Riding on the bike is so fun that I zzzzzzzzzz...

I've been slackin'. Sonia hooked us up with an iBert safe-T-seat earlier this summer, but I never got around to installing it on my bike until a couple of weekends ago. Better late than never, eh? Apparently not. Damiano and I were all set to head out for a ride the next weekend, but mo'nature had other plans. I think she was teaching me a lesson because, for the first time since late April, rain unloaded on the Bay Area all day Saturday and Sunday. OK, lesson learned.

So finally today, after much anticipation, D & I headed out for our first ride!! Through the Lower Haight, up Page to GG Park and on to JFK Drive, which is closed off every Sunday to motorized vehicles, allowing bikers and skaters and walkers and bladers to cruise in safety. From JFK, we popped over to the pathway next to Speedway Meadows and over to the polo fields. I stopped there to take a break and realized that homeboy was PASSED OUT!!! I was wondering why he was being so quiet. I don't get to get out on the bike too often these days, so I figured I'd keep on for a bit. The next 6 miles were completely hilarious. I was riding with a bobble headed sack of potatoes... he'd be all slouched over one minute and then splayed back into my arms the next. Everyone was pointing at us saying stuff like, "oh my god, is he OK?", and "hahahah, look at the little guy!".

We made it home without incident, and D woke up right as his moms came out for some photos. Good times. We'll be doing this more often, that's for sure.

Catchin' some zzzzzzzzzzzz's in the iBert

Awake for a photo op w/Pops & Smokey

Pkeh picking

D is starting to pick up lots of words. Of course, they come out his own way, so they're not always recognizable. We recently figured out that he's been saying "all done" and "pumpkin" lately (it must be fall).

This weekend we went to pick a pumpkin with Auntie Camilla, Uncle Sergio and Francesco, so he got to practice the last one. It comes out a lot shorter than the actual word, more like "pkeh". D had a great time romping around among the pumpkins and we had a photo opportunity to compare what a difference one year makes.
Check it out - last year:
This year:
And these are the boys posing for the camera:
Halloween is Friday - looking forward to some more photo ops then!

Mo', mo'!

The D is talking a lot these days. Sometimes he sounds a bit southern (he says "mo" for more and "bah" for bye), but to my great pride he finally started speaking Italian as well. His first word? Acqua. Which makes sense considering how often I offer him water on a daily basis. Speaking of water, he and his pal Zach also started their first swim class. "Swim" is a bit of an overstatement, as mostly we sing songs and play around in the water, but they seem to be enjoying it despite the relatively chill pool temperature.


But the "mo" here is less for him than for his grandparents. They've been clamoring for more video, so here it is. These were taken during our last camping trip in Big Basin.

Lookie lookie, October already...

Can't believe September is over! We had a couple more busy weekends and the San Francisco indian summer has been in full effect, so we were able to enjoy wonderful weather on our outings.

First, we headed up to Tahoe for Chris and Fiona's wedding. The drive up was a little grueling (got caught in traffic and it took us five hours), but D was a champ through it all, despite arriving past his dinner time and being really tired of being strapped into his car seat. We were able to fit in a little hiking and enjoyed amazing views as we climbed over Emerald Bay to Granite Lake. We also had a nice time at the wedding, reconnecting with friends and enjoying the lake views as well as the wine handpicked by the couple.

Then, it was off to Big Basin for a (cabin) camping trip with the M's and the DiZ's. I often forget just how amazing the park is and how lucky we are to have it practically in our backyard. The redwood groves are awe-inspiring, and well worth braving the windy roads required to get to the park. Our three sites were all adjoining each other, and we had a fire-hollowed redwood base at our site, providing great toddler adventures. The three kiddos had a wonderful time playing outdoors with logs, rocks and sticks as well as the two dogs. The adults split up the food duties and voila' - three gourmet meals a day! We had such a good time we'll have to turn it into a yearly tradition...

Busy weekends...

We've had three action-packed weekends, and I've been behind in updating D's site. First in late August we had Outside Lands, the first multi-day festival-style concert in SF. I would post pictures except for D slept through it, so it wouldn't be that interesting. Uncles Pete and Pat made it out for the concert though, so D got to catch up with his pop's best buddies.

Labor Day weekend was such a treat - another open-air concert, this time affiliated with the Slow Food Festival. Ozomatli and Gnarls Barkley played and every family in SF was out enjoying the warm weather, great food and rocking tunes. Here's D enjoying some tea-smoked salmon and pancetta flatbread during the break and D during the Gnarls Barkley cover of Radiohead's Reckoner. Needless to say, his pops was stoked.


Then, continuing on the food streak, Labor Day we went to Pacifica to celebrate Ash's 40 and partake of the wild boar he had shot not long before. D loved his boar chops (as well as the watermelon and the Radio Flyer rides with Cameron).

This past weekend, as the heat wave kept going, we headed down to Carmel for Darren & Steph's wedding. D loved whiling away the hot afternoon hours in the hotel pool, as well as the wonderful Mexican fiesta and dancing with Cooper in the barnyard.

More video!

Well, the video was a hit all around, so I'm just going to post some more. Damiano really loves water, and it shows. So first, two takes from water play in the backyard (thanks FGA Lynne!).

And then getting ready for bathtime...

Walking & introducing... video!

So it's been forever since the last post. I have to say, the last month flew by. Ever since D started walking life just changed. It's a constant running around, looking after him and making sure he doesn't get into trouble. He's loving it though. Loves going wherever he likes, having a new perspective in life. And he's growing like a weed. He's already dining-table height (such is the perspective you get when you try to child-proof your home). We decided to make our dining room a bit more child-friendly, so we installed some Flor carpet tiles, set up another baby gate and bought a child-sized table where we can leave his sippy cup, snack trap and other playthings. Since I also recently received a nifty little videocam, here's some video of D while Chris is installing the carpet...