Italy: Cinque Terre/Pisa

The next stop was the Cinque Terre. Named for 5 small towns along the coastline. It was BEAUTIFUL! The pictures don't do it justice, but you'll get an idea. There was a walk along the coastline between two of the towns called Via dell'Amore (the Lovers walk.) It was gorgeous and fab. People have made it a tradition to bring locks to clasp onto the chain link fence along the way. Supposedly if you put a lock there with your name and significant others, you will always be together. Too bad Shane and I didn't know this before going. It's always good to have a backup! If I could choose one place to spend a week in while visiting Italy, this would be it!!!

Then we did a little side stop through Pisa. I would highly recommend the detour! You never quite get what people are talking about when they say it is REALLY leaning. Total awesomeness!!!

There is Shane up on top with Brett.

5 Months Old

Sawyer just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I hate that we missed 10 days of his 5th month while we were in Italy. But better to leave him than take him! He now weighs about 14.5 lbs and is 25.5 inches long. He is still pretty little for his age, but seems huge to me. He has the cutest little giggle and Abby got a great video of him laughing his head off. Click here to visit her blog to see it. He continues to be a very happy little guy. He almost never cries except when he is hungry or tired. He is working on sitting up by himself. Still plenty wobbly, but getting better. He still HATES tummy time, so who knows if he'll ever be determined enough to crawl! Maybe he'll have to go straight from sitting to walking!! While we were in Italy he started his growl talking with Grammie. It is the funniest thing, so I'm posting a video of it. Sawyer has also made a new discovery. . . his feet. He loves to grab on and pull them up to his face. He is still trying hard to get them into his mouth, but his huge belly gets in the way! He has also finally grown enough hair again to get a little spike on. Yea for no more BALD baby! Oh how we love and missed our sweet little boy.

Here are his 5 month pictures. Grammie bought him this cute outfit! Sawyer looks so cute in his motorcycle getup. Gotta love the beanie!!

 

 

 

Being Grumpy Gus

 

 

How he loves those feet!

Growl Talk

Italy: Venice

Our next stop was Venice. I would highly recommend visiting, even though it is out of the way. It was really cool to see the streets of water and the gondolas carrying people around! We decided it was worth the $50 price ticket to take a ride in one ourselves. It seemed like a must while in Venice! There were also really fun shops and side streets to wander through. We ate at a little restaurant set back in off the main square and it was the best lasagna I have ever tasted!

 

Italy: Milan

Shane and I just got back from Italy for a vacation with his family. It was AMAZING!! I am going to post when I can for each city we visited. We started with Milan. We tried to see The Last Supper, but weren't able to get in. But we wandered around downtown for a while. There was a really cool church done in the gothic style. We also took public transportation, which was just as crazy as you would think. At one point our cab driver was going about 60 mph on a road that should have been about 35 mph. The metro was closed down and the city bus was very crowded! Welcome to Europe.

My New Toy

Isn't this the CUTEST bike ever??? It is even PURPLE!!! I got this new bike as a Christmas present last year, but it was on back-order and took until May to get in. Not a big deal since I didn't have Sawyer until May. But then I had to WAIT even longer before riding it (since I just had a baby!) But I did finally get to take it out for a spin. Man, was it weird to be on a bike again after all this time. I probably haven't ridden since I was about 13. But the old saying is true about not forgetting how to ride a bike. Although, the first several minutes were a little bit unsteady! I am excited to have something fun to take around the neighborhood. I can't wait until next summer when I can take Sawyer in a bike trailer and go for long rides! Now for more waiting.

4 Months Old

I know I'm a little late on my post for 4 months, but I did get the pictures taken on the right day. Another month has gone by and my baby just keeps getting bigger! I hate it. But he is doing so many new, fun things now. He has learned how to grab things! It is so much fun to watch him concentrate on holding something. He purses his little lips and focuses his eyes on the prize! He also makes all sorts of new noises, including the high pitched squeal. This sometimes translates into his temper scream, which is not nearly as cute! He also loves to laugh now. He is getting to a really fun stage, but not quite mobile yet (which I am not complaining about!) He is also at the hands-constantly-in-the-mouth stage. Watch out for the drool! Here is my new favorite picture of him in his motorcycle hat from Grammie.

I am sad because I went back to teaching part time this year, so I don't get to spend as much time with my little guy as I used to. But he has been playing with Grammie, Aunt Abby, and Grandma Becky. They love him to death, so I guess I can share.

Here are his 4 month pictures. They aren't the greatest because it was 9 o'clock at night when we finally got home that day. But he is still cute as ever.

Sitting up with daddy's help

Here are a few extra pictures. He really loves talking to us and laughing these days. He is a really happy baby and grins his head off whenever he sees us. Here he is with a big grin for daddy.

He loves putting his feet up in the air now!

 Full view of his 4 month outfit!

My little stud muffin is GROWING up so fast!!!