The past month has been too busy for words- at least to too busy write them down here. Rome's been babbling away though and is starting to make sounds that even resemble words in their correct usage--or so it sounds.
In March, we visited friends & family in New York. Rome's nonna (grandma), aunt and new cousin, Michaela, came down from Maryland for a visit over the weekend and Rome had a little pre-birthday celebration with them and his extended Italian family -- including his great- grandmother pictured below. Daniel worked during the week while Rome and I explored the parks & playgrounds, did mom & baby yoga, shopped at Buy, Buy Baby and met an old friend for a walk in Central Park with her new baby. I saw a whole different side of Manhattan I've never seen before. We even took the Staten Island ferry with our friend Katie who was visiting, went out to a restaurant with flamenco dancers with Daniela and hung out a bit with Alli and JJ in the West Village.
April began by celebrating Rome's first birthday. On that Wednesday, we had cake and then went with his friend Alexander to Zoomaround, an indoor soft-play center full of balls, slides, and tunnels to crawl through. They had a ball!
We spent the weeekend celebrating at Spitalfield's Market and City Farm, one of the many local parks with farm animals for children to learn and explore. No day is complete without a trip to the playground to take Rome on the swing and slide--his new favorite pastime. Rome's also been working on his motor skills and the week before 1st his birthday picked up his walker and started to go -- around and around the kitchen and living room. He did laps for quite some time and hasn't stopped going since!
The days are getting warmer and we're starting to get some semblance of a routine finally with regular visits to our local "one o'clock club". These are large indoor/outdoor play areas filled with toys, games and activities for mums and their tots to visit between one and three in the afternoon each day. They're great for the babies to roam around with no worries with others their age but even better for the moms who need to get out of the house and meet others in their area. We've met a few nice people already and I even have a routine with Alexander's mom, where one of us watch the boys while the other goes to work out at the gym next door. It's working out quite well and I hope continues.
Easter Sunday was spectacular with Sunday service at St. Pau
l's cathedral.
This is our best-kept secret. It's a way to see the inside of the cathedral without paying an entrance fee (usually $20) and experiencing it with the organ, the choir, and a sermon as well. We even received blessings and Rome was offered a chocolate egg from the Bishop of London himself! All we had to do was convert to Anglicanism (j.k.-it's open to everyone) . That evening, we had a dinner at a gastropub with a big group of friends from INSEAD. 
We're also discovering beautiful treasures in our own neighborhood and are loving it more everyday. With over 160 parks and green spaces, loads of great shopping, outdoor farmer's markets, restaurants, and theater our little borough of Islington seriously has it all......
We've had a few more friends visit this month as 
well --- and met Noah, Daniel & Kathy's new boy who came from Montreal.
We're looking forward to the rest of spring and summer here and are gearing up for some more travel. Stay tuned to hear stories from Paris and possible even Disneyland Paris in May.
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