Goooooal!

With a name like Marco and a weekend full of sunny days, we figured we should start practicing.

With lots of sun, deck time was in order. We literally spent the whole weekend out there (making some time for homemade sausage... homemade pizza... and ribs!) In fact, Marco fell asleep eating ribs. Ha! Regrettably, no pics. I mean, I can sleep anywhere, but he really took it to a whole new level. We found him a soft cushion and parked him in the shade for a nap.

Happy Anniversary!

Barbara and Art are celebrating their 35th anniversary today! Congratulations and we love you!

And Jeff remembered this all by himself. (Cough, Meredith.)

The traditional 35th anniversary gift is coral, but since that isn't readily available in Oakland, we decided to gift what is - Marco! He's yours, you choose the time. (Sounds an awful lot like a gift for us, huh?)

In the most recent family photo, I looked like I ate part of the family, so instead I present you with this one from our wedding, 2005. As a bonus, $5 to whoever notices what's missing from this picture.
All our love for a fantastic 35th! You don't look a day over 21. Kiss!

Deck Days Remix '09 featuring Marco

Here is a reminder of my favorite video.

And here is the current version 45 days later (with a little help from St. Francis.) Once again, sorry for the poor video quality.

Peek-a-who?

You got a little something on your face.

In case you needed more proof that Marco is a certified GLEC, after polishing off two pickles, he shared a salad with me. That's balsamic vinegar on his face!!

HA! Jeff is appalled by the pickles. Next thing you know, he'll be eating hard-boiled eggs and white creamy stuff to really throw Jeff into a tailspin.

No picture, no pub, no pizza

The Parkway Speakeasy Theatre is closing!! No more picture? No more pub? No more pizza with weird uncooked onions in it?

Our local cheap movie theatre with food, beer and wine is closing and I'm devastated. Obviously we weren't frequenting it enough to keep it afloat, but I just loved it there.

Enjoy these photos of happier times on second hand couches at the Baby Brigade. Think Green's Day's "Time of Your Life" music for the overdone, totally obvious song selection in your mind.

Parkway, my old friend, you will be remembered.

The Luck of the 1/32nd Irish

Marco had friends over for St. Patrick's Day. (We did too.)

We enjoyed corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and Jeff's homemade Irish Soda Bread. If that impresses you, do not go to Poseidon's blog. Oh, and we did make some macaroni and cheese too. :) Because Marco is a pure 1/32 Irishman, he stuck to the Irish essentials, minus the beer.

Here's the shocking truth:

I'm just resting my eyes.

Is this sad or hysterical? Either way, it got him a lot of attention at Lucky's!
Happy St. Patrick's Day! May the luck of the 1/32nd Irish be with you today!

Miss Olive Romios

Our newest friend...She's so pretty and dark. I think we'll envy her tan and her black rocker hair. Very Karen O.

I even changed her diaper - fourth person's diaper I've ever changed. And only the second with girl parts!

(Jeff made me wait to post pics until after Heather did.)

It's twins!

Did I have anyone fooled with that title? Did you think Heather had surprise twins?

We had twins! We had the pleasure of hosting Nikos while Heather and Taki went to the hospital and here's the proof. Jeff says, "Uh, two kids is a lot." I told him, "This isn't having two kids, this is like having twins!"

The only difference with Niko being 7 months older is that he knows what he wants and can verbalize it. Chicken? "No no no." Broccoli? "No no no." Bath? "Baff!" Toys? "Back-et-BALL!" Niko is an absolute gentleman and even went so far as to share his food with Marco. Especially the chicken and broccoli. Marco was stoked, I think the forced BFF plan is working. So there you go.

Here's the proof:

Welcome Baby Romios!

Baby Romios is here! She IS a girl. Name is forthcoming.

I'll let Heather make her announcement, but I've been getting lots of calls and texts, so thought I'd start it a little... 7lbs. 1oz., 20 3/4 inches, full head of dark dark hair. Two pounds heavier than Niko and a completely different color hair!

Baby Girl looks gorgeous in the one pic I've seen and we can't wait to meet her.

She had an exciting entry into the world, I think she'll be the rebel in the family. Mom and baby are doing fine now. I'll be seeing her today and update you soon.

In more calm news, Marco had his first sleepover guest, Nikos! They slept in cribs in Marco's room and everyone was perfect. I'll post pics of that tonight.

Welcome Baby Romios!

Get out of my dreams and into my car.

And for more new Brooke and Marco pics, check out the D'Angelo blog. While you're there, note his new haircut.

Chiquita Banana

Daycare is really worried that Marco doesn't like fruit. Except n-nanas, he rejects all fruit. He doesn't really like sweet or tart things. She says that he'll just get pickier from here on out, so she's basically tricking him into eating fruit. Ha. Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a problem? Like, have you ever heard of an adult who refuses fruit? Or, a child who starves because they refused to eat fruit?

Last night, Marco ate a man-size portion of turkey sauteed with onions and green chiles (spicy!) and veggies including corn, peas, green beans, lima beans and carrots. When I lift him up (he calls it "down") I have to make an audible grunt. And with cheeks like this, I just can't worry about his eating habits. :) And yes, we're cutting his hair again soon. Note: Must work monthly hair cuts into the budget for this kid.

These are all from Riley Barulich's first birthday party (another one of his lady friends). I'm becoming quite the photo thief.

Not only did Riley's party mark his first solo bouncy house experience, but it was the first time, he just cruised around a party entirely by himself. Another milestone is that he didn't eat any of that bark you see behind him. Ha!

In other mouth news, teeth 8 and 9 have appeared, so I'm calling the tooth count quits. The End.

Friends in Valley places

We hung with our Sactown homies this weekend. Here's Marco with his friend Jack. Even though Jack is older, I think he was pretty intimidated by the black eye, so Marco didn't get bullied.
Judging by that shirt, he came straight from a rugby game. And judging by his black eye and those thighs, he played in the scrum. From now on when he climbs stairs we're probably going to tape his ears. (It's like this whole blog has taken a Greg theme.)Horrible shot of me, but an accurate portrayal of Marco's kisses. Imagine it with a mouthful of Cheerios. Smooch!
Before bed...

(Photos courtesy of Gina - bite!)