Martino Madness: Birthday & Halloween FUN… or something! Sunday

We celebrated Dan’s 36th birthday on Tuesday. And Gabby surprised daddy on the big day by saying “Happy Birthday Daddy!” a few times without even being prompted. I was shocked she remembered after only practicing a few times the day before! No big party or fancy dinner – but it was a memorable night. Gabby had helped me make the birthday cake… even putting the candles on the cake by herself (each candle was surrounded by fingerprints in the frosting). Just after we had taken several bites of cake – we had a 5.6 earthquake. The house we’re living in shook like CRAZY! I was able to grab Gabby after a second or two. But, the house was shaking so much it was difficult to move (and being off balance w/the belly didn’t help!). Kitchen cabinets and drawers were opened and stuff had fallen over or off shelves – but no injuries. The only “damage” was Gabby’s piece of chocolate cake that was smashed ALL OVER my sweatshirt and hair. Yes, like a true Martino… even though the child was scared she grabbed the cake with her hand to take with us – wherever we would end up. She wouldn’t have considered leaving CAKE in the middle of an earthquake. And, she did mange to finish eating what wasn’t smashed on mommy. Gotta love that kid…

The HALLOWEEN holiday was really fun this year. Our neighbors hosted a pumpkin carving and pizza party on Monday night. Then, I was a bit worried Gabby would be scared of her costume, as when I first showed it to her a month ago she didn’t want anything to do with it. Luckily though – she was so excited to go trick-or-treating with daddy and the neighbor kids that she didn’t flinch. And DAN dressed up too! “Curious George” and “The Man in the Yellow Hat” were a TOTAL HIT in the neighborhood. Dan did

the trick-or-treating thing with Gabby

and the neighbors, and I hung back at the house handing out candy. One of the neighbors hosted a post-trick-or-treat dinner, so Dan & Gabby were also able to join in that fun. I ended up having to lie down to try and calm a contracting belly. The night was a true success... as Gabby came back home sleeping on daddy’s shoulder. But, I’m still trying to figure out who had more fun - Dan or Gabby!? Gabby of course has put her costume on each and every day since Halloween… and she’s also made daddy put his yellow hat and shirt on. Dan, being the wonderful playmate he is, totally complies with the orders. Moments like these just make me smile, laugh and fully appreciate our crazy little family.

A couple funny Gabby comments to note:
1. Gabby refuses to drink straight white milk (like her mommy) – so she drinks chocolate milk. We’ll give her a sippy cup filled with mostly whole milk and enough chocolate milk to add the taste of chocolate. Dan has been trying to wean out the chocolate, but, Gabby is noticing. When Gabby realizes chocolate milk was not added (or not enough added to her liking), she’ll hand the sippy cup back to us and say “Put cow in it, daddy/mommy!” or “This needs cow in it!” The chocolate milk container has a cow on it – so that’s her “chocolate” identifier.

2. Whenever she wants to do something by herself she’ll say “My do it myself!”

3. “Or something” and “How about X though” seem to be added to a lot of requests lately. “How about we got to the park or something?” or “How about a hot dog or something?” And if we say let’s brush your teeth (HATES getting teeth brushed), she’ll say “How about we go outside though” Or “How about we go to the park though”.

Dan and I can’t help but find humor in #3. If adults were to use this lingo in our daily lives or professions it could make for some GREAT humor. “I’m going to start this project or something” or “I’ll put together a meeting agenda or something.” Or, your boss tells you to deal with an issue you SO DON’T want to deal with… and you say “How about a pay raise though?” or “How about naptime though?”. Could be quite funny…

Another week to check off in the pregnancy – 26 weeks! Hooray!