1st Grade

Sigh.

At his checkup, Marco's Doctor asked him if he was ready for first grade.  His answer was a 5-minute dissertation on why he likes school, why he's good at math, how he practices math, how he catches fish on his Papa's boat, why he's good at bike riding and more.  I told her our main concern was his shyness.

I don't know how much longer we get to measure our child by stats, so here goes:
83% for weight, 74% for height, teeth: few.

(photo credit and stand-in fairy: Grandma Cecchin)

Whoosh, St. Mary's.

Marco and Jeff rocked an overnight Father/Son basketball camp at St. Mary's.  So cool!

As if staying overnight in the dorms, pizza AND a hamburger at one sitting, a bonding experience with your Dad and non-stop basketball wasn't enough - Joey and Uncle Tim were there too.  Marco's mind was blown.

And only one of them came home limping.  All in all, a success.

The Other Half

Earlier this year, we "won" a week-long family pass to the Club at the Claremont Hotel.  Originally, I had planned to take a whole week off, but in the wake of my new job, I couldn't swing that, so we settled for a long weekend celebrating Father's Day.  Marco got to have a slew of friends and cousins with him during that time, so he was thrilled. We also finally got to play tennis "on a real court," which Marco has been talking about for months.  We're looking forward to getting him into lessons soon.
 
And here's our proof of how the other half lives:

Welcome to the Rock

For Benny's 6th birthday, Marco was invited to a rock climbing party!  Although he did spend some time wistfully watching the basketball party next door, he really enjoyed scaling the rock walls, hanging from ropes and, his favorite, free climbing. "It really hurts your hands!"

Baby's First Tie

(Pictured with his friend Xander at the Spring Program)