Monte Cassino.

We went up to Monte Cassino one of our last weekends in Italy.  Brian had been wanting to go there since we arrived, so we were glad that we finally went.  It's an abbey built and destroyed by war multiple times over the last few centuries and the most recent time was by the allies during WWII.  If you've seen Monuments Men, George Clooney makes reference to it : )  It is now a working monastery and was a gorgeous location on top of a very tall mountain.  It was a nice day.

We were there during their gregorian chant service, which was very neat!

The museum was full of ancient, beautiful artifacts and they also had books that were hundreds of years old.  

There was also a large Polish cemetery on the property.

1 month old.

Preston turned 1 month old on New Years Day.  He had a pretty exciting first month with some traveling, visitors, and lots of family time.  Naples also set off LOTS of fireworks to celebrate!!!  New Years Eve in Naples is unlike any other.  It starts about 11:59 pm and ends around 1 am with continuous fireworks.  We even had some fireworks of our own this year!  It was a bittersweet day knowing it would be our last New Years in Italy, but we had many things to look forward to.

Christmas.

We had our pack out on December 16, so Christmas was pretty sparse this year.  We had loaner furniture and only let the boys keep behind a few toys.  They each received a couple new presents for Christmas that kept them busy for a few days : )  We stayed in pajamas all day and just relaxed.  I'm sure it's our last relaxed holidays for many years to come!

My parents visit.

My parents came to visit us in Italy for the third time this winter.  They arrived right before Preston was born, so we didn't really get out much.  We spent most days either waiting for his arrival or enjoying having another newborn in the house : )  JJ and Owen loved having them there and kept them busy though.  It was great having them help out and we can't wait to live in the same city as them!  

We did take them on a day trip to Vietri though, where the boys ran around while we enjoyed a great lunch.

We also took them up to Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio.  JJ was sick for the first day we were there, so I stayed with him in the agriturismo while they went into Orvieto.  Luckily he felt better the next day so we could all spend time together.  

Preston Michael!

Ok, wow, it's been a loooooong time since I've posted!  I do have some good excuses though, I had a baby and we moved back to America!  It's has been an incredibly hectic few months.  So, I'll just start catching up slowly but surely.  Here's the first catch up post.

Preston Michael was born December 1, 2014 at 12:16 pm.  He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long.  I was in labor for approximately 4 hours!  I drove JJ to school, then went over to my regularly scheduled ob apt around 9:30 am.  I was having contractions, so the doctor checked me and I was already dilated to 4 cm, so he walked me straight up to labor and delivery!  My parents were in town, so they took Owen home and Brian came to the hospital.  

By the time he got there I was in active labor and Preston was moving fast.  By noon, I was fully dilated and ready to push!  The ob was great and I was able to have my third unmedicated childbirth!  Since Brian came to the hospital directly from work, we didn't even have our camera.  Here's a picture my friend took. 

San Marino.

Brian surprised us with a trip for my birthday up to the little country of San Marino.  It's a beautiful mountaintop country within Italy and we all had an amazing weekend.  Brian doesn't normally do surprises, so this was lots of fun : )

Birthday Boys.

So about 2 months ago, Owen turned 2-years-old!  Where did the time go?!?  He was very excited about it and had a fun day : )

Then we had a joint birthday party for the boys at the park.  It was a very nice day and the boys had a great time.

Then JJ turned 5-years-old!!  Seriously, where has the time gone?!?!?!?