Grandpa's visit to AZ
3/28/07 - 4/02/07

Grandpa drove out to AZ by himself to visit us for a few days with his car loaded full of goodies for Antonino.  It was like Christmas in March.  He brought the train table that he made for Antonino (we will be getting him a train set for his birthday), a ride-on tractor with trailer (from grandma/grandpa), a ride-on fire engine (from grandma/grandpa), a play house for the backyard (from Chris), and a wagon with trailer (from Chris).  He actually fit everything into his car without too much of a problem (...somehow) and made it out to our house by Wednesday, 3/28.

It only took Antonino about 20 minutes to warm up to Grandpa.  After the toys started coming out he was playing with Grandpa in no time.  The house and the wagon were by far the favorites at first because they had doors... and as any 1 year old knows - opening and shutting doors is entertainment all in it's own.  Antonino played with the wagon in the driveway getting in and out and back in and out again over and over and over.  Then we started taking the house off Grandpa's car and as soon as Antonino saw the front piece with the door he was busy with that.  So we took all the pieces to the backyard and set up the house for him.  He had a blast going from the house to the trampoline playing with Grandpa the whole time.

While Antonino was taking his nap we put together his train table.  It turned out beautiful!  And of course as soon as Antonino woke up that's all he played on.  We put his matchbox cars and mega blocks on the table for now and he played there all afternoon.  Later that afternoon we took Antonino over to feed the ducks.  The ducks were super friendly that day and were eating out of our hands.  One of them even jumped up into Grandpa's face to try to get some more bread.

Thursday (3/29) we spent the morning at the zoo.  Joe took the day off work so he was able to come with us also.  We saw almost the entire zoo because Antonino was so excited to move onto the next animal.  "piu piu piu" (more more more) is all we heard all day - meaning more animals, let's move on to the next one.  We had a perfect day for the zoo - it was nice and sunny but not too hot at all.  We were there until Antonino couldn't stay awake any longer.  We rode the carousel on the way out - there were a lot of people at the zoo and so most of the animals that Antonino likes the best were taken.  But after circling the carousel we found an open panda bear which he loved.

Friday (3/30) Joe and Grandpa went golfing for most of the day.  They went to a resort and had the whole deal... breakfast, driving range, and a good game of golf.  While they were out, Antonino tried out some of the other toys that Grandma and Grandpa brought. 

Saturday (3/31) we all took Antonino to the Desert Breeze Railway Park.  Unfortunately the train was broken so we couldn't go for a train ride but the carousel was running, the ducks were out in full force, the splash park was operating, and of course the playground was there too.  So Antonino had a full morning of playing until finally he was so tired he just wanted to sit in his stroller and be pushed for a short walk.  

Sunday (4/1) was a quiet day around the house.  We played in the backyard, at the train table, and at the park.  Then for dinner we went to Carrabba's Italian Restaurant because Sarah was hosting that night.  Antonino had a rough night but otherwise we had a really nice dinner.  Antonino was very confused though why Sarah wasn't sitting with us.  He kept an eye on her the entire time we were there and even went with her to meet her friends she works with.

Then Monday morning (4/2) Amy, Antonino, and Grandpa went to Amy's dr's appt to see an ultrasound of Gianni.  He wasn't moving a lot but we were able to see great face shots.  We also saw a foot, both arms and hands, the spine, and of course the heart beating.  After that Grandpa headed out for his long drive back home.  We all had a really nice visit.  Thanks for coming out to see us Grandpa!!