To mommy's cowboy - Al cowboy della mamma

William enjoying mommy's Christmas present, i.e his expensive cowboy boots which turned out to be a pain. Each time mommy tries to put the marketed 0-12 months socks on William's feet, they allegedly fly away leaving William's one or half foot bare. Just what a mom would want to happen on a cold winter day in Boston.

William che si sta godendo il suo regalo di Natale, i.e i suoi nuovi stivali da cowboy... che si sono rivelati un disastro. Ogni volta che la mamma cerca di mettere queste belle calzine pubblicizzate per neonati dai 0 ai 12 mesi, sui piedini di William, inevitabilmente, volano via, lasciando uno o mezzo piedino di William nudo. Proprio quello che una mamma vorrebbe che accadesse in una gelida giornata invernale di Boston.

William happy with his new mat - William felice con il suo nuovo tappeto

How boring the old Ikea mat. As soon as William saw the animals hanging down from the new mat, a smile shined on his face and the 2 minutes of mat time went back to 10. Urra'!

William doing tommy time - William mentre fa il tommy time

Tommy time, the horror proposition for William. The first time it was ever mentioned, mommy and daddy were thinking that it was yet another hipsters moms Boston thing. Then the Isis Maternity people started going on about it as if it was a must do in every baby's day. Then the conversation with other moms. Then the weekly email from the baby sites. I felt everybody around me was talking about tommy time. Tommy time toys were populating the shelves of baby stores. And finally the orthopedic specialist was proposing ways to get William to spend time on his tommy. But William each time mommy and daddy were trying to get him on his tommy was allegedly screaming! So... here it is, the fish mirror with flashing lights and with water sounds, yet another tommy time secret weapon to try to distract the baby while he is doing his tommy time! How long will this keep him without screaming?

William's first Christmas at home - Il primo Natale di William a casa

This year John and I have managed to make the tree during the weekend before December 8th, the day of the Immacolata Vergine Concezione, so that William could get started on this Italian tradition. Mommy was so excited when she saw baby William looking at the tree with surprise on his face. Even more, when she saw his little hand grab a ball from the tree and then the American candy! How could she ever imagine that something like that could one day make her so emotional?

William does NOT like rice cereal - A William non piace la crema di cereali

When starting him on solids? Good question. One says between 4 and 6 months, others say absolutely at 4 months, others say start cereal absolutely at 5 months, others say start giving him a taste of different food at 5 months, our pediatrician said start solids at 6 months, and nothing before. Another pediatrician in the same practice said that breastfeeding mothers should move to solids at 6 months, not before. He then told me to start giving William green veggies for three days, followed by yellow veggies for three days followed by fruit for another three days to test for food allergies. It was not at all clear what we had to do. So we started giving him a taste of rice cereal. No matter how yummy mommy and dad presented it to him, he just did not want to take it. We tried three times. Twice by itself and a third time mixed with an Italian brodino and zucchini mousse. No luck! Conclusion: William hates rice cereal.

Quando passare ai solidi? Una bella domanda!! Uno dice tra i 4 e i 6 mesi, altri dicono di farlo assolutamente ai 4 mesi, altri dicono di iniziare i cereali ai 5 mesi, altri ancora dicono di dargli un assaggio di cibi diversi a 5 mesi, il suo pediatra ci ha detto di iniziare i solidi a sei mesi e non prima. Un altro pediatra nella stessa clinica ci ha detto che... le mamme allattanti non devono iniziare i solidi prima dei sei mesi e che il latte del seno materno e' sufficiente fino ai sei mesi. Dopo di cio', per una qualche strana ragione, ci ha detto di iniziare a dare a William legumi verdi per tre giorni, seguiti da legumi gialli per latri tre giorni, seguiti da frutta per latri tre giorni. Non e' chiaro qual'e' la cosa migliore da fare... Cosi' abbiamo iniziato a dargli il rice cereal. Nonostante le facce godute di mamma e papa' che facevano finta di gustare la deliziosa pappina, William proprio non ne voleva sapere. Abbiamo provato due volte. La prima volta da solo, la seconda mischiato con un brodino vegetale ed un omogeneizzato di zucchini. Niente! A William la crema di cereali proprio non piace.

William prepares for 2010 - William si prepara per il 2010

William and Beatrice at work! - William e Beatrice al lavoro!

William and Beatrice have worked together entertaining American moms wishing to learn Italian with their babies. Enrica Dente will run these classes again with William in the new year.

William playing with Beatrice - William mentre gioca con Beatrice

So cool the photos of the two babies together. There are really two sweethearts. I cannot help watching them. Below is the link to the other photos.

Troppo belle le foto dei due bimbi insieme. Sono proprio due amori. Non riesco a smettere di guardarli. Cliccate qui sotto per vedere le altre foto:

http://johnkruse.smugmug.com/Other/091120-Around-the-house/10386055_BPVys#719218899_zgW77

William's first earnings as a scientist - I primi guadagni di William come scienziato

William has taken part to one of the Harvard Infant Development Studies as a baby subject. His job was to watch two videos. The first video showed a ball falling all the way down and half way down. The second video showed flowers of different colors located in different portion of the white screen moving on high and low pitch sounds. Mom was sat behind William and found the first video quite boring while she nearly fell asleep during the second one. During the first video of the ball falling William was so upset. He cried most of the time. On the contrary, during the second video, William was like hypnotized. I must ask the researcher to send me that video... At the end of the experiment William earned his first five dollars and a cool Harvard Infant Development Studies Scientist T-Shirt! Mom is so proud of you William! Your cool t-shirt will be posted here soon...

William is becoming a little man! - William sta diventando un ometto!
Click on this link to see the latest photos - clicca qui per vedere le ultime foto

Latest videos of William - Gli ultimi video di William

Will's First Halloween - Il Primo Halloween di William

William got to hang out with Beatrice and meet some new friends. He spent most of the night as a skeleton (a gift from Grandma & Grandpa). He wasn't, however, too happy being a monkey! - William ha incontrato Beatrice e nuovi amichi. Ha passato la maggior parte della serata come uno scheletro (un regalo dei nonni americani). Non gli piaceva fare la scimmia!

William loves playing! - William ama giocare!

William loves playing, especially when he is outside the house. He loves meeting other babies and to charm everyone up with his big smiles. Despite his recent acid attacks problems, each time I took him out of the house he has had a great time!...
Last Sunday we have had a lot of fun with William and daddy at a babies brunch. When we returned home, we initially wanted to go for a nice walk by the Charles River. Then, as soon after we had lunch, all of us three collapsed in bed and slept for more than two hours! We all felt so much better afterwards!! What will I do with him this coming winter when the snow storms will arrive?

William adora giocare, specialmente quando e' fuori di casa. Ama incontrare altri bebe' e sedurre tutti quelli che incontra con i suoi sorrisoni. Nonostante i suoi recenti attacchi di acido, ogni volta che l'ho portato fuori casa si e' divertito molto!... L'altra domenica ci siamo divertiti molto con William e con papa' ad una colazione con bebe'. Quando siamo ritornati a casa, inizialmente volevamo andare a fare una passeggiata accanto al fiume Charles. Poi subito dopo pranzo siamo tutti e tre collassati a letto ed abbiamo dormito per piu' di 2 ore! Ci siamo tutti sentiti meglio dopo! Cosa faro' quest'inverno quando arriveranno le tempeste di neve?

Difficult days over? - Quando finiranno i giorni difficili?

Will, mom and dad had a difficult week when nursing... A lot of painful crying. On some days nothing was soothing Will. We thought the acid attacks were back. He was crying a lot. Last thursday we went for dinner to sooth ourselves at our favourite Italian restaurant (and I had a glass of wine!). Daddy helped a lot get William to sleep. Still a big challenge, especially when not swaddling... We took him to the pediatrician again to see if more Zantac was needed. He wasn't so sure and told us to wait and see. Then William stopped nursing and we had to feed him with the bottle for a couple of days.

Will, la mamma e il papa' hanno avuto una settimana difficile durante l'allattamento... Tanto pianto. In alcuni giorni nulla aiutava Will a sentirsi meglio. Pensavamo che gli attacchi di acido fossero ritornati. Piangeva molto. L'altro giovedi' siamo andati a cena al nostro ristorante italiano preferito (ed io ho preso un bicchiere di vino!). Papa' ha aiutato molto William addormentarsi. Ancora molto difficle, specialmente quando cerchiamo di non bendarlo... Lo abbiamo portato dal pediatra per vedere se dovevamo aumentare la dose di Zantac. Non sapeva nemmeno lui. Ci ha detto di aspettare e di vedere. Poi William ha smesso di allattare ed abbiamo dovuto nutrirlo con la bottiglia per due giorni.

William chats and laughs now! William chiacchera e ride adesso!

William chats and laughs now! I think it's the sweetest sound I've ever heard and it's so funny. When he chats, he makes loud consonant sounds like Ps and Bs and Ms and Ls so his Laas have become Was, Baas, Paas, Gr... Grraas. So cool! Who knows when he will say mom and dad. And when he laughs, I do, too, and we just sit there and laugh our pants together! And when he cries because his tommy bugs him, we cry together too! We have managed to get Will out of the swaddle drug! Urra'!

Click here to see other photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129957&id=543076215&l=11cddbc24e

William chiacchera e ride adesso! E' la cosa piu' dolce che abbia mai sentito ed e' cosi' divertente. Quando chiacchera, produce suoni forti di consonanti come Pi, Bi, Emme ed L cosi' i suoi Laa sono diventati Wa, Baa, Paa, Gr... Grraa. Uno spasso! Chissa' quando dira' mamma e papa'. E quando ride, lo faccio anch'io, e rimaniamo accanto l'uno all'altro a ridere insieme!! E quando piange perche' il pancino gli fa mele, piangiamo insieme! Siamo riusciti a togliere a Will l'abitudine di dormire con la camicia di forza (la coperta bendante)! Urra'!

Clicca qui sotto per vedere altre foto:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129957&id=543076215&l=11cddbc24e

William cooing, similing and giggling - William fa suoni, sorride e se la ride

William changes a lot from one day to another. Yesterday he rolled from his stomach to his back! John and I were so impressed. We also managed to put him on a chair in a big store and he was able to sit there like a man with admirers going to say hello to him. So cool!

It was very hard at first to look after him but like you said, so rewarding at the same time! Often I was not having time to get something to eat or to drink and to have a shower. I decided to cut my hair short - that was a very hard decision and I am still not sure it was a good one. But when Will's first smile came, John and I melted. He is now cooing, similing, giggling at us and John has also caught him laughing!! I can't wait to see that. Funny, few days ago I was at the bakery shop and nobody was being served because William was smiling at everyone. I try to speak to him in Italian (when I remember) and to play Italian songs to him. He has two favourite songs, he loves bouncing of all sort and being taken out of the house when his belly is full. His two favourite toys are his playmat with the stuffed toys he likes kicking and a mobile that seems to mesmerize him. Aha, and he loves starring at the babies' faces printed on the giant Costco diaper boxes! I have only now started to overcome my breastfeeding problems. In 3 months William has become a big boy - he no longer fits in his 0-3 months clothes! Aha, he must be at least 13 pounds and a half now. :) They say that he will lose weight when he will be around 12 months old.

We find it hard to have time for ourselves. There has been a major shift from caring for the spouse to caring for our little one. John is completely in love with him. I think I have made a good friend here, although we have only met a couple of times - the other people I have met are mostly acquaintances because I have only met them in group. I have managed to get together with two moms from a moms group for lunch but that is about it. MOst people live far from me and drive the car so they mostly meet at parks or at lakes they can drive to. I was learning to drive when I was pregnant but then I had to stop when I was too big. I am now terrified of going back to learning with William crying in the car at the back. I just cannot find the courage to do that. Also, the fall is going so fast here and, in just a month, the snow season will start. That will not help me get the license soon. I want to keep this on hold until the spring. Hopefully, William will be patient with me.

I challenged myself to teach Italian to Americans in the evening once a week. I do it to keep my brain working. I was doing that in the evening when I was pregnant to pay John's Italian lessons.

Beatrice, William's girlfriend and some friends - Beatrice, l'amichetta di William ed alcuni suoi amici

William Mario Kruse, American and Italian Citizen! - Cittadino Americano ed Italiano! - Urra'!

Strange! Two people have just told me that William looks like me. Everyone else has said that he looks like John! Surely the eyes and the hair come from John. Maybe the face complexion and the naughtyness come from me! ;) Will has started to sleep a bit more recently - he is an early morning riser like his dad - but he is still unpredictable. In the past we had to leave a restaurant twice at dinner time because he was crying... but at lunch he is such a good boy! I have only now started to overcome my right nipple problems. I am glad I have sticked to breastfeeding. In 11 weeks he has become such a big boy - he no longer fits in his 0-3 months clothes! Aha, he must be at least 13 pounds now! :) They say that he will lose weight when he will be around 12 months old. No pressure from his mom. Right now Will's job is to eat and grow. He is now cooing, similing, giggling and John has also caught him laughing!! I can't wait to see that myself. Funny, few days ago I was at the bakery shop and nobody was being served because William was smiling at everyone. I try to speak to him in Italian (when I remember) and to play Italian songs to him. He has two favourite songs, he loves bouncing of all sort and being taken out of the house when his belly is full. His two favourite toys are his playmat with the stuffed toys he likes kicking and a mobile that seems to mesmerize him. Aha, and he is loves starring at the babies' faces printed on the giant Costco diaper boxes! I have recently got his Italian passport. So now my little man William Mario is now officially both an American and an Italian Citizen - he has two passports!

Here are his latest photos: http://johnkruse.smugmug.com/gallery/9744946_fVozQ#P-1-20

Cliccate qui sotto per vedere le ultime foto di Will:
http://johnkruse.smugmug.com/gallery/9744946_fVozQ#P-1-20

Will with the American grandparents - Will con i nonni Americani

Click here to view all the photos of Will up to now - Cliccate qui per vedere tutte le foto di Will fino ad oggi

Click here to view Grandpa playing with Will - Cliccate qui per vedere il nonno che gioca con Will

Click here to view Will playing by himself -Cliccate qui per vedere William giocare

Tronk Video Links - I video di Tronk sono qui sotto

IN ENGLISH (from the most recent video):

TRONK LOVES PLAYING

TRONK KEEPS PLAYING

TRONK'S FIRST GAME

GRANDPA BILL PLAYING WITH TRONK

DAD HELPING TRONK FALL ASLEEP

TRONK BURPING

DAD KISSING TRONK

DAD SINGING TO TRONK

THE FLYING MONKEY

TRONK'S FAVOURITE HOBBY

IN ITALIANO (dal video piu' recente):

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE TRONK CHE AMA GIOCARE

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE TRONK CHE GIOCA

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE IL PRIMO GIOCO DI TRONK

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE IL NONNO BILL CHE GIOCA CON TRONK

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE PAPA' CHE FA ADDORMENTARE TRONK

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE TRONK CHE FA IL RUTTINO

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE PAPA' CHE BACIA TRONK

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE PAPA' CHE CANTA A TRONK

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE LA SCIMMIA VOLANTE

CLICCA QUI PER VEDERE L'HOBBY PREFERITO DI TRONK

Will having his bath - Will mentre fa il bagnetto

Will seems to like having his bath - he does not cry! - especially during the day, when the sun comes through the window of the kitchen.

A Will piace fare il bagno - non piange! - specialmente durante il giorno, quando i raggi del sole passano attraverso la finestra della cucina.

Tronk's tommy feels better - Il pancino di Tronk sta meglio

Tronk was crying a lot, day and night. He was upset sometimes even after feeding, burping, swaddling, bouncing, swinging, changing. We couldn't understand what was wrong. We knew there was something bugging him but what? His voice was horse and he was crying sadly during feeding. After talking to the pediatrician we found out the problem... he has heartburn in his stomach just like his mom during pregnancy. He was crying out of pain. His dad has built him a special upright support in his cradle to help his sleep upright and mommy has changed his breastfeeding positions to upright only. This has made Will much happier. Yesterday we gave him a medicine also to reduce his acidity and since then he has had more sleep and less tears down his eyes. We hope his tommy will not hurt anymore.

Tronk was crying a lot, day and night. Era in lacrime a volte anche dopo aver mangiato, ruttato, dopo essere stato avviluppato nella coperta, dopo essere stato cambiato, e dondolato. Non riuscivamo a capire cosa c'era che non andava. Sapevamo che c'era qualcosa che non andava ma cosa? La sua voce era rauca e perdeva il respiro. A volte piangeva durante l'allattamento. Dopo aver parlato al pediatro abbiamo capito la causa... Tronk ha acidita' di stomaco come la sua mamma durante la gravidanza. Piangeva dal male. Suo papa' gli ha costruito un supporto verticale nella culla per aiutarlo a dormire verticale e mamma ha iniziato ad allattarlo solo in posizione verticale. Questo ha confortato Will. Ieri gli abbiamo dato una medicina per ridurre la sua acidita' e da ieri Tronk ha dormito di piu' e ha pianto meno. Speriamo che il suo pancino non faccia piu' male.

Sleep sweet Tronk - Ninna nanna dolce Tronk

The three ways to make Tronk fall asleep and the results... - I tre modi per far addormentare Tronk ed il risultato...

William at the zoo - William allo zoo

16 August 2009
We took William at the zoo to celebrate his second week in the world. Today we celebrate his first month!

16 Agosto 2009
Abbiamo portato William allo zoo per festeggiare la sua seconda settimana nel mondo. Oggi celebriamo il suo primo mese!

Tronk's first phrases - Le prime frasi di Tronk

"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "Feed me! - Dammi da mangiare!"
"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "Change me! - Cambiami il pannolino!"
"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "I don't feel well - Non mi sento bene"
"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "Get me out of here - Portami via di qui"
"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "I'm tired - Sono stanco!
"LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA, LAAAA!". "Hold me - Prendimi in braccio"

Will's first words - Le prime parole di Will

laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa, laaa...

William's First Achievements - Le prime conquiste di William

I was not able to nurse William despite all my efforts without pain or discomfort. I tried different positions, with pillows in different places and support items like the best friend round doughnut. I saw several lactation consultants who told me how to get Will to nurse. Only William, unlike all of us, knew how to do it without guiding him! I just needed to hold him on my chest and trust him. Today he has figured it all out himself! So cool. Yesterday John saw Will's first smile while he was sleeping and today, while John was singing "sleep little Tronk", after he had refused all pacifiers of all dimensions that John bought hoping to help him sleep, Will suddenly put his thumb in his mouth and soothed himself without help. After few minutes he fell asleep in the swing. We are so proud of you William!

Non riuscivo ad allattare William, nonostante tutti i miei sforzi senza dolore o sconforto. Ho provato diverse posizioni, con cuscini in diverse posizioni e supporti come il cuscino ciambella. Sono andata da esperti di allattamento a farmi aiutare ad allattare William. Solo William, a differenza di tutti noi, sapeva come farlo senhza guidarlo! Dovevo solo prenderlo in braccio ed avere fiducia in lui. Oggi Will ha trovato e ha succhiato il latte da solo! Grande! Ieri John ha visto il primo sorriso di William mentre dormiva e oggi, mentre John cantava "dormi piccolo Tronk", lui, dopo aver rifiutato i ciuccetti di tutte le dimensioni che John ha acquistato nella speranza di farlo addormentare, Will tutto ad un tratto ha messo il suo pollice in bocca e si e' calmato da solo senza aiuto. E dopo pochi minuti, Will si e' addormentato sull'altalena. Siamo orgogliosi di te William!

William at home - William finalmente a casa

If you can't read Will's shirt, it says... "Made in America with Italian parts".

Se non riuscite a leggere la maglietta di Will, questa e' la scritta: "Fatto in America con Parti Italiane".

Photos of William's first two weeks - Foto di William prime due settimane