Off we go into the wild blue yonder...

In a bout of patriotism, Marco and I let Ali and Avery talk us into boot camp! Baby boot camp that is...

We loaded up the jogging stroller (What? I never intended to jog with it!) and headed out to Marina park in Berkeley for an hour (+!) of running, push ups, sit ups, band work and general torture. It was great! Twelve mommies trying to get back to our former hot bods. (Play along here.) Old people were cheering us on as we ran by with such taunts, er, I mean, encouraging remarks as "Go Mommies!", "You go Mommies!" and "Mother's forever!"

Marco and Avery were little angels, sleeping the whole time while we did all the work. It felt great to be outside and enjoy the beautiful views. They say you can walk, but I pretty much ran the whole time, mostly so the other mommies didn't deem me the Dumpy Mommy. You know, they go home with their mommy friends and say something like, "You know that one girl? The real dumpy one in the back of the pack that couldn't keep up?" Social pressure is definitely the way to an in-shape mommy.

So here we are. Ali is showing how fast we ran. I know it isn't nice to post this weird pic of Ali, but I figure if I can post a picture of myself that should be entitled "Sarah and her right shoulder," Ali can have a fun, silly face.

I'm definitely going back, maybe in a bikini since my face and arms got great color!

Will the 1/32nd Irish please stand?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, since Jen got a job at the Irish Cultural Center in the city, Jeff and I were left without plans on St. Patrick's Day this year after about seven years running. Since Marco is about 1/32 Irish, we felt it was our duty to celebrate the holiday among friends. I mean, if you're raising a good little Irish boy named Marco, it's practically law. He's practically a leprechaun! Please note his clover belt.

We wrangled up some corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and Irish soda bread paired with a lot of boiling water and friends. Who knew how great boiling was? (And lots of salt and butter.) Delicious!

How sweet is this?After sharing a chair, notice how Avery absconds with Marco's belt! Devious little pixie.Taki makes Black and Tans (Uncle Roger, note a pint glass. Cheers!)
A special shout out to Jack and Brooke D'Angelo, who even with a name like D'Angelo were the only other Irish folks at the party. Ha!

Fake Easter... Hoppity Hop.

Saturday, we headed down to Pacifica to celebrate Easter with the Cecchins. I know, I know. It's not really Easter, but Mike was in town and Tim and Sara are out of town over the holiday, so it's a perfect fit. The Easter Bunny even came. I know, I know. It was just me in felt ears, but regardless, we felt the magic of the season.

The whole family was there including Nonna Eda. Not only did Barbara and Art host (no easy feat for 14) but they spent a good part of the evening crawling around on the floor with the kids. They are VERY good sports to say the least! Seeing the cousins together was really fun (Joey, Tommy, Clara and Marco). Joey was such a sweetheart to his cousin Marco, who he pronounces Mah-coo. It's to die for, really.

Here are some pics...

Babes on the Peninsula

Thursday, we delivered chicken cacciatore and risotto to the Baruliches. We got to meet the new baby girl, Riley, and spend time with their genius son, Luke.


Here's how my conversation went with the very handsome and loquacious Luke (not pictured here, darn):

Me (to Christine): I think we're going to see Brendan and Christina this weekend.
Luke: Excuse me, Miss Sarah, did you say 'Brendan'?
Me: Yes, I did Luke.
Luke: Oh. He's my friend!

Later...
Jeff (to Nate): Yeah, Pig stopped by.
Luke: Excuse me, Jeff, did you say 'Pig'?"
Jeff: Yes, I did Luke.
Luke: Oh. He's Bella's Daddy.

Here's some shots of the babies... Rumor has it that Willa Braden and Riley Barulich look enough alike that Luke asked, "Which one's my sister?" Marco doesn't look too excited, but I figure it's because he just thought this was Willa again.

I'm a big kid now.

While I had my doctor's appointment, Jeff snuck Marco next door to pediatrics for a weigh in. Great news! I'm not a milk dud, Marco tipped the scales at 9 pounds, 11.6 ounces. We're glad that he's growing at a perfect ounce-a-day pace, even though we partly want him to stay tiny forever.

He also outgrew an outfit this week. And guess which part didn't fit? (No comments from the peanut gallery.) His forearms. HIS FOREARMS. Definitely a Cecchin. I don't know how we couldv'e doubted his hugeness. Every time I look at him, I can't believe how huge he's gotten. Check out this fat pic. While Niko slept, Marco played with his monkey. Shhh....