Bongioanni Blog

Beach Blanket Bingo

2010-10-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Italo thought that because he was wearing water wings, he was safe to go in the water. So, by himself, he swam way out in the ocean. It freaked me out! I had to run out and pull him back in. Of course, the water was never above his shoulders even 50 yards out. But the waves started moving him enough to scare me. What a brave boy I have!

They loved the beach! They both probably ate more sand than they bargained for.

My boy, Italo.

2010-08-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

I found this amazing steal of a deal on this construction truck for Italo at a garage sale! Yay! This seems like a more reasonable price! Italo loved it so much he wanted to ride it in his pajamas.

Italo fell asleep on the chair like this. He was standing on his feet.

{CUTE}

2010-07-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Three little cousins brushing Uncle Adam's hair with Barbie combs. What a patient uncle!

Random Photos

2010-07-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Grandpa is so fun to crawl all over!

Uncle Wilber's Fountain at Acacia Park.

Dressed for church.

Great-Grandparents

2010-07-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Great-Grandma Klingler and Great-Grandpa Klingler

You both were so patient with us. Thanks for letting us visit. We miss you!

Denver Temple

2010-07-11T11:59:00.001-07:00

This is where our little family started 5 years and 3 kids ago. Although Daddy isn't with us right now, we think of him ALL the time. You were the only thing missing on this perfect day, my love.

The temple is such a peaceful place for me. Thanks to my parents for watching all three kids while I went in.

In the Visitor's Center.

The North Pole! - Santa's Workshop 2010

2010-07-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

What a great reunion! Almost all my sisters were here in Colorado with their kids. We may have driven Grandma and Grandpa nuts! No one died (although lives were threatened), so that's a success! We had such a great time with cousins. I hope we get the chance to do this again!

Me, Teo, & Italo

Braedon, Jeremiah, & Trudy

Grandma, Enzo, & Devon

Julia, Emily, & Chloe

Polly & Lauren

Devon

Chloe & Braedon

Emily & Julia

Italo & Mommy

Grandpa & Joshua

Trudy & Jeremiah

Lauren, Polly, & Joshua

Devon, Grandpa, & Enzo

Chloe, Emily, & Julia

Matteo & Grandma

Braedon, Jeremiah, & Trudy

Italo & Mommy

Big candy cane slide!

Not For the Sensitive Stomach!

2010-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, everyone. Do you remember hearing stories about people finding a picture of Jesus on their toast? Or the Virgin Mary in a bowl of cereal? Are they for real? Well, I have found the Tree of Life!! Probably not in the most ideal place...

Sorry it's so intense!

A Gift from Daddy

2010-06-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Italo received these clothes, payraan tumbaan, from Daddy sent from Afghanistan. He was super excited to open them and put them on! I could barely catch him in a photo, he ran around the house so fast with many joyful sounds.

I finally caught him and had my mother snap a shot. Good looking outfit! Thanks Daddy!

iPhone Repair

2010-05-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, I dropped my iPhone while I was walking to my car. I've done it before, but it must have hit some gnarly rocks on this day. I would have been disturbed by it any other day, but this day was different. That morning, I heard about a bombing in Kabul that happened to be close enough to Vinnie that I worried more than necessary. As I was driving to my destination, I decided to pull the car over and say a prayer for his safety and my comfort. In the middle of my prayer, the phone rang. IT WAS VINNIE! Oh, how grateful I am that my Father in Heaven hears and answers prayers! And I'm grateful for a distraction to help me not blow the broken-phone-thing out of proportion.

before

middle

after

Yes, I feel like quite the handy-girl. I heard from some friends that this was possible to do yourself. So I tried it. And it works great! Apple charges $200 for a refurbished phone, an independent company charges $60, and I did it for $15. What a deal!

Cloth Diapering

2010-05-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

I tried to get some cute cloth diaper photos, but may not have succeeded. Oh well, my kids are still cute.

sweet sleeping

2010-05-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was holding these kids in the rocking chair and they feel asleep for me. Such sweet little brothers.

We're going to the park...

2010-05-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Grandpa has this really cool sifter thing. But it's too big to carry to the park, so we had to bring a wagon. What did we do with it, you ask?

We sifted the mulch out of the sand. Grandpa is very active and active minded, so he's always coming up with fun ideas.

Grandpa, you're so cool!

Time Flies... When You're Busy!

2010-05-11T14:06:00.001-07:00

Wow, how has six months flown by so fast? My little babes are growing up too quickly.

Life is very busy these days.

We change 20-30 diapers a day. And wash all the cloth diapers every third day or so.

We have double the teething troubles right now.

Lots and lots of spit-up and clean-ups.

Many loads of laundry.

But we also have triple the giggles and smiles.

Fun outings to the park.

And lots of cooing and cuddling.

Through all the chaos, I still find time to love my three little guys.

My sweet babies.

While Vinnie is gone, we miss him lots. But my three cutie pies keep me plenty occupied. What great reminders of Vinnie!

Happy 6 month birthday, boys!

End of April???

2010-05-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

It's almost May and.... SNOW???

Don't worry, it melted away the next day.

My dad built this snowman. Italo knocked it down.

He put these socks from a give-away bag on himself. Always playing dress-up.

Italo, you are so silly!!

Again, the boys sitting up.

Brothers

2010-05-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Vinnie requested some photos to show around to his teammates out there. So this morning I woke up and snapped some cute ones. Enjoy.

Okay, not the greatest picture. But it's proof that they are sitting up!

Brothers in a choke hold!

Enzo, Italo, and Teo

Teo

Enzo

So, I've been thinking about the reasons I need Vinnie around and I've come up with quite a few. Here's another one, babe. I need you so we can have better photos of our kids.

One Last Time...

2010-04-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

We thought we were done saying "good-bye" to Daddy. But he surprised us one last time before he flew off.

What better way is there to spend your last day with family than going to the Garden of the Gods?

My handsome man.

My two big boys with Pike's Peak behind them.

A very green and blue family. I guess you can tell what our favorite colors are.

See ya in six months, love!

So cute!

2010-04-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

Teo and Enzo

Italo discovered cooking...kinda

2010-03-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

Cooking

2010-03-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Mom: "Italo... what are you doing?"

Italo: "Cooking."

This is a rarity, but also an example of what happens when mom is busy.

CHEESE!

Lots of empty spice bottles. So sad.

New Photos of the Twins - 3 months

2010-03-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Enzo

This photo was taken just before Enzo started freaking out too.

Teo

I thought this picture was funny... angels.

January 2010

2010-03-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Daddy with all the babes in the driver's seat of the van.

This is what we do with twins. Looks like we strangle them!

Sweet loves.

Stuck!

2010-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

I was wondering why Italo was being so quiet, and as always, I sneak around to find him.

This is where I found him. What a good little boy for not screaming. When I got there, he just said, "stuck."

So of course I made him wait longer so I could take pictures. Too cute!

Visit from Nonna - January 2010

2010-02-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

Nonna could keep us asleep so well!

There's a baby under that jacket. It was so cold at the beach. She was looking forward to Florida weather, but it was warmer back in Sacramento!

We all love Nonna! (Can't believe he still had the binki, it's gone now!)

SOS

2010-02-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Don't judge us, she was willing to take a baby while we ate at the restaurant...plus we met her over an hour before, so we knew she was trustworthy.

November 11, 2009 - Happy Birthday, Enzo and Teo!

2009-12-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

After an amazingly easy delivery (especially for twins), our two new wonderful babies are here! Welcome to the world!

Vincenzo Leigh Bongioanni (Baby A)

6 lbs 2 oz

18 inches

Matteo Gregorio Bongioanni (Baby B)

6 lbs 4 oz

18.25 inches

We delivered in the Operating Room, in case there was an emergency. Thank heavens it was just a precaution and not a necessity in our case!

DADDY!

Our twin boys!

Enzo

Teo

Vinnie and Teo

Italo, Enzo and Teo

Italo, the great big brother!

We love having two new babies around. Italo is doing great with his little brothers. He loves to give them kisses, and insists on kissing them before he goes to bed each night. The adjustment to having twins was and is not real easy, but I have been blessed that my parents were able to stay with us for almost a month to help us adjust! What wonderful people to sacrifice such a long time for our little family. Thank you both so very, very much. We all love you such a great deal! Enzo and Teo are so lucky to have spent their first month with you!

35 weeks and counting...

2009-11-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here we all are at 35 weeks. I'm feeling pretty big, but I'm still able to do a lot of stuff considering my size. I don't workout anymore, but I pretty much still do everything else - from running after to Italo all day to cleaning the house and staying really involved in church stuff (Activity Days Leader). I'm counting my blessings every day for the health of the twins, making it this far along in pregnancy, and still maintaining a busy life. However, I still can hardly wait to have the twins here!

New Car Seat

2009-10-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is one of the car seats for one of the twins. I finally got around to recovering it because Vinnie and I didn't really love the fabric on it (blue plaid).

Here is the new cover! It is a green toile and solid green. And of course, if anyone knows me, the new cover just had to be GREEN!

We're ready for you, boys!

Update on babies

2009-10-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

I had my 33 week appointment this week. The doctors want me to make it to 36 weeks or, obviously, to 38 weeks. I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem. But the reality of having two more kiddos within 3 weeks is setting in. It doesn't seem like it should happen that soon. But if they are as stubborn as Italo was, they'll stay in the full 40 weeks!

The ultrasounds show that they are both head down and ready. Which also means they like to kick my dinner back up. Silly boys! Their predicted weight measurements seem right in line with babies of the same gestational age in a single pregnancy. I know, I don't really look that huge, but the babies are the perfect size right now in terms of being healthy.

Vinnie's gone TDY this week and made me promise not to go into labor while he's gone. I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem.

We are so excited for these boys to come! And also very eager to see Italo with his new little brothers. He can almost say their names now (I'm still working on that). It will be so fun for me to have a house full of rowdy boys!

Back home in Florida

2009-10-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

My very first day back from Colorado, we are driving down the road from our house and this is what we found. Kinda funny that they wear stripes here.

But it also reminds me of the experience we had the night before we signed the papers for our house...

We went by the house to check it out, and the door was actually unlocked. So, since I had never seen the house before this, I wanted to walk around inside and see it all. Just as we took our shoes off, someone knocked on the front door. It was a cop, and he looked like he was "fixin'" to pull his gun. He asked if this was our home, and we answered that it would be tomorrow. Then he asked if the door was unlocked and we said, "yes." So he asked to look around the house because there was a runaway convict in the area. Apparently he had escaped and removed his clothing, so now he was running around in his boxers! After watching the cop (through the window) go through all the rooms and closets with drawn gun, our house was given the "OK". So we went ahead and toured the house as planned. But I will never forget that first experience with our new home! Oh, by the way, our neighborhood is really nice, so this story still strikes me as odd. But after taking these pictures and knowing what they wear, I know why that guy was running around in boxers!

This is the Gulf Coast.

I took this picture from our car... yes we can park this close to the beach! They also call this area the Emerald Coast - you can kinda tell the water looks emerald.

The two most handsome men in my life!

Italo is so comfortable.

JELLYFISH!

These are called Sea Oats, and apparently it is a federal crime to pick them.

Great picture of me, super pregnant, at the beach.

They are both getting more tan... believe it or not.

Our First Day at Tyndall AFB

2009-09-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

On the hottest day of our trip out to Florida, we were given complimentary hot cocoa at the TLF. This is when we discovered Italo LOVES hot cocoa! Yeah, on the hottest day...

Gator's Way

Sign says: Alligators may be present in this waterway, PLEASE USE CAUTION IN THIS AREA

Lots of watch towers like this.

Not snow... SAND! And it feels like sugar!

And that was our first day here.

Trip Back to Colorado - August 09

2009-09-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

Well, this trip was soooo stressful... and way fun!!

We started off with some goofiness. Here is Trudy holding her baby in a box!

This was not so fun... Italo was stung by a bee! Great way to start off a visit!

Then, the sewing of cloth diapers began...

tracing...

sewing...

tracing and sewing...

snapping...

cutting...

and finishing... I thought it was funny that I caught Emily here relaxing while we were all working. ha ha (By the way, this was not her project, so we were not expecting her help. Although she did put some time in with the snapping! Thanks, Em!)

Mom working on the inserts...

And in the meantime, Grandpa played babysitter (or sqeezer in this picture!)

taking the wagon to the park...

playing computer games...

And here's my little moocher begging for popsicles...

and again...

And we held babies between the sewing... Sweet kid! Too bad this is unusual for him!

another sweet baby...

Same one with Grandma... and a chapstick...

And of course, we needed to act goofy again!

Polly comes up with the best ideas!

See, here she goes again... Dad has no clue he's getting a pedicure while he sleeps.

My mom and dad are so in love. They can even look love-y while shucking corn!

Grandpa playing with Jeremiah...

Pretty girl, Lauren, out by the playhouse...

Italo cooks something yummy...

And the family welcomes Naomi, oops!, Hermana Klingler home from the mission!

Cheese!

Joyful moment!

And after 2 whole weeks of sewing... We finally finished!!! This photo showcases most of the diapers made and everyone who helped.

My gorgeous sisters and me!

Saying "buh-bye" at the airport... I miss you Grandpa!

Some more cuties!

CHEESE! Thanks for the M&M's Grandma! It made for a much better flight home!

About 30 Weeks!

2009-09-22T19:34:00.001-07:00

I know my posts keep jumping around in time, but I feel like my thoughts are like this all the time! So it's only fitting that you all get to experience what I'm going through, ha ha.

This is me holding a ball under my shirt at 30 weeks! Just kidding, there are really two boys in that belly. I just didn't realize I was carrying them so high. I should have guessed I was from the awkwardness of my daily tasks. It's so exciting how close we're getting! We can hardly wait!

July 2009

2009-09-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is a park in Berkeley. It has a huge concrete slide! It was so much fun! Italo rode down with Uncle Ross.

Vinnie pretends to be on the phone in an old abandoned phone booth in the UC Berkeley library.

Italo, looking cute and tough in a UC Berkeley courtyard.

June-ish Events

2009-08-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

June was actually quite eventful. My parents brought Trudy and her baby out to Cali, we went on another great bike ride, I made a Moby wrap (my version, of course), and I went to Georgia to watch my sister's 4 kids!

This was Italo and I coming back from a somewhat difficult week in Georgia!

This is Italo and his little cousin, Jeremiah. Cutie pies!

This is Grandpa K's b-day celebration, so we got to see a little bit of extended family! Yay!

This was that great bike ride along the American River in Sacramento. Italo falls asleep in the trailer a lot.

This is me trying to show off the "Moby" wrap thing. It's not really meant for Italo, we're going to use them with the twins!

Flash back to June

2009-08-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

This was Vinnie's promotion ceremony I totally forgot to post (sorry hun).

Uncle Ross came and was the designated babysitter. (sorry Ross) Little Italo loves his Uncle Ross, as do most kids. I don't know what it is about him, but it seems all kids love Ross!

The Fam! I was still feeling really sick from morning sickness.

Vinnie and his mom, Deanna. She pinned on his Capt. rank. We had a choice to have a ceremony or not, and the main reason we chose to do it was because Vinnie's family may never be able to witness it again - like if we're stationed really far away. I'm so glad my mother-in-law was able to pin on his rank. It's so cool!

Venisa brought her kids down to see this awesome event! Sarah did not want to be in any pictures, so she's hiding behind mommy. Thanks for coming guys, hope you liked the cupcakes!

24 weeks!

2009-08-14T06:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not the most flattering photo. But I just wanted everyone to see how big I'm getting. I've been just a little tired lately, with the move and all. Enjoy!

We're HERE!

2009-08-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

We have finally arrived! Panama City, Florida... we are now officially your residents! It may take me a bit before I get pictures up to post, but I will do my best. We have been here for a little over a week and just now have our internet. Talk about feeling a little "cut off"!

My first doctor's appointment out here is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Moving away from Berkeley

2009-07-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

We are officially packing up and leaving this Friday. We are kinda bummed because we love it here, but we are also way excited to be in our own new home! That's right, we bought a home in Panama City, Florida! If you want to see our house while it's being built on Azalea Way, click on the link below.

http://idisk.mac.com/vbongioanni-Public

It will be done by the time we get there and we can move in immediately! Yay!

Off we go...

Twin BOYS!

2009-07-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is the news... we are having two more boys! How much fun is this gonna be? We are really looking forward to having a full house of BOYS! And don't worry, we're definitely working on names already.

Baby A ultrasounds are labeled "AAA" and Baby B is labeled "BBB."

So far, they are very normal and growing at the same rate. So everything is good as of now. We'll be in Florida in a couple weeks, so we'll see what the doc says there. But I'm feeling great these days, so I know everything will be fine with these two NEW BOYS!

Almost 19 weeks

2009-07-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is my baby belly at almost 19 weeks. I figured I should show it off a bit before I start getting HUGE! Tomorrow is our ultrasound appointment. I hope we get to see the genders!

Update on our new little kiddo

2009-05-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't really felt all that great lately with this pregnancy. In fact, it's been pretty rotten. But this post may explain a little why I haven't felt like coming to the computer and posting a blog! Today was my first appointment with the OB. I had not had the chance to get in sooner. So, being 12.5 weeks along, we thought we'd hear the heartbeat. So Vinnie and Italo came along! To our surprise we got more news than just a heartbeat...

Yep, that says TWINS. We're going to have two!! We are so excited and extremely nervous!

We are welcoming any tips or suggestions on twins! And we hope you all can share in our excitement!

Excited!

2009-04-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Italo took this picture of daddy doing a super cheesy excited pose. What is he so excited about, you ask?

This! Yep, we're going to do it all again! We are so excited and hope this pregnancy goes well. So far, so good. I've been pretty sick since day one, so things must be going well, right? And no, this is not an April Fool's joke.

Spring Break

2009-04-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

We got to do so much during Spring Break, but I forgot to take pictures. Here are the couple that I got.

Italo's face was attacked by a garden stake! We went and worked in the garden during Spring Break.

Vinnie shooting his dad's old rifle.

Vinnie and I went on a date to the shooting range.

New Crib Bumper

2009-04-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

I really started hating the bumper I made for the crib before, so I made this one. It's really thin, so it doesn't roll (or at least stay rolled) when Italo stands on it. It Velcro's in the corner.

We love it! And I thought we would share with you all.

Italo Dances a bit

2009-04-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Italo loves to dance. He dances every time he hears music, anywhere we are! Here are some of his spins. I hope we can get some footage of him rocking out sometime. But his dance style changes from song to song. It's like he already knows, or something!

Hawaii Continued - Hike

2009-04-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Italo sitting in baby Liam's car seat before Liam was born.

Eating sugar cane.

Look at that "hot" man. Yes, the closer one!

Washing off in the TOXIC river.

Funny story: Prior to this incident, Vinnie was carrying Italo. But I noticed he slipped a lot. As I had not slipped yet, I suggested I carry Italo (because my record was perfect). As you can see, it didn't take long before my record was badly stained with imperfections!!

Humility can come insanely quick sometimes.

If you zoom in you can see even more waterfalls.

Aren't we cute? blah.

Sleeping baby.

We did it! We finished the hike!

As a reward, you can drive us home.

Motsumoto's Shave Ice

Notice how it's not "shaved ice"?

Vinnie got his with beans.

Here we are at Three Tables up on North Shore. We went snorkeling here and saw some neat sea life. Unfortunately, I can't find the rest of my pictures, so I don't have any of us face on or of our wonderful hosts, Roland and Joi! :( But at least here's us at the beach. I mean it did rain every day we were there, after all.

Hawaii Continued - Pearl Harbor

2009-04-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Exhausted baby

America, home of the brave!

Sorry we're not so reverent here.

USS Arizona

Italo loved this because he could crank the knob thing.

Pearl Harbor

It rained a lot while we were there!

Our Trip to Hawaii - The flight there.

2009-03-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

We were really lucky to catch a flight from Travis AFB to HI. It was a military flight, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Turned out to be the best for Italo because he had room enough to move around! Here we are waiting in the lobby to go out to the plane, C-17.

It was perfect timing being the day after Christmas and my birthday!

This sandwich is ALL turkey! It made us laugh because we are trying to be vegan.

Despite the noise, Italo took an okay nap.

Here you can kinda see how much space we're talking about. It was a Medical Evacuation practice flight. You can see the beds with dummy bodies in them.

The soda can was not open yet, but Italo sure wanted some! Maybe when you're a bit older, kid-o.

This was a simulated heart attack or something.

Lots and lots of room.

This lady was so nice to Italo. She liked him so much that she gave him her name tag (it was a velcro one so we can put it on his clothes now.)

This was the co-pilot. He wanted Italo to come up and "fly" the plane so bad that we followed him up to the cockpit. He was super nice.

And Italo got to "fly" the huge, gigantic plane!

Christmas Day (again)

2009-03-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

I thought this was super cute and had to post it. First off, Italo doesn't really fall asleep on ANYONE! But here, Uncle Jon has both Italo and his son, Sam, on his shoulders. You rock, Jon!

Some more random photos of Italo

2009-03-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

First Otter-Pop! (Great for his teething fits.)

5 to 15. Wearing Uncle Ross's size 15 sneakers! He "climbed" in these himself.

He hasn't liked bananas lately, and then I peeled one and gave it to him like this. He's loved eating them ever since, I just have to leave some peel on so he feels like a big boy.

He pulled this basket out, turned it up-side down, and stood on it, all on his own! So smart, already thinking in steps.

First bubble bath!

Eating Udon noodles with chop sticks. That baby has talent! ha ha

Already a connoisseur of fine breads.

He can't already be this tall! He's been grabbing stuff off the counters all the time, as of late. He's actually really sneaky! Here he's using a spatula to get a cookie off the cookie rack on top of the counter. Cute stinker!

Vinnie says the use of tools is what differentiates man from beast(except for the monkey:). We are sure proud of our little man. How can my BABY be so grown up already?

Photo Shoot by Mommy

2009-03-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Who's watching me anyhow?

These kids are some of the kids that hang out in our courtyard. They are so good to play with Italo, although he normally just gets in their way. He loves their rubber-band guns and tether-ball.

Fairy Land

2009-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

My exhausted little fairy.

The mini-bench.

Taco Bell...

Christmas Day

2009-03-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

This was at Venisa and Jon's house; their beautiful tree, and my handsome men!

We went to the island of Alcatraz...

2009-01-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

These are not in any specific order. I also wanted to showcase some of Vinnie's photography, but may not have done such a great job in my attempt. Hope you enjoy!

San Fransisco in the close distance.

Tuckered out from pushing his own stroller. Hee hee.

San Fransisco is back that way!

We are a happy family.

Happy Birthday Italo!

2009-01-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

Abuelita and Aunt Venisa

Uncle Jon's elbow is at the far right! I caught you! (Barely)

Grandma Klingler and Grandpa Klingler

Cousins, Sarah, Rebekah and Sam, helping me!

My new, forward-facing car seat! Yeah, I'm one year old!

We wanted Vinnie's family and my grandparents to enjoy Italo's First Birthday with us, so we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They were so nice to let us party it up at their house. We had a blast, and at the end of the day, Italo was exhausted.

Happy Birthday, my sweet (not-so-baby) boy!

Christmas time

2009-01-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

These are the gifts I made to give to friends this holiday season. They are Rudolph Reindeer Candy Canes. I wrote a message to go with them. Kinda cheesy:

"Just as Rudolph was a beacon to Santa's team of Reindeer, Christ is a guiding light to the world. May we all look to Him this holiday season and into the New Year!"

We had to get a photo with Santa! What do you want for Christmas, little Italo?

Thanksgiving Day

2008-12-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Vinnie's sister's, Venisa, house. I didn't take any photos of the yummy yummy food, but it was sooo good. Italo had a blast with the family and cozied up all nice with Abuelita.

First Haircut

2008-12-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

So we didn't get a ton of great (not nude) pictures of this event,

but I just wanted to document it. There we go, done!

Family Photo Shoot

2008-12-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ross, thanks for being our awesome photographer!

Saving the Planet One Diaper at a Time...

2008-12-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

These are the new cloth diapers I have been making recently.

I LOVE THEM!

The outside is white, the inside is lavender, and the inserts are white.

They are very easy to use and clean (much easier than I was expecting).

Italo doesn't really seem to notice the difference, so we'll keep using them and saving some $!

Funny Boy

2008-12-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2008-12-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

I know I'm going out of order, but here's Halloween! Italo was a horse and we were cowboys! This was at the ward Halloween party. Zoom in on our homemade belt buckles. Mine's a cowgirl one and Vinnie's is the Italian flag, of course!

Veteran's Day part 2 - Muir Woods

2008-12-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

We decided to make a day trip for Veteran's Day and we went to Muir Woods and Muir Beach. The woods are right across from San Francisco's Golden Gate and have very beautiful and huge red wood trees. They have trails to hike around also and we thought we were taking the shortest one, but ended up with a lot more scenery than expected. It was a magical day for the Bongioanni's.

Veteran's Day part 1 - Muir Beach

2008-12-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

This is a beautiful little beach a little north of us called Muir Beach. There is actually a cute little town around here too. The beach was cold, but gorgeous. And the mailboxes were on a somewhat busy highway.

Yes on 8

2008-12-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

This was obviously before the election. We got to go on the Berkeley pedestrian overpass above I-80 to wave signs for Prop 8. We were not alone, there were a couple other "yes-ers" and a ton of "No on 8" people. It was freezing, as it was raining one of the days we went. It was also very incredible the amount of responses we received; both negative and positive!

Look out Berkeley!

2008-12-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

I caught this little stinker reading a book in his room. Too cute! I guess he's trying to be like Daddy already.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

2008-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

This was a really cool old-fashioned carousel at Tilden Regional Park. My boys are ridin' a hand-carved rooster!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-12-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Here are just a couple Fall photos that Vinnie took of Italo at the pumpkin patch in Monterey Market. This was right before Halloween... I know, I'm posting way behind schedule. But what a sweetie he is!

Random Boy

2008-10-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures of Italo:

chewing on a belt,

at the petting zoo,

wearing daddy's helmet,

and in the laundry basket!

Not quite 10 months yet...

2008-10-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

He's been walking a few steps each day for a few weeks now, but this was the first day that we were able to pass him back and forth like this!! Way to go, kiddo!

Labor Day in San Fran

2008-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day, we thought we'd take a day trip to San Fransisco. It only took us a few minutes to get there because it's just right over a bridge. But this is us on another bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge to be exact.

This is Italo having lunch in the middle of the bridge.

This is us having lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. Yum yum!

Do I know you?

2008-09-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another weird story. I met this guy at that baptism for my niece. I don't know him, but I knew his brother at BYU-Idaho. This is Elder Porter, and I knew his brother Josh Porter. What a small world when you can know people you didn't even know you knew.

Sarah's Baptism

2008-09-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

This was my niece's baptism. Congratulations Sarah!

Of course I got to see family there, but there was a strange twist... From left to right: Rodney Klingler is married to Nathalie Klingler who used to be a McAllister. Nathalie is Jon McAllister's cousin. Jon's married to Venisa McAllister who used to be a Bongioanni. Venisa is Vinnie Bongioanni's sister. Vinnie is married to Natalie Bongioanni who used to be a Klingler. And finally, Natalie is Rodney Klingler's cousin! Yep, one big circle! And no, this isn't incest.

Officially here

2008-09-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is Italo unpacking with us. And we are officially here at UC Berkeley! Vinnie's mom wanted us to have the classic "University picture". Love it!

8 Months!

2008-09-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I asked Vinnie to take some photos of Italo, but his camera was acting a little goofy. He edited a couple for the scrapbook but I can't find those right now. So here's our 8 month old blue-eyed baby boy in Berkeley, CA.

The dancer in us

2008-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

This was mommy's last night of teaching dance in El Segundo, CA. It was so fun to play with the mirror and dance along with the students. Italo loves to dance already, yes even at 7 months.

Hawaiian Bro

2008-09-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

While we were staying at our friends' (The Palmers) house during our move, our brother Roland came back to the "main land" for a wedding. We were lucky enough to see him during his lay-over in L.A. He was lucky enough to get a biscuit rubbed all over him by his nephew.

I always wanted a girl...

2008-09-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Italo will probably hate me when he's older, but I thought this was so cute. My cousin's daughter was wearing a ribbon in her hair, but had just taken it out. I starting playing with it and couldn't resist the urge...

What a sweetheart!

New Places

2008-09-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

In Case anyone was wondering why there haven't been any posts for over a month, we were moving! We are now in the Bay Area, yes, San Fransisco area. So far it has been nice around here and we love it. Anyway, these pictures were sent to me from my dear husband before Italo and I were able to join him in our new house. As for the random items in each room, I told him to put them there as a point of reference for how big each room was. I'll go take pictures of my house now that we have our furniture and post those later. Oh yeah, and that cute picture of Italo sleeping was at our last place while the movers were there.

Pirates and "No-Eyes" Vinnie

2008-09-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is the day Vinnie got corrective eye surgery. At the end of the week, we went to a pirate birthday party and Italo wore an eye patch like daddy.

Santa's Workshop

2008-09-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

This summer, we made a family trip to the North Pole! It was so cold and Italo loved to touch it. There were reindeer and llamas.

Swingin' Time

2008-09-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is Grandma, Italo, and cousin Lauren in Colorado Springs. They had so much fun with the swing!! Love you Grandma!

Family Photo Ops

2008-07-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

These are our most recent family photos. It was

a hot and sticky day in Colorado, but we're all

together!

July 4th Festivities

2008-07-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

These are just some fun things we did on the 4th. Oh yeah, our little 6 month old started crawling like crazy this day. Yep, crawled right to Daddy's plate of food!

6 Months and Crawling!

2008-07-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures we took on Italo's 6 month birthday. What a darling smile!

Cushy Tushy

2008-06-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Vinnie and I covered our dining chairs. They used to be just wood seats, and now they are upholstered. We love them and thought we would share their new look with you.

Funny Boy

2008-06-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Some of these places Italo got himself into, but some we put him in. He's so funny all these different ways.

No Longer Wise

2008-06-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

I just recently had my wisdom teeth removed and recovery was not so fun. Just thought I'd share this funny picture of me still trying to be a mom while coming off of anesthesia.

Bath Time

2008-06-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this is taboo, but I thought these bath time pics were so funny I had to post them. Italo is still in his phase of sucking his toes and his face was so sweet and kind that day I just had to take photos.

Building Stuff

2008-06-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

This is Vinnie and his crew hard at work on Los Angeles Air Force Base. Yes, that's a Bobcat with an Auger attachment.

Musicians

2008-06-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is Kimi and little Jacob, and Italo and Mommy. We took a music class together in April. Italo's favorite instrument was the tambourine, but he liked to hold it and not let Mommy hold it.

Hats

2008-06-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

These are some cute photos of Italo in his many hats. The first he has since grown in to. The second is at the beach. The third is when we went on the boat wake boarding. The fourth he has yet to grow in to. The fifth was on a jog.

Fashion District

2008-06-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is downtown LA. They call it the Fashion District. I buy my fabric here and the occasional bacon wrapped hot dog.

This is my friend Kimi and her baby Jacob.

LA Zoo

2008-05-28T22:42:00.000-07:00

LA Zoo

2008-05-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

We went to the LA Zoo this month for the second time since we've lived in SoCal...this time with baby Italo - he had fun (while he was awake) and we got to hear a lion roar.

Pillow Talk

2008-05-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

These are the new pillows I made for my couch. I got all the materials downtown at the fashion district. I love them because their not really that boring! And I love that I actually had time to do something!!

Cute Boy

2008-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Our little boy, Italo, has not always been a little ball of sunshine. But we love pictures like this because we can always forget the bad stuff when we see them.

April 2008

2008-05-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

April was crazy. Italo and his mommy were sick with the flu. We traveled to Utah. Italo also started teething. And now, he is sitting up! (mostly) Time is just flying by.

We ran a "5K Race for Education" as a family. Italo was just barely 3 months old for his first race! Good job kiddo

Moving away from LA

2008-03-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

Alie and I will be leaving Southern California this summer. I am going back to school to get a Masters in CE. We will end up somewhere in the Bay Area of CA - but we are not sure if it will be at Stanford or UC Berkeley yet, we are going there next week to decide which one fits us better.