night Football and everyone was watching the Charger losing its game on the tvs and hollering in disapproval.

Fortunately, we did not have too many crying fits, just because I was able to walk with him up and down the aisle, but I was basically in tears:tired and frustrated. Keegan was saying “mama, mama, mama” non stop, and now wanted to sit on my seat, and could not understand why he could not seat in my seat. Matt tried to distract him and give me breaks, but nothing was working.  The only quiet moments we had was when we popped in the Underwater Adventures DVD: then he would sit, transfixed, for about 10 minutes at a time…and then he was bored again.

Fortunately, even this flight came to an end: we landed on time, and by the time we got to the baggage claim, all of our bags were already out. We got a cab, and we finally made it home. Keegan was very excited to be back and took all his toys out and looked around, getting re-adjusted. Putting him to bed was not easy, nor keeping him there: he woke up pretty much every hour.

I was trying to let him cry out a little while I was doing dishes in the kitchen (Matt was out for a Milk run), when all of the sudden his cries became less urgent, but also somewhat louder, and then stopped. I turned around and … SURPRISE!!!!… Keegan is in the hallway, with a surprised look, staring at me. Holy cow! Now he can climb out of his crib. This is just great. Could he wait for another week or so? Noooo. And he did not even fall, or struggled: just like that, he was out. Oh joy! That made our nights even more complicated…but this is a different story.

We comforted ourselves thinking that, no matter how difficult the trip and the adjustment time was we got to spend lots of time with family and good friends, and this made it all worthwhile.

So we end this lengthy post with some good memories:

At the park

Keegan took a shower, just like the big boys

Keegan is starting early: he is ogling hot women in the Armani catalog, and showing his approval

We have found this butterfly on the sidewalk when we were going out for a stroll. It was probably dying for the cold; it did not move for hours, so on our way back from our walk, we picked it up.

Keegan was fascinated by the colors

Matt’s second father’s day was nice and mellow. Keegan and I tried to let him know how much we love him. Matt got a nice card with his handprints and a cute picture of keegan sticking out his tongue. Unfortunately, Keegan did not give him the same gift he gave mom on her day, and woke up bright and early around 5.30 both days. Well, by now we pretty much resigned ourselves that he is an early riser, and there is nothing we can do. Well, we still hold on some glimmer of hope that one day he will start to sleep till 6.30, but at this point is not looking likely.

We have developed somewhat of a ritual, so we get a little more rest. We pick him up and bring him to bed with us: he is drinking his milk, and we  rest a few more minutes. Then we read books in bed, or he plays with some of his toys. One of his favorite is the floating boat with the building blocks that the grandparents bought him. He especially like building really tall towers, and then smashed them down them down.

look how tall this is!

After about an hour of stalling he is usually ready to have breakfast and play with all his toys, so one of us get up, while the other sleep, and then we switch. Yes, the whole morning is gone this way, but at least we catch up a little with our sleep.

Father’s day weekend was not different. On Saturday, Matt actually got some ME time while Tizi entertained the little guy. We went to Costco, which he really likes, and we went for a nice long walk, and of course we played in the yard. At night, since Tizi can’t really cook, Matt had sushi night, with a nice glass of wine. On Sunday, the sun came out, so we had lots of fun in the pool. Keegan enjoys the water, but he like even better sitting on the pool lounger.

I am styling!

And he is such a great helper, that he gave daddy a hand cleaning up the pool afterwards…check out his towel/cape!

Of course we did some story time, one of Keegan’s favorite activities: he now loves to go through the First Words book  and point out all the things he knows, while looking around the house for the corresponding object. If he does not the word, he simply associates the object to one of us: for example, a convertible and the telephone are “mamma”, and the pick up truck and the broom are “papa”. It is pretty funny, and it is great to see how much he learns.

All and all, it was a quiet, but fun weekend, with my two favorite men. Matt is a wonderful father, and he is the person that can make Keegan laugh the loudest:he always comes up with some kind of game for him. and it makes me happy to see the bond the two of them share. They will soon do guys only stuff and leave mama behind (wishful thinking?) We started them off by taking him to Home Depot, the manliest place of all…well Tizi likes it too, but still. Check him out looking at brushes like a pro.

It is wonderful to see them together. I am fortunate to have such a great partner to share the joys of parenthood with.

So we have not posted in a while. There are lots of cute pictures to upload and interesting stuff to talk about (of course, this is always relative: I am pretty sure the general population is bored to tears by our blog), but the truth is we have been really busy (and sleep deprived to boot) so we have not found the time to write. Hopefully there will be a few posts coming soon. We had a fun birthday party, more fun developments, and well-baby check up, and lots of goofie fun.

So stay tuned!

We made to the 15th month already…and what a beginning to the new month that was: grandma and grandpa arrived from Italy, and Keegan moved to the bigger kids room and changed his daily nap schedule.

Bye Bye Infant room…I’m off to the big kids room

He is actually is taking all in stride. The first day we took him to the new room it was harder for us (or should I say Matt since he has the unpleasant task if dropping him off) that Keegan. Of course he cried, and of course he was super clingy, but the teachers said he did OK, considering. He played and ate all his food…in fact he wanted some pieces of the pizza the other kids were having…we were not aware of Pizza Monday, I guess. When I picked him up, he was sleeping!!! He took a 2.40 hours nap. All the other kids were very nice and friendly, Matt said, and came over to greet him, despite his tears.

Once I took him home, another surprise was waiting for him: grandma and grandpa were home! He was of course not sure what to make of them, and very shy and he kept running to mom, but it took him less than one hour to warm up to them, and start playing. Mom had to be in the room, at short distance, but he let them grandparents hold him and play with him. They have the magic touch: they know just how to handle him. Before we knew it he was running around and giggling and laughing and playing all sort of games.

playing with grandpa

I hate posing for pictures, but check out my super cute Superga shoes

Each new day he got friendlier and friendlier and learn top spend more and more time with them alone, without mom present. After a week we are up to more than an hour, without complaints: well, who wants to complain when you have two playmates that spend every minute just trying to make him laugh, play with him non-stop and indulge every whim? It will be a rude awakening when they leave as mom and dad definitely do not give him this much attention. It is great to see them together, though. And mom is finally starting to have some time for doing her own stuff (or just relax).

And let not forget the awesome home made Italian food we are getting every night. Or the cool toys and gifts they are buying  for all of us. Or the babysitting so we can go out on date nights. We don’t know how is getting more spoiled, us or Keegan..

Keegan turned 6 months old on June 3. It is hard to believe it has been so long already! To celebrate, Tizi took him for a nice stroll on the beach. The weather was perfect, sunny and breezy; Keegan slept some and he was awake, enjoying the ocean air, for more than an hour: a record for him. He really doesn’t like to stay in his stroller if he is awake.

cruising in style in Pacific Beach

We took our usual photos later that evening, so we could celebrate with dad too. It wasn’t easy to get him to smile for the camera, because he was really tired and cranky, but we finally got our money shots.

lots of candles… 

It has been suggested that our little guy looks a lot like Charlie Brown…well, they are both bald, with a round head, and ears sticking out. So maybe they got it right. This means we have already an Halloween costume picked out. What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are wishing you all to be blessed with good company, good food…and good football. Of course this year we will be taking it very easy, no trips this time, and just kick back in warm, beautiful San Diego. Matt is preparing quite a feast and we have been looking forward to those few days as a welcome respite from our hectic life.

We almost made it to a full term baby (despite Tizi’s fears of an early delivery). On sunday, we will enter our 38th week, and everyone is telling us it can happen everyday now. Of course we are still hoping for a couple more weeks— did you hear this, little one?— but we will see. The official due date is December 8. We will have a final ultrasound tomorrow to make sure everything is all right, but the baby seems to be in the correct position. According to our midwife, he will not be a big baby: Tizi is hoping for that.

We hope to be able to talk to you all soon.