Wednesday, June 4, 2014

scenes from my birthday dinner last weekend

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And then this is what I woke up to the next day.

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Can I say it again? I love these people.

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One another note - I am having a hard time properly sizing these damn photos. As much as the ice cream sandwiches were delicious, I cannot figure out why their photo is large and the other ones are small. Wordpress is really cramping my style lately and I haven't had time to really figure out what the issue is.

Friday, May 23, 2014

matteo's 4th birthday

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This year Matteo asked for a "construction" birthday. We had a little party in the park just for his friends, where they played in the dirt, ate pizza and had a pillow case race. Decorations consisted of two giant balloons and hats/vests/moustaches for the kids. It was simple and fun and Matteo was thrilled to have his best friends all together at his favorite park.

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Having a May 5th birthday means we always have a pinata. I definitely underestimated the crazy factor this year, thankfully no one was hurt. Matteo knocked it down in the second round and proceeded to smash it over and over with his bat. Then, this happened.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/katycoelho/14106737802/

Friday, April 4, 2014

Happy Birthday, Baby Vincent!

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You have brought so much joy into our lives! We love you so very much, sweet baby.

(And yes, while technically this photo is his 11-month-old photo and says "March", it was only taken three days ago.)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

brothers

brothers

Vincent has his first school picture taken earlier this year. We got the photos back recently and it was fun to compare the boys when they were roughly the same age. (I think Matteo may have been about a month younger in his version.)

Matteo on the left, Vincent on the right.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

11 months old

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Vincent is 11 months old today! He is loud and messy and into EVERYTHING.

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He's just like his brother was at this age but even louder and messier and more active, if you can believe it. He loves being at school, and plays hard all day long. So hard that by lunchtime he's out cold.

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His favorite foods are cheese and bananas, and his favorite game to play is basketball. If you put any kind of basket in front of him, he'll throw something in it.

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This video was from last week. He just started taking some steps last weekend and all signs point toward him walking by one.

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He and Matteo are starting to play together more and more. They're so fun to watch.

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I can't believe you've been with us almost a year, little one. We love you so much!

screen time

Sometimes this kid kills me. How can a three-year-old have such attitude? Here he is, hanging out in my office chomping on an apple, telling me he wants some screen time.

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Look at those eyebrows!

Monday, February 10, 2014

lunch with matteo

As I was driving Matteo to school on Friday we started talking about how parents can have lunch in the class. I'd never done it before and told him that we'd have to figure out a time when I could come in.

"Come today, Mom!" he said.

I started to explain that I'd have to check my schedule and I had a lot to do at work and blah blah blah... And then I stopped myself. There was absolutely no reason I couldn't go. My schedule was open. Of course I could totally leave the office for 30 minutes with Matteo. What was I thinking initially saying no?

Boy, that was the best decision I think I've made in months.

I walked in to a bustling classroom of 25 preschoolers getting ready for lunch. I thought that parents sat at the larger, group tables with all the kids. But his teachers gestured toward the a special table for two, only used for parent visits, right next to the window. They quietly told me how Matteo had proudly set the little table all by himself, without being prompted, with a small yellow gingham table cloth, china plates and real silverware.

Just then Matteo walked out of the bathroom with a small glass in his hand. "Hi, Mom! I'm getting you water!" He was beaming and I was so happy to be there.

lunch with matteo

We sat down together and he showed me how he takes all of his food out of his lunch bag and arranges it neatly on his plate. He showed me how he cuts his Pirate Booty open with scissors. He pointed out the spoon he set out for me for my yogurt. I had surprised him with his favorite meatball sandwich from Subway and he excitedly told his teacher about it. After we were done he picked everything up and put it away in either the trash, recycling or compost bins. Then he picked up the dishes and silverware and put them in the wash bins.

A couple of months ago, one of his teachers told me that Matteo had created his own job for himself in the classroom. He had been watching the older kids and their classroom jobs for a while and decided he wanted one. Since all the jobs were already claimed he decided to invent a new job for himself. So after the kids finished their lunch he started going around to all of the tables and taking the tablecloths off of them. Then he'd ask the teacher if she wanted them folded or put in the wash that day, and would follow her instructions (with a very serious look on his face). I love that story. I love that he's a good helper, but I especially love that he was so motivated to help that he came up with his own way to make a difference.

Watching him on Friday was so gratifying. I was so proud of him and so happy I got a glimpse of his life at school. It also was a good lesson to try to not let my knee jerk response be "no" all time.

We're already planning our next lunch date.