Off to Italy!

Here we are out on an early morning walk.  Gio, Topher and I head out before the heat arrives (hence the strawberry cap).  On this morning we ran into a photographer waiting for the zoo to open so he decided to capture a few images of these strange Western beasts.

  I attract quite a bit of attention on these walks as the Baby Bjorn is a strange contraption to most Indians and they find Giovanni's chubby cheeks quite tempting to squeeze!

Sorry to be out of touch for so long.  It has been a wildly busy March here in Delhi.  Giovanni took his first plane trip, Topher had his first shave of the summer and we had houseguests nearly every day this month. This coming week we have more guests, I host a baby shower and we leave for Italy on Thursday.  Phew!  Somehow while all of this was happening spring came and went.  Now we are right smack in the summer heat: ceiling fans are spinning, mosquitoes are buzzing and Gio is sporting some cute sunhats.  Lately these hats have become even more important as over the last two weeks our son has gone completely bald!  We now think he might be blonde, which would be quite exciting for me as so until now he has looked nothing like me.

Our trip to the south of India earlier in the month was an exciting one where we visited Chennai and Pondicherry.  Giovanni handled the flights quite well, though the first one troubled his ears a bit as the cabin pressure was not well regulated.  Maybe it was not smart for us to start Gio's airplane experience aboard an old Air India plane!  We brought Sebastian and Victoria along with us so that they could visit their villages; it was such a treat for us to visit them over the weekend and to see a bit of rural India.  Giovanni was a huge hit wherever we went. His cheeks were pinched countless times and toes tickled by many we passed.  When I had him out in the stroller women and men would just reach in a grab him to cuddle and bounce him about.  I was at first quite startled by this but soon got comfortable and was touched by the warmth and openness of this baby-loving population.  Giovanni took it all in stride and seemed to love the attention.  Luckily he has no stranger-anxiety yet!

We will be flying to Italy this Thursday night for Giovanni's first trip to meet his Italian family.   I will try my best to write soon after our return April 8th.  Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the coming spring wherever you are.  Big hugs to all, Clara

Hair in mid-shed (now there is nothing but a bit of a tuft at the back!)

Meeting children in Sebastian's village.