A Dream Come True

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved football. He was especially in love with the Notre Dame Irish and loved to watch them play every game.

Each Saturday he would faithfully don his jersey and run around the house yelling "hike" and "touchdown", while dreaming of wearing the blue and gold someday as a player. He would watch the team every week on TV and mimic their every move. He would ride past campus yelling "golden dome" and "football game" in the spirit of Notre Dame and it's great football tradition. He was a true fan.

Then one Saturday, his loving daddy said, "Hey buddy, you're becoming such a big boy. I think it's about time you went to see a game." What glory! What bliss! The little boy was overwhelmed with excitement in anticipation of the game... He reveled in the pre-game tailgate, the sight of the Goodyear blimp, and the walk through campus (on his daddy's shoulders) toward his shining moment.

And when he and his daddy arrived at the BIG stadium, saw all the other fans screaming loudly, and heard the (really) loud fighter jets fly overhead, the little boy surveyed the scene and said,

"No Daddy. No more football game."

lol. :)

[What a sweetie! :) Thankfully, M's outlook improved once the Irish entered the field and he had a great time (even though the team was rather pathetic!) He made it to halftime before succombing to the desire for a nap... How much we love our little Irish-loving boy! Happy first game in person, buddy!]

Three Cheers!

Ahem... Ladies and gentlemen, announcing the newest member of the "I Can Do All Things on the Potty Club": MWG!! Our little M came, saw the lollipop rewards, and conquered! We're going on 3 days-in-a-row of #2 on the potty! Yahoo!

(Like you needed all that info, lol, but we're so PROUD!!)

Today also marked the first day of potty success at school. M's teachers were thrilled.

Here's a glimpse of the lollipop man, showing off his treasure. God bless!

Milestone Man

Well, our baby T has taken a "step" toward toddlerdom today.
Congrats to the world's newest walker (sort of :)...
We love you, Sweet T.

School Days

Today marked a HUGE milestone in Gasperini-Ville: M's first day of preschool. Though he's still only 2, GG and I felt he would really benefit from more organized play and socialization. He'll be attending the Tues./Thurs. morning program. And can I say, I just love the school!! They take a unit-based approach to learning and incorporate main themes into every means of play, art, reading, science, etc. Their philosophy rings very true to this former teacher's heart!

And guess who couldn't wait to get started...

M was "all systems go" from the beginning, offering mom a quick hug and "love you" before tearing off to his first exciting day of school. May this be the start of his love affair with school and learning (a chip off his parents' blocks).
Needless to say, the words "awesome school" and "great job school" were heard in the car on the way home. M was in heaven... When I asked him if he liked it, he replied with an emphatic "YES!!!" His teachers said it was as if he'd been around for a year. He had a wonderful first day.

And quite surprisingly, this mama was bereft of tears. I know, shocker! Why? I think because I know this is the *best* thing for our independent and confident little man. Will it always be best? We'll see. GG and I remain open to all schooling possibilities--homeschooling, parochial, public. It just depends on what's best for our kids. Praise God for the freedom to choose.

Cheers to new crayons, scissors, and glue! God bless.

And happy birthday to

UNCLE C!! The BIG 26!!

We rejoice with the world the day you were born...
and sorry we missed you today for a personal birthday greeting!
Hope it was great!!

One last thing

A big CONGRATS to many of our law friends, who have just finished taking the bar exam today!
WOO HOO! We rejoice with you on being done... now get some sleep! :)

Happy 63rd Anniversary!!!

A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my beloved grandparents, Mickey and Molly, on their 63rd wedding anniversary! In the words of my grandma, "It's been a long trial period, but I'm thinking I'll keep him." Not too shabby after 63 years of marriage!

We love you both so much...

Sharing gone bad

Mimi and I had a good laugh today pondering the unusual sharing happening these days in Gasperini-Ville. We seem to be sharing all of the wrong things.

While M doesn't share a whole lot... of anything. The rest of us just keep sharing and passing around the latest bug, virus, etc.

We are excellent at sharing germs and horrible at sharing our toys.
How does such a phenomenon happen?

I must report, however, some amazing brotherhood emerging in our home. M loves little T so much that he hugs him and won't let go. T-baby crawls forth from the hug, carrying his older brother along with him. Today I found myself saying, "M, you need to hug and let go." What a great problem to have--my son is smothering his brother with love. That can't be all bad! :)

Hope your day is full of love of the smothering kind. Apparently, we need 8 hugs/day to fill our emotional quota. Have you gotten yours? I'm off to pursue some...

And speaking of love, happy 30th wedding anniversary to our beloved Mimi and Papa!! What a feat and what a marriage! We love you both so much!! Here's to 30 more!

God bless.

Silence is Golden

It is eerily silent and peaceful right now in G-Ville. Both cherubs are sleeping...

Praise God for napping. ;)

Milestones to report:

1) M is in a big boy bed as of yesterday. We had a our first night of successful sleep in a railed twin bed without any Mom/Dad interaction. Hallelujah! He started climbing out of the crib on Wednesday and from there, we had no choice but to have a broken toddler or a big boy. We chose "Big Boy"!

2) M lived up to his new big boy status by going peepee on the potty right before his nap. I asked if he wanted to try it, he did, and away we went! Never before has he actually "done the deed" on the toilet. HUGE step toward independence. Can I say "hallelujah" again? :)

3) T is moving to one nap/day. After battling out the afternoon nap the last week or so, we made the switch today. We forewent the morning nap and he just finished a 2-hour mid-day siesta. Wonderful.

Just wanted to keep you posted on the latest. God bless you and TGIF!!

Now you see him

...now you don't. Crazy, crawlin' T-mania here in Gasperini-Ville today. Props to GG's brother, C, who was the brains behind the operation! It's been awhile since I've laughed as hard as I did today. Enjoy!!



And now, the outtakes... (if only there was space to include them all!)







God bless you all today!

Milestone Update

The latest news on T-baby:

*he started waving on Sunday and is so sweet when he flaps his little chub hand. Yesterday as I was leaving the kitchen to grab something in the garage, he initiated a wave while seated on the kitchen floor. My heart melted... absolutely.

*he took two tentative crawl "steps" yesterday. Some of our friends' children have been crawling for months, but we're still proud of our little T. Just remember Leo and my kids' tendencies to do things on their own time. Way to go, little man!

*he can now maneuver from tummy or back to the sitting position. I found him sitting in his crib following yesterday's nap. Check that one off the list!

*his left front tooth *finally* surfaced yesterday. T is now officially part of the "I have 3 teeth" club. Both young, old, and those with poor hygiene are current members. :)

Kudos to my T-baby! More milestones coming...

(At the beach with Mimi)

Happy Pappy Day

A Belated (May 15th) SHOUT-out

to my beloved Dada...

HAPPY 62nd BIRTHDAY!!

How blessed it was for us to be there to celebrate! You are such an amazing father and grandfather--we love you so much!! Thanks for always generously sharing your love and gentle heart. Our lives are so enriched by you... Hugs and love from afar.

Cheers!

GG and I enjoyed a wonderful anniversary yesterday, particularly celebrating the completion of his second year of law school! The day ended with take-out Chipotle (fancy stuff), the kids' first teen babysitter (M was beside himself with excitement as she read him bedtime stories. Very cute.), a house cleaning in time for the babysitter's arrival (there's really nothing like coming home to a clean house), and a trip to the Chocolate Cafe, an adorable dessert eatery downtown. We felt like free birds...

That was until fielding some phone calls about crazy T-man, who had awoken at 9pm and wouldn't stop crying. Poor, teething baby! Thankfully, we were almost done with our affairs and headed home to get GG some much-needed, post-exam rest.

Praise God for a blessed day and thank you for your well wishes...

Here's a quick shot of the "free" birds, ready to take flight for the evening!

Cheers to a lifetime of anniversaries!!

A Good One

The day is only two and a half hours old and is already a good one.

I can just feel it.

Maybe it was getting our recycling out to the curb the very second the truck drove up. Maybe it was the golden brown pancakes I made for breakfast this morning; my best yet. Maybe it was dropping GG off right on time for his exam and making every green light on the drive there.

Or perhaps today was good from the start because it was just meant to be. It was in the cards from the beginning. Things were just supposed to be good, as they have been for the last five years. Today is our fifth wedding anniversary.

While I don't have the patience to relay a long synopsis of our love story, I will give you it in bulleted form (very 21st century-esque!) My brain can handle lists of things so much better than prose...

*GG and I met our freshman year at Princeton at an Athletes in Action Bible study. GG prayed for "his friend's salvation" while we were all in the midst of midterms second semester and my interest was immediately piqued. What a sound and steady Christian! What a heart for God and for his friend! How handsome and well-spoken! My crush had begun...

*... and another unhealthy relationship I was in ended within a month. GG and I ran into one another at our student center and exchanged words about his summer at camp and the possibility of me being a counselor there (which never materialized.) We later realized how nervous we both were at the time to speak to one another. Pretty cute.

* Summer passed and we met up again the next fall on campus. My crush intensified and I did everything in my power to run into GG on campus, in the sports training room, etc. The stories are pretty pathetic, so I'll spare myself the embarrassment. Let's just say I was smitten with the most handsome, most Godly, and most honorable guy I had ever met.

*The fall dragged on and GG became more and more aware of my crush (due to my large mouth telling any soul about it who wished to hear!) Yet no response came from his end. I was beginning to get frustrated... Long story short--he finally asked me to our sophomore formal in late November of that year. Imagine my angst! GG took his time and the rest of the world (yes, the world) suffered.

*The formal was a ball of fun... We danced up a storm and enjoyed time with one another. Our second date was a surprise trip to NYC to see Rockefeller Center and the Christmas tree (what a follow-up!) I was being swept off my feet!

*We formally began dating by the end of January, had our "first kiss" Valentine's Day, and proceeded to date for the next 2 and 1/2 years (with a few bumps along the way, but mostly smooth sailing.) GG proposed on graduation day--June 5th, 2001 at the Princeton battlefield. I accepted and we set the date for May 11, 2002. After being apart for the year leading up to the wedding (I was teaching in NJ and GG was at his Officer Basic Course in KY), we joyfully committed to one another in the sacrament of matrimony that May! What a blissful day.

I awoke this morning feeling butterflies reminiscent of the ones I felt our wedding day five years ago. Who knew from there that an Iraq deployment, a dog, two babies, and law school later, we'd be where we are. I wouldn't trade these years for the world. GG, you are the love of my life. Thank you for a wonderful marriage. Thank you for your greatest gift to me--our boys. Your love isn't so bad either. Love you!

Hope you all have a fantastic May 11th!! It's a good one!

Better Late Than Never

Growing up, my family had a favorite book, Leo The Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus. It is the story of a small tiger named Leo, who takes a little bit longer in life to bloom. How apropos the text is for my little growing family...

Leo couldn't do anything right.

He couldn't read. He couldn't write. He couldn't draw.

He was a sloppy eater. And he never said a word.

"What's the matter with Leo?" asked Leo's father.

"Nothing," said Leo's mother. "Leo is just a late bloomer."

"Better late than never," thought Leo's father.

Then one day, in his own good time, Leo bloomed!

He could read! He could write! He could draw! He ate neatly!

He also spoke. And it wasn't just a word, it was a whole sentence.

And that sentence was...

"I made it!"

This post is dedicated to my little Leo, T-man, who at 8 months (tomorrow) finally rolled from back to front! Once he realized his strength and agility, he's been rolling all day. Incidentally, he rolled from front to back at 2 weeks, so this feat has been a long time coming! Congratulations to my late bloomer. God bless.