Michigander Moves Abroad!: Early Adventures of Babies H & L

The morning that we left for Venice was pretty relaxing. Our train didn't leave until 10am, and the train station was only a 15 minute tram ride from our apartment. And of course, in typical Newsome family fashion, we were fully packed and ready to go at 8am. So we bummed around the apartment, took some walks around the neighborhood, and tried to kill some time before heading out. Unlike our train to Turin, I didn't seat all of us together - G and I were in the designated "stroller seats" while Miss J and L were at a table. The extra space was nice for Baby H because it was hard to really rock her at one of the table seats, and I think G appreciated having some "alone time" on the train.

Daddy with the stroller (sans baby, who is with me)

Miss J and L, having fun on train!

We arrived in Venice and decided to take a water taxi from the train station to our flat. We could have taken a water bus, but with the luggage and the kids, we thought the premium for the water taxi was worth it.

We're on a boat!!

We stayed in an amazing Air BnB next to the Rialto Bridge, which worked out perfectly because my sister's family stayed in an Air BnB just on other side of the bridge - just a quick 5 minute walk from flat to flat! We arrived 2 days before my sister, which gave us a chance to relax, unpack, and do some wandering around the city. The girls were running low on diapers, but we learned that the two of them can actually wear the same sized diaper in a pinch - yes, Baby H is THAT big that she can share diapers with L! It allowed us to only buy one small package to get through the rest of the trip instead of 2.

The Rialto Bridge

"Kiss Mommy's Cheek!"

We took L to Murano one morning while Miss J stayed home with Baby H. It was both fun and somewhat terrifying to have a 2-year-old around so much delicate and expensive glass! She wanted to touch everything, so G had her in a vicelike grip to prevent that as much as possible. Since I couldn't buy anything to put on display, I opted for some wearable art instead.

More gold than glass, but still very pretty!

The day my sister arrived, we packed up the girls and walked over to hang out with my sister's in-laws before dinner so that they could meet our girls. The last time G and I had seen them was at my sister's wedding 4 years ago, so it was really nice to hang out with everyone again. My brother-in-law's 2 siblings are 8 and 10 years older than him, so only a few years older than G and I, and their kids range in age from 7 to 14. L loved following the youngest girl around, but was super shy every time we tried to introduce them! And of course, Baby H decided to have her first big diaper blow-out while we were hanging out at their apartment.

Baby H with Auntie, just before epic diaper blowout!

Since our girls wake up early, but the cousins tend to sleep in, Auntie joined us for an early (9am...not really that early) morning gondola ride. It was super fun, super cheesy, and we all loved it!

Morning gondola ride around Venice

Having Miss J with us was so amazing because it allowed G and I to go out later at night for dinner. Even with naps, L can't manage much past 7pm, and my sister's family was a party of 12 -- 8 adults and 4 kids, so dinners with them, while amazingly delicious and fun for us, are a bit boring for a 2-year old.

G and I got to have dinners without the girls - date nights in such a romantic city!

By the end of the trip, we were all exhausted, our bellies were full, and we were ready to go home - even if we only had a few more weeks of "normal" before the chaos of moving started! More on that next!