38/52

It's week 38 and so glad I'm still managing to keep this project (the only project!) going. 

 Olivia: She doesn't care about the mess in her room, but love tidying up her little kitchen. 

Vale: getting bigger and bigger everyday. And loving to seat on his bouncer when he's awake.

37/52

It's week 37 and it has been a tiring, yet exciting week...a new school for my eldest and a new morning routine for my youngest. And an early morning alarm clock we are still trying to adjust to!

Olivia: loving al fresco dining. I'm sure it was the pizza she loved the most.

Vale: looking at his sister doing a show

Joining with Jodi from Practicing Simplicity.

36/52 and a catch up

It's week 36 and it feels like summer is definitely over. It's time to regain some sort of normality around here after the crazy month we had, settle back into a fall routine and catch up with all the projects that were put on hold!

Week 36 // Olivia: Loving this new playground we just discovered

Week 36 // Vale: Starting to stay awake a bit longer now

And that is what these two have been up to over the past month....

Week 35 // Olivia: Posing for mama with her favourite toy. She's getting cuter every day.

Week 35 // Vale: He's back home and bored already.

Week 34 // Olivia: Napping while waiting for mama at the hospital. 

Week 34 // Vale: He had the cutest little crib at the hospital.

Week 33 // Olivia: She's a natural crafter. She lean to use the scissors a few weeks back and started cutting everything she could get hold of (after asking for our permission!)

Week 33 // Vale: He almost doesn't fit in his cocoon anymore...this boy is growing too fast! 

Week 32 // Olivia: Enjoying wandering around her granddad's garden. She loved picking fresh fruit and veg and eating them straight away.

Week 32 // Vale: First trip to the paediatrician. His umbilical cord fell off too soon and we panicked.

31/52

It's week 31 and we are now a family of four!

Olivia: Adjusting to her new role of big sister. It's quite hard having to learn to share our attention with her brother, but she'll get there, eventually.

Valentino: He eats, he sleeps, he cries like a champion. And we are loving every minute of it!

30/52 + 41/40

So, we reached week 30 of 52, and by this time we were supposed to be a family of four...I guess we'll have to wait a few more days!!!

Olivia: enjoying some mother-daughter painting session. I'm hoping I will be able to keep this us time once her brother will arrive and everything else will be disrupted!

Baby boy: I seriously wouldn't have thought to pass the due date by a week! And since there is no fruit or veg to compare this baby to anymore, it will be just my giant belly this time. One way or another, by this time next week he will be here, joining his big sister in her weekly photo shoots.

29/52

It's week 29 and already halfway through summer! Our sumer holidays haven't officially started yet, we are still waiting for the fourth member of our family before the fun can start.

Olivia: waiting at the bus stop. She insisted on wearing her new sunglasses and looked pretty cool with them. And she kept holding that croissant on the entire bus ride, but refused to even take a single bite!

28/52

It's week 28 and I'm finally back on track! not sure how long this will last, but I'll try hard. I'm loving our new place, its white walls, the light, the minimal furniture. It still doesn't quite feel like home, but we are slowly making it ours.

Olivia: singing and drawing on top of the dining room table...until she actually started to draw on the table itself, and of course enjoyed the clean up afterwards! sometimes I wonder if she does it on purpose to make messes so she gets to play with wet paper towels and sponges.

21-27/52: the big 52 project catch up!

So I finally got around catching up with at least one of my projects! This is still one of my favourite as I get to take a weekly portrait (or sometime just a picture) of my sweet two year old. I'm not much of a scrapbooker, and this has proved a simple way for me to record her habits and see her growing up by just comparing each photo from each week at the end of the year. And as I did last here, it's nice to have a little book by the end of the year as a memento, but also as a nice present for the grandparents. And to be honest, Olivia loves looking through her previous books, so that's good enough for me for committing to it again this year. As I haven't been able to post any of the pictures I've taken over the past two months, I'm putting them all in here. Of course, it's not how I would like to run this project or blog, but the latest and forthcoming events won't allow me to do things any differently. So bear with me and the randomness of the posts until I get back to normality again!

21/52: Resting on the big bed (after lots of jumping!) while we are trying to pack our wardrobes. It has been hard work for all of us, but it must have been very boring for you.

22/52: One of our last day in London. A  cheeky smile after trying cherries for the first time, and learning how to spit the core.

23/52: Moving day and you were the best traveller ever. You did even learned how to sip from water bottle with a sport cup.

24/52: Posing for mama in our new house and on your new chair. There is so much space compared to our old flat in london that you go around riding your scooter.

25/52: Stopping at yet another fountain! you always have a good excuse to play with the water.

26/52: Eating your afternoon snack at the oratorio nearby our house. You love it there, especially when we bring the bucked and you get to play with the water from the fountain.

27/52: Saturday afternoon at the lake of Barrea in Abruzzo. You loved splashing in the water, but refused to go on the pedal boat with your dad. You had the best time ever with your friend "Ato".

And a big thank you to Jodie for carrying on with this project.

20/52

It's week 20 and we are finally starting to enjoying some good weather! Gianluca's parents were here for the week, and my little lady loved all the attention and playtime. She would wake up in the morning and quietly leave our room to go and wake her grandparents up...hooray for a bit more sleep in for us!

Olivia: trying a lollypop for the first time. Don't get fooled by her smile; she said she liked it at first, but threw it away after a few licks! 

Linking up with the 52 Project at Practising Simplicity.

18/52 + 19/52

Playgrounds! It doesn't matter in which country you are, if you have a toddler, the first thing you look for is a place for him/her to burn some energy and for you to take a short break.

Athelstan Recreation Ground , Kingston upon Thames, UK

Parco degli Scipioni, Rome, Italy

Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

17/52 + 27/40

It's week 17 and no one can stop these two from moving around, one inside and the other out! We had a busy and tiring week, a bit stressful on the work side, but enjoyable on the family side.

This is you chasing "papus" (as you've been calling dad lately) in Richmond Park

Olivia: she has been unstoppable, running around, shouting and singing out loud. She seems to be having a really good time, interacting with other children, being more and more independent whatever she does. I let her jump into muddy puddles on Friday afternoon after nursery, and although she was wet from top to toe, I think she had the best time. Shame I don't have any pictures of that.

Baby boy: this tiny baby is a very active one. I had my appointment with the midwife this week, and although she couldn't find the heartbeat straight away, she could clearly see him moving! his head is still high up, basically in the upper right side of my rib cage, and that's probably why sometimes it gets a bit uncomfortable when he moves. 

16/52

It's week 16 and we feel truly exhausted after the Easter break! Our move to Rome is getting more complicated than expected (damn you Italian tax system!). Olivia has outgrown her afternoon nap, and when she does have a nap, she doesn't go to bed before 10 pm in the evening. We need some support or we'll go mental. Other than that, I hope you had a lovely Easter holiday!

This is you smiling to the camera on Easter Sunday while eating chips @Nandos

Olivia: Experiencing her tantrums to the fullest this week, but also enjoying her soft and sweet voice when she calls us in the morning after waking up. She loves getting out of her bed and quietly leave the room to go playing on her own (her latest favourite activity is to tidy up the bathroom towels on their rack). And she discovered she loves playing under the sheets, so now we are mastering the art of building blankets forts.

15/52 + 26/40

Let's just say that it has been a very intense week! And this late post clearly proves it.

Olivia: she keeps surprising me every single day! on Wednesday morning she told me that her dummy was broken and she was going to throw it away. I replied saying that we didn't have a new one to replace it and that if she was going to get rid of it that would have been the end of it, no more dummy! she went ahead anyway and her dummy ended up straight into the bathroom's bin. And that really was the end of it! she only asked for it a couple of times, and we simply reminded her what she has done and she was perfectly fine with our answer. I still am in disbelief, if I think about all the worries and attempts trying to get rid of the dummy. She thought me a very valuable lesson, that there is a time for things to happen naturally, without trauma and stress free. Children are ready when they are ready, I just need to trust my little girl a little bit more. On the other end, she's outgrowing her afternoon nap, and we are truly exhausted!

Baby boy: there's been a lot of movement with week, clearly visible from the outside, too! I'm just hoping it's not just a taste of what is going to be like, otherwise we'll be in trouble. This week this baby boy should be about 36cm long and weight about 750g...I guess all the weight I'm putting on it's not just because I'm eating without control!

14/52

It's week 14 and we are making the most from our week spending time outdoor as mush as possible!

This is you enjoying taking pictures at the RHS Garden Wisley.

Olivia: Spring is taking its toll on her sleep patterns. She started to drop the afternoon nap, but still doesn't seem to be tired enough to go to bed early in the evening. But she woke up at 9am on Sunday morning after going to bed at 10.30pm the night before!

Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

13/52

It's week 13 and it is finally nice-ish and warm outside! we have enjoyed a family weekend and some mother's day celebrations, spending lots of time outside and making the most of the sunshine. 

Olivia: She knows what food she likes and dislikes, and we now know that too! it took us a while to understand while she was not eating properly at times and devouring her dinner some other times. She has acquired her own taste for certain foods; her favourites are still walnuts and pistachios, blueberries, sweetcorn and raw carrots, and we can't really complain about that! And after this weekend, we can happily add ice cream cones to the list.

12/52 + 23/40

It's week 12 and posting a bit later than usual! I got the spring bug this week, and felt a bit lazy with regard to basically everything, but laying on the couch and playing games on my phone.

Olivia: She surely is a 2-year-old toddler in full swing! she has learnt how to push the right buttons to get what she wants, but when she is in a good mood she is just the best kid a parent could ask for! we have been enjoying playing with sticker's books, singing out loud and reading stories (she does that by herself at bed time!). And started to ask, especially me, to remain alone in the room while playing, apparently I distract her too much!

Baby boy: It's 23 weeks, weighting just over 1/2 kilo and measuring more than 28cm...apparently the size of a large mango! Not sure I follow babycenter's fruits comparisons, but that is what it says.

11/52

It's week 11 and we have been enjoying a glorious weather, lots of sunshine and longer days!

This is you carrying your wellies to the car in a bag bigger that you.

Olivia: Her appetite was coming and going all week, but she asked for raw carrots every single day! And thankfully her red raincoat still sort of fits; it will be very difficult to replace...she's is totally in love with it. 

Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

9/52 + 10/52

It's playing catch up again this week! but this time I have a very good excuse...we have been to Italy for 10 days and despite my intentions of carry on with my daily/weekly routine, I hardly checked my emails, Instgram feed, let alone publishing a blog post. So here we are, the best of the past two weeks.

In Rome, eating a slice of pizza at every corner

Olivia - week 9: She got very excited when we told her we were going to Rome. And screamed with joy when she saw her trolley ready to be packed in our living room! 

In Pisa, wearing zia Marty's handbag after her graduation

Olivia - week 10: She loved spending time in Italy and seeing family (lots of it!) and friends. She has been a joy to be around and made our stay there very enjoyable and relaxing.

Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

8/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014"

Olivia: We came to realise this week that she has very much outgrown her baby stage. She doesn't want to sleep in her cot anymore, but in the big bed. She doesn't want to seat in her high chair at the dinner table, but in papa's chair (with no booster seat, we tried and she firmly refused!). She doesn't want to seat in her pushchair for long, but prefers walking. It's a joy and a pain to see her grow so fast.

Baby-to-be: And again this week, I'll get a new picture in a separate post!

Linking up with Jody from Practising Simplicity.

Project 52 into a photo book

Last year’s project "A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2013" has been a success! Although I started at week 3 I managed to carry on for the entire year and ended up with more than 52 pictures of Olivia. Between my inexperience and an ever more active toddler, not all of the pictures were great, but some were good enough to make it onto 30x20cm canvases.

But I really wanted a photo book to capture the changes into my daughter’s life throughout a year. Also, each week, together with the picture, I had made a note of some facts about Olivia’s life, her achievements and some funny stories. And I wanted to keep a record of that too.

I decided to go through Photobox, a trusted site I used many time before. The quality of their product is awesome, and if for any reason you are not satisfied, they’ll do whatever they can to meet your expectations.

I chose two different sizes for the books, a square spiral softcover one and a small soft cover one. The first one was for the grandparents, big photos and no text. Because the notes were written in English and they don’t speak English, I thought it was too much effort to translate everything in Italian. But they ended up with about 60 full pages (20x20cm) picturing their beloved granddaughter, and so far they have not complained a bit!

The smaller book was for us to keep. I liked it because it was rectangular (approx. 18x14cm) and perfect for fitting both pictures and text side by side. I used the same layout throughout, except where there was too much text to fit in and in that case I used a double page spread for just one week. Probably a bigger size would have been better, but surely not cheap.

The site was fairly easy to use, I uploaded all the pictures at once, chose the type of book and the layout for the cover and for the inner pages, and the book was automatically created. Of course you can make changes and move things around, change the colour of the background and so on.

To add the text I copied it first from my blog onto a word document, and then manually copied it onto the site in the text box available on each page. A bit tedious but well worth it.

Olivia loves looking at her pictures, and I’m sure she will appreciate reading through my notes once she’ll be old enough to do so.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I’m just sharing my experience with Photobox because I love their products and used them many time before.