OK, maybe he is a bit out of control

wildman
Originally uploaded by michellanea

When I was pregnant a friend came over with her two kids who kept playing with my new curtains and jumping on my new couch. I later said "No kid of mine will act like that."

Beach weekend

We just got back from a fantastic weekend at the beach. Dylan had a great time swimming and playing with his buddies up and down the beach. He is full of personality and loves to make friends. The only problem is that he comes on a bit strong, and we are hoping he grows out of that a bit so as not to be one of those kids nobody wants to play with because he's so overbearing. Granted, he isn't even 18 months old yet, so I don't think we have to worry (yet) about kids not picking him to be on their teams, but we've noticed he does tend to bug/scare other kids with his liveliness and boundless enthusiasm. He runs instead of walking. He yells instead of talking. If he likes someone he will repeat his/her name a million times.

There were a couple of instances where kids would be playing in the sand and say "come play with us" and instead of sitting down and playing, he'd try to get them to come with him. Usually no matter where we are, he wants to run out to the parking lot to see the cars, so he's always trying to get other kids to go see the cars and saying "c'mon!" and "go!" Cristiano was laughing because I got in a "discussion" with one of the other mothers who said Dylan was out-of-control. I told her that out-of-control would mean he was completely wild breaking things or bullying or hitting the other kids. I told her that Dylan does none of the above, listens quite well and actually has a really sweet and loving nature. As I told Cristiano, I was "discussing" not fighting. If I had been fighting, I would have mentioned that both she and her kid needed to lose some weight and that it probably wasn't a good idea to smoke in front of him. Slam! Don't mess with this mamma bear's cub!

On the rented pedal rickshaw outside our apartment

Sitting in the rickshaw while mom and dad get overpriced coffees in the center of Forte dei Marmi

On the running/bike path along the beach. We spend a ton of time here running, biking and rollerblading. Love it!

Dylan with his buds Sara and Marco. He's obsessed with Sara and will call her name over and over again ad infinitum.

Random summer

I've been kind of lame on the blogging front, and while a lot has been happening, I've captured so little of it on camera. Dylan doesn't stand still much for photos and videos these days. While he has mellowed out a bit and can sit still long enough to play with his cars sometimes, that doesn't make for exciting images. I really need to take more videos of him talking because that is his strong suit. He's got the gift of gab like mom. Here are a few Dylan (and non-Dylan-related) shots I've taken with my camera phone lately. We are off to the beach. Have a great weekend!

Dylan on the last day of play group for the summer where we played outside with water

A not-so-hot-shot of my new car! Meep meep!

Someone parked behind me "creatively" when he had plenty of space to park normally. Viva l'Italia!

Sunday morning birthday party

Last weekend was quite busy. Here are a few pics of us at Dylan's cousin Angelica's first birthday party. They held it at a little amusement-park place. Fun, fun!

Mom's keeping her eyes on the road!

Canoe ride!

Dylan sitting in mom's new (real not toy) car! He loves it and is constantly asking to go down in the garage and sit in or touch the car.

We leave for the U.S. two months from today. We still have no real plan but know that we are flying in and out of Atlanta. We do plan to spend quite a bit of time in and around North Carolina to check it out as a potential place to move. Operation 2010, which has us moving to the U.S. in 2010, is still very much in the works and we will be applying for Cristiano's Green Card in September. Once he has the Green Card, we have to enter the U.S within six months or he loses it. That has us moving to the U.S. some time in the spring of 2010. Wow!

Saturday in the city

Kids' event at the contemporary art museum that Dylan was a bit too young to appreciate

Lunch on Corso Como

Passed out in the only thing we had to put him in - his newborn car seat

Windblown and in need of a haircut

I really would like to take Dylan to get a proper haircut, but his father and the rest of Dylan's "handlers" are not in agreement. I've only been able to cut his bangs a bit but now the back is getting slightly mullet-ish. Granted, he does have beautiful curls, but things are getting a bit unruly and on a windy day, he's got fly-away locks. I told Cristiano that either he gets a haircut soon or I'm going to start putting barrettes in his hair and making pigtails!

Somebody has gotten too comfortable...

...in mom and dad's bed. Does it appear that the little person pictured above has any intentions of going back to sleep through the night in his own room in his own bed? At least he tosses and turns slightly less than he used to. But he does occasionally get out of the bed by himself while we are sleeping and wander through the house. They are only this little once, right?

Eventful week

S5000553
Originally uploaded by michellanea

Tonight is Grandma Mimi's last night before flying back to the U.S. It's been an eventful week. We spent last weekend at the beach, which got off to a rocky start as the weather sucked and we were trapped in the house for two dreary, rainy days before getting really bored and making a trip over to nearby Pisa. Then the sun came out and we got in some beach time (see video - this kid has NO fear; he runs right into the Mediterranean undaunted and jumps into the swimming pool without hesitation). Unfortunately, Dylan is sick as is Grandma Mimi. He's been vomiting and had a fever for three days and Grandma Mimi is unsure what she has, but is half dead on the couch and hopes she has the energy for running through airports and multiple flights tomorrow. What can you do?