Not wanting to favor one baby over the other, I set my mind to taking a “knock-off” picture of Viviana.  It took awhile to scrounge up the necessary props but I pulled it off last weekend.  I borrowed the chef’s hat, borrowed the bowls, bought a piece of black felt for the “backdrop” and a yard of red gingham for the table cloth.  The pasta is real, as are the vegetables in the foreground.

Vivi wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of swimming in spaghetti, but she begrudgingly complied.  Here is a comparison of the original and my copycat version.  I think it’s safe to say that these babies are related.

She starts daycare on Monday!  Wish her luck.  I hope she makes friends fast. 

After reading my little stories, I’m sure you have a pretty good feel for your mom’s point of view, humor and daily going’s-on.  Every once in a while I include an anecdote about your father but in general he isn’t discussed too much on this blog.  In that absence, I want let you know how amazing your dad (or Babbo) really is.

Yesterday was a special day!

Ten years ago Babbo couldn’t even speak English.  Can you believe that?  When he first started working on the American Navy Base he only spoke Italian.  He was 29 years old and already starting his second career.  From age 18-28 he played professional soccer in Southern Italy.  He was a local star with high hopes; he was on the edge of something big. He played with guys who went on to “Serie A” teams in Italy.  In his late 20’s though, he hurt his knee.  He had to undergo surgery to fix his torn ACL and never played the same after that, and knew he was getting older.  He wasn’t going to be able to play soccer forever.  That’s when his uncle Franco helped him get a job “with the Americans” on the base.  He started working the night shift at the commissary on base.  He stocked shelves and did anything they needed him to.  It was a big change from just months earlier, when people were asking for his autograph.  But you know what?  Your dad stuck with it.  He worked hard.

Not long after he started he was assigned to the day shift, and then promoted to a new role and eventually he was in charge of the entire store inventory demand chain.  Oh yes, and he also taught himself English.  He walked around the store with an Italian/English dictionary so he could communicate with the customers and Sailors on base.  Your dad never gave up.  It was frustrating, but he kept at it.

Just think, if he never would’ve taken that job or if he never would have learned English, he and I would have never met!  It’s crazy how life works out, isn’t it?

I was stationed in Naples right after New Year’s in 2006.  He and I met within weeks of my arrival.  We married in August of 2007 and he stayed at the job a couple more years–while also attending college full-time.  He worked during the day, went to class at night, and then studied while I was sleeping.  He was 36 when he started going to an American college on the military base.  He laughed because most of his classmates were Sailors in their early 20’s.  But again, that didn’t stop him.  He studied hard and got an A in every single class.  He read every word of every assignment he was given.  He looked up the words he didn’t know.  He spent hours writing his papers.  He had never written in English, which is much different from the Italian and Latin he studied in school.  He didn’t know how to type—but taught himself that too.  Your dad understood that the future isn’t always about doing what is easy at the moment.  He kept his eye on his long-term goal: Get a degree, and land a good job in America.

Gianni, when you were born in September of 2008, your dad and I decided that it would be best for us (and YOU) if he quit his full-time job at the commissary.  He was still attending school full-time, doing ALL of his homework, and now taking care of you too.  I had to go back to work for the US Army, at the NATO base when you were 6 weeks old and we knew we would be moving to the United States in the summer.  Your dad continued to study and took care of you everyday—at your Nonni’s (grandparents’) house in Italy—while I finished out my time in the Army.  Your dad was disappointed that he wasn’t “working” full-time but we knew that in the long run it would be worth it.

By the time we moved to America in May 2009, your dad had completed his first two years of college with a 4.00 GPA in a record 17 months.  Once we settled in Nashville he started classes again and you Gianni, started day care soon after your first birthday.  Dad kept studying every day, eight hours a day.  He sat at the desk in our office for such long hours that the leather chair is worn out now!  With one year of school left, we found out that Viviana was going to join our family.  The first thing dad said when he found out you were coming, was “Whatever happens, I HAVE to finish my degree.”

That he did—with a 3.95 GPA.  (He blames his only “B” on bombing a test the day we found out Vivi was on her way.)

Vivi, you arrived on July 27^th, 2011.  Dad had 10 more weeks left to finish his Bachelor of Science degree.  I was lucky enough to work for a wonderful company that allowed me to take off 16 weeks after you were born.  It was great.  I took care of you, Gianni went to school and dad studied.  Babbo turned 40 and finished his degree in October, the month before I went back to work.  We were thrilled!  Your dad proved that it’s never too late to start, or finish something.  He also proved that hard work will get you where you want to be.

I went back to work and your dad started looking for jobs.  We decided that you Vivi, would stay home with Babbo until he started his American career.  Three months after daddy started looking for a job, he got a great offer and accepted it!

That was yesterday.  It was a week after my 30^th birthday.  And it was awesome.  (That word “awesome” is probably going to sound weird in 20 or 30 years when you read this, but whatevs… what about that one?)

Your dad and I both want you to know that there are no excuses in life.  You can start from the bottom and work your way up.  There is never shame in working hard—in any vocation.  You can go back to school when you are 37.  You don’t always have to be the first to reach your dreams—but you should ALWAYS hold on to them.  No matter your age, gender, background or education, if you put your mind to something and want it bad enough, you can have it.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise—dad never did.

Yesterday Gaetano, Gianni and I had dental appointments one after the other.  Of course Vivi came with us, because she isn’t quite old enough to stay home alone.  We’ll give it a few more months… 

Of note, it was little G’s first ever trip to the dentist. 

I sped across town (or “city” actually, but that just sounded weird—across city) to pick up Gianni.  I sneaked into his classroom, as it was nap time and the lights were out.  I found all 3 feet of him curled up on a little cot.  He looked so sweet and comfortable but I had to scoop him up.  I threw him in the car and then sped back up the highway to the dentist’s office.  There we found Gaetano—holding Vivi—in the waiting room.  I barely had time to set my purse down before Gaetano was being called back to the chair.  He handed off Vivi, and there I was, in charge of the kids, with my blackberry in hand—trying to keep up with work emails, a 5 month old and a three year old. 

Gianni quickly discovered a mini bar in the waiting area that was stocked with fruit juice.  Naturally, he helped himself—a few times.  I juggled the baby, tried to keep little G’s volume at an “inside” level, answered LOTS of questions about the dentist (i.e. will the dentist cut my hair?) and kept working on the blackberry with one hand.  We served as entertainment to the administrative desk team, as well as the other patients.

An hour after Gaetano went back, they called for me, so we switched.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been more excited to see the dentist—ahh, it was so peaceful.

Shortly after they cleaned my teeth, they brought Gianni (and Gaetano AND Vivi) back to my room.  It was Gianni’s turn!  He was thrilled.  (We’d been talking this up for a day or two.)  Gianni insisted upon sitting in the chair by himself.  He loved it when the lady reclined his chair.  He said it was, “like a spaceship.”    And the glasses, “like a superhero.”  The lady asked him to open his mouth like a lion.  He complied, and threw in a growl for good measure.

Next, the lady said she was going to count and clean is his teeth.  She offered him all of her toothpaste flavors, and he settled on mint–after a few minutes of indecision.  Five minutes later she was done cleaning and polishing his tiny teeth.  She said, “We’re all done!  You did a good job!”  Gianni adamantly responded that he was NOT DONE.  So…she cleaned them AGAIN.  Five minutes later, we had to bribe him out of the “spaceship” with a drawer full of toothbrushes and stickers; another big decision.  He unsurprisingly chose Spiderman stickers and a Cars toothbrush. 

Two and a half hours after arrival, our circus-family left the office.  As we were checking out, Gianni leaned over and asked the receptionist to, “Smell my teeth!”

Gianni’s response to my never-ending, “Hey mister, do you need to go to the bathroom?”

A smooth combination of: ”I already did.” and “I just did.”

Tonight Viviana joined us in our rebellious dinner ritual, sans popcorn.

Viviana is sleeping through the night!

…What?  

You mean that isn’t what you thought the news was?

Trust me, as any new parent will tell you, when your baby (or almost one year old-in Gianni’s case) starts sleeping through the night, it IS life changing.

A couple of weeks ago Vivi started sleeping in her crib all night without waking up to eat!  The impact of this revelation has been dramatic.  We feel like REAL people again.

Don’t believe me?  Try it.

Set your alarm clock to wake you up every 3 hours (or make it every 2 hours once in a while, just for fun).  Now, when you wake up, you have to go put some food in the microwave.  Once you’ve prepared the food you have to sit in a chair and give it to your dog or cat or guinea pig.  Then you have to hold that animal for 30 minutes, while it eats.  Next, you need to quietly put said animal back in its cage.  (Don’t worry though, you’ll get to see it again in a couple of hours.)

You must follow these instructions DAY and NIGHT for 5 months.

Once your experiment is complete, turn your alarm clock off and allow yourself to sleep all night.

See?  Wasn’t it life changing?

This year we are relaxing at home and enjoying each other!  No travel plans with the newly potty-trained 3 year old, and 4 month old baby.  It’s amazing how long a 4 day weekend seems when 18 hours of car travel isn’t involved. 

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy this time with your families, and remember the real reason for the celebration!    

The Travaglio Quattro.

Vivi and her American “Nonni”/Grandparents.

Vivi with her wonderful Godparents!

Vivi with more of our wonderful friends in Franklin.

Gianni, Vivi and their “cousins.”  (G and V don’t have any actual cousins, so why not adopt the children of our friends?)

Viv in all of her “baptismal” glory.    (Note the little gold ring she has tied in her bow.  That was my ring as a baby!  How special of my mom to bring it for her.)

The End!