Firsts

Over the weekend, we had our first watermelon at the new house, and tried out our new camera for the first time!

Preschool Dropout

Joey may not be off to the best start with his schooling. Not only did he start his first year of preschool late, thanks to a family vacation (truant!!), he dropped out after completing only three quarters of the year, uprooted by his family's move. His parents seem to be displaying an alarming disregard for education.

Luckily, his preschool's yearly parent-teacher conferences were held on his last day of school, and we got his first "report card." It wasn't exactly the glowing review that his cousin Megan (aka Teacher's Pet ;) received, but he still got high marks and high praise for almost everything except 1) being able to say his full name (and really, can we blame him??), and 2) fully bonding with any other kids in the classroom after his little crush deserted him midway through the year (I knew she was fickle from the start). Unlike most of the 4 year-old boys in his class, he never got into a single scrape on the playground or in the classroom, despite the fact that he was one of the brawniest. He was every bit the diplomat at school as he is at home. And we weren't surprised to learn that he was always excited about time spent in front of the easel, loved playing with floor puzzles, spent ages pretending to be a fireman, and was a very cooperative helper when it came time to clean up.

Many of the kids in Joey's preschool class are headed to kindergarten in the fall, and while Joey misses the birth date cutoff by a few weeks, he was still showing signs of kindergarten readiness, and passed the assessment with flying colors. In our spare time this summer (ha!), we've been tasked with getting him started on reading, since he's already starting to put letters and sounds together.

In the fall, he and Clara will start at a brand-new preschool together (with a baby brother or sister tagging along for drop offs and pickups). We're excited about more preschool adventures times two!

Nesting

After a bout of contractions on Wednesday night left me panicked at how much I still had to do to prepare for this baby, I spent Thursday doing a flurry of errands and chores. By the end of the day, the bassinet was made up, tiny gender-neutral onesies, undershirts, swaddles and coming-home outfits were freshly washed and stowed away, and a massive www.diapers.com order promised to deliver other newborn essentials like diapers, wipes, lotions, and nursing supplies. During nap time, I also managed to pack a hospital bag, the sight of which made Tim slightly nauseous when he came home from work ;)

Joey and Clara deserved a reward for dealing with Nesting Mommy, so after lunch we headed to Build-a-Bear in Walnut Creek, where they each got to pick out, stuff, fluff, bathe and dress a stuffed animal as a present for the new baby. Joey will be giving the baby a puppy, while Clara chose a bunny rabbit. We were the only customers in the store, so for an hour and a half, they had the run of the entire workshop! Here they are...

Luckily, neither one is naming Baby #3. Given the opportunity to christen their animals at the birth certificate station, Joey named his puppy "Joey," and Clara named her bunny "Baby." Here's the proud parents and their stuffed offspring.

Settled

Joey, while helping me straighten the garage today, heaved a contented sigh, and said, "You know, Mommy, this isn't the Moraga House any more. We can just call it home now."

Farewell, Sunset!

The dust has settled in the last room of the house to be unpacked -- the office -- and I finally unearthed my camera cord and camera battery charger. I'm now able to present some fun pictures we took the morning of the move (while trying to stay out of the movers' way). Farewell, San Francisco house! We'll miss you!

Across the Bridge and Through the Tunnel...

Moving with two young kids at 35 weeks pregnant is hugely overrated.

It's an especially bad idea when your two stuffed-to-the-gills moving trucks pull up in front of a house that is still a hive of remodeling activity, with no less than five men applying a second coat of paint to every single surface in the house. Add in four burly movers anxious to begin unloading their freight, a cleaning crew of two who were doing their best to clean up the construction debris, an enormous pregnant girl who was quietly hyperventilating over the chaos and kept getting in everybody's way, and a husband who kept insisting she sit down... and I'm amazed we had the time to take these two pictures that day. They do a really good job of capturing 1) just how huge I am, and 2) how disorganized the unload was (how often are movers actually instructed to deposit all boxes on the front porch??).

Thank goodness we didn't have two more little people underfoot! After living in a mostly packed house for three or four days before the move, making do with movies on the laptop, and creating "box mazes" in the absence of toys, they earned a reprieve with a stay at Camp Stecher, under the supervision of Mop and Aunt Loretta! Thanks to all involved in keeping them entertained and happy!!

Before they were whisked away, Joey and Clara got to soak in the excitment of Moving Day itself. We had read "Moving House" at least 55 billion times -- a helpful primer for both kids and moms. While Joey giggled over Sam Sparks being hoisted around in a chair by super-strong guys, Mommy fretted over Mrs. Sparks' harried look and messy 'do on every single page. It turns out that little boys are NOT looked upon kindly by busy movers, but Mommies will almost always look like death warmed over for at least two weeks during this kind of upheaval.

Our Irish moving crew needed our rugrats/ tripping hazards to say 'hello' and 'goodbye,' so after posing for some pictures in front of the truck, we headed down to our beloved Parkside Playground for one more romp at the park.

We'll miss our half-block jaunt!

Here's to new adventures in Moraga! After three days without any interior doors, and only one working toilet, we finally are enjoying the luxury of doorknobs, faucets, overhead lights, and curtains. Our stream of visitors so far has been lots of fun -- a break from unpacking is always welcome -- so our shingle is officially out! Stop on by :)

Happy Birthday, Hop!

Due to a series of snafus, Hop foiled our plans for a surprise birthday dinner in Walnut Creek. But we still managed to celebrate his big 6-0 in style -- minus the surprise factor -- at Scott's. We scored a private dining room on a Saturday night (who knew it was that easy??) and were able to corral all six kids (seven if you include Uncle Kyle ;) behind closed doors and away from other restaurant guests. I'm not sure we can ever dine with the public again! Here's the birthday guy with all six squirmy grandchildren.



And finally, a special man-to-man toast from Joey. Happy Birthday, Hop!

Lost in the Shuffle

This is probably the lot of third babies everywhere, but this baby's impending arrival has truly been lost in the shuffle of packing, moving, purging, and -- of course -- day-to-day life with two little ones.

But he or she is doing its best to make its presence known, especially during its evening gymnastics sessions, with kicks and somersaults that routinely take my breath away, leave me feeling seasick and bruised, and mostly make us worry about just how active this baby will be once it makes its grand entrance!

Speaking of grand entrances, we were thrown a curveball at our last OB appointment, when I learned that I was measuring more than a week ahead of schedule. This, combined with our plan to induce labor a week early to ensure that I don't deliver on the Bay Bridge during rush hour, means that we'll probably be welcoming Baby Cecchin two weeks before we thought... around May 12 instead of May 28, our original due date. (I'm trying not to panic, really. Five weeks is enough time to get settled into a new house, right??)

Since our days are numbered, I snagged two more pregnancy snapshots after bathtime this week... here I am at 33 weeks, with my wriggly, wet "big babies."

Street Fight

Thirteen days until our move to suburbia, and I'm leaving the city in disgrace. After navigating and parking our extra-long beast of an SUV on the streets of San Francisco for more than three years, I just plowed right into the neighbor's car across the street.

The only bright spot? Joey wasn't there to witness the carnage. As it is, I might not hear the end of this until he leaves for college. He's mostly wowed (as am I) that our "super-strong" car sustained only a scuff. You should see the other guy.

Celebrity Sightings

I have a track record to maintain of publicly humiliating Tim when he abandons me to the bedlam of two kids for days at a time. Last year he made the mistake of sending me a photo of his antics in Montreal while on a bachelor party. This time, he's on what can only be loosely defined as a work trip, since it happens to be in Scottsdale, and he's taking in Spring Training games with John Cassanego and Kevin Harrington.

I'm not sure why SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer were on hand as well... but Tim made some new friends.





The difference between 2 year-olds and 4 year-olds? Upon seeing these pictures, Clara squealed, "Whoa!!!! Daddy fly on plane to see DORA????" While Joey took one appraising look at the second picture, and ruled, "That's not the real SpongeBob. That's just a guy in a costume. Why is Daddy talking to him?"

To (Another) Grandmother's House We Go

Apparently, we have a modus operandi when it comes to home buying... we keep it all in the family.

After almost ten years in our San Francisco home (which was Tim's grandmother's home), we're thrilled to announce that we're buying the home that belonged to my grandmother ("Ma") in Moraga. It's a ranch-style home on one level, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a much bigger yard than we're used to, and we think it will be perfect for our soon-to-be family of five!



There's immense comfort in purchasing a house that is so linked to family history, that holds so many memories, and that resonates with other family members as well. We just can't believe we're doing it twice!

With a move date of April 9, we hope to be all settled in before the new baby comes on the scene in late May. Look for us in the 925 area code soon!

Little Leprechauns

The Raley clan celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a trip to a park in Moraga and a corned beef and cabbage feast that made us ask ourselves why we only enjoy this fare once per year!

Here's the four "big kids" decked out in their green...







The Baby Whisperer soothes Annie and Tessa with some carseat rocks and some patented cheek tickling.




And finally, some close-ups of our olive-skinned Italian brute, and our fair-skinned Irish lass :)

Joe Jokes

When out to dinner one evening, I made the mistake of reading one of the jokes on the kid's menu to Joey. Despite the fact that the joke fell flat (since he didn't know what a joke was, of course) he's been obsessed with learning this new communication skill. Here's how the last few days have progressed...

Out to dinner reading off menu:
Tim: Joey, what did the big potato say to the little potato?
Joey: What, Daddy?
Tim: Nothing, potatoes don't talk!
Joey: (dead silence with confused look on his face)
Tim: That was a joke.
Joey: What's a joke?

GETTING THE CONCEPT SCORE: ZERO out of 10

The next night at home:
Joey: Daddy, what did the big couch say to the little couch?
Tim: What, Joey?
Joey: .... .... .... um...That's a joke! HAHAHAHAHA!

GETTING THE CONCEPT SCORE: 3 out of 10


This morning:
Joey: Daddy, what did the big tree say to the little tree?
Tim: What, Joey?
Joey: Nothing, couches don't talk! HAHAHAHAHA!

GETTING THE CONCEPT SCORE: 6 out of 10

So, this evening, I thought we'd switch gears and go to knock-knock jokes. Relying on an old staple we learned in 5th grade from Mr. D'Angelo, our soccer coach. It took some work, but I think he now gets the concept (though he can't possibly understand the punchline).

This is how the learning process went:
Tim: Joey, I'm going to teach you knock-knock joke, are you ready?
Joey: Yes
Tim: Knock-knock
Joey: Who's there?
Tim: Bisquick
Joey: (absolutely erupts with laugher) HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Tim: (chuckling) hang on Joey, that's not the joke
Joey: Oh
Tim: let's try again....Knock, knock
Joey: Who's there.
Tim: Bisquick
Joey: Bisquick who
Tim: Bisquick, your pants are on fire!!!
Joey: (absolutely erupts with laugher) HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

And, after several practice runs, I bring you the finished product...(I hope preschool teacher Miss Michelle is amused)

A Closer Look at the Buzz

The buzz cut is definitely growing on Joey. I overheard him tell Clara this morning, "Feel my fuzzy head. My hair is as short as a baby's hair!" Here, he models it in all its shorn glory.

G.I. Joe

Due to a slight miscommunication with the stylist at SuperCuts, Joey is now ready to enlist in the Armed Forces.