living like a local: a busy week?

Friday, April 20, 2012

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.