Updates: June 22, 2007

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the Ferreri house. Mario continues to grow like a weed and seems to change every day. He's looking more and more like a little boy now and is so much fun!

On Friday, June 8th, we had dinner at my Aunt Jean's and Uncle Fred's house. My cousin, Amir, graduated that weekend and my grandparents were in town from NC. Mario thought his great grandpa was very amusing and gave him lots of smiles, and he liked to cuddle with is great grandma. The following day was Amir's graduation party so Mario was passed around to several different family members. He was very well behaved that whole day and didn't seem to mind all of the new voices and faces too much. Of course, everyone enjoyed seeing him and how much he's grown.

Sunday, June 10th, we had Kurt, Bridget and Julianna over for dinner. Julianna seems to really enjoy spending time with "Ro Ro", as she calls him (she's 16 months old, so Mario is a tough one to pronouce yet) and is such sweetie. Dom made a wonderful dinner, of course, and we all enjoyed the evening together.

Lauren, our nanny, started on Monday, June 11th. She is coming three days a week (I still work two days a week from home) and she and Mario get along wonderfully. Dom and I really like her and feel very fortunate to have found her (thanks for the referral, Kristin!). She and Mario are busy all day and she gives us progress reports each evening. They go for walks, play, listen to music, and have a good time. And the dogs like her too (I think the cats could care less as long as they get their cat naps in) :)

My first birthday as a mommy was the 13th. Dom got me a beautiful heart shaped locket with a mother and child on it. He then printed pictures to put inside it so on one side of the heart I have Mario's face and on the other side I have Dom's face. He also picked out a delicious Tiramissu cake from Freddissimo Gelato & Dolci (an Italian bakery in the mall). I brought leftovers in to work and it was a hit there too!

Last weekend we celebrated Dom's first Father's Day. Dom got part one of his present early, on Saturday, before we went to Canton. Mario and I got him a new G scale train car for his train. We got him a Disney Railroad car (see pictures) Dom and Mario like to play trains and Mario loves to watch it go around the track. We then packed up and drove up to Canton to see Ryan, Corissa and Owen. We stopped in Mansfield on the way to quickly say hi to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Fred. In Canton, we hung out with everyone and helped get things ready for Owen's baptism the next day. On Sunday morning Corissa and I were crafty and made shirts for the big boys. We put baby handprints on polo's and wrote Owen and Mario's name on the respective dad's shirt. We then gave the dads their presents. In addition to the shirt, Dom got some books to read with Mario (Daddy Hugs, Daddy Kisses, Daddy Cuddles) and a couple for himself (Fatherhood is Not For Sissies). Owen's baptism was later that day and Mario was an angel throughout the service. He didn't make a peep and let Owen be the center of attention. Dom and I are very honored to be our nephew's Godparents. After the service we went back to the house for a little party before heading back to Cincinnati.

This week Mario figured out how to roll over from his tummy to his back. He did it Wednesday when Lauren was here and again today for her. He hasn't done it yet for me, but I'm sure he will because he's done it several times for Lauren. I don't think it will be too long before he rolls from back to tummy, because he rocks from side to side now. He's also figured out how to rotate himself to change his position and the way he is facing. You can put him on his tummy and he'll turn himself a full 360 degrees until he's back where he started. He'll do the same on his back. Tonight he started digging his heals in the floor and arching his back when he was on his tummy. He also got to visit with Bridget and Juliana for a few hours yesterday because I had to go in to work for a meeting.

Mario is still drooling up a storm (hence the bib in all his pictures) and gnawing on everything he can get into his mouth (which is everything in his reach). But, no teeth are poking through yet. His hand-eye coordination is really developing well and he grabs things with both hands now and brings them to his mouth. He can also hold on to his toys very well. Mario loves his Bumbo and his Exersaucer as well as the old favorites, his swing and bouncy seat. Floor time is also an enjoyed activity, both tummy time and back time.

He is up to 15 lbs now and 24 inches tall, based on our measurements here at home (his next pediatrician appointment isn't until July 17th). We've also been taking him out a lot more and he's gone to the mall, Target, Old Navy, Costco, Babies R Us and out to dinner with us. He seems to really like getting out and seeing new things and is generally an easy baby to take places. Mario is becoming very observant. He's always looking around and noticing things. Now the cats and dogs have his attention and he likes to check them out. I don't think they know what's coming when he figures out how to move around on his own (i.e., crawling, walking).

We have lots of green tomatoes in our garden now and flowers on the pepper and squash plants. The pickles, zucchini, sugar snap peas, scallions, lettuce and basil are all doing well too. I can't wait to have fresh veggies for us and to make baby food with!

That does it for the updates for now.