Back at the Farm.

Marco's new school only closes two non-holiday days per year!  Excellent, right?

He spent one with Grandma down at "the Farm" in Gilroy.  Marco loved the chickens, the goats and "Unc'Lenny." 

I wanted to hear all about it!  Like a typical man, I had to ask him every question to slowly and painfully puuuulll the day's events out of him. 

And again, like a man, "Can you please stop asking me so much questions, Momm?"

Here's the proof:

Relief

Does this mean we can skip "The Picture People" this year?

Sigh.

Growing Pains.

Mine, not Marco's.

We occasionally catch a glimpse of that baby: 

...Middle of the night whispers, "Mama, can you come tuck in in again?" 
...Sweet games, "Pretend I'm a baby Mama, rock me to sleep and burp me." 
...Snuggling over a movie, "Come under my blanket.  Aren't we fun together Mama?"
...After bath, "Quick Mama! Wrap me up!"

But more often, I see him being blasted into adulthood, bopping around the house with headphones on, asking for 'his own' coffee and introducing me to friends at school, "This is Enzo!  He's three and a half and I'm three and a half, so that's why we're friends!  He lives at Oakland too!"

Marco's latest teenage reaction is an immediate swipe to clean off my kisses.  Well, this Mama can't be wiped, so I cover him with looooads of kisses.  "Stop kissing on me so much Momm!"

And just when you think your baby might actually still be a baby, you take a snapshot like this.  Hmmm... it might just be the last year bathing in the cabin sink. 

All About Marco

Marco got his first homework assignment! 

It is an autobiography.  He had to fill in the blanks about himself and provide pictures.  And here's what he said:

All About Marco.
I am 3 years old.
My favorite color is blue.
My favorite animal is a nice tiger.
My favorite food is chicken.

I am from Oakland.
Great America is my favorite place.
When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.
If I had one wish, I would wish for cotton candy.

Parents' Notes: Jeff was pretty disappointed that his favorite food wasn't pizza.  And I quote, "bummer." 

I think he wants to be a teacher after spending fun days with Grandma, Papa, Uncle Tom and Auntie M. 

"Great... great... Ameeeeerica... that place Barney Grandma takes me" was his second favorite place after "this chair at the dinner table," but Jeff said that didn't count because we were sitting there. 

Sure, it's not world peace, but cotton candy is amazing too!  You can imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when Jeff bought Marco cotton candy after telling me that he would never, ever, be allowed to have cotton candy.  :)

It's the family. It's the altitude.

We spent a quick weekend up at Silver Lake for the Kroeck reunion - complete with the Oregon relatives. Marco took right away to my Aunt Claudia and Uncle Roger.

I tried to explain that Aunt Claudia was Grammy's sister, but I think it lost in the translation. He decided to simply call her "Grandma Claudia." He even woke up in the middle of the night to say, "Is Grandma Claudia still here?"

When Grammy arrived, he ran right up to her and said, "Grammy! Your friend is here!"

Here's the proof: Here's Marco in white shorts waiting for Grandma Claudia to give him a bath in the sink. Wait! Those aren't shorts!
Marco took this photo!
Other photo credits to Darcy (who needs a camera anyway?)

America the Great.

"Hi Sarah, it's Barbara, would it be okay if we kept Marco tomorrow after swim lessons and took him to Great America with the Galvins and then kept him overnight? Then I'll take him back to swim lessons and back to school the next day?"

"Um, yes."

"Mama! I went on the log ride with Uncle Tom and Auntie M. It went down a hill! And then I cried because I was scared. But then it was fun! And we got all WET!"

Wet Behind the Ears

Marco just finished swimming lessons! My secret to getting all of these important tasks accomplished is an excellent mother-in-law. My parents call her the "professional Grandma." She's equipped with car seat and snacks, always has a plan for adventure and, most importantly, she's a very good sport.

Daily for two weeks, she drove from Pacifica, picked up Marco from school, hauled him to swim lessons, played in the park and had a picnic lunch. Afterwards, she swept him back to school in time for nap. See? She's a professional.

Marco loved the swimming lessons and he's never slept so great. By the end of his session he was kicking and swimming (short distances) to Danica, his teacher. His one swimming flaw is his reluctance to keep his mouth closed when he's having fun.

And as it turns out, Marco knows how to make an exit. At the end of swimming lessons, on his last day, in the last moments, his excitement got the better of him. He drank too much pool water and yakked in the pool all over his teacher. They had to evacuate the entire pool because of biohazard, re-cholorinate and lessons were postponed for a half hour.

Lovely, I know. I felt mortified for him, but as the story goes, he barely noticed and wasn't bothered at all. Guess who else didn't notice? Dad and Grandma sitting poolside taking pictures.

He was thrilled to "graduate" from swim class and can't wait to swim, jump and kick his way through another pool (hopefully minus the biohazard).

Here are the pics, provided dutifully and daily complete with a full report by Grandma:
As much as Marco enjoyed his swimming lessons, he enjoyed his time with Grandma just as much. Every mention of a "Barney Grandma" visit is met with "YES! Can we go now?"

"Next time, Grandma will pick me up, we'll go to the big park and she won't bring me home, I'll go to her house and see Papa and Barney and to Great America. Right Momm?"

I think he's excited for their next adventure.

Changes.

This summer has been a whirlwind of change and excitement for Marco. So, in response to the weight limit, his excitement and my friends' snotty comments about his giantness in his baby seat, it was time to ditch his old seat.

We only ordered one to start and last night when I picked Marco up at school, he said, "You know what Mom!? Dad put my baby seat back in his car! Can you tell him?"


My biggest concern (as a car sleeper myself) was would he be able to sleep in it? Silly question.

The Host with the Most

I already know that Marco will be an excellent host and recently gave us a little glimpse. We were meeting the Pecorellas for pizza and ran into the D'Angelos with their friends at the same place!

When Marco's friend Sofia came in, he jumped up and put his whole hand out pointedly presenting her, palm up and loudly announced, "EVERYONE. THIS IS SOFIA - MY OLDEST FRIEND!"

Boys' Weekend

When Mama is away, the boys will play.

These are the photos Jeff texted me with their actual captions.

"Got the shin guards."
"Where boys go to lunch."

"Flirting."

"New mommy."

"It's a long story."

Seems like a pretty nice time to me. Waaay better than girls' night in Vegas, complete with cabana, 32 oz drinks (it's a good value!), a lazy river, craps and blackjack. Well... it's a tie.