On our way....

Who says babies take over parents' lives??

He has certainly taken over our living room! And even with all of these options, pappa's lap is the best place to be....

The blonde hair is coming in fast!

Don't tell Topher but Gio is wearing a cat outfit.  Horrors.

Two brothers.  So sweet.  

Big news is that we are on our way to the US in 3 weeks!!  We will fly into Washington on June 5th.  We will be in town for the month while Paolo works from the World Bank's headquarters downtown.  We will drive up to Erie, PA (my hometown) the weekend of June 13-14th for Giovanni's baptism which will be conducted by Charles Brock, my uncle who also performed our marriage.  Paolo will leave to come back to Delhi around July 3rd to work for 2 weeks before Giovanni and I join him in Italy.  There we will spend 3 or so weeks visiting family and hiking in the mountains. And Topher? He will stay behind in Delhi this summer.  We feel very sad about leaving him for so long but are comforted that Sebastian and his family will be living here with him and tending to his every need.  

For lack of much else to write about, I thought some (perhaps just a few) of you might be interested to have a glimpse of a typical day for me: 

Thursday, May 14th: Had a busy but good day today. Life is a challenge in many ways but in others quite a luxury. Today was the sort of day when life seemed quite easy: Paolo and I walked to the lake near our house with Topher after Gio's first bottle at 6. Gio rode in the Bjorn.  He has 2 pounds to go before he hits the carrier's 26 lb weight limit so we are trying to get a few more walks in with it before we have to put it away! I gave treats to the two old, crippled stray dogs I have grown quite fond of on the way home. Paolo spent time playing with Gio when we got home as this is his only chance to see him during the day as he gets home from work after Gio's bedtime.  At about 8:30 he went down for his morning nap which gave me a chance to do a bit of exercise. I was showering when he woke so Victoria changed him, fed him and played with him in the living room until I was ready. Here is where life is a luxury for me- to have someone in the house always ready to take Giovanni when I need a moment or two for myself.

We then headed over to my friend Victoria's house for coffee and a chat. She has a boy one day older than Gio so the two of them lay on a quilt and stared at each other and giggled while we chatted. Her boy is large for his age yet he is dwarfed by Giant Gio! My son threw a few jabs and kicks at Christino so I did have to separate them a bit at one point.  Is this a sign of things to come?  Do I have a bully on my hands??We then went home for another feed and his afternoon nap- this is the one Topher always joins him for. In the heat of the day he loves the relief of the A/C in the nursery and so the two of them snooze away for 2 or so hours. Once awake we went to visit my friend Islay who just had a baby two weeks ago- so bizarre for me to see such a tiny fellow. Even though it was only 5 months ago I cannot remember Gio that small!  Next we went to the American Embassy where we met up with my friend Katja and her 18-month-old son Alfie for a swim. I go to the pool every day at 4. It is such a relief and Gio has really taken to the water. I usually invite a friend along or meet up with people there so this is also my chance to socialize with adults (yes, today I did see two other friends before the pool, but that does not happen every day!). After a coffee together Katja and I each headed home to get out boys in bed. Gio had a bath (supervised by Topher), his last bottle, we read a few books, I sang to him and then he snuggled into his crib, thumb in mouth. He fell asleep 5 minutes after I left the room with Topher. 

After I finish this update I will head to the kitchen to bake brownies for our cook's birthday tomorrow. I gave him and his wife the night off since Paolo plays soccer on Thursdays and does not get home until past 9. They left dinner for us- leftover fish from last night, gazpacho (made by me!), salad and Sebastian's homemade bagel chips. Yum! We will have lychees for dessert- a fruit I have grown quite fond of here. So that's a somewhat typical day for me. Hope it gives you a picture of my life,as mundane as it may be. 

We hope to see as many of you as possible this summer.  I will try to write updates from the US but am making no promises.  

Things I am looking forward to once I hit US soil:

Grandmother.  She will finally meet her great grandson for the first time.

My family

Seeing as many of you, my dear friends, as I can!  

Whole Foods (or any clean grocery store where the foods are not past their expiration date!)

Sidewalks

Driving myself

Reliable electricity

Not worrying if water gets in my mouth during a shower

Beef

Daytime temps below 100

Baby stores

Online shopping

Decent bread

Fresca

Twizzlers

Turkey sandwiches

The Today Show

Netflix

Being in the same time zone as most of my family and friends

Chocolate that has not sat on a store shelf melting and reforming over and over again until it is a tasteless blob.

Less dust

Clean air

Rain

Frozen yogurt

Montrose Park

Being able to cross the street without risking my life.

Things I will miss when I am away from India:

Topher

Topher

Topher

Topher

Barbara upstairs.  

All of my other friends, esp my "Babies and Bumps" group

Our staff

Having a driver (yes, contradicts my desire to drive...but it is nice to have someone who parks, gets me anywhere I want to go and allows me to read/send emails on the move!)

Our morning walk to the lake and the two old strays I feed

Topher