Katherine took her soccer ball to the park. We were going there to meet another family who was visiting from America.
After the park, we went to get dinner (pizza and suppli) It was the first time we have tried to fit that many people in our apartment. It was for occasions like this that we opted for the tables that could extend. It was a lot of fun to have a house full :)
Well, I almost got the shot I was trying for. It's a little difficult. I cross the street with these 3 every day to go to school.
Hudson found out that it was Eleanora's birthday and got right to work making her a birthday card.
Sometimes I take one of the dogs to pick them up from school. They (the kids) get so excited when I do.
We were happy to see a few pumpkins for sale! It just makes it seem like fall. We bought one for decoration :)
Shadow was a little jeolous that Scout was getting his picture made with me...Then Scout started yawning. Haha!
Regan made some delicious giant cookies! YUM!
I enjoy the weekends because there is typically some down time during daylight hours where the kids can just do their own thing. Katherine got to use the paper she got for her birthday to make some flowers.
They look so real!
And she even made a sunflower!
Sundays we go to church. Sometimes we go to an English service and sometimes we visit a Chinese church. It's been good to find where they are and learn more about them.
This is typically how Scout looks during my language lessons. He is so not impressed with my Italian!
The school takes class representative very importantly! We were supposed to vote for which parent would represent the class. I had to sign my name and write down my passport number to verify the vote! Craziness!
Some evening relaxation...it's just needed sometimes after a long day of Italian school.
Katherine and her friend, Guilia.
Katherine, Guilia, ?, and Martina...They asked her to go hang out after school. It made her day.
Lauren was super happy that Shadow laid his head down on her shoulder. It was the first time! He is not much for being held usually, and very picky about who he will let hold him. He was completely relaxed and happy.
We found a new to us noodle shop...Benjamin ordered fried rice.
Everyone else ordered Lanzhou Niu Rou LaMian...the taste was right, but you knew that they were not actually from Lanzhou because the noodles were not the perfect shape. I think it takes a lot of practice to get it right.
We enjoyed hearing the Chinese spoken all around us :)
YUM!
I'm not sure what happened to his hair this night, but he enjoyed his noodles.
For lunch one day the big kids and I needed a change of scenery and food. We tried these sandwiches.
And guess who made their first trips into a restaurant for lunch? They really weren't sure what to do about it :) It was unintentional on my part (although our dogs are probably the only ones in Italy that don't go out to eat with us) The puppies needed a bath and a trim, but the shop needed us to wait 45 minutes. So, they got to come with us.
HAHA! Regan took my picture this day because apparently I looked like a doctor. I had two different people stop me and ask me if I was a doctor. I'm still not sure what about this outfit screams doctor, but oh well ;)
picking up Katherine from school
Scout gets to go more than Shadow. Scout gets so excited when my alarm goes off and he just looks at me with eyes that say "do I get to go this time?" He loves it! He runs across with me and just sits there watching all the kids come out until he sees "his kid"
Regan is playing volleyball. Parents are not allowed inside to watch, so I had to settle for a picture after practice outside.
Amy came to visit! This was actually my first time to visit Amy in person, but she used to live in Rome and was a huge help to us as we were trying to move to Italy and right after we got here as far as answering questions we had. She started asking me about traveling with pets because they were thinking about getting their daughter a miniature Italian greyhound (also Lauren's favorite kind of dog) Glad they got one!
There were a bunch of tents set up along a park selling food. My two "American kids" (wearing TN and DC clothes) wanted to eat at the "American tent" It was American because "all things are fried" accoriding to the sign. Benjamin was not impressed with the corn dog, but ate it anyways since we paid for it.
We got a call early in the morning that our friends' baby was coming!! Her water broke and she was on the way to the hospital. The girls and I packed a bag and went to stay with their 2 year old. After 18 hours of labor, our friend had to have a c-section. One or more of us stayed at their house for five days until they were able to come home.
Cheerios for breakfast while sitting in the kitchen window.
We walked to a park for some outdoor fun.
I'm not sure who had more fun...my girls or Silas ;)
So cute!
Yes, that is me on the seesaw :)
Regan cooked carbonara...Silas approved.
Lauren helped with brushing his teeth.
He was copying Lauren.
We went to the park often. I forgot what life with a two year old was like ;)
Someone was so happy to meet his little sister, Ruthie Mei. When he first saw her he pointed and said, "Dolly!"
Welcome home!
So tiny
We left their house around 2:00 and missed the bus. I was starved, so we ate a nearby restaurant.
Regan's came out first, so it was half eaten when Jonathan took the picture...and that is a bottle of water in the picture ;)
My pepperoni pizza
Regan helping Hudson understand his Italian math homework.
Studying hard!! (Google translate is our friend right now!)
I decided to look like a tourist and take a picture of the water fountain.
The kids check the mailbox every day (usually nothing in it) She was so excited when she opened the box and there was a letter from her friend in American inside!
We took the bus to a store called Leroy Merlin to get some picture frames. We came home with a Christmas tree!!! It wasn't on our list yet, but now I know we can keep our tradition of putting it up Thanksgiving weekend. We are all ready for Christmas now...haha!
Katherine's class has a class calendar. Each month, one child is chosen to take it home for the weekend to draw a picture for that month. Katherine got to bring it home to draw the picture for November!
Hudson loves all things music. So this is perfect that his class has to have these to play songs as a group in class. They also play a recorder.
Regan surprised us all with a homemade lemon cake! Yum!
Someone thinks he should be allowed to eat at the table, too!
The kids were doing their homework and we heard someone yell "LAUREN!" Lauren got up and went out on the balcony. Her class was waiving out the window :) She normally leaves at "first exit" and some of her friends stay until "second exit"
Katherine was soooooo happy that it FINALLY rained and she could wear her raincoat!
He's happy that they are home from school.
Scout took Jonathan's pillow
Katherine was invited to a birthday party. They left at first exit (4:00) and walked to an escape room. After that they went to Martina's house. Katherine texted me at 9;15 and said that the other moms were arriving so the party must be over soon. Made sense to me especially since it's a school night. Regan and I walked to the party just to learn that it was just beginning! We finally left at 10:30 and were the first ones.
Benjamin was working on a thumbnail for his Youtube channel.
Benjamin also helped Jonathan fix alfredo...one of my favorite meals.
Martina had a pet bunny. It was just hopping all over the place.
Martina made her own her birthday cake. It was pretty good! Homemade cheesecake
Danielle and Lauren talking before class. It's fun because he always talks to us in Chinese (although I think he's more comfortable talking in Italian)
This is a common site when dignitaries are in town. I feel like I'm in a movie at these moments because the police on the motorcycles are always driving really fast, standing up, and blowing a whistle while waiving everyone out of the way.
Jiorjia, Kevin, and Lauren
Lauren leaves with Jiorjia on Tuesdays and Thursdays to go play volleyball.
Hudson got a birthday card from Grandmommy! The money stayed in his wallet for a record 24 hours before he spent it all...hahaha!
Luigi and Jonathan during our language lesson.
The dog joining me for some exercises.
just stretching a certain muscle and both dogs kept stretching with me.
The kids get a snack at school. On Fridays, it's little pizzas. They only get one. Well, they had a lot leftover and the teachers filled Hudson's bag with them. He was so excited to show me when he got home.
Saturday mornings. It's been several busy busy busy weeks. We have all been tired. This Saturday we all slept in just a little. Then I walked with these two to get a little breakfast.
After breakfast we ran down to the store to buy a couple pieces of paper. Katherine asked if she could buy these to make a Christmas wreath for our door.
Here's two more of Silas from when Jonathan was on kid duty :) We really enjoyed spending so much time with this little guy.
