Jack in Europe

Jack loved the view from here!
Jack with Grandma and Papa in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Unfortunately, you can't see the cathedral.
One of Jack's many modes of travel...I love this stroller!

Outside the Orsay Museum in Paris.
Smelling flowers on Wenceslas Square in Prague.

Diaper change in downtown Vienna, much to the delight of the locals.
We're starting him early. :)


We are standing in front of the Colosseum here...obviously Jack is not as impressed as we are!




This was the preferred way of travelling...he slept so well in here!
So, not the safest place to keep money...but what else is the pocket for??

This was Jack's favorite thing to do in Europe...chew on our fingers! Little did we know that two teeth were just about to emerge!

Notice the mosquito bite on his arm. :(



I didn’t mention Jack too much in the other stories, but he was great! He rode in the Baby Bjorn most of the time, or in his back pack carrier or the stroller. He learned to fall asleep in our arms fairly quickly, which was nice. I was so thankful that we took the Pack N Play, because it made sleeping during the night much more restful for all of us. He drooled all over the place, had a few explosive diapers in public places, and chewed on numerous germy things (you just have to turn your head, but it’s SO gross!). He was generally a delight (with the exception of a few car rides, of which he was NOT so fond!) and was loved by all—including many strangers! The lady who rented us our apartment in Rome would come up to me and take him from my arms. One day I was changing him and she swooped in and finished it for me, repeating over and over, “Que bello! Que bello bambino, Jack!”

The only downside to traveling with a baby is all the STUFF. We had more luggage for him than for anyone else (which is what caused us to go over the luggage allowance on our flight from Rome to Paris!). I felt bad for my dad, Eric, and sometimes Jonathan, who lugged all the stuff up and down subway stairs, cobblestone streets, airports, trains, taxis, bridges—you name it! The other thing is that everything takes so much longer . . . and there are a lot of surprises that bring things to a halt, like needing to eat suddenly, or a full-body clean-up and change after an explosive diaper . . . stuff like that.

I recently wrote in Jack’s baby book about his “first vacation”. . . so sad that he won’t remember any of it! Eric joked that here we were, in this amazing place, seeing all these amazing sights, and suddenly Jack does something cute and we all scramble for the cameras, oohing and ahhing . . . I guess that’s just how it goes! He did let out his first major laughing session (at Eric, of course, who was dancing a ridiculous jig to keep him happy for one last picture at the Eiffel Tower). It was SO precious! What a beautiful sound!

Well, it has been fun writing and remembering all our travels. All of these places are remarkable, and we hope to revisit a number of them someday. If you are still reading this . . . thank you for your prayers while we were overseas. While we certainly had days where I wondered if anyone was praying, it certainly could have been worse; we all made it home alive and well. So thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading all this!