Nails and Napping (and gym 'n swim)

Anna got a hot pink pedicure in a butterfly seat for her big job of flower girl for Erin's big day!


Snoozing in the sun.


Carla has been loving the company of her siblings in her gym class!

Aunt Phyllis had a Great Book Club Party!

Benjamin is officially the only male in the group!

Snuggly Sibs

 

 

Happy Birthday Mike and Jackie!

Anna can tread water for a half hour, swim across the pool, front and back float/stroke...but she hasn't jumped in for at least two years! The other day, she finally jumped! This is a few days later, but as you can see it is a regular thing now! "I want to jump in one hundred times!!! I love it!" It totally made my day, week even! Yeah, Anna!

Fun with Papa!

Happy Birthday Giuseppe!

Zoo Fun with Daddy!

Past few days: firefighter Carla, sand angles, little man love, Anna joining Carla for Gym and Swim class at the Y

Who knows if I'll ever post the video, so here is the recap: Anna and I were having lunch, I had put Ben down for a nap, he was WAILING for like 5 min (LONG time for him), Anna even said he was upset, so I went up, and he had backed himself into the end of his crib, was bright red and screaming, and I just started rubbing him and said "hi Ben", and he calmed instantly down, I don't know why I even had my camera, but since I did, I even took a video (for 17 sec, until the memory card was full), and the second it shut off, he just closed his eyes and fell asleep...the pic on the bottom of the collage is from right after I emptied the card onto the computer and ran up to take his pic. It made me cry that I calmed him down like that. It was so precious. This boy was dropped down straight from Heaven :)

Fun with Gramma and Pas! First Watch, Farmer's Market, Art Festival, a craft and caramel apple, and a cookout on the deck on a beautiful day!

Carla is getting along just fine at home when Anna is at school!

Ben is getting big!

Ben had his 2 month appointment today. He is doing great! 13 pounds 14 ounces and 24 inches long -- around 80th percentile for each. I can't believe that he's gained 5 pounds! It's all come from me, so why haven't I lost 5 pounds?! Oh yeah, it's that sweet tooth that comes with sleep deprivation. Oh well, it will come (or go that is).
He can fall asleep on his own and that was our only assignment last month. He is such an angel! He only made some funny faces getting the oral rotovirus vaccine, but he sure didn't like the 4 other vaccines in the form of shots! He even cried a lot this afternoon, but we gave him some Baby Tylenol, and after 2 relaxed hours, he fell asleep, and didn't wake up for EIGHT hours! And I slept for 7 which felt like 12! Thanks Benny-Boy!

Tonight the girls enjoyed this basket. Anna was rolling around and Carla was even riding on top of that -- we weren't in time for a video.

Squire's Castle

A reward for somehow keeping calm and quiet for my post-baby check-up -- Squire's Castle. Every time we come I wonder why we don't do it more often. Nature is such an easy source of well being. Hopefully we'll be back soon!

Posing and Discovering

Our little loves :)
Also, Anna and I "tiled" the floor with books!

So cool that we can go on a nature walk without even driving to the Metroparks!

We miss you Daddy!

Here is one:


But I really couldn't pick, so:


Then Grandma and I had some fun with Ben, some props, and the camera! Go Buckeyes! Thanks for the cute shoes Sara and Dan!

Festival with Cousins (and Grandma and UB)

I think the best part was surprising Grandma J! The obstacle course was Anna's favorite (and pretty likely Carla, Violetta, and Dionisio's too)! Giuseppe really enjoyed being part of a game and having soaked sponge balls thrown at his face - Violetta has a pretty strong and accurate arm! I'm pretty sure she got Giuseppe at this game, and she was the first to dunk her principal in the water!

The pony rides were ending when we arrived, but I think my non-used-to-animals daughters were too scared for that anyway. However, Anna wasn't afraid to walk the horse as it gave it's last ride! Everyone also really enjoyed the magic show, and the glow-in-the-dark rings. Anna wants to show the magician her new trick with the rings (and she isn't going to tell him that she doesn't "really" magically connect them (like he does!), but he'll like it anyway :) The girls liked getting their faces painted - and decided on a Halloween costume - a cat - sounds good to me -- I can handle that! Carla could be a mouse and Ben, the cheese! There were lots of games for the kids - and candy prizes - they just loved that! It was a whirlwind that fit into 2 hours - and they had a ball! I think it will be a tradition!

It was fun hearing Anna talk about the "festibal" the next day, and she is planning on going back, if for nothing else, to show Mr Magician her trick!




PS- God bless America, and blessings to all the 9-11 victims and their families.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Can you see the resemblance?

Playdate with Maddie, Ben, and Mischelle :)

So fun to see our good friends this afternoon! Everybody got sleepy...

Sweet dreams, little angel.

Anna's first day of school ever!

Wow! -- what a blessing that Anna finds such joy in school! It's going to be a wonderful "school" year!



Anna got to the front of the line at EVERY opportunity, and on the way out to the play ground at the end, Carla even got to line up!



Benny-Boy is still happy as ever--even on the potty!



This pic (thanks Jenny!) is from an old post that never got written, entitled "Potty Story"... But anyway, Benjamin has been going potty mostly "on the potty" for most of his long, long life :) It saves money, the environment, and his sweet bum (no diaper rash, Bamlex, Vaseline, or baby powder!)!

First-Day Eve :)

Anna isn't the only one ready and waiting for school tomorrow -- actually we are ALL excited!

Labor Day at Uncle Bob's

Such a fabulous day of delicious fiesta foods and sun/sand/water fun! Somehow, only the painting caught on camera -- check out the concentration and creativity! Thanks Zia for the great activity!



A day at the beach doesn't tire out Ben the way it does the rest of us!

Benjamin's Baptism

Thanks to everyone for making it a perfect day! Especially Fr Raco for coming into town all the way from Washington state to baptize Ben, Elizabeth and Brendan for taking on their duties, and Uncle Billy for driving all the way from Cincinnati!

Restored!!!

So many memories/photos saved by my sweet computer genius! He says "I'm just a nerd"...well I love my nerd!

He and Ben, Children's Museum, GE Family Fun Day, Pre-School Orientation, running, Kiddie Park, Walk in the Woods, Elizabeth's tennis match, and our new pool!

THANKS MIKE!

I love my boys!!!



I couldn't resist adding this photo from Benjamin's Baptism, and repeating about BOTH our boys: happy, handsome, and calm! We love you guys! Love, the girls :)

Sleeping Beauty

Beautiful, sweet darling, will you please sleep a little later in the morning, so you don't fall asleep on the couch at 10 in the morning?!!

Sad discovery

By searching for the photo of Anna in front of her school on the night of her open house, I realized that last night I must have deleted the last 2 wks of photos/videos! It makes me so sad, but at least we have 2 cameras, so there are some photos from that time span. I'm sure we'll have plenty of photos from her actual first day! It forces me realize, that, ok, these are just photos/videos, they are not that important -- since there is really nothing I can do. I will be more careful from now on. Maybe Mike will work a miracle! Ok, I have a tiny bit of hope from a quick internet search, but only time will tell. I'm not downloading anything b/c it might be a scam that will destroy my computer or something...wish me luck!

In the mean time, that makes me up-to-date with the blog! One good thing to come out of this :)

Fun in the Sun!

We just love Ben's new pool from Mischelle and the Goldners! Makes me remember how Billy always got all the fun "summer" presents with his June birthday, and we all got to enjoy! Well, it's a great pool - I can even leisurely fit in there! Aubrey and Dane came and swam with us so nicely, though I got out the camera too late and missed it! At least Dane is in one photo :) We swam twice today, once while Carla was taking an early nap, then again when she woke up. That's when we got the slide idea - so fun!

PS- the early nap happened b/c when I got her from her room after a 5-min break for hitting Anna, she was asleep! If you don't know, Carla has been getting up, usually before 5am!, for the last 2 months! Yikes! Thank you to Mike for always getting up with her!

Memphis Kiddie Park

...or the "Cat Store" as Carla called it!

So handsome, happy, and ...calm (couldn't come up with an h-word for that...harmonious?) :)