A Week in the Italian Alps

We spent last week in northern Italy on Lake Maggiore, near the Swiss border in the Alps.  Erik had some work to do nearby so we turned it into a mini-vacation by staying in Stresa, a resort town on the lake.

We traveled by train which was really fun, convenient and easy with the babe.  Just an 8 minute walk to the metro, 5 stops to the main train station and get on the super-fast (300 km/hr) FrecciaRossa to Milan (4 hours).  The bar car is nice and makes the time fly.  Then one hour on the slow train to Stresa. Easy!

We took a day trip to Macugnaga at almost 14,000 feet with the Monte Rosa glacier within view.  It was a winding drive up a steep valley through tiny mountain villages.  Magical!

These shots are from Stresa including our hotel and the view of the lake and mountains...

Happy Father's Day, Happy Birthday, Happy Solstice!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads and Happy Birthday to my dad.

Here's a special treat for Gramps on his double whammy of a day...

On Your Marks, Get Set...

Feast your eyes on this.  A new era has begun.  Good thing Amelia just bought new sneakers.

Roman Birthday

We celebrated our first family holiday last week, my birthday.  I had no expectations, it was a Sunday so I was happy to just have Erik with us all day.

Erik's parents Linda and Link were here.  After our walk to get cappuccino and chocolate croissants, we decided we should check out the Giro d'Italia (think Tour de France) which was finishing in Rome that day.

Grandma and Grandpa offered to play with Oci while Erik and I went...alone!  It was our longest and furthest trip away from dear daughter since she was born.  We were gone for about 3.5 hours which felt like a loooong time!

We found a great uncrowded spot on the course at the last turn before the finish at the Colosseum, under the shade of a big tree.  It was perfect.  The highlight of the day was seeing Lance Armstrong fly by us.  He was preceeded by two motorcycles, followed by four cars and a helicopter overhead.  Talk about entourage.

The best part was coming home to a happy baby girl!

Why Are All These Strangers Offering Me Milk??

Baby sign language is a way for babies to communicate before they can talk.  They can signal when they are hungry, sleepy or even grateful.  This makes life easier for both babies and parents!  

The one sign that we started with was "milk" which is squeezing your hand like milking a cow.  Before nursing we would ask Ocia if she wanted milk while making the sign.  Sure enough she caught on...all I would have to do is make the sign and she would get a big grin on her face!

One day shortly after we arrived in Italy we were on the metro.  A woman said "Ciao, ciao!" to Ocia while making the milk sign.  Huh??  Erik and I looked at each other in horror.  She's making the milk sign!  Turns out the sign for "milk" is the same as "ciao" so we see this everyday.  Oh how confusing.

After a few months of this, dear daughter has emerged triumphant.  In the past few days she now comes up to me and very clearly and confidently makes the milk sign when she is hungry.  And she responds to people's "ciao" with an open hand waggle wave instead the italian squeezing version.  Whew.

Holes in Toes

We waited for two months for our shipment to arrive from the US.  It was very exciting when it showed up:  pots and pans, clothing and most importantly, Ocia's jump-up chair.

The first day it arrived I put her in it and off she went...jump, jump, jump.  I noticed that her feet were slipping on the wood floor so I took her socks off for better traction.  She jumped and jumped while I sat next to her catching up on emails.  

A few hours later at bath time I noticed the, uh, holes in her toes from jumping so much.  Ooops!

Good thing she doesn't seem to mind at all.  Par for the course when you are an energetic wee one.

If Rome is a lock, Ocia is the key.

We are constantly amazed with two things....the first, our daughter and her ever-evolving, always-delightful ways. The second, how Italians are so enchanted with babies and will stop everything to adore a little one.

Being in Rome with Ocia makes life, in some ways, much easier...she paves our way with smiles, giggles and waves. I know I'm her mom and all but seriously, who could resist this face??

Last weekend we were shopping in a swanky part of town at Salvatore Ferragamo. At one point there was a swarm of 15 people (Erik counted) gathered around Oci's stroller as she accomodated them with an exceptionally good showing. We have learned what "pubblicitta" means as people often ask if she is in commercials!

As my brother put it, if Rome is a lock, Ocia is the key. Exactly.