Charleston, South Carolina

     We attended the wedding of our dear friends, Lennie and Sierra Gullan. This was Giovanni, Whitney, and my first visit to the wonderful city of Charleston.
     We stayed at a "beautiful" (to quote Giovanni) bed and breakfast called, The John Rutledge House Inn, in the historic district.

     It was so great to see our wonderful friends, Lyn and Len Gullan and their beautiful family. We took Giovanni to the casual gathering Friday evening at the Real Estate Studio on King Street.  Lots of new faces, but he handled it like a pro! 
     We then took him to a great Italian restaurant called Mercato's on Market Street. He enjoyed his steak, but what he REALLY loved was the live jazz music. He danced on the stairs and at our table to the enjoyment of everyone...this boy definitely has rhythm!!

     Saturday we walked all around the city - down by Battery Park and up to the Market Center.  Stopped and had the "best rotisserie chicken" (again, another quote from Giovanni) at Old Towne Seafood & Grill.  Giovanni now has me take pictures of places and things he likes so he "can remember them forever and ever".
     While we were at the wedding, Giovanni and Aunt Whitney went to get pizza at a restaurant called Bocci's. According to Giovanni the pizza was "super, duper delicious"!!

     The storybook wedding was Saturday evening at the William Aiken House. Sierra was a stunning bride and Lennie a most handsome groom.  Can't wait to see their wedding pictures!
     Of course, the entire Gullan family looked as if they stepped out of an issue of Town & Country Bride!  Lyn looked like a runway model!

Sunday morning we took a carriage ride around the historic district. Our horse's name was "Susan" and we really liked her because she had a whole lot of spunk!  Giovanni was thrilled with his first horse-drawn carriage ride.  It's a great way to see this remarkable city and get a history lesson all at the same time!

We flew back to Florida Sunday afternoon!

First Jet Ski Ride

Uncle Lou and Aunt Liz invited us over for dinner, which is an invitation we would never turn down as Auntie Liz is a fabulous cook and Uncle Lou is a ton of fun!  










Giovanni got to taste his first basil pasta salad (yummy) and steaks on the grill, wear his first lifejacket, ride/drive his first jet ski ("faster, faster"!!), and have Uncle Lou toss him into the pool!  


A perfect evening for everyone, especially a little five year old Italiano!

Update on Gio's Fever

Well, we survived Giovanni's first sickness!  For the last two nights, I have slept beside Giovanni on his trundle bed and checked his temperature several times through the night. When his fever reached 103, he began to mumble and even though deep in sleep - his eyes were wide open (but he didn't see Nick and I with our faces just 6 inches from his).  Really tough seeing our little man not feeling well.

This morning I took him to see Dr. Logan and his fever was pretty much gone.  She looked in his mouth and said that it looks like his six year molars were just breaking through his gums.  She said the fever and headache were probably caused by the eruption of these molars.  She gave him the okay to go to school today and he did great!

Interesting note:  When Giovanni was mumbling in his sleep...most was jibberish, but the words he did say clearly were in English (guess that means he is now "thinking" in English instead of Amharic).  

P.S.  Giovanni and Oliver are now best buddies!

Baby Emma!

Giovanni is so excited about little baby Emma growing in Aunt Christine's belly.  He watches everything Aunt Christine eats and drinks to make sure it doesn't have "too much sugar for Emma"... (just what a pregnant women with cravings wants to hear, right?!).

Giovanni likes to rub, talk to, and kiss little Emma!  He can't wait for her to "come out of Aunt Christine's belly"!

First Fever

Giovanni woke up early and came into our room and climbed into bed with me (Daddy was in Serbia trying to get back home!).  Gio was burning up.  He slept a little then started crying saying his head hurt.  I called my "New Mum 9-1-1" (a.k.a. his Fairy Godmother Tami) and she said to give him children's ibuprofen for pain and fever.  After talking with Tami, I went back to check on Giovanni in our room and was pleasantly surprised to find our VERY shy, elderly cat Oliver laying protectively on Giovanni (something he has never done before).  Oliver stayed with and around Giovanni all day and when I checked on Giovanni tonight Oliver was curled up beside him on Gio's bed.  We sure love our Oliver!

2nd Tooth...Gone!

You never know what is going to happen when Giovanni and his Dad head out to play a little golf together.  Today they came back with Giovanni's tooth (his second) in his hand!

Reunion!

One of the highlights of our weekend in New York was getting to meet Workneh and his Mom (Barbara) for dinner at a great Ethiopian restaurant called Awash. Workneh and Giovanni were friends at the orphanage and were very excited to see each other!  I really enjoyed catching up with both Workneh and Barbara and seeing how incredibly well they are both doing!  Giovanni never uses his Amharic and verbalizes very few memories from Ethiopia, so I loved listening to Workneh who remains fluent in Amharic and remembers so much.  We are so looking forward to our next reunion!

Surfing Engineer

Giovanni absolutely loves the water!  For a little boy who originated from a landlocked country with no access to the ocean, a lake, a river, a pool, or even running water for that matter...we are thrilled to have a son who, like his father and his Uncle Jimmy, was obviously a porpoise in his previous life.

Today we took Giovanni to Bradenton Beach for his first bodysurfing lesson with Dad.  He loved it!  He even tried using a boogie board on a borrowed board and laughed the entire way to shore!  He and Nick are already making plans to go back to the beach tomorrow if the waves are up again!

We stopped at a beach store on the way home so Giovanni could pick out his very own boogie board!

When he wasn't in the water Giovanni was building his "sand city" complete with a moat, two swimming pools, a flag, and a water delivery system!  Had we stayed longer he wanted to try to build a bridge for his many cars and trucks to get across the moat!

"Too Much Sugar?"

I digress....
Before we even brought Giovanni home back in early December we decided that we would hold off giving him sugar-laden goodies (cookies, candy, soda, etc.) until we had expanded his palate to include foods other than the limited starches that made up the majority of his diet in Ethiopia.  Somehow we made it through Christmas (stocking was stuffed with an orange and LOTS of little toys and games) and now almost 5 months later he still gets his sugar naturally from fruits and occasionally real Vermont maple syrup (which is mandatory eating if you tap your own trees!).

He asks me before eating anything new or offered to him by others if it has "too much sugar"?  If my answer is "yes", he moves on to something else to eat or drink.  He is so militant about sugar that my friends have promoted him to Chief of the Sucrose Police as he is very adamant that no one add more than one packet of sugar or substitute to their drinks.

Okay, now to the real story...
Today we decided to try the Episcopal Church at his school.  We love the Presbyterian Church we attend but thought we might find one with a few more little ones.  One big difference in the two churches is that in the Episcopal Church communion requires the congregants to go up front and kneel.  The priest then gives a blessing and a communion wafer followed by a parishioner who carries a cup of wine for dipping. As we approached the front I turned around to see a look of terror on Giovanni's face.  There was no way he was going to get close to either the priest or the wafers.  The priest laughed (thank goodness!) and gave Giovanni a blessing from a far.  Nick and I took communion and Giovanni followed us back to our seats.

As we were walking back he wanted to see where the wafer was...so, I discreetly stuck my tongue out to show him the wafer sitting on it.  His eyes got huge as he looked up at me and with complete sincerity asked aloud (with emphasis on LOUD)..."too much sugar?"

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

A beautiful Friday evening in Florida...high 70's with a cool breeze!  Uncle Dan and Aunt Christine invited us and others to a minor league game at the beautiful stadium downtown.  All Giovanni talked about on the way to the game was getting another "really, really, really big" hot dog.  There was a great country band playing when we arrived and Giovanni found a little friend (Faith) to throw a ball with before the game started.

Giovanni saw the Marauder mascot from a distant and thought he might want to see him close up.  Aunt Christine took him over to meet him...but, when he got within 20 feet of him he beelined back to his seat. Throughout the game he kept a very close eye on the Marauder and all the other kids getting autographs and high-fiving him.  It wasn't long before he built up the courage to shake his hand.  By the end of the evening they were dancing together, playing catch, and are now best of friends!

Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!  Not only is today a day to celebrate this great Earth upon which we live...but, it also happens to be Nick and my 6th wedding anniversary!  Every year we plant trees on our Vermont property as gifts to each other.  We also always go to the fabulous beachside restaurant Beach Bistro for our anniversary dinner!  Giovanni went joyfully over to his Aunt Whitney's house to play with her and Uncle Ian and his friend Ben Hershey.  They then decided it was such a beautiful night that they would eat outside on the beach at the Sandbar.  Nick and I stopped there after dinner to pick Giovanni up.  Whitney snapped this photo of Giovanni and I on the beach!  There wasn't a better way to officially end our celebration of both the Earth and our anniversary then on a beach together!

First Lost Tooth!

Almost since the day we got him home, Giovanni has been working on a slightly loose bottom tooth that is in the center of his mouth!  I had told him to make sure and show his Aunt Tami as she LOVES loose teeth (just ask her seven children who all have vivid memories of her merciless yanking of dangling teeth from their mouths!).  So, when she arrived a few weeks ago to visit - the first thing he did was show her his loose tooth.  She checked it out and told him he needed to keep working on it...so, he did.

This morning while eating breakfast with his visiting cousin, Calypso...he was showing her how loose the tooth was and before we knew it there was a little blood around the bottom. When I checked it I realized it was actually just sitting upright between two other teeth...no longer attached.  He was SOOOO excited to see his new hole and to show EVERYONE his tooth (which he carried in a ziplock baggie).  He couldn't wait to show his Dad at lunch and even convinced me to drive to see our dentist, Dr. Alford and his staff to show them!

The concept of a fictional mythical fairy coming into his room tonight might be a little much for him to comprehend...so, we had him just put his tooth under his pillow.  We put a gold coin under his pillow...we'll see what he thinks in the morning!

First Baseball Game

Aunt Christine took Giovanni to his very first baseball game!  He went to the Pirates Winter Training Camp in Bradenton, Florida to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros!  His Uncle Dan is the General Manager of the Pirates Minor League Team and was there to greet Giovanni and to introduce him to the owner of the team!  Once Giovanni got used to the loud clapping and foot stomping, Aunt Christine said he really enjoyed being a part of the action!  He also really enjoyed his foot-long hotdog!!!  Thanks Aunt Christine and Uncle Dan for making his first baseball experience a terrific one!

First Tennis Tournament!

Well, we knew it was eventually going to happen...Giovanni attended his very first professional tennis tournament! It just happens to be the same tournament that was my very first tennis tournament 6 years ago...now called the Sony-Ericsson Tennis Tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida!

Giovanni watched Jelena Jankovich (one of his Daddy's students) beat her opponent in two sets.  The thing he most liked about the entire experience was having his very own credential...just like his Mum and Dad's!! 

10 lb. Weight Gain!!

The good news...Giovanni has gained about 3 pounds since we have been home!

The bad news...his mother has gained TEN!  Yikes!

Giovanni is an amazingly picky eater.  Basically he eats foods that are in the "yellow/beige/brown" family on the color wheel.  He loves bananas, scrambled eggs, potatoes, corn, cheese pizza, rice, beef, chicken, whole grain bars, applesauce, and bread.  For a little color he'll eat his pinkish multi-vitamin, tomato soup, strawberry applesauce and shrimp.  To wash everything down he likes water, iced tea, orange juice, banana milkshakes, and he loves the V-8 Fusion fruit/vegetable drinks!

It is a constant guessing game for us to figure out what he will and won't eat.  So, when we order something new like a grilled cheese sandwich and he won't touch it...we try the old "look at Mummy eating it...yummy" trick...sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't.  I have always had a very "unsophisticated" palate, but I have regressed to a diet I haven't seen since I was 5 years old!  The problem is I don't move as quickly or as frequently as a 5 year old...thus the 10 pound gain!

On a brighter note...I like to think that at least 2 pounds of my weight gain is muscle mass - my bi-ceps are getting HUGE from picking up and carrying 44 pounds of love around all day!

Domestication Court Date!

This morning we took Giovanni to the Manatee County Judicial Center to appear before the Honorable Peter Dubensky, a Family Court Judge. Giovanni was thrilled to get all dressed up in his "church clothes" - navy blue blazer, tie and khakis - and even more excited when we arrived at the courthouse and he saw Nick dressed just like him!

Christine and Whitney came to take pictures and to videotape the event! Our attorney, Scott Hamilton, did a terrific job and it all went super smoothly. Judge Dupensky said that it isn't often that happy events occur in Family Court, so he is always thrilled when families are created and not torn apart.

After we were sworn in and asked several questions, Giovanni had his photo taken with the judge, as well as with the bailiffs (which I think he actually enjoyed a little more because they are "police offithers"). Judge Farrance stopped in the courtroom and when Giovanni saw him he yelled out "Hi Bob!"...you see, Giovanni has golfed with Bob on a couple of occasions, so apparently since he and Judge Farrance are "golfing buddies", it only makes sense that Giovanni calls him "Bob"! Judge Dubensky got quite a kick of it, as did Bob!

We all went up to the ninth floor to see Bob's new corner office...it's incredible! Giovanni was even brave enough to go out onto his balcony with the wind whipping and a slight drizzle!

We decided that we would go out to dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate!