Our Italian Christmas

This year we were lucky enough to spend Christmas in Italy with Sean's family.

Chris, Sean, Mike, Jessie, Madeline, and me in front of the Florence Duomo.

It began on December 17 with a 8 hour jaunt from Minneapolis to Amsterdam.  This was Madeline's first flight ever and I have to say she did really well.  The airport was a little much for her, so she was way clingier than normal; she started crying when anyone besides Sean or myself tried to hold her.  She did amazing on the flight.  We were able to get an attachable bassinet for our seat (we were sitting in the bulkhead), which made life even easier.  The only downside to the trip there was she really didn't nap very well on the flight, which meant she was really tired when we got to Amsterdam.  And I was really tired in Amsterdam (I didn't sleep at all on the flight--it's hard to relax when traveling with an infant).  And our layover was entirely too long (4 hours).  At one point I was walking up and down the terminal with Madeline, trying to get her to fall asleep, thinking I was nuts for bringing a baby to Europe.  Although I probably am insane, it got better when both of us got some sleep.  And Madeline eventually got less clingy.

Madeline in the bassinet on the way there.  It was very industrial.  If you look closely you can see the outline of Madeline's body.  The one on the way back wasn't as industrial looking, haha.

We stayed in a house about an hour outside of Florence in the Tuscan countryside.  It was so beautiful.  Sean and I stayed at the same place the summer after we got married on our honeymoon.  The weather was beautiful (40-50 with no rain) the whole time we were there.  We traveled to neighboring cities and villages and relaxed as well.  We ate delicious food and saw some beautiful countryside.

The view from the house.

Madeline was a world class traveler.  She took countless naps in the Baby Bjorn as we toured around.  She put up being feed in bizarre places.  I do have to admit that I nursed her multiple times in bathrooms despite the fact I swore I would never do that.  Standing up.  It was better than doing it on a cold bench outside.  You have to do what you have to do.

Madeline asleep in the Baby Bjorn in Volterra.

Madeline was fantastic on the flight back.  We were able to get an attachable bassinet again and she even took more naps than the way there.  Unfortunately there were feral children who did not do as well.  Seriously, I've never seen kids behave as horribly as these kids.  And the parents weren't doing anything to stop them.  There was a family next to us who had an 18-month old.  To give them some credit, traveling with an 18-month old would be tough.  And they had been traveling a really long time before getting on the 10-hour flight from Amsterdam to Seattle.  But, the little girls feet were all over me.  At one point in the flight I was feeding Madeline and the little girl kept kicking Madeline in the head.  I was not impressed.  And there was the 3 or 4 year old behind us who screamed for take off because she had to be buckled in and then pooped her pants (and yes it got all over the seat).  We were all really happy when the flight was over.  The plane was the filthiest I've seen at the end of a flight.  And I won't even mention the state of the bathrooms.

It's interesting traveling with a baby.  I think everyone is attracted to babies, which meant we got to talk to way more people than normal while traveling.  So many people, old and young, would come up to us so they could get a closer look at Madeline.  Or take a picture of her.  It didn't matter where we were.  She's our bellissima bambina!

All-in-all it was a great trip.  It was so much fun being in Italy and we had a blast spending time with Sean's family.

Our beautiful girl bundled up to go to church on Christmas day.

Sean, Madeline, and me in Florence.

Sean and Madeline in Montecastellini Pisano.

Sean and Madeline in Volterra. 

Madeline and me with Montecastelli Pisano in the background.

Madeline and me with the view from Volterra. 

Madeline and Jessie.