So, THIS is teething...

Claire has been fairly late getting her teeth. Her first pearly white didn't pop through until she was nearly a year old. She now has her four top front, two front bottom and most of one molar in and NOT ONCE has she been bothered by any of it.

Until now....

I don't think I've can ever recall a time where Claire has been in a worse mood. I guess I should thank my lucky stars that she is such a good, calm baby in general, but oh my goodness have the last few days been hell.

At first, I didn't really get it. She has been extra needy all day, she's been cranky after her wake-ups and she's just needed to be held,. She's been particularly bad after waking up from her nap and she has struggled through lunch and dinner. At times, it seemed that there was nothing that could calm her. Not even sitting on Mommy's lap, watching Sesame Street, eating gummy fish....

Andy felt around in her mouth the other day and said, "Oh, there are a few bumps", but it wasn't until I felt around myself when I realized that she now has THREE molars coming in at once.

Ah ha! So, that is the problem.

And now, I have learned, that Tylenol is my friend.

Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius

After spending a couple of more days in Rome, Siko and Rebecca came to Naples to hang out with us. On Thursday, we dropped Claire off at a friend's house (thank you Lindy!) and the four of us went off to tour the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. We were all struck by how big this city was and we were amazed by all of the interesting sites in the town. We spent about three hours there and we probably only saw about a third of it.

It was certainly neat visiting the ruins seeing Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background. Pompeii is also quite a dramatic archeological site. Not only are the buildings and ruins amazing, but there are a couple of casts on display of the victims of the eruption of Vesuvius.



After touring Pompeii, we headed off to Mt. Vesuvius (a 25 minute drive away) and hiked to the top of the mountain. It was only a 30-minute or so hike and we spent some time up on the rim and came back down. The mountain has AMAZING views of Naples, so we got some great pictures. The mountain itself is also quite interesting itself. The crater is beautiful, and it continues to steam (it is an active volcano)! There are also a couple of little snack bars/gift shops along the way.



We had a great time hanging out with Siko and Rebecca and we are so glad they came to visit us in Italy!

Bella Roma!

Last week we had our first visitors! Siko (Mike) and Rebecca came from NYC to tour Italy and to stay with us for a bit. They spent a couple of days in Rome and we went up to meet them last Sunday. We had a great time touring the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and Capitol Hill.

Claire loved her free ride in the Coliseum on Siko's shoulders!

Claire had a great time climbing the Spanish Steps and walking around Rome. It really seemed like a turning point in Claire's walking ability. She just wanted to walk all over the place!
We let her walk, of course, but we did insist on holding her hand at certain points. You can never be too sure about crazy Italian drivers! To our surprise (and joy!) she wanted to hold our hand too! She even climbed the entire staircase at the Spanish Steps (holding onto Mommy's hands, of course).We also visited the always busy, very beautiful Trevi Fountain where we threw in a coin to ensure our return trip to Rome.


It was a pretty long day and a half for Claire and she had a bit of a meltdown at the end as we were visiting the crypt of the Cappuchin Monks (where the skeletal remains of hundreds of dead monks are artfully arranged). Overall, it was a great trip!