Paderino

Actually it's "padrino" which is Italian for Godfather. Around our house Prospero is Sofia's "padrino" and she only recently began saying it properly. It once was "paderino" which I find endearing. I have known Prospero since 1992, so we have a long history of friendship. He is more like family than a friend, especially since he has become a "padrino" to our sweet Sofia. The last few years, I have began to appreciate our relationship in a new way because he has embraced our children as his own. Not only have he and Brian become best friends, but he has become more like a brother to me. Whenever Sofia and Luca see him, they scream "padrino!" and run around in excitement. Needless to say, they love spending time with him. Prospero has joined us on a few vacations, including our trip to Italy in 2006 and our most recent trip to Lake Tahoe. Of course Brian and I love the company, and it's also nice to have an extra set of arms around! He even babysat for us on my birthday as a surprise so that Brian could take me out to dinner. I am so grateful for our Padrino and our friend. He has become such an important part of our family. It's just amazing to think we met on the corner of Masonic and Turk in 1992 because my he was a friend of my boyfriend at the time. He we are 16 years later, still friends and a "paderino" to our children. Pretty darn amazing.