Rally Fries at the Mariners

Just in case any of you were watching Fox Sports NW on NASN in Europe, yes that was us getting the rally fries at the Mariners (vs Minnesota - number 1 in the league for the moment)game.

Going to the game has become somewhat of an annual tradition, and a great place to watch a game, even if it is a loosing team. Safeco field is just about the best entertainment you can get. Especially if you get the family 4 pack!

Lakeside

Bubble entertainment after lunch - the Italians loved our little blondes...
Alexandra asleep during lunch. If anyone is wondering about travel with an infant, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Italy. We had first class service all the time.
A short walk on the waterfront. Sorry, not George Clooney's Villa!
Amazing Villas all over the lake, but this one isn't George's either.

Views from the Terrace

We spent an amazing amount of time on the terrace of our apartment just watching time (& boats & airplanes & helicopters) go by. Sophia seemed as interested as we were, and Alexandra just liked the light.



Sophia was a little frustrated because there were no chairs just her size, so we found a very large pot, and she adopted that as her seat for the rest of the week. It fit very well next to the coffee table for drawing, and she could drag it around by either of its handles. Luckily the family below us was gone most of the day (and their 12 year old girls loved playing with Sophia in the pool) so they didn't hear the scraping sounds...

A growing girl

Alexandra playing on the floor at Lake Como, lots of tummy time while she was awake! It is really hard to keep a 2 month old awake when it is 90-95 with humidity!

Little Fish, little fish...

Come and swim with me!

Sophia had a great time in the pool at our apartment in Lake Como. She loves being in the water & was pretty exhausted at the end of every day - she often would take a nap too, YEA! We were all able to get some great time in the water, except for Alexandra, who started crying when we put her feet in the first time, and never went in after that. Swimsuit & goggles - ready to go!
Water wings are used as a "learn to swim" tool here in Europe, and Sophia LOVES swimming with them. She did try to swim a couple of times without them, and promptly sunk into the water, no matter how fast her feet were going. Now we just have to get her arms moving & she might do pretty well!


Alexandra, happy on dry land!

Buon giorno from Lake Como

Moya and i decided to take a little break before the madness of the summer tour, so we drove 5 hours south to Lake Como. And despite the fact that we have yet to see George Clooney at his villa, we have seen amazing views across the lake, great scenes at the pool, and this view from our balcony. Of course, it's no Puget Sound, but we'll put up with it. Tonight, the most violent storm came in that I've ever seen, and without warning. We had a light show for more than an hour. Thank goodness we decided to stay in tonight. We also watched the finals of the Euro Championship. Unfortunately, our host country, Germany, didn't show up to play and Spain walked away with the championship 1-0. Sophia told everyone she met on the way that she was going to Italy. They were all quite imrpessed.

Alexandra at 2 months...

A few views of our growing girl. Alexandra has lots of new tricks this week... She can almost get her tumb into her mouth, but most of the time it is her whole hand (party trick for the future)
She has to move her entire body to laugh & smile, which makes it really hard to take a non blurry photo!
She can lift her legs up into the air!

She smiles & her eyes stay open...
Her feet are uncurling.

We are all so in love...

Sleep Glorious Sleep...

Sleep will be a little hard to come by tonight, and not for the reasons you might think.
Alexandra is actually a sleeping champion (but I know this will all change when we get on that international flight in 2 weeks and throw a 9 hour time change into her little life), and slept from 8 to midnight, midnight to 5 and 5 to 8:30 last night. The night before she did a 7 hour stretch from 8 to 3am.
You just have to love when they hit that magical 10-11lb mark!
Sleep may be difficult tonight because Germany just beat Turkey 3-2 to advance to the European football championship FINALS!! The roars around the streets were amazing (and given it is 90 out right now we have ALL of the windows in the apartment open to try to get some air flow) and now people will be driving around the streets for hours honking their car horns and blowing air horns. Its actually quite fun to hear, and gives us a little view on the last world cup that was held 2 years ago in Germany. Party in every beer garden!
Check out the blog post from Troy's Munich blog for a photo of his beer garden party experience from the game last week!

Better Beater Batter Face

Sophia & I made brownies from a Duncan Hines mix I found at the store down the street. It was in their American Foods section. Interesting mix of food offerings: mayo, Paul Newman Salad dressings, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (which was impossible to find in France), Cheese Whiz, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups (1.50 euro for 2), Vanilla Frosting, Brownie & Cake mixes, and Marshmallow Fluff Creme. Everything properly overpriced of course.

I don't think I've ever eaten Fluff & Stuff in my entire life. But the brownies were good, the batter was even better...

Following the pure chocolate infusion, Sophia found her giant easter egg, and when she found it to be empty she thought it might make nice earmuffs.

Z update

Family life is always a bit crazy, no?

Alexandra is now 7-1/2 weeks old and had a fabulous drs appt today. Passed her reaction & hearing tests with flying colors. No concern about her feet anymore (they were a bit turned in & up from her squished time against my rib cage), and she is growing like a weed. 5170 grams (11 lbs 6 oz) and 59cm (23-1/4"). It is amazing how much her cheeks are filling out, not to mention her thighs. She is also really starting to react to us; following our voices around the room, smiling when Sophia comes into view, not liking being left alone, and so much more. We are already into 3-6 month clothing (although I think some of that may be the washer & dryer shrinking things so much more in Europe than they do in the US), and the 4 hours in a row at night has been a godsend given the schedules of the rest of the family. She is a joy...

Sophia is taking her roll as big sister very seriously, and is beginning to "mother" everyone in the family, even me. Or rather, especially me, "Mommy, don't do it that way, if you do it like that I don't like it." and more & more. It is a fine line between laughing from entertainment and laughing from exhaustion, and banging my head on the nearest door frame... As long as we keep laughing I think we will be ok.

Troy & I are trying to get as much sleep as possible, difficult given the marathon dinners we are having to talk & plan out the next month & his obsession with HEROS. It is unbelievable how quickly every day passes...Sophia & Troy trying out the Bjorns on their respective babies... Successful all around.

Playtime at the park. Just enough sun to warrant the sun hat!