Fee-vah

Matteo is on day eight of a fever. Low grade, but a fever none-the-less. It ranges anywhere from 99.4 to 100.9. The highest came tonight and he fussed himself to sleep. The doc says not to worry, but how can you not? I know it's just his little immune system fighting a bug - but, by day eight, all kinds of crazy things have gone through my head. Hoping it will end soon.

Cloning

I may start a rumor...


Luca - around three months.



Matteo - two and a half months.

Tummy Time Face

Growing Up

"Baby" Max joined us on our weekly Monday playground romp this past week. He was all about the monkey bars, and - pretty much - did everything on his own. Watching this nephew of mine with the older kids made me realize that he is about to leave babyhood behind.







He'll turn two at the end of April and I think we all might need to start thinking about dropping the word "baby" that precedes his name.

Happy (almost) Birthday, Maxwell.

Can I Have Lemon With That?

While my sister, cousin and nephew were here - we went to one of our favorite restaurants. When Max saw the lemons in everyone's water, he insisted he have one, as well. I miss him so much. And, these pics cracked me up...

Max's Visit

Outside...






And in...

Garden Day

About a week after Teo was born, Luca and Debbie attended Garden Day at school. The kids and parents worked together to build beds, mix soil and plant. Each child received their own individual plot to plant whatever they wanted. They also planted seeds and seedlings in a communal plot. Now - two months later - they are eating fresh salads from their school garden. It's been great to hear Luca talk about the garden and it's inspired us to start a container garden at home. Here are some pics from that day.

Special Projects Department

Making Pretzels.









The end products were eaten before they could be documented.

Teo

This baby is getting bigger by the second. He's long and sturdy and stronger by the day. And I really don't think we could have asked for an easier, more pleasant baby. Luca was a bit high maintenance as an infant - some of it typical first child/first-time mommy stuff, but also quite fussy and slow to self-soothe. I am the first to admit much of it could have been the result of me being super anxious and pretty post-partum, but I think these two have very different personalities, too.



Matteo first smiled at four weeks and was laughing by six. He's doing a lot of cooing these days and is getting more tolerant of tummy-time now that he is actually interested in the parade of objects we wave in front of his face while he's on his belly. He LOVES his big brother and breaks out in huge smiles when Luca performs for him. In fact, Luca is so successful at making him happy that I have taken to having him entertain the baby for short stints while I make a quick run to the bathroom or to quell minor fussiness when I am unable to get to him for a minute or two. Luca loves helping out in that way and I love being able to buy the time when I need it. Mostly, though - this baby is totally patient and is very content sitting in his bouncy seat and watching the world unfold before him. He has his limits of course, but - when we need it - he really allows us time to take care of business - from preparing a (quick) meal, taking care of household chores or helping Luca out in some way. These are things that were much harder the first time around and I am so grateful for his easy-going personality.



Its amazing how quickly time is passing. He will hit the ten-week mark this coming Friday and I honestly feel like he only got here just a few weeks ago. They really do grow up fast.

Cousins

Maxwell visited for a few days. All three boys were together for the first time. We spent our visit at the playground, beach, farmer's market, and on walks downtown - as well as lots of playtime at the house. The pic above was taken this past Saturday during "Movie Night" The feature presentation was Pixar's CARS and Max ate popcorn for the very first time. Matteo only sat in for this picture op - with all of them sporting their Christmas pjs from their grandmother. Seeing the three of them together made me excited for the near-future. I'm totally looking forward to watching these cousins create lots of memories together.

Things to do in Florida

We went to a water-side restaurant the other night. It's set right on the intercoastal and often crowded. Waiting for a table isn't too much of a problem, though...






Debbie and Luca played in the sand on the water's edge while my dad had a drink and Matteo and I sat in a rocker and watched the sun set. Then we ate Matteo's weight in fresh seafood. Yum.



A few days later, friends from Philly arrived and they accompanied Debbie and Luca on a fishing excursion.





As much as I complain about living here - March is really a great month to be in Florida.