My first vacation from mommy and daddy

The day after Christmas, mommy and daddy left Wrigley and me with Mimi and Papa in Decorah. They drove all the way home for a quick stop and then kept driving to see my other Mimi and Papa in Mt. Prospect. They had a morning (very early) flight to the Big Apple the next day. I missed them, but Mimi and Papa sent updates and I talked to them on the phone a lot. :)

Above I am talking to mommy and daddy on the phone, having a snack of chips and guacamole, and hanging out with papa just before bed time.

Well, after spending a week with Mimi and Papa, I didn't want to go to daycare. I screamed as loud as i could, but mommy still left. I forgot about her a few minutes later ;) I did that every day, but each day got a little better.

Mommy and daddy had lots of fun in New York. The Cyclones lost, but they met up with lots of friends from their college. They also saw Elmo a lot!

Since their trip, I have been talking a LOT and can put a few words together to sort of form a sentence! Here's an update:
* birdie (also for Big Bird)
* Abby (from Sesame Street)
* 'po (hippo)
* nobody (when mommy and daddy tell Wrigley "nobody is there")
* "up and down" (for my train)
* ____ 'ome ("Daddy's home!" "Mimi's home!" "Papa's home")
* loo loo / choo choo

Merry Christmas!

We've been so busy getting ready for Christmas, the time has flown by! My daycare had a Christmas party, and Santa came to visit. I didn't really want to go see him, though. When daddy sat me on his lap, all I could do was scream (I didn't even try to get off his lap).

For Christmas this year we stayed in Decorah at Mimi and Papa Thompson's. I got lots of cool things. Ones i like most (so far) are my mini tool-box from uncle Mitch, and a learning tower that Papa built for me. I got lots of puzzles and books, too.

I also liked to take apart Mimi's tree - there were so many "pretties" (silver bead garlands) hung on it, and I just couldn't resist.  Mimi also had some SANTA letters as a decoration and i liked to play with Nanta and rearrange the letters. When I went to dig through Mimi's toys, I found a big tub of legos that had a "loo loo" (choo choo) in it.

I started putting lots of words together over the past few weeks, and am just starting to learn how to say "yes," instead of nodding and grunting. I also got a book about Elmo going potty, and wanted to give it a try. We'll see if Elmo can provide any incentive in this process!

Back to normal

Yesterday we had a long trip home. We had to leave the hotel around 7:00 am Rome time. We took a taxi to the train station, and ran to see the train leave. Good thing it's a shuttle train and they leave every half hour. So, we rested while we waited for the next one. We got to the airport and had a little difficulty finding the right check-in line (things were not marked very well!). We made it through and then had to take an airport tram to the right gate. Then we sat for a while and i found our plane. Once on, i got buckled in and ready for take-off. Mommy and daddy were worried about the ride, since I didn't do very well on the way over. Luckily, I took THREE naps! I also played with the headphone jacks and unwrapped some "presents" I found in my bag. Overall, I did really well!

I think i slept the best in the house last night. mommy and daddy were up between 4:30-5:00 a.m. and they were worried i'd be the one to get up early! since we were all ready, mommy and i went shopping to stock up the fridge and i saw my friend olivia! she wasn't feeling well and was on her way to the doctor. :(

today mimi and papa came to visit. we went out for breakfast and i had a couple bites of eggs and sausage. Then Papa gave me some pancakes and that's all i wanted - yum! we came back and i played for a bit. then mommy took me and mimi and papa to the post office to mail back the paris keys and to woodman's and brennan's to look for some cheese. daddy stayed behind to mow the lawn. it was getting past my knees ;)

Busy last day in Rome

Today we took the metro to the Roman forum/ruins and colosseum. We walked around and looked at the ruins a bit and then got in line to go inside the colosseum. It was pretty cool, but i was a bit cranky, and just wanted to run everywhere.

Then we walked past the monument for Vittorio Emmanuele and made our way to the Piazza Navona. Along the way we picked up some sandwiches at Bar Orchidea and saw some more ruins. We sat by a fountain in the piazza to eat our sandwiches and after we were done, I ran around a bit and went to check out another big fountain.

We stopped at a bookstore on our way to the Pantheon. It was really cool inside!

Afterwards we went to Della Palma for some really yummy gelato. They have more flavors than Baskin Robbins!

 We made our way back to the hotel to rest a bit and pack stuff up! We went out for our last Italian pizza at Il Ristorantino, right around the corner from our hotel. Mommy had some with broccoli and daddy had ham and potatoes! I had some of each, like usual. Tomorrow we leave to go home!

A busy day in Rome

Yesterday we took the train from Paris to Milan, where we had a quick train switch and continued on to Rome. It was a 7-hour train ride just from Paris to Milan, and i was pretty antsy the whole way. I was only interested in the pretty view for about 5 minutes. Mommy was able to enjoy it for a bit, when i decided to take a snooze. On the way we passed many cute little towns: St Jean, France; Bardonecchia, Italy; and Oulx, Italy. Here are some pics from our trip:
We think the first four are just outside Chambery, France (including me being a goofball while having a snack). The last three are a little closer to Milan, I think outside Bardonecchia.

When we got to Rome, we walked to our hotel and went our for a quick supper. I loved daddy's ham and cheese tortellini. Before we left, i made sure all the locks were working correctly.

This morning we took the metro to St. Peter's basilica and the Sistine chapel. When we go there the line was pretty short - the longest part was for security. I was asleep before we even got to the square, and they didn't allow strollers into the basilica. Mommy and daddy tried to get lots of good looks inside as fast as they could, since I was heavy and don't do well inside for very long (when I'm awake, that is). 

 

The middle picture above is the main dome; the right picture is above St. Peter's tomb.

 Here are Pope John Paul II, the outside (isn't it huge??), and me once I woke up, showing daddy where we should go next.

Then we took the metro back to Piazza Repubblica. We picked up some andwiches at a cafe and ate on the steps of the piazza, and then went to hang out at the hotel for a bit. We went to the grocery for more snacks and diapers and then on to Trevi fountain where everyone threw in a coin (I didn't want to let go of mine)! On our way we passed the Quirinal Palace - the presidential palace! There was a small parade going on, but we weren't sure what for.

Then we made our way to the Spanish steps and saw the church at the top. We walked back to the hotel, stopping in Piazza Barberini to eat. (We also saw a really cool old Fiat.)

I was getting near tired, but all of the buses that kept passing Il Conte di Galluccio kept me occupied. Every time one came around the corner, i clapped. When it drove by or stopped at the stop outside the window, I said "hi," and then when it drove away, I asked mommy to make more come - "Mi buh?" (more bus?)