Trip to Myrtle Beach

Last week, Marino and I were lucky enough to join our friends Jen and Sydney in Myrtle Beach for 5 days. We drove down by ourselves (Jen and Sydney had been there the week prior) which took a long time (10 hours because of traffic) but we survived. It was a really fun, relaxing vacation and we have a lot of great memories of Sydney and Marino playing together and Jen and I staying up late having girl talk.

Since I missed my 5 on Friday last week, I'll try and highlight some of the funny moments from the week. Sydney and Marino fought like cats and dogs but could be found hugging and holding hands 30 seconds later. It was really nice for them to have each other on this trip and they really loved playing in the sand and the ocean together (and the bouncy houses).

Exhibit A: Play Fighting

Exhibit B: Love

The place where we stayed was gorgeous and it has access to a private beach. I can't remember the last time I was on a beach with no crowds. It was great since the kids could run free and we could keep an eye on them without having to search through a crowd.

Last year, Marino was afraid of waves. This year he liked them (as long as I was holding him). Every time a wave came (I waded up to my waist, so the waves would cover us when they came), he would scream with pure delight and say "Whoa! Big splash" and then say "more ocean." I have such a great picture in my mind of he and Sydney and their big smiles when the waves came.

Another cool thing was that with each wave, little fish would come to the shallowest part of the water, so if you looked closely (and quickly), you could find lots of fish.

We had lots of time to relax on this vacation (thankfully, since I ended up being pretty sick for a lot of it). We let the kids stay up late and they both slept until 9:30am every morning, which was a treat for Jen and I. They did a good job of entertaining each other (and us).

Tuesday evening, we went over to Broadway where they have lots of shops, restaurants, and rides for the kids. This was the first time Marino went on amusement park rides and he did really well. We tried out this whale "rollercoaster", which he loved because it had a buzzer he could press. Sydney and Jen enjoyed it, too.

They also had an entire section of different bouncy houses (or "Bumpy's Houses", as Marino calls them). The kids loved it!

We also rode the carousel, which Marino enjoyed this time (the last few carousel rides he has been afraid).

This was the biggest excitement for Marino. He couldn't get enough of this bird. He actually insisted we leave the bouncy houses so he could "say hi to the birdie". He was so excited to talk to the bird, you couldn't understand a word he said; he was talking a mile a minute. The whole rest of the night he kept telling us "Mino say hi to the birdie!"
Sydney is much more brave than Marino is in the pool. Marino was pretty nervous until Jen gave him the idea to pretend to be Buzz Lightyear jumping into the pool ("To infinity...and beyond") and then he got a little more brave. Then he saw Sydney and Jen playing ring around the rosey in the pool and forget it. The 4 of us must have played that about 700 times, each time dunking Marino under which would make him just howl with laughter.

Before we left, Jen had left the house to put some things in the car. Sydney was crying for Jen and Marino said "Sydney, Mommy be right back. I sorry." When she kept crying he asked me "Where did mother of Sydney go?"

This girl is so adorable by the way. And smart. She's fully potty trained and she gets dressed (underwear and all) by herself, and puts on lotion! And, she loves to read. If you read her a book, she will "read" it back to you, making up her own story. She's such a sweetie!

Unfortunately, we did have to go back home and leave our beach vacation behind. On the way home, Sydney woke up from a nap after Marino did. When she woke, Marino turned to her and said "shhh....Sydney, go night night. Just close eyes." We had lots of laughs on the way home - Jen is very skilled in the art of entertaining toddlers in the car and she did a good job of keeping everyone happy and sane on the way home.

Jen and Sydney, thanks so much for having us! Can't wait to go back next year!!

A Mother's Love

Marino and I are on vacation right now - one that we had planned for a couple of months with my friend Jen and her daughter Sydney. Unfortunately, this means we are not in Maryland today to be there for my friend Kristal for one of the most difficult days of her life. Today, Kristal and her husband have to say goodbye to their son Christian. You may recall me mentioning that Kristal had a very difficult pregnancy and endured great discomfort and exhaustion in the hospital for weeks to make it to 25 weeks in her pregnancy, at which point she had to deliver Christian on May 29th.

Christian was quite the fighter from the beginning of his life. I had the privilege of meeting him the day after he was born and it was pretty amazing. Kristal and I really bonded even more in our friendship in only the way mothers of premature babies can. Although Christian's journey was sure to be tougher than Marino's was, most mothers have never been through extended hospital stays with a child like NICU moms. We talked often about the highs and the lows as Christian grew.

Unfortunately, at the end of the week before last, Christian took a turn for the worse. An infection, coupled with a surgery attempt, proved to be too much for him. Kristal and Kris held their boy as he became an angel at just 11 weeks old.

Today, is Christian's funeral and I wish that I could be there for Kristal. I know how much she loved her boy and how badly she wanted just to be here. I remember talks we had in the hospital about the worst case scenario and this was it - losing him. Kristal just wanted her boy with her. I shared this poem with her last weekend, and I wanted to share it here as well, in memory of Christian and a mother's love:

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
-ee cummings

Kristal, Kris and Gabby, we are thinking of you today and praying for strength and peace for you. Good night, sweet Christian.

5 on Friday

As always, here are 5 special reasons I am loving my boy this week:

5. On Saturday, my dad, stepmother, Evan and I were all in the living room with Marino (which Marino calls "the big room"). Marino was doing a snake impression and going around to everyone saying "now you do it". Then he decided he wanted us all to do it together - a symphony of snakes - and announced "Everybody do it! SSSSSSSSSSS"

4. On Sunday, while my Dad and Barb were over, Marino was jumping off the couch. I asked him about 765 times to stop jumping off the couch. He stopped leaping and started modifying it to more of a fall off the couch and told me "I stepping"...apparently "stepping" off the couch is not the same as "jumping" off the couch.

3. August is dinosaur month at daycare (Marino loves dinosaurs) and yesterday when we arrived, they were dinosaur tracks on the floor. The Director, Sharon (ShiShi) asked Marino if he wanted to go find the dinosaur (aka actually let Mommy get out the door without a meltdown) and he put his hand up to his mouth and said "ooooh scary!!"

2. For the first time ever, Marino asked me on Thursday, "What do you call this?" (he has obviously asked me that before but not in such a direct way). And of course, I didn't know the answer! The object he had in his hand was one of those spiky balls but it was flat on one side. So here I was saying "um..." and he was trying to help me "Ball? Circle" Finally, I said "It's half a ball". How is the boy stumping me with questions already?!

1. He has learned his bedtime prayers well enough that he can say a modified version of them on his own now. The other night after he did the full version, he did a second version on his own (stall bedtime tactic). He ended he prayer with"bless Mommy, bless Daddy, bless tv."

Visiting with Friends and Family

On Saturday, we got a chance to visit with our friends, Jess and Olando, who we hadn't seen in 2 years. Now, these friends only live an hour away, but we both have 2 year olds and some how having 2 year olds and visiting hadn't ended up happening until now. They also have a 3 month old baby, Emelia.

How cute is she?!

Marino got a hold of Jess' phone and decided to "take a picture"
Olivia was really enjoying Marino's drum set. She and baby sis Emelia look just alike!

Gorgeous girls!

My friend Gina also came by with her kids and then my dad and stepmother came down from New York to visit us (or Marino anyway). Busy day but we had a great time!

Sunday, my dad and Barb came over again and my cousin Miranda also came over with her daughter, Pacey. Marino and Pacey had a great time playing and dancing.

Marino and Pacey are normally no good for picture taking, but for some reason, out of no where, this day the decided to ham it up for the camera, so I took advantage and took a bunch of pictures of them being silly! It just so happened them were both wearing Zingo Tots initial tees, too!

Marino with his Pap Pap and Grammy Barb

5 on Friday

As always, here are 5 special reasons I am loving my boy this week:

5. Evan has been fishing a lot this summer and Marino is very interested in this. Every time Evan comes home with his fishing pole, Marino will say "Daddy, you catch a fishy?"
4. Evan has been teaching Marino to say prayers at bedtime. It's honestly the most adorable thing to hear him say "I pway the Lwod my soul to take."

3. Marino has been calling himself "Mino" forever, but he's now very interested in names and if you ask him what his name is, he will say "Ma...wino." He also calls me "Sawa" if I don't respond to "Mommy" quickly enough.

2. Marino loves to climb (and jump), which, naturally, results in a lot of falls and bumps. His new thing is, before you even get a chance to ask, he'll shout "Mino's okay!" anytime he falls.

1. At dinner with our preemie friends last Friday, Marino asked the waiter "Hey Man, got ries (fries)?" He calls all men he doesn't know "man." He was not happy to hear the answer was no!