Alessandro is 8!!!

Happy Birthday Alessandro!!  (On Feb 15th)  Alessandro is a funny little boy.  He is very quiet but can get loud and crazy when the time is right.  He loves art, whether it's drawing, painting, sculpting...anything.  He enjoys it and is pretty good at it.  He has that creative edge to him, which I admire since I have none of that.  :)  He also enjoys tennis and wants to continue doing that.  He is an amazing student and I am in awe when I see how quickly he picks things up.  He is great at reading  but unfortunately does not enjoy it very much.  I really hope that will change.  He does it because he has to but not for enjoyment.  :(  He is by far one of the pickiest eaters I have, it drives me nuts.  What child doesn't like melted cheese??  He hides his emotions and I love it when he actually lets them shine through and you can see his happiness and or excitement.  (He's not so good at hiding the negative emotions, but lets not dwell on that)  ;)  He is a joy to our lives and brings such unique perspective into it.  We love you Alessandro!!  Happy birthday little man!

He was so excited to open gifts, so we let him open one before school.  He picked Grandma and Grandpa's.  I'm guessing cause it was the biggest....he loved it!! 

He wanted a Darth Vader cake.  I have to say, this is not my favorite cake that I have made.  I think it's because it's all black....no color.  But he loved it. 

We celebrated his birthday on cousin night.  Played some games, ate some cake and ice cream, watched a movie.  He was a happy boy. 

I guess he doesn't like the smell of smoke.  hahaha 

Why oh why do they always want to eat under the table!!?? 

Since the frosting was black it made for some interesting messes on the little kids faces. 

Packer was covered in black by the time he was done eating.  His whole face (not just around his mouth, we're talking forehead, ears, hair, etc, his hands, his arms and he must have wiped it all over his clothes too.  (sorry guys!  I hope it didn't stain!)

An of course...so excited about his gifts 

Udine checked him out from school to eat at Tucanos with his free birthday meal.  He could not wait!!

 Eating a chicken heart...he didn't like it so much

He told Udine he shouldn't have them sing to him.  So in Udine's defense, he did not tell them to sing to him, but he didn't tell them not to either.  ;)  He gets soo embarrassed.



1 2 3 Yorb Nation!

Wow!  I have to write about this while I still feel the effects of this crazy ride!!!  Jana's brother has this big ol' yorb, which is pretty much a huge ball inside a huge ball with straps so you can strap yourself in and then go roll down a hill while in it.  When we found out Ben and his family were heading out to go use it since a lot of the Robertsons were in town.  We thought it would be fun to go watch.  Yes, I said WATCH, I had absolutely no intentions of getting in that thing.....but am shocked to say Udine, Diego and I all took a turn.  Unlike those crazy Robertson's (and I mean that in the best of ways), we are not thrill seekers, in fact, we are very wimpy when it comes to rides and being scared, etc.  Well, Udine and I are, but Diego loves a thrill.  Anyway, Udine was the first from our family to go.  He went with Jana's brother Ryan.  He was so scared he couldn't even scream.  haha  Ryan said he didn't make a sound.  Unlike Udine, I guess Ryan just laughed through it all, even when his legs came unstrapped!!!  Again...those crazy Robertsons!!  Ryan's daughter wanted to go, who is just a year older than Diego, so Diego said he'd go with her.  As they were getting strapped in, diego looked pretty nervous.  (I was scared for him)  He loved it though.  No surprise there.  And then I was finally convinced to go with Jana.  The second I hopped into that giant ball I started to panic.  I'm a little claustrophobic and that set in the second I was in, but I took deep breaths and had Jana encouraging me, so I let Brady strap me in.  To say I was in a bit of a panic is to put it mildly.  Anyway, once we're both strapped in, they close it up and tap on the ball three times, we then both have to yell "1 2 3 Yorb Nation!"  to let them know we are ready.  Then, they push you down a hill and you just go rolling!!  I can't even describe how it feels, I just know I was SOOOO scared.  I got a good yell at the beginning and after that I was practically hyperventilating because I couldn't get anymore breaths.  When the ball finally stopped rolling I couldn't even unbuckle myself at first.  Jana was down and unstrapped before I could even start!!  But I did it and then had to get out right away.  There was no way I could stay in it any longer to help Jana run it back to the bottom of the hill (like a hamster in a ball).  I will say I'm really happy I did it, but I don't know if I'll ever do it again.  Diego went a second time with another of Ryan's daughters and said it was way scarier that time.  He was in the same spot I was that time, so I might just be curious enough to try it again facing backwards instead of forwards.  But not for a while.  It took me a few hours to feel normal after that.  I don't know how those guys do it over and over again!!  Too fun!!  Thanks Robertsons!  It was something we would never pick to do on our own.

Udine getting strapped in

Udine going down

Diego getting strapped in

Diego going down

Diego after the ride

Me and Jana, I'm still debating on if I should get out or not

My ride down (everyone was making fun of my screaming at the begining)  :)

Just can't help it

As I was looking through my pictures I just couldn't help but post some more about the Packers.  On Monday after the Superbowl Udine wore his cheese head hat ALL day.  I'm not just talking a little bit...he literally wore it all day.

He wore it out to lunch with a friend

He wore it to work out at the gym

He wore it at the office all day

This is not Udine, but I had to put this in because I just love this picture.  It's my parents ready to watch the Superbowl!!  All decked out in their Packers gear and accessories!  Love it!!!

Clumsy little Luca

Last night Luca totally wiped out on hardwood floor and did a face plant.  The poor guy cut his lip open and also bruised his gums.  How does that happen?  He can't bite down on that tooth without having pain.  It was hard to get a good picture of this, but these are the best I could get.  Is there something I should be doing for this?  Do I need to call a dentist?  I don't know.  I'm just waiting it out right now, but if you know differently, let me know!!

Parent/Teacher conferences

Well, this was the week to meet with the teachers and I'll be honest, I often am hesitant about it, knowing that Diego struggles a bit at times.  BUT with that being said....both teachers had great things to say about the boys.  Diego is keeping at grade level whith his reading...which is awesome!  And his fluency is getting better!  Again...awesome!!  He is struggling in math but she didn't seem too concerned about my concerns, so we shall see where that goes.  She says when you're around him it just makes you happy and feel good.  Which is so true.  He has such a fun personality.  Luckily it seems like he is able to tone that down for school and use his humor and goofiness for appropriate times.  Now if we could just get that down here at home with people is really comfortable with.  ;)  Alessandro is doing awesome with his school work.  He's above and beyond what is expected of him in all the areas, which is great.  Now if we could just get him to "share" his stories in class and open up more like that.  His teacher said that he just told her this week he is ready to share a story...she thinks it has something to do with the new sound system they got so he'll have a microphone on his shirt which means he won't need to speak too loudly to be heard.  Lets hope he does it!  Anything to encourage that boy to come out of his shell is great.  Anyway, to sum it up, I'm really proud of both boys and how hard they are working at school and that they are well behaved and are liked in the classroom.  I am happy to say I'm not frustrated after this meeting this year.  :)

Go Pack Go!!!

So my blog gives me problems loading pictures sometimes, otherwise pictures would have been up four days ago when THE PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!  Woohoooo!!!
(all of these pictures are from my sister-in-law Jamie, so I hope she doesn't mind me posting them.  Sorry, I was trying to download some that Jana sent me also but my computer is being lame.  And I can't even get the one of just my kids loaded from our camera.  Maybe I'll get it on later).  Anyway....it was a great day!!  It was so fun to be able to watch it with my siblings and all these kids (and in-laws) that are now Packers fans also!

Rock climbing

Udine took Alessandro rock climbing and he LOVED it.  Udine said it took him three times before he got over his fear of going high and falling.  After those three times, he just kept on going.  They had a great time.

This picture shows him climbing in the "boulder room".  He's climbing free style without a rope, he's a brave little guy.

Bear award

Diego recieved his bear award in scounts this past month.  He finished nice and early (he doesn't turn 10 until May).  Good job Diego, we're proud of you!  Udine was bummed he missed the evening because he had class.  But really he is the one who helps him pass everything off along with his great scout leaders.

Family visits

Udine's cousin came from Guatemala to visit her son, so we had them over for dinner one night.  It was nice to be able to see them again and visit with them.  The kids don't see them enough to remember them so Mia was being a stinker when we were trying to get pictures with her.

And of course Diego is jumping in the picture and being a goof ball.

 

Ice fishing

Diego went ice fishing with his scout troop.  Udine was a bit hesitant about it because he hates the cold, but I think he enjoyed it a lot more than he expected.  Diego said he enjoyed it but I think he would have had a lot more fun if he had caught something.  Poor guy has the luck of his father when it comes to catching fish.  :(  Others on the trip were catching, they were just unlucky this time around.  Maybe next time!!

I love this picture because Diego's face shows how grossed out he is by the slimy fish.  hahaha  I guess he wouldn't listen to Udine on how to hold it so it was squirming around and he was getting all slimy.  hahaha  Come on Udine, the 9 yr old knows best.