D - A - D

Every year for Father's Day, I take pictures of the kids holding white wooden letters, "D" and "A." Justin has a frame at work that holds three photos, and I arrange them to spell "DAD." This year the kids gave him a photo album to store all the previous (and future years) photos for his own yearly "DAD" keepsake. 

This year was photo shoot number 4, and it is amazing already to see how the kids have changed. Here is a collage of all 4 years of D-A-D photos:

Starting in 2010, when Jennie was only 6 months old, my biggest challenge was getting her to take the pic and not eat the letters. Eventually, I gave up and used one of the pics that she was nibbling on the "D." Every year I take about 200 pictures over the course of a few weeks, and then take the "best of the best" to print - no joke. I have serious respect for people that take pictures of kids for a living! Just getting them to look at the camera (forget smiling) makes me break a sweat.

Year three of this project (Jacob's debut to the D-A-D frame) presented the biggest challenge yet: get TWO kids to look at a camera! I think the most the most frustrating part for me was that Jennie was 2 1/2, and "knew" how to look at the camera; she just refused to. We had endless photo shoots that year. Later on that summer, probably about three weeks after Father's Day, me and the kids were at Grammie's house (Justin's mom). Jennie and Jacob were in the kiddie pool, and me and Grammie were taking some pictures of them. Then, Jennie was playing pretend taking "pictures" of the squirting toys. She gathered them all together and said, "Just take the freaking picture!" We looked at each other (my mother-in-law was looking at me in shock, and I looked at her in complete embarassment) and then we asked Jennie, "What did you say?" Sure enough, Jennie responds with, "Just take the freaking picture!" Apparently Jennie was saving that gem that she learned from me a few weeks back at the height of my picture taking frustration!

This year was challenging as usual. The kids are cute and love to smile - until you ask them to hold the letter or pose for a picture. My favorite part about this year was the out takes. The out takes really show the character of my kiddos - they are funny, silly, adorable, and (sometimes) a little bratty - but mostly bored with Mommy trying to take their pictures:

"She wants us to do WHAT with this letter?

Jennie is willing to look ANY WHERE
except the camera

My goof balls

"Take THAT letter D!"

Jake gave Jennie a sharp rap on
the head with the letter  A...

...And then knocked his own forehead on hers.
Result: hilarious. 

"AAALLLL DOOONE!"

The album that Justin got today has enough pages for 50 years of D-A-D photos. I hope that the pages get filled with beautiful pics of his darling kiddos - photos filled with personality, some smiles, and a few laughs. As the years go on, I am hopeful that the process with get easier. However, I am not going to hold my breath. In the end, I am willing to take a thousand photos, break a sweat, and annoy my kids to do this project every year for Justin. He deserves it - he is a loving, caring, dedicated, thoughtful, goofy, fun, and amazing Dad. His children respect him, look up to him, and love him beyond words.... and I do, too. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Little Adventurers!

Yesterday, Justin and I took the little monsters (I mean Mosca's...) to hike Blue Hill. Its was a great adventure!

Blue Hill hike, September, 2011.
Jennie was 21 months old

We packed up early, and hit the trail at 9:30 am. I am so impressed with how far we've come with packing. I think back to doing this hike with Jennie a couple years ago (when she was almost 2) and we brought a TON of stuff! I mean, the red-dot hike that we do at Blue Hill is less than 2 miles round trip and we probably packed about 2 gallons of water, enough food for three meals, and at least 5 diapers. This time around, we had a very reasonably small amount of "stuff." I am proud to say that we actually used everything in the backpack, except for the extra pants (no leaky diapers or accidents).

Jacob was very skeptical with his ride-a-long backpack at first, but he got into it and really enjoyed all the sticks and rocks we let him carry, and all the trees he could touch along the way. He was very happy to get out and do a little "hiking" on his own at the top. As soon as he was walking along the rocky ground, he started giggling and looking back at Jennie. I think he was so excited to hike just like his big sister!


Jennie was an amazing hiker! She immediately got a walking stick, and loved climbing on the rocks and learning to hike. We taught her how to use her hands for balance when climbing up, how to follow the trail markers, and how to find the "best route" when faced with a difficult part. Jennie really enjoyed scaling the big rocks and then telling Mommy and Daddy what the best way to go would be. At first, she kept wanting to hold my hand. I would say no and then show her a good way to climb up. After about 10 minutes of hiking, she yelled at me for trying to hold her hand and help. Little Miss independent - I love it!

Snack time!

 At the top of Blue Hill there is a tower and lots of tables. We had a snack and explored a little. Jennie kept calling it her princess castle. She even invited us to go in... how nice of her! We headed back down the mountain and taught Jennie some down-hill skills like using her stick for balance and turning around to climb down backwards for big rocks. She really enjoyed it, and had great energy until the very end. I think she finally decided she was too tired to go any further when we had only about 400 yards to go! Justin and I were quite impressed with our tiny little 3 and a half year old. Jake on the other hand did not make it as long. He passed out less than half way down.

One moment, a happy hiker!

Next moment, a happy dreamer!

 All in all, a really nice family outing. Hopefully we can keep getting them out in the woods to hike and camp and explore. Nothing beats an all natural education in the great outdoors!

What a difference one and a half years makes!!

A Big Sigh of Relief

I want the villains in my kids' lives to be Swiper the Fox and The Joker. I want them to be afraid of the dark, and nervous about monsters under their beds. I don't want them to grow up worrying about terrorists in this world; or in this country... or in their home town. Last week here in Watertown, MA was a lot to stomach - it was stressful and nerve-wracking to say the least.

Starting on Monday, Jennie and Justin went into Boston to watch the marathon. Jennie was so excited to take the subway! They ventured to the Public Garden to see the swan boats and the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues. She got to ride on the merry-go-round in the Common. They went to see the finish line of the marathon, and walk down Newbury Street. After watching some runners go through Kenmore Square, they wandered around Fenway. Jennie even picked out a new Sox hat - pink camo, of course. The crowning point of the day was next - Daddy was taking Jennie up to the top of a "big building" to see the whole city. However, on their way to the Pru, the runners were stopped and log jamming about where they made it to. Dozens of emergency vehicles were swarming towards the finish line. My two loves where 3 blocks away from the bombing - and I am still thanking God every day that they were not closer.

For the sake of my nerves, I was extremely fortunate that while this happened, I was not at home. Me and Jacob were at the playground, and Justin managed to get a phone call through to me right away to ask me if I knew what was going on. So, I didn't know what was going on - but I knew they were OK. Cell service was totally jammed, and communication was impossible for hours after that first call, but our friend Hector kept them safe at his place in Kenmore Square until I could finally get into the city and collect them. Jennie knew something was up - Daddy had to explain a little about the stopped runners, the emergency vehicles, why the big buildings were "closed," and that the trains were "shut down" and they couldn't get home yet. What an impossible task - answering a child's questions about a terrible incident, in a way they can understand, with out frightening them to death, and without lying. Jacob totally knew I was stressed at home - he kept giving me hugs and asking for tickles. It is just amazing how kids can sense your feelings. Thankfully, he didn't have any questions for me at home except, "Nack?" (for a snack) and "Nuggle?" (for his blankie).

Then, on Wednesday, we had a small electrical fire in our apartment! I walked in to the apartment after a lunch date, and it was filled with smoke. I called the fire department and much to my children's enjoyment, 4 fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car all rolled onto Forest Street to help us out. Jacob could hardly contain his excitement. He was wiggling and moving his feet in place and pointing, yelling, "FIRE TRUCK! FIRE TRUCK!" One of the cops on site said hello to him, and Jake just yelled, "FIRE TRUCK!" The cop laughed and said, "So he's not into the police yet, huh?"

They found a melted extension cord in Jennie's room that burned a little of the wall and took out a few other cords with it. Luckily nothing else caught fire, but the clean up took many many hours. Jennie's whole room was covered in a thin layer of soot. Thank God (again!) that Jake and Jennie were not in there at the time - and that nothing else caught fire. Poor Jennie kept asking for a few days if her room was going to catch on fire again.

Jake was happy to have a tub all to himself on Friday night!

Then, the ultimate in stressors of the week - the shoot out, man hunt, and subsequent capture of a terrorist in our hometown.... less than 2 miles from our house. We are so thankful that Jennie had a sleep over on Thursday night at Grammie and Papa Mosca's house. They kept her safe, and more importantly, oblivious to what was going on at home. Justin, Jacob, and I were bunkered down in our home (no driving or leaving our home was allowed all day). Jacob knew something was up - he could (again) sense our stress. He also knew he wanted OUT of the house, haha. He kept going over to the front door and banging on it yelling, "Out, Mommy, OUT!" It was a crappy feeling being stuck inside the house - like being in a tent camping out in the woods. You feel enclosed, but not really safe from what was "out there."

But, in the end, they caught him. I continue to pray and thank God that my family is safe, and that my children are young enough to not really know what was going on. I want them to have more time believing that their safety is 100% guaranteed by Mom and Dad - I don't want them to know that there are people that we may not be able to protect them from. They don't need to know about the scum out there... not yet. All they need to know is that last week in their home town of Watertown, there were more good guys than bad guys. I hope that throughout their whole lives, my children only experience everything the "good guys" do. And I hope for my own sanity that no more bad guys decide to hunker down in my own town...

The Mosca Kiddos are Getting Gross...

...motor skills, that is! My kiddos have been busy learning all sorts of big-deal gross motor skills. Jacob is figuring out how to walk (although he has not stood up in the middle of the floor yet, he pulls himself up and then lets go to walk around). Jennie is learning to ski (!!) and she just got some new "big girl" ice skates with only one blade. She is looking forward to practicing her skating skills and working on "skating like an adult." Check out the videos of my little gross-motor wonders!

Jennie Skis!

Jennie learns to walk... on skates!

Jacob walking!

More walking at the playground!

So, my kids are getting more and more gross every day, and I am so proud of them! ;)