The trip no one will forget...

During our Easter break, Carlo decided to take us to Naples to visit his uncle and aunt.  Carlo's mom is from the Naples area and grew up there. She talks about Naples non-stop and so Carlo also asked if she wanted to come along as well.

So off we went.. on a 10 hour train ride. We tried to get seat on the "faster" train but it was completely sold out!

I had suggested to Carlo that we buy an extra seat so that we could have 4 seats together. My theory was that it would be more comfortable in changing, feeding and keeping the baby entertained... and I was right! V loved having her own seat and since we rode 1st class, our seats reclined a lot so it was great when it came time for naps!

Most of the time, was spent reading, sleeping or walking Valentina up and down the aisle and of course, having lots of yummy snacks. Things were going great until we got to Livorno (which is about an hour south of Pisa).  The conductor came over the speaker and said we would be stopping there for a while because of an accident on the train tracks. We sat and debated what the accident could have been.
As we left Livorno, no one was prepared to see a DEAD BODY still laying on the tracks! We saw the Police and a body still laying there with a sheet covered over it. It was a bit of a shock to everyone.

By the time we got to Naples is was after 9pm. We were tired, hungry and Valentina was up past her bedtime. We were met by Zio Salvatore, the MIL's brother and he drove us to his place which is about 30 minutes outside of Naples. We were doing great until about 3 minutes before we got to the house. That's when Valentina threw up. We really didn't think too much of it although we figured it must have been the bumpy ride. Factor that in with no car seat..  and you're bound to get messy. Luckily, it was only a little bit but it was enough for her to get completely pale. As we got settled, I changed her clothes and gave her a bottle. She quickly feel asleep and got the color back in her face while we stuff ourselves silly with the most amazing seafood EVER!

The next morning, Valentina woke up perfectly fine. We had our breakfast and headed over to the train station to make our way into Naples. Valentina was having a fantastic time, waving at everyone and just soaking up the environment.

I loved walking around and seeing all of the seafood vendors. Everything looked so good and fresh!

You can't go to Naples and not have Pizza but sadly this was the closest thing I got to. Pizzetta with ricotta was ..... mmmmmmmm...... YUM! It was fresh out of the oven and into my tummy!

It was such a bright day that a lot of my pictures came out too dark or too bright. I kept messing with the exposure settings and switching between manual and auto so some of these are not the best quality.

Once we got back home, Zia had more delicious food waiting for us. One of my favorite things to eat is Mozzarella di Bufala. That is mozzarella made with buffalo milk. Words can not describe how amazing it tastes. You'll just have to try it for yourself.

After lunch we rested and Valentina and I walked around Zia and Zio's house. They have a great place with a large balcony and tons of plants and flowers. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of them but I did get this small space near their front door.

After resting a bit, I gave Valentina a quick snack and it was off to Baia to see the castle. Here's the problem with traveling with a child. 99% of the cars in Italy are small. You can barely squeeze in 4-5 people. If you have a car seat, then you're looking at 3 people in a car. I am strongly against having a child sitting on your lap in a car. I have always protest and insisted in car seats when people want to drive us home. Sometimes, Valentina does ok and then there are times like this one. We barely made it 10 minutes into the drive when Valentina threw up. Zio pulled over and we cleaned her up. She wasn't phased by it at all. She was looking at us like it was no big deal. We got back in and kept driving... then a few minutes later, there was more.

More pulling over and cleaning. This time she was a bit fussier and only wanted me. By this time, the car was smelling pretty bad, I was covered in it, my MIL's pants were covered and V's clothes were completely soaked in vomit.  We stripped her down and left her jacket on since it was breezy that evening. We continued and she threw up again.. but a small amount that I was able to catch with some kleenex. She was just about to doze off when we reached the lookout point of the castle. I didn't want to, but I was urged to get out of the car so I wouldn't smell the vomit. This of course was a HUGE mistake because Valentina woke up and wanted to see everything too. I was trying to shield the wind from her because she was soaking wet from her vomit. We were there just a few minute and I got back in the car.

We started making our way back when... she threw up.... AGAIN! By this time, I was almost in tears. Everyone was trying to tell me why she was throwing up. It was the yogurt, no she didn't digest her snack, no she's teething, no it's the acid from all of the cheese she ate yesterday.... I just wanted to yell and say... NO.. IT'S BECAUSE SHE'S NOT IN A CAR SEAT LIKE SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE! She's isn't used to bumpy, windy roads. Again, no one was listening to me. We get back into the car and I am praying that she falls asleep until we get home. She was worn out, weak and sick. She threw up again.... 5 times total and then she finally feel asleep.

Carlo took these photos while I had Valentina ..

We got home and everyone immediately changed into something else and Zia started a load of laundry. Zio Salvatore was the only one that didn't get thrown up on, but he had to clean the mess in the car. Valentina slept while we made her a bottle of chamomile tea to help settle her tummy. We all sat and enjoy some Pastiera Napoletana before going to bed.

The next day, we decided to leave Valentina at home with Zia Rosalia and my MIL while Carlo and I do some sightseeing in Pozzuoli. We walked around the pier and checked out the action on the fishing boats.

The guys were packing up their gear to finish out their day...

While the captain deal with some customers. You can't get much fresher than this! The octopus was still alive!

We continued our walk and came upon the Greek ruins. We sat for a while taking photos when we heard someone calling Carlo's name...

It was Zio Salvatore. He said that he got a phone call that Valentina was crying and wouldn't stop and we should get home. After running some quick errands, we got home and found Valentina with my MIL, happy as can be and Zia Rosalia making gnocchi and ragu alla napoletana.

Unfortunately for Valentina, she was miserable and slept all day long. She would only wake up to eat fruit or have some chamomile tea. I had told Carlo that morning that V felt warm but no one wanted to listen to me and of course, she ended up getting a fever and Carlo had to go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine. I should have gotten a picture of us but my only thought was my sweet monkey laying in bed with a fever and upset stomach. We literally spent most of our trip in bed... all 3 of us. Just laying with the baby cuddling her and reading. The next morning, Valentina seemed to be doing much better but we mostly hung out at the house watching The Royal Wedding...

and drooling over this delicious strawberry shortcake that both Zia and Zio made together. She gave me the recipe and I'll be trying it very soon!

Our final day in Naples and we continued to eat non-stop. Carlo and I took Valentina for a walk but with all of the food we ate, it really didn't help us much.

Especially when we were given Pizza to eat on the train ride back to Torino. If you've never had potatoes on Pizza then you should try it... it's fantastic! Little did we know that this pizza was the only thing Valentina wanted to eat on the trip. She started rejecting everything we had for her. (a few days later, her first molar came in!... she wanted to chew... yet still rejected her pasta. then i realized that she wanted table food and not her unseasoned baby food.)

Sadly, we didn't get to see much of Naples so we'll definitely have to plan to go again.

Valentina's 1st Birthday Party!

Well, we did it! We I successfully planned and executed a First Birthday Party! I had so much fun making decorations and trying to figure out what kinda of party I wanted VJ to have. A few months ago, I wrote about the dilemma I had about having a birthday party. I also linked to a blog that had inspired me to change my mind about the party.

I started planning about a month before her actual birthday and made a list of everything I wanted to do with possible themes. I thought about a Princess theme and Circus theme. Since I'm a fan of Winnie the Pooh, I decided that it was probably the easiest to go with also because Winnie the Pooh decorations are everywhere here.

I started with invitations. Trying to be somewhat creative I downloaded some Disney fonts and came up with this:

Carlo and I looked over 3 different templates and chose this one as our favorite. We also just really loved this picture of VJ. (I'm not very fancy.. I made this on Picasa) Next, It was time for Tissue paper balls! I chose the Martha Stewart easy breezy instrutions. These are not only super simple and cute but can be a bit time consuming. I decided to make them ahead of time. 3 weeks before the party to be exact. (I'm so glad I did!)

I basically folded them accordion style and held them in place with a paperclip. The week of the party, I wrapped floral wire around the center, then attached white thread, separated and fluffed... and presto! Pretty tissue paper balls! Italian tissue paper is much thicker than U.S. tissue paper. It also has more dye in it so by the end of the night, my hands were all sorts of colors!

There was an instant party on my desk. I only did 4 different colors but because tissue paper or carta velina is different here, I had to cut and cut some more.. I ended with 4 big ones and 8 small ones.  Valentina's birthday fell on Easter weekend and I wanted to have an easter egg hunt. However, since we went to Naples after her birthday, we had to push the party back another week... but I decided to do them anyway.  I thought the confetti eggs would be fun. I couldn't find any food coloring (it's only sold in specialty shops- until 2 weeks ago- now you can find them at Carrefour) so, dying egss was out of the question.  So, I thought I'd just paper mache the eggs. For that, I used crepe paper which is also different from U.S. crepe paper. I bought some confetti and just sprinkled tons of it inside the eggs. I have to say that this was much easier than dyeing eggs and I'll be doing it again next year.

The week of the party, I made a schedule of everything that needed to be done and on what day. I WAS NOT going to stress about this party and I didn't want to do things at the last minute. I hate it when there is still lots of things to do on the day of the party. That's not how I roll. On Wednesday night, Carlo and I hung the tissue paper balls and I must say.. they looked great! We decided to keep them up after the party!

On Thursday night, I made Sugar Cookie dough. My mom was flying in on Friday and bringing a 'V' and '1' cookie cutters. So that afternoon, I finished the cookies and my mom glazed them. We put a pink 'V' with a green '1' in (or vice versa) and put them into little bags. They were part of the goody bags we made.

A few weeks before the party, I had already decided that I was going to make a banner. I doodled some ideas in my Moleskine, wrote what phrases I wanted to do, etc...  Since I kinda wanted a Pooh theme, I used the Disney fonts from the invitations for the banner. I used black construction paper and cut out squares.. er.. rectangles I guess and covered them in Pooh wrapping paper. I had Carlo print out a few letters to test out the size of the font and it was perfect. So, when I asked him to print the rest, I was a bit shocked to see that they weren't big enough now. Something happened. The font was the same size but yet they weren't printing out the same way. The party was in a few days and I needed to finish the banner ASAP to stay on schedule. So, instead of trying to figure things out, I started tracing and drawing. I ended drawing the letters myself and coloring them with a black permanent marker. It took me 2 days and I started getting headaches. I had to leave the balcony open and stand outside for fresh air. It was worth it though... I loved how it came out. More importantly, I loved that my daughter didn't have a generic 'Happy Birthday' banner.. She's fancy... cause that's how we roll!

I didn't want to go overboard on the gift bags, so I put just the cookies and some chocolates inside. We invited some kids to the party so for those families, I also added a small Winnie the Pooh book and a small bottle of bubbles!

No party is complete without a Piñata. My mom had sent one about a month before but Carlo and I decided not to actually use it for breaking open. So we hung it on the doorway into the kitchen. After all, VJ is ONE... she doesn't know what to do with a piñata or how to hit one anyway.

With the party room decorated, I finalized all of the small details and finished preparing the food. After everything was done, I had 30 minutes to spare and relaxed before the party "officially" started!

I wanted to decorate her highchair Princess throne but I didn't want her to get distracted since she needed to eat instead of play with everything so, I went simple. A few balloons and a party streamer across the tray.

I was caught up in the moment of my daughter's 1st birthday that I forgot to take a picture of the food but, you get the general idea with this one. I wanted VJ and her baby friends to be able to eat everything we had. I WAS NOT going to go overboard on food either. After all we weren't hosting very many people so I kept it very simple. Our menu was:

7 Layer Bean Dip 

(6 layers actually because I don't like olives)

I made 2 pans, one with green onions and one without. This was a big hit with our guests since American/Tex-Mex is rare in Italy.

Sandwiches with Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Tomato

Simple and delicious. No mayo or mustard. I drizzled Olive oil on the tomatoes and added some salt. I also made some without prosciutto.

Cheese Puffs

Valentina LOVES them. She wont stop at just one.. or two. She always wants more.

Tortilla Chips

You can't have a bean dip without Tortilla chips!

Strawberries & Banana fruit salad

My MIL's super yummy strawberries and bananas... with sugar and lemon juice. It's the perfect after meal treat!

As scheduled, Valentina took a 2 hour nap before her party. It was perfect. She slept so well while the rest of us got ourselves ready and prepared the food. We had asked my MIL to come over about an hour early to entertain the baby while we finished setting up. When she arrived Valentina was still asleep so, she and my mom were able to sit and chat. Valentina woke up about 20 minutes minutes before her party was to start. I got her dressed in a shirt that my mom had sent. It was white with little '1's' and balloons on it. It came with a matching bib that said, 'My 1st birthday' and a crown with a cupcake and candle on it. I thought it would be cute to make a matching tutu for her to wear since she had a crown. That way she could be the princess! I put her hair in pig tails and she was all set.

We were so happy to have my mom here for the party. My parents came 5 days after Valentina was born and then when she turned 5 months. So, I really wanted them to be here for her party. Sadly, my dad wasn't able to take off work so, my mom flew solo. We talk to my mom almost everyday on Skype and Valentina has gotten used to hearing her voice. So every time my mom would say something, Valentina would turn to look at her. I guess to make sure she was actually here in person and not on the computer.

VJ had a blast at her party. She got lots of attention and even a big hug from Agustin. Of course, she gave him a kiss.. as she always does. She loves to play with Agustin and now that they're getting older, they'll be able to do more than just stare at each other.

After our meal, it was time to sing 'Tanti Auguri' and enjoy some yummy desserts. In Italy, you won't find the traditional American style birthday cake. Most often you'll see a tray of pastries and cookies, a fruit tart like Agustin had at his birthday or maybe a one-layer cake like this one. Gotta say, with yummy desserts like these, I could almost do without a birthday cake....

almost.... but I still want something. I made cupcakes so that it would be easier to distribute and also freeze for a rainy day. I made a basic chocolate cake recipe from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook but for some reason, I didn't let the butter melt enough because instead of my batter coming out nice and creamy, it came out like a mousse and quite frankly tasted like a Wendy's Frosty.  It was DELISH! I made some Vanilla frosting that I found on The Way the Cookie Crumbles. This frosting was amazingly easy and sooo good. We made pink and purple frosting but left Valentina's white. Then we added pink or purple sprinkles and the birthday cupcake had both.

With pastries and cupcakes, we also had a tray of cookies. These are so good. They range from chocolate, to fruit, or nut flavors. It's the perfect choice when you want another piece of cake/cupcake but don't want to over-indulge.

This was our only family pictures taken at her party. It was a good thing I remembered too because we were having way too much fun. I was behind the camera most of the time and Carlo was busy with food duties.

Valentina LOVED her cupcake. Carlo was hesitant to let her eat it by herself but I kept telling him that's the fun of it. It's her first birthday, she should be able to make a HUGE mess eating a cupcake by herself.

She actually didn't make too much of a mess. Not only did she eat everything but practically licked herself clean too!

As I mentioned, we really wanted the day to be low key and only invite a few people. Unfortunately, we chose to have Valentina's party the same day that Giro d'Italia was pass through Torino as well as members from the Alpine Military division who came in for Unification celebrations.  Some of our guests were stuck in traffic and were late. Regardless, we had a wonderful time.  We had Zia Laura (Carlo's sister) come early to play with the birthday girl.

Zia Paola also joined us for the special day. Paola and Carlo have been friends for quite a few years now. She was also one of the first to know about the pregnancy. I still remember that we met her for Pizza when I was 9 weeks pregnant. 

Zia Marina has been such a huge help to us. She so very kindly took me and Valentina to the airport to pick up my mom. (so that she wouldn't have to use a taxi) Marina was one of Carlo's Elementary school teachers. His mom kept in touch with her and as Carlo got older remained in contact. 

Nonna, (Carlo's mom) was of course in attendance. She always makes Valentina laugh with some kind of funny noise.

We were very happy to have Gian Luca, Mirian, and Agustin join us too. We look forward to all of the fun time they'll have together!

I think she had a fun day... after all

she took a 2nd nap after the party was over!

(and that nap was 2 hours long too!!)