That seemed to be the theme this weekend as we continued our streak of having people over on the weekend this summer. Every weekend in July we have entertained. Not sure how it ended up that way, but it did. This weekend was a double whammy as we had Deb’s family here on Sat. and our friend Barbara and Sandford (with their kids) on Sunday.

Saturday saw an amazingly beautiful day here in NY for a family BBQ. Deb’s Aunt Claire was up from Georgia and we decided it would be a good opportunity to get several members of her side of the family together. It had been a while since we did somethign like this so it was a big deal. In addition to Claire we had Jen & Scott, Mike & Alana & Jarett, Betty Ann & Jimmy, and Mike & Cathy, along with us (Deb, Mona, Dylan, Marissa, and me). The two bigt peices of news that came out of the day is that big Mike and Cathy are engaged, and Mona and Betty Ann are talking again, though that started when Deb’s grandmother passed.

A good time was had by all and I have some pictures that I will post soon. And Jen, if you are reading this send me your pictures!

On Sunday it rained. Then it rained some more. However, this did not surprise us or put a damper on things since it seems to rain every time the Selzick’s come in from Tuscon, so why should yesterday be any different. The kids all got along great and played together on the Wii and the computer. Lilly even played Lego Star Wars with Dylan! Sandford played Wii for the first time and almost broke our ceiling fan (and his writs) while playing tennis. Everyone had fun and we pigged out on some good Chinese food (thank you Sandford!). It was sad to see them go, but they will be back, hopefully without the rain.

Well, it’s been a few weeks since i last posted an update so I figured it was time for one.

Dylan has been in camp since June 30th and is loving it. He get’s to go swimming twice a day and do all kinds of fun things. Deb has been workign part time at the camp to help defray the costs of Dylan attending full day and, well, let’s just say she doens’t love it quite as much as Dylan does. She has a group of toddlers that are as young as 22 months, which really, IMHO, shouldn’t be left at camp for 2hrs a day.

Marissa is getting steadier on her feet every day and even walked all the way around the block on her own last weekend! She can stay upright while running, at least for short distances. She has begun identifying the parts of her body like hear, eyes, nose, and toes. It is just mind boggling how fast she learns stuff. And her vocabulary is expanding on a regular basis.

On the 4th we had our good friends the Kranidis over for a little BBQ. They all got time to really get to know Marissa. I think Hope had been the only one to meet her until then to be honest. As is always the case when we get together everything was wonderful and all had a good time. How can you not with friends like these? Dylan and Elias played in the pool most of the day and then played Lego Star Wars together while the rest of us ate, drank, and had a good time.

This past weekend we played host to the Ramoindi family: Nelly, Joe, Samanth, Robert, and Jordan. It was an amazing day on Sat with the weather being about as perfect as on can ask. Jordan and Dylan played together all day long in the pool, on the Wii, and, you guessed it, Lego Star Wars. Sam and Robert also played Wii Fit, trying and succeeding in breaking the few records I had set. Now I need to go back and re-claim my crown. Sam was going to drive home but Nellie was all worried about her driving on the parkway, it was to be her first time, so I took Sam out for a quick spin on the Wantagh and Southern State. She handled them like a pro.

Dylan is also getting very creative with his Legos. He built this model of WALL-E, even though we haven’t seen the movie yet. Pretty cool, eh?

And the hosting will continue it seems with Deb’s cousin Mikey coming over this weekend, than Babs will be in town. I think the first Sat in August we have nothing scheduled, yet. Dylan’s birthday party will be the 23rd and the Saddle Lane block party the 30th.

..come the most interesting things. Marissa has learned not only how to say “wow”, “Uh-oh”, “Oh No!” and other similar phrases, but she knows how to use them and deliver them. For instance the other day she was sitting on my lap in the living room when a passing thunderstorm causes the lights to go out for a few seconds. Just enough to turn off the TV and stuff. She turned her head and looked at me wide eyed and said in the sweetest voice “Oh no”. Deb and I both bust out laughing. She has developed a habit of delivering her lines in the lull in conversations around her. I can’t tell you how many times she has said “wow” at just the right moment and with just the proper inflection. It is amazing.

Oh, and while she can say “mama” and “dada”, it seems she doesn’t like to say “mama”. She calls Deb, Grammy and me “dada”. It drives Deb nuts and makes me laugh like hell.

She is also walking around the house like a little midget, following people, especially mommy and Grammy, wherever they go. We need to go to Stride-Rite to get her first pair of walking shoes soon. Very soon.

That is what just about everyone in the NY Metro area is screaming this week as we muddle through our first heat wave of 2008. We are in day 4 of hot and humid weather and the air conditioners are humming along at full speed. Dylan and I spent at least 2 hours each day this past weekend in the pool, which is already setting new highs for water temps at 84F. Marissa even went in her kiddie pool. Pictures will be posted soon, once things cool down.

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to Jones Beach for a little while. Marissa went right into the sand and started digging like she knew what she was doing (and it looked like she did!). It’s amazing. She also was wowing the socks off people who came by just being cute. We were sitting at the edge of the boardwalk where people would go down on to the beach and two older couples came by on their rollerblades and stopped to take them off to go on the beach. She just started talking to them like they were old friends, they loved it. Dylan even went over to some kids who were digging int he sand and started playing with them. It was great.

Monday night we went to the LI Ducks baseball game with Dylan and a groupd from his school. It was fun, even if the Ducks lost horribly (11-6). We left in the 4th inning when it was 10-0. Dylan was very excited and had a lot of fun.

Well Marissa has moved on from a few timid steps to cruisin around the living room. She is officially walking. Still looks a bit like Frankenstein or a drunken sailor, but getting better, faster, and steadier on her feet every day.

Marissa is really starting to get the hang of walking and doing it more and more. Yesterday she walked from the coffee table to the couch (about3 feet) all by herself. It was cool to watch.

She also went for her first bike ride Sunday morning. She didn’t seem to enjoy it to much, but that might have been due to her helmet covering her eyes….

This week Marissa has been taking her first steps. She has taken a step here and there over the past two or three weeks, but this week she actually walked from the coffee table to Deb on the couch! Yipee!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many is a video worth?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cxxKopTfIw]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY-a1rUFQnA]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdlFALj6qAM]

I think the title says it all. It has been an amazing first year. I love you princess.