my mom is coming...for good!

I am so thrilled to share that my mom is moving to Madison! Last week she was here for three days to close on a new home she bought here (that's it in the picture - isn't it cute?) and then flew back to Maryland to put her house on the market. She'll be here for good as soon as it sells and our fingers are crossed that will be very soon. Things in her neighborhood have been moving quickly so we're hopeful it will only be another month or so.

I'm so excited to have her close (only three miles away!) and there are so many things I'm looking forward to doing with her once she's here. And Matteo is beyond excited that she is coming to stay for good. I'm also looking forward to having an extra pair of hands around to help now and then. Do you know that in the last two years Matt and I have gone out together without kids exactly twice? Once was to our friends' wedding two summers ago and, most recently, we went to a movie while visiting my Dad in Park City...LAST JULY.

Welcome to Madison, Mom! Wisconsin - and all the wonderful things it has to offer - is waiting for you!

five months

Vincent turned five months old last week. He's been rolling over for about a month now and when he's on his belly he can turn himself around. He's also almost sitting up by himself.

This is the age where taking these photos gets a little challenging. Toward the end, Matteo heard Vincent's protests and came in to offer some moral support.

back to school

It's back-to-school time! Yesterday was the first day of school for Matt and Matteo. Vincent started going to daycare last Thursday for half the day and today is his first full day.

Here's Matteo - first day of preschool:



He's in a mixed age class of 3-5 year olds and has three new teachers. He loves it! I walked him up the stairs to his new room yesterday and he sauntered right in like he already owned the place. I talked with his afternoon teacher at pick-up yesterday and she said he had a great day. He picked up on all the class routines right away and loved it when the older kids introduced themselves to the little ones as the 'classroom helpers'. She said she watched his face as they introduced themselves and she could just tell he was thinking to himself, "I want to be a helper one day!"

His lead teacher called last night and left a message, also giving him a very good report. I love that she took the time to do that. He's in such a great place.

Vincent is also in a great place. He has the same teachers that Matteo had and they are so wonderful with little ones. The lead teacher told me this morning that he laughs and plays all day. Here they are together, and here is a shot of him playing in the room. Can you see his little head there? (Yes, I'm the weird mom lurking outside and watching through the window after I've said my goodbyes.)





Here he is yesterday after a walk. He loves being outside. Whenever he is fussy, as soon as you wheel him outside he calms down. Since he was tiny he's always loved sitting in the stroller, looking up at the leaves and watching the world around him.



Here is a shot of Matteo from three years ago, at almost the exact same age in that same buggy:



After I picked him up yesterday we took another walk around the neighborhood. He napped and I stopped for an iced coffee and a cookie at our favorite coffee shop. This has been our routine for the last several months but now the boys are both in school and I'm back to work full time.





Goodbye summer. I have to say that you were especially awesome this year.

baptism photo booth

At the party after the baptism, we set up our own photo booth and a few props including letters that spelled out BABY VINCENT MIOTA. I love how these pictures turned out.



































(photo booth photos from Matteo's baptism party are here.)

vincent - 4 months

matteo's third birthday

We've always thrown big birthday parties for Matteo, (see his first and his second) but this year was going to be tricky. We didn't want him to feel like his birthday was lost in the shuffle of Vincent's arrival. But he's finally at an age where birthday parties are exciting and a family-only party wasn't going to cut the mustard. He absolutely had his heart set on inviting a bunch of his new school friends to celebrate with him, however, having a new baby one month before his birthday gave me little time to plan and hosting a lot of new people at our home wasn't going to be an option.

Being a typical three-year-old boy, Matteo is obsessed with firemen, policemen, ambulances and rescue helicopters. He told us he wanted a fireman birthday and asked if a fire truck could come to our house. Well, no. Sorry, kid. But we could bring him, and all of his friends, to the fire truck!

I called the fire department and they said each station hosts free tours and you can make a reservation ahead of time for your group. The only catch is that if there is a call, all the firemen have to leave the station and then you're out of luck. With no other ideas, I decided to go for it. I sent out invitations, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best.

Luck was totally on our side. The day of Matteo's party was also the day of the Mifflin Street Block Party, a HUGE all-day party involving thousands of drunk college students - and just about every police officer and fire department in the city, who are there to make sure things don't go totally haywire. But by some miracle, when we showed up for the tour of the station, the firemen hadn't yet been called out to the party - and didn't get a call the whole time we were there.









It was such an awesome party. The firefighters were totally amazing. They showed the kids the engine and let them crawl all over it.









They did a really cool demonstration for the kids, showing them all of their gear and how they suit up for a fire.







When I confirmed our reservation for the tour I was told (by a very gruff firefighter who, luckily, wasn't on duty the day we came) that I should expect the tour to last no more than 30 minutes because the kids would all be terrified and start crying, and we wouldn't be allowed to see any other part of the station besides the garage with the engines. Because of this, instead of a cake, I individually boxed cupcakes for the kids, expecting I would just hand them out as everyone was leaving.

But the team that was on duty was so great. Not only did they give the kids a full tour of the fire station including their living quarters and the pole...



they invited the kids to sit in their kitchen to eat their cupcakes, and gave each one a coloring book about fire safety. They even sang happy birthday with us!







It was so much fun and all of the kids had great time. And there was no crying! Matteo was weird and wouldn't wear his fireman's hat. But the weirder he is, the more fun he's having.





Thanks so much Madison Fire Department Station 3!



(And special thanks to the amazingly talented Carrie Kilman for taking such great photos!)