Table Talk

We love table talk. We use our dinner time to recap our day.

We sat down for dinner and I had a tablecloth on the table, we usually use placemats. Marco was eating and all of a sudden he exclaims, "MAMA! Where the table go???!" I cracked up. Then, he lifted up the tablecloth and said, "Ooh! It hiding Mama."


He also saves his best tattling for dinner time. "What did you do today?" "Aliyah bite me. Aliyah got time out." "Do you get time out?" "No! I play legos with Brookie."
We've also been giving the big boy cup a go. Not a great idea, but I push through because they match his plates. And isn't that what it's all about?

Sarah Stecher

That's right. I babysat three kids. Sure, it's not four, and sure, it amounted to about three awake hours tops, but still. I channeled Alba and Shawna and I rocked it. Alas, Olive was not spared the third child syndrome - no pics.

One puke, two poops, three chicken nuggets and a handful of french fries later, I poured myself a glass of chardonnay and watched TV. Jeff came home and said, "Oh? You're babysitting tonight?"

Marco's new barbeque (Auntie M and the Cecchins broke the no gift rule) was a huge hit with the boys. Marco manned the tongs and Niko provided direction. I can't count the amount of time they spent saying "Niko, it's ready?" "No, Maco, close the top." "It's ready Niko! It's hot. I blow on it." "Maco, I take a bite."

They're nearly rivaling the amount of time Tyke and Jeff have spent in front of the grill. (Substitute the milk for beers and the PJs for cargo shorts obviously.)

Ignore the background noise of Olive crying at the State of the Union address. She learned that from her father. I almost put on Fox News to calm her down.

Shh... don't tell anyone, but I think it may actually be more work watching Jeff, Taki and Heather.

Sunny Oregon

Compared to our pouring California rain this week, our weekend in Oregon was sunny and beautiful. We had a last minute cheap ticket offer from Allegiant Air (never heard of it either) that we couldn't resist and headed up to see the cousins.

Marco and Katie got along so well. We relaxed, cooked, ate, drank and really enjoyed our time together. We even got out for a fancy dinner!! The kids were so good, minus theeee most giant dinner table burp from Marco. Ug. Classy. He wanted pizza, but they didn't have that so he settled for papardelle with lamb ragu. Life is all about sacrifice.

Thank you Sullivans for a great visit!

Happy Birthday Handsome.

How old are you?
"I have two!!"

All about our two year old:

Marco is a good sleeper, an early riser, a good eater and a companion who's up for anything. He talks. A lot. He's loves reading, singing, listening to "his music" at night, "riding" his bike, playing his choo-choo trains, climbing and, of course, watching Dora. He never misses an opportunity to help Mama cook, to play with water, to take a bath or to streak through the house naked. Marco is truly a lover. He loves his friends and family and he has a special heartfelt greetings for Mama, Dada, grandparents and neighbors.

Cliche, yes, but we can't believe how the time has flown by.

Marco fits us perfectly. We can't wait for the next adventure.

The student becomes the teacher.

Marco continues to outwit me. Recent conversations:

"Mama, I want get haircut again."
"Oh Marco! You like your haircut?"
"Um, yeah and I looove pop!" (lollipop)

"Mama, I want go to Brookie's house."
"No Marco, we're not going to Brookie's house."
"Okay. I want go Jack's house."
"Uh, no Marco, we're not going to Jack's house."
"Um, okay, I want go to Katie's house?"

and I leave you with this genius strategy which I'm trying to incorporate at work...

"Mama, I want watch Dora."
"You want to watch Dora?"
"GOOD IDEA MAMA!!"

And here's a Christmas pj photo of Marco and his cousins that displays his unwavering devotion to the "pop."
(No, that is not a doll! That is our new niece, sweet baby Lucy.)

"W" for Wilhelmina

Marco totally neglects Willa on his blog. She came over for pasta, stickers and some kissing this weekend, so I thought I'd fill you full of Willa shots from over the past year. Willa has a little sister arriving in March and we can't wait to meet her.

Marco's new perfected hobby is the tattle tale. I heard girl screaming from the other room, but it was just Marco. Ha. "Wulla push me." We had to explain that Willa was a girl and even though Marco uses a hot pink Dora loofah and asks for flowers for Christmas, he's going to have to man up and drop the tattling. I think he got the picture.

Marco left Willa's parents with a little treat... teaching her to jump off the couch both-feet style. I'm sure they'll think twice before accepting a dinner invite again. I just just totally picture them 16 and it's so scary. Here are the older shots .

Mini-Jeff

I'm starting to see a slight resemblance.

Shhhh...

CUIDADO! Poop talk to follow.

I wouldn't tell just anyone this, but as my secret friend, guess who poo-pooed and pee-peed on the potty? (Hint: Not Jeff.)

I'm about as ready for potty training as I am the big boy bed, but why did I nearly shed a tear? I could tell Marco was caught up in the emotional moment too, "Where my poo poo go? Gone - I flush it big boy! Yeah!!"

Cousin Club

One rule: Cupcake devotion.

(Clearly, Joey's relationship with cupcakes is love/hate.)

My son the dork?

Cool Tops for Tots in Oakland basically told me that I'm making my kid a dork. Like those parents that make their kids were pony tails or jean jackets because they think it's still in style.

Anyway, looking around the place at all the shaggy-haired boys, I asked if anyone cut their kids' hair short like Marco's. He said, "No, Marco's is the only hair that I cut short. The other boys wear a longer style."

Great - I'm 'that' Mom.

You be the judge. Before and after.

Two years, two shots, too cute.

We had Marco's 2-year checkup this week. Doc was counting the words in his sentences. She says at this age, he should have two- to three-word sentences. When we got in the room, Marco told me he wanted to wash his hands and take off his diaper. Ha. I told him the doctor was going to do that. So, when she came in, he smiled and said, "Please wash my hands?" Then he told her, "We go doctor's house and play with doctor's tooooooys!?" She was impressed. Obviously.

Blah, blah, alright, bring on the stats. Well, apparently, Marco has been losing weight.

Weight: 29.5 pounds - 75th percentile (down a half a pound from his 18 month)

Height: 2' 10" - 45th percentile

Head: A mere 75th percentile

He got one shot in each leg. The first shot was met with "No." and the second got a "No! No!!" He got two bandaids to which he begrudgingly said, "Thank you for my stickers."

Ho ho how about my new camera?

For Christmas, I got a Mom camera. That is, a fancy camera to take pictures of my adorable child. Here are a few. Don't panic Grammy, but does anyone else recognize the Andreotti gap here?

How great do these pics look? I mean, quality. Content is a little lacking.
I know what you're thinking when you see this picture. Marco needs a haircut.

This is Marco's new favorite spot while we cook, "Mama, I want sit up here." For the Gilroy gift exchange, Jeff got this giant container of pistachios. Marco has learned how to open them himself. "Mama, I want eat Dada's nuts." I know, incredibly juvenile, but hysterical.

Artsy eh?

Mount Everest

Jeff has been scheming on what will be Marco's "thing." Perhaps a young mountain climber? This week, he has climbed my dresser, his changing table and this rock wall at the Park (with absolutely no help from his on-hand mother).

I mean, I have to assume that eating three ribs, french fries and green beans for lunch means that he's in training.This weekend was also marked with a (quite literal) bang when Marco climbed out of his crib INSIDE his sleepsack.