Easter and Egg Hunt.

He was wearing a cute Easter outfit, but changed for nap time and would not change back for pictures : (

He really was excited about this!

Waiting patiently for dinner to be ready : )

It has been raining A LOT here lately, so JJ and I have been wearing our rain boots and every once in awhile JJ wears mine : )

We had a very nice Easter and one of Brian's friends from work came over for dinner, so that was fun. With only three adults and one kid eating dinner, we definitely made waaay too much food, but JJ did actually eat a lot, so that was a bonus!

Since JJ had more than his fair share of candy last weekend, we didn't do the egg hunt until yesterday. He definitely didn't mind it being a week late and really enjoyed eating more candy this weekend.

Easter Egg Dyeing!

He was saying, "Oh, wow!!"

We let JJ dye Easter eggs this year and it actually went waaaay better than we expected. He really enjoyed it and kept saying "oh, wow, look at that" when he would take the egg out of the dye. He did like putting the eggs into multiple colors, but the eggs didn't end up all brown, so we were pretty impressed : ) He also only dropped one egg, but it was partially my fault because I couldn't catch it in time because I hit my big belly on the table, forgetting that I have all this extra body in front of me!

Photo Shoot.

His favorite train.

One of his current favorite books.

His favorite blanket with his bike.

Brian has been traveling a lot for work lately, so JJ and I have to find creative ways to pass the time. A couple mornings ago we held a very intense photo shoot : ) Like most kids his age, he loves to take pictures and then see the results. These photos are some of his and my favorites. He's wearing his boots, which are his favorite shoes since he can put them on himself.

JJ's been saying some pretty funny stuff lately. The other day he and I went out for a long walk and when we got back he walked in the door and said, "it's good to be home." He was so serious about it, I almost laughed! Then yesterday we were playing "race" and I hid behind the couch and startled him and he said, "Mommy, you can't hide. It's dangerous and I could fall and get hurt." It's so hard not to laugh at him sometimes when he sounds like such an adult!

Positano.

We went down to Positano (which is now JJ's new favorite word) on the Amalfi Coast this weekend and it was beautiful! JJ got to play on the beach for a long time which was really fun. It was a really warm day, which I really enjoyed : ) The town is really cute with lots of shops and restaurants and lots of tourists! It was definitely worth the trip and we're very glad that we went in the "off season."

Note to future visitors - this is a great place to visit and if you're here during the summer, we encourage you to visit on your own! If you're here in the off season, then Brian and I will be more than happy to go with you : )

More Matera.

Our awesome tour guide, Luigi.

Trying to warm up : )

We took about a 2.5 hour private walking tour through Matera on Saturday afternoon. It was about 45 degrees outside and very windy. We were all very cold, but very glad that we did it because we learned things about the city that we would have never known. Our tour guide was great and had lived in Matera his whole life so could give us some great stories about the city. The only big breakdown was when JJ wanted to run through the old rock churches that had huge drop offs that were only protected by a small fence. JJ thought it was hilarious, Brian didn't think so, and I was too distracted by Luigi's amazing stories about the church to really notice!

We went out to dinner on Saturday night and it was our first experience with the "true" Italian dinner schedule. Matera was the first place that we've been that's not super touristy yet so they haven't changed their schedules to suit ours! On Friday night we found a restaurant that was open at 7:15 pm, but I refused to eat at the same place two nights in a row during vacation, so we needed to find a new place Saturday night. We walked all around the town and the earliest we found was a restaurant that opened at 7:45, so that's where we went and it was amazing. Brian wasn't a fan of the time that we ate dinner, but you can't complain when your dinner is great.

One of our favorite things about being in Italy is that we can order JJ a very cheap pizza for dinner and they bring it out right when it's ready, hot out of the wood fired oven. It gives Brian and I an excuse to eat pizza as an appetizer as we're waiting for our own meals : )

Matera.

As you know, I'm pregnant! This is a picture of JJ's new favorite thing to do. . . lift up my shirt and say in a semi-scary voice, "Hello baby, I love you!" Then he laughs at my belly and belly button, pointing out that it's huge and that my belly button is going to pop off! It should be a really fun game for the next five months : )

We went to Matera, Italy last weekend and had a really great time. Matera is an ancient city in Southeastern Italy, about a three hour drive from our house. The part of the city that we stayed in is called the "Sassi" and is the oldest part of town. Our hotel was literally in a cave! It was really fun because it's the first place that we've been that we know we would have never gone if we didn't live here.

We've Moved!

Yep, we've finally moved into our "permanent" house! JJ seems to love having all his old toys and books back. He keeps finding things and screaming, "oh, there's my car/train/hard hat/soccer ball/penguin book, etc."! He loves playing in his new room with all his new furniture including his new toddler bed. I think he likes it because it looks like the Ikea showroom : ) We have a nice little patio outside and we've been able to go out and play almost every day. We're slowly getting settled in and will hopefully be able to settle in to a nice little routine here.