Recent Pics and stories

So much has been going on the last week or so, so I figured it would be best to catch up through pictures (I know that's why you're here anyway!). Enjoy!



My friend Abbie and her sweet buddha baby Brooks (he's 6 weeks younger than Brady, but quite bigger, as you can see) met for lunch at Pei Wei while K was in school. The boys enjoyed a morning out...but I think Abbie and I had more fun :-)


More Brooks and Brady...it looks like Brady is telling Brooks some crazy story.



Our poor baby boy. Another battle with an ear infection which led to his awful cough. We have to be on top of his coughs, as he's been diagnosed with R.A.D. (reactionary airway disease...sounds way worse than it is, but his airways constrict when he's sick and he wheezes terribly. They are watching him for asthma since Bryan had it as a kid). We have our own nebulizer at home and once his cough starts, we have to give him a breathing treatment 3x a day for a week. He's mostly good during the treatments, but by the end of the week, he is over them (and so are we!). The worst part is the amount of time they take, esp. in the morning when there is so much else to do.

Brady snagged a pair of a Katelyn's clean underwear out of the laundry and had way too much fun playing with them!

Watching cartoons and playing together in the front room.

Our neighbor had a birthday pool party and K had a blast! Here she is enjoying cake with the kids.

Brady has so much fun sitting in a high chair at restaurants. He loves eating snacks, playing with toys, and mostly looking at the other people and babies...and he gets so much attention from the waitresses. They eat him up!

Looking out the back door in his new favorite toy, a walker we borrowed from a friend.

A trip to sea world together!

Enjoying some vanilla soft serve and sprinkles at Sea World. We went on my birthday (5/15) for the morning and had a great time....just me and the kids.

Brady passed out in his stroller after lunch.

Riding the carousel at SW...Brady and I sat on the bench in front of her.

At SW, they have this silly oyster diving display, where you pay $15, then one of these divers will select an oyster for you and you're guarenteed a pearl. K is now obsessed with the divers and will watch them for hours if you let her. They wave to her, put their hands against the glass, etc. This day, we were able to walk up to the bridge and talk to them. The girl was so sweet, and told K if she wants to be a diver at SW, she has to take swim lessons and dance lessons. Guess what K is begging for now???

Brady enjoying a morning at sea world in his stroller.

Katelyn playing with this foam clay stuff and decided to create "carpet." So, here she is making carpet (I thought it was a map)...

The finished product....carpet!!

Katelyn getting soooo big!!

Here Brady is again on his favorite toy....and he can cruise!

Brady is mobile, life as we know it over!

Eyeing his favorite set of doors to play with....


Woo-hoo he made it!

I can't figure out how to remove this pic..

This baby is on the move BIG TIME!! He can "crawl" the length of the house now and you often find him under the kitchen table or his favorite, pulling at the doors on our entertainment center. It gets exhausting chasing after Brady, making sure he doesn't chew on cords, eat dog fur, etc. We've entered another stage of parenting...

While in Boston...

My grandmother passed away on Sunday, May 3rd at 6am. There was little time to mourn, as plans were made for a wake and funeral in Boston later that week. I had been in Tampa with my family the whole week before, so once she passed and we had made sure everything was set on our end (my Aunt had to return to Boston, my grandmother's body had to be flown to Boston, etc.), we left for home. A day to unpack, do laundry, try get a grasp on all the housework, then pack up again. Luckily, my brother-in-laws parents in Tampa agreed to watch Katelyn and Brady from Tues-Sunday, so I packed them up on Tues. afternoon and off we went. Brady was STARVING once we arrived and was a real bear, then he refused the bottle from Mom Salo, only taking it from me and Katelyn was running scared from their new kitten. I knew I had to leave them (and knew they were in EXCELLENT hands), but I felt bad with them both crying. Bryan and I flew to Boston the next morning and met my sisters in the avis parking lot, ready to rent our 12 person van!! It was HUGE! But accomplished the goal of fitting all of us and our luggage inside. We all used hotel points to stay at local hotels (thank goodness!! Big $$$ saved!). Our family held the wake/viewing from 7-9pm on Wed, then again 4-8pm on Thurs., then the very sad funeral (worst day by far) on Friday with a catholic mass and then the burial at the National Cemetary in Bourne (Cape Cod). She is right next to my grandpa. One thing to note: Bourne is a good hour's drive from Boston. While we were at the cemetery, we wanted to pay our respects to Grandpa and see where he was laid to rest. They asked us not to go there, as the hole for grandma's grave had already been dug next to his grave. We drove around looking for his grave site and found it, just as they were lowering my grandmother's casket into that hole: NOT meant for our eyes and it was v. disturbing.

While we were in Boston for 4 nights, we did have some time to enjoy our hometown. Here are some memories:

Our favorite ice cream place...located on a working dairy farm, can't get fresher ice cream!! Good stuff!! Personal fave is the m&m ice cream.


After doing a drive-by of our old houses, we stopped at my dad's favorite place, Cristo's in Brockton. Excellent greek salads and pizza!! And hasn't changed at all...stuck in the 70s! This was also a favorite place of my grandparents.

After day 2 of the wake, we went to my uncle's restaurant in Savin Hill, C.F. Donovan's. I'm not just saying this because my uncle owns it, but the food here is AWESOME!! Highly recommend it! Our old neighbor, Timmy McGann stopped by for a few drinks.

The back of our 12 passenger van on our way home from the burial.

Ali, me, Michelle, our cousin Kimmy, and Jenny after the funeral.

My dad and his best childhood friend Jimmy. Funny guy with tons of outrageous stories...what a life he's lead!

Making a toast to my grandma...we all had her favorite drink, a manhattan (yuck!).

The family gathers round for the toast. Manhattan's in hand.

My grandmother started really losing her memory around the time of our engagement party, in June 2000. At that party, my grandmother kept calling Bryan "Keith" because she kept thinking Bryan was my second cousin Keith (why would she think I'm marrying my 2nd cousin???). So, here's Keith and Bryan...think they look alike???

Touring the Sam Adams brewery just outside of Boston. free tour. free beer. good times.

Jenny and Michelle at Fanuel Hall in Boston.

Last night with the cousins on a mini-bar crawl near fanuel hall.

Another farewell...

Here's Katelyn at 4 months old, meeting my grandpa for the first time. We took across the hall to meet my grandma the same day. I took video of them together but never did take a picture. I'm mad about that now.


In better times, at my cousin's wedding in Boston, Nov. 2003.



Dancing with my dad at the same wedding.

She always loved babies...here she is looking at Brady back in Feb. One of our last visits.

Katelyn is so sweet. She loved to brush Grandma's hair. Even in her last days, Katelyn would get the brush and stroke her hair gently while she slept. Katelyn also gave her a doll to hold and would softly stroke her arm. Very sweet and caring.

This has been one tough year, I have to tell you. On New Year's day, my family I flew to Boston and were attending my grandfather's wake. A few weeks later, my brother-in-law's grandma passed away. We loved her and considered her our adopted grandmother. A few weeks after that, my great aunt lost her battle with cancer and in March, my good friend from high school lost her 8 yr. old daughter to a terrible disease. Thought we could take a breath, but then on my Grandfather's birthday, April 20, my grandmother stopped swallowing. This is the last function to go in Alzheimer's patients and she has been struggling with this disease for the past 10 years. We knew the end was near, as she was unable to swallow anything...even water. We went to Tampa, with the kids and I stayed in Tampa with them until my sweet Grandma passed away on May 3rd. I've never watched someone die before. She gradually got thinner and thinner, struggling for air. We had several false alarms, then she would rally and turn a corner. My parents, my Aunt, and I would take turns sitting with her in her room. I was always terrified she would die "under my watch" and I would have to be the one to make the calls, but that didn't happen (thank God!!). She fought and fought...10 days without food or water and then drew her last breath with my Aunt and Dad with her. I'm glad they were with her when she passed. It truly is bittersweet...she really battled with her disease, no longer able to walk, speak, feed herself, etc...no memory of any of us, although seemed to enjoy our company and we know she really is in a better place...but so sad to see her go. I was cleaning out my closet yesterday and found two letters I had saved from her. She had sent me letters faithfully when I was in college, every month in her letter she would enclose a book of stamps or a check for some fun money. She was such a wonderful grandmother...not your stereotypical grandma who sits in her rocking chair knitting (although she did knit beautifully...she had a terrible potty mouth, swearing often. Her world stopped when her grandkids were over...always time for cards, bingo, hair washes, a home cooked meal. She sold Avon for years and whenever I see or smell "Skin So Soft" bubbles, I think of her. I know she's reunited with my grandpa now and they're enjoying their cruise, sipping a manhattan and ready for a game of bingo. Miss you Grandma.