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.

Fruits of the womb // 7 weeks and a lot of belly changes

So we are really close to meet this baby boy and I cannot believe how fast this past month has gone by! I had plans to relax, to physically and mentally prepare for this baby, to enjoy the last few weeks of being pregnant. Well, none of this has happened. I spent most of my time running around to understand how the Italian health system works for non residents, to catch up with the many tests and doctors appointments required here, fighting against painful Braxton Hicks contractions and, of course, keeping my 2 year old entertained all day.

The past two weeks have probably been the hardest, so now I'm really looking forward to meet this baby and get rid of this ginormous belly. The baby should be now more than 49.5cm long from head to heel and weighing nearly 3kg.

And below is what the past month my belly looked liked.

This is the first photo I took in our new place, and surely one of  my favourite.

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.

A new beginning

We did it! After months of dreaming and planning and questioning if we were doing the right thing, we took the risk and moved to Rome. At 34 weeks pregnant, with a full-time working partner and a toddler out of nursery, it has not been the easiest of moves, but we did it. We have been in our new place for a month now, and still trying to make it feels like home before the baby arrives in two weeks. We had a few hick ups as expected (it only took 3 weeks to get internet connection at home!), but nothing unmanageable to make us think we made a mistake. We are still trying to find a new balance, a new routine, to get to know the neighbourhood, to adjust again to the Italian lifestyle (not just the fancy stuff!) but taking each day as it comes has proved to be the best way to deal with the changes. I would have loved to document it all here, but reality has proved differently. Instagram has been a valuable tool to document some of it, but I've missed this place, my weekly posts, my projects. I've been thinking about writing this post for such a long time! I will try to get back to my schedule, but considering the other imminent change in my life it will be a very slow process. My priority now is to get ready to welcome this baby into our family, to make sure the change won't affect Olivia too much, but also to enjoy some alone time with my other half before our lives get shattered again...even if it's just watching an episode (or two) of House of Cards late in the evening.