When we got home, and I was taking him out of his car seat, he said, “Want a piece of meat?” Interestingly enough, Woody says this line to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, but of course, the line is “Want a piece of me?”

When I replied, “No, I don’t want a piece of meat.” He responded with, “Want a piece of cheese?”

The following day we celebrated with 21 of Matteo’s friends and family, including our very special guest, Mommy Sara. She joined us around 2pm, and stayed till about 8pm. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for her willingness to maintain contact. Sadly, Grandma Kathi and great-Grandma Dot (aka GDot) could not join us; both were sick. Interestingly enough, we almost cancelled. For most of the week leading up to the party, Christopher had been ill.

So what’s new? Matteo is still mastering going to the toilet. He has been quite the trooper! His verbal skills exploded with full-on sentences – still waters run deep! The other morning, from his crib, we hear, “Daddy, my nose is leaving!” Poor thing had a runny nose.

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Matteo is doing very well with his potty training. He wears pull-ups every day and sits on the toilet or stands next to it to do his business. Though we are quite pleased with his progress, he is still working on mastering the poop part. Sometimes we make it, sometimes we don’t.

Matteo turns two in a couple of weeks. Has it really been two years? In May, Christopher turns four. Time certainly flies…

Christopher seems to have hit a milestone of his own. He no longer throws a fit when we go to school in the morning. Of course, now that I write this, he will regress. Ugh. Seriously, though, he has been very mature about it.

Here is a recent family photo…

With boys dressed, an extra shirt in hand, Toy Story loaded in the DVD player, we drove down to San Jose. Before meeting up with Grandma and Valarie, we walked through the mall, hoping to get a glimpse. Santa wasn’t there yet, but his chair and larger-than-life Christmas tree were in place. Much to my surprise, Christopher was so excited to see everything that when he realized Santa wasn’t there, he got upset. I had to tell him that Santa was parking his reindeer in the special reindeer garage. I was able to buy some time with this bit of information. Whew!

When we began heading back to Santa’s post, we noticed him coming out of one of the mall hallways. Suspiciously Christopher looked at him; I was momentarily nervous fully expecting that this meeting would be a bust. And as quickly as the thought entered my mind, I had another. Tell Christopher to ask Santa, “Where is Frosty?” Sure enough, this broke the ice. Santa and Christopher were fast friends.

Not only did we get a great pic – okay, we are a bit biased – but I managed to capture the below video.

Enjoy.

Meeting with Santa from Mike and Michael on Vimeo.

After meeting with Santa, we headed to the Olive Garden for lunch. My only complaint – when the waiter brought the food to our table, a waitress who was assisting made the following comment as she handed the boys’ plates to me. “Are you going to be able to handle the two of them?” My reply, “Yes, I do this EVERY day.” Why is it that women feel the need to comment on a father’s ability to parent? Let’s face it, parenting is hard; it is one of the toughest jobs. I get it. I do. It’s not rocket science, though. So, yes, I can manage.

“Would you like some more fruit?”
– “Sure.”
“¿Quieres el agua?”
– “Sí.”
“Would you like to watch a show?”
– “Show! Show! Show! Show!”

At least he is learning “tank” (thanks), “peas” (please), “sawee” (sorry) and some other audible sound for “you are welcome”.

Here’s our little love bug enjoying some time with Daddy.

Adorable.

They are married