We taught Noah about time and clocks and most importantly that he is not allowed to wake us up until the clock says 7. It took him a couple days of waking up crying and talking about it not being 7 yet and that he still wanted us to get up. But now he’s got it down pat. This morning he woke up at 6:51 and sat up. I woke up too but pretended to still be asleep. He sat there and looked at the clock and then out the window and then at the clock and then whatever it took to keep him occupied. I started to drift off again when all of a sudden he said “Oh! it’s 7.” Then he came and bent over me and said “Mommy, the clock says 7, it’s time to wake up. Mommy, it’s already 7, get out of bed please. Look, here’s the clock.” THEN he went over to Jeff’s side and did the same thing, but this time making sure to add “Babbo, it’s time to make coffee.” Nice touch Noah!
We are now using this method throughout the day as well…not just in the morning and he seems to do much better with it than with us simply saying, it’s time to go, or no, it’s not time to do this, etc. For example, yesterday at the park I told him we could only stay until my watch said 6:30. He would play and then run over to check my watch and then would run off to play some more. When he saw my watch turn to 6:30 he got off the toy and walked over to our stroller and said it was time to go eat dinner. Before discovering this “time awareness method,” I would have told him that it was time to leave even after giving him warnings and he would have thrown a fit. It’s nice to find new ways to make life easier.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
March 27 2010
La Vita Piacentina is much more traditional than that of Florence. Everything follows the Italian clock here without exception. The world closes for pranzo e pausa from 12:30 until 3:30 and then after noon on Saturdays and then all day Sunday. It’s a big change from the tourist center of Florence where you can still find stuff open during the Pausa. The other day Noah was napping during the Pausa and I had absolutely nothing to do; Jeff was on the computer, nothing was open, and I didn’t even have a book to read let alone a pamphlet or brochure. I realized I needed to go with the Italian flow and simply take a nap. What a strange occurance.
We’ve signed up at the library which happens to be right around the corner from us. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to have a library card. For some reason it never dawned on me to borrow books from the library here in Italy before. I was planning to go buy a book when my senses kicked in and I stopped by the library and signed up. Easy as pie! I came home with a pile of books and some dvds AND I discovered that the children’s library is super cool. Noah really enjoys going and there are often a number of other kids there to play and read. Noah chose 2 books to check out yesterday and he has carried them with him everywhere since. He made sure to take them to Fede’s parents house to show Nonno and Manu (her nickname for him from Emmanuela). One is “Gigi, il maialino” and the other is “Pino, il leoncino.” I think we’ve read them about 100 times already and he likes to open them to certain pages to show us what Pino or Gigi is doing.
We’ve signed up at the library which happens to be right around the corner from us. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to have a library card. For some reason it never dawned on me to borrow books from the library here in Italy before. I was planning to go buy a book when my senses kicked in and I stopped by the library and signed up. Easy as pie! I came home with a pile of books and some dvds AND I discovered that the children’s library is super cool. Noah really enjoys going and there are often a number of other kids there to play and read. Noah chose 2 books to check out yesterday and he has carried them with him everywhere since. He made sure to take them to Fede’s parents house to show Nonno and Manu (her nickname for him from Emmanuela). One is “Gigi, il maialino” and the other is “Pino, il leoncino.” I think we’ve read them about 100 times already and he likes to open them to certain pages to show us what Pino or Gigi is doing.
75%/25%
In the States we were using English for 75% of the time and now we’ve switched it. We speak in Italian with him and between us for 75% of the day and then do about 25% in English. Noah’s language transition is happening slowly but surely. It’s just like when he first started speaking in English. New words every day and then 2 word sentences, etc. etc. Right now he’s speaking in English but throwing in Italian words. “Noah wants to go to il parco giochi (playground).” “Noah needs to take l’ascensore (elevator).” He also translates what we say. For example, this morning I whispered in his ear to tell Daddy that I wanted another Latte. I said this all in Italian and then he got up and ran to Jeff and said that I wanted more milk. This really made me laugh because I actually had made the mistake and Noah caught me on it. I should have said Caffelatte and not just the Americanized version “latte.”
New words:
strada
perchè
acqua naturale
Piazza Cavalli
biblioteca
succo
dov’è
mangiamo
pera
pane
ascensore
casa
New words:
strada
perchè
acqua naturale
Piazza Cavalli
biblioteca
succo
dov’è
mangiamo
pera
pane
ascensore
casa
Noah Kilpatrick-Singer/Songwriter
Noah may be a songwriter/singer when he grows up. He loves to sing and is always singing some sort of song. Sometimes they are familiar songs such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Itsy Bitsy Spider, but many times they are songs that he has written himself. Once he creates a song he never forgets it. He’s singing songs that he made up 2 days ago, 2 weeks ago, 2 months ago, etc. Here are a few:
"BC/O-Doggie"
Intro: chomping teeth
BC O-Doggie doggie oh whoa giggie
ooooooooooh (fall over)
MOM! (pops back up)
"Let’s Go Get on that Autobus!"
Let’s go get on that autobus
ging ging gong
ging ging gong
Let’s go on the autoooooooobuuuuus
"Acqua Naturale"
Naaaatuuuuuraaaaaleeeee
beep beep bop
let’s go drink acqua naturale
go away right now beep beep bop
hmmm hmmm hmmmhmmmmm beep!
"BC/O-Doggie"
Intro: chomping teeth
BC O-Doggie doggie oh whoa giggie
ooooooooooh (fall over)
MOM! (pops back up)
"Let’s Go Get on that Autobus!"
Let’s go get on that autobus
ging ging gong
ging ging gong
Let’s go on the autoooooooobuuuuus
"Acqua Naturale"
Naaaatuuuuuraaaaaleeeee
beep beep bop
let’s go drink acqua naturale
go away right now beep beep bop
hmmm hmmm hmmmhmmmmm beep!
Friday, March 19, 2010
65, Via Romagnosi
So our new apartment is fabulous! We absolutely love it. It's in the Piazza del Duomo (the main church square) and the views from our window are incredible. This morning there was an organic farmer's market and we got some tasty stuff and a few plants for our new place. Tomorrow there is another market in the morning and then every evening there are tons of little kids running around playing together. We are 4 blocks away from FREE internet and 2 blocks away from the supermarket. Our building and apartment (obviously) is OLD...I'm not sure how historic, but I would venture on Renaissance.
Our walls are all a nice sunny yellow and we even have a little fireplace. It's so cute and we keep pinching ourselves on how fortunate we were to stumble on this place at the last minute. We turned a little couch into Noah's new bed (he actually came up with the idea first and we went with it) and tonight will be his first night in his own bed again.
The dogs are behaving fantastically. They are so quiet now as opposed to before. Someone came over yesterday and they didn't even bark once. They go out with us all the time and have now eaten in restaurants all over town. We're sitting in the Piazza dei Cavalli right now (free internet) and they're right next to me watching Jeff and Noah play a running game. We never considered even once to not bring them here and we're really glad we did so because they make this experience very real for us. The funniest part is that we can't go more than 2 feet without someone stopping to pet them and coo over them. Noah is not even noticed if you can believe it! It's all about the dogs. I think it's because there are 2 of them and they are abnormal breeds with abnormal colorings for Italy. Most of the dogs here are poofy and tan...not poofy like a poodle though. Anyway so B.C. and Maggie stand out quite a bit and they are definitely hamming it up around town.
Noah has been a bestia today and we're counting down the hours till naptime. He's very independent these days...goes pee pee by himself, opens every door and every bottle and every thing BY HIMSELF and then gets frustrated and throws a fit when he can't do it all the way. He doesn't stop talking and singing at the top of his lungs and gets even louder when we talk about indoor voices. I'm not painting a very good picture am I? Let's just say that this morning I had visions of a child muzzle and actually smiled for a second before I came back to reality. He's still our favorite little guy, but we've decided that this developmental period is not our favorite. I've LOVED everyone so far...each month got better and better, but 27 months has been a major trial. Patience, patience, patience.
On that note, Jeff just informed me that it's time to take "my child" back home :). he he he
Okay, a presto!
oh, and to answer Carol's question: the name ciacci (pronounced like Jonie loves Chachi) is the nickname for Fede. It's a long funny story, but I started calling him Ciacci about 4 years ago after our favorite winery owner in Tuscany, Mario Ciacci. So now he is Zio Ciacci (Uncle Ciacci) to Noah but Noah is also referring to him as Re Ciacci (King Ciacci) because I had named my king puppet at the Athens Language Schoolhouse Re Ciacci in honor of Fede. We often call Noah and each other a pet name that sounds similar to Ciacci, but it's Ciccio (pronounced cheecho) which literally translates to chubby :). As a pet name it's not used literally here :).
Our walls are all a nice sunny yellow and we even have a little fireplace. It's so cute and we keep pinching ourselves on how fortunate we were to stumble on this place at the last minute. We turned a little couch into Noah's new bed (he actually came up with the idea first and we went with it) and tonight will be his first night in his own bed again.
The dogs are behaving fantastically. They are so quiet now as opposed to before. Someone came over yesterday and they didn't even bark once. They go out with us all the time and have now eaten in restaurants all over town. We're sitting in the Piazza dei Cavalli right now (free internet) and they're right next to me watching Jeff and Noah play a running game. We never considered even once to not bring them here and we're really glad we did so because they make this experience very real for us. The funniest part is that we can't go more than 2 feet without someone stopping to pet them and coo over them. Noah is not even noticed if you can believe it! It's all about the dogs. I think it's because there are 2 of them and they are abnormal breeds with abnormal colorings for Italy. Most of the dogs here are poofy and tan...not poofy like a poodle though. Anyway so B.C. and Maggie stand out quite a bit and they are definitely hamming it up around town.
Noah has been a bestia today and we're counting down the hours till naptime. He's very independent these days...goes pee pee by himself, opens every door and every bottle and every thing BY HIMSELF and then gets frustrated and throws a fit when he can't do it all the way. He doesn't stop talking and singing at the top of his lungs and gets even louder when we talk about indoor voices. I'm not painting a very good picture am I? Let's just say that this morning I had visions of a child muzzle and actually smiled for a second before I came back to reality. He's still our favorite little guy, but we've decided that this developmental period is not our favorite. I've LOVED everyone so far...each month got better and better, but 27 months has been a major trial. Patience, patience, patience.
On that note, Jeff just informed me that it's time to take "my child" back home :). he he he
Okay, a presto!
oh, and to answer Carol's question: the name ciacci (pronounced like Jonie loves Chachi) is the nickname for Fede. It's a long funny story, but I started calling him Ciacci about 4 years ago after our favorite winery owner in Tuscany, Mario Ciacci. So now he is Zio Ciacci (Uncle Ciacci) to Noah but Noah is also referring to him as Re Ciacci (King Ciacci) because I had named my king puppet at the Athens Language Schoolhouse Re Ciacci in honor of Fede. We often call Noah and each other a pet name that sounds similar to Ciacci, but it's Ciccio (pronounced cheecho) which literally translates to chubby :). As a pet name it's not used literally here :).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
New Chapter: Italy
So it's been almost a year since I last updated this blog. Life kinda got in the way. :)
Right after Noah's 2nd birthday in December we decided to move to Italy. I mean why not? Sure there are plenty of reasons, but for us the time was right. Noah is now talking and understands Italian perfectly. We wanted to get him to Italy to be completely immersed to solidify the language acquisition. The process of getting our house ready to sell and then getting ourselves to Italy definitely took much more work than we originally expected, but we made it...barely...but we made it with Jeff becoming Dr. Kilpatrick to boot.
As of March 11th, we left an empty house up for sale and boarded a plane with our toddler and 2 pups. The dogs did incredibly well and were hardly even noticed. Customs in Toronto (stopover) made us show all our documents and triple-checked everything, but then our arrival into Rome was hilarious. Truly Italian. We pulled up to the Customs window and the guy took a bite of his apple and waved us through! He didn't even open one passport!
We took 3 trains to get to Piacenza (1 hr south of Milan) and then a taxi to the one dog-friendly hotel here. That was Friday night and we've been here since while searching for an apartment. Today is Tuesday. Part of the problem is that we arrived Friday night. Things are only open here Saturdays until noon and then not again until Monday after 9am. We found a place right away Sat morning but have been cutting through red tape since and only just worked it all out about an hour ago. Every other place said no to dogs which cracks me up because dogs are a plenty here, are quite loved, and are allowed to go pretty much everywhere in Italy...on the bus, in the stores, cafes, etc, but apartment owners all say no.
So here's a taste of red tape in non-touristic Italy (I say this because when a city is used to having lots of foreigners it's quite easy to do things under the table and forgo all the ridiculous steps that we are encountering now):
In order to have the realtor PROPOSE our offer to rent an apartment to the owner we needed to provide a guarantee to the agency meaning a person who lives here who will not only vouch for us, but send in his/her own documents and then come and sign the future contract for us.
We need to have a codice fiscale which is kind of like a social security number. I actually have one of these BUT I forgot the documentation at home which is now in a file cabinet in storage. So what does that mean? I had to go to a special office out of town and have them reprint my number for me. BUT the lady there refused to search the system using my maiden name since my passport has it listed as my middle name. Eventually we convinced her to try and she found it but then said she could not print it out unless I changed my name in the system. And then when she went to do that she said no that wouldn't be possible since I don't have a permesso di soggiorno which is a permit to stay here. She said she would print the form as long as I gave at least the request form to get the permesso, but in order to do even that I needed to go to another office which is only open in the mornings. So I left empty-handed and today went to go apply for my permit. I waited forever and then when it was my turn the lady opened my passport and said she couldn't let me apply because my passport wasn't stamped at customs! And why wasn't it stamped? Because the officer was eating his apple! ha ha ha! So then she told me that I had to get our hotel to sign a declaration of our arrival at the hotel and then bring 2 pictures of me plus a photocopy of my passport. I left there and wiped my hands of it all. Instead I headed over to Fede's and we typed my information into some crazy system online to get an online codice fiscale which is only partly official. What?! Hey, but if it works it works. Now I have a number to sign a contract and by tomorrow we will be in an apartment. So that's where we are now.
Outside of apartment issues we are REALLY happy with our decision to come to Piacenza. The city is great...super cute and very livable and everyone is really friendly and talkative. They LOVE the dogs. We've heard no English since we've arrived.
We headed over to Fede's parents' house Saturday after everything closed not expecting anyone to be there and lo and behold Mr. Fava was there and then Mrs. Fava came home from work within a minute after our arrival and then Fede drove up from the airport (was in Berlin for work) as we were standing there. Great timing. They made us lunch Italian style and we ate and drank like Italian kings. We hung out with Ciacci for the rest of the day and then had dinner with them and got back to our hotel after 11pm. It was a great first day. Noah is already calling Fede's dad Nonno (grandpa) and is calling Fede "Zio" (uncle) and "Re Ciacci" (King Ciacci). Too funny.
Noah's Italian has sky-rocketed in the 4 days that we've been here which helps us feel like we made the right choice...in addition to the other great things. He's repeating a ton of words and is playing the game "I say 'again' and you say 'ancora'" Today he told me he went to the parco giochi (playground) with Babbo while I was dealing with the red tape. I'm not going to translate all the words here, but will make a list to keep track for our own records:
passegino
parco giochi
ancora
più
acqua
vino
biscotti
autobus
pullman
panino
pomodori
zio
Right after Noah's 2nd birthday in December we decided to move to Italy. I mean why not? Sure there are plenty of reasons, but for us the time was right. Noah is now talking and understands Italian perfectly. We wanted to get him to Italy to be completely immersed to solidify the language acquisition. The process of getting our house ready to sell and then getting ourselves to Italy definitely took much more work than we originally expected, but we made it...barely...but we made it with Jeff becoming Dr. Kilpatrick to boot.
As of March 11th, we left an empty house up for sale and boarded a plane with our toddler and 2 pups. The dogs did incredibly well and were hardly even noticed. Customs in Toronto (stopover) made us show all our documents and triple-checked everything, but then our arrival into Rome was hilarious. Truly Italian. We pulled up to the Customs window and the guy took a bite of his apple and waved us through! He didn't even open one passport!
We took 3 trains to get to Piacenza (1 hr south of Milan) and then a taxi to the one dog-friendly hotel here. That was Friday night and we've been here since while searching for an apartment. Today is Tuesday. Part of the problem is that we arrived Friday night. Things are only open here Saturdays until noon and then not again until Monday after 9am. We found a place right away Sat morning but have been cutting through red tape since and only just worked it all out about an hour ago. Every other place said no to dogs which cracks me up because dogs are a plenty here, are quite loved, and are allowed to go pretty much everywhere in Italy...on the bus, in the stores, cafes, etc, but apartment owners all say no.
So here's a taste of red tape in non-touristic Italy (I say this because when a city is used to having lots of foreigners it's quite easy to do things under the table and forgo all the ridiculous steps that we are encountering now):
In order to have the realtor PROPOSE our offer to rent an apartment to the owner we needed to provide a guarantee to the agency meaning a person who lives here who will not only vouch for us, but send in his/her own documents and then come and sign the future contract for us.
We need to have a codice fiscale which is kind of like a social security number. I actually have one of these BUT I forgot the documentation at home which is now in a file cabinet in storage. So what does that mean? I had to go to a special office out of town and have them reprint my number for me. BUT the lady there refused to search the system using my maiden name since my passport has it listed as my middle name. Eventually we convinced her to try and she found it but then said she could not print it out unless I changed my name in the system. And then when she went to do that she said no that wouldn't be possible since I don't have a permesso di soggiorno which is a permit to stay here. She said she would print the form as long as I gave at least the request form to get the permesso, but in order to do even that I needed to go to another office which is only open in the mornings. So I left empty-handed and today went to go apply for my permit. I waited forever and then when it was my turn the lady opened my passport and said she couldn't let me apply because my passport wasn't stamped at customs! And why wasn't it stamped? Because the officer was eating his apple! ha ha ha! So then she told me that I had to get our hotel to sign a declaration of our arrival at the hotel and then bring 2 pictures of me plus a photocopy of my passport. I left there and wiped my hands of it all. Instead I headed over to Fede's and we typed my information into some crazy system online to get an online codice fiscale which is only partly official. What?! Hey, but if it works it works. Now I have a number to sign a contract and by tomorrow we will be in an apartment. So that's where we are now.
Outside of apartment issues we are REALLY happy with our decision to come to Piacenza. The city is great...super cute and very livable and everyone is really friendly and talkative. They LOVE the dogs. We've heard no English since we've arrived.
We headed over to Fede's parents' house Saturday after everything closed not expecting anyone to be there and lo and behold Mr. Fava was there and then Mrs. Fava came home from work within a minute after our arrival and then Fede drove up from the airport (was in Berlin for work) as we were standing there. Great timing. They made us lunch Italian style and we ate and drank like Italian kings. We hung out with Ciacci for the rest of the day and then had dinner with them and got back to our hotel after 11pm. It was a great first day. Noah is already calling Fede's dad Nonno (grandpa) and is calling Fede "Zio" (uncle) and "Re Ciacci" (King Ciacci). Too funny.
Noah's Italian has sky-rocketed in the 4 days that we've been here which helps us feel like we made the right choice...in addition to the other great things. He's repeating a ton of words and is playing the game "I say 'again' and you say 'ancora'" Today he told me he went to the parco giochi (playground) with Babbo while I was dealing with the red tape. I'm not going to translate all the words here, but will make a list to keep track for our own records:
passegino
parco giochi
ancora
più
acqua
vino
biscotti
autobus
pullman
panino
pomodori
zio
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)