"Vinny The Forger"

My nephew celebrated his 8th birthday on 8-8-08. Now THAT'S something that would have been nearly impossible to plan! It's hard to believe that he is already eight years old. I remember holding him when he had been in this world a mere 30 minutes or so. It's a little harder to pick him up and hold him now!! He is shown in this photo with his sister (on the right), Snow White, and my dad - a.k.a. PaPa. Don't let that beautiful, innocent face fool you. He is full of mischief. And hugs.


My youngest sister called me a few weeks ago and said that her baby wanted to have a family pool party for his birthday. How can you say no to an eight year old who actually WANTS his family to come to his party? It must be because adults show up with MUCH cooler gifts than kids. He became aware of this at a very young age. Although, I have to give credit where it's due, the gifts from his buddies were impressive.


Shortly after everyone arrived, the boys kicked into high gear - there were balloon fights, there was running in the house, there was ear-splitting laughter. There was also a broken glass. Evidently, balloons are heavier than they look.


With a house full of boys, my sister thought it would be a good idea to get the cake and presents out of the way first. She asked the kids to sit down so we could sing "Happy Birthday" and eat cake and ice cream. For most of them, the concept of sitting still seemed foreign. They did the best they could!


After the gifts were opened, the kids headed out to swim. I really enjoyed watching them play in the pool. Their energy level was mind-boggling. When I stood up to go inside, my nephew made sure to squirt water all over the back of my pants. They were the perfect color to show off EVERY DROP!!!! It's been a LONG time since I've had the back of my clothes soaked. Good times!!


I haven't talked to my sister to find out how the rest of the night went. The boys were sleeping over. It's pretty much a given that my sis was in dire need of a nap yesterday afternoon! I hope she got one.


You may wonder (or you may not) about the title of this post. Yes, my nephew has already begun his life of crime, and we felt it was only appropriate to give him a suitable name. Actually, my mom came up with this name for him after an incident that occurred a couple of years ago.


As a bright, but bored, first grader, this little guy began to get into some trouble at school. He always did his homework, he always did well on his tests, but he just couldn't seem to keep his mouth closed! The teacher began to send notes home to his mother regarding his behavior. My sister would give him a stern talk, then initial his note so he could return it to the teacher. His mom was SO proud of him when he had managed to go to school for three weeks straight without receiving a note. THEN, she got the call. It was the teacher. Evidently, little man HAD received notes during those three weeks. Rather than give them to his mother, he signed her initials and returned the note as if nothing were amiss. He was then able to bask in the love and adoration of his parents. You will never believe how he finally got caught - he wrote the "S" backwards. Hahahahahaha! Heaven knows how long he would have gotten away with it if not for that tiny slip-up! "Vinny The Forger" was born!


I hope he hasn't been sneaking out of bed at night to watch reruns of "The Sopranos." I'm not ready for him to run away and join THAT family!