And a A Little More...

We spent a lot of time playing on the floor in the flat in Florence. Jane got Rowan these cute trucks for his baptism and they were a huge hit. I cursed them when we had to lug his stuff around, but they were a God send otherwise. A watermelon is also a great toy when everything else seems to be boring.

Rowan made friends with the Artist who painted the piece we bought in front of the Uffizi. We paid 110 Euro (a little pricy?) for it and still have to get it framed, but it is very good and it will be a nice reminder of the time we spent in Italy.

Around Florence

Here are some random shots of our time in Florence.

Florence is Where We Are At

It took us over 14 hours to get here. Our flight to Heathrow was torture. Rowan slept a total of 3 hours which meant that he missed his entire night's sleep and was in the ripest of moods by the time we boarded the plane for Germany. Luckily for us, he slept on the flight to Munich, then again on the flight to Florence but, 6 hours is not enough for a little man. He has adjusted quite well under the circumstances. We actually kind of like it that he gets up after a nap at dinner time and comes out with us to see what is happening in the city at night. I am not sure how long it will take before he is back to his normal routine, but regardless, he is really an easy baby to lug around.

Florence is a beautiful city. It is really hot though. I am constantly dripping of sweat and Rowan is drinking more than he does in a week each day. John seems to be just fine. It must be those lebanese genes or something. Surely a man with that much body hair must feel the scorching heat? It isn' fair! Anyway, we have all avoided sun burns even though we spend the biggest part of the day walking outside. We haven't really done all that much but we are enjoying ourselves and it is really nice to have John entirely to ourselves. He left his blackberry at home despite his project manager's insistence that he be available at least a couple of times per week while we are here. He is completely disconnected for the first time in well over a year and it is just lovely.

Here my favourite picture of us so far. We are near the Uffizi, along the river heading back to our apartment (which by the way is AMAZING).

Today Marks the Beginning of Another New Beginning

I took a pregnancy test a few days ago hoping that we might have gotten lucky without trying for baby #2. I was disappointed by the negative results and started to feel the pressure because we are one month away from sending Rowan to day care and the plan was to be pregnant before I went back to work. I was a little surprised at the results because I was having head aches and couldn't explain the hunger I was waking up with any other way. And so, after being a few days late, I decided to use the second test just in case. This time, 2 faint little lines showed up. Neither of us could believe it and so we immediately ran out to get another test and yep, 2 little lines again.

Unlike the last time, we are planning on keeping this little one a secret until someone asks because I am getting bigger or until about the 3 month mark. I think I want to spare everyone the long 9 month wait. Seriously, won't everyone be so excited when they find out that B3T2 is due around March 24th, 2010? Oh, they might be a little miffed that we kept the surprise to ourselves but I am pretty sure they will get over it.

Rowan is going to be the best big brother ever.

August 8th: So the news is out. Who was I kinding? I can't keep this stuff a secret. It's just too exciting. Everyone is really happy about the news of course.

oh and....

Have I mentioned that I think it is a little freakish how everyone we know is having boys these days? Honestly, we could be part of a medical study I think because it is NOT normal. Something is going on.

A New Friend

It just occurred to me that I forgot to mention that our friends Nat and Dave had their baby boy Cooper on July 1st! After 40 hours of possession (see my September blog entry re. R's birth), the 6lbs 9.5oz munchkin made it into this crazy world. Cooper is in for a very fun ride with parents who will be living abroad for 4 months of the year for the next few years and who will likely have him strapped to the back of their bikes before too long. Seriously.

We are so excited to watch Cooper grow.

What A Mess

Yesterday before Ana, Chris and Emily left we went to a local restaurant called Kristy's. We've been meaning to check it out since we spotted it on our walk into Westboro a while ago. Anyway, it's a funny looking place and I knew it would be full of old church ladies and I was right. I think it is a place my grandfather would have liked a lot. The food was pretty good but I am not sure we will be going back any time soon because although it is supposed to be a "family restaurant", the old people didn't appreciate the beauty that is Rowan very much. He let out a few screams that reverberated and he made a huge mess (and I mean HUGE) of the floor with his cheese and toast. This didn't impress the other diners much. I heard them snickering. I considered standing up and yelling "If you don't like it, turn down your damn hearing aids you bunch of old cranky snots. Can't you see he is having fun and enjoying his breakfast?". But I of course, held my tongue. I am pretty sure we would have been escorted out of the place if I had lost my temper. Anyway, we offered to clean up the mess but the waitress wouldn't hear of it. She was impressed that we even offered.

Mess or no mess, he is the cutest thing going and I am glad that he has no idea what goes on around him. This world is full of dinks.