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.)