Lunch on the Patio

Our downstairs neighbor is moving back to Pittsburgh and today the HUGE moving truck arrived. It has been parked outside our apartment since 7:30 this morning and Mikey has been in heaven. He has been glued to the windows and patio area watching the guys and yelling "HI!" every two seconds. I was lucky that I was able to pry him away so we could make a quick trip to the grocery store.

When we came back from the store Mikey told me that he wanted to eat and sat down outside. He didn't want to miss a thing! I don't think he took his eyes off the truck to pick up his lunch....he just kind of felt around for the sandwich and brought it to his mouth!

Just another perk of apartment living! Live (and free!) entertainment!

Happy Birthday, Miles!

Mikey and Miles

Every time we ask Mikey about Eva's House, he always talks about Miles---basically just saying his name over and over and over. This past Saturday we attended Miles's birthday party at Green Planet in Newton. We sang songs, danced and had cake! Mikey had a great time and they even shared a hug goodbye at the end.

In the days leading up to the party Mikey would go around the house yelling "HAPPY!" and we would sing "happy birthday" to Miles for practice.

Happy Boy!

Ever since Mikey has gotten over his awful cold (or was it a phase of 2 year molars?) he has been such a HAPPY boy!

Can you tell?

Signs that you are getting older (sigh)....

• You are reading your bedtime story books to yourself instead of handing them off to Mommy or Daddy to read to you (you also need to sit by yourself in the comfy chair);
  

• You are now communicating in 2, 3 (and sometimes 4!) word phrases consistently which has significantly cut down on the whining;

• As of this morning, we now own a toddler POTTY!! Recently there has been some discussion/interest in the potty. Mikey has sat on the regular adult toilet seat on a few occasions before bed (Procrastination? Probably!) without success. At least it is a step in the right direction!
  

Happy Father's Day 2011

Daddy had a low-key, relaxing Father's Day this year. We got some breakfast at our favorite breakfast place in Brighton, did some food shopping, hung out at the pool and made a yummy dinner. The weather was perfect (in the 70s with a nice breeze and plenty of sun).

There was a time when I felt like Mikey's world revolved only around "mama". Even though we are still close, Daddy has become Mikey's new BFF. When Daddy is around, Mikey is always calling him and playing with him. When Daddy is not around, Mikey still calls for him and will search the apartment hoping to find him. When Daddy comes home, Mikey gets so excited that he squeals with delight!

Mikey got Daddy a special Father's Day card this year----Toy Story themed. Mikey definitely loves his Daddy "to infinity and beyond".

Happy Father's Day to one amazing Daddy! Thank you Michael for all that you do for our family! We love you very much!












We should also mention how fortunate we are to have so many "Dads" in our lives on this special day.

We also wish a very happy father's day to:

Grandpa Bob
Grandpa Fred
Great-Grandpa Armand
Great-Grandpa Angelo
Honorable Ernie
Uncle Mark (Mikey's godfather)

Boston Bruins Parade!

Michael and Mikey were still on the mend this weekend from their colds over the past week but when Saturday morning arrived they both were able to gather their strength and venture to Boston for the championship parade.

9:35 am: We were packed up, dressed and in the car heading to the Riverside "T" station. (This is a milestone in itself---that is early for us!)

Side note: This was the first time Mikey had ever ridden the "T". The "T" broke the record on Saturday for having the most riders EVER in one day!

9:50: We discover that the Riverside lot was full and therefore closed. We then drove to Newton Center to catch the "T" a little further down on its route.

10:05-11:10: It was nearly impossible to squeeze onto a "T" that came into the Newton Center stop. After 5 FULL cars passed us by we hopped on the train heading WEST to the end of the line so we could then travel EAST on an empty car and secure a spot. Once we were headed in the correct direction, the train got fuller and fuller and fuller. When we would approach a stop and there was no more room for another person, our car chanted "WE ARE FULL! WE ARE FULL!" as the doors opened. I couldn't believe it, but everyone listened. No one tried to squeeze in. I wonder if that would happen in New York City....

Looking for the train

Mommy and Mikey had a seat while Daddy had to stand---see Mikey's head?!?

11:10-12:30: We made our way from Hynes Convention Center to Copley Place where the parade would end. As we passed by all the fans wearing their Boston Bruin attire, Mikey was shouting on the street "HOCKEEEEY"!



And then we waited....and waited.....UNTIL....















Mikey was a trooper. The crowd was loud. Random people were coming up and high-fiving him. There was confetti blowing everywhere. It was warm. Complete sensory overload yet he did GREAT! As the duck boats passed Mikey did everything that the other fans did.....smiled, waved and clapped. He loved it.

1:00: The parade ended. Mikey went back in stroller. Lovey was inserted in his mouth and within seconds he was asleep! Mike and I strolled around the city and made our way to Faneuil Hall to grab some lunch.

2:05: We placed our name on the wait list at Hard Rock Cafe. With the "All Access card" (which we had) they told us it would be a 30 minute wait. Without the card, they were telling patrons there was a 3 HOUR wait! (They were obviously not prepared for the amount of people in town that day! Around 2:30 the restaurant stopped seating tables for 20 minutes to give the kitchen a chance to catch up!)

3:05: We were seated and placed our orders. Our waitress told us that we could wait up to an hour for our food! Good thing someone woke up happy from his nap:




4:05: We ate, watched the heavy downpour outside, paid our bill and headed back to the "T" in the sunshine.

5:30: Home sweet home.

Our Saturday went from having no plans to "let's go check out the parade" to an all day outing! Hooray for the Boston Bruins! We love hockey!

Home Sick

Tissues: Check.

Honey (to suppress the cough): Check.

Humidifier: Check.

Chicken soup: Check.

Comfy couch, Blanket, Disney Channel and Toy Story movies: Check.


The doctors office informed me yesterday that we are not permitted to give Mikey cold medication until he is SIX years old.

So for now this is all we can do.

And this is what we are looking at:



Note to Mikey: You use anything and everything you can get your hands on to wipe your nose independently---my clothes (I seem to be the human tissue), the slipcover on the couch and ottoman, the blankets, the carpet, your sleeve, etc. I have a loads of snotty laundry piling up! Feel better, bud!

Our weekend at the Cape

This weekend we headed to "the Cape" to attend Chris and Lourdes's wedding. The wedding was held at the Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, MA, which is also where we stayed. We had a spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on the Mansion side of the resort which we shared with Mimi and Grandpa Scialabba.

The resort had everything---beach, pools (indoor and outdoor--even a special toddler pool), tennis, golf, and lots of yummy restaurants.

There was only one thing missing: THE SUN.

It was in the 50s all weekend with on-off rain. Cold & wet. Not exactly what we were hoping for but we made the most of it. We had lots of seafood and were even able to make it to the beach.

Thanks for coming out to watch Mikey, Grandpa and Mimi! Mikey had a great time (and we did, too!).

Fun In The Sun With Friends

When the summer weather hits 90+ degrees there is only one place to go......THE SPLASH PARK! Water, swings and friends makes for a fun playdate!

27 Months

Top Three Toys of the Week:

1) Mr. Potato Head

2) The Birthday Box (book)

3) Interlocking train puzzle


I feel like it has been awhile since I have recapped your skills (this is your baby book documentation, you know!). Here we go:

The biggest aspect these past few months is your language development. You are still speaking in mostly one word phrases and we are really working to build on this. You can get extremely frustrated at times when you can't communicate what you want and this has been resulting in tantrums and throwing. Once you are prompted to "use your words" you calm down and say what you need ("help", "open", etc.). You repeat new words all the time when prompted by Mommy and Daddy. For example tonight you repeated all hockey phrases as we began watching the Bruins.

You are still eating a small variety of foods and continue to prefer ALL fruit (especially "nana"), some veggies, dairy and CARBS. Lunch is by far your best meal. You are proficient with using a spoon and a fork---the only real mess comes when you eat yogurt. Your bedtime is typically between 7:30 and 8:00 and you wake around 7 in the morning. You take an afternoon nap and sleep for approximately 2 hours (sometimes more, sometimes less). You are still in a crib WITH your sleep sack (to prevent you from deciding to lift your leg over to escape). You really do love your crib---you have your lovey, multiple stuffed animals, 2 blankets, and your panda "pillow pet". You do not need to be "rescued" immediately from waking up which gives mommy a chance to wake up before we begin our day together. We hear you talking and singing to your "friends" in the crib over the monitor. Precious.

You are OBSESSED with your "boat" and "plane" DVDs as well as the Toy Story series. You have multiple Buzz and Woody characters/figures that usually accompany us on any outing and occupy most of your time while playing at home (excluding this week---see above).

When it comes to being out in the community (like at My Gym and Music Together) you tend to act shy and reserved. You insist on being held during dances/music time. At the gym where you are SUPPOSED to be active, you stick to the more calm activities such as the stairs, slide, ball pit and ladder. Here at home you love to jump on the couch and you get wild and silly----not at My Gym! That being said, you are very comfortable during playdates with all of your "girlfriends"!

The most recent activity that you are showing an interest in is "the potty". You talk about it, you point to it and this week you started asking to sit on it. I guess it is time to start thinking about potty training!

Oh and by the way----I love that you call me "Mama". We love you, lovey!

Projects from Eva's House

This is just two of the many reasons why I love that Eva takes care of Mikey while I'm at work.

Check this out......

He planted GRASS!!





Today he came home with a "Mikey original---a hand-painted drum with a mallet. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!




Last week was the first time that Mikey was able to answer an open-ended question about Eva's house.

Mommy: "Who did you play with today at Eva's?"
Mikey: "Miles....trucks"!
Mommy: "You played trucks with Miles?"
Mikey: "YEAH!"

YAY!!

GO BRUINS!

Thanks for my jersey, Uncle Mark! I LOVE it! Let's go Bruins!!

Day 5: In the home stretch

Mikey and I were wiped out today. We spent the morning cuddling on the couch watching Toy Story and eating cereal!

This afternoon we got our act together and headed for two errands: haircut for Mikey and grocery shopping. Both were difficult experiences but we made it though!

Doesn't he look handsome?!?



This afternoon we are just going to relax, cook dinner and finish up the laundry. You know, exciting stuff. Maybe we'll hit up Dairy Joy for some ice cream...mmmm.

We are looking forward to Daddy coming home tonight! Yay! We are almost complete again!

Day 4: Boot Camp and Boys!

This morning we were up bright and early to go to the gym for Boot Camp and "hockeeeeey".

It was the perfect afternoon for a bike ride:





Tonight our babysitter Nicole is coming over to watch Mikey so Mommy can go to the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB) concert!

Woo-hoo!

Happy Saturday!

Day 3: Tour of Brighton

Mommy's car got hit in the parking lot at the mall on Tuesday (very minor damage), so stop #1 of the day was to Allston Collision---whom we have used three times in the last three years! Someone has to keep them in business! :)

After the estimate, I took Mikey to our old neighborhood of Brighton.

We went to watch the trains:






We had some lunch.


We fed the ducks and walked around the reservoir:




He even painted his face with yogurt at dinner!




All in all it was another fun day!

Don't get the wrong impression, Michael......we miss you terribly and CANNOT wait to have you home on Sunday night! xoxo Mama and Mikey

Day 2: Fun at the Zoo

Thanks to our friends Leah and Ruby (and Kieran), we had a wonderful day out at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston! I think I will let the pictures explain it all......

Daddy Goes to Texas: Day 1

Daddy has been EXTREMELY busy fulfilling his CEO duties of the "New Dental Group" (name yet to be established). His recent project is working on building out the five dental offices and he is quickly finding out how expensive this can get. He found a 4 day conference in San Antonio, Texas that deals with this exact issue---and how to do it for less.

Daddy left for Texas at 12:15 pm on Wednesday. By 4:45 Mikey was already given his first "time out" EVER (for throwing), Mommy was bleeding (Mikey pulled the "cage" down and it fell along the back of my leg/heel) and tornado warnings were all over the news (3 actually hit about 30 miles from here). Great timing, Michael.

Mikey and I stuck it out together (eating dinner helped) and then snuggled on the couch during the biggest thunderstorm of both of our lives. Intense rain, wind, thunder and lightening fell upon us for about 30 minutes while we tried to distract ourselves by watching the Bruins play in the Stanley Cup finals.

The amount of devastation that occurred in the Western and Central parts of Massachusetts is a lot greater than my struggles with an active two-year-old and our hearts really go out to the families affected.

Here's to hoping Thursday is a brighter day for all of us.....