Happy 8th Birthday, Matteo!

Happy Birthday, Matteo! Can you believe he's 8?!?

Matteo has enjoyed a fun birthday weekend. At first, we decided to celebrate Matteo's birthday on Sunday afternoon since Dany would be home and he would get some time to enjoy his gifts. So, on Saturday I started making his cake because I wouldn't have time on Sunday morning because of Mass. Well, our frosting for the cake was too thin and we were out of powdered sugar to thicken it. Despite moving the cake back and forth to the freezer between decorating steps, the frosting was just falling off the cake. Dany suggested that we go ahead with cake and presents on Saturday night if we wanted decent pictures with the cake. Matteo was more than happy to have cake and presents even earlier!

So, it has truly been a birthday weekend. We've enjoyed the cake leftovers and presents all the weekend. Today, we had an abbreviated school day. I let Matteo choose the content and schedule this morning and then we had a free afternoon. Matteo declared it, "The best Monday ever!"

Balloons!

 

 

 

Notice the side windows and letters sliding down the cake :)

 

 

 

Matteo just can't keep his eyes open for pictures :)

 

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Father's Day

Yes, I'm a bit behind on blog posts, but what's new :)

I think Dany had a relaxing, enjoyable Father's Day last Sunday.

The major event of the day happened during supper when Matteo lost his first tooth!

It was rather funny. He was eating when he stood up suddenly, took some food from his mouth, and set it down on the table in disgust, saying, "What is that!?" That unchewable bit of "food" was a little baby tooth. After he got over the shock, he excited made an envelope for the tooth to put under his pillow that night. He didn't sleep well that night because he was so excited about the Tooth Fairy coming :)

Here are some pictures of his new look. These are typical facial expressions from him these days when we try to get him to smile for the camera :)

If you're done laughing at those pictures, I'll move onto the end of supper. While we were cleaning up, we made the mistake of leaving Elena's plate on the table so she could finish up her dessert. Dany's favorite dessert these days is chocolate fondue and fruit. Well, I guess Elena was full but didn't want to waste her chocolate...

Happy 6th Birthday, Matteo!

Matteo is 6-years-old today!

Matteo had to open his presents very quickly before his almost 2-year-old beat him to it :)

Elena has the next present in hand...

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!!

Matteo, Caterpillars, a Hare and a Tortoise

Matteo's been doing very well with his school work. He's been memorizing the poem, "The Caterpillar" by Christina G. Rossetti.

Here is the drawing he made about the poem.

Here he is reciting the poem.

He also did his first narration recently. I read to him the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. He told it back to me in his own words while I wrote it. Here he is reading what I wrote.

Happy 5th Birthday, Matteo!

I can't believe he's already 5! (I probably begin all birthday posts with that sentence.)

We had a really fun day celebrating Matteo's birthday today!


There was cake, of course :)


And balloons - from Aunt Ginny :)

Cards and presents!

From Uncle Rob...

A telescope from Aunt Mary, Aunt Dot, and cousins Katie and Heather. It is my duty to watch the instructional video that came along with it after I finish this post :) We're all really looking forward to using this!!

A fun musical Star Wars card from Grandma and Pipa.

And, a Winter Olympic Wii game from Grandma and Pipa. This was thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon by all the kids....Don't tell anyone that I gave the kids the afternoon off from school to play Wii - terrible teacher, I know!

Elena enjoyed the wrapping paper.

Cars from Aunt Ginny. These are some of the coolest cars ever made. The pieces all come off and interchange with the other cars.

All of the kids enjoyed them!

Happy birthday, sweetest boy!! We love you!!!!

Please take a look at the post below to see pictures from Matteo's previous birthdays!

Matteo: The first 4 years :)

Matteo was born 5 years ago today in Salt Lake City. He was a surprising 11 lbs at birth.

Here's a look back at his first 4 years. Stay tuned for pictures from today's birthday in a later blog post.

Here he is during his first bath...



Here is the 1st time that his older sisters met him...

This is the first time we met him :)

This was his Baptism. He was a month old when he was Baptized on Easter Monday. His birthday was during Lent so we had to wait until after Easter to have him Baptized.

Here he is on his 1st birthday...

2nd birthday...

3rd birthday...

4th birthday...

Here is a video including Matteo's first bath, first steps, birthdays, first swimming lessons (on his 3rd birthday), and early reading. Enjoy!!

Early birthday humor

Matteo, who will be 5-years-old at the end of February, asked me today to start making his birthday cake...

Me: Birthday cakes taste best when you make them the day of your birthday.
Matteo: Please, Mom! Just put in one ingredient!

Before bed, I asked Matteo what present he would like for his birthday.

Matteo: Some slippers that fit because Maria's are too big for me.
Me: That's all you want for your birthday?
Matteo: Well, maybe you can get me some slippers and the others can get me some little cars.
Me: Who else is going to get you a present?
Matteo: You know, Papa, Maria, Cati, Chiara, and Elena, if she grows up before them. But, Mom, if she doesn't grow up until after my birthday, tell her she can get me a car then.

The floor is going around!

Here's a video of Chiara's first experience with dizziness, followed by a little running.

Bocce lessons from Matteo

Bocce has been a popular sport around here lately. The kids often get Dany to play a game with them when he gets home from work in the afternoons. Matteo really enjoys it and is always looking for a playmate!



Here he is explaining the finer points of the game :)

Happy 4th Birthday, Matteo!

Happy 4th Birthday, Matteo! Four year ago today, our not-so-tiny, 11-lb baby boy was born!



Here's the cake. There's a story behind this one. While I was writing Matteo's name, my bag of icing burst, leaving a huge glob of yellow icing on top of the "M." This happened as Matteo was standing beside me watching. He stared in disbelief for a couple of seconds, and then went running off into the living room yelling, "Mommy messed up my cake!!!!" He decided in the end that it was fixed to his satisfaction :)



Here are the traditional birthday balloons from Aunt Ginny!


Ahhhh, here comes my baby sister to steal them!!!



Here's a look at some of the present-opening!

Everyone has to join in the fun!


These are some very cool new cars from Aunt Ginny that can be taken apart and rebuilt, mixing and matching the pieces.



Here is Matteo trying out his new binoculars from Grandma and Pipa to gaze upon his balloons that have floated to the ceiling :) :)

Here is the birthday boy taking a break from opening a present from Aunts Mary and Dot, and cousins Heather and Katie, to investigate the jar of slime that came along with the box of goodies. This slime has been quite fascinating around here!

Finally, it was time to have some birthday cake!! (Chiara still has remnants of the pizza feast that we had recently finished on her face!)

And, now for a little singing!

Happy birthday, Matteo! We love you!!!