Cake Trama...

Today is my baby's 6th birthday! Boy, the time sure does fly! At least when you are looking backwards, when you are in the middle of it...sometimes it takes forever! This year he is going to kindergarten (August birthday and being a boy, we decided to wait a year to send him to school...good thing...Italy was waiting for us!)...the kid is so excited, he can barely stand it.

So, onto the day of birthday...of course, it had it's own drama. As well as having a 6 year old, I have a VERY 2 year old. This morning, trying to get a jump on the things to do today, I baked the cake while the kids were eating breakfast. I set them on the counter to let them cool and went to write a quick e-mail in the living room, while the kids were watching a cartoon. Too late to change the outcome, I realized that my lovely daughter was way TOO quiet. She had found the cake in the kitchen and decided to help herself...

Ugh! Didn't she know it was Case's birthday cake???? What was she thinking??? Not to worry, I managed to 'fix' the cake...at least it looked okay! Some folks were going to get a BUNCH of icing...

The birthday boy...

His daddy bought him his first bow! He already looks like a pro...

Six things wonderful things about Case:

One: For a boy, he is VERY tall for his age...towering over kids that he will be in kindergarten with...at least he enjoys new clothes!

Two: He is on the verge of learning how to read. He has been teaching himself to sound out the words in his books!

Three: He loves his dog and can usually be found outside having adventures with his best friend.

Four: He is a Lego maniac...at least once a day, he can be found hiding away (or keeping his little sister out) and playing with them.

Five: With no, or very little, instruction, he shows an aptitude for all things athletic. He just seems to 'know' how it is done.

Six: He misses his Italian adventures. His favorites included: tunnels, the Metro, the beach, and castles.

Here is to the most wonderful 6 year old.
Have a wonderful day!
Ciao a tutti!

Gwendolyn Rose...

Today is this little girl's 2nd birthday...

I seriously LOVE the fact her pigtails stick out...totally unintentional but apparently essential...ones crown must not mess up ones hair! We had a fun get together last night to celebrate...today is her actual birthday but it is the Italian's Liberation Day (think 4th of July) and Tobin had off of work, so we planned to go to Siena (more on that later). Gwen's birthday 'cake' was a 'cookie cake'...well, maybe like a nice assortment of cookies from our favorite bakery...I know, I slaved on this one. Gwen has become a cookie monster here...or 'tooties' as she likes to say...how could I say no. Here is our birthday girl blowing out her candles...notice a big brother showing her how it is done...

One thing that I would like to know...when did my little girl become so...like a girl? She just pranced around with her crown on like she was a princess...loving her new toys...giving her babies a ride in her stroller...who knew?

In honor of Gwendolyn's 2nd birthday, here are two special things about her:

One: She is a real trooper. We have brought her half way around the world, completely rearranged her schedule, and plopped her down in an unknown place...and she came through it with flying colors. We drag her around the italian countryside and she does reasonably well (as long as there are plenty of 'tooties' available). She creates quite the stir where ever we go...the italian ladies LOVE her and ALWAYS chat, pick up, and give her TONS of free stuff. Now when we go to the food store, she just thinks that EVERY cashier will give her a piece of candy...at least they don't know what she is saying!

Two: She is 100 percent a daddy's girl and he is just as in love with her. If daddy is around, she flat out refuses to hold mommy's hand. She wants to be in his lap, on his shoulders, being pushed by him in the stroller, holding his hand, watching him work on the computer, sitting on his lap in the train, plane, or boat, well you get the picture! These two are inseparable...it is pretty fun to get to watch such a neat relationship grow.

There are tons more special things about her: she LOVES to read books, play with bugs, stomp on snails that her brothers have collected, carrying mommy's purse, 'coloring' with a pencil, playing with stickers, and her number one thing she loves to do is...she HAS to keep up with her brothers...and they certainly can't get away with leaving her behind! You can always count on her being just about 2 steps behind those boys, doing whatever they are doing, and loving every minute of it!

Two-year-olds are definitely difficult at times (or most of the time, if you are really honest), but they are also loving, charming, and fun. One thing to remember, a two-year-old is still a two-year-old, no matter where you are!

We love you tons, Gwendolyn Rose...have a wonderful year!
Ciao a tutti!

Today is brought to you by...

...the number 4! Today is Clayton's fourth birthday! Wow, they sure do grow up fast! Here is the happy birthday boy...

We had a fun celebration on Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Shannon (she is so cool that the kids call her 'uncle'), and our fabulous MT neighbors who came to visit us in Montalto. I had a request for a 'candy' cake...I did my best! I have yet to find a cake mix...at least that I recognize...I think they are out there, but they just don't look familar to me (the directions are also in italian...I didn't have time to translate!). So Uncle Shannon saved me by bringing a cake mix all the way from MT...thank goodness! Then there is the issue of the icing...does not exist here. So I find a recipe online and write it down (only problem: I only wrote down the ingredients and not HOW to make it). Remember the brownie incident...no mixer! I finally caved and bought a mixer (one of the best 12 euros I have spent!)...as it was it took me quite a while to mix it and have look like icing (everyone was very gracious to me, but I think I need to work on my icing making skills...as in they don't exist!). But at least it looked good and Clayton enjoyed his cake...

I found the great 'Buon Cumpleanno' sign at the store and just couldn't resist! Clayton also got some fun Cars plates and napkins...the kid could bearly contain himself! He is usually so low key, it was really fun to see him so excited about his birthday!

Let's have four amazing things about Clayton on his birthday...

One: Clayton is very into animals, bugs, reptiles, flowers, and vegetable plants...I like to think of him as my little biologist. He is always observant and loves to capture and look at every small creature he can find (even the really icky ones...that he always HAS to show me...right in my face!) Right now, buffalos and lizards/snakes are his very favorites.

Two: Clayton LOVES cars, trucks, planes, motorcycles, boats, and any and every piece of construction equipment he can find...if it has an engine he wants to watch, see how it works, and get one for himself (the miniture versions work...at least for now!) He especially loves the Disney Cars movie, Lightning McQueen, and Mater.

Three: Clayton loves to be with his Grandparents, especially his Grandpas! He just loves to hold their hands, sit on their laps, watch what they are doing, learn about what they like, or just be with them. His NJ Grandpa had him down in his fishing room and washing dishes, and his MT Grandpa got to spend a really special day with him at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas (which incidentally was where this whole crazy Italy thing came from).

Four: Clayton is our low key kid. He can play on his own, make up his own stories, sings his own songs. He is very independent and tends to go his own way...not in a bad way...he routes for his own sports teams (even if everyone else is routing furiously for the other side). He is very creative, loves to color, explore new things and experiments get him very excited.

Happy Birthday Clayton!