New Games and Favorites

Here we have what's become the parking lot, where Vinny ditches his cool rides and ascends the staircase. He is really quick and really steady on his knees, but still knows somehow to wait for us on the landing before going all the way up. Don't worry mom, we're always right behind him hovering :)

Another favorite activity, climbing into one of his toy bins. He loves knocking down towers, and is even beginning to stack the blocks on his own. But more than anything, he loves to throw the blocks out of the basket and climb in!

New cheesy face :)

Other updates and favorites from the past month:

• still loves and devours pancakes, yogurt, blueberries, and broccoli.
• favorite toys are his noisy lawnmower, stacking ABC blocks, his cookie jar puzzle blocks, and singing puppy dog. He plays with that in his crib when he wakes up and when we can take no more of the songs through the monitor, we go pick him up. That puppy would keep him occupied all morning if we could stand it!
• still loves pulling out each and every book from the shelf under the TV.
• figured out how to hold his own bottle and has just about mastered the sippy cup. We've been trying to ween him from the bottle, and we might be just about there!
• we can see some molars peeking though his top gums!
• loves watching Play With Me Sesame ( I love that he enjoys the same characters I loved as a child). Still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and absolute new favorite is The Wonder Pets. It's become our new favorite, too! This is the show that Vinny winds down to as we rock in the big chair every night. Yes, we still rock him most night to sleep-and we love it! Won't be giving that up as long as Vinny allows us, and we fear that night may be coming soon...some nights, he just can't get comfy and we know he just wants to lay down. So we kiss him good night with his eyes open, and he goes out as soon as we lay him in his crib.
• had his first sleepover at Uncle Tom and Aunt Weez's house! Had powdered donuts for breakfast-yum!
• says dada, quack quack quack, and dog/doggy. Has recently started roaring like a lion, or maybe more like Cookie Monster??
• loves loves loves BOOKS! Favorites include anything with flaps like Dear Zoo, Peek A Moo, and Where is Mommy? But the funniest is the Blue Book. The last page has a picture of a jar of blueberries. After pretending just once to grab a few blueberries off the page and "eat" them, he does the same thing! We also love reading Goodnight, Baby. In this book, each baby animal is attached to a ribbon, and once you say goodnight, you slide the baby animal into bed with the mama animals. Vinny gives each animal a kiss before we turn the page. It's so adorable!

A Big Day for the Mandrolas! Vincent Walks!

14 months, 5 days. That's how long it took for Vincent to walk. He was in an exceptionally good mood on the morning of Memorial Day, so we thought we'd practice. He took a step, then two, and fell. We took a break, and then just on a whim, I let go. He sailed clear across his bedroom! We wasted no time getting on Skype to share the big event with anyone with a green light on! It was so great! Before we knew it, Vincent was cruising all over the house-back and forth across the living room, into the kitchen, and down the hallway. He giggled the whole time! Here are the pictures I snapped along the way. You can see my mom, dad, Uncle Tommy, and Gram on the laptop watching, too. Thanks to Skype and Facebook, and now this blog, we were able to share this big day with all our family and friends. My how technology is keeping us all connected!

Happy Memorial Day!

"It is the soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion...It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech...It is the soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag..."

I grew up attending the Windsor Locks Memorial Day Parade along Main Street every year. Led by my grandfather, it was always a special day. So when we saw that Surprise was to hold it's own parade, we made sure to take Vinny. It was a truly fantastic morning. Vinny loved the parade, and snacked his way though the whole thing. Afterwards, we attended the memorial ceremony by the duck pond. It wasn't quite as nice as what Papa helps put together every year, but it was special.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio looked happy (not!) to be in attendance:

I see a new activity for the WL Senior Center! Come on Gram-what do ya say?

I'm going to have to bring myself to cut off that curl one of these days. I worry that it will straighten out before I have the will to give it the old snip snip.
New favorite thing to do-take a few steps with me, and then look up and laugh. So silly.

Check out the matching shoes!

Thank you to all our brave service man and women. Today in particular, I remember my grandfathers who served in the US Navy during WWII, and my cousins Timothy and Christopher, currently serving in the USMC. You make us so proud.

Baby Animals

We visit the zoo down the road quite often, and on our last trip we were able to see the most recent additions to the zoo. This baby giraffe, named Mickey, just 2 weeks old, was being introduced to the rest of the herd.

The baby animal nursery was very busy on this day. Along with the baby desert tortoises, Tortellini and Ravioli, we saw a baby kangaroo hiding in a baby sling, a baby ocelot, and two baby tigers, all born to parents in the zoo! The baby cats were kept warm in heated pack n' plays!

This was a special treat-the zoo keepers at play with the 4 month old (I think) baby lion, named Delila. Vinny was intrigued, and the zookeepers were so nice to make sure the lion played near the corner where Vinny was watching. It was so cute. Made me wish I were in the room playing, too! Honestly, it was just like watching a kitten at play, only much bigger!

Here are the baby tigers, born May 16, 2010, just 2 weeks old!

Odds and Ends

Here's Vincent lounging by the pool at Wild Horse Pass during a visit from the Farr's:

Vincent doesn't really love the feel of the prickly grass on his knees, so he travels on hands and feet. Here he is in the little park by Mommo and Boppo's house on Mother's Day.

It was recommended that we leave the car seat rear facing for another year, but it's just too darned hot in the back seat. Vinny was miserable. Ever since we turned it around, he's much more comfortable, but with so much to see now, car naps are few and far between. Here he is on our way home from Mommo and Boppo's, all ready for night night.

These are just a couple cute shots. This month Vinny finally figured out how to hold his own bottle! And just when we are supposed to be weening him off of it! Oh well, we do try to encourage a sippy cup as much as possible, but with my paranoia of dehydration, I do what I can to make sure he drinks as much as possible throughout the day, and if that means from a bottle, that's fine with me. As long as I'm not packing one for his first day of Kindergarten, I think he'll eventually grow out of it...I hope!

Auntie Katie and Uncle Bri Bri Visit!

We had the best visit with Brian and Katie earlier this month. We are especially thrilled for them because they are expecting their first baby this November. They are going to be wonderful parents-they are both total naturals. Vincent immediately took to snuggling with UB, and couldn't take his eyes off his Auntie Katie. We were sure to have Vinny wearing his authentic Hawaiian outfit Katie and Brian sent from their honeymoon last December.

We took a little trip to the park to feed the ducks and play on the playground. Why look at the camera when you can look at Antie Katie?

Baby Belly!!



Playing peek a boo with UB:

We got to squeeze an extra night in with Brian and Katie because Bri Bri didn't have his wallet with him at the airport. What's so ironic is that Brian is the MOST responsible and level headed person we know. This kind of thing only happens to people like, well, us! So thanks to Katie's clever negotiations with the airline, another flight was booked early the next morning. Vinny hadn't been feeling well during the last couple days of their trip, we thought it was teething, but more than likely was a virus. While I was at a baby shower, Anthony, Brian, and Katie dealt with missing the flight and a major blowout while out to lunch after the airport debacle. Katie got some great pictures and video on her phone, and to hear them all retell the events of the day were priceless to me. Katie's stomach was still a little queezy being preggo and all, but honestly, whose stomach wouldn't turn at a blown out dipe? ha ha! Between holding him arms stretched out front,"eww, eww, eww," running out of wipes, frantically buying a new but unnecessary outfit, and Vinny laughing in the back of the car, it's all pretty funny now. Too bad I missed it (ummm, not really).

Here's the cake Katie and I made for my friend Jen's baby shower, by the way. Cute, right?

The Snack Trap

Vinny got the biggest kick out of sharing some tastey treats with Gramma via Skype. Giggles ensued as he put cheerios up to the screen and Gramma pretended to gobble them up!

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?