Oli Wally

At 8 1/2 months, Oliver Avery (or "Oli Wally" as he is usually called these days) amazes me. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed these past few weeks with him probably more than any other time in his life... It just keeps getting better.

He's content to roll around in his new stroller, even if he's so stuffed against the cold that he can hardly move:

He's fascinated by himself in the mirror:

He thinks the trashcan is just another mirror there for his own enjoyment:

He still takes such pleasure in eating (SUCH a son after my own heart!):

He still naps in the Ergo carrier (don't you wish you could sleep so peacefully?):

And he's generally just a happy little kid:

He even lets mom get in his face to take pictures:

He was a special little doll all through our trip to Italy, where he happened to get his first two teeth:

And, as I mentioned in my Rome post, he was especially cute at the Vatican where he made friends with the guards:

Though he started army crawling early January, his mobility has really picked up since we got back from Italy. But he still has time to flash mom those gorgeous blue eyes:

And, of course, read Dr. Seuss's ABC's at least twice a day:

In the end, though, he's still the cuddly, precious, big-cheeked little man he's always been:

I can't believe it's going so fast...

Project 52

I came across this project by MCP Actions during week 2 of this new year. Unfortunately, I missed week 4 due to travel, but I thought I'd share what I have so far. I intend to share each weeks project as I go... We'll see.

Week 2 assignment: Illustrate a Song.

"Food, Glorious Food!"

Week 3 assignment: Shades of Gray

(And, actually, the following week's assignment, which I missed, was Soothing Repetition. I think this qualifies for both.)

"Goes on Forever..."

Week 5 assignment: Muse

"L'Enfant and L'Eiffel"

Join if you like, it's been great fun so far!

Stop 3: Naples and the Amalfi Coast

Visiting Italy was, of course, fun. But visiting Italy AND getting to see my big brother was divine. He showed us the best parts of the "armpit of Italy." So Naples might not be as glamorous as it sounds - trash pick up is run by the mafia in the area and is therefore rather unreliable... but it definitely has its high points.

We started with an incredible meal at a restaurant down a back alley. Seriously, I have no idea how this place stays in business; it was almost impossible to find. The place felt so Italian, with a lively, comfortable atmosphere.

And the food was spectacular. It was served family style, with dish after dish coming out and all the wine you could drink. The meat course came on a sizzling skillet:

We ate for hours...

The next day, we drove down the Amalfi coast. Our first stop was Sorrento, which was adorable despite the rain.

Gorgeous canyon views:

Nice shopping:

And lots of lemon products, mostly alcohol and candy (the area is known for its lemons):

The highlight there, though, was our lunch (not surprising, right?). We ate at a beautiful restaurant with spectacular food and a very kind wait staff:

Oliver was most popular client of the day:

So fun!

We continued down the coast toward the town of Amalfi and took in the breathtaking views:

Stopping in Amalfi for a few more pictures and some gelato (who cares if it was 40 degrees outside - we were in Italy!):

We also went to downtown Naples for pizza at the original pizzeria and coffee at the beautiful Gambrinus, but somehow I didn't end up with any pictures from that... Too busy eating I guess. :)

Support Our Troops

A detour from our Italy trip posts... sort of. While in Naples (post to come soon), we had the privilege of visiting my older brother, Rhys. He is with the US Army and has been stationed in Naples to work with NATO for the past year and a half. He just left yesterday for Afghanistan.

We love you, Rhys. We miss you. And we're praying for you. I appreciate any reader who is willing to do the same.

Stop 2: Rome

After a rather pleasant and largely uneventful train ride... Ok, that's not quite true. Lesson learned: figure out the right button to choose on the Italian train website to ensure that you get two seats next to each other rather than across a table from each other. It's a little awkward to end up sitting next to a stranger while trying to feed your baby... No, really, it wasn't that bad. The 3.5-hour train ride was pretty comfortable, especially once we found two seats next to each other that were not occupied.

So, after a reasonably decent train ride, we arrived in Rome around noon. We grabbed a quick sandwich in the train station and walked the 10-minutes to our bed and breakfast (which we really liked, by the way, so if you're ever headed to Rome, let us know; we have a recommendation :). We then booked it to the Vatican to get there in time to visit the museum and St. Peter's before closing. It was raining, though, and we arrived soaked. Oh well, Michelangelo's Pantheon-inspired dome was grand just the same:

We enjoyed the museum, especially the Sistine Chapel, where the guards (who were usually there shushing people) oohed and aahhed over Oliver, telling me that he was their youngest visitor of the day and greatly resembled one of the colleagues - some guy named Luigi. So, "Luigi Junior" and I had fun making new friends while Chris took in the glory of that sacred place. We then were let into St. Peter's through a side entrance from the Sistine Chapel by another guard who had a daughter named Sarah who was about the same age as Oliver. Traveling through Europe with a 7-month old may not be ideal, but it does open some doors!

St. Peter's was beautiful:

And Piazzo San Pietro is gorgeous at night:

After that, we walked all the way down the Via del Corso from Piazzo del Populo:

Past the Victor Emmanuel Monument to the Colosseum:

Where we returned and began our day the following morning:

Oliver seemed to particularly enjoy it:

From there, we walked through the ruins on Palatine Hill:

And then toured the Forum:

Beginning with the Arch of Titus:

Saw the entry to the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina (which now acts as the entrance to a church):

The only three remaining columns of Caligula's Palace:

The Temple of Saturn:

And other beautiful, ancient stonework:

And we couldn't help but appreciate the only clear skies we had the whole trip:

From there, we walked to the Pantheon, where I enjoyed our last few minutes outside (with the dirty pigeons) before the weather turned bad again:

And despite the intermittent rain, we walked the colorful Trastevere neighborhood after the Pantheon. It had a gritty, village quality, making it fun to photograph:

Our walk of the neighborhood ended in the Piazza Santa Maria, where we sat on the steps and enjoyed some wine outside a nearby osteria:

Though our last evening in Rome was wonderful - great pizza, fantastic coffee gelato, beautiful sights - we were sadly hindered from taking pictures by pretty heavy rain. Alas, that leaves us with only one decent picture from our walk, taken at the Piazza Navona where they had some major lighting set up (I think they were trying to film something there but had paused because of the rain):

It was quite a whirlwind; three days would have been better. But I can definitely say that going in January made every site move very quickly, allowing us to be more efficient and make it down to Naples to visit my brother Rhys. All in all, a pleasant experience!