The many faces of Jude

Jude sports his Squiggy hair.

Assisi

Below are some pictures from our trip to Assisi.
This picture really sums up the town...there are friars everywhere! It's actually quite nice to see them dressed in their traditional garb. The town is certainly a very spiritual place--there is literally a nun or a friar on every corner, or in this case, in every phone booth.
Birkenstock is apparently the shoe endorsed by St. Francis as practically every Friar i saw was wearing some type of Birkenstock--even a few of the nuns jumped in on the trend.

A very vertical city

There are a lot of uphill roads in Assisi. This road is right next to our guest house---and it is very, very steep. Not a fun climb with a double stroller, but Dad tries to make it fun.

A loud talker....or maybe screamer.

Kian is a runner

I'm not sure if i have mentioned it on the blog before this post, but if you don't already know, Kian is a runner. He isn't one of those kids who clings to Mom and Dad---No, he could care less. He will run, and run, and run, and never look back.

Kian is loud

Kian and Jude wait...patiently.

Rainy days in Assisi

This is the church of San Rufino. Both St. Clare and St Francis were baptized here. Maybe we could give Kian a quick dunk in the water. Do you think St Francis's mom had to endure the terrible Pre-twos???

Basilica of St Francis

Seeing churches and Basilicas with Kian is virtually impossible. The big Italian men that shush you would have had a field day with us, so to avoid an impossible situation, one adult goes in while the other waits with the kiddies.
Here Kian, Dad, and Jude wait for Mom to come out. Notice the bare feet---Kian loves to have barefeet, and in the spirit of St. Frances, we let him rock the bare feet while sitting in front of the Basilica.

Not a bad alternative

The weather was bad for the second day of our trip too, so of course, we picked up and headed to Motalcino in Toscana. Brunello makes even the bad weather good!

Visiting the Sisters (nuns) has its perks

The Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement run a fabulous Guest house in Assisi. They were incredibly gracious---even in those frequent moments where Kian decided to test out his vocal chords. If you are going to Assisi, you should think about staying with the sisters. They were so helpful and friendly and never even flinched when they saw our crew coming through the doors. This picture is the view from our room. The church you see is the Basilica di Santa Chiara (or Basilica of St. Clare).
Kian loves St Francis. This all started with a St Francis ceramic piece we have hanging in our house. He loves to (gently) touch the birds, so this enormous St Francis sculpture at the guest house was a favorite piece---the gentle touch turned to a slap, but let's just think of this as a pat on the back---Good Job St. Francis!

Standing at the fountain---and really wanting to dive right in.

Leaving Assisi

This is the view of Assisi from the road...bye, bye St. Francis and St Clare! We loved your town!


Just relaxing---watching a few DVDS

The most beautiful blanket in the world

My friend Augusta has the most talented grandmother! She made me this BEAUTIFUL quilt, and I love it! I love to look at all the colors! Aren't they gorgeous? (mom is pretty entranced as she posts these pictures. The colors are so fun to look at!)
My quilt is my favorite place to do tummy time. Thanks so much to the Kaisers and especially Ms Marilyn---she is an amazing artist and a pretty amazing grandma too!

4 month checkup

Jude weighs 14.10 pounds and is 26 inches in length. According to the doctor, he is average for weight and a little above average for height. Unlike Kian, Jude can actually wear clothes for his age group! Mom kept thinking that the 3-6 month clothes seemed to be lasting a bit longer.

This is how it all happens...

Just in case you weren't aware--Kian is a messy eater.

The photos speak for themselves...

This is what is left of a subway sandwich and a yogurt.