Goodnight, JJ.

Ok, these pictures aren't of bedtime, they're of us playing outside a few weeks ago, but I thought they were too cute not to share : )

Random bedtime story - So JJ, like most kids, doesn't like going to bed.  He always stalls and then cries and screams about random stuff until he finally goes to sleep.  Tonight, I went in to say goodnight and this was the random stream of consciousness that he said to me . . . "Oh, cute dress Mommy (I am wearing a new maternity nightgown that apparently is cute!), sing Twinkle Twinkle, Why is your belly so big?, Your hand is cold, Me glad you be home (he's been saying this ever since I returned from LA)"!  Yes, he said all this in that order, one thing after another!  He has now been screaming "Mommy, mommy" for awhile.  Brian and I have each gone up there twice to calm him down and he will hopefully now finally go to sleep.  The "emergency" that apparently he needed earlier was to tell me that he loves Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, and the horsey.  Then he requested that I sing Twinkle Twinkle again, re-cover him with his blankets, and then say that I love him. I think he can drive Brian and I more crazy between 8 - 8:45 pm every night than any other time during the day!

Capri!

Ferry ride to Capri.  JJ really enjoyed being on a boat : )

Our hotel.  It was nice, but kids are only allowed in the pool from 9 am - 1 pm so when we went Sunday morning it was freezing!  I didn't get in at all and JJ and Brian only lasted about 1/2 hour in the water.

Don't do it!!!

We went to Capri last weekend to celebrate Brian's birthday and had a very nice time.  We rode the hydrofoil ferry over, which JJ really enjoyed.  The town was nice, but was filled with very expensive stores.  Basically, it's Beverly Hills on a beautiful Italian island!  We actually ended up leaving a little early since Sunday was apparently a very popular day for tours and it was getting extremely crowded.  We feel very lucky to live here so that we can avoid most of the very touristy areas during tourist season.

JJ's been pointing out more and more how big my belly is getting.  We rode the bus down to the ferry terminal so that we didn't have to park there for the weekend and JJ was very concerned that I wouldn't fit on the bus!  When we were walking to the bus station he said, "Mommy, you can't fit on the bus, your belly is too big."  Luckily, I did fit on the bus though : )  Once we were on the bus he said, "You did fit on the bus!  This is a REALLY BIG bus!  You can't fit on a little bus!"  He's so sweet.  

It's been a pretty busy few weeks for us.  I was in LA for a week and left the boys home alone.  Luckily everyone survived : )  We went to Capri last weekend, then Brian leaves Wednesday for about 10 days, then we head to Paris for almost a week!  We're going to go to Disney Paris, which JJ is already talking about.  He thought last weekend we were riding the ferry to go see Mickey : )  May should be a fun month.

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 : )