Lucy quickly figured out that Vinny hasn't quite mastered the fine art of snacking out of the trap. Since it's hard for him still to grasp small bits through the "trap," we usually end up taking the lid off. With each handful he can stuff into his mouth, Vinny drops lots of bits on the floor and Lucy is always nearby. Vinny loves to share with her, too!
Oh, the giggles!
Hmmm, any more in there?
Monday was Vincent's 1 year check-up, although he's already 13 months! We were sad to learn that his pediatrician passed away, so it took a little longer to get him in. Dr. Spiegel was a special woman, and we loved her. 
We ventured into the petting zoo on this trip, too. Vinny really enjoyed it. He laughed every time the goats tickled his hands and snuck a kiss upon him, just like Lucy. He showed no fear, and even reached down to pet the 5 day old baby goat and lay with the mama deer.
This is another favorite exhibit, the panthers. It's always a treat to walk right under them as they sleep the afternoon away. Check out those paws!
These macaws made quite a commotion while we watched the baby goslings and ducklings in the same pond. Vinny loves his rubber duckies in the bathtub, and makes quacking noises, but I don't think he quite realizes that these brown and grey floating birds are actually "duh-duhs."
Mike, catching some rays:
Uh oh! Could someone be melting down?
Wish we would have thought to take this picture before we stripped him out of his wet clothes, but it's still a sweet memory of the day:
Well, it may not be a very sappy post, but I hope mary Lou is pleased. Brian told us about an evening at his mom's: He walked in to find his aunt sobbing over the laptop. Seems I hadn't sent the memo about the blog to Mary Lou, so she was just now catching up. She had been reading every post from the beginning, and Brian happened to walk in right at the Murphy post. Ugh, so much has happened this past year, and that was a biggie. I am grateful though that I have this place to type in our memories so we'll have them forever, including this really beautiful day.
See those little blocks in the caboose? There's 26 of them. One for each letter of the alphabet. We know this because they came individually wrapped. That and we find them all over the living room. But let me tell you....Vincent knows exactly where they go. He will crawl clear across the room to grab an alphablock to bring back to the train and stick down the chute. He's smart, that one!
You think he's proud of himself?
We were serving some really yummy carne asada for supper, and Vinny didn't want to be left out. So I tore up a tortilla into little bite size pieces for him...Well that just wouldn't do. While I turned my head, Vinny had stolen my tortilla right off my plate! Dave says he a true Arizona baby!
Bryce brought over his cars to play after Vinny went to bed. But Vinny didn't want to leave the party, so we convinced Bryce to share, and we would do our best to keep the cars out of Vinny's mouth. Bryce has a thing about toys in baby mouths. :) Bryce was such a good friend that night. 
I find myself looking back these days, saying to myself, a year ago this time we were...Well a year ago this time we had such an easy time of getting through Mass. It occurred to us on Easter Sunday that Mass has become significantly more challenging week after week. Last year, we held a sleeping Vinny all through Mass. Now we find ourselves shoveling Cheerios into his mouth because eating makes for a happy baby boy, passing him back and forth because this little sack of potatoes gets heavy fast, and walking with him across the back of the church because sitting still is not one of Vinny favorite things to do. Whew-it can be down right exhausting! 
Anthony's brother John and our nephew Will came out for a visit this weekend. It was so nice to catch up with them, since we don't get to see them all that often. We spent the afternoon at Tom and Weez's house, and here we have a beautiful shot of all the Mandrola Men: Anthony, Vincent, John, James, Justin, Tom, Will, and Boppo. This is one we will forever treasure.
Here is John posing with James and Justin:
The boys:
Cruising the patio and playing with Will:
Below is a great shot from a couple days earlier when John and Will came by the house for a visit. Vinny was trying out his new snack trap, but it was pretty frustrating for him to get his hand out. Uncle John said it was down right torture for the little guy, so he took the lid right off!
