Pneumonia? Fevers? Coughs? Welcome back germ season.

Our sweet little Giuliana has finally fully recovered from pneumonia.

Rocco had brought home a bad cough from school at the end of September. He didn't have any other symptoms, but we brought him to the doctor anyway. She confirmed that nothing else was going on, and said it was just a cough. It took about 7 days for Giuliana to catch it. Then, that night she also came down with a nasty fever that started around 11pm and spiked up to 103.6 a little after midnight. I was able to control it by switching every 3 hours between i.buprofren and a.cetaminophen. But, she still had a fever the next day, which was a Friday, so I decided to take her in to the pedi before the weekend. Dr. C said her lungs sounded good, no ear infection, throat looked good. So, we assumed her body was just very busy fighting a virus.

Her fever continued over the weekend, although thankfully it never went over 102.5. But, I noticed her cough changed over the weekend. It went from being a dry cough to a wet cough... sounding like mucus was in her lungs. So, we went back to the doctor Monday morning. And, sure enough... our sweet little girl was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was prescribed a.zithromyacin and I knew it would be a battle getting her to take the medicine, but my plan was to give it to her in ice cream... because that's how I got her to take it back in July.

Well, as it turns out, my 21 month old child is so stubborn and willful that she can easily sniff out medicine and outsmart any medicine-giving strategies I come up with. i tried hiding it in ice cream - she flat out refused the ice cream, I tried giving her a straight shot of chocolate syrup (w/medicine in it), and she also refused it. I tried giving it to her in a syringe, a spoon, a cup and from a straw. So, then I had to try the tough method... so I pinned her down, and by the time I finished that method, there was more medicine in her hair, on her clothes, and on my clothes... and I'm not sure any of it actually made it into her mouth. She actually grabbed the syringe from me at one point and in the battle and pushed all the medicine out so fast that it went flying into the air and hit my face and hair, and her hair. I swear... if someone would have been watching this they probably would have thought we were both crazy! I had to call the pedi and tell them we wasted an entire bottle of medicine. And after telling them all the strategies I used, they told me we'd have to bring her in for shots. I was relieved to hear that though... at least we would KNOW she was getting the medicine.

So, we did 2 days of shots, and went in again on the third day to get 2 chest xrays so we could see if she needed another set of shots. Talk about stressful! I couldn't be in the xray room with her and she was screaming "momma, momma, hold me!!" at the top of her lungs. It was heart breaking! Then, when I got her back in my arms and calmed her down... she had to get a third set of shots...ugh! Poor baby! If only you could reason with a 21 month old and tell them "this is why you have to take your medicine!".

In addition to bringing Giuliana to the pedi 4 times last week, we also had to bring Rocco in again too. His cough was going on week #3 and with Giuliana being diagnosed with pneumonia, we were worried he might develop something worse too. Miraculously, our little dude's lungs are getting so much stronger! This is such a relief... when he was an infant, he would get bronchitis, pneumonia, or RSV at the drop of a hat. Over the past year, Rocco's lungs and immune system have finally gotten over the hump of succumbing to serious sickness within days of catching a simple cold. HOORAY!!!

Giuliana continued with a low-grade fever through Friday... poor little thing! Almost nine days of having a fever that lingered between 99.5 and 100.3. Sunday brought her a nasty cold... snot everywhere and lots of sneezing. By Monday, her cough was finally gone though. And, by Tuesday, my funny, silly, stubborn little girl was back to her normal antics, which was such a relief for me.

I know a fever is nothing a parent should stress over or fear. The fever itself is of course just a sign that the body is doing it's job and trying to fight a virus or infection. But, if you're THIS momma... a fever is stressful. I can't sleep, adrenaline rushes through my body, and I obsess over what is wrong with my child. It brings out my PTSD more than anything else... because Matteo died the night he went to bed with a high fever. He didn't have a seizure, pneumonia, swine flu, or any other known virus. He just had a fever. And, he died. The coroner told us that by all accounts, he looked like a perfectly healthy little 18 month old boy... all of his organs were beautiful. No sign of any issues. To this day, this makes me so angry and hurt... I will never know why he died. My little guy was just cheated out of life... and a fever is the only thing I knew to be wrong that night.

So, I'd like to tell germ season to suck it... leave my kids alone. That's all. Thanks!

First Sleepover!

Gabby and Rocco were invited to their very first sleepover last Saturday night at their best friend's home (Sofia and Giovanni). They had SO much fun! I told them about it the day before, and by 8am on Saturday morning, they were both packed and ready to go!

It was comical to see what they packed... between the two of them, there were two heavy bags of toys packed that included cars, guns, swords, flashlights, photo books, dolls, dress-up jewelry, color crayons, etc. We basically had to remind them to pack their pajamas, clothes for the next day, toothbrushes and their sleeping bags.

We were slightly worried that we might get a call sometime before 11pm to come and pick them up because one of them was scared or just wanted the comforts of home. But, nope! They did GREAT!

After we dropped the kids off, Dan & I took Giuliana on a date with us. We had some great food and enjoyed the calm & peacefulness associated with only one child joining us for the evening. Giuliana got extra spoiled by her mommy and daddy.... LOTS of love and ice cream after dinner.

I guess it took Rocco a while to get settled/comfortable in sleeping on the floor in his sleeping bag. I was told Sofia and Giovanni fell asleep shortly after 10pm... and Gabby and Rocco finally fell asleep shortly after 11pm. Apparently Rocco was up every 10 mins to get water, which annoyed Gabby... but thankfully, the sleep fairy finally hit both of them. And, I guess all the kids were up by 7am to play again!

My kids are used to sleeping from 8 or 8:15 pm until 7 or 7:30am. So - they got a short night's sleep... which is to be expected with a sleepover, right?! My kids normally sleep HARD and long! Rocco never wakes up in the middle of the night... if he does it is extremely rare. Gabby wakes up from nightmares every once in a while still, but is easily put right back to bed. So, when they got home from the sleepover...they were both abnormally tired and a little fussy. So tired in fact that they next night we put them to bed at 7:40pm and they slept in until 8am!

The kids had SO MUCH FUN and are very excited to do another sleepover or host a sleepover at our house. They played, they read books, they colored, they watched movies and had a popcorn party, they built forts... and so much more.

A definite success!!

Mommy, Where Do Burglars/Bad Guys Live?

Lately, Dan and I are fielding so many questions from Rocco about bad guys and burglars. I think his interest in super heroes, Batman being his favorite, has peaked his interest in good guys and bad guys.

Typical questions heard many times throughout the day include:
1. What do bad guys do?
2. What do good guys do?
3. Why are bad guys bad?
4. What happens to bad guys?
5. What is a burglar?
6. Where do burglars live?
7. How do you catch a burglar?

One day when I was driving Rocco to school, he spent the entire drive questioning me about burglars, but he was particularly interested in where they lived. I told him they could live anywhere, to which he yelled "MOM! Burglars don't live ANYWHERE!" So, I asked him where they live and he started pointing to houses saying they lived there... and there... and there.

Dan and I find these bad guy/burglar conversations very amusing.

Rocco & His Swords, Guns & Glow Sticks

Rocco pretty much coasts through life happily... so long as he has his swords, N.erf guns and glow sticks.

Every night, he goes to bed with a gun and/or sword in hand, his blankey and his glow stick or a flashlight. Often times, the glow stick or the flash light is left on... and I turn it out when I check on him before I go to bed.

If he loses any of these items throughout the day, which he does approx 189 times a day... he sends anyone and everyone who is in the house on a wild goose chase to find his lost glow stick, gun or sword. It is annoying when he loses any of these items... not only because this happens a lot, but because you have to drop everything you're doing to find it right then & there... and also because if you don't, you have to listen to a 3 year old meltdown.

Lately, he's been carrying his Spiderman backpack everywhere, filled with guns, swords, glow stick, and tools (little kid hammers, plyers, etc.). There was an electrician here the other day, and Rocco started chatting up the electrician about all the tools he had in his backpack... I overheard him say from the other room "See, I have a hammer too! My hammer is blue!" To which of course, I am very sure the electrician was super impressed. :)

Also... another super-cute thing that I love seeing lately, is Rocco & Dan's wrestling matches. Rocco seriously and truly LIVES to wrestle with Dan. I think it is is favorite thing to do every day. And, when Dan is traveling, it's very evident that Rocco misses his daddy and their wrestling. Not only do they wrestle together... A LOT... but they play T.ransformers together... there is a theme song that Rocco hums/sings loudly and Rocco and Dan transform into bad or good transformers (directed by Rocco, of course) and then proceed to attack each other, run from each other and battle. It's really very odd and strange and manly, all at the same time.

Oh... and those two also spend a lot of time playing guns. They go through the house, hiding behind various pillars and walls... popping out and shooting windows and walls and stuffed animals. I'm told they're trying to shoot all the bad guys. It's pretty cute. And, I love watching this happen.

Of course, I always wonder where little Matteo would be in the mix of all this. I wonder if he'd be into the wrestling... or if he'd be more mellow and chill. There are so many moments throughout the day where I would give ANYTHING to have him here with us and see him playing guns or transformers or wrestling with Rocco.

Giuliana, Babies & Blankey

Giuliana has her own little entourage. And, that consists of two babies and her purple blankey. These three things go everywhere with her. And, I mean EVERY.WHERE. If we go upstairs, downstairs, outside, nap... whatever it is... you get the call for "babies! blankey!"

The babies were actually a gift to Gabby from grandma Leo and grandpa Kenny when the twins were born. Now, they are 100% owned and managed by Giuliana.

I took this photo with my phone a few weeks ago. This is what she looks like every night when she falls asleep. So, so sweet. Hugging those sweet little babies of hers.

Dan's first half marathon

After supporting me in running the San Francisco full marathon... Dan decided he would like to try doing a half marathon. I was of course VERY supportive of this... and found him a race to run within 10 minutes of his declaration! I also had a training plan whipped up for him 10 minutes later. :))

I can't speak for Dan, of course, but I think there were several reasons he wanted to sign up for a half marathon. First, he wanted a reason to HAVE to run/workout every day. He had been SO busy with work over the summer that he just wasn't taking time to exercise and he didn't like that. Second, he wanted to get back in shape. And, lastly, I think he wanted the challenge of having to run farther than he'd ever run before. And, seeing people of all ages run and finish the half and full marathon in San Francisco was inspiration.

The race I chose and he agreed to do was in 6 weeks. Yikes! Most people that have never run more than 4.5 miles would choose a race 12 weeks out... so they could get proper training in. But, we wanted to choose something in September when the weather would still hopefully be nice. And, I figured with the shorter training... he might not get bored with "running" before the race and stick to the plan.

The longest Dan had ever run before this training plan was 4.5 miles. And, he used to hate running. But, Dan finally got a taste of the runner's high... and after building up to a 10 mile run the week prior to the race, he declared he LOVED running and and his long runs on the weekends. I think I shed a little tear! Ha! Not only did he start to love running... but he also lost weight and got quite slim. Now, I usually get much leaner when training... but I also typically gain about 5 pounds. Granted, my clothes all become a little loose... I guess it's true that "muscle weighs more than fat". But, he got both lean AND lost weight. Men have it so easy - I swear!

Anway... race day arrived. We all woke up at 6:30am and left the house by 7am. His race started at 9:30am (what a great start time! I'm used to the awful 5:30-7am start times!), and we needed to arrive by 9am so he could pick up his race packet. Now, if it would have been me running the race, I would have noted the address where I was supposed to pick-up my race packet... but in typical Dan fashion, we arrived... and after spending 20 minutes of driving around trying to figure out where the starting line, etc. was, we found it. I was seriously nervous he was going to miss it. But, he pulled through! Whew!

We cheered Dan on from 100 meters after he crossed the starting line and about 50 meters before the finish line. Had we arrived earlier and gotten more acquainted with the course/town, I think we would have been able to cheer him on from a few more locations, but it all worked out and was fine. Also, it's not exactly easy to take 3 little kids with you on a race chase in a town you are not familiar with at all, by yourself! But, the kids REALLY LOVED seeing their daddy running a race and so did I!!

Dan did fantastic! Especially for this being his very first race, the longest he'd ever run, only six weeks of training and constant 25-45mph winds. Outside of the crazy winds... the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a half marathon... low 60's at the start. mid/high 60's at finish and cloudy.

Dan finished 13.1 miles in 2:06:09, which equaled a pace of 9:52 minutes per mile. I was SO PROUD of him! And, now he's looking for his next half marathon... and working on building his speed! YAY, DAN!!

Girls Trip to Wine Country!

At the end of September, I enjoyed a 4 day girls trip to Sonoma with some of my best girlfriends from college. Jess, Krysta and I did the same trip back in 2009... and we had such a great time and enjoyed the place we stayed at so much, that we decided to do it again! This time, another college girlfriend/sorority sister of ours, Tawny, was able to join us too.

We stayed at the F.airmont S.onoma M.ission Inn and Spa. It was DIVINE. LOVE that place! I could have stayed for an entire week. Each day, we had a spa treatment and indulged ourselves by partaking in the bathing ritual. We took advantage of time away from our families to work out and be lazy by the pool. We enjoyed delicious lunches and dinners out, and lots of time catching up.

Friday was our most productive day... we worked out in the morning, hit the spa, lunched out, and then hit one fabulous winery hard... I would highly recommend Bella to anyone visiting wine country. We got a private tour, we loved our wine dude, and we even got to indulge in extra tastings because we closed the place down... well, and we're SO MUCH FUN to hang with... well, and you can't really waste wine... just saying. After our visit to Bella, we spent some time doing some serious hooping on the Bella grounds. Krysta stole some delicious grapes from a vineyard that we devoured and then we hit two more tasting rooms before dinner that night. And, dinner was spectacular!

Saturday, we worked out, chilled by the pool, hit the spa and had a fabulous dinner out.

I think we overate at every meal... but it was totally worth it! It was such a great trip and so much fun to spend time with my girlfriends!

Funny things Rocco says...

Rocco is full of funny sound effects and comments. He is constantly making us laugh.

One of the common Rocco discussions in our house lately is "What do bad guys do?" And, "What do Batman and Robyn and Superman do?" I think we get these questions fielded to us at least once a day.

Gabby also knows exactly how to push Rocco's buttons. All she has to say is that something of his is pink, or that he likes pink, etc. This has created a complete pink-complex... and Rocco now must always only use blue spoons, blue bowls and blue plates. Try giving him pink, orange, green or purple... and you'll be lucky if you're only reprimanded with a scolding of "I DON'T like PINK! I'm NOT a girl... I'm a BOY!"

A few weeks ago, Gabby just commented to Rocco that his lips were pink. Rocco, of course, didn't want to hear his lips were pink and said "My lips are NOT pink". Gabby: "Yes, they are.... even my lips are pink. Everyone has pink lips. Your lips are pink too." Rocco: "GABBY... MY LIPS ARE NOT PINK!!!!" This went on for at least a good ten minutes. I couldn't get either of them to stop... they had to keep getting in the last word. Jeeeeesh!! I'm not ready for them to be teenagers yet!

Rocco really loves playing with his Nerf guns and swords. He's constantly wanting to have sword fights with whoever is in the room. He happily brings you a sword... and you'd best be ready to sword fight or a major 3 year old temper-tantrum ensues. After Rocco's third day of school, Dan went to pick him up. As they were walking out of the school, Rocco said "Daddy... can I get a REAL gun and a REAL sword?" Dan of course laughed (I'm sure he was probably proud in that manly sort of way too), and told Rocco that maybe when he grows up he could get a REAL gun and a REAL sword. But, they'd have to do some training together first. Let's hope we never approach this day and that this is just a phase! :)

Matteo's Dream Fund Benefit - SUCCESS!!

We held our very first fund raising event for Matteo's Dream Fund on Saturday, August 6th in the Bay Area. The event consisted of a dinner and silent auction. Our goals were to have 75 people attend and raise $3,000.00 for Packard Children's Hospital. Packard Children's is where Matteo was born and also had tubes put in his ears. It consistently ranks as one of our nations top children's hospitals, is a home away from home for many sick and terminally ill children, and it has also been my employer since March 2005.

We are thrilled to announce the event was an absolute SUCCESS!! Our attendance hit 78, and together we raised a total of $4,495.00 for Packard Children's. After reviewing the many options for how to direct our funds to be used, we finally decided to have our donation result in something concrete... something the kids will visually see and be able make use of. Thanks to all the wonderful friends and family who attended our benefit, the in-hospital school will receive 2 Mac laptops, 1 projector, 1 triple beam scale, 2 digital scales and 3 microscopes. In addition, the Forever Young Zone & Dialysis Center will receive $550 for new toys, art supplies and books.

While I would do anything to turn back the clock and change everything that happened on July 4th 2009, I know i can't. I would much rather spend my time holding and playing with my sweet Matteo... but that isn't even an option. I guess in a way it sort of helps the hurt to know that Matteo's name and memory live on, and that because of him, so many people came together to do something really good to benefit a lot of kids who are sick and terminally ill. And, coming from a parent who lost a child... I know that donations like this also probably put big smiles on the parents of those children as well.

We have so many people to thank for the success of this event. Kathleen Hart was my partner in crime from the very start to the very end, providing constant assistance and advice. Marisa Desai and Todd Kleinheinz helped procure a number of fantastic silent auction items, and also made their own donations. Also assisting with procuring silent auction items were Julie & Ed Grabscheid, and Jody Rich. We were also so incredibly lucky to benefit from the many businesses and individuals who so generously donated everything from game tickets, to hula hoop lessons, wine, gift certificates, jewelry and art.

We are SO THANKFUL to everyone who joined us for this event... especially in what is undoubtedly a very difficult time in our nation's economic history. So - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

In addition to the above mentioned successes, we walked away with one HUGE WIN. I am thrilled to announce that Matteo's Dream Fund is in the process of becoming an official 501(c)(3) non-profit! HUGE THANKS to Julie Peterson for starting the discussion and Kate Austin for taking on and managing this pro-bono work with the help of some of her colleagues at Oppenheimer & Associates. Once again, we are acutely aware of how lucky we are to have built friendships with such wonderful people, and also how lucky we are to still have them in our lives supporting us and being so generous of their time.

In the next month or two, I will have more information about how everyone who donated items to our silent auction and/or attended our event can obtain the information needed to write-off your contributions to Matteo's Dream Fund. Please stay tuned!

Also, as a constant fund raiser for Matteo's Dream Fund, we are selling apparel! Our current inventory includes ladies t-shirts (very soft cotton, fitted... LOVE & wear mine all the time!), uni-sex t-shirts (Dan is modeling these), and fleece jackets (super-soft & thick!).

For each item sold, $10 will go directly to Matteo's Dream Fund. If you are interested in purchasing anything - please drop me a note so I can assist you: jodimartino2002@yahoo.com. Prices are as follows:
White Unisex T-shirt (Hanes Beefy T)
M, L & XL = $16.00
XXL = $17.00

Black Unisex T-shirt (Hanes Beefy T)
M, L, XL = $19
XXL = $20

Ladies Black T-shirt in M, L, XL = $25

Ladies White T-shirt in M, L, XL = $23

Unisex Black Fleece Jacket = $35

Gabby started KINDERGARTEN!

Gabby started all-day kindergarten recently - and she is in HEAVEN!

This child was beyond ready to start kindergarten... literally counting down the weeks and days since June. Every time she would talk about kindergarten... it would be followed with a very girly, high-pitched scream. So fun to see her so excited! She also picked out her new backpack, and jumped with joy the day it arrived.

There were many little steps leading up to the big day... we got our list of supplies that we needed to bring in, along with our date & time for her kindergarten assessment. At the assessment, they basically tested her reading skills, asked her to do some simple rhyming, asked her to identify her name, shapes and numbers and I think they also did a little writing. I think Gabby did really well and was able to read all the pages in the book the teacher went through with her with just a little help from the teacher on a few words.

Then, we had her orientation on the Thursday after Labor Day. (By that point... Gabby was ITCHING to be in school every day and was SO JEALOUS that Rocco had already started school.) Gabby really enjoyed the orientation... it allowed her to meet some new friends and hear more about rules, the routines and what her school day was going to be like. There are 18 boys in her class and 5 girls (including Gabby). I'd say the girls are a bit outnumbered!

Her first day of school was the next day - Friday. We drove her to school and picked her up on the first day... and let's just say she was NOT a fan of us picking her up. She really wanted to ride the bus that day. I was met with tears, instead of a hug... from a VERY, very tired and new little kindergartener. She had SUCH a great time at school though and was sad that she had to wait all weekend to go again. When Monday arrived, I walked her to the bus stop for her very first bus ride... and to say she was excited to ride the bus is an extreme understatement. As Gabby said "Mom, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE to ride the bus!!"

Gabby's all day kindergarten goes from 9:15-3:25. Her teacher, Ms. T, told us to expect our little ones to be very tired when they arrive home for the first two months. But, after that, they should be adjusted to the new schedule and stimulation. Gabby, by the way, LOVES her teacher. And, I really like her too! She has so much energy, has the kids doing neat learning projects and I love the constant communications from her via backpack mail and email.

In addition to adjusting to a new school schedule, Gabby also is involved in swimming, gymnastics and dance. Dance class started last Monday. She's in a tap & ballet class that she really enjoyed last year with the same instructor. Swimming class is on Sundays. And, she's in an invite-only developmental gymnastics class. The class is twice weekly, from 5-7pm, and they work those girls hard. Seriously. I watch them, and wish I was out there doing all the strength training, stretching and fun gymnastics moves with them. I hesitated a bit with the advanced gym class for several reasons... I was worried about Gabby adjusting to all day kindergarten, and thought a twice weekly, 2 hour class would be too much for her... and maybe for us too (with having to taxi her there & back), especially with having two other little ones at home. But, the Level I coaches started telling me that Gabby was getting bored in class and needed more of a challenge. They said strength-wise and skill-wise, she was more than capable of handling the invite class. So, I caved... and enrolled her in that class. Honestly though.... she is MUCH happier in this new, more difficult class and it so far hasn't been too difficult to juggle with everything else. It definitely messes up dinner on Tuesday nights, as Rocco's gym class starts when Gabby's does... it just ends an hour and 15 mins before Gabby's. But, I now send the kids off to they gym with PB&J sandwiches, milk and that seems to work fine. Then when they get home, they usually eat a second dinner.

Gabby is LOVING all of her activities. I would say it is a toss-up between dance & gymnastics for her favorite activity. Swimming is not really an option in our house... we feel strongly about the kids having to learn to swim for safety reasons. But, the other activities are up to the kids. As long as they are having fun, it isn't making them too tired or impacting school/homework (which is the top priority!), then we'll support them in whatever.

Gabby seems to have grown-up so much lately... in a kindergarten sort of way. And, I also had to go through her closet again recently - she's growing so fast! Very tall & lean (making it really hard to find pants that are long enough but not falling off of her). And, she happily does her homework each night and looks forward to our half hour of reading. She is also really starting to get confident with her own reading and will often attempt to read books to her brother and sister now. Super cute to see! We are SO proud of her... love her to bits!

Rocco Started Preschool!

Rocco started preschool the day after Labor Day and he was SO excited!

Last winter, he was not looking forward to school one bit. We'd try talking to him about it and he would get mad and tell us he didn't want to go to school. We would tell him all the fun things he would do at school... and he would ignore us.

But, oddly enough, by the end of summer, he was full of anticipation for his first day of school. He would tell us all about what he was going to do at school and how he'd make his OWN friends (friends, that Gabby wouldn't have), etc. It's amazing how several months in the life of a 3 year old can make such a difference on their perspective and interest in something. It is also interesting how time changes their need for social interaction and their own friendships.

I imagine Rocco also developed a need/want for his own friends because he is much more aware of how Gabby has created friendships. And, he truly enjoys the friendships that him and Gabby have built with our neighborhood kids. The kids in the neighborhood are constantly playing together and going from house to house. It's really cute and sort of reminds me of my childhood neighborhood.

In addition to starting preschool, Rocco is now also enrolled in gymnastics and a swimming class that does not include a parent or his sister (both are once a week). He truly LOVES both classes!

I tried on several occasions to have him try gymnastics back in the spring, but he wouldn't even participate for 5 minutes. Now he really enjoys going to gymnastics and really looks forward to class. He even likes to show off and do somersaults at home and flips on the trampoline. He seems to do really well at the beginning of each class... he listens and follows instruction, doing exactly as the coach instructs. Then, I seem him start to get chatty with the coach, and other kids. And, by the end, I see him diving and jumping and rolling onto the mats like he's fighing some sort of superhero battle while he's waiting in line for his turn to do something. He's such a little clown! Last week, he was waiting in line, diving and doing somersaults. I saw his coach say something to him (her back was to me, so I don't know what she said) and then Rocco got up and I heard him say "I have another brother and his name is Matteo!", and then he dove back into another somersault. Ii was so strange... gave me chills and warmed my heart at the same time. Love that Matteo still lives within him.

Rocco and Gabby were in a private swim class together through the spring. Then, when July hit, I decided to enroll them in a different program, where they would each be in classes relevant to their level of swimming. This was Rocco's first class without a parent or his sister and I was expecting it to either be a complete disaster or something to build on. Well, in his first swim class he was frozen still and had his head down for the first 10 mins. But all of a sudden... it was like a switch went off, and he started having fun. He started talking and responding positively to the instructor, and when we went home, he was so proud to tell his sister and daddy all about his instructor and 2 new swim class friends.... even though they didn't really say a peep to each other. Last week... he talked the teacher's ear off and the teacher looked at Dan almost as if she was needing Dan to get him to stop talking. Silly Rocco... he's such a crack-up!

We're so proud of Rocco! Preschool, gymnastics and swimming classes... all by himself!