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!

My 4th Birthday

Happy birthday to me! Four years old... that's crazy! I was so lucky to celebrate my birthday with all my family again this year! My cousins had me over for dinner for one of my favorites - kibbe! They gave me a very special birthday cupcake and the best presents ever! They gave me my very own OU jersey and helmet so I can look just like a real football player! So much fun! Mama made chocolate football cupcakes for me to take to school to share with my friends. Yummy!

We went to Oma & Papa's to celebrate, too. I told Mama I wanted a banana cake, but every day, I changed my mind about which team logo I wanted on top. One day it was Tennessee, the next OSU, and the next OU. Luckily, for Dada's sanity, I stuck with OU! I love my birthday. Cake and presents! What could be more fun?

I got lots of fun gifts from all my family, but I think spending time together is the best gift of all! Thanks to everyone for making my big day so special!

Four Years Old

I'm quite the little man now, at four years old! I'm still the sweet, shy, stubborn boy I have always been. I'm getting taller and thinner. I'm so skinny that my little ribs stick out. I'm not the best eater, but we're working on it! Mama & Dada are sure I'll turn out fine, even if I'm picky. I love to have fun, be silly and laugh. My number one favorite thing in all the world is football! If I could spend the day doing what I wanted, I would play NCAA Football on the PlayStation all day long! Mama tells me I'm too addicted, so I've been cut off from playing video games, except for once a week. When I can't play the "video sports game", I play football by myself. I pretend to snap the ball, be the quarterback throwing a pass, be the receiver catching the pass, and then make manly grunting noises as I get tackled. I tackle my cousins and Dada whenever I have a chance! I love numbers. All the time, I'm talking about my favorite numbers. They're different every day, but a true favorite I always return to is 85. I love to ask Mama & Dada "How old will I be when you're __ years old?" I'm very smart. I can count to 100, I can write my name. I can read some names of states (a side-effect of playing the football video game!) I can sometimes spell words if you help me sound them out. I finished potty training last summer and finally came to terms with the fact that I can't always hold it til I get home. I say that when I grow up, I'm going to be brown & fat - 7 feet tall and 413 lbs, to be exact. I think that will make me a good football player. I laugh out loud when I watch SpongeBob or Tom & Jerry. I love watching TV. I spread out my arms when Mama asks me how much she loves me. I'm affectionate and sweet most of the time, but I can definitely turn bratty if things don't go my way. I say school is boring and that I'm not going ever again, even though my parents tell me I have many years of school to come. Here are some of my favorites:
Food: Chicken fingers, burgers, kibbe, spaghetti, fruit and CANDY
Color: Red
"Friend" to sleep with: Bear
Sport: Football
Friend at school: Beckham
TV Show: SpongeBob
Toy: MobiGo

Happy Halloween!

After getting a Wii from Auntie Rigi and becoming addicted to boxing on the Wii, I absolutely had to be a boxer for Halloween! I was the cutest little boxer you've ever seen! I went to my cousins' house to trick-or-treat with them. I got lots of sweet treats in my spider bag and had a fun night. Happy Halloween!

Stinky Carving

Here's my nice, big pumpkin! I'm all ready to carve it for Halloween! Well, at least that's what I thought!

As soon as I stuck my arm inside the pumpkin, slimy guts touched my hand, and the horrendous stench of fresh pumpkin wafted up into my nostrils. It was a most unpleasant experience! I burst into tears! Mama said I was being completely ridiculous. She said I should reach in and pull out the pumpkin guts. She's crazy! She showed me that even if you get slimy, your hand can be washed. It didn't matter. I was done with pumpkin carving.

I watched Mama as she did all the gutting and carving alone, but I was happy to pose next to our finished jack-o-lantern! He turned out just how I wanted, and he looked nice & spooky on our porch for the trick-or-treaters!

Fall Break 2011

When I had a break from school in October, we went to Wichita for a few days to see our family. My cousins Brian & Tyler came all the way from Denver to hang out with me! We had fun playing Wii and tossing around the football at Oma's house. One day, a very WINDY day, we went to a pumpkin patch! It was cold, and dirt was blowing around like crazy, but it didn't stop me from having fun! My cousins and I jumped and bounced on a giant pillow of air, ran around the playground and found our way through a corn maze.

Spooky & Sweet!

When October hits, we get so excited for Halloween to come! Mama and I wanted to have some spooky fun, so we made this haunted candy house! I did a lot of the decorating myself. Mama was very impressed - it turned out BOOtiful! After we finished the house, I was ready to eat it, but we decided to keep it until Halloween. While we let our haunted house dry, we cuddled on our cozy couch and watched our favorite Halloween movie - The Nightmare Before Christmas. Mama loved snuggling up with her favorite little goblin!

Sunny Sandy!

Back to sunny San Diego! In late August, early September, we went to visit Uncle Seany, and this time, Auntie Tini & Uncle Chad came, too! It was Uncle Chad's first time being in California...ever! I wanted to take him to my favorite spots so he would see why we love it so much!

No trip to SD is complete without spending a few days at the beach! The water was cold, and I didn't want to go in past my knees, but I had a lot of fun playing in the sand. It was all over me. I even had a sand moustache!

We wanted to go to Mission Beach so Uncle Chad could get a feel for real San Diego, even though Coronado and La Jolla have quieter beaches.

We went to have some great burgers in Ocean Beach at a joint called Hodad's, too. The delicious food options are endless in SoCal!

The big happy extended family also got to go to a Padres game! San Diego didn't win, but losing to San Francisco isn't such a bad thing - our hearts belong to both great cities!

I got this little squishy guy at the game and called it "my baby". I was heartbroken when his cheap face started falling off halfway through the game! We exchanged it for a new one, and once again, I was a happy boy. It was a great vacation in SD. We went to Balboa Park, drove Uncle Chad by the old house, visited friends and ate at our favorite restaurants. We love Sandy!!

Ohhhh....Back To School!

I look so grown-up and so sweet! I wish I could say I was thrilled to go back to school! I would always rather stay home and play, but Mama says I have to get used to it because I'm going to be in school for a very long time! I am a very good boy at school. I'm shy, but this year I finally opened up a little bit and talk with a couple friends in my class and even with my teacher every now and then. I make lots of art projects that are so cute, Mama wishes she could keep all of them! I love to play in the gym and on the playground (especially football). Every morning when Mama tells me I have to go to school, I say "boring!" but when she picks me up, I always say I had fun and had a great day!

Trip to Nana's

Big surprise... We took another trip to San Francisco! This time, we didn't do much sightseeing. We just wanted to go hang out with our Nana! Oma and I stopped at the strawberry patch by Nana's house. The strawberries there are so sweet and juicy! They were delicious! We also went to Fairfax - the town in Marin where Nana's grandfather was one of the founding fathers! The picture of me & Oma with all the tall redwood trees is in the park in Fairfax. That land used to belong to my great great great grandfather, until he donated it to the city of Fairfax. Pretty cool to stand in the spot where my family had a big part in the history of that town! We mostly just hung out at Nana's with our family, laughing and having meals together. I'm so blessed to get to visit her often. She's a very cool old lady!

Celebrating Our Freedom

We celebrated another fun-filled fourth at Uncle Marco's annual bash! What could be better than family, friends, swimming, Uncle Marco's famous burgers and an incredible fireworks show!?

In the morning, I rode on the golf cart with cousins and friends in the little parade in Uncle Marco's neighborhood. We looked like a bunch of clowns packed in a tiny car!

I played and swam until I was so so tired, I just couldn't take anymore! I barely made it through the fireworks, which were awesome. The show was the talk of the town and rivaled any fireworks display most people have seen! Uncle Marco has quite a reputation for his famous onion burgers and fireworks!

Here I am, lying in the cool grass on a hot day, thankful for my freedom and the people who made it possible! Happy 4th of July!

Auntie's Wedding

On May 29, 2011, my Auntie got married! She was the most beautiful bride anyone had ever seen. It was a most perfect day, and I did an awesome job as one of the ring bearers!

Peyton and I got the job done together. Mama & Dada thought there was no way I would walk down the aisle when I saw all those people watching me, but I did it! I was taking very funny short steps. Everyone thought I was just being a silly boy until later when they saw that my tux shoes had given me horrible blisters. My ankles were bleeding! Ouch! I was such a good boy, I kept the shoes on even after I complained to Dada that my feet hurt!

My family!

The O'Callaghans

Mr. & Mrs. Chad Koehn! Congratulations Auntie & Uncle Chad! I love you both! Thank you for letting me be such a big part of your special day. I had a blast! The reception was so fun that the next day, I asked Mama if we could have another wedding!

A Special Treat for Mama

As a nice treat on Mother's Day, my mama and the other mamas came to school for a special program. We each decorated a cookie for our mama and had gifts waiting for them on the tables. I decorated this gift bag with lots of people. (Can you see the eyes, mouths, arms & legs?) Inside the bag was a really cute picture of me in a frame with my little handprint on it! I lined up on stage with my class and stood there silent and still as the rest of them sang a song about mommy to the tune of Bingo. Mama wasn't surprised that I didn't sing. I'm shy just like she was at my age! She heard me singing the Mommy song in my room when I didn't know she was listening, so at least she got to hear it! She absolutely loved our little program and especially the little gifts that I made for her. My mama loves me a lot, and I love her, too!