laughs for all!

what was so funny? grandma and hendrik were looking through our wedding album scrapbook and came across these photos:

our feet are in the water - !!! hi-larious!

back across the water

 cruising around on a borrowed bike at Dad's team's end of season finale at PalaTrento

I can't believe we're here, in Ontario, and no longer in Italy. I kind of want to say that I can't believe we're not at home anymore, and I'm comparing our car here to our car there ... which was never really ours, and definitely isn't ours now that we're in Canada. [BIG] sigh.... we had such a great time there and with all that came with our life in Trento - great neighbors, a small, friendly community and an amazing house (in an amazing neighborhood) - it really felt like home. When we compare it to our place in Gatineau, Vela wins hands down: we knew our neighbors - the ones next door and down the block and down the block the other way, we always stopped to chat with Daniela and Latitiana at the small grocery store, people said hi on the street etc etc... but really, it's just different: small town vs big and one culture vs another. We're happy to be back and to be with family, but it might take a while to transition from one home to another; no doubt about it I'll be sentimental and missing and thinking about Trento/Vela for at least a week or two. Or three. What will I miss? The question calls for a list:

- the FOOD! (obviously!) I'll miss good (affordable) cheese and prosciutto (the same goes for Hendrik) and the endless fresh goodies at the grocery store, big and small alike. I'll miss the good pizza and the quality of no-name and brand-name foodstuffs, the yogurt, the gelato, the foccacia, the coffee... I'm sure I could come up with an extensive list if I put my mind to it, but that would just end up with me back in the kitchen for lunch #2....

- the driving: I'll miss roundabouts, and drivers with (most-of-the-time) manners (except when it comes to tailgating) that know how to merge and how to stay out of the left-hand lane except when passing. I'll also miss the speed limit (130-ish) and our the station wagon.

- our the house. It really was a home, and with Antonella and Luciano and an enormous yard and an incredible view, I doubt that there's any place like it in the world.

- random etcs that I'll miss: having a gas stove, church bells chiming every hour, Friday playgroup, pandoro and pannetone, speaking Italian, the scenic city centre, hmmmm... there must be more...

And things that I won't miss? I won't miss being so far away from family and friends, and it will be nice to live in our first language again (when we're not in Gatineau).

pushing carts around (sometimes MANY carts) was a fun airport activity

... and so was stealing airport carts....

Okay, and anyways - we made it back safe and sound (and sleep-deprived)! Hendrik was such a trooper on both the one-hour flight from Verona to Munich and the almost nine-hour long-haul from Munich to Toronto. He only slept twice - once when we were boarding in Munich and then again as soon as we landed in Toronto which was - how to say this nicely - inconvenient for us; between yesterday's 4:00am wake-up call and our arrival at Casa Brinkman just before dinner (around 5:30, almost 20 hours later) Steve and I didn't really sleep at all... ouch. However, I'm hoping this one of those glass half full things - when we made the eastbound trip in September there was very little sleep to be had and the jet-lag wasn't so bad SO... we're hoping that this might be the case once again (fingers crossed). We stayed up late-ish last night and had an almost through the night sleep... we'll see how things go over the next few days (all fingers - yours too please - crossed again). And poor husband'o'mine is already traveling again; he's on the road to Gatineau as I type, to get back in the gym and join Team Canada. Hendrik and I will stay here in B-ville for a few days and hopefully make the four-hour drive east on Monday to join our favourite man for a week. And then and then and then more travel! The babe and I will head back here on Saturday for a flight out to California with Gama and Buppa Brinkman on Sunday where we'll hopefully watch TC qualify for London. If I think about or talk about (type about?) the upcoming travel - wait, what I want to say is that it's too early to think about those flights and the time and the blah blah blah lines and customs and airports and bags..... so I won't! I'll just stop. I'd be better off with a nap. I'm happy we're here, happy we made it and happy our bags made it (all five of 'em) and just a little tired. But happy. It's going to be a great summer!!

ps. 22 weeks today - eek!

splashin' around!

I had ideas of an all-day outdoor day today, but woke up to rain... so instead we hit the 2nd floor of the Science and Nature Museum to oggle at fish and stuffed animals - tres fun, no? Home for lunch and then after a crazy wind storm and a shorter than usual nap for the babe, the sun came out and we followed suit. A walk by the river kept me happy, and the huge puddles in the driveway kept Hendrik very happy - wet feet and smiles! Tonight's game didn't yield such positive results, unfortunately; the guys lost in five sets after being up 2-0, with a 25-12 win in the second set - the were dominating the other team. The fifth set was a serious battle - I think both teams had 3 or 4 match points and in the end it went to Macerata 22-20. So the season is over just like that... only two days to go, I can't believe it!

a busy week?

I'm on a tight timeline here for this blog - last night I stayed up way too late and Hendrik was up early this morning insisting that mommy ("mamma mamma mama mama" - times 5 zillion) take him out of his crib and give him breakfast etc instead of dada; since I was long overdue for an extra hour in bed, I refused give in to his whines and cries and Steve persisted and insisted on taking him for the morning, and it worked. I stayed in bed until 8:30 (amazing) and with the combo of a packed day and a few short-on-sleep nights, I feel like I'm approaching zombie land. So it is bed early - for real - tonight.

with Nella and Chano last night

just helping out around the house - laun-dray

I guess it's been a busy week since I haven't found much time to blog, but busy with what I can't quite say. Nope, we haven't organized or packed or done anything of that (woops) but we have thought about it a bit. Our flights are booked - we leave on Wednesday at 7:00am from Verona (an hour's drive away - ouch! And we arrive in Toronto 13 1/2 hours later; ouch times two. I need to google things to do with a toddler on an airplane - I'm thinking books, crayons, food... hmmm... what else what else. Anyways, it should be interesting. The dude is definitely not fitting in the bulkhead bassinet anymore! May he sleep, may we sleep, may we arrive safe and sane.

So vball updates - when did I even blog last? The guys are in the final on Sunday - V-Day in Milano - and it's kind of a big deal. The show should be a good one and I can't say if the game will be online or not - I'll get back to you on that one. They left this morning (bleh) and will return on Sunday night late late, hopefully as the Champions of Italia! Forza Trentino... can't wait!

We said goodbye to Antonella and Luciano and family yesterday and then again tonight - sad. Hendrik and his sorellina were spoiled with a few parting gifts, and Antonella gave me a necklace called a Chiama Angeli - a long chain with a heart-shaped chiming pendant that's meant to rest near la pancia, the baby-in-the-belly, so she hears the soft sounds... maybe of angels calling? It's so so sweet, and has made me give more thought to the growing babe even in the last day. We'll really miss Nella and Chano, but I know we'll see them again; hopefully sooner rather than later.

And Hendrik has been Mr Gabber Gabber lately, learning new words like crazy. He can list off a few players on Steve's team: Jan, Rapha, Mitar, Dada and Osmany he can get almost every time, but every now and then when I ask him who Dada plays volleyball with he throws in Gamma (Grandma), Chano (Luciano) and Ana - why these three specifically I do not know. He likes saying Mitar (who he's only met a few times), and has been a bit stuck on the word kayak for the last couple of days. This morning on our way home from Ana and Arthur's I was asking him if he wanted to eat lunch when we got home, and he just kept saying kayak... and then me, "You want to eat a kayak for lunch? What? Really?" He'd giggle and repeat - tres cute. Also very cute is his extreme enthusiasm for The Little Engine That Could and I Want My Hat Back. With the first, he'll chime in with the chug chug chug puff puff puff, and then at the end with the Up up up and faster faster faster - with mucho gusto. With the bear book he LOVES the part where the bear confronts the bunny and says YOU! YOU stole my hat. He'll just say YOU! (again with muchissimo gusto) and I understand that it's time to pull the book out for some solid entertainment.

more entertainment - Hendrik running around with my scarf on his BODY... I've got to get this on film!

I'm sure there's more, but it will have to wait... only a few more blogs and we'll be home - !

beautiful views on a walk earlier this week

I cannot BELIEVE I won't be able to eat any of these ... I LOVE figs!

catch-up +

My parents were here for a week, and on Friday night over some pizza and salad and wine and cheese they gave me a hard time when I told them that it seemed like they were here for longer (I meant that in the best of ways, but they were suspicious). But then, on Saturday afternoon when it came time to say goodbye, it suddenly seemed like not-long-enough; I hate goodbyes. We had a great time with them here - good meals, good relaxing time here and in town (naps for all every day) - and Hendrik loved having Gamma and Bapa around too, to read stories and colour, accessorize with their watches, search for dandies and much more. I'm glad that we have some serious time booked out west this summer; with the great big-ness of Canada, we haven't spent too much time with them since our babe arrived... I'm definitely looking forward to the month of June. (One-way flight booked for June 6th!)

Steve is away down south somewhere near Rome for game two of the semi-finals series (they play this afternoon), and with Hendrik napping and no house-guests around things seem so quiet. A perfect time to catch up on a few things and nap. Let's see if I can do both.

So (finally), the story on how we found out we were pregs again? Just before Christmas - the season of love, joy, peace and more booze than usual (right?) - I realized that it had been a while, but Steve insisted that just two weeks ago (or something like that - those may have been his exact words) I'd had my period. He was so sure that I listened to him (why exactly I'm really not sure)... but still held back on the drink. And then and then I just wasn't sure (and wasn't sure that Steve could really be sure either) so I decided to buy a test - to see. To confirm the negative result and to get the go-ahead to get at the wine and liquor cabinet. So while I was doing the Christmas shop with Ana on the 22nd, I snuck off and bought a test at the pharmacy and tucked it away for later that day. Steve was away somewhere (Poland? Serbia?) and Sarah, who was in town visiting, was also away for the day. I got home and with no urgency or expectations of a positive test, did the pee thing and then.... and then.... there was Hendrik tugging at my leg and spouting off mamma maammma mamma five zillion times a minute and I had to look again. Yes yup mmhmm, positive. I didn't have a freakout or anything - Steve and I had talked about the next babe (the when) and we were back and forth. Our conversations more or less amounted to a decision that sooner, or closer together would be something we'd want, but that was it. So anyways, I called Steve right away and he answered - our conversation went something like this:

Me: hi, how are you?
Steve: good, good, just finished practice, yeah, nothing much really. how are you?
Me: good. um, are you alone right now?
Steve: yeah, why? what's up?
Me: well, um well because.. i'm pregnant.
Steve: what! what? are you sure? did you take a test? what, really? are you sure?
Me: yes! yes of course i took a test i just took it and it's positive!
Steve: really? (a little shocked)
(pause)
Steve: realllllly? (happy)
Me: yes! really... really! (happy, but still absorbing the news)

And after that I'm not really sure how it went. But he did ask me why I always do this while he's away. Always as in twice. With Hendrik too, I took a test while Steve was away - not because he was away but because I had a feeling and wanted to/needed to know... right? So anyways, it was the same with baby #2 - mom does the pee thing alone and calls dad who is far away to deliver the big news. Sarah came home later that day and I could hardly contain the information. And then that was that! I found a doctor online and made an appointment and here we are three and a half months later, with a healthy girl well on her way. Hendrik's first three months were in Japan, and his little sister's first five and a half months are in Italy... what babes of the world.

And the organizing to depart has sort of begun. We sent a big bag home with my parents, and I've started sorting through drawers and cupboards. I'm guessing that as long as the guys are in the finals on the 22nd, we'll leave on the 24th which means that we're going to have to be organized and not leave all of the packing to the 23rd (that's only 8 days away... !). We've never done the overseas big-pack with an almost-toddler around; I'm guessing it's not as easy as it might seem. And just looking around I know I'm wrong in thinking that we don't have that much stuff; in the end it adds up to way more than expected (gulp). Aooh well! C'est la vie. C'est OUR vie. Here are a few pics of other etcs - time to crash!

Easter, a week later! Opening a kinder egg from Antonella and Luciano. Thankfully he was way more into the toy inside (and the orange container) than all of the chocolate.... so cute!

Friday playgroup! It was great being a part of this group of parents and kids - for five months of Fridays!

20 weeks

reading with G-ma

finally! and family

Oooooh man I have so much to write about - I am behind on blogs, that's for sure. With Easter, my parents being here, volleyball updates and Hendrik, I could have been blogging every day. BUT, with Easter, my parents being here, Hendrik's usual busy-busy routine and Steve being sicker than a dog, things have been a bit, well, busy. But instead of playing catch up I'm going to cut to the chase and share our news - we're having a girl!! A girl! I had an ultrasound yesterday in Cavalese (read: far) that took way longer than I thought it would; the appointment was at 10:30 and because of all of the waiting (in the waiting room, for baby to re-position herself - twice) we weren't out of there until after 1:00... yow! BUT the babe is healthy and... a girl! Yay! Neither of us really had a solid feeling - boy or girl - but because we only know boy, we both were sort of leaning that way - we were both surprised to find out that there's pink on the horizon. Unfortunately Steve wasn't there to get the news in person (he had some seriously strict orders to get better... and fast; his wife has had enough of all of this sickness), but I called him asap and told him that if he wants Hendrik to have a little brother, we'll have to have three. Soooo... pink! It might take a little time for both of us to wrap our heads around the news; do we need new/different stuff? We need to think of names! What will it be like for Hendrik to have a little sister? Sigh. There's excitement (and mucho more) in our future.

Hendrik LOVED his second Easter; hunting for eggs was so much fun that he did it again and again, and again the next day. He didn't quite get that the eggs were edible and made of chocolate goodness but that's okay because... they were bought for the adults anyways. Do little kidlets like dark chocolate? Bffft, doesn't matter because he's not into eating them anyways, just looking for them. We were up early on Sunday and the hunt was on:

And my parents are here! We're having a great time so far, with a mix of mellow stay-around-here stuff and some venturing too. We took the secondary road up the Valle di Fiemme to Cavalese yesterday, so got some mountain scenery and grapevine-vistas in before the hospital room views. Lunch was amazing: a salami + prosciutto + cheese plate and bruschetta to start, followed by fresh pastas and a salad; and the gelato (Serafini) on the way home wasn't bad either. Yumyumyum.


The latest on the Hendrik-is-the-cutest front: cutie-PIE! honey-bunch and cute-as-a-button... I love it!!

And vb! The team made it through the first round of playoffs, and the three-game semi-finals series starts tomorrow night; they play Latina at home and then travel south (somewhere close to Rome) for a weekend game. Fingers crossed that they win! I don't think I could handle going home early... leaving the food, the company, and the place will not be easy. On our way home from Cavalese yesterday we stopped for some apples and honey but they only had huge mega jars, so I had to pass. When we were telling Mr Sicky-Steve about our day later on, I told him that I had to pass on the big jar - we certainly won't eat that in three weeks. "Three weeks? Uh, more like two," he says. "It's the 10th today." And that actually made me cry. At the door, Getting keys from Antonella. It was an emotional day, with good news (a healthy babe) and no news (we're going home soon); at least we're going back with something that will always tie us to this year, the town, the people and the house... a little girl!

catching up

trying some on for size

 There's too much to write about! Let's see if I can fit it all in (/remember everything)..

Our latest guests (Erin & Fred) have come and gone, and their visit flew by. They were here for 10 days (-ish, I think) and took a few road trips, so that might explain why things seemed to go so quickly. PLUS, Hendrik and I were up early (they, usually, were not) and Steve was at practice twice a day almost every day, so that kind of a schedule doesn't exactly jive with that of a couple vacationing in Italy. Or anywhere for that matter... I wouldn't be getting up at 7:00 if I were on vacation! That's for sure. Ohhhhh vacation... I still dream of you! A kid-free vacation that is; this summer Steve and I should be able to fit in a one-night escape to the cit-tay (Toronto) and then oooh in about five years we'll really escape - wherever it will be I want beach, warm water, warm weather and a good hotel. Sigh.... one day. Um, yeah, back to reality...

And the reality is that we've all been sick, BOO. Hendrik has had a cold - he's waking up in the night, and in the morning his nostrils are sealed shut with dried snotballs, poor feller. And then throughout the day there's more snot and a runny, sensitive nose and I have to have tissues on hand at all times. I've had a sore throat (not so so bad) and Steve's allergies are hitting him like the plague - runny nose, itchy eyes, cough... on and on. It's so bad that he's been sleeping upstairs for goodness sakes... otherwise no one gets any sleep and grumpiness rules the day which, to state the obvious, is no good at all. BUT the good news is that I think (I hope) that we're on the mend. I really really hope that Hen and I have kicked the cold by the weekend because my parents get here on Saturday! I'm so excited. We won't plan to do too too much, but there are a couple of things on the list, including a trip up to Cavalese on Tuesday morning for my 20-week ultrasound. We had an appointment yesterday with the lovely Dottoressa Pezzini, but the little babe - who was moving well and healthy etc (yay) - wouldn't show his/her stuff. SO! Fingers crossed (but not legs for you little one) that on Tuesday we'll find out whether Hendrik will have a baby brother or sister come August.

And updates? Let's see... I don't think I've got too much going on with me, other than your regular mom + household stuff. I had an afternoon about town toute seule yesterday which was great, except that I was tired tired - I think it's the cold plus the pregnancy thing plus just regular tired from interrupted sleeps, but it was nice to cruise around downtown and get a few errands done. And do some browsing and shopping and finally spend some of my Christmas money. I finished The Sense of an Ending and wasn't crazy about it; and even though I'm not super into crime/mystery novels, Sidetracked was goooooood.... on more than one occasion I chose book over nap, and that's saying something. Pregnancy wise I'm almost at 19 weeks which I can't believe because it means we're almost half-way there - half-WAY! Yikes. And almost all of my regular jeans can be packed away - the belly is growing. However... at this point I'm almost just as inclined to blame Nao and Erin & Fred (okay fine I blame myself) for the gluttony that's gone down in the last three weeks for the midsection size-increase. Who knows... it's likely a combination of both. When in Rome though, right?

flying high... Steve at work on Sunday - more pics here

Steve has been super busy with volleyball (I almost wrote allergies) and neither of us can believe that the season is winding down. We're likely out of here in three weeks (or less) and they potentially have 6 games between the 7th and the 22nd... busy busy. But most of them will be at home - we'll be able to catch a few games with the Osberg grandparentals, hurray. And then back to Canada! Neither of us are really looking forward to leaving this amazing place - but with Steve's ridiculous allergies and the upcoming qualifier I might turn the corner some time soon.

And Hendrik! He's been a major mommy cling-on, wanting to do everything I'm doing and, if I'm in the house, be wherever I am at all times... I'm hoping it's a stage. He's saying more words and he is loving music and singing; he was dancing to G-ma and G-pa Osberg singing Baby Beluga over skype earlier tonight which was so so cute! He's discovered that he can throw things off the balcony (I'm hoping I can nip that in the bud fast), like socks and lids to things, and throwing food isn't getting old yet. Not so fun for the clean-up crew but neither Steve nor I really know how to stop him... do we not give him any more food? Sure, we reprimand him and take away whatever's left, but then what? Ahhhh well. He likes picking dandelions and finding rocks in the driveway and throwing them down the drain, and he's interacting more with other kids at playgroup and in the park. We had lunch with Per and Emelie and Issa the other day, and it was adorable seeing the two of them running around the piazza. I'm sure there's more but for now... I think I'm all out of gas. To bed early? I hope so.

in Pergine on Monday... happy kids!

picnic on the balcony

dessert: home-made custard - thanks to Andrea from Trentino Volley... yummy!