November summary....

Yes, I have neglected this blog.  Having a baby who refuses to nap unless in motion (stroller, Bjorn, car) means I have very very little time during the day to get something like a blog done.  Today, she is actually sleeping in her crib. It might only be for 20 minutes so I had better be quick....

November passed in a blur.  Maria continues to grow and change every day.  We are still struggling a bit with her antibiotic regimen which wrecks havoc with her tummy and her sleep (one of the main side effects is "sleeplessness"- not something you want an infant to experience!).  For those who have missed it, Maria has something elegantly called urinary reflux which means basically that a lot of her pee goes up to her kidneys.  Since there is a real danger of kidney damage if she ever gets another UTI, she must be on antibiotics for at least the next six months.  Hopefully she will outgrow this condition but her reflux is rated at the highest level (meaning the pee goes very high up) so if needed she will have surgery when she is 1.  For now we just are battling the antibiotic, which she hates, and its side effects.

And now it is December, a busy month as usual.  This week both Gio and I celebrate birthdays.  While I plan to ignore mine, Gio is certainly excited about turning 5!  We are taking him to London for the weekend.  He has had a strange obsession with London since he was 3.  We are not sure of the origin of his passion, but we thought it was time to take him.  He is most excited that "Everyone in London will speak English!"  We are taking him to see "Lion King" and will take him to Hamleys toy store on his birthday for some present shopping.  Who knows what else we will do while in London; Paolo lived there for 3 years so I am sure he has a few tours planned.

In 3 weeks we head to Italy for Christmas.  We are very excited that Uncle Andrew is joining us for the holidays.  Gio has all sorts of tough Lego projects planned for him.

Below are a few shots from the past month....

No one makes Gio happier than his best friend Grace.  While we are sad that by next year we will be living in different parts of the world, we are sure we will stay in touch with this wonderful family.  And who ever forgets his first best friend?  Or first love??  (I did hear Gio propose to her last week: "Grace, will you marry me someday?" She wisely chose to defer her answer.)

Below is a video from Grace's mom of the two making zucchini muffins.  Notice who is actually adding chocolate chips to the batter and who is merely eating them....

Gio's other favorite girl is his sister.  It is truly amazing to watch him with her.  Never an unkind word, never a hint of jealousy.  He greets her every morning with a huge kiss and she is the first one he goes to when he returns from school each day.  

The big change this month is that Gio began to ride the school bus!  He does not always make it to the morning run (7:54 is a bit early for him on most mornings), but he comes home each afternoon on it.  Since only 4 year olds are released at 2PM, Gio is the only rider on his bus, so he gets FULL attention from both the bus monitor and driver.  He LOVES the bus. 

We took Maria out for pizza last week.  She seemed very interested!  2 more months before solids, dear girl.

With Maria's aversion to stationary naps, I spend a LOT of time roaming around Kyiv in the afternoon.  Since the sun sets before 4 these days, I tend to be out to see the sunset.  

Enzo is my faithful companion on these walks.  

Gio and I have become obsessed with zucchini bread.  We make LOTS of it. 

Last Friday was a day off from school.  Grace and Gio had a blast.  

It was after this ride that Gio proposed!

Gio has been doing a construction unit at school. Here is some of his "homework."

This morning Gio woke with Maria and me at 6:30.  We had a lovely morning together.

We wish you all a very happy early December.  I hope to do a post after our trip to London....but only if I can get Maria to take another nap!