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Today, November 14, we had one more Santa Ana Winds event. This means that temperatures rose quite drastically again, and we are expecting temperatures in the mid 80’s for the weekend. This of course means that the fire risk is sky high: in fact a huge fire is raging in Montecito, near Santa Barbara right now. Fortunately it is not too close to where Matt’s brother Jim lives. So we are on the watch out but we are also ready to enjoy the balmy weather.I guess the fear factor is the price to pay for living here (this and the “sunshine tax”). Ask us again if we miss the seasons…

Last week, another very warm one, we went to Pacific Beach, Tizi’s old stomping ground and Keegan had a blast frolicking in the sun. We slathered sunscreen on him, especially because he does not tolerate anything on his head, so sun hats are out. And notice how the image in the Armani logo on Keegan’s t-shirt matches the scenery PERFECTLY.

fun in the sun

The long awaited (or feared?) moment has arrived: Keegan took his first steps today. He can only do two or three before collapsing, but still, it is pretty cool. Of course, he had to take his first steps at daycare (just to make us feel guilty), but I was able to have him do it again for mommy…daddy is not home yet, so he will have to wait to see.

We have noticed that he has been spending more time on his own two feet, without holding on to something: usually this was happening when he was not paying attention. As soon as he would realize he was on attached to anything, he would grab on the closest thing. He has also been happily walking with push his toy that we borrowed from Jennifer (check in later for some cool pictures) and we knew it was just a matter of days…of course we couldn’t record the event on video, but we will try soon. I am sure that once he master the walking part, there will really no stopping him. So once again he beat our expectations: we thought he would walk by his first birthday, and he did two weeks early.

Tizi is already worried: we can’t contain him right now!He has already managed to throw a small shelf on his head which brought him a pretty bruise on his forehead with a matching black and blue nail. We were worried that daycare would call CPS on us. He seems happy, and rightly proud of his new skill, and so are we.

loving the push toy

 Election Day 2008 is finally over. These campaign dragged on forever, and it is finally done. More importantly, though, Barack Obama is the next president. For once the candidate we both supported won. We are very excited about the chance and we are hoping it will really bring some good transformation. The excitement is   definitively this has been one of the most involved elections in years. Tizi and Keegan, of course, can’t vote, but we all walked to the polls together. It was set up in a garage a few minutes away from us, so a good excuse for a night stroll, before Keegan’s bedtime. It looks some un-official  and also so Clairemont: a rusty, 1950s pick-up truck on the lawn, a basketball hoop on the side of the house, plain, cardboard polling booths…but it was all legit.

voter in training…

We were not quite as happy about the results of the different propositions, especially Prop 8 (adding an amendment to California constitution to basically ban gay marriages) and Prop D (banning alcohol at the beach) but propositions can be challenged, a president will be with us for the next 4 years. Now, let’s get ready for a big blow out party on January 20!!!!

I can’t believe Keegan is almost a year old…especially looking at the past few nights: he has been waking up really early, around 5am. This aside, though our little guy is doing great. He has now 4 teeth (maybe they are the culprit of his crankiness). We just noticed the left bottom one peeking out last Saturday, when we were coming back from LA. And he has been using them too: not necessarily for eating and chewing, mind you. We are trying REALLY hard to teach him not to bite. For some weird reasons, though, he only bites certain people: mom, and Ms. Georgia at daycare, and rarely dad. We are not quite sure what that means, but Tizi like to think about it as a compliment. Fortunately, he usually doesn’t bite during breastfeeding. Talking of which, yes we are still breastfeeding, at least part of the time. Usually when he wakes up, and sometime in the afternoon, plus Tizi is still pumping twice a day to provide a couple of bottles for daycare. The breastfeeding part is finally good, but Tizi can’t wait to stop pumping! It is getting almost impossible to keep him still enough for the monthly picture, which explain why they are not very good. Fortunately we are almost done.

check out my new teeth

He has been standing on his own more and more, for a few seconds at a time, and he crawls a lot faster…especially when he is trying to go in a place he knows he shouldn’t be.He pulls himself up without effort on anything, and has learn to go up and down steps. It is one of his favorite activity at daycare: going up and down the carpeted steps. He enjoys daycare quite a bit, since he is now crawling around with the other babies and playing together. It is really fun to see him interact with the other babies.

He is also quite strong. He lifted the room’s blinds by himself with one hand and he was able to lift the baby soap bottle over the edge of the tub with one arm. The bottle was 1.7lb! It looks like he is right handed: while he still uses both hands, he often seems to prefer the right one. We will see. The jury is still out on his eyes. They have been constant for a few months now: gray with brown around his pupils and a dark gray ring on the outside. It basically impossible to take a picture, but we will try.

He talks a lot more, and uses quite a few consonants. He even said ma-ma a few times, but we don’t think he really means Mom. He has been eating more different food: he tired eggs and potatoes, and mozzarella cheese, and chunkier foods.His favorites are still bread and cheerios. He has also discovered his private parts can be quite fun to play with. (-:

He still likes to bang stuff, together and on any other surface and he started throwing things. He enjoys the noise, so he often throw objects on the tiles, and he is starting to put things back inside containers after he takes them out. He is now really enjoying books: they are often the first toys he goes for when we make it home. He likes to open and close them, and eat them, of course.

will he like to read when he grows up?

We could not weight him yet: we were all set to go on Sunday, when we realized Matt’s truck was missing. We looked around and sure enough, it is two doors down. Some jackass broke in, took it, and drove it, we think, and then abandon it in front our neighbors. They didn’t take too much: some change, the cell phone charger and my baby Dwell blanket )-: The worse part is that they broke the ignition block. So we spent the day dealing with this, waiting for the cops to show up to take the report, and on Monday we had to rent a car, and deal with insurance. All and all a huge pain…and an expensive one. This has not been a good car week, since Tizi just got a speeding ticket too. We will post the measurement as soon as we get it.

UPDATE: Tizi did get Keegan weighted. She is glad this was the last time too. It was impossible to keep him still on the scale, since he was constantly trying to flip over and reach for stuff, plus he decided to poop just as she was taking the diapers off, and of course, she didn’t have a change this time. So, after the weight in, she had to do with the infant diapers that are provided. It was quite a funny sight, his little tush overflowing: little plumber in training! She was able to close it somehow, and he must not have been too uncomfortable, since he fell asleep in the car, and the diaper didn’t even leaked.

And the measurements are in: 19.13lb. So he didn’t gain quite as much, but I guess it is normal. And he is back to a 7 percentile. Well, we were getting “nervous” about him getting too fat. (-: Just kidding.  We will see what the doctor will have to say next month. We will go for the 1 year check up on December 9, so he has an extra week to gain weight.

One more birthday party to attend. Jack and Allison’s son Case is about to turn 1 and he had a nice beach party in Manhattan Beach. They were quite optimistic, being November 1, but we had amazing, warm days all along…except of course the weekend in question. We did encountered a little bit of rain driving up there, but we also saw a beautiful, 180 degrees rainbow spanning the freeway. Another miraculous event: we made it up there in less than two hours! I guess we never drive north this early in the morning: we left at 9.30am.

Fortunately in Manhattan Beach didn’t rain at all, so we could enjoy a nice morning at the beach. Keegan slept the whole way up there and the whole way back,getting two 1.5 hours naps! Amazingly enough, this is only the second time Keegan is on the sand. I know, we live in San Diego, less than 10 miles from the beach, but life gets in the way. Once we got there, Keegan’s first order of business was of course, eating sand. He seemed to enjoy the new environment and the other kids.

this feels weird but it kind of fun

The kids were of different ages, but he had a good time playing with them, especially the all time favorite: “let’s take each other toy ” game. The big hit of the party was a pink rolling car that everyone loved, especially the birthday boy. Is he going to get one as gift?

the car is pretty cool, but it is more fun pulling Case’s hat

The birthday boy got some cupcakes and a cute hat, and Allison created a personalized label for the soda bottle: very cool idea.

it’s your birthday…eat the cupcakes

It was great to see Allison and Jack and Case: it has been a few months. It would be great if they lived closer, since Case and Keegan are only three weeks apart. Well, it will be a great excuse for travelling more often. Next up is our won little guy birthday party. Of course no plans yet, and definitively nothing extravagant, but we would like to celebrate the day somehow.

Keegan’s first Halloween! Tizi was very excited about it: she never got to do the whole Trick or Treating thing, so she can’t wait to take Keegan around. Matt put a veto on a real trick or threating this year, since Keegan can’t walk or talk, let alone eat candies. It makes sense: he needs to be able to at least ask for candies himself. However, we could not let this year pass without some celebration. So we bought the cutest outfit for him: a turtle. It felt appropriate, since he is still crawling, so he really looks like a turtle. He didn’t enjoy wearing his custom much, especially the head-cover part, but he tolerated long enough for me to take some pictures, while he was engaged in his favorite activity: crawling and climbing up and down the step.

WARNING: major picture overkill here!

down the step…

up the step…

all this exercise got me thirsty…let’s get mom’s water bottle

can I get this costume off, now???

turtle in the grass

In the evening, I stopped by my neighbor Sharon, and white her daughter Jada, we stopped by our neighbours’ houses, just to show those cuties off. Jada was a little skunk, an adorable one at that.  We visited 4 houses, and we were gone for about an hour! Keegan was pretty good, enjoying seeing new people and new houses, and being out at dark time.

 getting ready

what cuties!

It was a very mellow Halloween otherwise: very few kids stopped by: in fact we only had one group of kids: my other neighbors, returning our visit.  Maybe it was because this year Halloween happened on a friday, so most kids were probably out on some school parties. Our daycare organized a Halloween Carnival, but it was in the evening and we didn’t want to disrupt his sleeping schedule, which is already quite distrupted as it is lately. They did the cutest thing though: they created little ghosts by imprinting the kids footprint on a black board. Isn’t it adorable?

We must have a masochistic vein in us: barely two weeks after coming back from Italy, we boarded back on a plane to trek across country to Virginia. And this time we upped the ante: we took a red eye on Thursday night, and we got back late Sunday. So, did we finally loose it? No, no, don’t worry, we are still of sound mind, as least as much as we have been. However, Matt’s best friend Carter decided to get married, and we figured we should have shwon up to make sure this miraculous event really happened. Jokes aside, it was great to participate to the happy day.

We left on October 16 at 10pm. We chose a red eye flight not to waste the whole day flying, and to hopefully having Keegan sleep though the flight, being his bed time. Getting everything ready was a nightmare, as Matt had to work in the afternoon, so he only had a couple of hours to get everything ready. Tempers were flaring a little but we got everything done. It is amazing how much crap you need to bring when traveling with a baby. For an extended weekend we had: a large checked bag, two carry-ons, a overstuffed diaper bag, the car seat, the stroller and a bag with water. Oh, yeah, and the baby. Once again going through security was so much fun, especially because I had to take Keegan out of his car seat while he was fast asleep. I am still waiting to hear what incredible threat was stopped by having this procedure…

Anyway, the trip went well. We could not bring the car seat on board, but he slept on us the whole time. And we even got an hour or two of sleep. Direct flight, this time, so all we had to do, once landed was getting a car, and stop at the closest rest area, where we crashed for a couple of hours. Keegan slept a lot more than that, and we started our drive to Charlottesville. We were very early, of course, and since we couldn’t check in before the afternoon, we took the long, scenic route out, via the Shenandoah National Park. It was beautiful! We grabbed some sandwiches and had a pic nic overlooking the beautiful vistas. The trees were all shades of red, yellow and orange, and still quite a bit of green, and we got the chance to experience ” the change of season”. Yeah, very beautiful, but no I don’t miss it. In fact, thinking about the 80 degrees we left in San Diego, I almost felt homesick…and of course worried about the fire risk.

We took it all in, and we made it to the hotel just in time for check in. Friday night we had a BBQ/rehearsal dinner…outdoors. It has been really warm and beautiful all week, but, as fate wanted, the temperatures dropped 20 degrees on friday. It was Friday 17, after all (the Italians know what I mean). So, it was quite chilly, but we were prepared: we finally got the chance to use some of the cute outfits that Keegan received, never wore, and almost outgrown, because it is still so hot in San Diego.  We really enjoyed the company. It was also the first chance for Tizi to meet the bride to be. Keegan was great. We kept him on San Diego time, which means we could stay out till 10.30pm. he was his usual social self. In fact, Abby took him for a good 15 minutes, and took him around, and he didn’t even look to search for us. I almost forgot I had a child…J/K.

with Abby

The night went well: our little guy slept all night through. he did wake up a little early (San Diego time), but still a nice solid night. The next day was sunny, and we just hung around, did a little clothes shopping for Mattie (so he could look even more smashing at the wedding), and Tizi could finally got a present for his birthday: yeah saturday was Matt’s birthday. Quite an unusual way to celebrate it, but still. Tizi also bought a Rubick cube for him. Very old school, I know, but when we were in Italy, Matt got hold of the original one and spent many hours solving it:he was almost there when we left, so I figured he need his own to practice. Hey, it must be popular again since it is still sold…at Toys’r’Us (recommended age 8+).

The wedding was at 4pm in a winery…what? Never heard of the famous Virginia wine? Shame on you!. The weather was nice but a little chilly, but this didn’t stop Gwyn from wearing a beautiful sleeveless gown. The ceremony was brief but pretty…as far as I could tell anyway. I had to stop away since SOMEONE decided to be very vocal and refused to sit in his stroller. Carter and Gwyn looked radiant.

the happy couple

what a smashing pair: my two favorite men

After the ceremony a reception was arranged. We didn’t know too many people, but Abby and her hubby was there with little Nina. Keegan was happy to see her again, and  they played together…mainly taking toys from each other, and walk away.They were good troopers, though: no crying or fighting: they simply took turns. maybe days care is to credit for it.

Old  friends (and their additions) with the groom

the toy’s tug of war

Later, after the winery closed, the inside room was open up to the wedding guest,just in time for the chilly evening. A fun fire pit was also set up outside. Keegan was very good: he played in the grass, ate snacks and dinner, and even took a nap in his new travel stroller. After long considerations, we did buy a lightweight stroller, a Combi Helio.

Dueling stroller

It is not as cool as Tizi would have wanted, but at 11lb and with an easy compact folding and a carrying starp it did fit the bill. And we have found it gently used on Craigslist, so we saved some cash too. Plus it reclines, has a front bar and has removable top straps, which were high priority for us and our little traveler.

 the wedding cakes

Again, by staying on San Diego time we were able to hang out till past 10pm: Keegan was the last baby standing. He promptly passed out in the car, and we easily transitioned him to the crib once we arrived at the hotel. We had to take a couple of pics of his interesting sleeping positions: , face down, on his side, legs bent and butt up in the air. How can he sleep like this? it is a mystery. However, we learned the hard way not to wake him, regardless of the uncomfortable position he is in. In Italy Tizi had the brilliant idea to reposition him when he feel asleep sitting up, whith his head against the corner of the crib. He woke up, and promptly cried for a good 20 minutes.

 interesting sleeping position

Sunday was our travel day. Keegan, was a little cranky all day. He got wakend up when we stopped to have breakfast at IHOP (punishment fro trying to actually have a sit down breakfast???) and he was probably still tired, but couldn’t get back to sleep. So, while he had been sleeping peacefully for most of the car drives, he was awake for the whole two hours we were driving back to Washington. Awake, and super cranky, I must add. He finally fell asleep just as we arrived at Matt’s brother Michael’s house.  We had a quick, but pleasant visit with him, little Ella and Carol’s mother. Keegan woke up in time to play with his cousin and aeat some lunch, and then it was back to car again and to the airport. The return flight was challenging. The flight was, noce again packed, so we had to keep Keegan on our lap…well, that was the plan anyway, but mr. cranky pants was having a little cabin fever, and did not want to stay put. We took turns to take him on the back of the plane and make sure he would not do anything too dangerous. We tried to get him to sleep, but he protested, LOUDLY. He finally passed out on our lap, and we go about half the flight to nap a little.

Back home, he was awake and ready to play, but fortunately went back to bed easily. The house was still in one piece and no major fires broke out during the weekend. We had a good time but we were definitively ready to go home and rest. And NO MORE FLIGHTS for a long time, hopefully. We will limit ourselves to car drives. Talking of which…we have to start looking for car seat, as this little one (not so little anymore) is basically grown out of his infant one.

passed out after the wedding

I am sure I sound like a dork, but man, Craigslist rule. I know that I am dating myself right now, but I am so amazed how this works so well. I guess we can trust the internet after all. (-:

We have used it in the past, to got rid of stuff, to sell stuff, even to buy Tizi’s car. Now it has a whole a new usage: buying baby stuff. Since he is outgrowing so much of his toys and equipment, we are finding out that Craigslist is a great way to find gently used things. We got the exersaucer there, and a lightweight stroller for the upcoming trip, and now, the LeapFrog activity table. After noticing how much he liked it at Hannah’s house (see previous post) and daycare, we figured we could get one too. Since he changes tastes so quickly we ended up finding one of Craigslist for $10. He is enjoying quite a bit, and he hasn’t driven us crazy yet with all the sounds and music.

In another news, on Sunday, October 10, we took Keegan  to a restaurant for a Sunday brunch….while awake. Ok, it was not really a restaurant, it was Denny’s, but still. We took him out before, including in Italy, but usually he starts out asleep. I know this is not a big deal for most “normal” babies, that sit quietly, but since he is “such an active baby”, it is always a crapshoot. This time, however, he sat quietly, well babbling, the whole time. We took our portable high chair with us (gift of Aunt Beth), and he was quite content to watch us eat and devour his Cheerio’s. Oh yeah, did we mention this is his new drug? Like our friend Jennifer said it best, Cheerio’s and those puffy Gerber things are “crack for babies”. Everything is better with Cheerio’s in his mouth. At least they are multi-grain.

I am big boy: I can eat out too.

Another month. This one went by quickly, because of the trip…we spent the day at a play-date, at Tizi and Matt’s friend Jennifer’s house. For the first time, Keegan and Hannah almost played together. It was fun to watch; of course Keegan was trying out all the toys, including a cute wheel wagon meant for kids that are a little more apt at walking, so while he was fine at standing up on it, he was promptly falling as the wagon would roll away. Quite entertaining.

oh, so I have to share toys then

well, sharing is not too bad with such a cutey

The first week at daycare went great: he is back on his schedule, and eating lots. He has started eating Cheerio’s and similar finger food. He still needs to work on his “pincer grasp”, as they call it, but I would say we get a 70% success rate in getting these little things into his mouth: not bad at all. He is also back on his night schedule: it took only a couple of days this time, and fortunately with minimal crying involved. In fact, he has been sleeping a blessed 12 hours stretches most nights, even pushing his wake up time to 7am!  Naps are still a little more difficult, but we have been managing.

eating Cheerio’s

We weighted him again: an incredible 19lb 3 oz (8.7 kg)! Not quite as much as we thought from the imprecise scale in Italy, (the grandparents will be happy to know that their scale adds about 1 kg) but he has gained 1lb and 8oz in a month (700g).  Not sure if it is the Italian food, but still we are happy about it. So, while most babies slow their growth by the 6/7 month, he is accelerating.  For some reason, our baby does everything backwards. Bottom line, according to many website calculators, he is now between the 10 and the 25 percentile!!! (closer to the 10%,  but still). He is getting chunkier too, and more solidly built. The height is harder to get, as he can’t stay still to measure it. We estimate to be somewhere close to 29 in (73.6 cm).

This months pictures are not the greates, because it is almost impossible to have him sit still long enough for a picture. Check out the belly in the shot!

As far as development goes, not much since the last post. He still pulls himself up using anything, including Tizi’s skirt or Matt’s leg and even flat surfaces, like glass doors. He has learned how to go down wide steps, and back up again, without hitting his head: we figured it was easier to teach him how to go down safely head first, since this is how he always goes down, than how to turn himself the other way. Now we don’t have to worry about closing the glass door to the sun room, since he knows how to negotiate that large step. He is also more stable on his feet, and he makes more little steps when we hold his hands. He is quite good at walking laterally, while holding on to something, and all three of his teeth are now easily visible.

 let me out of here!

look ma, one hand

His favorite toys are toys that makes noise, and paper, especially crinkly one. And of course any dangerous object such as wires, cords, computers, water filled vases, etc. As we are getting ready for our next trip to Matt’s friend wedding in Virginia, we are also getting ready to move on to the next stage: we are getting more stimulating, “learning” toys, and we will be soon retiring the infant car seat. Goodbye convenience, and small size seat! Now we will have t wake him up if he falls asleep in the car; besides, he may not like it as much, as it doesn’t recline quite as much. And, we will need to buy two seats, one for each car, as the seat does not have a removable base. Now the challenge will be to find one that fits in Tizi’s car.

So, we made it back (FYI: we did upload the pictures of the weird baby food, so check them out below, in the previous posts). The trip back went well, all considering. Having both of us available to entertain the little guy made it easier, especially because, traveling back to the US you have an extra 3/4 hours of traveling time (blame it on the winds). The first flight was almost 11 hours (versus the 8.5 hours going there), but it was actually easier. Once again we were able to get the car seat on board, and this time we sat in the bulkhead seats, the three of us. This meant lots more space for all our stuff, and for stretching out. Keegan took a couple of naps, and walks on the airplane, but we were able to watch , on and off, three movies. So between feeding him, playing with him, watching the movies, and walking him up and down the aisles, time went by.

The layover was basically spent passing customs and immigration and getting our bags, AND another security screening: why in the world we have to re-screen if we were just off an airplane it is a total, infuriating mystery to me. It is totally stupid as well. We could notice immediately we were not in Italy anymore: security people over there were absolutely fantastic, nice and helpful. In Atlanta we had a bunch of arrogant jerks, that made that process even more frustrating. The people at the gate were not much better: they were arrogant, gave us attitude and were not helpful AT ALL.

We were not seated together, and so we had to ask someone to switch seats, and he fortunately accepted. We couldn’t bring the car seat on board, even if there were some empty seats. The plane had videos in the headsets, but the Entertainment system was not working, so we had nothing to do for 4 hours, which royally sucked, because Keegan slept for almost two, sprawl on our lap, so we would had the time to watch movies. To top it off, there is not ONE changing table in any restroom on this plane. So we had to change poopie diapers on the seat, precariously positioned, hoping to avoid turbulence. Delta SUCKS!!!!! Add to this no free food, $7.00 alcoholic drinks, no blankets or pillow and a basically non existent and and friendly staff. The only positive was that the flight landed on time, and our bags also arrived early. Unfortunately there are very few options left if you want to travel to Italy, so we don’t really have much choice.

We are now settling back into our San Diego life. Tizi misses everyone already, but she is looking forward to her sister’s visit at Christmas, and possibly her parents as well. The weather is very beautiful and extremely hot: quite a change from the already fall-like weather in Italy. We are already enjoying this late summer. Keegan is still adjusting to this new change. The past two nights had been a little challenging, as he has been waking up every couple of hours. it is a lot better than Italy though, as he sleeps in his crib, and usually falls back asleep by himself. We are hoping to be back to normal in a couple of days. He started daycare and he is having a good time, playing with all his friends and teachers. This is great news, especially for Tizi that needs those free hours to get everything done. She will be back to work next week.

So we are slowly getting back into our routine. We got some pictures from Tizi’s friend Loredana, so we decided to post them. A couple are from our trip to the Castle (castello Sforzesco) and a nice image of the “adults only” day at the Navigli, an ancient system of waterways, where we had a wonderful lunch. We also made it to the Triennale to see an exhibition on italian design. Looking at these images is not helping how homesick Tizi is feeling, but it is a nice memory nonetheless.

nice tourist shot in front of the castle

lunch in the Castle’s courtyard

Tizi and Loredana at the Navigli

Well, Keegan waited more than 9 months to show us his teeth, but now there is no stopping him! A few days after the first tooth erupted, a second one, next to the first came out. Now, the bottom ones cut through as well. So, he left San Diego three weeks ago without any teeth and he comes back with 3 or four! This kid is doing everything his own way.

We also tried to weigh him: mom got on the scale alone and then, holding Keegan and it looks like he is now 9.5 kg. So he gained 1.5kg in three weeks. He is also talking a lot more…maybe it is something they put in the water here. If we didn’t have to leave, he would be walking, taking and potty train himself in a few weeks. (-:

Unfortunately, it is already time to go back to San Diego: we had a wonderful time and Tizi’s parents were absolutely fantastic: the played and entertained the little guy and really took great care of him, giving Matt and Tizi some much needed rest (especially in the morning).

a nice family photo with Tizi’s parents, and her sister Cinzia, her husband Sandro and Keegan’s cousins, Naraiana and Samuele

…things are definitely different here. Some of the interesting differences I noticed, came in the baby food department. It is difficult to find ready made dinners in a jar, or veggies in a jar, but we have a full assortment of the most unusual stuff; any meat you can think of: rabbit, veal, beef, chicken, horse(!), ostrich(!!!!), ham, pork; you have to see to believe it, so I took some pictures. I am not sure what is more disturbing, the cute illustration of the animal (Mellin brand) or the pinkish chunks of meat in different sizes (Plasmon brand). I am sure the image needs no translation…

At least they do have quite a large assortment of fish,which is pretty much absent from most US stores. We could also find many cheese in a jar as well. And check out the cute pig illustration for ham!

While in Milan, we also had the chance to visit the official Chicco store: three stories of Chicco goodness. Pretty cool. We didn’t buy all that much, but it was fun to look.

one of the Chicco stores in Milano

It was definitely somewhat unexpected and took many by surprise, (it was even surprising for us) but we did decide to baptize Keegan. It may have been the Catholic guilt, or maybe “the fear or the weight of tradition” (as the little Baptism book they gave us mentioned), or maybe the full immersion in the Italian culture; whatever the case may be we thought it would have been good for Keegan to have a religion to belong to. When he is old enough, he can then choose himself. This may not sound very warm and fuzzy, but we are “tepid Catholics” after all…a term Italian priests use to refer to non practicing Catholics. Surprisingly enough, the Italian church, as in the actual parishes and priests not the Vatican, has become very tolerant and open, facing dwindling numbers, and it has adopted an open door policy to accept into its embrace even the least devoted or practicing, the so called tepid Catholics. After all, both Tizi and Matt were raised Catholics, and we both subscribe to its basic moral values. Now, the church’s interpretation is what we have some issues with…but we digress again.

The ceremony was arranged quickly: we asked the priest who married us in Italy 4 years ago to baptize Keegan. He was happy to do it, and he remembered us well. The day was September 22, 2008. The church is the same church where Tizi’s parents got married in 1964 and of course where we got married in 2004. It is a small, intimate place, with a cute courtyard. We only had a few people attending: Tizi’s parents, who were also the Godparents, Tizi’s sister, with her family, including the “Grandmother in law” (the mother of Tizi’s sister’s husband…can anyone think of a better name?) and two very close friends of Tizi’s parents. Even Tizi’s maternal cousin, who she had not seen in many many years, came. It was great to see all.

The ceremony was very nice. Usually, in Italy, the Baptism is a community event, celebrated during mess with many childrend being baptized together. Because of the time constraints, we were the only one in the Church. We really enjoyed this more intimate celebration. Keegan was absolutely perfect. He enjoyed all the confusion, and the people, and of course the attention. With two video cameras and two regular cameras, he seemed like a rockstar, as the priest remarked.

Keegan was wearing the same baptism dress that Tizi’s mom knitted for her own baptism…a few years ago. A well used dress at that: Keegan is the 5th child to wear it. Keegan did not cry, even when his head was submerged in the water, and was attentively following all that was going on.

Keegan  quietly paying close attention…with a little help from a friend 

Hey: it is not bathtime!

daddy lighting the candle

All together: the godparents, the parents and the celebrated boy

After the ceremony, Tizi’s mom prepared a wonderful party at the house, with tons of goodies, a delicious cake, champagne and of course the typical light blue confetti (the sugar coated almond candy that are a tradition for weddings and baptisms). Two of Tizi’s friends met us there as well as Tizi’s paternal cousin that came from Rome to visit. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially Tizi’s cousins, who we have not seen in years.

all together again: look at all the goodies!

What a wonderful cake

Again, Keegan enjoyed all the attention and he even clapped for the first time in excitement. He definitely loves lots of people around and the confusion…Matt and Tizi are a little worried: how will he get used to the much more mellow life in San Diego????

…the real one. Since our optimistic plans of a two days getaway at the beach got crushed by reality, we figured we could at least get away for a few hours, since Keegan is having a great time being spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma. Luckily there are many places that are close by, so we settled on Como Lake, less than an hour train away.

We didn’t have much planned; we arrived around noon and found a speed boat that would take us around the lake to Bellagio. Having been to Las Vegas quite a few times, and having been at the Hotel Bellagio, we were of course curious of seeing the real thing. The boat trip was pleasant. We passed many beautiful villas, and villages, wondering which one was George Clooney’s. In roughly an hour we were at Bellagio. We grabbed some “piadine” for lunch (basically sandwiches made with grilled tortilla-like bread) and sat on a bench, overlooking the lake. It was very pretty and peaceful. We strolled on the small streets, and up the cobbled stone stairs, and ate a yummy gelato.

Bellagio view

the real Hotel Bellagio

It was fun to be just the two of us, without schedules, without worries. For a few hours we were just a couple not mom and dad. It felt great. Even if quite a few time our conversation veered towards baby stuff, we had the chance to chat about many other tihngs. Just before catching the train back, we wondered around Como and watched his ancient Duomo, so we got some cultural stuff too…

I have to say, though, that Bellagio is not that amazingly great. It is nice, with a cute, short lakeside walk, but it is very crowded and touristy, and it does not have a music synchronized fountain! The lake is wonderful, and very romantic, but I am sure there are other towns just as pretty. We were glad to see it but not sure we will back anytime soon.

romantic view from Bellagio

We made it home just before Keegan’s bed time. He had a great day with grandma and grandpa: he played, ate lots, and slept a bit. He was happy to see us, and so were we. We were very grateful for Tizi’s parents: beside the rocky start, we are really enjoying some much needed rest and a welcome break.

Our little guy is getting around. On Thursday we took him to Parco Sempione, the beautiful park surrounding the Castello Sforzesco. To get there, we braved the subway. We were a little concerned because he usually doesn’t like to be in closed places, plus Milano is not exactly “baby-friendly”, so there are no elevators or such.

We went with Tizi’s friend, Loredana, so among the three of us we managed. Keegan did not mind a bit, and he enjoyed watching the people, including the begging musicians…if you have ever been to Milano subways you know exactly what I mean: one or two guys, usually from eastern Europe, and most likely ROM (the PC term for Gipsies) that show up in the subway car with all sort of instruments, from guitars, to harmonica and play a short song that ends before the next stop or two, and then they go around collecting money. Sometimes they bring children with them, and have some heartbreaking story to go with it. Sorry the cynicism, but begging is their job, and after being here for a little while you realize that most of the time they are just scam artists. At least they do something, instead of just begging, maybe we a scrawny baby at the breast like you see in the stations, but still…It is sad, don’t get me wrong, especially for the children, but there is not much you can do.

on the subway stop Lambrate F.S., where Tizi’s parents live

But I digress. We got off Cadorna F.S. (stands for station), and we stopped to pose in front of the controversial Needle Sculpture. I really like it: it is a huge metal needle with a thread going through it, and emerging in a fountain across the street. It supposed to symbolize the Fashion World, since, as you all know, Milano is the fashion capital of the world. Of course, this being Italy, people have been discussing on its artistic merits since he appeared around 10 years ago.

in front of the needle Sculpture

Keegan really enjoyed the park, and took a nice nap in the stroller, while we chatted and walked. We even got a nice lunch in the elegant Via Dante, people watching. It was hard to window shop without having the chance to actually buy anything: Tizi will have to come back by herself (i.e. without the boys) for that. Keegan had even the chance to taste his first gelato: white chocolate. He really liked it. What a good Italian! Keegan was exceptionally good. Henever complained. He only got tired of sitting towards the end, so Tizi took him out of the stroller and put him in the sling, and he was happy again.

going back home, in Tizi’s sling