Waiting for the bus

Some more pictures

Via Appia Antica, the Catacombs and Britta making some delectable swedish treat all on the first of May.

Felix is 6!

So May is month of birthdays in our family, mine is coming up and last week we celebrated Felix 6th!
My mum came over from Holland and that day Felix also had the 'dance festival' at school. So he's wearing black in the picture as he had to do his dance all dressed in black, his class did a chinese ribbon dance which looked beautiful.
As you can see, we're still waiting for those two front teeth. Felix is honing is lego skills and missed his teachers at school very much while we were away in Holland, so we're enjoying one last month of school before holidays start in earnest.In the picture you see him with Nikos, who's mum is actually from paraguay and dad is greek american.

april

What can I say about April, it wasn't a very happy month, my dad passed away.

I spent half the month in Holland, Francisco was away most of the time.

Here are some pictures anyway: A little bird crashed against our window on the balcony and didn't survive it so it got a burial in the garden, which was a kind of omen and education about death in one go as a week later we were at pap's funeral.

The next picture is a day in the park with Paul, long lost friend from NZ via Berlin who showed up unexpectedly on our doorstep.

that's better

Sunday afternoon in the city, some illustrations of our adventures. We originally set out to visit the MACRO (Museo Arte Contemporana ROma) in the ex mattatoio (ex slaughterhouse) building in nearby Testaccio but it was closed.. on a sunday. Everything is actually closed on a Sunday here EXCEPT for flower stalls. 

Every other shop/institute/cafe/bar restaurant is shut on sunday and every single afternoon during the week  but being able to bring flowers to your host or making up with your wife/mother is the only absolute inalienable 24/7 right in Rome.

In the playground a prime example of the pattern of Rome brought to you by 'the naughty boys' as Kika and Felix call them, then our lunch spot, a cheese horsey in the window of Volpetti, legendary delicatessen and Kika not feeling so terrific hiding behind her pink shades. she's on the sofa with the flu right now.

Pioggia in Roma

So ok what happened with Felix wrist.. he fell of his IKEA bunkbed while climbing down the stairs facing outward at when the kids were getting ready for bed. A big bang ensued, we all came running and every limb seemed to be in place still so we were quite relieved but it just kept on hurting and hurting. He could move all his fingers but was holding his hand and after a big cuddle and a discussion we decided to try and make it through the night to see if the pain would go. Felix however woke a few times with the same pain and in the morning, after taking Kika to kindergarten Felix and me skipped school (as i'm doing a four week italian course at the moment) to get it checked out by a doctor. A german/argentinian orthopedist sent us to the local catholic clinic for an xray and yes.. there it was, an apparently called 'green stick' fracture in his wrist. His bones hadn't snapped but had been bent like a young twig of a tree and ripped internally and he did after all need a plaster. It has to stay on for three weeks.

Bummer!
all this after a very rainy and stormy easter weekend that brought Francisco on the verge of depression as we decided to go for a drive to check out the 'surf' but the coast immediate south of Rome didn't really cheer us up. The state of the weather meant a picknick in the car and easter egg hunt in the car.
So we missed Waiheke Island a lot actually (the surf may not be that happening but the beaches do look a whole lot more appealing).
Here's Kika with the colomba, the traditional easter bread here in Italy, in the shape of a dove. (like pan dulce actually) We had a nice Pasqueta (easter monday), Britta and Joacim came over with their two girls and another friend and we didn't leave the house, which was a good thing as it snowed/hailed/trees fell on cars etc. outside.

Milestones

So much has happened...
but this is of course pretty significant. Losing your top front teeth (both) and breaking your wrist in the same week..