A January Summer Update

Well, whatever happened to January I have no idea.  Somehow we have been back in South Africa for a month, and I have not written a thing.  So what follows is a LOT of photos to update you on the Bellis.  

We are in the height of summer here.  Hot days with the sun rising long before 6 and cooling afternoon thunderstorms.  Gio has been very busy with school, tennis, golf, swimming and his newest passions: fishing and biking (no, not at the same time).  Next week he heads to Jo'burg with his class to meet Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo.  For anyone not familiar with this wonderful book, get yourself to the library.  It is my favorite picture book of all time!

Maria has been learning a new word or two each day, singing and battling a nasty ear infection. She 
continues to enjoy her preschool, takes swimming lessons twice/week and loves doing puzzles and changing her shoes.

Bruno, Enzo & Pepperoni?  The usual.  Sleep. Eat. Repeat. 

 I am working on my golf game (today I learned how to chip!) and enjoying some new freedom now that our housekeeper has moved in. I will write more about wonderful Nomsa in a future post. 

And Paolo?  He is traveling like mad.  In the last few weeks he has been in Zambia, Zimbabwe and is currently in snowy Washington, DC.  Without further ado, here is a month's worth of photos and videos.....

Back in South Africa after Christmas in Italy.  Good to be home.

As soon as we got home from the airport and picked up the boys at the kennel we changed out of our winter clothes and hit the pool.  It felt good to wash off the airplane grime.   

And the next morning Gio was off to school fully equipped with his swim bag, backpack and Italian cheese for his teachers.

Pepperoni was very happy we were home.  He escaped from a second floor window the day we left for Italy so instead of being at the kennel with his big brothers he spent 3 weeks roaming free on the golf course.  We left a cat door open for him with 10 pounds of food in the house.  We were so grateful to find him waiting for us when we returned.  This cat is rapidly using up all of his lives!

Maria's school would not begin for another week so she and I enjoyed many days of outings together.  She always prepares herself well for days on the town (backpack was packed with Legos- clever girl).

We returned to South Africa just in time for a week-long heat wave (40C/104F).  Enzo spent nearly every waking (and dozing) moment in the pool.

Maria and Enzo love their outings with Paolo before dinner.

Inseparable.

These two adore one another.

No one knows how to relax quite like Enzo.

The only time Enzo and Bruno are apart? When Bruno decides to take a nap in the sun.  Enzo draws the line at that.

Doctor Maria.

Always a willing patient.

Our heatwave ended with a massive storm one Monday night.  At 3AM I awoke wondering why Paolo was taking a shower.  Turns out the noise I was hearing was a massive flood in our playroom with a huge cascade falling from the ceiling of the playroom.  Paolo and I emptied buckets for 4 hours until the storm finally passed.  Turns out it was all caused by clogged gutters.  Note to self: clean them out next year!!

Look who slept through the entire thing.  Big helps.

Post storm walk....sans pants.

Modern father duties include manicures.

Popsicle on Enzo.  Nothing better.

Gio's first time on ice skates at a birthday party.

While Gio made his away around on the ice with his friends...

..Maria and I hung out in another part of the mall
at an indoor water park.

Cake with a friend.

So much to learn from big girl buddies.

Midday parties lead to major naps!

Weekend errands with Papa.  Maria knows how to enjoy them!

Sunday afternoon frolicking.

Another thunder storm panic for Enzo...
...more therapy dog duty for Bruno.

Fishing before dinner.  This is the pond directly across the 18th hole fairway from our house.  Gio spends nearly every afternoon here.  He is learning to fish from older boys who hang out here with him.  They are so generous with their time and patience.

Maria and Gio have begun swim lessons at our gym.  

Who needs swim lessons?
Wallowing was mastered long ago by this Belli boy.

Time for a bike ride.

While we were riding around in beautiful warm sunshine the East Coast was being slammed by a blizzard.  

Like I said, never apart!

Sunday afternoon is time for relaxing....
as is every afternoon for Enzo!

Here is a glimpse of wonderful Nomsa, who began working for us at the end of January.  I will write more about her in a future post.  Maria and Gio (and the dogs!) took to her immediately.  

Last week Maria came down with a bad ear infection.  Thanks to her ear tubes this infection did not make her as sick as they have done in the past.  Still, it meant days off school and a few outings with me including this coffee shop where the baker gave her her own dough to knead.  Brilliant!

Friday evening on the driving range.

More swim lessons.  This time only for Gio thanks to Maria's unhappy ears.

Butterfly!

Paolo was in town for only 24 hours (back from Zimbabwe but off to USA the next afternoon).  We did some exploring just outside of the city center and came upon this creature...

....and his friends.

A fun reminder that we live in Africa!

Catching up on some emails before his long trip to DC.  Enzo, as always, is catching up on his beauty rest.

As many of you know, Maria has a speech delay.  So imagine our delight when she began breaking into song recently....

Walking her best friend.

Consoling ourselves once we said goodbye to Papa
 for two weeks by enjoying pizza night with Netflix.
Yes, Bruno gets his own puff.

Maria now selects her outfits every morning.  This was my favorite of the week.

Check back soon for February updates.  I will try to write more consistently!  

xo.  Clara