La Dolce Vita: The Little Bean turns 1!

Yes, believe it or not, Luca Benz has turned one. A week has gone by, and I still cannot believe that one year ago I gave birth to the most magnificent little bean. He so truly has turned me into a better human being, and each day teaches me to be more patient, loving, less obsessive, healthy, and all the goodness in between. There is something about that unconditional love for your child that you would literally do anything in the world to help grow that little human being into a healthy, happy, kind, and generous individual. Damn the pressure is ON!

One is an awesome age. Luca now is full on walking. He started one evening when Marco was still at work and I was in the kitchen cooking. He was in the living room playing with his toys. Usually when I am cooking meals he is either banging pots around in the kitchen next to me or playing contently with his toys (or other things he should not get into) listening to my choice of music for that evening. Well on this particular evening about 1 week before his birthday we were listening to the Arctic monkeys and I was making curry chicken legs with coconut milk veggie rice, I suddenly heard squealing coming from the entranceway. I ran to see Luca literally running in circles and laughing at himself. I ran so fast to get the camera that I spilled half the rice on the kitchen floor. At that moment Marco walked in. It could not have been a better timing. Luca was so proud of himself it was hysterical. Marco and I looked at each other, both with tears of pride and started laughing alongside Luca. This went on for a good half hour. He refused to hold your hand, and each time he fell (which was all the time) he would get so frustrated because he still was not able to get from the sitting position to the standing one. And he did NOT want to crawl. We were watching Luca go through a life changing experience. It took him forever to calm him down than. After an unsettled night he woke up as if non of the prior evenings event ever happened. He totally forgot how to walk, and he went onto what he had been doing and scaling the walls to get from point a to b. I didn't really know what to think, but I just assumed he would start again , when he felt ready. And that is exactly what he did. He would walk little distances on his own, than the distanced became larger and larger until he started walking with full on confidence. It took him a bit but now he runs all over the place, well waddles.

Luca sometimes repeats words and totally understands, well about 10 of what you say… He understand words and phrases… his favorite now is ''qui e', which means who is it. Whenever the phone or doorbell rings he's in the back yelling CHI E'!!!

We are getting ready for the summer now, which in a way is totally awesome, but also a bit bitter sweet. We will have to say ciao ciao to Marco for two month. TWO months, dear lawd, thats so looong. From mid July to mid September we will be in Baltimore with my parents, and Marco will be at work over and in the seas. I can't wait to go back to my parents house and have Luca be able to go to the pool, play in the yard, and just bee with friend and family, eating watermelon, corn on the cob, catching lighteningbugs, dinners on the porch, ya get it the whole summer shananagans.

Marco's season has already started, so he has been working a lot, but no that one of the boats is docked near where we live, we get to go with him to work and stay with friends near there where they have a beach house. It works out for al of us. Plus Luca is 99% fish so…

On that note, see you soon, and enjoy summer fun!