Polka dots, anyone?

I mentioned before how much I love polka dots ... and how dotty I went with Emilia's clothes. This is a little pic to prove how far I have gone.

P.S. I took this picture yesterday. And this morning we received a package with a few things I bought for Emi. Guess what was inside? Two pairs of leggings with huge polka dots: one is dark brown with red dots and the other is purple with cream dots. The obsession continues...

Afternoon Tea Series: Bea's Of Bloomsbury

Remember my post about the new Afternoon Tea series that I started with my London girlfriends back in November? Well, we skipped the month of December as most of us were abroad but on Saturday afternoon we met again and enjoyed yet another fabulous afternoon tea in a very cute cafe' in the Holborn area.

So, the calendar so far goes as this: 

1. Afternoon Tea at Betty Blythe - November, 25th

2. Afternoon Tea at  Bea's of Bloomsbury - January, 26th

Bea's of Bloomsbury felt more like a cafe' than a tea room and it was definitely less fancy than Betty Blythe. However, we all enjoyed the extravagance of some of the food and some unusual options (e.g. passion fruit marshmallows!), not to mention the burlesque china and cake-stand!

I love this series and can't wait for the next one! 

Tea-pots as lights? Love them!

Valentine's decorations in the window

Your New Baby - An Owner's Manual

A couple of days ago Emilia and I enjoyed a playdate at our friends Katharina and Elias'. We were invited for 12.00pm and Katharina made a yummy healthy lunch for us mamas. As I have said before, playdates are always a question mark, you never know how they turn out but thankfully this was a good one (I say thankfully because just last week we had another playdate in Earl's Court at our friends Steph and Juliette's and Emilia was very unhappy and crying for most of the time. Boy, was I stressed!?!). Anyway, despite some negative experiences, I still try to get out and do as much as possible with Emilia. She needs to get used to different people and different surroundings, and I need to get out of the flat sometimes!

For the occasion Emilia wore the lovely dress that my girlfriends gave her on our last stay in Pescara. Thank you ladies, we love it! And I think Emilia looks rather cute in it. 

Katharina's flat is just a couple of minutes away from ours but (strangely!) Emilia fell asleep on our way there and slept the whole time while we were having lunch, which was GREAT for me, considering that these days I barely have time to eat! And then, when she woke up she was in very good spirit, held Elias' hand (sorry Rob, she did hold a little boy's hand!), played with Elias farm and was fascinated by the many paintings and drawings hanging on the walls. Will she be an art-critic? Time will tell. And while the babies were enjoying whatever they were doing, Katharina and I enjoyed some good chats. We probably touched every single topic you can talk about. You can really see that we desperately need to communicate with people, to have an adult conversation that doesn't involve nappies, feeds and other baby-related topics. 

And before leaving Katharina lend me a little book entitled *Your New Baby_ An Owner's Manual* promising some good laughs. I have only read half of it, in fact, I read it to Emilia (she needs to know too! One day she will have to go through this herself!) and found it funny and sweet. I recommend it to every new parents or as a cute baby shower gift. 

Weaning - Day 1

Today we have started weaning. What an exciting thing, all of a sudden your baby is all grown up and can eat proper food!

Originally, I planned to make my own puree of fruit but after a couple of failed attempts, I decided to give up for now and use the packaged kind. First of all, I didn't know if the fruit I had was ripe and sweet enough and second of all even after mashing it good and putting it in a blender I didn't obtain a nice cream, there were still some lumps. In the end, the baby products available in store are very good and perhaps I shouldn't be too tough on myself and make my life even more complicated. So, as long as it's organic stuff, I am happy. 

Tonight we started with *pomme* puree from a French brand, bought at the French delicacy here in Shad Thames. French apples are nice, aren't they? Oh well, Emilia, seemed to agree and ate two big spoons of apple puree. In fact, she asked for more but I didn't want to exaggerate being the first time she ate something different from milk. So we gave her last feed right after to satisfy her appetite.

Weaning is a very slow process, much slower than I had anticipated and it is important to introduce new food slowly so that baby can get adjusted to it and see if she likes it or not. Emilia loved the apples and for three days we will only be giving her apples so if she has a food reaction we know what the reason is. And then we'll go on with other types of fruit and slowly we will introduce vegetables as well as baby rice and similar things. Stay tuned for more! 

 

 

Roosters are exciting!

Emilia is getting more and more playful and has a clear idea of what she likes and what she does not. One thing that drives her crazy every time is a little rooster that was part of a Christmas package to Emilia from aunt Marilena and Bea. I love it too since it has a little handle that Emilia's tiny hands can grab, a wing good for teething, and a clear ball in the stomach with little balls inside that make noise. I say the rooster has kidney stones :)

Watch how excited she gets when I shake it.

Bach to Baby pics

As promised, here are the pictures taken by the official photographer at the Bach to baby concert. We appear in two pics.

In the first one is just me and Emilia; in the second one you can also see our friends Katharina with baby Elias and Katie with little Max. Look at how focused is Emilia! I am telling you, she loved the concert. Hopefully, we will finally have a piano player in the house! 

You can see more of the concert's pics here. 

A big chair for a big girl

Normally, in the UK doctors recommend starting weaning when the baby is six months. Emilia, however, is a big girl and seems to be getting bored with her milk. So, since both our Italian pediatrician and Bernie gave us the green light, we have prepared to move on to the next step. After a bit of online research we found a cute highchair that was both nice to the eye and the purse. We went for the Hoppop Trono Highchair in white and pink. Isn't it cute? It also goes well with our furniture in the main room, which is where we will keep it for now. 

On one of my recent (and rare!) days out I also bought Emilia's very first bowl (bright pink, of course!) and spoon. While today Rob came back from his food shopping trip with a pack of Peppa Pig *muddy puddle* cupcakes kit. Of course Emilia won't be able to eat them nor enjoy baking them with us but she did like looking at the picture on the box. 

And when we put her in the chair she looked absolutely comfortable. I love how chilled and relaxed she is; look at that arm?! She is showing that she can sit properly like a big girl...well, with the back support, of course! Now, we are just waiting for Annabelle food masher and bowl and we are ready to go. We will start with pear. We'll keep you posted!

 

Bach to Baby

This morning I took Emilia to her first concert and she loved it! A couple of weeks ago my friend Katharina asked me if we wanted to join her and baby Elias to a classical concert in Bermondsey street, just a few blocks from where we live. She gave me the details of the organisation, Bach to Baby, and I immediately checked their website and thought it was a wonderful idea. So this morning Katharina and I and another local mama, Katie, met downstairs at 9.30 and headed to St. Mary Magdalen church.

Bach to Baby is an innovative classical concert series for babies and their parents to enjoy together. Of course, with babies, you never know whether  they are going to behave or not but let me tell you you couldn't hear a fly this morning in the church. There were approximately 30-40 babies in the audience, ranging from the age of one month to two years, I'd say, and they were all hypnotised by the beauty of the piano! All the adults, mostly mums, grandmums and a couple of dads seemed to enjoy it too. I just loved looking at all these babies discovering the world and the magic of music. It was emotional, I must confess. I know already I will be one of those mums who cries at every big (or small!) event of their baby's life! 

I tried to take a video but it was not at all easy to do it while holding Emilia. So, apologies if you  don't actually see much of us...

P.S. A professional photographer took some nice pictures. I'll add them here as soon as she will send them to me.

Happy Birthday, grandpa!

Today is grandpa Chester's birthday and since we cannot celebrate all together, Emilia and I thought it would be nice to have a photo-shoot with Chester the bear, one of the many gifts that her grandparents bought for Emilia while they were in London back in October. 

So this is for you, grandad. Happy birthday and have a good one! 

 

 

P.S. Today is also Ila's birthday. Buon compleanno zietta, ti voglio tanto bene!!

Peppa Pig

While in Italy for the Christmas break, my dad found a cartoons channel (Rai Yoyo) that had some English cartoons too. Among these, Emilia got hooked to the British Peppa pig. Back to London we had to find it on tv and thankfully there are episodes almost 24/7. 

Those of you who know me well know that I am not a big telly-watcher; if Rob is not at home I don't even turn the tv on, unless there is a documentary I am interested in, a good movie or it's world cup season! I know I will be one of those parents who try to limit their kids' tv-time as much as possible trying to teach her other ways to have fun and entertain herself. For now, however, I think it is very cute that she recognises the song of her favourite cartoon and literally gets hypnotised. Moreover, I love the exaggerated British accent of the characters (Emily the elephant is my favourite!).

Here is a photo of Emilia in trance while watching Peppa pig.

P.S. Funny fact: a couple of days ago, on my way home I stopped at the local newsagent to get a magazine. While I was browsing the fashion section, I heard the *oh-so-recognisable* Peppa pig song; I turned to the counter and saw the shop-assistant at the till (a guy on his late 30s, I'd say) watching Peppa pig on his mobile. It made me smile. When I went to pay I had to ask if he was really watching an episode of the sweet cartoons. Not only he said yes, but he also added that he does it every day since when he gets home from work in the evenings  his daughter questions him on the latest episodes of Peppa pig. I thought it was funny and super sweet. I can see this happening to us at some point...can you imagine me trying to watch an episode of it in the department? Or Rob pretending to be checking something important on his computer during a meeting, while actually watching Peppa?!!

Team GB

Last Summer, when Emilia wasn't even born yet, in occasion of the London 2012 Olympics Pampers made a limited edition of union jack diapers. Of course, I loved them and wanted to get them for our baby, then known as Baby O. The baby was due a few weeks after the Olympics so I thought it would still be appropriate to wear such diapers. However, the nappies only came in size 4 (for baby of weight between 7 and 18 kg). Needless to say, I was disappointed but I let it go. One day, however, Rob came home with a big pack of these very Pampers. We had to wait for months but finally Emilia is heavy and big enough to be wearing them. Aren't they cute?

Feeling Dotty - Part 2!

I have always considered myself a rather organised person but even the most organised one can crumble with a baby, right??!!

As I mentioned in my previous post, today we planned to take a stroll to Southwark Park with our friends Katharina and baby Elias; the meeting point was the Design Museum at 1.30pm. At 1.15 Emilia and I were ready to go - I hate being late; the Design Museum is literally two minutes away from our flat. Both Emilia and I had had lunch, the changing bag was ready and Emilia was all dressed up (see photos of previous post). However, right when I put Emilia in her pram she vomited all over herself and my cardigan as well! We were a mess and I had to change us both. As I said, Emilia's wardrobe is full of dotty clothes, so it wasn't difficult to find a similar outfit for her. As for me, I struggled to find a clean and ironed cardigan! Again, Emilia comes always first in this house, so our laundry, for example, has to wait! 

Here are some pics of little Emi in her *new* outfit (and laughing at mummy for getting stressed about being late!).

 

 

 

 

Feeling Dotty!

Polka dots are an old favourite of mine. I have quite a few things, both in my wardrobe and in the house, but with Emilia I went nuts! Her wardrobe is full of polka dots items. Today she is wearing a lovely Monnalisa top; we are going to the park with our friends Katharina and little Elias and wanted to wear something fun. Also, these days Emilia laughs so much and so hard. It's contagious!

 

 

 

Befana

In Italy we officially close the holiday season with the arrival of the so-called Befana, an old witch on a broom that brings you sweets if you have been good or coal if you have been bad. As tradition we hang the socks on the mantle before going to bed and then wait for her. It's Emilia's first Christmas and first Befana this year and even if she still doesn't understand what is going on, we wanted to celebrate and have fun. Perhaps she could sense that something was going on as she kept us awake almost all night...was she excited for the arrival of befana??!! 

Anyway, since we don't have a fireplace, we hung our socks on one of the windows in the main room. And then went to bed hoping that the old witch would pass by our home too....

Apparently, we have all been good kids, since none of us got coal! 

Rob received a very nice pair of Lacoste sneakers.

 I got Orla Kiely apron and tea towel.

And little Emilia got tons of things, such as:
* bibs and burpy bibs (always useful!):

* a Troizenfants hair bow (for when she'll have hair!!):

* Catimini black tights:

* and finally the cutest Juicy Couture boots on the market:

A good befana, I would say! Thank you.

And how about you, did befana come to your house too? Any coal?  :)

Post immunisation

So, more than 48 hours have gone by since the last jabs and Emilia is now doing wonderful! At last.

Back from the baby clinic she slept, cried, got grumpy and then cried inconsolably for quite a while. This time she even ran the temperature a little bit and we had to give her Calpol (liquid paracetamol) for the first time. Thankfully, however, the temperature went down in no time. It was only a couple of days but it was awful to see her in pain. It's great to see her play, laugh and in good spirit again! I am so happy the next jabs won't be until she turns one! Let's enjoy this break.

4 months

Emilia is four months old today! And she is getting bigger and bigger...and heavier and heavier! 

Unfortunately, we had to celebrate the occasion with another round of immunisations - three needles went into her chubby legs today. Thankfully, these are the last ones until Emi turns one year old. We have got a nice break for a while, at least.

The day started in a very good way for Emilia: she ate, napped, played, smiled, and was generally in a very good mood. Then, right after lunch, we headed to the baby clinic and she stayed calm for the first part. She was weighted (she is now 7.03kg - a big baby, according to the health visitor!) and checked by Bernie who found her in great shape and even suggested we start with solids soon given how big she is! Then, things got bad. Emilia was called in by Louise, a very nice nurse who has the unfortunate job to deal with the immunisations. Louise is very sweet and Emilia likes her very much...until she gets hurt! When the first needle went in, Emilia kept smiling and playing with Louise, we were all impressed. But when the second needle, and then the third one, went in, she just cried. Oh, big tears came out of her eyes. Both Rob and I melted. But we understand that this is for her own good, so we toughened up, dressed baby up, and headed back home for a good feed, cuddles and some rest. Emilia is now peacefully sleeping, let's hope she stays like this for a while. 

Happy month-birthday sweetheart!

The Asciuttis Cinema

I'll finish the series of posts devoted to our trip to Italy with some funny pictures. 

This year for Christmas my dad bought a new tv. It's a very nice and quite big tv for Italian standards. Among several features, it also has the option to watch movies in 3D, and on December 26th the Asciuttis ended the Christmas festivities gathering all together to watch *The Avengers*, not really a holiday movie but certainly full of special effects! I can't say we all loved the movie but we definitely enjoyed wearing the 3D glasses. My grandmum fell asleep five minutes after the movie started, my mum lost interest ten minutes later and I gave up after fifteen minutes; dad and aunt Marilena were a bit stronger and kept watching it while chatting. The only two who got really attracted by the movie were Rob (who had already watched the movie at the cinema when it came out!) and Bea. In the end, it was a fun way to close the festivities and now I love looking at these funny pictures of us all together. 

Living the life

While in Italy, Rob and I got to enjoy some time together with each other and with our friends, without Emilia. As you know we don't have family in London, which means no help whatsoever with Emilia. As much as we love her, it can be tough on us sometimes and we really appreciated all the support and help we had in Pescara. We enjoyed shopping, strolling, eating out, going to friends' houses, and we even attended a wedding.

Before the arrival of Emilia, Rob and I used to receive an invitation for a cocktail party by our good friends Mario and MariaPaola every time we were in Pescara (for the people who were at the welcome aperitivo at my parents' the night before the wedding, Mario is the guy who made the delicious mangoritas!). And this time was no different. So, we happily left Emilia with my parents, who of course were thrilled to spend the whole evening with the baby, and headed to our friends' for some fun. As usual, the cocktails and the food were simply amazing and we had a great time. In Rob's honour MariaPaola bought napkins with the American flag and Mario made jelly cocktails to begin the night with. They were awesome.

Another highlight of the trip was Alessandra and Nicola's wedding. My very first winter wedding. And I must say, despite the freezing cold, it was quite magical. It even snowed that night! 

For the first time in months Rob and I got to dress up and I loved it. I still have a little bit of baby weight left but I cannot complain. I was still able to find a dress for the occasion :)

The bride was beautiful. She wore a Jenny Packham dress with a gorgeous hooded cape that made her look like a white version of red riding hood.

The church was super cute and the reception was held at an archaeological museum. Of course, I loved it. And don't you just love the flower arrangements? So simple, so beautiful, and so Christmassy.

It was wonderful to spend some time with my girlfriends. I miss them all so much when I am in London. I have known these girls since we were three years old. Thirty years of our lives have gone by and our friendship is still pretty solid. That's impressive.

I love living in London, I think it's a very exciting city. But of course, I miss being close to my friends and family. Being in Pescara for so long made me realise how much I really miss everyone. I had an amazing time in Pescara and am glad I got to stay for three weeks. The best thing about the trip was how relaxed we all were. I don't mind saying that life has become a bit hectic since Emilia entered our world and Rob and I do get stressed sometimes dealing with a baby in London. In Pescara it was all different. We received so much love and attention from everybody. For the whole time there I lived with zero tension. It was great to be able to rest, sleep more, and enjoy the company of very good friends. The wonderful thing about being with people who love you is that nobody judges you if you don't feel to get up in the middle of the night, nobody criticises you if you complain about how tired you are. They are simply there to help. They genuinely love you and want to be helpful. Isn't that wonderful? I feel blessed to have so many nice people in my life.

Mum, dad, nonna, aunts, uncles, neighbours, friends: thank you ever so much!