As for February...

Life at the Lamers' has been quite exciting as of late. As if having a 6 month old isn’t exciting all on it’s own, there have been many other things of interest over the past month. First though, I must say that this is Duquesa and I’m a bit shy at this whole writing a blog post thing for the first time, especially after Jon’s rave reviews on his posts. My husband has skills that are hard to match and hard to tame. He’s my Liger! I’m continuously in awe and thankful!

Jon endured and excelled in the last exam period, which was a 2-week period at the end of January and beginning of February. All of our energy went into helping him prepare and he did very well. After the exams, Jon’s body gave in to the exhaustion and he came down with a terrible flu that gave him a temperature of as high as 103.8 F, but thankfully after a week of nursing him back to health, he was good to go for the new semester. Now he has started back to classes after a much needed and enjoyable break. Unlike last semester when he only had classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he now has class every day, but no marathon class days thankfully. So Jerome and I have him home at least half the day most days. I wish I could capture the sheer delight that Jerome exudes upon Jon’s return home. His face lights up in a big grin that melts Jon’s heart and his little limbs just shake in want of his Daddy. I must say that I share in some of that excitement.

Not only will Jon have a full class load this semester, but he will also be putting much of his focus on his Tessina (thesis) for the Licentiate, which he hopes to present and defend by the end of June. He is very motivated to complete this and he has a topic that he is passionate about, so I’m expecting great things from his work. We’re with him every step of the way.

When Jon has a few spare hours on Sunday afternoons, SMAFL has geared back up for a promising spring season. SMAFL is the acronym for the Santa Marinella American Football League that Jon started two years ago. All the guys and sometimes a few ladies enjoy a little competition on the beach, while the Italians watch in wonder and delight.

Rachelle has ventured out and made many new friends recently who keep her quite socially booked. In fact, she gave Jon and I a romantic Valentine’s Day at home alone, while she celebrated with other singles at the Monkey’s Pub (the only pub in our little beach town). Rachelle’s excited to have a class this semester with the Dominican appointed as the Pope’s personal theologian.

And now for the little man that we all love so much: He’s growing up! And growing so much that he has grown out of all of his preemie clothes and most of his newborn sized clothes. I couldn’t believe it as I was packing away these little things that he used to swim in at one time. Jerome had his final “controllo”/check up at Ospedale Bambino Gesu on February 19^th and all checked out well. We saw a physical therapist for some exercise tips to loosen up his stiff little muscles and we had a breathing test to check his lung capacity, which is A-OK. Jerome weighed in at a grand total of 12.23 pounds and is 22 inches long. My what a big boy….comparatively at least.

Then on February 25^th, Jerome reached ½ of a year of age. It was a Sunday, so we celebrated in our usual Sunday manner; 8am mass, then cappuccinos and cornetti at the LunaBlu Café with the Wunsch and Genung Families. The Italians always marvel at 3 babies in one place and with such young parents to boot. It was a fun celebration, then Jerome conked out for his morning nap, so the party was over and we headed home.

Something that Jerome has taken a huge interest in recently is my water glass. If I’m holding him and take a drink of water he leans towards me with so much force that he almost hits my glass. So I decided to try to put the glass up to his little mouth and sure enough, he puts one hand on it to steady it and then he actually drinks from it. It’s incredible. This is a regular occurrence now, and he’s staying quite hydrated.

Thursday, March 1^st was a day to be remembered. We left early that morning on a train to Rome and arrived at the U.S. Embassy promptly for our 9am appointment. After many papers and signatures, we came to the point where the official in charge of our paperwork signed his signature and at the same time announced with much enthusiasm, “Congratulations, Jerome is now officially an American Citizen!!!” It was quite a circus act to correctly take the pictures for Jerome’s passport in an adult photo booth, but thankfully we performed well and the pics were accepted, not to mention cute. Our adventures at the Embassy are not quite done, but thankfully they are well under way. At least now we know that we will be able to bring our bundle home with us this summer, without any smuggling involved.

Later that same day after a very restful nap from the busy morning, Jerome celebrated being a citizen of the best country in the world by taking his first bites of solid food in the form of crema di riso (rice cereal). The look on his face was priceless and if Jon can post the video to this blog, then you will see what I mean. I suppose I would be pretty shocked as well to taste something new after 6 months of only one thing entering my mouth. But he quickly warmed up to it and became quite eager for each following bite. In the days since, he has become a pro and looks forward to his cereal in the evening with a wide mouth and practicing jaw movements. I expect to notice a few extra pounds here and there soon.

As for me, I’m loving the life of Mommy and wife. I never knew a little boy could bring me so much joy. I try to soak up his sweetness and beg my brain to remember the simple little things every day. On a less sentimental note, you may or may not know, but unfortunately we are NOT proud owners of a washing machine. Washing is usually done by hand and then hung to dry on our drying rack on our patio. Our friend Sebastian, who is from Germany and studies here, has recently been so kind as to let us use his washing machine. Let’s just say, I’m one happy clothes washer when it involves a machine other than my arms.

We hope that you are all well and enjoying the onset of spring. We don’t want to make anyone jealous, but we’re loving the 65-degree, blue sky, sun shiny days on the Mediterranean. Ciao!