Monday, August 15, 2011

Giuseppe's Baptism (and the previous 2 weeks)


Giuseppe was Baptized yesterday! We had an absolutely beautiful weekend celebrating with friends. It was very touching to see so many people come together to celebrate the life of this little boy! We are truely blessed to have such great family and friends near and far!


Our long-time friends from Georgia came to stay with us this weekend. We were so happy that they were willing to drive so far to celebrate this special weekend with us.

Here is Maria with her Godbrother (her Godfather's son) :)



John Paul arrived and immediately noticed that the living room was too clean and decided to help us out.




Here are the 2 little ones, Mary Grace and our Elena, carefully guarding their baby dolls.









Chiara enjoyed bossing around...I'm mean playing with her Godmother :) I got several reports from different people of Chiara "teaching" them soccer, requesting bubble-blowing, and reassuring them that Cheetos was all she needed for a meal. After Mass, but before the Baptism on Sunday, Chiara turned to me and asked if it was time for cake yet. Four-year-olds are special :)




Our 3 families enjoyed spending time together on Saturday.





















After Mass on Sunday, it was time for the Baptism! Many of our local friends joined us a church and then came to our home afterwards. It was a joy-filled day!






















The Baptism...




Anointing with Holy Chrism...We're still enjoying it's sweet smell today!




Presenting of his Baptismal candle by his Godfather...






This is what Giuseppe thought of the experience :) The kids said he was sad that he had to wear a dress :) He had a tough morning, but a peaceful afternoon at home in the sling with Mommy.




Family picture...yes, there's something on Matteo's face. He and the kids decided it would be fun to play tag outside with their eyes closed...until he ran into the side of the house. They always seem to come up with these ideas when it's time for pictures.






Group picture of our kids and our friends' kids...






Back home after the Baptism...this was the only person who got to hold Giuseppe. He was so unhappy that he spent the rest of the afternoon snuggled with me in the sling.





Time to eat!












We wore out the babies...
































It was a wonderful weekend! Thank you so much everyone for celebrating with us!!


Now onto the 2 weeks before this weekend...Obviously we had to spend several days getting ready for this event. Dany decided that the front of our house needed some attention...



He battled for 2 days, but managed to conquer the weeds and attempted to prevent their return with a covering and mulch.












Giuseppe was one-month-old last week. He went for a check-up on Thursday and here are the stats:


Birth weight = 10 lbs 4 oz (4.7kg)

1 month weight = 12 lbs 15 oz (5.9kg)


Birth length = 22.5" (57.2cm)

1 month length = 24.25" (61.6cm)


He's eating and growing well :)












He's been cooing a good bit and smiling occasionally. He's a pretty good sleeper, too!
And he still rolling front to back regularly.

























































We've completed 10 days of school so far. Here's a brief look of some of the things we've done.


The two little ones like spending time with sticker and stamps in the mornings while the others are working.












Here are Maria and Cati coloring and labeling cell sketches for science.









Here's a demonstration Matteo did about camouflage to begin his study of animals.





How many squares do you see?







Chiara is working on math...








...and handwriting...(she's also working on reading, but it's hard to take a picture of that. She's reading 3-letter short vowel words so far.)








Here's a handwriting sample from Cati.




Of course the kids have done many other things, but they don't always make for exciting pictures :)


Classes start back for Dany in 2 weeks and he'll be doing things to get ready for that during these two weeks. I've enjoyed having him around so much this summer. I guess it's time for us to really settle into a routine and get to work!



And here's a video that has nothing to do with anything else in the post except that it was taken in the past 2 weeks. It's a video of Elena dancing to music at the end of a movie. Dancing 2-year-olds are the cutest! Enjoy!





Sunday, July 31, 2011

Giuseppe - 3 weeks old!

Giuseppe is 3-weeks-old today!

I took this picture with my iPod yesterday, so I know the quality isn't great. It looks like a real smile, doesn't it? But, it was really the beginning of some fussing. We're still waiting for his first real smile :)

Speaking of firsts, Giuseppe rolled over this morning! He was on his tummy on the bed and he rolled over onto his back! Don't grow up too fast, little one :) Another first for the day...Maria changed her first diaper! And we use cloth prefolds and flat diapers, so this is a little more difficult than disposables.




Everyone still enjoys holding their little brother!































Dany went to school on Friday, so we decided to start school on Friday, too. I know, I know...what a mean mommy :) It's only July! But, life is much more pleasant when we follow a schedule and it's always good to get ahead of schedule to give us time off later...like for a trip to Italy sometime this fall!






The day went well for the kids, but no so much for Giuseppe. This boy has taken long (5 - 6 hours!) naps EVERY afternoon since we brought him home from the hospital. I have to wake him to nurse in the middle of the nap. But, of course, when we start school, he decides to take only the shortest naps all day. My arms were SO sore from holding him all day! I'm hoping he'll accept our school schedule a little better this week!









In case you think we just sit around staring at the baby all day, here are some pictures of other things we did this week...







...painting...







Chiara said she was painting a hippopotomus and orange clouds :)













...chess...








...baseball...
















...other outdoor games...








...and time in the sprinkler to cool off from the outdoor games :)

























We have scheduled Giuseppe's Baptism for Sunday, August 14 after the 10am Mass at our parish. We are looking forward to celebrating this beautiful Sacrament with many friends. Please keep him in your prayers for this special day!