A Little Tower in Los Angeles

Recent Quotes

2010-12-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some things Marco has told me recently:

"Sometimes you are a great mom, but sometimes you aren't a great mom." True, but this was in response to me not letting him watch TV.

We went to a friend's house for a quick stop one night. Marco was in his PJs because he had already taken a bath. I am getting him out of the car and he looks at me and says "Mom, why aren't you wearing your pajamas?" I told him it was because I hadn't taken a bath.

He has started burping an incredible amount. I find this extremely irritating. I keep telling him to stop. His recent response was. "I'll try to stop, but I'll just keep doing it."

While driving he asked "Are we still in the world that we are?" I just said yes.

Recently he has been insisting that his last name has a silent E in it. I keep telling him it doesn't, that you pronounce the E in Torre. Well, he showed me what a silent E is and what he means is a lower case E. I told him as much and he kept insisting it was a silent E. Finally he yells at me. "No, it is a silent E. My teachers are smarter than you!" And this was followed up with "I am very angry with you."

Marco: "Do you remember when I broke the light in there?" while pointing to the office.
Me: "Yes"
Marco: "That was when I was three years old. Three year olds are very curious. And they break things."

Monday Madness

2010-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up before both the kids. I thought I would try to sneak in a shower. Marco woke up before I could, so I told him to stay in bed, make sure Chiara didn't fall out, and DON'T WAKE HER UP! Fast forward 10 minutes and she is crying. I peek out to see why and Marco is sitting over her with a flashlight shining in her face. I yell at him and quickly finish my shower. He later admits he did wake her up.

Marco then runs off to the kitchen. I am trying to brush my teeth and he starts yelling, "I peed on my shirt!" I tell him to take it off and just wait in the bathroom. I go in the bathroom and he explains he was making a waffle (kudos) and then he had to pee real bad and didn't make it in time. We clean him up and head to the kitchen.

Chair is in front of the fridge for freezer access and freezer is closed. Yay, success! Eggos are still out, so I explain he has to put the rest back in the freezer. He asks me to get him a plate, so I hand him his waffle. He asks me if we have mustard. I exclaim "Mustard!?" and he says he means syrup. I decide since he was so self sufficient in making his breakfast, I will let him put the syrup on by himself. I am getting Chiara's bottles ready for day care and I turn and shriek "STOP!" as I witness a waffle drowning in a sea of syrup. A few minutes later he says he is done (1/4 of waffle eaten) and he needs some water.

We continue to prepare for the day. He puts his socks on upside down, which may not be a problem, but the traction part is now on top. I tell him to try again and he says he will wait until I help him. A few minutes later, I help him. "Why is your foot sticky?" (Hoping it isn't pee that I missed.) "Syrup." Of course.

Get to school. Marco pulls off his hat and jacket and I realize I forgot to brush his hair (oh well) and his teeth (oops). As I am leaving, Chiara spits up all over me.

Oh and last night, Alessandro found his car keys in Marco's nightstand. He still won't tell us why he took them and hid them. His only explanation is that he is mad at dad for finding them.

I've Had a Busy Week

2010-11-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

I can sit up all by myself.

I am starting to crawl just a little bit.

I've got some new teeth.

And I say Dadadadadadadada.

What have you done in the past week?

Observations

2010-07-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how much you can tell about a person who is only about two months old, but here are my predictions.

I think Chiara is a morning person. When she wakes up in the morning, she is in the best mood ever. All smiles, stretches, gooing, and gaaing.

I predict she will be stubborn. She has a very stiff neck muscle. We do things that force her to stretch this muscle, which she does not like. One technique is tummy time. She's not going to have any of that nonsense! At 6 weeks, she learned how to flip over to her back.

Also, I think she will need more than the average amount of sleep. This girl is a sleeper. She sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps.

10 Minutes Alone or More Aptly Titled "An Exercise in Futility"

2010-06-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Marco is home sick. Around 1:00, I tried to take a shower. Made sense since I was covered in spit up and had to completely change anyway.

1:02pm. Shower door opens. "Mom, Chiara is crying." Door slams shut.
1:03pm. Shower door opens, DVD in hand. "Mom, can I watch this movie?"
1:04pm. Bathroom door opens, giggling ensues. "What are you doing? Get out of my drawers."
1:05pm. Shower door opens. "Here mom." He hands me a pumice stone. "Thanks Marco, but I don't need that right now. Can you put that back?" More rummaging through my drawers occurs, followed by a much too long silence.
1:10pm. Giggling followed by shower door opening and a smiling face covered in makeup. This is when I gave up and got out of the shower.

Get everything back in order, get Chiara calmed down, get myself dressed.

1:23pm Go back in bathroom to brush my hair. Open drawer that contains brush. "Marco! Where is my hairbrush?" "I don't know."

And Then There Were Two

2010-04-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Chiara Valentina Torre was born at home in a water birth at 6:36am on Sunday, April 18th. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 12 oz and 21.5 inches long.

Four Short Years Ago

2010-04-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today Marco was born. I never wrote down his birth story and with the second little one due any day now, I wanted to tell his story first.

First, Marco was born at home. This was a planned home birth and and wonderful choice. Mary Lou O'Brien was (and once again will be) our midwife. Her assistant is a great doula named Elena.

On the afternoon of April 4, 2006, I had an appointment with Mary Lou. My due date was April 5. She was going on vacation that weekend for a week and I remember being very upset at the thought of her leaving before I gave birth, but what could we do. He would come when he was good and ready, with or without Mary Lou. That evening, I went to a breastfeeding class at the home of our childbirth instructor, Jana. I think that was the first time I met Jennifer, another expectant mother who was planning a home birth with Mary Lou. She and her family have become a permanent part of ours. One the way to Jana's, I stopped by Jack in the Box and got a oreo cookie milkshake. :-)

The session went quite late, and I remember Alessandro was a little worried. I think he even called at Jana's to check on me. Through the later part of my pregnancy with Marco, I had Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time, but primarily at night. As I was driving home, it was pouring and I was having contractions that felt a little bit different, but since I was so used to contractions, I wasn't sure. I got home and Alessandro peeled and cut up an apple for me and then we got in bed. The contractions continued and I was getting pretty sure that they were different and this was it. I started timing them. Around 11:30 or midnight, I woke Alessandro up and told him I was in labor. It was time to prepare.

With a planned home birth you have to do more than just have a suitcase packed to take to the hospital. You need to have your supplies ready and then once in labor, actually prep the house a little. This job fell on Alessandro and my mom. One of the first things Alessandro did was prepare the bed. This entails putting on a set of sheets, then a plastic sheet or shower curtain or something, then another set of sheets. This way you can just pull the first set off and get into the second set after the birth. I was in the family room and Alessandro was taking care of the bed. I heard a thud and immediately knew what had happened and yelled "Piper!" Piper was all cozy, snug at the bottom of the bed and Alessandro had just thrown all the bedding and Piper onto the floor. Poor little kitty, what a terrible way to wake up. I think all the commotion this caused was when my mom woke up.

The next thing was the birthing tub. I think that the main body of the tub had already been prepared, but the liner had to go in, and the heaters set up, and of course the hose to put water into it. All I remember about this was Alessandro asking me questions while I was having contractions and me not reacting to this very well. I am at times reminded by him that some where in all this my mom told Alessandro not to take it personally.

I am not sure when, somewhere between 1 and 3AM, Alessandro or I called Mary Lou and told her I was in labor, but she didn't need to come yet. I think it was around 6:30AM or so that I decided it was time for her to come and that I wanted the pool filled with water NOW! The birthing pool does help relieve some of the pain. It relieves some of the pressures felt by gravity. Mary Lou and Elena arrived around 7:30 and I believe I was 8cm dialated. Around 10:15, Mary Lou checked me and then broke my water. After this, we waddled back to the tub and Marco was born in the birthing pool set up in our family room at 10:41AM.

Additional notes: during the night of my labor, it poured heavy, heavy rain, but by the time Marco was born, the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day. Also, my mom and Alessandro planted a plum tree the day Marco was born.

Happy birthday little boy. We love you more than you know.

Another Rough Day

2010-03-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

I just need to rant a little. This morning was terrible. Marco cried pretty much from the moment I had to wake him up until I dropped him into his teacher's arms at school. Total time was more than an hour.

I could do nothing right. He cried because I wasn't daddy. He cried because I put my underwear on. He cried because I wasn't holding him the right way. He cried because I put cereal in the bowl. He cried because I was not sitting in a chair the way he wanted me to sit in the chair. He chased after me crying when I said I had to go to the bathroom. He cried because I washed my hands before he did. He then cried because he wanted me to wash his hands. Then he cried because I put the soap on his hands and he wanted to put the soap on his hands. He cried because I picked out his clothes. He cried because there were no peas to eat in the garden. I mean seriously, how much pateince does he expect me to have? I really don't know what to do. I keep telling myself this is just a phase and we will both get through it, but I can't just hold him all day every day, which is the only thing that seems to somewhat make him stop crying (as long as I am holding him the right way). Really, I just don't know what to do anymore.

A Shocking Development

2010-03-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

This morning I told Marco to go potty and I would get him some cereal. He started to leave and then turned and asked "Yes washing hands or no washing hands?" I said "Yes washing hands, you are going to eat." Then he said (get ready for it) "OK" and walked off. And even more surprising... he did it!

Not so Warm and Fuzzy

2010-02-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

Marco and I are having relationship problems. I never really expected to be at this point with a three year old, but here we are. The problem as I see it... crying about everything, baby talk, and whining (all things I hate). The problem as Marco sees it... I have no freaking idea!!!! He isn't the greatest communicator (who knew it started so young).

I am starting to think it is me being pregnant. I didn't think this was a problem because he is so excited. The crib is in his room and he loves it. He wants the baby to sleep with him, to take baths with him, he implies he is very happy that he is going to be a big brother and wants to be fully involved. Because of his enthusiasm, I think I assumed all his recent issues were due to something else. In particular, he started crying when I drop him off at school. This coincided with my return from a business trip in San Diego and so at first I thought it was because I was gone for 5 days. Time passed and the crying didn't stop. We talked and he told me he doesn't want to take naps at school. We talked to the teachers, I thought things would get better. They didn't. And what just adds to my frustration, he doesn't cry if Alessandro drops him off.

Yesterday, I picked Marco up because Alessandro had to work a later shift. He appeared to be overjoyed to see me. I wasn't feeling well (I have a cold) and so I decided to take Marco to McDonald's (yes, I'm a terrible mother, I don't care). We went through the drive thru (which already had upset Marco when I told him we would not be going in, but he had gotten over that). The food came and as always the first thing Marco asked for was the toy. Here is where the problems started for both of us. It was something he already had. He starts crying about this and I say I am sorry, but that is all they have. It keeps going and going and then I start threatening him. I tell him to stop crying or he will get a time out or I will leave him in the car for 5 minutes when we get home and he just keeps crying. I yell at him "WHAT IS WRONG???? JUST TELL ME!!!!" He cries he wants daddy. Which I now think is code for "mom, you are being mean." (See, I told you, terrible mother.) We get home, I don't leave him in the car. He had basically stopped crying, maybe some sniveling, but not really crying, but he wasn't happy. We get in the house and he sits down to eat and asks for chicken nuggets. I tell him after he eats his hamburger and apples, he can have chicken nuggets. Then he says, not dino chicken nuggets (the kind we have at home), but McDonald's chicken nuggets. I tell him sorry, but it will be the dino kind. He gets upset, I get upset. I don't really remember everything, but it did end with him crying so hard with a mouth full of food that he couldn't possibly swallow. So, what happened in 20 minutes to turn Marco from the jumpy, happy little boy I picked up at school, to this sobbing, sad sack that arrived at home? Well, I'll tell you. It was me.

At this point I realized, I needed to take a step back. I just hugged and hugged him. He eventually settled down enough to swallow. Then I told him to come sit with me on the couch and he just sobbed in my arms for about 10 or 15 minutes. And I let him. Sometimes he would cry for daddy and I would reassure him that daddy would be home soon, but I had him. Sometimes the tears would start to abate and then he remembered the chicken nuggets and they would pour out again and I let them. He eventually calmed down. Then he started in with the baby talk and I let him. He pulled out a book that he got at the end of the school year last year with pictures of him and projects he had made and goo-goo gaa-gaa'ed something that I interpreted as "I want to read this" instead of saying my normal, "I don't know what you are saying, please talk like a big boy." We cuddled and went through all the pictures. Then I convinced him to eat. We played a game, dad came home, and bed time.

I was talking to my friend Tracy the other day and she was giving me some advice about when the baby comes. She basically said not to take advantage of Marco. He is so capable now and can do so much, that it is sometimes easy to forget he is still just a little boy. I can see how helpful he might be in the future fetching a change of clothes, diapers, a toy, a soda, a magazine. The thing I didn't realize was how apropos the advice was for right now. He is such a good communicator, and so caring, and capable. If I tell him I'm not feeling well, he wants to take care of me. (He offered me orange juice and hot dogs when I was throwing up with some flu thing, how sweet and disgusting is that?) He can do things for himself now. He helps other people. He even has his first chore, feeding the cat. We talk about things and he explains what he wants or even sometimes how he feels. I was taking it for granted that he understood and could handle the changes that are happening to me and that are going to happen to our family. I was expecting patience from him, while my levels of patience are basically at an all time low. (Not an excuse, but this pregnancy has been much tougher on me than Marco's was.)

Well, I can learn from my mistakes. As much as I hate the crying, whining, and baby talk, I am going to let it slide. I am going to force myself to be more patient and to have a higher tolerance for the things that drive me nuts. I only have a few weeks left with just my little boy and I hope we both can make the most of this time together. And now I realize the onus is on me and I will rise to the challenge!

This morning we cuddled in bed longer than normal and got up when he was ready to. He got upset about one little thing, but other than that, the morning was smooth. In the car on the way to school I asked him if he was going to cry when I dropped him off and he thought about it and said no. And he didn't! The other thing he told me in the car was that I'm not cool. In fact, all mom's are not cool. Kids are cool and dads can be cool, but definitely not moms. I am aware of the fact that I am not cool, but I guess I hoped Marco wouldn't figure it out for a little while longer.

Melt My Heart

2010-01-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

Once a week at school, the kids have chapel and they are told they should wear their school t-shirts. So, Marco gets to school and there are four kids total in his class at that time and Marco and one girl are wearing their "chapel" shirts. They get all excited because they are wearing the same shirt. Another little girl asks me (by my official school name "Marco's mommy"), "Can you help me put my chapel shirt on?" She went and got it and I helped her put it on, so she gets to get in on the party of "Same-same shirts!" Before I leave, Marco comes up to me and whispers "Thank you for helping Breaunna put her chapel shirt on mommy." It just melted my heart :-)

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Go Ducks!

Yes, we are lame. We brought in the New Year in bed. Marco and I have colds and Alessandro had to work this morning at 6:30.

Christmas was great. Marco had the best time. He passed out presents both on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. He would very generously bring you your gift and then "help" you open it.

On Christmas morning he sort of woke up and then slumped back down into bed. I said "Merry Christmas" and well, have you seen the scene in Pulp Fiction where they give the shot of adrenaline? It was kind of like that. He immediately bolted up and slithered off the bed to go see if Santa had come. Santa had come and brought him the coveted Optimus Prime. Which took the adults approximately 8 hours to successfully change into a truck. Alessandro says Marco now just has a truck.

Marco had a great time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and dogs. I barely saw him on Christmas, which was a gift in itself :-) I kept hearing things like "Come on, Uncle ___fill in the blank___. Let's play."

We had the fortune and misfortune of experiencing a bit of snow. The unfortunate aspect was that we were across town when it started and while it had taken it 30 minutes to get to that location, it took us 4 hours to return home. Over two hours were spent within 5 miles of home. The fun part was playing in the snow the next morning. It was starting to melt, so perfect for making snowballs.

The morning we left, Marco cried for 10 minutes because he didn't want to come home. He wanted to stay in Portland. On the plane, he cried prior to landing because he didn't want to land.

Diaper Free!

2009-12-21T10:28:00.000-08:00

Ah, these are words I have been waiting to say for so long. Marco has been officially diaper free for one week with no accidents. We get a four month reprieve and then it starts all over again :-)

A Different Kind of Snowman

2009-12-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

"Look Mommy, I made different sizes of poop. A big one, a medium one, and a small one. That makes a snowman."

Isn't It Great to Be Three!

2009-12-14T21:58:00.001-08:00

Today's Funnies

2009-11-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

This morning Marco told me he knew all the rules: (1) no fighting and (2) no drinking. When I asked him to elaborate he said no drinking from puddles. That's it, all the rules. I suppose they are good rules to live your life by?

Later when we were in the car heading to school there was an Arco commercial on the radio. Marco said "Mom, they're talking about me!" Yep, honey, that's right. :-)

Christmas Confusion

2009-11-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Disneyland and Christmas is in full swing. This has proven to be a little confusing for Marco. First, we watched the parade where the grand finale is Santa Clause. Marco said "Look at all the toys he has!" Then after the parade he complained "I wanted a toy." So, I had to explain to him Santa is just getting all the toys ready and we have to wait until Christmas morning.

Next, we go to see Santa and tell him what Marco wants! Well, Marco came prepared. He brought his "magazine" aka Target toy ad with him. When it was his turn he pointed at Optimus Prime (or should I say Octopus Prime) on the cover. Santa took a look and said "Oh, is that a Transformer." Then Marco started talking, explaining he was the big one, telling him the name, etc. He tried to go through the rest of the Target ad with Santa, but we made him sit down just to get his picture taken. He got his candy cane and was a happy boy. I should point out that prior to seeing Santa, Marco had hold of his "magazine" since we left the house. After Santa, he was done with it. He was a man on a mission.

The rest of the evening progressed nicely. He had an agenda, wanted to go on Peter Pan, the Carousel, Small World, Trains (small and big), Buzz Lightyear, and Winnie the Pooh. We didn't go on Winnie the Pooh. He cried, but we were there late enough we decided to stay and wait for fireworks. Marco was very excited about the snow after the fireworks, although he complained a little that it wasn't real snow. He quickly fell asleep once we were in the car.

Fastforward to this morning, he wakes up and wants to know if his toy is here. I told him it isn't Christmas yet and that was not an answer he was ready to handle. And we still have 10 days to go before we start the advent calendar! This is going to be a long month.

Going Insane

2009-11-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I love my kid, but he is driving me crazy.

Marco is incredibly affectionate. I mean insanely affectionate. And most of his affection is focused on me (although I do think he kind of freaked Alexei out the other day when he kissed him goodbye.) I have had to initiate a new rule, no hugging during meals. Sounds cruel, I know, but you aren't the one with a munchkin climbing on your lap every two minutes. And when I tell him to stop or go eat, he comes back with "But, Mommy, I just want to give you a hug." Melt your heart, right? Maybe the first bazillion times.

And don't get me started on sleeping. He comes to our bed sometime during the night. Typically, I don't have a problem with this. He just goes back to sleep, we all sleep. In fact, this has become so common place, I often don't even notice him crawling in. Mind you that EVERY night he crawls over me to get into bed, even though daddy sleeps closer to the door. But sometimes he doesn't fall right back asleep. Sometimes he attacks me. He has his arms around my neck like a vise, feet and legs on me or over me, and little hands on the back of my neck or on my back constantly moving. I can't sleep like that! So then it starts, me throwing his legs off me, telling him to stop moving his hands. Don't lay on my face, get off me, go snuggle with daddy, etc., etc. Alessandro just laughs. And it never stops! When he is like this, he usually never falls back asleep, which means I never fall back asleep, which means I am grumpy. I am having a hard enough time sleeping with getting up in the middle of the night to pee!

This morning Marco was being so needy. I was taking a shower and he comes in crying wanting me to get out. He doesn't want to go to school, he wants to stay home. When he is eating his breakfast, he wants to sit on my lap. I am suppose to carry him everywhere, um, no. When I am going to the bathroom, he wants to sit on my lap. I locked the door, he was screaming outside. I cave and let him in (after making him agree that he'll go to school), but don't let him sit on me or hug me for that matter! Then there is a meowing at the door! Are you kidding me? Can't I go to the bathroom in peace? I just want you all to leave me alone!!! And I'm having another one? I must be insane.

The thing that I don't get is that Marco is not that super shy, always needing mommy kid. He is really outgoing, loves other people, incredibly adventurous and daring, but yet, a total mama's boy. I love that he is affectionate. I love Marco hugs and kisses. I think he is an incredibly caring child and I love that about him, but he's still driving me nuts.

Just Have to Brag

2009-11-15T19:52:00.001-08:00

Marco just told me I am the bestest mommy in the whole world.

And Another Thing

2009-11-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

Last week or so Marco and I read a book that had the line in it "You made the mess, so you clean up the mess." I started using that on Marco. Then a few days later I asked Marco to help me put some things in the recycling container. He responded "Mommy, you made the mess, you have to do it."

Then today we were cleaning some things up and I said, pointing at the shoes, "Marco, where do your sandals go?" He says, pointing at the phone, "Mommy, where does your phone go?"

Doing Just Fine Without Me

2009-11-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was out all day for a letterboxing event. When I got home, Alessandro and Marco were in Marco's bed reading. I relieved Alessandro and as I was putting Marco to bed I asked him if dad had brushed his teeth. He didn't say anything, so I went to go ask Alessandro. And of course he had. I go back in and I ask Marco, really just out of curiosity, if he took a bath. Marco responded, "Yes, mommy. Daddy did all the right things."

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Twelve Weeks

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

It appears that it's official. Marco is going to have a little brother or sister. This picture is from 10 weeks, but today I am 12 weeks. Due date is a week after Marco turns four.

A notable quotable...

Me: "Mommy's tummy is going to get really, really big."
Marco: "Like daddy's?"

Marco has also decided he would like it to be a girl and we can name her Breauncie. He told me that if the baby cries, he will crawl into my tummy and hold her. He has been very sweet to me. It has been a rough go, I feel nauseous all the time. One day when I was in bed feeling miserable, he was jumping on the bed, throwing pillows at me. I finally told him I was sick and he stopped and asked if I wanted him to cover me up. So he did. Then he told me to close my eyes, no peeking! As he was shutting the door to leave, he stopped and said "Mommy, are you thirsty? Daddy can get you some orange juice. Or he can make you a hot dog."

In other random Marco sayings, one day recently when we were walking to school he told me "Mommy, walking is so boring." The next day he told me "Cleaning is so boring." Where did this teenage attitude come from? Another time he was reading some numbers off backwards and said "Sixteen, Fourteen, Twoteen." Too cute.

Happy Birthday Grammy!

2009-09-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Words

2009-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were at Disney California Adventure with Zio Massimiliano, Zia Pina, and Marco's cousins Alessandro and Andrea. We were watching the Pixar Play Parade and the first part had passed us and we were waiting for the next float and I said to Marco "Do you like the parade so far?" And he said No. I paused thinking of how to respond and after a bit he adds, "I like it so close."

You're Driving Me Nuts!

2009-07-12T21:23:00.001-07:00

"Mom, you're driving me nuts." That is what Marco said to me this morning. I plead the fifth on how he learned that phrase. And this evening he called me a skunk. Then he said I was a skunk galore.

A Challenging Moment

2009-07-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

First, I know my posting has been lacking. A ton has happened recently. Nonna Giorgina and Zia Luciana came for a visit, Marco turned 3 and Grandma and Grandpa were here, we went to Portland for Uncle Ben's graduation and Marco went fishing for the first time. We have lots of pictures and at some point I will get around to posting some. But that is not what this post is about, it is about an ever growing personality.

Marco is now 3. Prior to June, I think I can honestly say he has never had a temper tantrum. At least not a real one. I thought he had had temper tantrums, but apparently I was wrong. Prior to June, let's say Marco was having what I called a temper tantrum. Here is how it would go. He does something I don't like or starts demanding some thing or the other. I count to three, said behaviour either stops or he gets a time out. Even though he was upset, he would sit in the chair until the time out was over or stay in his room for the few minutes and when the time out was over, he would tell me why he got a time out, we would hug, and everything was fixed. This even worked in public places. He would just have to sit on a bench, chair, or in the car seat.

In the last month we have had 2 major blow outs and many more middle ranged tantrums. Here is a taste of one morning I had recently. I should point out that since we returned from Portland, Marco has been using the potty. This was not so much by choice as by force. First, he doesn't get to watch any TV if he is wearing a diaper. I will not play with him if he is wearing a diaper and he is not leaving the house with a diaper. He still will not poop in the toilet, but he is doing very well. Very few accidents since the day we started and he either waits until bedtime when we diaper him or asks for a diaper to poop. Anyway, one morning I wake him up at 7:30 to get ready for the day. He wants breakfast and decides on cereal. My first mistake (other than waking him up) was asking him what kind of cereal he wanted. He picked one and then after me pouring it into the bowl starts crying it is the wrong kind. I told him fine, we will put two kinds of cereal in the bowl. My second mistake, putting a bowl with some strawberries and blueberries on the table next to his cereal bowl. This caused a major commotion. He didn't want strawberries and blueberries, he asked for cereal. He cried so much and we had to put the fruit away. What was I thinking? Then he wanted to watch a movie (what he calls all TV). I told him he had to go pee-pee first. He said ok, but changed his mind, he was a mess. At some point I take off his diaper and throw it in the trash. He starts crying he didn't want his diaper off, and takes it from the trash. I take the dirty diaper from him and he is wailing about wanting it, hitting me, etc. I walk outside and throw it away in the outside trash. He is following me screaming, naked from the waist down and starts scaling the garbage can to get his diaper back. Screaming "I want my diaper." I just start to walk back in the house. Then he starts screaming following me into the house, stops and pees all over the sidewalk. That will show me! Fast forward to us trying to leave the house. He doesn't want to leave, so I just say I am leaving and he follows me screaming. I don't remember everything that happened, but I do remember the arching back, not being able to physically get him in the car seat. At one point I started driving anyway and got maybe one foot and he was attacking me. Hitting me with those little fists, grabbing at me, honking the horn. It was insane. At one point I just shut the car door and walked away. I literally had no idea what to do. I don't know how long the whole thing took, but I do know I didn't get him to school prior to 9am and normally it only takes us 30 minutes to get ready in the morning. Once I got him to school, I thought he would want nothing to do with me. Instead the exact opposite happened and he was incredibly clingy and it took me 10 to 20 minutes to get out of there.

His willfulness is incredible. He will spend 10 minutes in the bathroom complaining that he doesn't want to wash his hands after he goes to the bathroom because he needs to eat/play outside/watch TV/do a puzzle or whatever instead of spending the 15 seconds to actually just wash his hands!

The challenge I am facing is how do I effectively manage this budding personality. I think one thing that helps Marco is knowing what is coming. When we started bribing him for going pee-pee, we said he would get an m&m. He would get incredibly upset when we wanted him to put his underwear back on and wash his hands before he got the m&m. We then made a chart outlining the required tasks with the m&m in the final picture. Problem solved. I think I need to do the same thing for our morning routine now. And as firm as I am, I think I am going to have to start being firmer. I can no longer make him physically do what I want him to do. If he doesn't want to take his pajamas off, I can't make him. If he doesn't want to get in the car seat, he isn't going in. He doesn't really care that mommy is going to be late for work. I think we also need to start instilling the ideas of personal responsibility in him. This I am still working on. He needs to know he is responsible for helping getting himself ready in the morning and if he doesn't, then he will lose certain privileges. I don't know, I am still trying to work all this out in my head.

I am not particularly fond of this stage we are going through, but there are plus sides too. For example, the other day Alessandro was taking a nap and Marco and I decided it was time to have dinner. We went in to wake Alessandro up chanting we want dinner. Then Alessandro and I started discussing what we should have. Marco took matters into his own hands. We go into the kitchen to the following scene. Marco standing on the counter with the cupboard open. We walk in astonished (he had gotten up with no assistance from a chair or anything) and he tells us we have pasta. He also likes to talk on the phone now. He will jabber my ear off for quite awhile and not want to give the phone up. He tells me a lot more about his day and I get to share in his excitement even when I am not a part of it. He has his group of best friends at school. He negotiates, which at times is trying, but fun too and can work to our advantage. He is using his imagination more, making up songs, stories, invisible creatures that need to be vanquished. He is more interested in learning Italian words. Before, if you told him a cat is gatto, he would say no, its a cat. He is a wonderful little boy full of love and I just have to keep telling myself that :-)

I Probably Shouldn't Have Said That...

2009-06-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Marco and I were listening to the radio and he was grooving to the song that was on. He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, do you know what song this is?" I said, "Yes, I do." He then says, "What song is it?" I replied, "Um, Date Rape." He says, "Oh, Date Rape." and goes back to what he was doing.

Sleep Tight

2009-05-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

None of the following photos have been posed. This is exactly how we have found him while he was sleeping.

He really likes his Spiderman shoes.

Being a fireman is tiring work.

Whisper Sweet Nothings to Me

2009-05-11T09:11:00.001-07:00

It is amazing to me how having a child takes away so much of the gross factor out of life. You get pooped on, peed on, vomited on, snotted on, and eventually think nothing of it. In a similar vain, they invade an intimacy that you once only planned on sharing with your husband.

This weekend we went to Indian Wells and Friday night as I was laying in bed with Marco putting him to sleep, here is what he told me.

"Mom, I like your boobs. You have big boobies. I only have little boobies, but when I grow and grow, I will have big boobies too."

Like a Flower

2009-04-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

Today Marco had a doctor appointment. When I told Marco we were going to the doctor, he asked me "Because I'm sick?" I explained, no he wasn't sick, but every year he has to go to the doctor because she needs to check his ears and his nose and his tummy, etc., because he is growing. His response, "I'm growing like a flower?"

And for stories in dreamland... this morning Marco woke up and says "Where's my hotdog?" He did have a hotdog for dinner last night, so I told him he ate it and it was in his tummy. Then he said "I need to go to the birthday party because my hotdog is gone." He was very upset, it took a while to actually wake him up. Must have been a very vivid dream!

Just Think About It

2009-04-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning for a while to write down a few more of the funny things Marco says.

The other day when we were in the car Marco asked me what the names were of the people in the car in front of us. I told him I didn't know. His response... "Come on Mom. You know." This is funny to me for so many reasons. First, because it just sounds so adult and second because I am all powerful and must know everything.

He occasionally will say "What's the deal with that?"

A few weeks ago when I was putting him to bed he says to me "Just think about it." I asked him what I should think about. He didn't really know how to respond, so I told him I would think about it. That seemed to satisfy him.

One weekend we were getting ready to go to Disneyland to meet Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Joey, Uncle Dan, and Uncle Ben. Marco was watching some tv and after his program was over he says to me. "Let's go to Disneyland Mommy. I'm ready now."

One morning I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. He said "A cookie!" I said no (surprise, surprise) and asked if he wanted cereal or a waffle. He said a waffle and after a cookie. Then he said "That's a good idea."

Captain's Log: Day 2

2009-03-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Marco and I had a big talk. I showed him the jar of m&ms. I showed him the cars. I showed him the new Lightning McQueen and Spiderman underwear. I explained how he could get the m&ms and the cars. He seemed to grasp it all. Wanted to wear the new underwear right away. Immediately went pee-pee as he has instructed me to call it. Received his first m&m. As soon as he finished his m&m he said he wanted to go pee-pee again. Um, no, it doesn't work that way. He starts screaming "I want to go pee-pee!" This was not a problem I had forseen. Ok, managed to quell that argument and said he could try again in 30 minutes. Pretty much every 30 minutes for the rest of the evening he went pee-pee.

After dinner, Marco and Alessandro were playing soccer and basketball in the backyard. At some point Marco poops. Ok, fine, whatever. We clean him up and stick him in the bath. No cars earned.

This morning as soon as Marco wakes up I ask if he wants to go pee-pee. He says no, but almost immediately leaves the bed and the next thing I know he is naked. He didn't actually go to the bathroom since he had already taken care of that in his diaper, but Spiderman underwear are requested. Alessandro took him to school and put a diaper on him before they left.

Today after we got home. I asked is he wanted to go pee-pee. Yes! Ok, pee-pee, hands washed, underwear on, no Mommy, not the Lightning McQueen underwear, Spiderman underwear, then a red m&m. Later poops in underwear again, ok clean up, new underwear. Finally, we are getting ready for bed. He is naked, I say do you want to go pee-pee before we put your pajamas on. He runs in the bathroom, runs out of the bathroom and into his room and pees on his bed. Why????? Why do you do this to me????

Operation Bribery Has Commenced

2009-03-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

My Foe:

The Goal:

The Bribes:

Wish me luck!

Pictures Aplenty, Picture Galore

2009-03-04T19:03:00.001-08:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Indio and visited Great Grandma Bunny and went to the Date Festival.

Alessandro and Marco were pirates in a pirate show! Alessandro was the bad guy, Captain Greenbeard.

Marco went on a pony ride.

This past weekend Sirena came over to play. Here is a picture of them monkeying around.

And just as an aside, the title is in reference to a fun book Marco and I checked out from the library.

Dining with a Couple of Mice

2009-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland two weeks ago and dined with a couple of mice. Now, I suspect that you currently have a picture of something like this in mind.

But you would be wrong.

Perhaps Mickey is busy and farming out some of the work? The mice were running and jumping around, having a great time. Marco thought they were tons of fun. We didn't have a camera with us the last time we were there, but we brought one today. As soon as we got to the area we saw them last time, Marco ran over saying he wanted to see the mice. We only saw one little guy this week. He didn't venture far away from his protective hole, but it was earlier in the day and a lot noisier than last time.

New Experiences

2009-02-08T16:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend Marco, Alessandro and I did a couple of things we have never done before. On Saturday we went to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. Highlights include the Lorikeets (at an aquarium?), sharks, jelly fish, sea lions, Dory and Nemo, and scuba divers.

Then today we went to see Pinocchio at the El Capitan Theater with Laura and Jeff. We also had lunch at the soda shop next door. Highlights include popcorn, live organ music, Pinocchio, and ice cream.

Roma Roma Roma

2009-02-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

"In life you can change your religion, you can change your political party, you can even change your wife, but you will never change your soccer team."

Stay At Home Mom

2009-01-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

These are not words I will ever use to describe myself. Marco got sick at school yesterday and so we are home together today. We can't go to the park, we can't go to a friend's house, we can't do anything! And he is driving me crazy. I have heard that there are parents who LOVE being stay at home moms or dads. These people are either out of their freaking minds, masochists, or they have about 1000 times as much patience as me (entirely possible since I am not the most patient person I've ever met). When I go to work, I can go to the bathroom whenever I want, I can chat on the phone without screaming in the background, if I leave my office for a few minutes, I don't come back to a room that looks like a tornado hit it, I don't hear "mommy, mommy, mommy" every three seconds.

Right now I really love my job, but for all the wrong reasons.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

This morning I kept Marco home from school to watch the Inauguration of our 44th president. At first he thought it was neat and liked seeing all the people. You can imagine how quickly his interest faded though. I had the tv on for about 30 minutes before the actual oath and Marco was driving me nuts. I kept suggesting he go play with certain toys, he would for a few minutes and then end up right back over to me talking or climbing on me. At some point he brought me some books that make music and kept pressing buttons. This was during the benediction and I was having a hard time hearing and told him to go play somewhere else and threw the books across the room. Well, that really got a response!

"Mommy, we don't throw books! I'm going to lock you in your room and you get a time out!"

I said ok... I have a tv in my room and wouldn't mind the peace and quiet myself. So, Marco took me to my room, glared at me and said "I'm going to watch Obama!" and slammed the door. He really showed me!

Things I Learned Today

2009-01-19T15:51:00.001-08:00

Marco thinks that the trash truck is, and I quote here, "marvelous." He does not find the half of a hamburger left over from lunch an acceptable snack, but popcorn is. He not only recognizes Barack Obama when he sees him on TV or in a magazine or something, but he also recognizes his voice on the radio (I am so proud). Telling Marco we are going to paint a picture when we get home is a good enough bribe that we can leave the park without tears.

A Really, Really White Christmas

2009-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

We went to Portland for Christmas again this year and were a little afraid we might not even make it because of the storm. Luckily we made it and Grandpa even managed to get through all the ice and snow to pick us up from the airport.

I love this next series of pictures...

BFF

2009-01-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus

2008-12-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

Marco has had the pleasure of meeting Santa a few times this year (and has always asked him for the same thing.) Unfortunately none of our pictures look very good. This one we met at the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland.

Growing Up

2008-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Sometimes growing up is hard... for the parents. This morning I got out of the shower and asked Marco what he was watching on TV. He said "Curious George." While this may not sound like a big deal, it is. Up to this point he has always called it Monkious George, which I thought was the most adorable thing ever. Today, when he said Curious George, my heart broke just a little.

Our Little Elf

2008-12-11T18:48:00.001-08:00

Tuesday evening we decorated the Christmas Tree. Marco enjoyed this task immensely.

Zio Alberto & Zia Angela

2008-12-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Zio Alberto and Zia Angela stopped in Los Angeles for a few days for a visit. Yesterday we took them to Disneyland.

There are boogers on the slide at school

2008-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is what Marco told me today. I don't really have anything to add to that statement.

I'm Not Doing Anything!

2008-12-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

If you walked into a room and the first words out of your two and a half years old mouth were "I'm not doing anything!" Would you believe him? Yeah, me neither.

Goodbye Old Friend

2008-11-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

No, David!

2008-11-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

No, David! is a book Marco's teacher reads him at school. One day I mentioned something to her that Marco had told me at home and she said, oh, he must have gotten that from No, David! She told me that the kids love this book and read along with her.

This weekend I looked it up on line and Marco saw the picture of the cover and got all excited and said he "needed" the No, David! book. I told him we would go to the library and get it this week.

Well, last night he reminded me that we had to go to the library to get No, David! So, after dinner we headed on down and it was the greatest experience. Marco asked the librarian for the book. She found it for him and when she handed it to him, he gave a little gasp and said "That's it!"

When we got home he ran to the couch to read his book and he read the whole thing. He practically knows it by heart. His excitement over this book was so wonderful to experience and filled me with so many emotions. I love watching my little boy grow up.

Our Future

2008-11-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Aunt Heather

2008-11-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Love, Marco

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with Veronica-Elmo at Mickey's Halloween Treat

That's one yummy cookie! (School Halloween Party)

Handing out treats.

I Need to Go to the Swimming Pool!

2008-10-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

This morning at 5:30am, Marco woke up yelling "I need to go to the swimming pool!" He yelled this about 5 times before coming into our room and telling me directly to my face. I picked him up and put him in our bed and he just kept saying it. And then he said something about going in the water and where all the other kids were and needing to go to school. Part of me was marveling at the remarkable completeness of the sentence. And another part of me was wondering what kind of dreams is this kid having? Sounds like fun!

He eventually settled down and went back to sleep, but it really makes me wonder how much he understands what dreams are versus reality and how you explain that to a kid at 5:30am.

Toxic Synovitis

2008-10-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that just sound horrible? As one friend said "Don't they know mothers and fathers can't handle names like that!"

On Sunday, Marco started complaining that his knee hurt. By the end of the day, he wouldn't walk more than one step. Yesterday, Alessandro took Marco to the pediatrician and Toxic Synovitis was the diagnosis. Apparently this is a type of arthritis that most commonly occurs after a child has had a viral infection.

The bum hip has gone just as quickly as it came. Although Marco woke up on Monday unwilling to walk (choosing to just sit on the floor instead of walk into the other room when prompted). I was told that he literally ran out of the pediatrician's office. We kept him home from school today just as a precaution, but according to the amount of havok he has been causing, this was probably a mistake on our part.

Stepping Over the Line

2008-10-21T09:52:00.001-07:00

Last week we had another first. We went out to dinner to a local pizza place and as usual, we sat outside. While we are eating, we let Marco run around, but he knows he has to stay on the sidewalk and is not allowed to go into the parking lot. Well, apparently he decided to see how firm this boundary really is.

He was standing right next to the parking lot and I said Marco, stay on the sidewalk. He turned around, looked me right in the eye and hopped into the parking lot. Marco is by no means a perfect child, but this is the first time he has looked me in the eye and deliberately disobeyed me. I just swooped him up and stuck him in his car seat. He sobbed and sobbed, but I bet he doesn't go into the parking lot next time.

Wedding Bells

2008-10-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

The wedding was great, the bride looked beautiful and Marco did a great job being the ring-bearer.

I Heart the Internet

2008-10-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had another first. Marco stuck a piece of dried fruit up his nose.

While that sinks in, I will describe the circumstances. It is 7:30 at night. Marco is in his pjs ready to go to bed and having a quick snack of some dried fruit. We are busily trying to prepare for our trip to Uncle Brian's wedding because of course we aren't packed yet and have a million things to do. I ask Alessandro if he can brush Marco's teeth and finish getting him ready for bed and then I will put him to bed. That is about when Marco asks me to get it out and says he has a sneeze. He always says he has a sneeze if his nose is stuffed or something, but has never asked to get it out before. So, I wipe his nose and then look inside and I see the fruit. But let's not panic yet.

For about AN HOUR we tried with an aspirator and an assortment of other things to pull this thing out of his nose. We call the pediatrician who tells us to try tweezers or take him to urgent care. We don't trust ourselves enough with the tweezers (its not like he was cooperating), so we are fully panicking at this point and decide to first head to the drug store/pharmacy and see if we can get a better aspirator and if that doesn't work we figure we will go to the hospital. There goes any possibility of sleep tonight.

The pharmacist suggests trying to flush it out with water and we get a new aspirator and head home. When we arrive home, Alessandro starts warming up the water and gets prepared to flush Marco's nose out. Meanwhile Marco is screaming that he doesn't want water and won't let me take his shirt off. That is when I gave up and sat down at the computer. I believe I typed in "How to get something out of a kid's nose" and I got the most wonderful piece of advice.

Sit the child on your lap, close the clear nostril, open the child's mouth and blow really hard into their mouth.

It popped right out! And Marco laughed! He thought it was funny! And we were so close to taking him to the ER. You have no idea the relief that poured over us. Marco was in bed by 9pm. He has already fallen asleep and of course we are not packed and still have a million things to do, but at least we aren't at the hospital. I love the internet.

Technology

2008-10-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

It seems like the younger generations are always more technologically advanced than their elders. Marco has already started exhibiting his flair for all things electronic.

Friday, he somehow managed to change the settings on our sprinklers and set one of the sprinklers to go off for approximately 3 hours. I woke up Saturday and noticed the sprinkler in the front yard was running. It isn't programmed to run on Saturdays. Then I noticed that there was an awful lot of water around, like it had been running for a very long time. I think by the time we got up it had been running for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Also this weekend, Marco was sitting at the computer playing with the mouse. I told him to come into the family room because I had to put his shoes on. He responded, "No mommy, I'm working." Oh, so sorry to disturb you.

After I got back on the computer, I realized he had managed to change some setting so that every time I clicked a link on a web page, it opened up a new browser window, even if I specifically told it not to! That one seemed to go away after a restart at least.

I don't know, perhaps I have a future hacker on my hands.

Buon Compleanno Nonno Cesare

2008-09-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

For Your Listening Pleasure

2008-09-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

What a Difference a Couple of Years Makes

2008-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

April 2006

August 2008

Letterboxing and a Homecoming

2008-09-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went away... all by myself. Marco & Alessandro had a boy's weekend and I had one long mommy playdate. I went to Oregon for the We Live and Breathe Letterboxing gathering. I flew into Portland Thursday night and Friday morning, my mom and I drove down to Colton, Oregon to Camp Adams for three days of tromping around in the woods, looking for tupperware.

If you don't know what letterboxing is you can find out more here and here, but basically it is a type of treasure hunt. Over 200 letterboxes were hidden at this 210-acre campground. I hiked so much, every muscle in my legs hurt. I met so many wonderful people. In particular, Smiley and Lexi-Bug, with whom my mom and I letterboxed with almost all weekend. On Saturday evening, there was a masquerade ball and I dressed up like a tiger. We then went out night boxing, so imagine me dressed like a tiger, wandering around the woods with a flashlight, looking for tupperware. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but you have no idea how much fun I had.

And now for the homecoming. I arrived home Monday morning and went directly to work. In the afternoon, I picked Marco up from school. He saw me right away and started screaming for me. He ran to me and jumped in my arms, hugging me so so tight. He held my face in his hands. He was just so happy. When we got home, he kept saying we're home, but I think he meant "you're home." He wanted to show me all his toys. That evening, I needed to go to the store and he seemed a little concerned that I was leaving again, but I assured him I would be right back and he was just fine. This morning, he woke up and was in such a great mood. He brought me a photo album and showed me pictures of myself and said "you're home." I was worried he might not want to go to school after he got me back, but we had no problems. He just wanted to make sure he got a hug and a kiss before saying good bye.

Marco's reaction to my being gone all weekend was the icing on the cake. He had a great weekend with Daddy, asking about me occasionally, but not at all upset. He was thrilled to see me come back. And he fell right back into our normal routine. I really had a wonderful weekend!

Marcoisms

2008-09-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Marco is growing so fast and he does such funny little things. Every once in a while, I email myself so I won't forget them. Here is a sampling.

He calls Curious George, Monkious George
One evening I gave him strawberries cut in half and he insisted they were too big and made me cut them all into smaller pieces.
He got a little golf set and had been playing with Grandma and Grandpa. After they left, I played with him for the first time. I hit the ball and he said "Wow, great job Mommy!"
One morning when I told him I was going to go take a shower, he said "No stay here, watch cartoons." I then started clipping his toenails and he told me to go to the shower.
One day he saw ice cream on TV and asked for ice cream. I told him we only have ice cream at birthday parties. Shortly thereafter, while I was taking a shower, he came in crying about wanting a party.
Part of our bedtime routine is after I leave his room, I sing a song. When I stop, he will yell "Mommy, sing!," at times requesting specific songs. Sometimes I sing Frere Jacques and sometimes the English version, Brother John. He will ask for Frere Jacques, but when he wants me to sing the English version, he asks for Uncle Ben.

Grandparent Magic

2008-08-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Marco doesn't have school this week and Grammy & Grandpa came to visit and take care of him while we are at work. Grammy called around 2:45 saying Marco hadn't napped yet and she would maybe take him back to our place around 3:30 or 4 and see if he fell asleep in the car.

She sent this at 3:10.

At home, he'll never just take a nap. We always have to drive him in the car. Apparently Grandpa has the touch.

************* Update ****************

I was later informed that Grandpa was asleep when the magic occurred and that it is Grammy with the magic touch.

This one is for Nicole

2008-08-19T20:09:00.001-07:00

Napkin Please

2008-08-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

It wasn't until this point that Marco asked for a napkin this morning.

Terrible Mother or Creative Genius?

2008-08-12T10:19:00.001-07:00

Marco has been really into strawberry yogurt lately. If you try to get him to eat a different flavor, he gets really upset. This morning he once again asked for strawberry yogurt and oops, we were out. I had some banana and vanilla yogurt that is going to expire if it doesn't get eaten soon. While Marco wasn't looking, I put a couple of drops of red food coloring in the yogurt and voila... strawberry yogurt.

He didn't complain at all, so in this case, I am going to go with creative genius.

Flying Around

2008-07-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have lots of things I should update about and lots of pictures I should post, but I am just going to add one today.

I got a new bike for my birthday! (Thanks Dad!) This is our first jaunt around the neighborhood together.

Travel, But No Vacation

2008-07-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

We went to Portland for the 4th and I have some advice for those of you considering traveling with a two year old. Don't.

If you insist on not following my advice then at least buy a sticker book. We had one of these for the plane trip back and they are very useful.

Marco had a great time with the Grandparents and Uncle Joey and Uncle Brian and Uncle Dan and Uncle Ben and Aunt Becky. We may have pictures, I don't even know. I didn't take any, but I think Alessandro had the camera.

I also enjoyed seeing everyone, but I do not enjoy sleeping in a bed with Marco. I never did get a good night sleep, so I came home more tired than when I left and my back hurts. (Bitch and moan, I know.)

Alessandro and I did get to have breakfast together at Elmer's on Friday and went letterboxing on Saturday.

One funny tidbit, the last time we were in Portland, it snowed on Christmas. We went out the front door of my dad's house to play in the snow (usually we go in and out of the side door). When we got to my dad's on Friday, Marco went to the front door and "Go outside, play in the snow?" We were all stunned by his memory of this.

Open Your Eyes!

2008-07-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Marco sees things a little differently this the rest of us old and jaded adults.

When you look inside a flashlight, what do you see? Since you have no imagination, you probably see a light bulb. Marco will tell you it is actually an egg.

This? This is a camera.

When you wash the windows in your car, it is raining. And don't try to convince him otherwise!

Often when we are driving, Marco swears he sees a cow or a turtle or something else equally fascinating.

Marco is actually at a very fun age right now. He gets very excited about things. For example, we recently went to Disneyland and he knows we are there as soon as we get off the freeway. He starts "seeing" Mickeys right away. "Right there! Right there!" When we take the tram ride from the car, he points out every Mickey on top of every light post. The last time we went to Disneyland, as soon as we got off the tram he was pointing at everything and exclaiming. "Look, Mickey!" "Donald!" "Daisy!" Then we passed a rack of sunglasses and he screamed "GLASSES!" Things you perhaps find mundane are reasons to celebrate for Marco.

A Poor Negotiator

2008-06-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I was talking to my friend Krista and was lamenting about our sleep problems and she told me about an article she read that had many sleep training techniques in it. One of them suggested telling the child you would be back in x number of minutes and then leaving the room. I tried this Friday night and it worked great. He did not cry and I did not feel locked in his room. He is still going to sleep too late, but at least we have some progress and he's not waking up too early.

Last night, I used this technique again. At one point, I told him he had to turn off the light (he had been reading) and I sat with him a couple minutes until he adjusted and then I said I would be back in two minutes. He responded "No, come back in four minutes." I said "Ok, you got it, 4 minutes." He eventually fell asleep. I have found I don't even have to come back very often, but maybe every 15 minutes or so. I think he likes that his door isn't shut and really doesn't care if I come back. He can hear us moving around the house and if he really wanted to, he could leave his room and find us.

Anyway, he woke up around 5am (yay, no 1am wake up call!) and he yelled "Chip and Dale!" Alessandro and I just kind of looked at each other. After about 10 minutes he came to our room and handed me a Mickey Mouse doll, a Wild Thing from "Where the Wild Things Are" and a cup of water. Then he left our room. Again, Alessandro and I were puzzled. He went back to his room, shut the door. Came to our room, shut the door and then was ready to get in our bed. He asked for Mickey Mouse, his Wild Thing and his green water (the color of his cup) and then went back to bed and didn't wake up until after 7am.

(Apparently he has a name, Moshe... although, you wouldn't know it from the book!)

Sleep Deprived

2008-06-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Before we left for Italy, Marco and I had a bedtime routine. We would read stories, I would lay with him for a few minutes and then say Good Night and walk out of the room. There were no tears, no screaming, no pleading. It was great. Well, something happened.

In Italy, Marco slept in a bed with us and when we returned, we tried to transition him back to his old routine, but we are still struggling. At first, we humored Marco and would lay with him until he fell asleep. We did this primarily because as soon as we got back, he was also starting preschool and I was afraid of abandoning him too much. After about a week though, we started going back to the night routine.

The problem is Marco has not gotten back into the night routine. He cries, pleads, screams. It is terrible. It has been more than two months now and he still cries when we put him to bed and sometimes for a long time. I have done lots of reading on sleep training. The crying it out method really worked for us when Marco was about a year old. It didn't take long before we settled into a routine. But then Marco learned to climb out of the crib. More crying it out, falling asleep in front of the door as he learned to sleep in a bed. Then Marco learned to open his door. He was so proud, you have no idea. More sleep training once we got a Marco proof door knob cover. It does seem like we are constantly going back and forth with a routine and then a break in the routine and then crying and then back to routine. And this is only the going to bed part, not the waking during the night or too early in the morning part.

Every time Marco broke his routine, it didn't take long to get back to a regular routine. Maybe three weeks maximum (but I could be delirious and am totally making up that number). This time though, it has been more than two months and we are still having issues. So, we are trying something new.

One of the things I have read is that you can sleep train without all the crying by staying with them, but progressively moving further and further away. Two nights ago, Marco cried off and on for an hour (from 7:30 - 8:30). And when I say cried, I mean screaming, head at the bottom of the door crying Mommy, Daddy, Heidi, Please. Anything to try to get attention. Also, sobbing in his bed. It is intermittent, but still greatly disturbing. Anyway, after an hour of this, I went in to comfort him and left. That didn't work. I decided I would sit with him, but not lay with him. So, I took a chair and a magazine and went in. First, I will say as soon as I opened the door, he started laughing. "I won. I won." (That is how I interpreted the laugh, but truly I think he was just so happy that I was there.) I told him I wouldn't lie down on the bed, but I was going to sit in the chair next to the bed. He was ok with this. Within thirty minutes he fell asleep. I watched him desperately fight sleep. Eyes fluttering shut, only to pop back open moments later, until at last his cup of water dropped from his hand and he was out.

Last night as we were reading books I explained to him that Mommy was going to stay in his room while he fell asleep, but I was going to sit in the chair. He got a little weepy, but quickly seemed to understand. He tried to talk to me a little. I told him I would leave if he didn't lay down and go to sleep. His reply, "Mommy, sit in chair." After sitting there an hour, I switched places with Alessandro. Again, he was a little weepy, but accepted the switch. By 9pm he finally fell asleep.

The problem with this new approach so far is that he still hasn't fallen asleep before 9pm, even though he is yawning at 7:30. My hope is that soon he will be comfortable enough with the situation that he will go to sleep earlier.

The next stage that we are suppose to do is start moving the chair closer to the door, eventually in the doorway, then outside of the doorway, etc. Admittedly, this technique does take longer than cry it out, but cry it out doesn't seem to be working for us right now.

Now, let's move on to the second sleep problem we are having. Ever since Marco has slept in a bed, at some point he wakes up and comes to our room. The problem lately is it is becoming earlier and earlier, around 10:30-12:30 at night as opposed to around 5-5:30 in the morning. And he is becoming more demanding. He wants water or something. Then also, he is waking up around 6-6:30 and trying to get breakfast. I refuse until after 7am, but this past week he isn't falling back asleep.

All in all, he is not getting enough sleep. I think the late nights are producing the early mornings (there is some thing about staying up too late producing adrenalin and this makes them wake up earlier). When he would come to our bed around 5, he would fall back asleep usually until 7:30 or 8, thus getting approximately 12 hours of sleep. Lately, I would estimate he is getting closer to 9 hours of sleep a night. Not only is he not getting enough sleep, but neither are we!

I am tired and grumpy. I am sick of having a little monkey pushing me off my pillow or sleeping on my neck. I am tired of 6am wake-up calls of "peanut-butter" and him pulling the blankets off me. I am frustrated with the grouch who wakes up at 6 instead of the cheerful little guy who opens his eyes at 7:30. And most of all, after two plus years, I am tired of sleep training. It is a never ending process!

As an aside, Mom & Jim, I am apologizing now for the two nights you will have to deal with him when we are sleeping peacefully in our luxurious hotel room.

Along the Same Lines

2008-06-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, probably the last weekend we were all not sick, Laura and Jeff treated us to a stay at the Disneyland Hotel and brunch at Goofy's Kitchen. Marco had so much fun this trip. On Friday, we got to the hotel early, dropped our bag and spent a few hours at the park.

We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon to meet Laura, Jeff & Liz. We attempted to get Marco to nap, but that was a lost cause. After a little relaxing, we decided to head down to the pool. They had a slide for little kids and Marco became obsessed with this. He would slide down, dunk under the water, come up for a breath and ask for more. I would lift him to the side of the pool, dad helped him onto the slide and repeat. He soon was good enough to get on the slide himself.

That evening, we headed back to the park and to Toon Town. Marco went on his first roller coaster - Gadget's Go Go Coaster. He was a little nervous, but it is such a short ride, he wasn't too scared. We let him run around the various play areas in Toon Town before meeting Laura, Jeff, Liz, Vickie & Mark for dinner. After dinner, Alessandro and I decided to watch Fantasmic and meet the gang later. We found a decent place to watch Fantasmic and alternated holding Marco up on our shoulders so he could get a good view. At this point, he was so tired, he was drooling. I am pretty sure Alessandro's head got wet despite my best efforts to wipe Marco's mouth dry. Tired as he was, he enjoyed Fantasmic. A few minutes after Fantasmic, the fireworks started. Marco was excited standing and pointing, then he decided to sit in my lap and about halfway through the fireworks, he curled up on my lap and went to sleep. And he was out! That just allowed his parents to hang out a little longer while he slept in the stroller.

On Saturday, we headed to Goofy's Kitchen. The first character he saw was Baloo. He ran up to him and Baloo bent down to his level and then Marco got a little nervous. He wasn't so sure about this huge bear who had focused all his attention on Marco!

While we were eating, Goofy came to say hi! Marco was still a little unsure, but starting to get the hang of it.

Dad was thrilled to see his favorite character. (That is tongue-in-cheek, for those of you who are not aware. I did warn Laura, Jeff, and Liz that I was not responsible for Alessandro's potential actions at Goofy's Kitchen given his previous behaviour at Euro Disney.)

After this personal visit by Goofy, Marco decided that these guys were a-ok. He found Chip, took his hand, and brought him to our table.

He ran through the restaurant after Goofy and gave him a big hug... and wouldn't let go.

He then stalked Baloo everywhere he went in the restaurant. Alessandro said he thinks Marco was in at least of half of the other families' pictures with Baloo.

After brunch, we spent another hour in the pool and then headed home. I think it took about 10 minutes for Marco to fall asleep in the car. It had been a busy and fun trip.

A Great Weekend

2008-06-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Preschool has been tough on us. Since Marco started, I would say at least 80% of the time, someone in the house is sick (usually Marco). This past weekend, we were all well (first time in over a month) and we had a great weekend.

On Saturday, we went to the beach and dad taught Marco how to fly a kite.

On Sunday, we went to Disneyland. Every time we go now, Marco seems to have more and more fun. He recognizes the characters and gets so excited to see them. He saw Mickey Mouse yesterday. After patiently waiting in line, he ran up and hugged him.

After Disneyland, we stopped by Laura and Jeff's to meet Marlee. She was born Thursday, June 12. Much to Jeff's delight, Marco was much more interested in Sunny than Marlee.

Such a great weekend really tuckered Marco out.

Impressive

2008-06-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

How does one little cookie...

Cause so much damage?

Oops

2008-05-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Just like the timeliness of this banner, perhaps I spoke too soon. You know that post I wrote on Monday? Well, Tuesday and Wednesday when I dropped Marco off, he cried. Damn, I jinxed it!

Mission Success

2008-05-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have lots of things I need to update on the blog. We still have a few pictures from Italy to post. Marco got to play with ladybugs in our very own backyard. He had his first musical concert and his first visit to the dentist, but what I want to talk about first is school.

Last week Marco did not cry once when I took him to school. This morning I dropped him off. I told him mommy has to go to work and he said ok and turned to me to give me a kiss. I didn't want to mention it too early in case I jinxed it, but now I think we have success. Marco has adjusted well to school!

Ugh

2008-04-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Today sucked (and it isn't even 9am). Marco woke up before Alessandro left for work and wanted daddy desparately. He has figured out that mom takes him to school and dad rescues him, so if dad just stayed, he wouldn't have to go to school. As Alessandro was driving off on his motorcycle, Marco was sobbing.

After calming him down and getting him some breakfast. I managed to pack his lunch and take a shower. We left a little later than I wanted to (I had an 8am telecon) and he fought me, screaming and squirming when I tried to put him in his car seat. He cried the whole way to school (ok, I realize it is less than half a mile, but it still sucked). When we got out of the car, he got out of the carseat crying, walked down the steps on his own with his lunch box crying. It was like he knew he had to do it, but didn't want too.

I got him calmed down a little before I left, but I had to kind of rush off, so that sucked. Also, he was in a different room because his regular teacher doesn't arrive until 8, so it was a woman he doesn't really know yet who had to comfort him. It just really sucked.

My First Day of School

2008-04-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of school. Mom did pretty well, she didn't cry when I left her.

I had fun and didn't want to leave when dad picked me up. I pretended I was mad though and hit mom when she came home. After a sufficient amount of time had passed, I gave her a hug.

Zia Luciana

2008-04-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

(Gianluca, Zia Luciana, Francesco, Zio Vincenzo)

Friday we went to Zia Luciana's for dinner. Marco had a blast. First, he played with Zio Vincenzo.

Then he met Blu. At one point, Blu knocked up against a box. Marco said he was hurt and tried to give him a kiss to make it ok.

Later his best buddy, Gianluca came over.

I Cugini

2008-04-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

It seems like every time we get in the car, Marco asks for his cousins. He has a special fondness for Alessandro. I think this is because he likes older kids in general and Alessandro is really great with him. Marco laughs and laughs when he plays with Alessandro.

He also enjoys playing with Andrea, but they are not quite as good at sharing with each other (especially when it comes to Nonno Cesare).

Here is a random picture of Marco being patriotic in Rome.

Buon Compleanno Marco!

2008-04-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Marco turned two. Zio Massi and Zia Pina hosted a wonderful party with lots of family. As soon as we arrived, he saw the other kids and took off running. He was welcomed by cousins Alessandro and Andrea and "cousins" Leonardo, Valerio, Federica, and Riccardo.

(Leonardo, Andrea, Marco & Alessandro)

He blew out the candle on his cake about 5 times. ("More, more!") Then Irene showed him what to do.

He quickly understood.

The Arrival

2008-04-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

We got to Rome on Friday. Marco was very good on the flight. He jumped around a bit on the first flight, but never really cried (except the time he got hurt). He enjoyed watching the cartoons, we colored, played with some puzzles and some animals. He fell asleep around 10pm Los Angeles time and pretty much slept the rest of the flight (about 5 hours). We had a four hour lay over in Frankfurt (ugh). Marco was still pretty tired, so didn't run around too much. Mostly sat and played. On the second flight, he had a mini-tantrum right before we took off, but then fell asleep during take off, so it was just exhaustion. He slept the entire second flight waking only when I had to pick him up for landing.

When we arrived, Marco and I went out to great 'la famiglia' while Alessandro waited for our luggage. Marco was a bit overwhelmed. He was tired and there were a lot of people grabbing and kissing him. Nonna, Zio Massi, Luciana and Vicenzo greeted us at the airport.

After what seemed like forever in Friday evening traffic, we finally got to the house and some good food and a nice bed. Nonno was there waiting for us. Marco quickly made himself at home in Nonno's hat and slippers.

Easter Sunday

2008-04-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Easter morning, Marco woke up to discover an Easter Egg Basket on his high chair.

As exciting as the books and animals were, nothing beats a chocolate egg. It is funny to watch how careful he is as he is unwrapping the egg.

Later, Sirena came over to play and they dyed Easter eggs. The kids weren't content putting only one egg in each bowl. Notice the blue bowl near Marco. They both filled it with chalk and plastic eggs.

Jordan and Sebastian came over for dinner. Here they are sitting at the dinner table.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

I never did write about our Easter weekend. I was just looking through the pictures Alessandro uploaded onto the computer and realize it was quite an eventful weekend. I am going to break this into a couple of posts since there are so many pictures.

On Saturday, we went to an Egg-stravaganza. Marco went in his first bounce house.

He was really excited to get inside, but then hated it and started crying. We had to quickly save him.

He saw the Easter Bunny.

Then he impatiently waited to hunt Easter eggs.

And they're off!

Marco collected about five eggs until he realized what was inside them. Then it was all over.

I did it!

2008-03-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

I almost forgot one of my favorite things he is saying now. "I did it!" complete with hands raised over his head and a big smile. He says this all the time.

Gosh, mommy. Thanks!

2008-03-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Marco's communication skills seem to be increasing exponentially. And he says the funniest things.

Wednesday evening Liz and Vickie came over and they brought Marco a birthday present. He was already in bed so they had me open it. One of the gifts was a blow up baseball, bat and tee. That night Alessandro blew up the ball and bat. In the morning Marco saw it on the table, so I gave it to him and he responded "Gosh, mommy. Thanks!"

He likes to bother Yette. He brings him unopened cans of food and sometimes just climbs on the couch to get a reaction out of Yette. This morning Yette was on the bed and Marco started to climb up. He saw Yette and Marco started going "ffffftt, fffftt" kind of like when Yette starts getting upset and spits at Marco.

A few days ago he was calling Piper and saying outside (he was outside) and when Piper finally came, he shut the door so she couldn't get out. What a stinker.

Yesterday we went to visit Laura and Sunny. Sunny was in her cage and Laura let her out at some point by saying "one, two, three" and then opened the door. Later when Sunny was back in her cage, Marco was sitting by it counting "one, two, three" not really understanding why the door wouldn't open.

Yesterday afternoon I gave Marco a mini cupcake (Liz and Vickie had brought those for him too). As he was eating he said "So, so yummy."

Right now he is standing next to me saying "What are you doing?" and commenting that "Piper's fast" because she is running around like crazy.

This morning he tripped and I didn't say anything because I was hoping he wouldn't make a big deal about it. He must have thought I didn't notice because he said "You okay?" So I asked if he was okay and he said yes.

Well, we are off to the park!

Flying High

2008-03-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took Marco to Disneyland. He learned about one of the downsides of the park... all the waiting. And I have to say, he didn't really take it so well.

He really wanted to go on rides, but the lines were so long, there was no way he could handle them. We were thinking to take him on Dumbo, but the wait was almost an hour, so instead we hung out by the exit and watched the elephants go by. Well, a very nice lady who was working on the Dumbo ride let Marco go in the exit and he didn't have to wait at all! While we were waiting for take off, he was so excited. He kept saying "Ready, set, go!"

When we had to get off the ride, he cried and cried. Later we took him on the Winnie the Pooh ride and he cried because we had to wait our turn to get on (maybe a 5 minute wait), he kept saying car. Then he cried as soon as we came outside of the ride doors, not even waiting until we actually had to get off. He knew it was coming.

... And Family

2008-03-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

About a week after Nicole left, Gianluca arrived. Marco has been keeping him busy playing soccer and making him read books in English.

Last weekend we took him to see Griffith Observatory.

Friends...

2008-03-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

We have had a full house lately. First Nicole came to visit. It was great to see Nicole. It had been way too long.

She brought Marco a monkey. When I was cleaning up I put the monkey on the bench and Marco got on the bench and hugged the monkey and his frog. I called Alessandro to look because it was so cute and Alessandro told me to take a picture. I said I didn't know where the camera was. Then Marco said "camera, camera," so I had to go get the camera. Then he said "cheese." Now everytime he sits on the bench he says camera. What a ham.

Marco discovered a future occupation possibility... hair dresser!

He mooched In-n-Out of off Nicole. Good thing she at least is good at sharing!

Chocolate Shake...

Fries...

And a cheeseburger!

You Tell Him!

2008-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Last night Marco was watching Curious George and Alessandro and Gianluca were talking. Marco started saying "Daddy, daddy". Alessandro responded and then Marco put his finger to his mouth and said "Ssshhhhhh!"

Knock Knock

2008-03-10T15:48:00.001-07:00

A want to jot down a few Marco-isms that I have recently noticed. He is starting to speak more and more in complete sentences or at least statements. For example, the other day he was hiding in the shower and I said "Where's Marco?" His response was "In the shower!"

He recently climbed onto the back of the couch where Yette basically lives (Yette was hiding since Marco was in the living room) and started meowing. I asked him if he was a kitty and he said yes. The pretending to be a kitty thing went a long way.

While not taking a nap today he tried to secure his release in a number of methods. At one point he started yelling "Mess, mommy, mess." I went to check in case it was something that needed to be dealt with, but it was just blocks that he knocked over, so I told him the mess was ok and left. About 30 minutes later he starts knocking on the door saying "Knock knock, mommy, knock knock." I guess that was in case I didn't hear the endless banging.

Great Grandma Bunny's

2008-03-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we drove out to Indio to see Great Grandma Bunny and Gordon. After some running around and lunch we went to the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival. We took Marco to the petting zoo and then into the barn to see the other animals. So many cows and goats and pigs and sheep. He was very exited running from place to place to look at all the animals. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because we forgot our camera, although most likely they would have all been just streaks across the screen.

When we got back to Grandma's I had an ice cream bar. Marco was very insistent on having this ice cream bar. I was trying to hold it and give him a bite, but this would not do. He had to have it himself. How does he even know this is a good thing? He has never had an ice cream bar. I have never eaten one in front of him. I swear kids have an instinct for what is going to be good. Anyway after a crying fit, I gave in. Then Grandma got out more ice cream bars for Alessandro and me. Alessandro handed me one and I started to eat it. As soon as Marco realized the situation he started to freak out. Eventually he ended up with an ice cream bar in each hand. (All others were hidden from view.) Then I dared to take a bite of one. Oh, the torrent of tears that followed that bite. Alessandro of course stood by snapping as many pictures of the scene as possible. It was quite amusing.

Marco calming down after receiving both ice cream bars.

After realizing I took a bite of one.

"No you don't! You can't take it from me now. I've had this ice-cream bar since I was a CHILD! People... always trying to take it from me! Why won't they LEAVE ME ALOOOOOONNNNE?" -Ren

After the ice cream incident and an unsuccessful attempt at a nap. Marco and Great Grandma had some time to play.

Then Gordon took Marco for a walk around the park. They looked for fish.

And Gordon taught Marco the finer points of golf.

On Sunday, we went to Elmer's, except it wasn't Elmer's anymore! But don't worry, they still have German pancakes (under the disguised name of Dutch Babies). Apparently that Elmer's was a franchise (maybe they all are, I don't know) and Elmer's doubled the percentage take they were asking for. Instead of paying this, the owners decided to go at it on their own, but they still have exactly the same menu. They had to change the name of the German pancakes because that is an Elmer's trademark or something. The owner told me they got to keep all the recipes though.

Shortly after eating, we headed back to LA. Here is a picture of Marco at home sitting on the bench Grandma got him. Gordon made the little table that goes with it.

C'mere Mommy, C'mere

2008-02-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

Once again it is time to jot down a few things Marco is doing and include a few random pictures. First of all, he is much better about sleeping in his bed. At night, we read stories, I tuck him in, lay with him for a few minutes and then say good night and leave the room. Occasionally he will bang on the door, but for the most part he just goes to sleep. Naps are still not easy. He either destroys his room during nap time (more on this later) or I have to lay with him until he falls asleep. The car always works, but I am not going to do that on a regular basis.

I will tell the nap story now since I am on the subject. Last week I stuck him in his room for a nap. He wouldn't lay down, so I left. Usually at some point he starts calling for me and I go back and see if I can get him to sleep. Otherwise, he gets quiet time in his room for approximately two hours. This particular day he didn't call for me for the full two hours. I just let him be. Now for some back story, the previous weekend, Alessandro had switched out the night stand in Marco's room for the one he had been using. The new one in Marco's room was significantly shorter than the old one. The nightstand is next to Marco's dresser. Anyway, around four o'clock, Marco calls for me, so I go to let him out of his room. The chaos of what was inside is almost indescribable. Neither Alessandro or I had thought, hey, he might be able to climb on top of this nightstand and then climb on top of his dresser! Marco on the other hand, had thought of this. There is a top drawer on the dresser that previously had been unreachable to Marco. This is where we keep things like the thermometer, finger nail clippers, finger nail scissors, diaper rash cream, lotions, some little garbage bags to toss in the diaper bag, all kinds of things we DON'T want Marco to have. Also, on top of the dresser is a lamp, a piggy bank, and a heater. What I saw in his room when I let him out included the piggy bank on the floor (with a dime sized hole broken in the top), the thermometer and some other items in his bed, the finger nail clippers in a little bag under the dresser, the lamp shade was broken off the lamp, all the baggies were unraveled (they are connected together in a roll), diaper wipes were pulled out of the container and all over the floor,but I save the best for last. He had broken the lid off of a jar of diaper cream, used a finger nail file to scoop it up and who knows what he did with it at that point, but he did smell a little weird. I hope he didn't eat it, but at least it was the kind that was made out of olive oil. No wonder he was so quiet that afternoon! We have since rectified the situation and hopefully it won't happen again. (I have this image of him sitting on top of his dresser, I am just glad I didn't actually see it!)

He is learning new words daily it seems. His brain truly is a sponge. The other day he was telling me something was an iguana and I didn't understand because I didn't fathom that word in his vocabulary, but sure enough it was an iguana. He knows sign language for colors and is starting to sign letters of the alphabet. He sings sometimes, but seems to get embarrassed if you point it out.

He has figured out that in the morning I wear my slippers, so if he is trying to get me out of bed he gives me my slippers. One Friday morning he woke up when Alessandro was getting ready for work. I tried to get him to sleep more with me by laying down with him in his room. He got up, left the room, shut the door. A minute later he came back with my slippers.

Last week, I put on my jacket to go to work and he started to cry. He took my hand and took me to his room. Alessandro came with us. Marco opened the door, pushed Alessandro out and then closed the door.

Current favorite books are "What a Mess Little Puppies" and "Where's Chip?", both Disney books. He also likes "Where's Maisy?" The common thread in all the books is you have to find something on each page.

Marco can be very selfish with foods he likes. For example, today he had some popcorn and he refused to give me any. (So I had some oreos and didn't let him know it!) He will start crying if you take a bite of his food and try to take it out of your mouth.

He remembers people and places. About a week ago I was taking care of Laura and Jeff's cats. One morning I had to take Marco with me. I asked him if he wanted to see a dog and mentioned Sunny by name. He said "Jeff." I had to explain that Laura and Jeff weren't home. He still walked in and said "Hi" looking around for them. Yesterday evening we dropped by to say hi and he was so excited to see them. He kept saying Sunny and Jeff (won't say Laura). At one point he said "I'll be right back" and climbed up the stairs where he kept calling Sunny. When we were leaving he yelled "Bye Bye Jeff" over and over. He did throw in one "Bye Bye Laura."

He drags people around by the finger and tells people c'mere all the time (I am very sick of the phrase c'mere). Mommy c'mere, c'mere mommy, c'mere, c'mere mommy. Over and over. If I don't come he pulls me by my finger until I am where he wants me, which is often sitting with him coloring. He now actually tells me to draw kitties (perhaps because it is one of the few recognizable things I can draw.)

Oh, I almost forgot, he now includes one when he counts.

In other big news, he is going to start preschool in April. As soon as we get back from Italy and he is two, he will start. I can't wait. Alessandro and I will both go back to normal work schedules and then we can have dinner together again and lead a semi-normal life once again.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2008-02-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

H2O

2008-02-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today we did something Alessandro has been wanting to do for a long time. We took Marco to a drive-thru car wash. It was so fun watching Marco's face. He thought it was pretty amazing. After that we had some lunch and went to the beach. Yes, for all you people who don't live in Southern California, the weather was amazing this weekend. Yesterday it was in the 80s and the 70s today. The beach was perfect. Here are a few pics and stories.

Marco was having fun running away from the water when the waves rushed up onto the beach.

At some point he started yelling at the water to stop. Alessandro's response was "Hey kid, who do you think you are? Moses?"

He made many friends at the beach. A guy swimming came out of the water and said hi. Marco took that as an invitation to join his group of friends.

Then we met a little boy named Eugene and Marco and Eugene took turns throwing sand and passing shells back and forth. Later still Marco decided to help these two build a wall.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon at the beach.

The Games People Play

2008-02-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

Marco is really into playing games now. He loves to hide. He will hide behind his hands, under a blanket, behind a towel, in a box. Whatever is most convenient. He then expects you to ask "Where's Marco?" If you don't oblige, he will start saying "Marco, Marco, Marco" until you ask "Where's Marco?" He then shows himself, you exclaim on finding him, and repeat.

We took a shower today and he didn't want to get out after. He stayed in the shower and shut the door. He wanted to play Where's Marco, so I started pretending to look for him. I asked if Marco was in the bed, he said No. I continued asking other places and occasionally asking "Where's Marco?" At some point he responded "shower." After that I asked him what he was doing. I asked him if he was eating, no, sleeping, no, reading, no, stomping in the water, splashing water noises were my response. This went on for maybe 5 minutes. Including some peekaboo where he would open the door and then shut it.

He likes to play a game where I do signs and he tells me what I am signing. He has started playing dress up. Yesterday morning he came out of my bedroom with my bra around his neck and my sunglasses on. He then got my shoes. Today he wore my jacket for a while.

He plays a few different pretend games. Most common is pretending to sleep. He is always pretending to sleep complete with snoring. He also pretends to be a bear/dinosaur/tiger, any kind of growly animal, but not always the same. Sometimes he is a cow.

He really likes identifying things and he will keep repeating the name until acknowledged. He loves chase, ring around the rosie, ball, indentifying letters, counting (he now counts to 13, still not including 1), but best of all, he loves playing with friends.

Here is a fun picture from dinner last night. The first time he used corn holders.