Family, Friends and Bounce Houses

Grammy Deb recently moved to Virginia, which will be a big change for us...she was living 2 miles away and now she's 90 minutes away! On Sunday, we headed over to her new house for breakfast with some of the family, including Pop Pop (Marino's great grandfather), who was in town for his 72nd birthday. We had lots of fun seeing everyone, as usual. Later that afternoon, we went to visit my preemie mom friend, Megan, and her new (full-term!) baby, Adam. He was so precious and snuggly. Simon, looking serious. He and Marino had a great time jumping off the couches onto these foam mats Megan has for Simon - such a great idea! Monday, Marino's daycare was closed for a professional day. We headed out to Kids N Motion in Woodbridge for a playdate with Sydney and Noah. The kids had an awesome time there and even Mommy rode down a few bouncy slides! The staff there were really great, too...I love when I go somewhere and they seem to truly enjoy interacting with the kids. I love people who love my kid!

Sydney is so adorable...here she said "I want Sara to take my picture." Oh, how I wish my own child would say such a thing!!

Noah driving the train.

Noah and Jen

Sorry for all the blurriness...my battery was dying in my camera.

After bouncing, we headed to Chik-Fil-A for lunch and more playtime. Such a fun day!

Sunny Days

I am way behind on the blog, so bear with me - lots of pictures in this post! The weekend before last, Evan, Marino and I headed out to Guapos at the Rio to celebrate some of our friends birthdays. My camera battery died, but my friend Gina captured some great shots (I really love this one of Marino and I).

Melanie (one of the birthday girls, who is headed to basic training soon) and sister Crystal, getting in the celebratory mood... After we ate, we headed across the lake to the playground at the Rio. I never knew this playground existed, but it is a very cool one, and is almost entirely fenced in, which I appreciate.

After we got home, my cousin Miranda came by with her daughters and my Aunt Kerry and cousin Sam. Marino was very excited to show his cousin Pacey his big boy room - they had a lot of fun in there! Can I just say how surreal it is when Marino has friends come over and they disappear in his room to play by themselves? When did my boy grow up?!

Pacey likes to wrestle, so she and Marino are a good match!

The next morning, Miranda and the girls and our family friend, Patti, and her daughter Madelyn came over to play. It was reasonably warm (we probably have low standards as a result of cabin fever), so we headed outside to the playground and the lake to run around. The kids had a great time...it's so cool to see how much fun children have just running around outside.

This sitting didn't last long.

Marino likes swings again this year (he hated them last spring/summer). Madelyn and Marino checking things out at the lake.

Madelyn likes swings, too.

Looking forward to many more warm days and playdates soon!

5 on Friday - Brendan Edition

So, my brother, Brendan, is NOT having the best week ever. I'll spare you the scary details, but he just got out of the ICU last night (a week after his surgery). He's still in the Oncology unit and is finally recovering.

In honor of Brendan, below are 5 ways that Marino reminds me of Brendan.

5. They both love race cars. Every time Marino sees a sporty looking (or red) car he asks "Is that a race car? No? It's just a car?" and sighs a dejected sigh.

4. Now that Marino is in preschool, he comes home with very similar looking drawings every day. When I ask him what they are, he always says "Its a road...the cars go so fast, round and round." Brendan is similarly focused on roads (although he prefers motorcycles these days).

3. They are both sensitive. If ever I want to torture Brendan, I just mention the time he didn't come to get me on the bus in elementary school. The real story is that, due to snow, the school kept the morning kindergartners a little late, so they could bus everyone home together for an early dismissal. At the time, I was in kindergarten and Brendan was in 6th grade. They announced for the upper classes to go escort any siblings from the lower classes to the bus. I waited and waited but Brendan never showed. Of course, he thought I had left (it was well past the time I normally would have gone home). Regardless, he feels guilty anytime I mention this. Marino is similar in this regard. He hates to see people (real or on tv) feeling sad (especially me!).

2. I used to think Brendan talked more than anyone else in the world. Then Marino started talking, and he hasn't stopped since! That boy talks himself to sleep and wakes us up in the middle of the night having full conversations. Hopefully, Brendan will be his chatty self again soon!

1. One of the favorite Brendan stories in our family is that when Brendan was a toddler, he would yell, "No, stop, don't put me in the oven" when he didn't want to go to bed (my parents lived in a thin-walled apartment). Marino has started similar tactics, saying things like "You're hurting on me" ,"Stop punching me" and "You're making me cry" when I am attempting innocent tasks like buckling his car seat or putting him to bed.

Mommy and Mino's Big Abenture - Part 3

On the last day of our adventure, we headed to Sprout Creek Farm in Lagrange. Sprout Creek is a working farm with lots of cool events, including teaching opportunities for kids and opportunities for adults to stay over and learn about farm life. They also have a small shop where you can sample their homemade cheese. My mom and Ray and Sonia and Cat met us there. The kids loved seeing the animals and running around.

The cows were trying to stay warm - it was pretty chilly.

We eventually got in big trouble with the nuns that run the place for this...Marino chasing the guinea hens. It was not malicious.

How cute is Cat?
The shop on the farm (fresh meat, milk, cheese, organic soaps)

Important discussion about where to run next

Ray made friends with the goats

They were very cute (and very itchy)

Marino kept telling the chickens "Don't go! Stay with me!"

After a nap and an early dinner with Gramma and Grampa Ray, Marino and I headed home to see Daddy and Max. Can't wait for our next adventure!