5 on Friday

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

5.  Leaving the park the other day, we saw a bunny.  Marino picked up some leaves and said, "Come here little bunny, I have some nice green leaves for you." Of course, as we got closer, the bunny ran away. Marino said, "Aw, man, he must think I only have old leaves."

4.  The other day, Marino said, "Mommy, Gramma is so nice. She does all the things I want."

3.  I went backpacking for a few days in Georgia and was gone a total of 6 days. Since I've gotten home, Marino periodically says "Mommy, I missed you so much when you were hiking. I missed you for 2000 days."

2. The boy loves robins. He gets so excited every time he sees one and always tries to catch it, even though he never comes close.

1. Marino has changed a lot just in the past couple months. He was always the kid who needed a bit to warm up to people..he would sometimes be shy with kids he didn't know, but mainly with new adults. He's gotten past that and has lately took an immediately liking to people. At our friend Uli's birthday party, he waltzed right up to a couple of girls and told them his name and asked them to play. He immediately loved Joelle and Maggie, he launched right into wrestling Ryan's dad and asked Uli's dad for a piggyback ride at the park the other day. I'm fine with the cautious Marino, but its nice to see him open up and share his fun with other people. I love him so much. He truly is one of a kind.

Back at the Playground...

Memorial Day Weekend

The past week has been all about visiting with old friends, and its been amazing. 

Last week, Marino and I went to dinner with my friend Joelle and her fiance, Maggie. Joelle lives in San Francisco and I haven't had a chance to see her in many years (10 maybe?). It was so great to catch up and meet Maggie. Marino fell in love with them right away. He wanted to sit on Maggie's lap, eat dinner with her, whisper in her ear, etc. He immediately decided he loved them and it was so sweet. 

By the way, we went to the Silver Diner and between all of us and our various food limitations: 1 vegan, 1 vegetarian, 1 egg-free, 1 gluten/dairy free, we all had plenty of menu options. They've really expanded their vegetarian options! 

Saturday morning we headed to New Jersey to spend some time with my bestie Sonia and her girls. As always, the kids immediately picked up where they left off and had a great time playing and performing musical numbers for us :) 

Baby Alana will be chasing after them very soon! 

Love this picture and these kids! 

Sunday afternoon, we all  headed to Adventure Aquarium in Camden. My friend Robyn and her family met us there. We've been once before, but they've added new attractions since then and it really is the best aquarium we've been to. Its very interactive and Marino loves it! 

Here's Matthew, Ryan and Marino with Mike the Alligator. 

Marino hamming it up outside...he decided there were so many seagulls around, there must be a "seagull party" and started dancing. 

Poor Alana was cutting all her molars and not a happy girl all weekend, but she's still adorable! 

Look at that sweet face! 

Marino and Ryan waiting to touch "Splashy" the stingray with two fingers. 

Here he is! 

Cat, Nena and Marino saying hi to the penguins. 

Sonia and I

After the aquarium, we went back to Robyn's house to play. The boys had a great time together. They are like puppies, constantly pouncing on each other and wrestling. They disappeared for a bit at one point and came back like this...

Gotta love the marching band! 

We had such a great time visiting with all our old friends! 

T-Ball

Marino started playing on a t-ball league with some of his buddies last month.

They've had three games so far (one day with a double header) and he loves it. He loves hitting and playing first base (where the bulk of the action is, since the ball doesn't usually travel very far). In between hitting and playing outfield, he and his friends have lots of fun together. Here's some pictures from the past few weeks.