Sunday, December 21, 2008

Babbo Natale

Above: Eli meeting Babbo Natale for the first time ever
Below: Eli was not quite enamored of him.



Above: Eli munching on some of the chocolate Babbo Natale gave to him.
Below: Eli checking out the man in red.

Above: Babbo Natale handing out some treats.
Below: Eli playing around before the big man arrived.

Above: Caroline and Sonata waiting for the event to begin.



Hey there. Not a ton to report, but I'll try to make it interesting.

School just finished yesterday, and now I am officially on Winter Vacation. Caroline is sick with a cold, and Eli is just getting up from a nap. We don't have too many plans for the vacation. Caroline is 34 weeks pregnant and doing fine. We canceled some of our travel plans because she is not too mobile these days. All for the best, I think. We all are pretty wiped out after a pretty hectic fall semester. We do have an apartment booked in Rome for three days after New Year's. That should be fun.

Eli's school had a Christmas event last weekend while Sonata was visiting us. One of the dads dressed up as Babbo Natale, a.k.a. Santa, and handed out presents. Needless to say the kids were a little skeptical of the jolly fellow dressed in red. There were many tears and even more cameras. It was truly an event to behold. The upshot is that Eli is getting into the Christmas spirit for the first time in his young life. By "getting into the Christmas spirit," I mean waking up every morning, grabbing a present from under the tree and saying, "Open it. Open it." All consumerism aside, this is a nice time of year here in Viterbo. The students families are here visiting, the town is decorated for the holidays, the christmas market is in full swing and people are crowding the streets every evening for the passeggiata. The weather has turned sunny again after about three weeks of on and off rain. It is great to be on vacation and have loads of time with the family.

We are having a few people over for a Christmas Eve dinner. I am cooking a turkey (covered in sage and pancetta) for the first time. (Wish me luck. Any advice is much appreciated.) Planning for that meal is a nice project for the first part of this break. Other than that we are just trying to relax and get some quality time in with Eli before his little brother arrives in four weeks or so.

We hope that you all are well and that you are enjoying the holiday season. We miss you all and are thinking of you. We are off to a cafe to grab some hot chocolate. Lots of love,

Sam