August 2014

August was as normal a month as I could have expected.  It was filled with lots of typical daily activities and nothing too out of the ordinary.  I say this because looking back in retrospect, I don't have too many strong memories standing out.  This tells me that nothing outrageous occurred, although we did reach a couple of really fun milestones in parenthood.  And of course I do have lots of fun random photos that comprise the month of August.

We were continued to adjust to our new role as parents of 2 children, and not just one.  Going out as a family took a little more effort.

But it was fun to be out and about as a family.

Joe's Farm Grill

Joe's Farm Grill

Gabriel was getting more and more used to have Mikaela around as a permanent member in our family, not just a visitor.

I might say that he even started enjoying her company just a little bit.

Other family members that had to get used to Mikaela were the cats.  Although I think for them it wasn't that big of a deal.  If anything, since we were up in the middle of the night a lot that meant they got lots of extra attention.

I think Raggio especially enjoyed having Mikaela in the home because we busted out the swing and used that to soothe her.  But whenever she was not in it you can take a wild guest as to who was:

Daily the kids and I were busy doing normal living activities at home while Daddy was working.  Lots of playing with toys, tummy time, eating, and just trying to stay cool in the hot Arizona weather.

Selfie!

We were right in the middle of Monsoon Season, so getting those big storms every coupe of days was really fun.

Every once in a while I got a break from the mommy gig and would get to indulge myself a little bit.

Kristin and I getting pedis

Every day as Eric would leave for work Gabriel would stand and watch him go through the front door.  He would even start to fuss a bit, which was cute to see.  Went to show that this little guy missed his daddy.  He even started to to think that any time Eric left the house that he was leaving for a long time and would stand and watch him go.

We had the occasional visits from Nana which were wonderful.  It was always nice to have an extra set of hands to help with the kids.  Plus Gabriel loved getting to play with his Nana.

We also had some visits by Papi.

The kids continued to grow and be as cute as ever.  Gabriel was his typical happy boisterous self.

He started to really become quite the technology baby, picking up and doing what Mommy and Daddy did by talking on cell phones and using headphones to listen to things.

Gabriel even started having enough hair that I could play with it, well only a little bit.  But it was still fun.  I like to refer to this moment as Wolverine Hair!

And Mikaela was just as cute as ever.  We were still working on her acid reflux and helping her to go to sleep better during the night.  Yet, in the quiet moments she was a pure delight.



Let's see, well a big milestone for Gabriel during August was that he learned how to stand up all by himself.




He even started walking so long as he was assisted by something.

He actually took his first solo steps in church, which of course we didn't catch on camera.

The little stinker refused to walk again for a number of weeks but we knew that he could do it.  Yep, 15 months old and finally catching up to some of his older cousins hehehe....

A big milestone for our little "kara" was that she started smiling.  Oh, finally some payback for all those restless nights and difficult days.







We would often times go to Nana and Papa's house to play with the cousins.  It was lots of fun to be there with all kids, noise and chaos.

We had a couple of chances to see how Mikaela was matching up Andrew in size and growth.  What can I say, I just make really big kids!

Andrew and Mikaela - beginning of August

Mikaela and Andrew - end of August

Andrew - 4 months; Mikaela - 3 months

All in all, it was a good month.

August 4, 2009 - 5 Years Ago

August 4, 2009... might not seem like it was a momentous date or occasion, but for me, it was the ending of life and the start of a new life.  Things were about to drastically change and I was not even capable of comprehending what would come to pass from that point on.

That date I am talking about is the day that I returned home from my mission.  Has it really been 5 years?!?!  And yet, I know that in the blink of an eye it will be 10, 20, 30, 50!  Often times when I am talking to my father he reminisces about his mission days, often starting off by saying something to the effect of: "Let's see, I was in 'such and such' area, I had been out about 'x" amount of months... that was 30, no wait, 40,... nope, it was 45 years ago... wow..." ... Yep, every time he recalls the exact amount of time it has been since his mission, I somehow feel as though I am only a baby in the age of long gone.  And yet, for those who have only just returned, I seem so old and out of touch with what it was like to be a missionary.  In only 5 short years, so much as changed and progressed in the world of missionaries.  I really am out of touch with what is going on.  I do have to give myself credit, I might be out of touch in that world, but I am in touch with this new world that I live everyday, the world of mommy hood.  I might have left that world behind, but a new way of living has taken its place and now consumes my every waking minute.

5 years ago I was single, living in AZ, a year and a half away from finishing my bachelor's degree, and didn't have a clue as to the direction I wanted to take my life (or in better words, didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up).

Today, I am married (to a man I met while on my mission and it will be 4 years in April), I have 2 children (who will turn 1 and 2 on May 25th), graduated with my BS in 2011 from BYU, and still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

So yes, a lot can happen in the course of 5 years, a lot can change, but the mission will never ever be forgotten, no matter how much time passes.

I still dream in Italian a couple of times a week.  I still think of people who I met, taught, laughed with, loved and had the pleasure of serving almost every day.  I am disappointed by how much I have not kept up with my Italian language skill, yet I always have it written on my to-do list to study.  I wish that I kept in better contact with a lot of these people but also recognize the reality of the situation that we live in.  I continue to dream that I will go back and see everyone there again, perhaps through the military and Eric's career we will be able to.  I continue to have my testimony grow from experiences I had while laboring among those crazy, loud, spontaneous, lively, amazing Italians.  I love to reminisce about the ways that Italians would do things vs. the way we Americans do things.  For example, the other night at dinner I had on my plate at one time a salad, vegetables, and the main dish; and within about 30 seconds of starting to eat it I laughed in my head at the notion of what an Italian would think looking at my plate.  I still attempt frequently to cook as they do, never quite being 100% successful because there are just some things you can't replicate as Italian while living in the middle of the United States.

The mission changed me and I am forever grateful.  Time will continue to pass, but I will never forget.

Forza Italia!

Finally It's Time

I have been dreading working on this project just because I know how much of a monster it is going to be.  But I know that if I don't do it, I will regret it all the rest of my days.  So, little by little I will tackle this... this being:  Catching Up On The Blog (doom doom doom).  I can't promise when, I will promise that at some point in the future (near future preferably) I will be caught up and will only have to post on a consistent basis such as to maintain the activities of our family.  

Wish me luck, I am going to need it.