Heading off for another day in Florence with our only plan being to visit an ice cream shop that Pookie can make and create her own ice cream. We made it there. Sabs fell asleep and Pookie created and devoured her very own creation.

After Sabs woke up we went off to the phone store to sort out a data plan, bumped into some guy who was pretending to be a statue (this will have its own post), and then decided to walk down some streets we havent seen and head to a park. As luck would have it we bumped into a Vegetarian Art Exhibit that opened its doors just as we arrived!! We wandered on in and they had an entire table of vegetarian food and drinks for free. We ate and looked all around and the girls loved it b/c it was all about animals. Pookie said “Hey Mama, we should bring Mimi here b/c then maybe she wont want to eat animals anymore”. I dont think Pookie is going to eat meat anytime soon. She is very into the whole vegetarian concept and truly interested in everything about it. She ate a fake meat sandwich and loved it. We have since tried to find where it came from so we could get it again but haven’t had luck (not many people spoke english there). We did find another vegetarian restaurant that we ended up eating at the other night and was yummy.

We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to bump into that just as it opened and then to walk into a table full of delicious food and drinks. So random. After we were done we kept on our path to get to the park. On the way there we saw this toy store that looked like a little mom and pop shop so we walked in. Turns out the store went back forever and was a huge store with a build-a-bear type thing inside, a lego table, and two floors. We got lost in there for prob over an hour. It always amazes me that inside toy stores Sophie loves to play with everything but rarely asks to bring anything home. Her and Sabs played and played and she did not ask for one single toy. When it was time to go we just carried on our way.

By the time we left the store it was after 6pm and we were still about 1/2 from the park or 1/2 hour from home. We decided to head back home which is why i say sometimes it is more about the journey than it is the destination. We never actually made it to our destination but we had a super fun journey together. We picked up Sophie’s favorite pizza from the restaurant down the block, i made a big salad and we all chowed. xo

I cant quite remember all we did this day but here are some pics from playing in the square and then we walked to a new park and played. Oh now i remember, we walked down to the stores and did a little shopping (got the girls a toy at the disney store), then Sabi fell asleep and we walked over to a new park. After that we stopped into a fancy hotel b/c we were going to go have a drink/appetizer on the rooftop bar to break up our journey home. I looked at the menu while Will was in the bathroom and it was like 18.00 for a caprese salad (which you can get for prob less than 8.00 most everywhere else) so I told him just on principle i’d rather keep walking. We kept walking and then found a little restaurant and ended up having my favorite meal I have had here. It was just a little appetizer the owner made up for us with grilled veggies and some yummy bread but the seasonings were just insanely delicious. Funny how those things work out. We had a mojito, a beer, bottle of sparkling water and the large appetizer for all around 20.00. Plus we chatted with the owner who lived in the US for a few years and was a super nice guy.

Oh and at the park Pookie was playing peek a boo with a little boy who thought she was hilarious. When she popped up to say boo and bounce back down she cracked her chin on a bar and now has a big black and blue on her chin. I didnt see anything when it happened and she was crying so I picked her up and carried her a bit and said oh wow no boo boo. Fast  forward next morning…wow that looks like it seriously hurt. She has a massive black and blue. We got home around 7pm and I made some yummy stir fry for dinner. Night night.

Well I fell behind about a week. I dont think i have updated since we moved to our new apt last saturday (which i actually updated on monday because i was behind). Anyway, i have two good reasons, Frick and Frack. They have been busy little bees going to sleep around 10pm and waking up (for the day not counting throughout the night) around 7:30am. Both have been in great moods though Sabs had a few days where she had her finger in her mouth all day (teething) and only wanted mommy.

Anyway, i have lost count of what we did on what days except for yesterday and the day before. I can remember those in order. Poor little Pookie came down with a fever yesterday and was knocked out all day. She is so responsible and sweet when she is sick (the exact opposite of her sister which is one of many reasons i hope the little demon doesnt catch whatever this is next). Sophie just rested all day, took two warm baths and did a lot of sleeping. She had about 102 fever last time i checked and it felt like it was running pretty steady all day. Last night i felt it drop for a bit and then it seemed to come back up again. This morning (she is still sleeping) it feels lower so hopefully it is on its way out and she will be back to good ole pooks. I could tell it was coming on b/c on our way home from the countryside she said she had a little headache on the train and then fell asleep. Then she said her headache (egg-it as she calls it) went away but before bed she got super cold and wanted to just lay down and save her dinner. Oh she is up. be back.

Sooo, Sabs was so excited that Pookie woke up (sabs has been up for over an hour already) that she ran in and jumped on top her. She misjudged the distance (as babies often do) and cracked her eyelid on the nightstand. She now looks like she got punched in the eye and has a big cut on top of her eyelid. This all happened about 4 hours ago. We have since taken baths, eaten food, wiped her boo boo and played. Pookie woke up with fever and I am happy to say that as of 2 hours ago she is fever free and back at it!

Will and Sabs brought her home a dozen orange roses from the grocery store yesterday. She told me to put them by the bed b/c that is what you do for sick people. She has updated us all on her flowers several times between today and yesterday. One is sad b/c she is sick and the rest seem to be opening now and smiling b/c they heard she has gotten better. You can see the sad flower below on the right.

Ironically yesterday it drizzled on and off all day and today is cloudy and the same. Pookie couldn’t have picked two better days to be home bound. She is convinced that the sun heard about her illness too and doesn’t want to come out. It is a bit bizarre and i am super grateful that we have had sunshine nearly everyday we have been here except travel day to florence when we we arrived and the past two days when we are here with a sick pookie. She is good to go as of now so we’ll prob just take it easy on this cloudy day and hit the streets again tomorrow.

Ok, now let me go sort some pictures and post while Sabs is napping and Pooks is eating. Oh and Sabi was so sad when pookie was sick b/c she didn’t understand why she wasn’t playing with her yesterday. She came out and asked me to put on “do do do” their favorite song (Uptown Funk) and Pookie mustered up some energy with 102 fever and snuck out to dance with Sabs. Sabi was so excited. I took pics and you can see it in her face. It only lasted about a minute or so and then pooks had to lay down on the couch b/c of course she was sicky picky.

And here is my crew on the mend this morning. Typical Pookie style – 24hr fever then back like nothing happened.

The other night at about oh i dont know maybe 3am, Sabi woke me up by poking my eye saying “Mama, Mama, Mama”. I open my eyes and she is smiling holding her diaper that she apparently pulled off her little booty in the middle of the night. I laughed and with my eyes half open put on another diaper and put her back to sleep.

This morning (at a more normal hour of 7:30am) she woke up and took her diaper off again. I went to the bathroom and she followed me (because she always follows me and obviously I can’t pee on my own). Anyway, she pointed to herself and said “pee-pee”. I said oh you have to make pee pees (we have been here before and she just sits on the toilet and smiles), and then she  did it! PEE PEES! ON THE POTTY! She was so proud and Sophie and I sang and jumped and all that other fun nonsense you do when your little peanut makes pee pees on the potty for the first time. Poor Will was up until 3:45am so he was asleep for Sabs pee pee debut. Sophie made sure to run in and wake him to tell him. We then left the room and closed the door b/c after all, coffee wasn’t made and I guess 4 hours of sleep isn’t quite sufficient. Im sure he will witness it in the near future b/c once Sabs figures something out she is pretty quick and determined to continue to do it. GO SABI GO SABI RAE!

OMG – Dada found the most beautiful apartment for us to stay in for another week in Florence. It is next door to the Four Seasons Hotel, and honestly for the price difference I have no idea who would stay at the Four Seasons over here. It is a 2 bedroom with two outdoor terraces, two beautiful bathrooms and kitchen. There are so many quirky details and so much light. It is spotless and simply gorgeous. I mean really gorgeous. Def. one of my favorite airbnb’s we have stayed at yet. Sophie is so stoked to have a bathtub. We have only been here for two days and she has already taken 5 baths. So on to some pics.

We were all tired and getting comfy in our new space so we just hung out at the house, took some naps, played in the bath, did some food shopping and then went to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant. After all the hiking the past few days we were all ready for a down day. The lady who manages the property, Caterina, left us some wine and goodies when we arrived.

Last night I was looking up events in Florence for the week and found out there was an annual food truck festival taking place. We went off on another journey in Florence and probably walked about 3 miles today but landed upon an awesome food truck festival, super cool park (my favorite yet), a walk along the river, and the kids favorite part…a carnival! Sabs rode her first rollercoaster and Sophie went on her first Ferris Wheel. Of course both loved both. And the little charmers struck again getting free dinner from a food truck for being so cute. They were dancing and hugging all around the festival. We ate some fried pizza, drank some good beer, and had the most awful vegan pasta that tasted like tea. Surprisingly Sabs likes tea pasta. I dont know how she ate it, it was seriously disgusting. The food trucks were all modern and trendy looking. It was pretty awesome.

Sophie wanted to sit down in this patch of flowers (and obviously pretend she was a disney princess). Well it didnt last long since she came running out screaming that a plant stung her. For the next 30 minutes we heard non stop about some stinging plant. I’m pretty convinced she got bit by some ants b/c i saw little bites but she was certain it was some stinging plant. She may have set some record for talking/complaining about a stinging plant. It prob. went on and off until she fell asleep that night. Every time we passed a plant that looked similar (and it was a long walk home), she was reminded of her stinging incident and of course had to remind all of us.

Now on to the food truck festival called Street Eats. There were trucks from all over Italy with all different types of food.

After chowing we walked back along the river until we hit the carnival

We passed this on the way home. Def. one of the coolest pieces of art that i have seen on the street. May be hard to see b/c it was getting dark.

And here are just a few randoms before we left the apt