Rolling over!

Marco rolled over for the first time today!

We were up in Gabby's room, and I laid him on Gabby's rug, on his back so that I could put away some of her clothes. Two seconds later, I look over and the little guy flipped so fast from his back to his tummy. It was awesome... and I cheered so loudly for him that I got all the kids and our au pair, Michalina, super excited about it too!

So, of course I had to see him do it again... and of course, he was able to repeat his cool new trick while I was recording!

So proud of my little man. Love him so much!

ARMY GUYS… with missing heads?

In May, our home was invaded by these little green men… army guys. Rocco love them. LOVES!

Rocco attended a birthday party last April, and there in his party favor bag were his first ever 5 army guys. Gammy saw him playing with them in May when she was visiting, and proceeded to tell Rocco all about the big bag of army guys she had at home. The original owners of these army guys she was referring to were my brother’s Mark and Dave. Gammy told Rocco that she would send Rocco the big bag of army guys when she got home.

Well, the minute Gammy left, Rocco started asking about the army guys. Much to our surprise, he would even ask to call her so he could find out when she was going to send them. Finally, the army guys arrived… and they have been played with every day since. Lots of battles set up on bedrails, in princess castles, in doll houses… even fighting super heroes. He’ll also use them as targets when shooting his nerf guns. And, Rocco and one of our neighbor boys also spend hours setting up and playing army guys with their tanks and airplanes in sand dunes and dirt piles. The imagination has gone wild with what these army men can and will do.

 

The funniest moment was when Rocco discovered one of the army men with a missing head (I’m guessing the result of my brother’s pyrotechnic skills)… he came running over to me yelling “MOM, MOM!!!! This army guy’s head is missing!!” I looked and said “Oh, wow… yikes!” Then, he ran off yelling “HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!”

I almost fell off my chair in shock and laughter! Of course, I pulled myself together rather quickly to do some proper parenting of the moment. But, it was definitely a Rocco moment I will never forget… I think he thought he shot the army guy’s head off.

Marco's Baptism

Our sweet little Marco was baptized today during a Sunday morning mass. We had asked my brother Mark and my niece, Alexa (Mark’s daughter), to be Marco’s godparents and they kindly accepted their new official titles. I think Alexa was thrilled, actually (as was I), knowing how seriously she would take this role in Marco’s life, and also understanding the greatness that a godparent designation/title incurs. We were also elated to hear that my brother and his girls would be able to join us for Marco’s baptism, as this was no easy task. 

(If you can find Giuliana in this photo - you get bonus points! Poor girl - someone should have held her for this photo. Sucks to be short, I guess!)

My brother Mark lives in China. He frequently spends a lot of time in the states during the summer months, but it can be tricky to plan around, as his travel depends upon his business commitments. He was able to plan a trip that had him fly to Texas to pick up his daughters (Alexa & Callie, who had just moved back to the states with their mom), so they could all join us for the baptism in addition to spending some extra quality time together for a few days.

Marco's baptismal day was nothing short of busy and chaotic. But, we all made it to the church in time (10am), dressed, teeth brushed, etc.... so I look at that as a major accomplishment, in and of itself. Granted, we did forget to have Marco wear the baptismal booties that my mom had sent. Oh well, you can't win 'em all, right?

For Marco’s baptismal outfit, it only seemed fitting to have him wear Matteo’s baptismal outfit which included his white shorts, shirt, vest and tie. Rocco and Matteo wore the same baptismal outfit when they were baptized in 2008. The baptismal ceremony was very nice and definitely my favorite to date. Marco was great during the entire mass, and didn’t even get fussy when the priest poured the Holy Water over his head. He even fell asleep in my arms towards the end of the service. This was ideal, as I was worried he’d start fussing so he could nurse, at some point during the mass. In addition to Mark’s family being able to witness Marco’s baptism, our wonderful au pair, Michalina, also joined us and was a huge help that morning. 

After mass, we had planned to enjoy a nice brunch. But… the Navy’s Blue Angels were in town for the weekend and everyone wanted to see and enjoy the Seattle flight show. So, after the baptism mass, we quickly had everyone change into some shorts and Mark, Dan and all the kids headed off to the air show. I stayed home with Marco so he could nurse and nap. 

We finally took some photos with Marco’s baptismal cake later that day. The cake was somewhat a flop, as I had sent Dan to order it for us with the hopes it would say “God bless Marco Matteo”, followed by the date of the baptism. Instead, Dan ordered the cake to read "MAY 5th"... which was 3 months prior! Blame it on sleep deprivation... not sure if he was thinking birth date... and even then the numerical date was incorrect. Ugh! Too funny. I guess we should be satisfied with the correct name being on the cake. :)

In addition to the baptism and Blue Angels flight show, other fun cousin weekend activities included a trip to a theme park, and a whale watching tour out of Bellingham Bay. 

Horse & Pony Camp... highlight of Gabby's summer!

Gabby’s third and final week-long camp of the summer was attending a horse & pony camp the last week of July. The anticipation was incredible and the camp was truly a little girl’s dream!

The first camp she went to was an all-day swim & tennis camp with two of her best friends from CA, Sofia & Giovanni, (their family moved here around the same time we did – crazy coincidence!). So, she spent the first sunny, warm week of July swimming in pools, playing tennis, and doing some Independence Day-related arts & crafts.nGabby really enjoyed the time with her friends, but also made a few new friends which is great. The second camp she attended was soccer camp.

 

The Horse & Pony Camp was the camp she anticipated most and it was everything she dreamed it would be and more. I was amazed the first time I saw the ranch… so serene and beautiful. Literally made you dream for a minute or two what it would be like to be a horse living on that ranch, under the care of the family who owned it. It was in the middle of nowhere… but honestly, the most beautiful horse ranch set-up I’ve ever seen.

 

Gabby spent the week learning about horses… everything from how to feed and handle them, to how to bathe, groom and clean up after them. She learned about the different types of horses and saddles. And, most importantly, she spent a LOT of time riding the horses and ponies. She was in HEAVEN!! So much in fact, that the first day I went to pick her up, she seemed really upset. When inquiring more about why she was so upset, it was determined that she was upset that I came to pick her up. She didn’t want to go home! This was both a relief (glad that she was having fun!) and OMG moment (seriously – you don’t want to come home?!).

 

As luck would have it, one of our neighbors was one of the assistants at the camp. And, they were kind enough to offer to bring Gabby to and from camp a few days to help me out. Gabby LOVED this, because it meant she arrived almost an hour early each day. This allowed her extra time to help with feeding the chickens and bunnies, and watching and helping with the ponies.

 

At the end of the week, the campers put on a horse show for us. Each camper rode the horse through an equestrian obstacle course (no jumps of course, all obstacles were grounded). And, then each camper was presented with a big ribbon and personalized scrapbook that included loads of photos of them riding and helping with the horses, and also pictures holding chickens and bunnies, etc. It was really cute. The campers each all received a cute t-shirt at the beginning of the week (which I think Gabby just HAD to wear 4 of the 5 days!).

 

I was SO impressed with the camp and I would highly recommend. It was the most expensive of her summer camps, but also her favorite and most memorable. Rocco and Giuliana also really enjoyed visiting the ranch on the last day with us to watch the horse show. After the show, Giuliana got to spend a lot of time sitting on a horse and petting many of them. And, both her and Rocco spent some quality time chasing and holding the chickens and bunnies.

City Boy, Meet Country. Country, meet City Boy.

Yes. This is my husband trying to rid the yard of moles...with a shop vac. I tried to explain this isn't normal, but he tells me it's brilliant. Rocco loved being involved in this thrilling mole hunt, but also seemed a little confused.

I don't recall ever seeing a shop vac in a lawn service trailer. He's going to need a whole 'lotta extension cord for 4.5 acres. Just saying'...