January/February Recap

Whoa! We've got a lot of catching up to do. Last we left off, we had just celebrated Christmas. In the days that followed, we played, we traveled, we hosted, we crafted, and we got a puppy! Here are a BUNCH of pictures and videos recapping the last two months. Sorry Bill, I had to take down your favorite tunes to accommodate the video clips. :)

Post Christmas Puzzle Time

We must make each and every puzzle and pose proudly of coarse.

Two handsome boys!
Making more puzzles with Aunt Weez before driving back to California.
Vinny loves his "Tom Brady" jammies from his cousin Blaise. Unfortunately, they came tainted with Uncle Brian's NY Giants voodoo and brought us some bad luck in a rather important game a few weeks later...

Oh, and notice the cheezy grin...it's getting worse folks. One day he'll look back and wonder why we ever thought it was so adorable.
Showing off his new kicks, courtesy of of some Christmas money from Auntie Diane and Uncle Dino!
It wouldn't be a blog post without a Rooster the Chicken update. I couldn't resist the shot...Why did the chicken cross the road? It really is just to get to the other side.
So Vinny is warming up to rides once again, though he'll only ride on the "bench." We tried convincing him it's so boring, but he'll have none of that. Notice Anthony's level of enthusiasm. Hey, at least he got him up to the second tier.
We finally made it down to Laguna Niguel on New Year's Eve to visit Uncle Brian's cousins Greg and Karen and their little girls, Maya and Tessa. Maya is just a couple months younger than Vinny and as you may be able to tell, they kept us on our toes.
Then, the Lafkos arrived for a visit. We devised a plan, with the help of our California native neighbor, to get an early start into Pasadena for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. The husbands were not thrilled, but complied all the same. Here's Kelly with Leah.
Evan and Vinny, getting cozy.
Tournament of Roses Parade

The wee hours of the morn...people camped out since the day before reserving spots for their groups. It was quite the scene, and it made us look like rookies. But, hey, we were!
Vinny and Evan passed the time by watching shows and blowing up Talking Larry on the iPad.

Here We Go!

Kenny G! Really, I though we could do better.

Now we're talking! The HGTV Dream Home float with John Gidding, and some other designer, but I don't recognize her.

Here are some of favorites, including the always entertaining pooper scoopers, who got the loudest applause for their antics.

Disneyland's Magical Christmas

The Lafkos then left for Disney Land, and we joined them the next evening. The beauty of living just 45 minutes from Anaheim is that we can take advantage of our annual passes and just hit a few favorite rides right after work. The park looked beautiful all lit up for Christmas.
We arrived just in time for the parade down Main Street.
Ya think these two are trouble together?
Waiting for the train to It's a Small World

Well, now we know why It's a Small World was closed back in October when we visited with my parents. There wasn't a square inch of the building not lit up with twinkle lights.

The inside of the ride was transformed into a Winter Wonderland of Christmas scenes from around the world, except for the Middle East. Jingle Bells magically stopped through that stretch, which we got a kick out of.

We timed the ride perfectly, getting to watch the beautiful fireworks display before heading back towards Fantasy Land for one quick ride on Vinny's favorite, Casey's Circus Train. Here's the back of the castle.

And the front.
The mass exodus up Main Street.
The giant pumpkin that stood in the front square for Halloween was replaced by an enormous Christmas Tree.
Good Neighbour Brew Company

Anthony and our good neighbor, Matt, have taken up a new hobby...and my craft closet will never be the same. I'm slowly, but not surely, being crowded out of the space. So far they have brewed a stout, porter, blood orange wit (yummy), blonde, and most recently a coffee infused porter. It's a pretty neat process and the results have been pretty good so far, though it's hard to wait for the finished product. The latter two brews are still not ready yet.

While the dads brew, the kiddos play, too. Here's Vinny with his best bud, Ella.
Work hard, play hard, sleep hard. This is the shot I'll never get tired of getting.
"Tornoweenies"

Boppo came for a visit about the middle of the month and Anthony convinced him to help us make the family favorite, tortelinies. Given I can't even spell it, you can imagine how much fun we had making Vinny pronounce it!
Vinny was an excellent apprentice to Boppo.
Eating the fruits of his labor, some noodles made with the extra pasta dough.
Just a silly pose getting undressed one night.
Our Newest Addition, BOOMER!

Here he is, our bouncy-pouncey, fluffball labradoodle, Boomer. He is a challenge, but like all puppies, just has us head over heals in love.
He's got the sweetest disposition, and LOVES Vinny. The feeling is mutual, except when he is jumping and nipping as most puppies do. This too shall pass, right? It's just a stage??

Some of cutest things we've overheard in the past fews weeks are:

When he finds a rose bush or a shoe or sock or pillow or, oh well you get the idea: "NO Boomah, that not a toy!"

When he finds one of Vinny's cars or trains or stuffed animals or, again you get it: "NO Boomah, that MY toy!"

When he jumps or nips at Vinny's appendages: "NO Boomah, I not a toy!"

He may have four legs, but we are experiencing our fair share of sibling rivalry these days. Just When we think Vinny can't take any more, Boomer sits for him. Vinny says in the sweetest tone that could just melt your heart, "good sit Boomah." Then he kneels before him, massages his floppy ears and soft face, and says, "I love you Boomer, you're a good boy, yes you are, yes you are."

Wait I wish I could figure out a way to upload longer video clips without having to do the whole youtube thing, so this is the best I could do for now. I wish I could catch the quiet times at night when Vinny asks Boomer if he wants to watch a show with him on the couch. Or when he congratulates Boomer for going potty outside, and then proceeds to do his business outside and tell me "I poopin' like Boomer."

Ok, enough puppy talk...Counting cookies with Ella.

And playing with Ella's big sis, Emma. We are so lucky to have such a great set of neighbors right next door. They call to each through the slats in the fence which is quite adorable.
OK, I lied, here he is again. We've only had him a month now, and already he's so much bigger than I remember him in this picture.
For Justin, a flock of parrots that really does live in the trees behind our house.

Superbowl Collapse

Well, the results were less than desirable, but this little guy sure kept us entertained. Anthony trained him well, and even Vinny was able to keep up with Uncle Tom's taunting.

Who's your favorite player Vinny? "TomBrady" all one word sounding.

No Eli. "Eli Whoo?"

Patriots stink. "Giant's stink."

February 7th...full bloom, no kidding.

Now that Vinny attends preschool in the afternoons, he is really developing some independent skills, like hand washing. He loves his Red Sox step stool from Auntie Katie and Uncle Brian.

Valentine's Day

In an effort to be "that mom" I put together some pretty cute crafts for Vinny's classmates, all stolen from Pinterest, my new favorite website. Now if only I had the time to make some of the projects I find...

"The Sourcey Crack"

Is it degenerate that one of Vinny's new favorite places to go is the Race Track down the street? The Santa Anita track is beautiful as far as tracks go, and we've been a couple times now for a tour and breakfast during the morning workouts. On this particular Sunday, we met Anthony's boss and her 3 kiddos for a Food Truck festival on the infield. We were amazed at how many families gather with picnics there. Then again, there is a giant playground for the kids and generally lots of family friendly activities to keep the little ones occupied while some less than appealing parents place their bets. We were not among them, you should be relieved to know. In fact, I'm not sure we saw but a quick second of any race!

Trader Joe's

Grocery shopping has come a long way, from the "Mickey Carts" with a TV inside the drivers seats down below, to miniature shopping carts like the ones they have here at Trader Joe's. Vinny loves to race around the store, and then hide the cart after checkout in hopes that it will be there for him, and only him, the next time around.
Vinny's First Ice Cream Cone

I know, right? What a terrible mom! This is so unheard of! But honestly, he has never been a fan of holding the cone, and he can't figure out the lick, and well, getting too terribly messy has never really been his favorite thing...unless it's in the sandbox. Anyway, while at the zoo one afternoon, we tried one on for size, and he much preferred to eat it with a spoon. Like mother like son.

The Italian Market

One of Vinny's favorite places to go, Claro's has so many of Vinny's favorites, and he remembers every time they are out of rainbow cake or his favorite chocolate cookies. But the ramp is always is always there, and this is how we spend our time while Anthony waits at the deli counter for Vinny's favorite meatballs.