Parker Update

I can't believe how big my little boy is getting! We had his nine month appointment at the beginning of May and he weighed almost 20 lbs and is 28 inches long! He is crawling and climbing on everything which also means he falls down A LOT and seems to have a new bump daily. Parker has definitely gotten a lot of hair lately, but the cowlick right in the middle of his forehead has given him one of the strangest looking hairlines and it looks so funny in pictures (he's still the cutest baby on the planet though!). He's still working on his first tooth which is making it challenging to find foods he can eat- we're working with oatmeal, pasta, cottage cheese, and lots of pureed veggies and fruits.

To help ease my sanity with Parker's new found mobility, we rearranged the whole house and gave him some special play areas- one in the living room and then his whole room got a makeover (it went from nursery to big boy play room).

.

Parker in his new big boy jammies!

You can see some of the new living room set up here. Parker playing in his new room. Check out that hair- how in the world do you fight a cowlick in a nine month old??

Parker is obsessed with looking at himself, so we thought a kid-friendly mirror was a must.

Can you tell what Karl is training him for?

He LOVES playing outside and cries everytime I take him in. His love of dirt has earned him one or two baths a day now!

Ischia for Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day, especially all my friends and family who celebrated their very first Mother's Day this year. I have to say that I don't think anything will every top my this first Mother's Day for me- it was truely a magical day and I was so sad to come back to reality at the end of it all (but excited to see the wee one since I had been away ALL day). I went to the island of Ischia to a thermal bath resort called Negombo with my dear friends Lisa, Amanda, and Norma. I always give Amanda credit for being a superb blogger and so I am being exceptionally lazy and directing you to her blog to see pictures and read all about the day...thanks Amanda for being truely fantastic and capturing our bit of heaven with your photos and words :)

http://livingintheboot.squarespace.com/

Monteveglio and Ferrari Factory

It is official...I am the worst blogger EVER! I was going to blog about our trip to Paris last week, but then I realized that I never even finished writing about our trip in January. It feels strange posting pictures with snow and winter coats as we're preparing for summer. I do promise that after this one, I will write about Paris and then we'll be back up-to-date...I think.

Well...to finish off our trip to Northern Italy, we stopped for two days outside of Bologna in a town called Monteveglio- a place known for their wine and good food. We stayed at an amazing an organic agriturismo called Corte D'Aibo. My favorite wine now is one of their Merlots and the best meal I've had in Italy was just around the corner. The snow made it a little difficult to drive, but Parker enjoyed his very first snowball here and even got to play around in all the white stuff.

.

One of the buildings at Corte D'Aibo

The enormous vigna. Parker's first frolic in the snow!

Karl made him his first snowball!

Wine tasting :)

The second day in town, we drove over to the Ferrari Factory and Museum (guess who picked this side trip). Karl loved it and would have stayed all day if he could have (or maybe forever). It was pretty amazing though and I had a great cappucino in the Ferrari Bar...the true highlight for me :)

. Karl's favorite room in the museum...I really should have him help blog about this since to me it was just a bunch of old cars.

My boys.

The closest Karl will probably ever get to actually driving a Ferrari.

Just a super cute picture of Parker once we got back from our trip.

Aviano, Italy

I am FINALLY posting a few pics from our trip to Aviano, Italy in January. The computer is taking wayyyyy too long, so hopefully a few pics will satisfy everyone :) We spent about a week in Aviano which is a very small town in Northern Italy near Venice and Slovenia (we were planning on spending some time in Venice, but it was flooded and impossible to walk around). It was a very relaxing trip and we spent time going to local street markets, eating out, visiting nearby towns, and playing with Parker. I wish we had gotten the opportunity to get up to Austria or Slovenia, but there's always next time :)

.

Priceless Parker face.

The town square in Aviano. Every Tuesday they have a great market that we went to and then had lunch at this cafe- Parker was the hit of the place! First horsie ride on daddy's shoulders.

More of the town square- beautiful!

Our hotel and the view of the Alps behind it.

Welcome Lucia Miren

I would love to welcome Lucia Miren Aguayo into our family! My sister, Erin, and her husband, Jose, are proud new parents of my niece (I'm finally an aunt!!!), Lucia Miren :) She arrived on March 31 weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 19.5 inches long (a little chubby gal). We're so excited for the new addition and mom and baby are both doing very well. Here is a pic of her donning an ear of corn outfit...Lucia will soon learn that being a part of this family doesn't come without the occasional embarressing photo (remember the dog bowl Erin???).

My little boy is growing up!

By popular demand, I am taking yet another detour from our 'Trip to Northern Italy' blogging to dedicate a blog solely to my little boy. I know I haven't posted many pictures of him since Christmas and he's growing up so fast! Parker is now crawling pretty well and is even able to walk when he has something to push (he practices with his little buggy in the driveway)! He weighs in at about 19.5 lbs, but is still hovering is the 25 in. range (he's short and stout).

The order of his pictures are backwards by the way!

.

Lisa, Parker, and Karl on St. Patrick's Day- Parker is gunning for the green beer!

On his buggy in the driveway (this is the one he pushes around). Analisa, Parker, and Rosa (our Italian neighbors)- they breed German Shepards and this is one of the new puppies!

Parker in the tub sporting a new do.

Cute as a button.

Day at Riverview Park in Newport News (Parker is obsessed with swinging now).

Jean, me, and Parker before my mom's funeral- my mom would have LOVED Parker's dino tie :)

Parker and Christina on Valentine's Day.

Crawling around at my parent's house.

Daddy and Parker playing before we went back to the states.

Parker started doing this adorable face (Karl smiles the same way!).

Me and my babe :)

What a ham.

Parker and Karl in Monteveglio, Italy- Parker's first snowball!!!

We stayed at this amazing vineyard in Monteveglio and Parker got to play in the snow for the first time!

In our hotel room in Aviano, Italy.

Playing catch-up: Ferrara, Italy

I know I am a horrible blogger and very behind in my postings, but I'm attempting to play catch-up of our lives recently. Karl and I made it back to Italy safely last Wednesday night, but not without drama...we were delayed 8 hours in Norfolk, Parker and I were sick on the plane, our plane got struck by lightning while trying to land in Naples, we took Parker to the ER the night we got in with a temp of 103.9!, and basically none of us has slept since! We are slowly getting back into the swing of things and that includes getting back to blogging :)

I promised everyone postings from our big trip to Northern Italy in January, so I'm backtracking all the way to January 14th when we went to Ferrara, Italy! Ferrara is a beautiful, yet very small Renaissance city and is referred to in some Shakespearean plays. The town is still surrounded by miles of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries and they are said to be the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy.

.

Parker showing us how to drive (don't worry- we were parked when we tookt his). On the way to Ferrara, we got stuck in a 3 hour back-up on the A1 and also a snow storm...we were ready for a good meal once we finally got into town!

This is the moat around Castello Estense- an amazing castle built in 1385 and right outside our hotel window! A small chapel near the castle and cathedral.

The view from our hotel of Castello Estense- probably one of the best hotels we've stayed in while traveling in Europe (mainly because they had an amazing breakfast which is VERY hard to find in Italy!).

The former cathedral of San Giorgio; according to a now lost inscription the church was built in 1135. The upper part of the main facade, with dozens of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century, while the lower part of the portico and the main portal are from the 1100's. The elaborate reflief sculptures depicting Last Judgement above the second story date from the thirteenth century.

The Loggia dei Notai in Piazza Trento e Trieste.