Developments

I haven't taken a lot of pictures this week as it has been pretty hectic around here. Cristiano was sick - actually sick enough to take a day off of work. I think that's the first sick day I've ever seen him take! So I was tending to him. Now Dylan is sick so he's been staying at home. He's napping now and I've just had enough time to hang out the laundry. After ten straight days of rain, we've got a laundry backlog. The usual.

But here are some new developments on the Dylan front:

1) Dylan has become super clap happy. He's just a clapping fool. He claps for no apparent reason most of the time and doesn't like when you clap along or try to jump in by singing "pat-a-cake" or "Batti, batti le manine" in Italian. He likes to hear Barack Obama speak and when he sees him on TV, he claps. Really!

2) Despite being sick, he pretty much never sits still and he has found ways to scale and pull up on pretty much everything in the house. He must be watched at all times because he's gotten quick too. Turn your head for a second, and he's trying to climb into the bathtub...

3) Starting next week, I'm going to introduce egg yolk and tomato into his diet. He eats pretty much everything now except for citrus, strawberries and cow's milk (though he does eat yogurt and some cheeses). I'm wondering when I can stop giving him cereal. I'm getting kind of bored with the clumpy cereal thing. He already eats baby pastas and rices, which are fortified with calcium and other vitamins, so I'm thinking that when I finish my last box of rice cereal, I'm not going to buy anymore. By one year, I'd like to have him eating more or less like us. We are taking a family cruise over New Year's to Spain, Portugal and through the Strait of Gibralter. As Dylan will be almost one, I'd hope that I won't have to drag a bunch of baby foods with us and he can eat normal buffet cruise food.

4) Teething still continues to torment us. Mainly him, poor guy. He's got two new teeth coming in, which will bring him to a total of six teeth. It may be seven but he's got a phantom tooth that seems to poke out some days and withdraw on others.

There are other larger developments percolating for La Famiglia Cugini (no, we are NOT pregnant) but we aren't ready to divulge anything yet. Let's just say that we hope that "change" really does come to the U.S. now and that we can take part in it. More details in due time.

Clouds are rolling in and I've got to go bring in the sheets hanging outside and figure out where to drape them around the house!