February dancing, painting, and waiting

Honestly, I keep holding off on the blog so that all posts will be chronological. I left off at Christmas time, and I still have a lot of pictures from our Trip to Siena, and then to Perugia. But at this rate, I'll always be half a year behind in posting, and that's not fun, nor acurate in keeping family abreast of our life here. So I'm going to have to get back to those events when I can. 

Looking just a little bit back, here are some random shots from our little family life in mid-February. In just 2 months I've definitely seen the girls change and grow up, especially since the arrival of their little brother Dietrich.

Whenever we have guests over for dinner, Emma will excuse herself at the end to go change into a pretty dress and then order everyone into the living room, informing them that there will be show. Attendance is mandatory. She rights the rules here. She loves dancing and I can't wait to get her into some kind of dance class. 

Spin shot:

No, it's not a manicure, just a fancy spin move.

 It's fun capturing faces when she's getting dizzy.

...the hair flies on.

 This one's my favorite. Concentrate!

Then the girls get lavished with attention from their adoring fans after every show. Ok, they're the ones lavishing Daddy, really at all times during the day.

Group hug!

 Stella can actually knock you out with her powerful hugs!

Love the pink tights and baby leg warmers :)

Here, she's reading books on Daddy's legs, just after the previous picture was taken.

Stella is hilarious how fluidly she moves between affection and abuse. She smacks you in the face then falls into a very big sweet hug. Here, she's kicking Leon in the face.

"I only do this to build your character, Daddy"

Just before the baby came I worked on a bunch of paintings, assuming that I'd never paint for another year. That's not true of course. Dietrich is only 3 weeks old (and a day) and I've already started the background for a new painting about a week ago.

I recently read a letter that the writer Keats wrote to some student encouraging him to create something everyday. Even if its terrible and nobody ever sees it, experiencing something creatively is very beneficial to your personal growth. I like to remember that when painting. I don't think my final product is anything amazing, but I enjoy doing it! Here's my first painting that I hung on our wall here.

Pen on Acrylic. Actually not very stable. Oops!

I tried to seal it with Modge Podge, but it just smeared the pen on the left side. Big bummer. But now I just try to pretend that it's a shadow. Yes, a shadow on the sun. Very rare.

Then I thought I'd do a moon to match. Except it didn't match and it was 5 times bigger. O well. Still fun! 

Big moon. Very moving. 

Then I followed this up with a light house painting, seeing if it would remind me of Maine and home. But it just reminding me of a 4th grader's work, so this piece is in a hidden corner of the house, and I might just paint over it later.

Acrylic lighthouse

Let's see...these pics were followed by some shots immortalizing the long wait before Dietrich was born. And the large belly that the girls loved!

 This was 8 days before due date!

When looking at Emma, I could only see her forhead

Dietrich joined us 19 days later, 11 days past his due date! The stinker!

And before Dietrich made his arrival, Pauline made hers. What an immense help she was! Her meals got us through Holy Week :) and the girls were very excited to have her back in Rome.

Group hug 2

 Together, they worked on their acting skills. They practiced many faces.

Mad face.
Stella, I've definitely seen better!

Sad face.
Stella just looks like she's eating.

Surprised?
Now she's not even trying.

Cute face.
Now that one's easy!

One of the presents Gramama brought was an inflatable swimming pool. Because in Rome, February is not to early to swim outside. Oh yeah!

A little soap, and this counts as a bath!

We don't have a bath tub, so this will actually be one of the main ways we wash our children. Once a month.

So clean!

Ok, they just really needed to be washed when we set this up.
We promise to wash them a little more frequently than that.

First bubble bath in over 7 months

So much fun!

Krakow for Christmas

Christmas!

We flew in to Krakow on the 23rd of December 2013. There was no snow, but it certainly was more chilly. Our flight was delayed an hour or so in Rome because of fog, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. We had requested a driver, and it felt ever so fancy to see somebody holding a sign with our name on it in the airport. He took us to the check in building for our apartment, and then to our apartment. It was really nice and cozy.

First thing, we settled in with a photo shoot. Emma insisted on being photographed in her new location. These following shots were the results:

That's a really natural smile

Sweet, and still forced. But cute anyway.

Then we did a little more of a personality shot:

....but that grossed me out.

Notice the fan halo.

Stella found the arrangements to be suitable for her favorite activities.

And of course we had to try out the television, even though it was even more incomprehensible to us that Italian TV would have been. But, never really having a lot of TV experience, the kids took it for what it was.

Our bedroom was also cute and cozy. Probably thanks to Ikea.

Soon after arriving, I thought it was a good idea to warm up with a little tea. After pouring Emma some, I went back to the kitchen to save Stella from the glass dishes in the lower cabinet. In a matter of seconds, Emma poured her scalding hot tea all over her shirt with a blood-curdling scream. I've really never heard a kid scream like that. Stupid Ikea tea cup with the little tiny, off-balance handle that's way to close to the top. You ever seen that one? Totally not built for children. Anyway, I rip her shirt of and we spend the next 45 minutes re-cooling rags for her stomach which was very red and had developed one blister. Yay for 2nd degree burns! Poor girl just kept crying, "It still hurts!" as we tried to cool it down. Meanwhile, daddy went out to try to find some aloe vera, but to no avail.

After settling in with a bang, we hit the streets and commenced with the activities that made up almost the whole trip: walking, eating, shopping, and enjoying the sites of the medieval town.

Church of ....St. Fransis, maybe?

I loved all the architecture. Very different from Rome and very beautiful. It was such a different feel and even though there was no snow, it felt a little more Christmasy than the Roman streets we had been treading.

Many, many people told us about this restaurant, Pod Wavelem, with its enormous portions. Indeed, it really held up to all the talk. Cheap, massive, and tasty. I particularly recommend the beet root soup and the Kielbasa. Of course, there is  no bad kielbasa in those parts.

Bring pant expanders to this place.

Krakow has a Christmas crib competition, and although we didn't go into the museum where they feature hundreds of cribs from various artists and families, you could still catch them about the town. They didn't look anything like a crib, but more like beautifully colored castles. (sorry for the sideways pics)

Christmas crib, ex. 1

It had been an early morning and we walked all day. Emma actually fell asleep on top of Leon's head during her shoulder ride. It was quite the balancing act with a flopping, limp child trying to stay upright on the move. We poked her as much as we could but she wouldn't stay awake.

Vacations are exhausting. Leon's not even awake.

The days kind of blurred together, especially trying to recall them now (in March) so I'm not sure of the order of events. Each day we wondered if the shops would be open, or if we'd be able to find a restaurant, because all of the websites we visited said to 'make arrangements' for the whole city closing down. Well, we had no need to worry. If we had been trying to go out in the newer parts of Krakow, maybe we would have hit some trouble. But we basically lived in and around the main square around St. Mary's Cathedral. The Christmas market was open everyday, which meant you could find amazing kielbasa everyday. And that was all we needed to survive.

Some pretty impressive accordianists

Here was the indoor shops full of beautifully crafted goodies from jewelry boxes, wooden toys, blown glass, pipes, to clothing and accessories.

St. Mary's Cathedral (left): where we attended Christmas morning mass at 10am.

Hand pumped water for all the shops was provided by these two hardworking elves.

Then there was the eating!

Emma with orange juice, Daddy with beer, Mama with 3 sauses!  Heaven!

Happy Diners!

A rare mom shot. And a standard Stella shot (blurry). 6 months pregnant here!

With a little bit of help, we can see her eyes.

"Can I just get back to my bread, please?"

No shortage of bread or beer here!

Bread!

Bread, sauce and tea!

Juice is definitely a sign of vacation.

Cutie.

My dinner that evening was a Gregorian pie. We didn't know what it was when we ordered it, but it was good. Actually very similar to a pizza but overflowing with meat on a very thick bread. Everything seemed to be served with cabbage, coleslaw or beets. Very yummy.

Out on the streets again, enjoying the decorations.

Stella: "I wasn't touching the tree."

 This is only part one of Krakow which was really only the first day. I'll find the rest of the pics and put them up soon.



In the elevator, going back home. Everyone in 2 jackets a piece.

T

Granmama and Pop Pop at St. Peter

Ok, I thought these were posted months ago. I guess not. When Grandmama and Pop pop were here in November we took a trip to St. Peters.

Pop pop reading books before the excursion.

 

Everybody praying at an alter in St. Peters

That's a hug. 

 

For some reason, Emma kept asking to be photographed throughout the church, and it was mostly in front of pillars. She found the pillars very moving.

Sitting comfortably on the marble step

Cheese!

Standing on marble step

Attempting to climb on a pillar for the picture.

Almost got it!

Stella and Grandmama where enjoying the ceiling. Stella was the one who kept pointing it out first. 

"If only I had a chair I could get up there!"

I was enjoying the ceiling too (And the zoom on my camera that helped me see it better).

Our Lady

Emma invited Pop pop to share in her pillar fun.

Ever seen such a pretty pillar?
Didn't think so.

Christmas Cookies

Living in Rome has provided me with many opportunities to do things for the first time. But a lot of them have nothing to do with the new country I'm in, and much more with the fact that I miss home and all things American. (Seriously, I may start listening to country when I get home. Ok, maybe I wont go that far.) But I definitely have discovered that I have way more American pride than I thought I did. Or I just developed it quickly while being away.

I had never made pancakes (remind me if I'm wrong) until I came to Rome. I never made Christmas sugar cookies either, at least by myself. Tonight, we had meatloaf for the first time ever too! Very exciting! And all, apparently, food related.

Anywhoo! Cookies!

See how sweet they are!
I could eat them right up!

 No, really, we'll get to the cookies. But look!

"Cheese!"
"I'm a ham like my mom!"

We were joined by Loretta and Paco for our Christmas cookie adventure and we all had a really good time. I cooked the cookies the night before, making my own Christmas tree cookie cutters out of cardstock and tin foil. It worked, and at first I was very excited. Then it started smushing all the edges as my cutting edge flattened out. Then I started thinking how if I had been in America, it would be so hard to find or store cookie cutters. Then I resorted to cutting out cookies with a glass cup and said, "Look! Its an ornament! That's Christmasy!" and tossed out the tree.

Our production line.
With a steady intake of sugar, children make great laborers. 

I had made a very special trip across the city to find a large enough chain grocery store for the food coloring. Of course, all my friends back home were making their own natural dyes. As much as that would have been fun, it would have added about a million more steps to this process. Including buying a food processor. Finding out where in the world I could buy things like beets and tumeric, etc. We'll revisit that when I'm back in the States. The dyes I had made some very nice jewel tones. And I even had found some very overpriced sprinkles! Of course, I don't even know the last time I bought sprinkles in the States. Maybe it was normal.

Teal ornaments are so bad, eh?

 It was tricky at first trying to make the cookie decorating accessible to the little ones. Having frosting that was almost completely liquid at first didn't help any. (Note the Christmas tree with the bite out of it, second over from the right. It wasn't completely dipped, as it may appear. The frosting was just that runny) Once we had our good consistency, bags for squeezing the frosting out, and sprinkles in trays to be spooned out, we started making some progress. A good number of these below where done by Emma, all by herself. (See the  bottom left corner. That shows a lot of her work)

Some cookie masterpieces

 Of course, not all children could participate. Some had to be strapped down and watch the happening while being promised a cookie of their own. Said children waited very patiently. These were heavily sugared cookies after all.

"I can wait all day"

 And yes, she was greatly rewarded for her patience.

I ended up making at least 3 or 4 different kinds cookies in the course of a few weeks, helping to make the spirit bright. Another first. Being away from home forced me into taking initiative on all Christmas spirit in the home. And the cookies helped that effort quite a bit.  And yes, it was technically advent. But I don't care! They were all delicious! Mmmmmmmmmm, coooookies.

Griesbach Advent Wreath

Here's what happens if you eat too many cookies. 

Red Dye 40 reaction

Or a sprinkle overload?

Nothing says Christmas like crashing on the couch! (Just pretend, ok?)

**Stay tuned for part 3 of our Christmas adventures! Krakow, here we come!**