Off to school

Time to get ready for school. I don't want to go, but I like my briefcase thingy for storing my projects.

Let's get this over with!

Scuola Materna

He's old enough to go to school, so when will he stop waking up every hour all night long?

How do I look?

Starting to have second thoughts about going...

Tomorrow is the big day

Cars-themed smock and some of his "school supplies." He is in the "pink" class, which is why his stuff has to be in pink bags with his name on it.

Tomorrow we begin the orientation process so he only goes for two hours. When he feels comfortable, he will stay for lunch. And then when he feels comfortable at lunch, he will stay for a nap. After the nap, I pick him up and the school day ends. I can't believe my baby is beginning his three-year journey in "kindergarten." Starting scuola materna is a huge rite of passage in Italy. When he finishes he will go right into first grade in elementary school.

Each student at Dylan's scuola materna is given a symbol to represent him. Dylan's symbol is the umbrella. A lot of kids get their symbol embroidered on to their smocks, but we aren't all that attached to the umbrella symbol. The car was already taken!

Beach

New York was sweltering (my black flip flops were literally melting on the pavement under my feet), smelly, noisy and chaotic, so it was great to get out of the city and get some beach time in. Dylan loves the water and is just like his father in that he could spend sunrise to sunset on the beach. He was even able to nap on the beach once! That's pretty unprecedented.

Beach in Rye, NY

Lunch on the beach in Rye

I love the water!

On the beach in Westport, CT

Ridiculously big Coke...and fries
Tired boys on the beach!

Westport beach from Michelle Marie on Vimeo.

Counting the towers on his castle

The nighttime bandit

I've decided that the upside of having a kid who doesn't sleep at night is that you don't worry about things like jet lag because your "routine" is already thrown off. So you are equally tired pretty much anywhere you go and it feels just like being at home. During the two months away, Dylan got used to sleeping in our bedroom since we never had a bedroom just for him. Fortunately, he was in his own toddler bed or in a pack and play (which he seems to like even though it's small - he likes sleeping all cuddled up to the sides). Now that we are back home and he is in his own bed, he can get in and out of it freely. He knows he's not allowed to sleep in our bed, but he gets around that by waiting until we fall asleep and then crawling surreptitiously in between us. At some point during the night, Cristiano and I will wake up (Dylan kicks, tosses and turns like crazy) and realize that Dylan is in our bed and that neither of us put him there. Sigh. Last night I said, "Dylan you have to go back to your bed" and he told me "Mommy, but my bed is not comfy cozy," which made me laugh. I realize how much he takes in the things I say and then repeats them back to me verbatim to get on my good side. The compromise last night was that we wheeled his bed into our room and let him sleep there. These are the compromises you make at 3 a.m. when you are exhausted and don't know what to do anymore. When will this kid ever sleep like a normal person?

The good thing is that he is (so far) maintaining his English. He is set to start "big boy" preschool on Sept. 16, but we are seriously considering sending him to an international school. My father-in-law had one of the big international schools as a client for many years. He just spoke with the principal of the school and he said Dylan is welcome any time. I am a big proponent of public school and have been reluctant to consider private school, but if it means Dylan maintaining his English and keeping in touch with his American side (perhaps even Cristiano and I would meet more "mixed" families that way), then I'm open to it. We should be visiting this week and then make a final decision.

Amici

We have been back in Italy for two days, and I realize I was not a great blogger while away. I was either at my computer frantically trying to get work done or out doing stuff with no desire to be on my computer if not absolutely necessary. Here are some pictures of Dylan with some of the friends he hung out with while in and around New York.

Dylan and Jack eating pizza

Dylan and Claire in the wagon

Kylie, Dylan and Avery at Dylan's Candy Bar in New York (three whole stories of candy, candy, candy!)

Dylan took a particular liking to Kylie and they walked down the block hand in hand