Nixon: Three Months

How is our little baby three months old already?  Seriously, time is flying.  Nixon grows and changes every day, and we are loving every second.  Just in the last couple days he's started laughing (which is the cutest sound ever) and hitting at the toys on his play gym.  He hasn't tried grabbing yet, but I don't think it's too far away.  Sleeping has been getting better, he's usually up only twice during the night now, although we've had a couple seven hour stretches.  I'm really hoping that becomes the norm soon.

Things Nixon has been loving lately:

• His play mat/gym.  Especially now that Mommy finally got batteries for it.  He loves the colored lights and music.
• "Standing" on our laps.  We're still supporting him, obviously, but he loves practicing.
• Looking at anything and everything.  This little guy is so curious.  

Nixon also got his first Easter basket.  The Easter bunny brought him a new outfit for summer, a few toys, and some chocolate (which mom and dad will eat, since this is probably the only year we'll be able to get away with it).  

And lastly, because they're so adorable, a couple outtakes from his three month photo shoot of Daddy trying to get him to smile.

Springtime in Italy

Spring has officially arrived to our corner of Italy.  The other day, we stopped by the Rotunda (also known as Villa Capri, one of the villas in Vicenza designed by Palladio) to take some photos.  The fields around the villa are in bloom with gorgeous yellow flowers, making the villa even more picturesque.  There has been some debate over what the flowers actually are, but the consensus is the canola plant.  All I know is they're pretty.

And of course no blog post would be complete without adorable baby pictures.

A Weekend in Umbria

Last weekend, we headed south to the region of Umbria to spend a few days with Donovan's cousin and his family.  In our three years of living in Italy, we somehow haven't made it much south of Bologna.  Now, we're wondering how it took us so long to venture south, because the Tuscany/Umbria area is beautiful.  We spent the weekend touring a couple hill towns, eating amazing food, and enjoying time with family.  Nixon did great on his first road trip and he loved meeting his second cousins.

Rooftops in Amelia

Nixon stayed happy in his carrier while we walked around town

The Duomo in Orvieto

An eagle on the Orvieto Duomo

Nixon snoozing in Orvieto

At a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit in Assisi

In Assisi - Nixon is hiding from the sun

Assisi and the Basilica of St. Francis in the background

Baby sunglasses are the cutest

Keeping it real - diaper change in the car

Coolest baby in the world

double digits

Our little man has hit double digits...10 weeks old!  He's currently sleeping on me after being traumatized by his two month shots this morning.  Poor baby screamed his lungs out, but he made it through.  His legs seem to be pretty sore now, but so far lots of snuggles are keeping him fairly happy.  The exciting part of his appointment was finding out his height and weight.  He's still our tall baby at almost 24 inches and has chunked up to a nice 13 pounds.  He gets complimented on his adorably chubby cheeks quite often, and yes, they are as kissable as they look.

Hopefully the effects of his shots don't last for too long and he's back to his happy self.  Until that happens, I'll take advantage of the extra cuddle time.  We're spending this weekend in Umbria (baby's first trip!), so I'll be back next week with more photos!

This kid's expressions are hilarious

The one eye open is a classic Nixon look

After Donovan being gone for two weeks, someone was really happy to see Daddy

No Daddy, this is not how we nap...

...this is how we nap.