I Heart Italy!

Well, we're back. Italy was fantastic. Being home without Todd again is blah. I'm married to a dreamboat and it stinks being on the opposite side of the globe from him. It was great fun meeting in the middle, and I miss my man so much now.

Aaw, the three of us together again.

Hazel did much better than expected on the looong plane trips, and was awesome for our whole vacation.

She did a lot of this:

and this:

and this:

She loved being outside all day and having so many new things to look at and think about.

The Italians loved her. There were always people cooing at her, snapping their fingers in her face and trying to make her smile. It was exciting at first, but by the end I was wishing they'd give me and my baby a little more personal space. ;)

Too much happens in a two-week vacation to make it into a blog post, but I will give you the top highlights. Other than that, just know that Todd and I were ecstatic to be together, that he was fabulous with Hazel, and that we would do the whole thing over again a million times if we could.

The Colosseum was absolutely mind-blowing. You just can't fathom it's magnitude until you're standing inside it. How incredible. You all must go and see it sometime in your life.

I loved seeing all the ruins (they're scattered throughout the whole country, just jutting up on a hillside here and next to a farmhouse there). We also went to Pompey, and it's just so cool to think you're walking on stones and looking at remnants of buildings that are 2000 years old.

It was very exciting to see art in person that you've read and heard about for years, super famous stuff like the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's David.

Cinque Terra was breathtakingly beautiful. We went on hikes and admired the coastline, marveled at the farms being built on the terraced land and impressed by the houses all stacked on top of each other, all of it right on the cliff edges.

Todd took this picture himself. He's good, huh? He should go pro.

Venice was romantic, especially at night.
One of the coolest things we learned about Venice was that a lot of the main floors of the buildings there used to be second or third floors. The city is slowly sinking into the water, so they keep building new layers of road, and now the old main floors are underwater. So interesting!

We traveled mostly by train, and stayed at little bed and breakfasts. Most of the places had pack and plays for Hazel to sleep in, but we did have to get creative in Venice. Check her out sleeping in a drawer!

We only liked two Italian deserts. Most of them were too dry for our liking. However, we had gelato nearly every day, and we discovered that we love canoles. Mmm, mmm, good!

Holy Canole!

I'm so glad we went and had this trip together as a little family. It was so exciting to finally get to Italy - I've dreamed about it since I was a kid. But most of all, it was just so comforting to be with Todd again. He's doing well and has been safe so far, so thank you all for your prayers for him.

Man, I miss you, babe.

Mystery

What makes Hazel's carseat so much more conducive to naps than her crib is? I swear, she hardly ever sleeps for longer than 30 minutes during the day, unless she's in the carseat. So far, Hazel's been asleep in that thing for two hours, and she's not made a peep yet. What the heck? Should I go on "errands" every time she needs a nap? Would that give me a chance to take a shower and dress without her waking up?

I Wish There Was No Such Thing As Club Foot

I took Hazel to Shriner's Hospital last week for a second opinion. Here is what they had to say:

1. The plastic brace Hazel's in now isn't going to work. If she only wears that, her foot will regress. She needs a bar brace to control how much she can move her foot. :( However, they have one that seems a little better than what Hazel was in before. The bar is lighter, and it's attached with suede straps instead of leather shoes.

2. Her foot is not completely corrected, and she should go through two or three more casts before she moves on to the brace.


Then I went to Primary's (where we've been going) a couple of days later, and the doctor there told me Hazel's foot looked fine.

But after a lot of prodding, she admitted that the plastic brace is not as effective, and Hazel will have to wear it full time for a year, not just three months like with the bar brace. And if down the road it doesn't look like Haz's foot is getting better, then she will need to go back to the casts. But she thinks Hazel's foot looks just fine right now.


While I was at Shriner's, I saw a little boy (one or two years old) with club feet, trying to walk down the hall. He walked on the outsides of his feet, and had to hold his mom's hand to keep his balance. It was really sad. I watched that, and I knew I needed to do everything I can now so that Hazel doesn't have to struggle to walk later.

Thus, I think we're going to switch over to Shriner's. I'm still in the ponder and pray stage, but that's what I'm leaning towards. So frustrating. I really wanted to have them tell me Hazel's foot looked perfect, and she didn't need to wear a brace at all anymore. Dream on, huh?

They were ready to put Hazel in a new cast then and there, but we had to put things on hold while we go to ITALY! The chica grows too fast to stay in one cast for that long. So, we'll keep wearing the plastic brace for now, becaues it's better than nothing, and then get intenseive when we get home in a few weeks. Blah blah.