For Nick’s birthday we decided to check out some Italian hot springs at Villa dei Cedri. Italians LOVE their hot springs. They believe they have healing qualities and should be indulged in frequently. None of the hot springs around are super hot though, I have been to one before and it was essentially a warm swimming pool. So I found this one that was supposed to be “hot” and more “natural”…it’s still man made, but it feels a little more natural. It had this glass green house looking thing where you would get in and out of the thermal lake (wouldn’t want to catch your death with a cold breeze!) and sit in lounging chairs quietly relaxing after a dip (yeah, my kids were not so good at the quiet part). We had a fantastic time though…everyone except Declan, who was not at all a fan of getting in the water and mostly stayed in the glass house, so we had to take turns taking Jonah (aka our little fish) swimming. 
Declan has been learning to walk and takes more and more steps every day. It could not be more adorable.
A few days after Thanksgiving we held a Thanksgiving dinner for some Italian friends. It was so fun to introduce them to something from our culture. Our friends Flora and Luciano from the pastry shop and Jonah’s Maestra Lisa and her husband Berto and cute little one, Kat. They loved it and even joined us in saying what we were thankful for this year. I am not sure that they ate the appropriate amount for Thanksgiving though. We Americans really like to stuff our faces for this holiday! Flora was married to an American and lived in the States for many years. She has expressed to us several times that our friendship is very special to her and helping Luciano understand American culture more, and thus understand more about her.
Jonah continues to be a great big brother and is so sweet with little Declan…most of the time.
