Jacomo turns 1!!!

JACOMO'S CAKE

OUR LITTLE SHOELESS COWBOY

(Mom's Turn)
Our little guy is 1!
I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It seems like yesterday that we brought him home and we again had a newborn in the house after 8 years. All our family and closest friends came to celebrate him on Saturday, and we thank you for that. It was a bittersweet day, I imagine that's how it's going to be for the rest of our lives: his very first birthday and big sister Vittoria wasn't (physically) here. Oh boy, would she have been so excited to celebrate her little brother and spoiling him rotten. I think she would have approved of his cake ( Spongebob is one of her favorite shows to watch, and chocolate is something that she would have eaten by the pounds if it had not been too healthy for her), and would have loved to have all her cousins and friends together under one roof, playing and enjoying themselves. Jacomo was very taken back by all the attention he got, he preferred crawling around and chasing his little cousins.
We feel the void she left: when it was time to give Jacomo our gifts, I could not stop thinking about her handing her gift to him and excitedly waiting for him to open it. I was sad and at the same time trying to be happy for our boy. Conflicting feelings and emotions are hard to deal with, my heart is torn, on one side there is so much grief and sadness, on the other there is gratitude and love for this child that we have left and we get to raise and for having our daughter forever.
He is quite the happy little guy, very stubborn and opinionated, he is already testing us and challenging our rules, but in the end, we love him so much and we try to do the best for him and raise him like we have raised Vittoria.
Again, I could not hold it together when it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" to him: my heart was begging to hear my girl's little tiny voice sing, even just in my head. I think she would have helped him blow out the candle, since he just looked at it and waited. Finally James helped him. A better reaction of when Vittoria stood in front of her first candle and started crying and trying to crawl away from it.


Jacomo is a good eater, most of the times, and he sure enjoyed that piece of chocolate cake. He wasn't really sure about it, I don't think he knew what to do with it, but once he got rid of the plate the cake was sitting on, he went for it and boy did he make a mess, but he finished it all. Needless to day, after he was done, he was put right in the sink and given a bath.

To Family and Friends, near and far away, who have been by our side from the beginning, who have rejoiced and mourned with us, who have never left us, who love and support us,
THANK YOU from the bottom of our heart!
WE LOVE YOU!