One Week of Growing Up

This was a week with huge strides in growing up and becoming "big girls." Well, little brother, too. It started out with a flight little brother and I took to go to my cousin's wedding near Seattle. We arrived at the airport an hour in advance, or so we thought....After our bag had been checked in, the attendant looked at me and my baby and said, "You know you're here 13-hours before your flight..." Well, apparently, they have a 9:30am and a 9:30pm flight to Seattle -- I got ticketed on the wrong one! Ouch! Well, all the flights until 7pm were full, but I waited on stand-by, hoping to make the 12:40 or the 1:00pm flight.
After wandering around in the airport and spending $16.00 on a glamorized breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee, we found ourselves on a flight without a hitch. After the initial shock and uncertainty of making a flight, everything turned out OK. Stander-bys who were watching the story unfold said, "You're so brave to wait this all out with a baby!" Little did they know that it was really much easier than going home to watch 3 kids instead of the one quietly snoozing on my shoulder! I even made it up to the wedding in time for a quick shower while family fought over who got to watch little Alex first.

Alessandro was also an angel during the 9-hour drive down from my dad's to Sunriver, where our annual reunion awaited this year. His learning to use a bottle and pacifier helped tremendously, too. The girls drove up with their dad and my cousin's teenaged kid, who also endured a 10-hour ride up from the south. This week-long vacation proved how quickly these little girls can grow up. Firstly, they slept in "big-girl" bed - twin beds instead of pack and plays or cribs. This was a big step, especially for Ava, who now wanted to sleep with the door open so she could see more light. Secondly, the girls went the whole week without diapers (except when they were sleeping) or an accident!! Also, Ava sealed the transition by finally going poop on the potty - an accomplishment only master by Bettina before now. Before the trip, we always knew when Ava had to poop as that was the only time she requested a diaper. "One day," I would tell her as I put on her diaper, "you will be a big girl and go poop on the potty as well. It's much cleaner and you will find you like it better." Sure enough, that day came just as we were waiting for Aunt Linda to cut her hair. "I have to go poop, Mommy!" she said. "Well, we're not at our house, so I don't have any diapers here. What do you want to do?" Before I'd finished talking, she was on her way to the pee pee chair to fulfill my prophesy. "I went poop on the potty and I liked it!"

Another milestone is Bettina's mastery of riding her bicycle with training wheels!! Those familiar with Sunriver Resort know its famous and many bike trails. Everyone brings their bikes and rides around the resort. With some persistence and determination, and being coached by second-cousins and her Daddy, Bettina has mastered - and enjoys - riding her princess bicycle. I'd catch her running out the door with her princess helmet saying, "Can I go ride my bike now, Mom?"

This is the only arena where the girls didn't make huge strides -- still just holding on the wall in the pool (well, they're confident in the baby pool) instead of outright swimming.
We took a two-hour ride down the Deschutes River with Ainsley and Patrick. They got the tandem kayak while we took the canoe with the girls riding in the middle. The girls went with us in the canoe last year, they just didn't like it and cried most of the time. This year, they rather enjoyed the trip and, other than the water fight that mommy and daddy had with each other (which inevitable splashed the two of them pretty good), in their own words, "I'm having fun in the big boat!"
The whole family - or at least our branch of it - snuggled together for a picture.

A Visit to the Bay Area Discovery Museum

Bettina and Ava learns how build a nest and pretend to lay an egg

A year and a half ago, my cousin gave Paul a couple free passes to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Last week, we finally found the opportunity to go. It was a first visit for Daddy and like the first visit for the girls since they hadn't been in a very long time (probably a year).

They made music on the xylophones, climbed the play structures, pretended to be insects, birds and animals, and played construction in the gravel pit. Dad got to get on his hands and knees with the girls while Mommy more or less hung out with Baby Brother.

Here are some silly shots of the kids just being kids....

Looks like Grandpa Braxton??

This picture in particular reminds me of my Grandpa Braxton. It's probably the square jaw/head that gets to me. There's another photo where he looks just like the other side of the family where he's giving the camera what we lovingly refer to as "the Curletto stare" - ever see Paul really study something??

Ava was nick-named "Little Bird" early on for her fine features and big mouth that would open unbelievably large for food. Bettina was dubbed "Helga" for her stout German-like temperament or "Nay-nay Girl," based on the sound of her cry. I've started calling Alessandro "Frog-Man" because he still hasn't unfurled his little feet -- they're curled up under him like a little frog ready to jump away. He really does not like to have them stretched out, which I have to do to either change his diaper or put him in the Baby Bjorn.

First Portrait

We went to The Picture People for the first time today. Little Alex was very hungy in this shot. He relaxed a bit later as he fed while the girls took a few shots on their own. This one still turned out cute, despite the crying kidlet.

Happy 4th of July!

Bettina, Dean and Ava ride the kiddie Ferris Wheel at the County Fair

The 4th of July was a lot of fun this year. We spent the whole day with one of the girls' favorite friends, Dean, who's mommy is one of my favorite people as well. After watching the Piedmont parade on a tummy full from the pancake breakfast fundraiser, we caravaned out to the County Fair where, besides looking at livestock, milking a pretend cow and riding the kiddie Ferris Wheel, we gored on corn dogs, garlic fries and artificially flavored shaved ice. Dinner wasn't much better --- we showed up at Lydia's and Carlos's and ate leftovers from their BBQ lunch - mostly the leftover birthday cake and a few asparagus spears. You've got to have at least a couple of really good bad-habit eatting days a year, right? Heck, this IS America!!