Passing the Torch

I am very excited to become a big brother! My new little brother or sister will be arriving very soon - March 2012. I am very sweet to that little baby in my Mama's belly. I give her belly kisses, rub it, hug it, or say "Hello in there!". We have talked a lot about "Baby Joey", and how I will have to help out around the house and teach Joey how to do things big kids do. I'm going to be very busy, so it's time for me to sign off and pass the blogging torch to my new sibling. This blog has been a fun way for us to remember the first four years of my life and all the exciting times we have had as a family. I hope anyone who has read this has enjoyed getting to know me and will continue to follow our growing family on a new blog, soon to be announced!
Ciao, amici!
- Frankie

Another Christmas

The day after Christmas, we went up to Oma & Papa's to celebrate with them. Uncle Chad was Chrismated into the Orthodox faith, and then we exchanged gifts. Even Uncle Seany was there, visiting from San Diego!

I got so many new toys and games, I don't even know what to do with them all! I think we will have to put some away until I forget about them!

Auntie got me these cool Big 12 football helmets. I am so lucky to have had so many fun Christmas celebrations with both sides of my family!

My Christmas

When I woke up Christmas morning, I didn't even notice that Santa had come! I didn't look under the tree. I didn't look to see if he ate the cookies, or if he filled my stocking. I went straight into Mama & Dada's room and crawled into their bed. They convinced me to go see if Santa came. I went to check. He did! He ate the cookies! There were lots of presents under the tree, and my stocking was so full, it wasn't hanging up anymore!

My stocking was full with some Santa jammies, lots of candy, a Tom & Jerry DVD and a new Christmas ornament. For breakfast, Mama & Dada made waffles, sausage and bacon. I just had bacon with Golden Grahams! After our nice breakfast, we got to open presents from Santa! I was more than happy with what he brought for me.

Between gifts from Santa and my parents, I made out like a bandit! I got some new OU gear, some little football guys, football books, some Cars stuff, new games, and even some books about becoming a big brother!

It was a really nice Christmas morning at home. We spent the rest of the day with Dada's family. I wore my new OU #12 jersey and played with my cousins all night! Lots of fun!

Christmas Eve

I had a busy and fun Christmas Eve this year! Mama and I made cookies for Santa. I did a lot of the work myself! Here I am, crisscrossing each ball of dough. I did an awesome job.

When my cookies were ready, I put some on a plate by the fireplace for Santa, and I gave a little taste to the Santa I made at school! He approved.

I went to church with Mama & Dada, then spent a fun evening with my cousins. I was ready to go to bed early so Santa could make his stop at my house!

My Letter to Santa

This is my first letter to Santa! I told Mama what I wanted to say, and I sure did think of enough to ask for! I wrote my name all by myself, and I think I did a great job! We put my letter in an envelope addressed for the North Pole, and I stuck it in the mailbox.

Just a few days later, I was surprised to get a letter back from Santa! He said he was working very hard to get ready for Christmas, and that he would try to bring me something I had asked for. Christmas is so exciting! It's great to be old enough to really enjoy it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions, and I have my own... not eating! Oma made a wonderful dinner, and I just had frozen peas and cranberry sauce! Mama & Dada hope that maybe next year I will try some of the things that they claim are delicious! Happy Thanksgiving!

The Ole Sod

In November, we took one last big trip before my little brother or sister comes! We decided to go back to Ireland! This was a very special trip, even though I may not really understand it now. I had a good time, but most of the time I wanted to come home so I could play video games! We spent a week in the west of Ireland and saw some new places like Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. The coolest part of our trip was finding some old family history.

We went to the town of Doneraile in County Cork where Oma's grandfather was from. We ended up meeting a very kind old man who knew the Linane family and even learned to dance in their home! He took us and showed us the small, modest house that Oma's grandfather grew up in. He also said that the Linanes were a fun bunch of people, always laughing! Sounds like nothing has changed! We also found the land that was owned by Papa's great grandfather in Coolnaleen Upper, near Listowel in County Kerry. The O'Callaghans owned more than 300 acres there, and we met the grandson of the man who purchased the land from James O'Callaghan in 1906. Some of the old stone buildings are still there on the property, but the grand house that Papa Oscar called home burned in 1952. I may not be able to appreciate all this yet, but someday I will!

It may be quite some time before we are able to go back to Ireland, epecially since we will be a family of four soon! It was great to spend some time together, just the three of us, while getting to see beautiful places and hanging out in cozy pubs!