Monterey

This weekend we went to Monterey with the Stanford BizKids club. It was a great, quick trip with a few lovely days on the beach. Beckham loved his first trip to the ocean.

Birthday Money $$

My mom insists that when she gives us birthday money we have to tell her what we spend it on. She is trying to monitor that we don't spend it on bills - as if I would!

I stopped by Anthropologie today and I'll tell you all what I spent some of my birthday money on:

This super cute bag!
And this sweater (in teal...love it!)

Field Trip

Today we went with our friend, Tessa...

to meet our brand new friend Fritz. Welcome to the world Baby Fritz.

Two Months

My Little Man turned two months old today. I can't believe it has already been that long. I miss his newborn look already, but we are totally enjoying this new more alert phase he is in.

Some things about Little Man:

*loves to stare at lights

*is mesmerized by white walls and ceilings

*has big hands and feet

*eats often and a lot

*loves his soother

*has funny hair that hangs over his ears

*makes loud grunting sounds when he sleeps

*is a good baby and a good sleeper

*love to suck on (attack) his fist

*loves to try to stand with his strong legs

*no longer minds having his diapers changed

*smiles and "talks" tons

*is already wearing 3/6 month clothes

My favorite thing about Beckham right now is that he is totally a morning person. As soon as he wakes up he is all giggles and smiles and conversation. It makes waking up more exciting for me and Brendon.

Beckham's Blessing Day

We blessed Beckham this past Sunday. It was small and intimate with just our immediate families at my parent's home. He slept through the whole thing, but he looked darn cute in his sailor outfit we made him.

One Last Time

We got home from Italy at 2 am Saturday morning...and woke up a few hours later to go boating. We couldn't resist one last trip out to the houseboat for the summer.

Frequent Flyer

We were shocked (and majorly relieved!) at how well Beckham did traveling to and from Italy. Not a single cry on any of the LONG flights. I think we'll keep him!

Castel Sant'Angelo

Yesterday Beck and I went exploring and toured Castel Sant'Angelo. The Roman Emperor Hadrian built it as a mausoleum for himself, and then later it was used as a fortress and a castle before it was converted to the museum it is today. If you've read the book or seen the movie "Angels & Demons" you may recognize it.

There was an amazing view of the city from the top.
Great view of St. Peter's Basilica
It wouldn't be a building in Rome if it didn't have amazing colored ceilings!

Hadrian built this beautiful bridge leading to his tomb so that people could visit him.

A Few More Tuscany Pictures

I finally downloaded the photos from my camera (the others were from B's camera). Just a few...

I am such a sucker for bougainvillea. It's one of my favorite flowers/bushes. This purple was beautiful!
Father and son just chilling in Il Campo in Sienna


View at our hotel
The men in my life.

Gelato

With only two days left in this beloved country I am already mourning the upcoming loss of my daily (sometimes multiple times per day) gelato fix. Not to mention the pizza, pasta, mozzarella, and proscuitto di parma!

The first time I visited Italy I fell in love with the flavor "bacio" and hardly tried anything else. This time I am proud to say I have tried a new flavor every day. Some of my favorites have been: orange chocolate, coconut, peach, and pistachio. Yum!

Under The Tuscan Sun

This weekend Brendon, Beck and I had a Tuscan getaway. Saturday morning we drove to Siena and stayed in beautiful Villa Dievole - a gorgeous winery out in the country. The scenery was everything I imagined Tuscany to be, and one of my favorite places in Italy I have seen so far. We did the wine tour (people kind of look at you funny when you're not actually drinking during the tour), relaxed, and ate delicious food!

Sunday we went into town (Siena) and toured around. It is the most adorable town! The walkways are narrow and pedestrian only - it reminded me of Venice but without the waterways. We were lucky to be entertained by a parade of sorts while we lounged in Il Campo (the famous and bustling piazza). On the drive home from Siena we stopped quickly at the hill town of Orvieto. We got there just as the sun was going down, but had time to enjoy the amazing view off the cliffs as well as tour the beautiful Duomo.

Siena Duomo
Orvieto Duomo

Going To The Chapel

Friday Beckham and I toured around two churches in Rome. We went to St. Peter in Chains, famous for housing the chains that held St. Peter and also for it's sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo.

At the recommendation of my brother and sister-in-law (they visited us last weekend) we also saw St. Paul's Outside The Walls built in 380 AD and the largest church in Christendom until St. Peter's Basilica. It was beautiful! And enormous.

For Your Entertainment Pleasure

Sometimes Beckham and I are lazy and we lounge around in our pj's in the hotel. Here's a video of my cute guy talking to me while we lounge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYFWbP_f7K8

Exploring

Today I, along with my trusty travel companion, Beckham, headed out planning to see Mamertine Prison. Unfortunately it was closed for some reason, so we decided instead just to take a nice walk and take another look at some of the sites we had already visited.

Ruins in the Roman Forum

Great view of the Colosseum from the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monumen
Trajan's Column

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Victor Emmanuel Monument (apparently it is so large a person could fit inside the horse's hoof)
She-wolf (Romulus and Remus) statue
And my favorite sight of all! My Little Man riding in his Bjorn on my chest.