Wiggles & Dance.

I found these two recent videos of Matt and the kids... it makes me sob to see them now. But, I'm so glad I have them.

Make sure you take the time to wiggle with your kid(s) today.

Dan recorded this one morning and it's the sweetest thing ever. In the past few months, Dan and I have commented countless times how much fun it is to watch the three kids play together. We LOVED watching them all play together. LOVED it. Literally. We would always talk about how this was the best part of parenting and how we couldn't imagine having less than 3 kids... simply because of how much fun it was to watch the interaction and love between them. And yes, fights too of course. But those were more humourous than anything. We'd talk about how we looked forward to how they'd interact at X age... or how it would be so fun to continue watching Rocco and Matteo play ball together. Rocco always the thrower... Matteo always the catcher. I just honestly can NOT believe I won't ever again be able to see my three babies play together again. It breaks my heart over and over again.

Just wish I had recorded a million more things that somehow I didn't.

Matteo Tate Martino Memorial

Many people have asked, and I now have the information to share.

If you wish to contribute to the MATTEO TATE MARTINO MEMORIAL, please follow the below instructions.

1. Make checks out to: MATTEO TATE MARTINO MEMORIAL.
2. You may send the check to our home if you prefer. For obvious reasons, our address will not be shared here.
3. Or, you can mail a check directly to this address:
ELECTRIC FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
PO BOX 6479
SAN JOSE, CA 95150-6479

Please know that because we do not yet know the cause of death, we are uncertain at this point as to how the funds will be used or awarded.

Many people have also asked if they can bring a meal to us. Yes, you can. And, yes, it will be very much appreciated. More than words can describe. Truly. In the hopes that nothing will go to waste, please contact KATHLEEN HART, who has so kindly offered to manage a dinner/meal schedule for us. She can be reached at kmhart23@hotmail.com or via her home phone #408.395.4787.

Again... thank you for all the hugs, tears, kind words, thoughts, reaching out with your own stories of loss, advice, virtual hugs... and just everything.

Please know that if you have called or sent a note or a text and we have not gotten back to you yet, it is not because we are ignoring you or didn't see or hear your message. This week has been very traumatic, as you know. And, there has been a whirlwind of activity surrounding the planning of Matt's funeral, etc., that is keeping us busier than we would prefer.

Trust me when I say Dan & I are taking the time to reread everything or listen to everything more than once. It helps us and is our current therapy. We feel compelled to respond to and thank everyone for every gesture of kindness and every note or message we've received... it may just take longer than we would like.

Words. And, thank you...

The past two days of our lives have been the worst. In some moments, it feels like Matteo died 14 days ago. And, in other moments, the memories are so fresh and painful... it feels like 14 seconds ago.

And yet, I don't think Dan or I have ever before felt more loved by our amazing, unbelieveable network of family and friends (old and new).

Isn't it strange and awful... how tragedy seems to make us stop and immediately know what is important in life.

The past two nights, I've spent a lot of time looking at the moon and stars. A very bright star off to the left of the moon, in particular... that seems to have caught my eye. Monday night, I sat in Rocco & Matteo's room in the rocking chair until 2am. I rocked by myself... looking into Rocco's crib - listening to him breathe. I talked to Matteo for a long time. Several times, I swear I saw him. I even saw him standing in Rocco's crib looking towards the window... it was so clear and vivid, I had to get up to try and reach for him. My heart skipped beats. But, he wasn't there.

I sat there wishing he was laying in his crib. His empty crib. Not even a sheet on the mattress. Everything was taken from our home that awful, tragic morning. His sheets, his blankets. I can't even hold them. They took them from us.

I do however have the cute blue "Matteo" towel a dear friend gave to us, which I cradled him and tried to warm him up in after his last bath. Untouched. Unwashed. I also have the fleece jacket I wore all day Saturday... with Matteo's hair still weaved into it in several places. Him and I spent the majority of the day together, snuggling on the sofa, in our morning snuggles position. I buried my nose into the shoulder and took deep breaths today. I smelled my baby. But, it didn't take away my hurt.

Rocco is stressed and it was incredibly evident today. His best friend, Matteo, is gone. And, he knows. Yesterday, Rocco went to Matteo's crib and patted it, saying "No Tao... no Tao" and then layed down on his blankie on the floor... looking in the direction of the now empty crib. This morning... my parents said he looked into the mirror in his playroom and said "Tao, Tao" and then layed down and cried. He has cried more today and acted out more than he ever has in the past. Little things that never bothered him before, bother him today. Everything is more dramatic for him. Tonight, 20 minutes after we put him to bed.... I went to retrieve him (so he could come sit with me & the family downstairs) after hearing him scream "Momma... momma". I went up to check him and he was hovering in the corner looking scared and paniced and crying like I had never heard him cry. A fearful cry. Normally, if he was upset or crying in bed and not going down easily... he was standing, jumping and screaming/crying, boldly.

On Monday night, Gabby spent 15 minutes telling me, Dan, Gammy, Papa, Uncle Dave and Julia, with incredible, explicit detail... all that she unfortunately witnessed that awful morning. I was so saddened to hear her repeat it over and over to us. But, so glad she could tell us in so many words, with such detail... and allow us to explain what was happening. That daddy wasn't trying to hurt Matteo. Daddy was trying to bring him back to life while on the phone with 911.

We continue to be amazed by the outpouring of love from everyone. People we know. People we don't know. Family near and far. Friends we talk to often. Friends we haven't heard from in years but hold in our memories and hearts. It amazes us. And, somehow... it seems to help.

It helps to hear someone cry on the other end of the phone. It helps to hug someone, be hugged and just cry together. It helps to read notes... even if you don't know what to say, and say that you don't know what to say. I mean... what do you say? There are no perfect, magic words. No words will change things. No words will bring our dear, sweet Matteo back to us. No words will make us not hurt or feel this pain. No words are wrong or hurtful. We know you are trying to tell us you love us, that you're thinking of us, that you're praying for us, that you're holding our dear sweet baby in your hearts and thoughts. And, that means everything to us right now.

I wonder if I will ever live another day in my life where I do not start and end my day with crying. I wonder if I will ever again sleep more than 3 hours at night. Every time I wake up, I see Matteo, my mind starts racing, and I can't sleep. I wonder if I will ever be able to feel truly happy and whole again. I doubt it. I wonder if when someone I don't know at a checkout counter or wherever asks me how I am doing, I won't think in my head of replying with "F*&*ing AWFUL... how much time do you have?"

I wonder if I will ever not think of Matteo every single minute of my life... because I honestly HOPE with all of my heart that I do not go a minute without thinking of him. Right now... it's hard to leave my home filled with his photos and happy memories.

We are still trying to understand why Matteo left us. We have no answers yet. And that is additionally painful. My baby had a fever. A FEVER. Why did he DIE?!

I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to make sense of this awful, horrible tragedy.

In a way, I suppose our precious little Matt's life has impacted your lives in many ways by now. We have heard from so many people... around the world and back again. People we know. People we don't know.

Maybe you'll hug your kids tighter. Maybe you'll hug your family and friends tighter. Maybe you'll understand that some of the chaos your dealing with in your day today really doesn't matter in the big scheme of life. Maybe your troubles today will seem less troublesome. Maybe you will stop and smell the roses. Maybe your priorities will change.

What a big feat for such a little man. Truly.

If Matteo has changed you, and made you stop and think about what is important to you... then I could not be a more proud mommy. But... I would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to have him back here with me... right here, right now... this instant. Yes, I would be that selfish. He was the happiest little man I have ever met. Always smiling. Always wiggling when happy. Always wiggle wobbling his silly little walk while happily following his big sister and brother throughout the house. He was what life is all about.

Dan and I both thank you for taking the time to reach out to us.

Your thoughtfulness will not be forgotten and is helping us through this incredibly, unbearable, difficult time in our lives.

THANK YOU!

Matteo's Funeral Arrangements

Here are the details surrounding the funeral service for our beloved son, Matteo.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

St. Mary's Church

219 Bean Avenue

Los Gatos, CA 95030

11am - 1pm: Open casket viewing

1pm: Funeral Mass

There will be no burial service. We decided to have Matteo's remains cremated so he will always be with us and within an arm's reach from our hearts.

All friends and family are welcome at our home following the ceremony.

Many people have asked if they can contribute to a memorial fund. Please know we are working on these details and hope to have this information to share within the next 24 hours.

Very Heavy Hearts.

The past week started with two doctor visits. Dan brought Rocco in on Monday (for some little man issues) and I brought Gabby in on Tuesday. Gabby had a ruptured ear... so crazy... as she didn't even complain about her ear hurting until Monday night. When I left the doctor on Tuesday... Dr. O asked when I'd be bringing in the third, lil Matteo. This was so often the pattern of the past 9 months. Bring one in... then by the end of the week, we'd have brought them all in.

The week ended tragically. A way that I still can not even believe. But I know it's real because the pain and sorrow and hurt I feel is all I can feel or even think about.

Our dear sweet angel baby, Matteo Tate, left us to become a true angel.

Matteo came down with a fever of 103.7 on Friday afternoon. We paged the doctor and his advice was give him a bath and Tylenol, which I had already done. I remember Matteo shivering and not happy when I was giving him the bath. He woke up several times throughout the night and Dan got up with him each time. Each time he drank a few ounces of milk and went back to bed. Matteo's waking temperature on Saturday at 6am was 101.7. We got it down to 99.9 around 1pm and I thought he was beginning to feel a bit better as he started playing with Rocco and Gabby instead of clinging to me and just wanting to be held. His fever crept up again in the afternoon and was 102.4 around 2pm and 102.7 around 5pm. By 8pm, it had reached 104.3. But the odd thing was that he was outside with Rocco and Gabby... wiggling around, hitting the ball with the bat, and poking at ants. He was tired though. So I decided it was time to put him down for bed.



















Oh God... if only I would have known.

I rocked him while he drank his bottle. He held onto his blankie and he held onto me. He nestled into my chest and breast and looked up at me a few times to make sure I was there holding him. I know he was so uncomfortable and warm. I layed him down on his back, on his blanket and he rolled over immediately, like he always did. He started to stir and whine and cry a little as I was shutting his door. I walked back in... thinking I would need to rock him some more. But, he settled in. So I shut the door. The last time I would ever look at my sweet baby Matteo alive.

The baby monitor was on all night. I hear every single peep and it was silent all night. Both boys slept through the night, or so we thought.

Rocco started crying at 5:09am. Dan went in and put him back down on his back, and he was falling back asleep. Dan went over to check on Matteo. He touched him... and he knew.

I heard Dan yell for me and he had Matteo in his arms. Immediately, when I heard Dan yell... I knew. I don't know how I knew. But I knew he was dead. And, I was immediately in shock and crying and screaming at the top of my lungs.

I held my dead baby. I. Held. My. Dead. Baby. Nobody in the world should ever have to hold their dead child. Or see that. Or have memories of the vision or smells of their dead baby. Nobody. Ever.

I held and hugged him until the police made me leave so they could do what they needed to do. That was followed by the coroner. The hell started at 5:09am and has only continued. I held him and cried on him and cut some of his hair before they took him from our home which now seemed so cold and empty.

We talked with the coroner for a very long time. They are leaning towards two causes of death at this point. One of which is Meningococcal. The other of which may have been an enlarged heart, which would have been a very rare side effect of the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease which all the kids had a little over a month ago. We are hoping to know more at some point today.

Our hearts are beyond heavy. Our heads hurt. Our hearts hurt. I have never cried or hurt so much in my entire life.

Grief has swept into my happy home and heart and has taken over.

Dan and I could not sleep last night. I kept thinking Gabby had a fever or she had stopped breathing. Dan could not bear to leave Rocco without checking on him every hour. We both found ourselves sneaking into his room and pinching him or making sure he was breathing. I found a blanket and pillow on the floor this morning in the twins bedroom between the cribs. Dan had tried to sleep in there last night.

I was awake all night. All. Night. I could not stop playing over and over in my head Dan yelling my name, me knowing... not sure how I knew, but I did. And, the memories of holding my sweet, sweet dead baby boy. My mind kept repeating over and over Meningococcal. Me hearing myself say it. Me hearing the coroner say. Me hearing the pediatrician say it. That word alone haunted me throughout the night.

And all I could do was cry. I cried to myself. Then, I would cry louder and would get up and go to our bathroom and weep. I could only simply ache for my sweet baby Matteo. He would have been 18 months old on the 10th. Today is Dan & my 7th wedding anniversary. And, today is the second worst day of my entire life. And, tomorrow will be the third. And, Tuesday will be the fourth.

The worst days of my life.

Rocco did Matteo's wiggle today several times. He's looking for his brother. I know he already misses his best friend, his twin. Gabby knows her brother is dead. But, she then asks why she can't play with him and tells me she misses him a lot and then she reminds me he will come back to us.

I know he's an angel. But, I miss my baby. I want him back. Here with me.

I guess if anything, I am thankful I got to hold him, snuggle him, and play with his hair and hold his chubby feet all day on Saturday. I'm so thankful I was there with him... all day. And that I saw him happy on Saturday. I saw him play with Rocco and Gabby one last time and I will hold that memory in my heart forever. Even though it now hurts so bad every time I think of the fact I will never see that again.

Not many people know... but I am about 13 weeks pregnant with a baby Surprise. We weren't planning it. We never thought it would happen to us. But, somehow it did and our baby Surprise is due to arrive 3 days after Rocco and Matteo would have turned 2 years old. I'm trying to take deep breaths and remind myself that amidst this horrible, awful, hell we're living right now... I need to stay strong and nourish baby Surprise. It's difficult.

Matteo Tate Martino
January 10, 2008 - July 5, 2009
17 months, 25 days old
Rest in Peace, Sweet Angel

Here are a few very recent photos of our little angel:

























































And, some from Friday at Gilroy Gardens:


































































I caught this shot on Saturday... Matt was snuggling his sleepy daddy on the sofa while watching "Go Diego Go!" This photo was probably taken within 12 hours of his death:

















And then earlier in the day on Saturday, I guess the kids were hungry for some Fruit Loops... I think Rocco did the deed of spilling them all over the floor. All 3 enjoyed dining off the floor... and then Rocco made the effort to clean it up.

Red pepper flakes will knock you over!

There were 2 pizza boxes sitting on the table yesterday morning from pizza the night before. Rocco was so interested in those pizza boxes... he kept climbing up onto the chairs around the table, and would open and close the pizza boxes.

I was sitting with Matteo on the sofa watching early morning cartoons.

Suddenly, I heard a plunk and then a scream and I jump off the sofa and see that Rocco is laying on the kitchen floor (well... getting up from the floor now) crying. It's so unlike Rocco to lose his balance... that was very strange.

I ran over to him, and found red pepper flakes all over the floor and the table. I held him and he cried and held onto me and then kept spitting on my shoulder. I'm no detective... but I am very sure that Mr. Rocco found and opened one of the little containers of red pepper flakes, tried tasting it and then he was so shocked by the spicey taste that it knocked him off the chair.

I couldn't help but laugh a little once I put the puzzle pieces together. What a little goofball.

New words!

The boys have been busy working on expanding their vocabulary. Both are doing super great and new words are being said almost daily now. It's fun to see them get excited when WE get excited to hear them say a word.

Matteo seems to have a little trouble with "R" sounds, which is super cute. And, Rocco seems to pick words up a little slower than Matteo, but be very interested in the sounds that animals make (loves to mimic dogs and birds).

Below are a lot of the words they have said more than once. Some of them don't sound exactly like the word... but we know what they're saying. I remember the days of Gabby saying things like "popakickle" (for popsicle) and "mazagine" (for "magazine") and "hold you?" (for "hold me")and not wanting her to ever say things the right way! =)

Matteo words:
Daddy
Mommy
Gobby (for Gabby)
Cocco (for Rocco)
No
Yucky
Cookie
Birdy
Octopus
Cracker (Cocka)
PeePee
Belly
Nose
Ear (eaw)
Car (Caw)
Ball
Owy (as in… that hurts type of owy!)
What?
Baby
Bankie (for Blanket)
Mukky (for Milky, aka milk)
Down

Rocco words:
Dadda
Momma
Gobby (for Gabby)
Shoes (Shewwwzzzzzz)
Cracker (Cocka)
No
Birdy
Ball
Weeee!
Owy (as in… that hurts type of owy!)
Whassssaaaaat (as in “what’s that?”…. and he uses it appropriately so we’ve decided this is truly what he is trying to say)
Baby
Blankie
Muky (for Milky, aka milk)
Down
Pretzel

Rocco laughing!

Rocco must have one of the world's best laughs!

Last night when I was getting Rocco ready for bed, we were playing a little game. Well... I was teasing him... trying to make him laugh. I would slap my face and make a funny, surprised face and then Rocco would laugh really hard. I started doing this after he slapped his own face, making ME make a surprised face and then seeing him laugh super hard.

We did this for a while. I was able to record a bit of it via the Flip camera before Dan came over to bring Rocco to bed.

Now that I think about it... this probably isn't the best game to play with Rocco. Obviously... we wouldn't want him to play the game with the unsuspecting person and have him slap someone else's face. But oh well... I got his fabulous laugh recorded. No regret's here! =)

So cute:

Matteo loves his big sister!

On Saturday while Rocco was taking his second nap, Gabby and Matteo were enjoying a little "Go Diego Go!" while mommy cleaned up the kitchen. We had spent the entire day playing hard outside in the sun, and were fresh out of the bathtub... and our little princess was tired. So, Gabby fell asleep on the sofa. Matteo climbed down off the sofa and walked over to where Gabby was, climbed up onto the sofa next to her and started cuddling and snuggling Gabby while she slept. He would pat her head and say "Gabby" and then lean down and put his head against her and hug her.

It was SO CUTE!!

Eventually, I thought to run and grab the Flip camera, and by that time I of course had to encourage it a little so Matt would continue doing what he was doing.

This is what I got:

Anyway, this info is an entirely different post... but Matteo has recently decided he is now on a schedule that consists of 1 nap daily. There are still 1 or maybe 2 days a week where we will try to give him a second nap, but it is never a long one IF he actually falls asleep. Rocco still needs two naps daily otherwise, he will hit the bed hard at 6pm. Gabby will still nap at school, but rarely naps at home now. If she does nap at home, her bedtime ends up being crazy-late.

Gabby loves reading to her brothers

Gabby loves reading to her brothers. The little fellas couldn't help but lay down on their tummies next to Gabby when they spotted her reading a book on the floor this past weekend.

More and more, I'm finding they to want to do and be a part of whatever it is their big sister is doing. Rocco had to be sure to get right down on his tummy like his big sister. And, Matteo was so excited to be laying right between the both of them.

I'll often find Gabby and Matteo sitting quietly and reading books. They both love to flip through the pages. While Gabby pretends to actually read the book and often tells her own version of the story out loud, Matteo will study everything in the pictures and point and make comments... some of which you can understand.... like "wow", "birdy", "flower".

I have yet to find Rocco sitting and enjoying a little reading time. I have yet to actually discover him sitting much at all. =)

Sunday FUNday!

We enjoyed a really fun, relaxing weekend with the kiddos recently.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was our lazy Sunday FUNday in the back yard. After morning naps... we put all the kids in their swimsuits (Miss Gabby putting her OWN swimsuit on, of course) and let them play in the pool, the water table and the sandbox in the backyard. They had so much fun splashing around and throwing water on each other. We even fed the little monkeys lunch on their picnic table outside.

Gabby is SUCH a great big sister to her little brothers. They just adore her and get so excited when she plays and interacts with them. And, it's so fun to see her play with them, throw balls to them, and include them in her play activities. She makes us so proud.

The most entertaining part of the day must have been when Rocco decided to take a bucket full of water over to daddy and dump it on him. The way he did it was even funnier... it was as if he had watched a lot of championship games on TV, where the players sneak up behind the unknowing coach and throw water on him. Rocco was being so funny trying to sneak up behind Dan with his water bucket. Then, Gabby followed with her bucket... and Matteo was soon to follow with a random container of water. Another funny thing was that by the time Matt would get to Dan, there was never any water left in his container. This "throw water on daddy fun" must have lasted at least a half hour. Here's a few action videos.

AHA! Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease...

Aha! So... it wasn't just a 24 hour flu bug that hit us last week!!

Matteo started his 24 hour fever on a Sunday, the next day Gabby got it. Then, a day later I noticed Rocco & Matteo had little red spots all over their feet. Matteo's were much worse looking... kind of like blisters. Rocco's looked more like bug bites.

I sat on it. I thought that maybe they had spent a lot of time walking around outside with their shoes off that day and they were having a strange reaction to the grass.

The next day, the spots on Matteo's feet look more like blisters. They looked sore! Rocco's weren't really blisters, but were big red spots. Then, Rocco also got a fever.

Finally, after waking up at 3:40am on Friday morning to hold Rocco so he could sleep, Dan made an appointment to bring the kids in to the doctor. Gabby BEGGED to go with... I guess she wanted a sucker. We let her go... we figured the doctor owes us a LOT of suckers by now!

Anyway, after Dan gave Dr. O the 411, he inspected the boys... and then asked to take a look inside Gabby's mouth. Apparently, she had some lesions in her mouth and he then declared "All 3 of your kids have had Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease… not to be confused with Hoof & Mouth Disease.”

Lovely.

Apparently, this fun little disease spreads like gangbusters in kids aged 6 months - 4 years. It is most recognizable by small blisters on the hands and/or feet and lesions in the mouth.

Thanks SF zoo… looks like we ended up going home with a few souvenirs after all!

First Sucker Experience!

Well... the boys have now had their first experience with suckers. Gabby was eating one on the sofa the other day... and the little guys just happened to be sitting next to her. Rocco took a try and decided he would be ALL OVER Gabby to get a few more tries. And, Matteo actually liked getting in on it too.


Ok... I know... really not a great idea to encourage them swapping spit. Especially with how my kids seem to share every illness under the moon. But... whatever... this was just so cute I couldn't pass up on recording it after it had started.... and encouraging the cuteness!

Matteo wiggles....

This is the cutest... Matteo has the cutest little wiggle that he does when he gets excited or happy. He wiggles when you play catch with him, and he wiggles when we turn "Go Diego Go!" on.

It's so cute I can't help but smile when I watch this. I only wish we would have gotten a close-up shot of his cute little cheekers when he did his wiggle tonight while we were playing outside.

SO CUTE!

24 Hour Flu Bug??

If there is a bug to be caught somewhere… one of my kids will catch it. Undoubtedly. Poor little Matt seemed to have caught a 24 hour fever. I’m guessing he picked it up at the zoo. He seemed a little off on Sunday… and then he had a 102 fever by Sunday evening. That night he was waking up constantly and fought his fever the entire night. Thankfully, I have an unbelievable husband who took on 100% of the night duty and then got up with sick/fussy Matt at 5:20am. Don’t worry… Mr. Martino was rewarded with a five hour nap on Monday morning. Yes F-I-V-E hours. No lie.

Since Matteo was still feeling yucky on Monday, he was having a difficult time trying to go down for his morning nap. So, I would rock him and he’d fall asleep. I’d put him down in his crib asleep… he’d wake up… I’d rub his back… he’d fall asleep… I’d try to sneak out… and he’d sit up and cry harder. Repeat x3. It was so sad… my poor little guy! All the while, Rocco was napping soundly in the same bedroom. Finally, Rocco was woken up by the drama. I tried to handoff Matteo to Dan, so Dan could nap with him. But, Matt was in full-on mommy-velcro-mode. And, it upset Matt so much that he was handed off to Dan that he decided to cry harder, which ended up making him throw up all over himself.

So, I bathed him… calmed him down… gave him water... rocked him. Somehow his lethargic little arm had serious lockdown on my arm, and he would not let go. I eventually got him to lie down in Gabby’s bed so I could lay with him. I was able to unlock my arm from his… I ran out of the room… grabbed Dan and had him run in there (Matt had already realized I was gone and started crying again).

But, the little guy… and big guy… finally napped. For FIVE LONG HOURS. I knew Matt needed rest to get better. And, if I wanted any good-wife points for the weekend, I knew Daddy had earned a nap too.

When they woke up at 2pm, Matt was acting so much more himself and by 4pm, his fever was gone. The bummer was that by 2pm, little Miss Gabby had also developed the fever.
Thankfully, Rocco was not hit by this little fever bug! YAY!

Trip to the Zoo!!

We decided to take the kids to the San Francisco zoo on Saturday. It was beautiful, sunny and warm where we live. And, it was like winter in San Francisco. Thankfully, we checked the weather first and packed winter coats and hats for all the kids.

I’m not a huge fan of the zoo. I always end up feeling bad for the animals. But, it was fun to do something adventurous as a family over the long weekend.


The kids had a great time. Gabby really wanted to see the new baby gorilla… but unfortunately, mommy gorilla still had a tight watch over the baby and kept her inside. But, the kids did get to see a few of the other gorilla’s being active and putting on a show… so that lifted her spirits a bit. They beat their chests, climbed trees, etc.


There were also a few good bear exhibits. The kids even got to stand next to a large glass wall/window and the grizzly bears came right up to them.


Gabby REALLY liked the polar bears and gorilla’s best. Ever since, she has taken her gigantic polar bear stuffed animal to bed with her the past few nights. It’s just as tall as her. Rocco & Matteo seemed to like the giraffes, gorillas and grizzly bears the best. They were really only interested in large animals that were moving around. Anything small or large and sleeping never captivated their interest.


After hitting all the cool animals, we decided to feed the kids. AT THE ZOO. It has been months since we’ve taken all 3 kids to a restaurant. Seriously… MONTHS (since August 08). Gabby is an angel in restaurants and isn’t a concern. But – the boys. Yikes. They are little copy cats who pretty much need to be tied down to eat. The thought alone of taking them to a restaurant is overwhelming.


Anyway, the zoo’s cafeteria seemed manageable. I put table toppers in front of each child. We quickly dropped the boys in high chairs, threw food in front of them. And, for 3 minutes (maybe)… we all sat at the same table. Dan & I looked at each other with big smiles and we said “WOW! We’re DOING it! We’re feeding OUR THREE kids in public!” Then, Rocco decided it was time to scream, get out and begin wandering the entire cafeteria. So much to see & explore. Matteo then followed… if his brother was going to wander… he was as well. Gabby sat nicely and enjoyed her zoo lunch.


If we learned anything from the zoo cafeteria it was that we are definitely not taking the twins to a restaurant anytime soon. Well… a restaurant that we could possibly get kicked out of anyway. I’m sure any McDonalds with a play structure would work out just fine.


A day at the zoo = tired kids. Rocco passed out on the walk back to the car. Then, Gabby & Rocco both slept on the ride home. And about 5 minutes before getting to our house… Rocco woke up, started crying and fussing… and I KNEW he was about to get carsick. Sure enough. He puked up his lunch, all over himself, in his car seat. Poor kid.


I have to call our pediatrician and see what they recommend for carsickness because poor little Rocco seems to get carsick quite frequently. This is the 4th time the little guy has gotten carsick.
Oh well… even with the end drama, it was still worth it.

Rocco's NEW Trick!

Check out Rocco’s new trick. This kid is AMAZING… such a strong little dare-devil!

A Happy Mother’s Day & Birthday

What was I most thankful for on Mother’s Day and my birthday this year? My family. I’ve got a lot to hug and kiss every day and I couldn’t be a happier momma!

Here is a photo of our little family… celebrating my birthday 3 days after the actual day… in the morning, before school and work. The kids got to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. Gabby was thrilled! I know.... I'm a GREAT mommy! =)

A corner of the cake was already eaten a day or two before this. But, that’s ok… that’s just the way life goes these days… and I’ll take a party when I can get one!

Dan gave me some beautiful flowers and we ended up going out on a date the following Friday night to get Indian food at one of our favorite restaurants.

Some recent CUTENESS!!

The kids are all SO MUCH fun when they are feeling good & healthy!

These are a few recent photos... well... ok... probably taken about two weeks ago on the tail end of the last round of sickness.

And, I just had to post this photo because when/if Gabby has to spend time in timeout... Rocco will often go and sit by her in timeout. Doesn't look like anyone is too upset here:

17 appointments in 11 days!

Ask Dan or I why we were a little physically and mentally exhausted over the past two weeks... and you'll hear a LOT about the fact that we just finished a record streak of 17 pediatric doctor appointments in 11 days. That meant sick kids... sleepless nights... juggling work schedules... and whiny kids who need extra love.

Seriously. 11 days of fun.

Again... who could make something like this up.

It all started with the well baby visits for Rocco and Matteo on Monday, 5/4, and went downhill from there. Granted... the boys picked up some bugs after hitting all our our Easter festivities. Three big and fun events in three days, going to bed later than normal, missing normal naptimes (therefore impacting length of naps), has proved to not be beneficial to the health of our little men. But, we sure did have a lot of fun regardless.

Both boys ended up getting ear infections... their first since having the tubes. Matteo didn't respond to the oral antibiotics so they ended up having him go in for 4 days of antibiotic shots to clear up his poor little ear. He was also on the tail end of battling bronchitis. Rocco was the second to get the ear infection, so they just put him on 3 days of shots instead of playing around with the oral stuff. I was thrilled. Seriously. Because I think the boys have both become pretty immune to the oral stuff. Because of Gabby's penicillin allergy... the little guys are never prescribed anything in the penicillin family. So perhaps their drugs are less potent? I don't know... but it seems that way.

In addition to the ear infections, Gabby got croup, Rocco battled with his bronchiolitis and he also got a case of the 24 hour stomach flu (just a high fever and threw up once). He was perfectly fine 24 hours later. Crazy!

And... we finished off the streak of appointments with the post-op audiology appointments for the boys. They did great - both passed. Both tested out to have perfectly normal hearing. Rocco was a bit harder to handle at the appointment... think lots of different things being stuck in an almost 16 month old's ears... and strange sound tests. He was not all too thrilled but apparently did much better than some 2 year olds. Matteo was really good. He looked at me a few times almost to say "Mom, what are they doing to me? Get me OUT of here!"... and he did manage to pull out the ear piece twice for the big test. But other than that, he was a star pupil.

Bottom line.... we spent $340.00 in 11 days. On DOCTOR appointments!! And we wonder where our money goes.... sheeeesh!!

Anyway... we're hoping to now start our HEALTHY streak!! We just have to bring the boys to see their ENT MD tomorrow, for their post-op appointment. Then, I think we're clear of MD appointments for a while. Fingers crossed!