5 on Friday

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

5. Last Saturday, as we were driving to New Jersey, each time we went over a bump, Marino would ask Evan and I, "You okay, guys?"

4. On Monday, when I was saying goodbye to him at daycare, he said "Mommy, you say bye to Shi Shi!" (Shi Shi = Sharon, his beloved daycare director)

3. On Tuesday, we were on our way to visit Marino's Grandma. When we drove past our exit on the highway, Marino said "Bye bye, my house. See you tomorrow! I going to Grandma's house." I was pretty amazed he recognized our exit!

2. On Monday when we pulled up to our house, he said "Gramma's here!" I told him she wasn't and he asked "Gramma and Grampa Ray be here later?" (unfortunately, they live in NY, so I had to say no). Check out this cute picture of my mom and Marino watching Madagascar and snuggling the last time she visited...
1. Conversation on Thursday morning's commute:

Marino: "I the boss" ::mischievous smile::
Me: "No, Mommy's the boss."
Marino: "Daddy's the boss."
Me: "Mommy is the boss."
Marino: "Gramma is the boss."
Me: "No, Mommy is the boss."
Marino: "You not the boss!" ::looks out the window:: "TREE is the boss!"
Me: "No, tree is not the boss. Mommy is the boss."
Marino: ::looks out the window again:: "CAR is the boss!"
Me: "Nope. Mommy is the boss."
Marino: ::looks out the window:: "A TRUCK! A TRUCK is the boss!"

Siena's 1st Birthday Party

Last weekend we went to New Jersey to celebrate Siena's 1st birthday! This was by far the best road trip I've taken with Marino. Our portable DVD player was stolen earlier this month (along with my GPS which I had to replace), so I wasn't sure how this trip would be without that entertainment. Marino quietly looked out the window for an hour, then took a nice long nap, woke happy and sang and danced in the car with Daddy. It was wonderful!

Siena's party was at Etsch Farms in Monroe Township and was so much fun. It was a great day - not freezing, but chilly enough to feel like Fall. The leaves had changed much more there than where we live and it was just gorgeous. The staff at Etsch Farms were really nice and helpful.

The birthday girl, Siena

That face is too much - she's just adorable!

Happy Birthday, Nena! We love you!!

Wrenford and Rachel surprised us all by coming for the party. They are moving to Miami next week and we thought we wouldn't get a chance to see them before they left. These 2 just tied the knot in August (which we unfortunately missed since I was violently ill from my Topamax).
Another face I love - Catalina

They had some animals to feed. My dad said he thinks Marino sees more farm animals than most farmers!

Siena and Cat's Papi feeding the animals. He looks totally different - I've never seen him with short hair!

Corn box. Marino is making a crazy face but he loved playing with this little boy.

They had a bunch of different houses for the kids to play in. They loved them!

Bernadette and Jay - love birds. Welcome to the crew, Jay!!

The staff helped the kids decorate pumpkins. Cat was so cute. She said "I want to draw a monster". As she was drawing, the girls who worked there said "Oh, that's a scary monster." Cat said "No, I don't want a scary monster. I want a nice monster."

Marino was in love with this glitter...he really enjoyed dumping glitter all over his pumpkin!

The boy and I on the hayride (which was super fun because it was just our group).

Siena wasn't walking the last time I saw her and I got such a kick out of seeing her walk everywhere. She's this teeny tiny thing but she is on the move!!

She wasn't sure what to make of "Happy Birthday"

Sonia and Sabrina made Marino an egg-free cupcake - so sweet!

Siena and I snuggling

Sabrina and Bernadette

Love their smiles in this picture

Love these girls!!

After the party we went to Sonia's to play. We convinced the kids to (momentarily) wear their pumpkin hats.

Getting them to all look the same way at the same time was a different story!

The funniest part of the day: Marino got a timeout for biting me (which happens periodically when he is completely overtired and loosing it). Cat asked Sonia why Marino was crying and Sonia told her, "Marino is in timeout. Sometimes, even though we love each other, we need a little break from each other...a little space and time apart." 10 minutes later as we were leaving, Marino went to give Cat a hug. "Marino, I need a break," she said. "I need space and I'm taking a break right now." Oh, I was dying. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe!

These kids are so fun - I love them!!

Pumpkinville

Last Sunday (I told you I was behind on blogging!), Jen and I took the kids to Pumpkinville at Leesburg Animal Park. Any parent of a toddler knows there are days where you just think "What am I doing wrong?!" This was definitely one of those days (mixed in with cute and endearing moments as well). It started with me driving 20 miles out of the way because my GPS wanted me to take a ferry there. Boats are not my friend, and I didn't realize that's where we were headed until a little boat icon popped up on my GPS. By then I had to turn around and drive to the highway.

Marino and Sydney got to ride on a hayride by themselves, which they really enjoyed.

They also enjoyed chasing some turkeys.

This picture cracks me up because they are chasing one turkey into the bush when there is another one right behind them!
Marino made a new best friend in this sheep.

He kept following the sheep around with one hand on its back saying "I love you, the sheep"

He loved this big pig, too.

Racing with Sydney

More turkey chasing

This bouncy slide was the cause of a dramatic scene. To get to the top, the kids had to climb a rope set of "steps". Marino had trouble with it and there ended up being a line of parents cheering him on to get to the top. As you can see, he was quite pleased with himself when he got there.

The slide must have been worth all the trouble.

Before I could grab him, he ran back to the steps, cutting all the kids in line, so he could go down the slide again! I had to apologize to all the kids.

Happy Noah...he's always willing to pose for me:)

Jen and Noah checking out the camel.

This is when the true madness began. You see that fence keep the camel from stepping on toddlers? I turned my head for a minute and suddenly Marino was in the fence with the camel!! The fence was too high to climb over and too low to climb under.

The reason for him climbing the fence was this baby pig, who looked exactly like "Babe", also known as Marino's favorite movie. He was saying "come here, the pig."

I was, of course, yelling for him to come (Jen grabbed the camera to take pictures of the ridiculousness). He knew he was in trouble so he kept shaking his head and saying "no."

Mommy yelling.

He finally got close enough that I could pull him over the shorter fence. Ugh!! I was so scared/mad/embarrassed!

As you can see, we quickly made up.

Sydney fell in love with the pig, too (it came out from the fence)

Enjoying some apple cidar

Cheers!