St. Anthony's Feast

So in the North End of Boston, there are endless festivals every summer....festivals for every Saint.

This weekend, was the Feast of Saint Anthony- the Patron Saint for us Italians.

If you love Italian food and fare, you don't want to miss this one. There are festivities all weekend long...they start on Friday afternoon and run through midnight Sunday night.

There is the endless parade of the famous Saint Anthony statue...people stick dollar bills to him and say their prayers....we even did and some of the marshalls handed us prayer cards and a pin for Diana! Some of the marshalls who were marching also shouted out that Diana was beautiful...boy did we enjoy that!

There was also any kind of Italian food you would want...food I have grown up with that doesn't seem out of the ordinary but to so many people who i saw today...it is priceless..aka they were paying over $10 bucks for meatballs....gnoccis and such.

Most of the festivities occurred at the intersection of Endicott, North Margin and Thacher Streets. Folks were drinking in the streets and having a ball!

It ended up being a perfect day weather wise and we are glad that we ceased the moment! Enjoy the pix. As you will see, we picked up Mimi and Papa to share in this special time with us....just like when I was little and they picked up Nani and Papa to share the special time with me...

Diana's First Birthday Party!

Dear Diana at ALMOST A YEAR!!!!!!

Dear Diana,

You will be 1 year old in less than a week and I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! It is true, what people say....you will see how fast time goes by when you have children. They weren't lying. This has been the fastest year of my life!

You are just growing into a beautiful little girl...inside and out!

You are taking bottles now that are 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk. Once we go to your one year doctor's appointment, we will find out if we can switch you to straight milk! This is a HUGE accomplishment for you due to your digestive trouble in the beginning and your acid reflux! You can also hold your bottle all by yourself now! Sometimes you have trouble grasping the concept of tipping it, so you keep getting enough liquid but I think you are getting the gist!

You are also starting to feed yourself table foods- you got the hang of that VERY quickly....you enjoy the Gerber sweet potato puff snacks and the Gerber yogurt melt snacks along with your first cut-up meatball this past weekend! Today you are enjoying pasta and you are doing a great job feeding yourself!

You have become a SUPER FAST POWER CRAWLER too....it is especially fun when Daddy is picking you up from daycare or I am picking you up from Mimi and Papa's. You crawl to us SO FAST and you are giggling at the same time and showing your excitement!

You have also started to walk holding on to furniture and holding our hands...we think you will be walking by yourself in no time!!

Every time you are at Mimi and Papa's you make a lot of progress. You love trekking it around their house...you even dance to Cathy's music that they play for you! You crawl up to their fireplace and look at your reflection...sometimes you even kiss yourself...I guess you are pleased with what you see? So funny.

Daddy says when he drops you off at daycare...you have a few friends waiting for you and three/four of you sit around talking to each other..catching up at the water cooler as he says!!

This summer..you enjoyed your first few bites of ice cream so that is a favorite. If we stop feeding you, you start to grunt for more! Hysterical.

We always knew you would be a talker...I mean look at your parents...you really didn't have a choice! You say Dada the most and you have started to say Mama...but I wish you said it more!! You also know what it means when we shout "Bambi NO!" So you have come up with your own version of yelling at Bambi and you go "NAA!" and point to Bambi...it is so funny....the poor dog :)

Sesame Street has become magic to you just like it was for Mama and Daddy so long ago. Elmo is your favorite but you get excited even when you see Murray and Cookie Monster now. You sing during some of the songs and pay attention during the letter and number lessons...God that show has never changed....it is mesmerizing to children!

Griffin Park has become a favorite place of yours too...just like Mama! We go on special walks together on Wednesday and Friday mornings....those are the days Mama gets to work from home so we get our exercise done early and you usually come home to take a nap so Mama can make calls! You are very cooperative...it is almost like you know to be extra good so Mama can get some work done.

Your giggles are the best..they make us giggle...your hair is so beautiful...we still can't tell if it is going to be curly like Mama's or straight like Dada's but we do know that you have A LOT- another thing you really didn't have a choice on!

We are getting ready for your big 1st birthday party on Saturday...stay tuned...I am sure we will get several pictures to capture the magic of the day.

I can't believe you are turning one. It feels like I was just feeding you in the hospital yesterday...as you were wrapped in a little white tee shirt and swaddled in the hospital's striped blanket. You looked up at me, even though you couldn't see....and you moved your mouth open, with your tongue jetting out, to say you were hungry and we bonded.

I love you my baby bird...

Papa Pete's Bday!

So on our way home from Boston, we hit Mimi and Papa's house for Papa's Bday celebration. The biggest joke was that my mom got 7lbs of gnoccis!! Then in typical Italian fashion, asks us, "do you think 7lbs is enough?" God we shared a laugh and of course the whole family didn't even finish 4! Along with the gnocci was her homemade "gravy" along with bracciole, meatballs, and sausages, and salad and fresh italian bread of course.

One of the highlights of the day was that Diana had her FIRST MEATBALL....an Italian tradition benefits yet another generation :)

Mimi's Blueberry Cosmos were also up there!

Had a great family day- love you Dad!!