the little composer

Pepe and Chris drove me to the train station this am, per usual. On the way, we saw a few police cars stopped at the sight of an accident. The scene was not pretty. Chris and I commented a bit about it, and then drifted the conversation. All of a sudden, we hear in the back of the car, in the form of a song:

P: "There was an accident,
The man broke his foot
The police came
Blue lights were flashing
Oh yeah, oh yeah!"

My little composer....always looking for his muse..

Chris's Second Entry!!!

Hi all...day after Christmas and A-M and I are in Arlington now while Pepe stays in NH with Grandma (and Luke and Paca Jim)...hopefully he's being nice to Paca - he recently told him (in no uncertain terms) to stop playing his (Pepe's) guitar and that his (Paca's) dancing was "not too good".

Our Christmas was fun, just a few gifts for Pepe and while he doesn't lack in any way materially, A-M and I felt a little sad when he was out of presents and he asked if there were any more for him under the tree. He had fun looking over the labels and finding his name. There were lots of nice things: trains and cars and a toboggan from Papi's family, a crossing gate and cars and puzzles from Grandma, a big puzzle from Jim's mother (a 25 piecer which he did 3 times in succession). We also had a walk on the beach where a teenage boy with his family claimed to see oysters. Pepe also wanted to find oysters (perhaps because they sound like "toy stores"?) and we toddled over and around the rocks and skipped stones into the grey sea (just like a summer day!).

So I hope everyone reading had a great holiday. I hope to blog more and post lots of pictures (A-M and I received a new digital camera from my mom - thanks Mom!).

Winter is here!!!

We've had a lot of snow for the past few days. This afternoon Pepe and I got ourselves boundled up with 3 pairs of pants, winter coats, boots, hats and gloves and ventured on the back porch. We made a snowman, we went sledding in the neighbours' yard. We made snowangels. We ate snowflakes. We laughed. We screamed. We had the best time!

the tree is up

Pepe was playing the guitar while I was taking the pictures...thus, the blurriness...The new trend is that Pepe likes to play the acoustic guitar; Christmas beads from the tree attached to his guitar = acoustic guitar!

conversation with a friend

I picked Pepe up from school today, per usual. He was engrossed into his legos and did not want to go.
Me: Pepe, one more minute and then we have to go.
P: Noooooooooooooooooo (loud)
C (Pepe's friend): Pepe, this is not how you talk to your mother.
P: Hey, don't tell me what to do, you are not my mother. You worry about C, and I worry about Pepe.

Ahm....what's going to come out of his mouth in a couple more years....................

watching TV with Rowan and Rosie

This is how Pepe likes to wear his hat...

baking brownies..

where have we been

It's been a while since I updated this. What's been happening? Not much, really. On the pooping front, we are making progress. Pepe came to me this afternoon and announced: "Mommy, I have poopies", and we went together to the toilet and discarded the poop, and Pepe flushed it, proudly. This happened after a couple of days of "poop throwing".

Pepe and I have been playing "bicycle" and "jumping Jacks". How do you play? In "bicycle" Pepe gets bike rides on my legs. I sit on my back, with my legs up, knees bent, and Pepe sits on my shins. We do variations of "circle bicycle", "bumpy bicycle" and Pepe pays 5 dollars for each of the , yes, 5 rides. Jumping Jacks is more complex - my legs are straight up and Pepe sits on my feet; eventually he falls onto the bed. Chris tried to do these too, but, no running/swimming = no strong legs = no bicycle...

Karl, Rosie and Rowan visited on Friday and the kids had a ball. Took a couple of pics, will post later.

We Lukesat on Saturday and Sunday and visited the new Children's museum in Dover. Pepe had a ball, I had a ball, Pepe can't wait to go back, I can't wait to go back. Truly, there is so much to do there. Also, we got to see theinscritption with Pepe and the other cousins' names on the museum's wall..thank you Margaret!

The boy has been playing the guitar and drums like a true rocker, switching from instrument to instrument based on the songs.. His got the leg movement down when he plays the guitar. Oh, and he loves Christmas music and memorizes them no matter the language. I just realized that he memorizes words in songs by sound, and this is why the words come up weird at times...

Oh, how I am going to tease you with this, my dear Pepe

We had a lovely afternoon today, Pepe and I. I picked him up from school early - usually Tuesday he is home but Chris had to work early today (and his guilt meant early am pre work trips to McDonald's and Toys R Us...but I digress). We played chase at the playground. We went to the pizza place where Pepe had an entire slice of pepperoni pizza and one huge "gorilla icecream sandwich". We bought a book (the store has used items and donates money to charity). We used the crosswalk, 5 times. We went to the movie store where Pepe picked a Wiggles tape and a Here comes a boat tape (2 for 1 Tuesday). We stayed in line together, and I was about to pay when I turn around to see Pepe, and I see him all right - taking poop out of his butt and throwing it around. I did not panic, nooooo. I excused myself - the woman behind the counter had a frozen face by this time - picked the poop out, took Pepe by the hand, went outside, found a trash can for the poop, had a talk to Pepe, used a bit of hand sanitizer (thank God), and went inside the store and payed. Both myself and the woman behind the counter were very happy to part....

I really don't think Pepe has any understanding of what he does. I think it gets uncomfortable to have poop in his diaper, which is a good thing and should help with potty training (when we do do it). Until then, well, hopefully it will not be a daily throw the poop contest (I did not blog about his throwing poop episode yesterday, when I picked up 3 bags of pooped clothes along with Pepe in the afternoon..

Thanksgiving and others

We've had a busy few days off work. On Wednesday we had Godmother Ioana, Jeremy, Joe (Jeremy's dad) and their 6 months old son Landen over for dinner and some cousin play time. Pepe was intrigued by Landen. He waited and waited by the window and kept asking about him. I told him that Landen is a baby and he does not talk and Pepe needs to be understanding of that. Not sure how much he got of that. In any case, he did pretty well. He built a couple of towers for Landen to knock over (though he knocked some over himself), and watched Baby Einstein with him. At some point Landen gently grabbed Pepe's hair, and Pepe was a bit shocked and came over to tell me about it. He does not remember all the hair he used to pull... It was nice to meet Landen and see everyone so happy! We saw those guys again on Friday for Landen's baptizing - we were late bc we did not realize it was "Black Friday" and we got stuck in traffic around 3 of the Malls on the way. Pepe went upstairs as soon as we got there, and we ended up watching the ceremony from the stairs. He kept asking: "Where are this boy's toys, when do we play with them" so we were happy to find some kind of a press the button toy, which kept Pepe occupied upstairs for a while...Chris reminded me how boring adult gathering are for kids, and I do remember how I would keep asking "Can we go" over and over during visits to relatives. So we did cut the visit short for short for him.

(I just lost a paragraph of writing, hhhhr)

On Thursday we went to Grandma;s house for a lovely Thanksgiving. Great food, great company, nice relaxed time. Pepe played a lot with Ning, went to the playground, looked for lighthouses and ...had a tough time settling down. Oh, and he had pizza for Thanksgiving:) At night Margaret, Chris and I watched "It's always sunny in Philadelphia" and although Chris kept telling Margaret "C'mon, mom, you like this" I don't think she did. But it was nice to watch something together.

Today we went to the Fells where Pepe and Chris hiked and I ran an 8 mile loop as part on the Skyline trail as part of the Fells race and I WON! The the entire day I kept saying "Did I mention that I WON THE RACE" and "I WONNNNNNNNNNNNNN" . Of course, Pepe does not get any of this.

Speaking of Pepe, he is ordering us around these days and also trying some splitting. Like this evening:
After watching a video.
P: I am going to go upstairs and watch "Liz".
AM: No, it's bedtime, no more TV tonight.
P: I go to bed after I watch 'Liz'.
AM: Nope.
P: I go ask daddy. DADDDDYYYYYYY, I need to watch TV and you said (what???) I can watch TV.
If that's not splitting, I don't know what is.

Before nap:
AM: So after the nap we can go to the Mall.
P: The alligator mall? (Burlington Mall with the Rain forest Cafe)
AM: Sure.
P: And after the alligator mall we go to the cars mall (Arsenal Mall where they have cars...)
AM: You need to pick one, we can't go to 2 malls.
P: Yes we can. We go to Alligator mall first, then to the cars mall. OR, if you want, we go to cars mall and Arsenal Mall.
AM: Nope, we go to one mall.
P: Nooo, I ask daddy when he comes home.
AM: And what do you think daddy will say?
P: He will say, "OK Pepe, we go to 2 malls......no, he will say we go to 5 malls"......

Stuck in traffic on the way to...the alligator mall.
P: "Hey, move, that car is blocking us, did you see daddy, he got in our way, that's not good...".

At Landen's baptizing.
P: " This baby does not have any toys and he also pulls my hair. He needs to learn that you can't have friends if you do that. Noone will play with you. It's not nice."
I wonder where he heard that...

OK, gotta sign off. Oh, did i mentioned I WON the race...

conversations

In McDonalds, after I spilled a milkshakend Chris was teasing me about it
P: "It's OK, mommy"

To Grandma, over the phone.
P: But I am asking you, do you have a McDonalds?

At a crosswalk, after he pressed the button and the "walk" sign came on, a car stopped on the crosswalk, not in front of it.
P: Jesus Chris, Jesus Christ, you do not do this, I can't walk, you has to stop before, you has to.
(screaming at the poor guy, holding an embarrassed mom's hand).

After waking from a nap
P: It's dark out, why, I don't like this, it's not sleep time.

P: I want something, something else.

school conference

Last weekend we had parent-teacher conference at Petru's school. We received a report on Friday, and Saturday we were scheduled for 15 min to talk to 2 of the teachers. The report was all positive, mostly a development check. The conference was also most positive. Pepe is very affectionate, hugs and tells teachers that he loves them, entertains everyone with his crosswalk stories and sounds, etc. We wanted some help with potty training, but it appears that Pepe has no interest in the issue (true, he keeps telling us "I am not ready, I don't want to be potty trained"), and perhaps wait until summer when there are less clothes, training easier, and hopefully Pepe more interested. They also mentioned Pepe's stubbornness when it comes to certain toys, and his means to get the toys, e.g., pushing, grabbing and biting. They did say that this is likely bc Pepe is the youngest in the class, and feels the need to compensate. They are working with him on this. Interestingly, he does no longer do any of these at home, so this is progress. Also, during the past week the teachers kept praising Pepe about his good behavior, waiting for turns and sharing. I'd like to think it is the "talk" I had with Pepe about this, but I am not a full, I know it is the legos and other toys that have been acquiring in our house during the last week from Toy R us, neighbours and Bracket.....

the passion for legos begins

Pepe is in love with legos. He has been getting in trouble at school lately because at 'choice time' he always wants the legos, and, if he does not get them he throws a tantrum that includes biting and pinching and scrathing and pushing. And he is very open about what he does....

So yesterday I decided it's time to buy him his own set for home. He does have the big legos/blocks, but he no longer likes them. This little legos have a base to built on, and they truly are fun. So Pepe and I went to Toy's Us yesterday and after the usual play with the card and the trains, we got a large set of legos.


These legos are for 4+ aged kids, so no wonder Pepe had a tough time playing with them by himself, until we put away the little pieces that kept getting him in trouble. Now he is a happy boy. I hope he'll have an easier time sharing legos at school, now that he has his own set. Not sure if this was the best way to teach him about sharing, but you do what you can and what's easiest and quickest.

Check out the beautiful lighthouse he made. It's got a door and a little room up top for the keeper, who in this picture is checking out the waves from the top of the lighthouse....

in love with ABBA music

Chris got me an ABBA CD from the library - I fell in love with the music after seeing Mama Mia (I know, cheezy cheezy..). In any case, he loves singing and playing his guitar along with the CD. His favorite song is "Money Money" and he knows the lyrics by heart.

Pepe's first photos

No, we do not look this bad.. Pepe got his little hands on the camera....

visiting Karl, Michelle, Rowan and Rosie

We've been wanting to visit these guys for a long time, but we kept putting it off for fear of a disastrous experience with no sleep and kids fighting over toys...


We left on Saturday am after Petru's piano class. The drive was easy, as Pepe slept 1/2 of it. We got there around lunch time, and Pepe immediately warmed up to the toys and Rowan, their 6 y old, and we did not see him for a couple of hours. Rowan kept coming upstairs but Pepe kept saying: "Rowan, I hear you, come back". Rowan was very patient with Pepe and Pepe followed him around. Later on we took a walk and Pepe was excited about the New Haven crosswalks (of course). After dinner the 3 kids played some more, and the 4 of us played Boggle and chatted away and ate a yummy dinner. Around 8 we started to put the kids down, a couple of stories and then hop in bed. I asked Pepe if he wanted to sleep with us or the kids, and he immediately said "with Rowan and Rosie". But he was super wired, and kept jumping in the bed, and talking, and yelling, and laughing. So we decided to take him downstairs, for more stories in hope of quieting him down, but it did not work. Finally I fell asleep with him around 11pm. It was an interesting night as Pepe would open his eyes, lift his head up, and jump on me while switching positions and going back to sleep. My heart would jump with him hoping he would not wake up.

In the am we went to the park, and only there did I get it together to take some pictures...

Park - we exhausted the kids...so we had to carry them..

Walking slooooooowly to the park, Pepe and the like a bike, Rosie and Rowan on scooters..
















Playing in their backyard.

















The ride back was uneventftul. Oh, we did have to listen to "Victor Vito" 5 times, but otherwise we were fine....looking forward to another trip!!!!!

the looks

I remember having a talk with Chris a while back, and coming to a consensus that good looks make life much easier. This was all before taking social psych in grad school and learning that this is indeed a fact. We want to be around good looking people and we give good looking people a break.

This is what is happening with Pepe. His teachers (OK,except M,who Pepe says: "I don 't like her") cater to him and find him no fault. Today when I picked Pepe up from school, I saw him literally pulling a chair from under a kids's tushy, and then grab a toy from him.The teachers intervened, but mostly comforted Pepe who also got to keep the toy. And it is not like the teachers saw me. They all rave about his music skills,and guitar playing, and how he sings all the time, and laughs all the time, and is oh so funny. Very different than last school. No wonder Pepe no longer complains about going to school...And today, when I got in and made Pepe give the toy up, one of the teachers said: "It's been a rough day, we stayed inside because of the rain". What can I say? Lets just hope that all of this is not going to make him "nose up in the air", literally speaking, cause in reality he's got mommy's nose and it goes nowhere but down:)

Nr 5

I might have mentioned here that Pepe is fascinated with the number 5.

He counts: "1,2,3,4,5.....GO".
He wants "5" of everything (I have been known to cut cookies or candy in 5 pieces, since he wants 5 o them).
He wants to press the button at the crosswalk 5 times.
Today he did not want to take a nap, so Chris had the brillian idea to take his bball shirt, which has a nr 5 on it and transform it in a pillow, and I heard that worked magic. When I got home, Pepe announced: "I have nr 5 on my pillow, mama".
He wants his hot dog slices arranged as nr 5.
We make a 5 with the syrup on his morning waffle.
What can I say, 5 is the way to go.

Halloween - backwards

6. The boys with their treats: candy for Pepe, beer and pizza for daddy!















5. Coming home with his treats...The looks says "No pictures".















4. Pepe rang the bell at the spooky house. This house is the best. I could not get all the little details, but there were scary inscriptions, and fumes coming out of the ground, and skulls talking...but nothing strays Pepe away from some good candy!
















3. And more gathering - notice Chris wearing a hat. We had over 60 degrees today...















2. More gathering


















1. Gathering - Notice Pepe in his pumpkin shirt. Yes, once again he refused to wear his costume. Chris was a bit embarrassed, but I say the kid's got will and personality. He does not follow the norm!

in case you did not know..

Pepe: Can I have some candy? I need candy!
Chris: You can have a lollipop.
Pepe: That's not candy, that's a snack!

***
Eating dinner, Pepe gulping down his pasta (drenched in parm cheese).
Chris: Pepe, do you know what my kids had for snack today?
Pepe: I don't know...raisins? crackers?
Chris: Good guesses. They had pasta, just like you are having now.
Pepe: That's not a snack! I have graham crackers for snack and I eat it all up!
(True, this kids has a salty and sweet tooth; give him crackers, chips, popcorn, ice cream, cake, candy and he is a happy camper!)

from the mouth of Pepe

AM: Pepe, your cousin Landen is coming to Boston for Thanksgiving.
Pepe: Where is he?
AM: He lives in Florida.
Pepe: We should have him over. That's be nice.
***

Pepe: Hey, I am talking right now! It's my turn!
***

Pepe loves peanut butter (totally my son, I could not exist without peanut butter!). The other day I packed him a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich for school (no peanut butter allowed at school). I asked Pepe if he ate it, and he said: "No, it is dangerous!". Then I opened his lunch box and the Tupperware with the sandwich was sealed with masking tape, and there was a note on top of it, with red printed letters "PLEASE READ, someone has peanut allergy, don't send peanut butter to school". So now my kid does not eat peanut butter anymore, and when I offer it to him he says: "I can't, it is dangerous!". The things kids learn at school...
***
I hear this at least 10 times every day:
Pepe: Mama, do you want to see some crosswalks on the computer? I want to see some crosswalks on the computer. The one that goes "A-ha, A-ha".

Pepe: Mama, can I see a lighthouse on the computer? The one that blinks.
***

what's been doing...

We celebrated Chris's bday on Thursday. The big 44. Pepe and I made a card, and then I wanted to figure out what we should get daddy.

AM: Pepe, it's daddy's bday on Thursday.
P: Daddy's bday?
AM: Yes, what should we get him?
P: Hm, donuts...
AM: OK
P: And gum..
AM: yeah,
P: And pizza
AM: OK
P: And lighthouses....

So we did get the first 3...which started Pepe on the pattern of asking for donuts every morning. He loves to eat the glaze only, so he eats around and around until all the glaze in gone, and then he comes to me and says: "Mommy, do you want some? It is really good", and hands me the leftovers.

Chris's celebration was 3 fold. On Thursday Grandma and Paca Jim came over for some blue ribbon barbecue (yum!) and lava cakes and pecan pies (yumyum!!). Pepe was sooo excited! He helped daddy blow candles, and then he kept asking for more and more icecream ("I need more icecream with my cake"), eating only the icecream and not the cake... Last night Jessy came over and stayed with Pepe, and Chris and I met up with Charlie and Sonia (Sonia's bday treat!)and Al for a super dinner in Somerville. I don't remember last time we ate so much. I was full after the appetizers (blue cheese fondue anyone?). I had 1/2 glass of vodka with grapefruit juice and got to a super happy giddy place instantly (yeah, it does not take much for me). We all stayed up way to late, playing games back at our place, then checking the sports (Chris) and reading (I find that if I stay up later than 1am, I am no longer tired). So this am both Chris and I had headaches and tummy aches and felt so old and unable to keep up with Pepe's enthusiasm - but we swam at the Y and are both feeling better:) Tonight we will celebrate again with Papi and Pepe is super excited to see the kitty cats!

*
I am super excited that we finally bought new clothes for Pepe. He grew so much in the last couple of months, that nothing fit properly. Jeans up to his ankles, 3/4 sleeved shirts, may make a fashion statement, but not the type I am interested in... So I got him new pants and shirts at Old Navy, including 1$ Halloween shirts, super super cute! If grooming would come this easy. I would love to be able to hire someone to cut Pepe's finger and toe nails, comb his hair, wash his face (not the teeth, he loves to wash them for some reason, maybe bc the training toothpaste tastes good?)...Pepe's attitude? "We can do that later, mommy. I am busy right now".

Making brownies

This evening Pepe and I made brownies. This was a first for Pepe. He was very excited to help. He got his stool close to the counter, pour the package into the bowl, cracked the eggs, poured the oil and water, and stirred and stirred. At some point, I hear: "Hm, is this chocolate?", and the little hand start diving into the bowl. "This is yummy". The hand dives again, and again, and again. Pepe's face becomes chocolaty, along with his hands and sweater. Finally we pour the remaining mix into a couple of pans and Pepe is left with the bowl to lick...Down the memory lane I go to the times when my mom or Buni used to make goodies, and my brother and I would have to wait until the mix is poured into the pan, and then see who is quickest at getting to the bowl....

Playing with marbles - one of Pepe's favs

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GOOOOOOO!

Tough a Truck show in Rye - with Grandma

what's new

We had a great weekend sans Pepe, who was busy going to a "truck show" and visiting Nana (Jim's mom) and playing his guitar at Grandma's house. Chris picked Pepe up on Monday morning. We heard that Pepe was "so good" for Grandma. Well, not so much for mom and dad when he got home. First off, he did not want to get out of the car, and screamed for 15 minutes. Finally I got him in the house by telling him that I made a new crosswalk/lights in the porch. He was super excited to see them. Pepe's fascination with crosswalks is beyond any description. It's what he can talk about all day. He wants to press the button. Everyday after school we have to go "use"one... But I digress... Chris went out to play some tennis and I was in charge with putting Pepe to bed. Now, Pepe did not take any naps while at Grandma's. He was not to go down without a fight. And a fight it was. We tried sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed, and finally around 2 pm I decided to put up with the screaming and transfer Pepe into his crib. He screamed, but he slept. Yeah. This business with napping is not only for me (OK, it is mostly for me, I like my weekend naps and catching up on work while Pepe sleeps), but he is so pleasant when rested; plus, he still naps at school, and I think it is important for him to have continuity. In the afternoon we went hiking in the Fells, used a few crosswalks, and then played at home. Somewhere in there I gave the boy a haircut (yes, screams and screams - this boy likes control even more than his mommy!) followed by jellybeans and skittles (this boy likes his sugar even more than his mommy..OK, as much as his mommy!). Tuesday there was no school; I called a few times in the am, from work, and all I could hear was Pepe screaming. Nap time was horrible again. In the afternoon he was reasonable. I took him to the pizza store for dinner, we got a movie (dollar night, rent one, get one free) , used the crosswalk, had more dinner at home, and dreamed about FT daycare starting today. Yeah!!!

eating favorites

parmesan cheese by the spoonful, with finger licking ketchup, equal preschooler delight...and parents.......bewilderment.

what i've learned in the past few weeks

1. If I bribe Pepe with a future activity, I need to hold up to the bribery. Otherwise, the boy will hold me up to it.

After school Pepe and I stopped at the "new crosswalk" on Gray street, so that Pepe could use it. Pepe pressed the button twice and stopped the traffic twice. He wanted to keep doing this, but I got to embarrassed - it was rush hour, and people wanted to get back home, not get stuck at a traffic light because a little boy enjoys pressing the button.. So in order to get Pepe back in the car and stop the oh ho huge tears, I mentioned that "Maybe daddy will take you back later, when there aren't these many cars". So after dinner, Pepe asked Chris to go see the crosswalk. Chris said no. Pepe came to me and started yelling: "Mom, but you said so, you said I see the crosswalk with daddy". Well, I can't expect a 3 y old to remember the word "maybe" in a sentence that involve crosswalks..So crosswalk again it was!

2. I can't even spell "crosswalk" in front of Pepe - he knows what I mean.

3. The boy will do anything, I mean anything to delay: a. getting to bed ("I need a snack", "i need to eat at the table", "I need to get a drink", I need this, and that) and b. going to school ("I don't want to", :"we have to see the crosswalk", "I want to eat my waffle", "I want to...", "I am not ready").

4. The boy will press and press, push and push to get his way. It's like pain patients who want drugs, they harass and harass until they convince you that they need their narcotics and you let yourself be convinced out of pure exhaustion.

5. Rules for others do not apply to him.

P: "I don't like L., he hits, bites and scratches".
AM: Does C hit?
P. No
AM: Do you like C?
P: Yes, he is my best friend. Sure, I like him.
AM: So you like boys who are nice and don't hit.
P: Yes, sure.
AM: Do you bite?
P: No
AM: Do you hit?
P: Sure, sometimes.
AM: Why?
P: I hit B because he had my toy.
AM: Does B want to play with you?
P: Sure, yes.
AM: Are you sure? I would not want to play with a boy that hits.
P: Sure, yes, he plays. I get the toy. It's good. Sure.

6. When there are kids around ('my friends') parents become secondary, or better nonexistant.

7. If I want Pepe to leave a playground I need to stick together with the parent of the child Pepe plays with, and set a common timeframe for the boys.

8. I need to have an appealing snack in the car at all times - otherwise it may take forever to get Pepe back in the car without screaming.

a good brain for the boy

I don't remember whether I have blogged about Pepe's memory. It's impressive. Way better than mine when it comes to directions and places. When he was less than 2 he would point to the street that we took to get to the playgre libraryound, and later on even in the dark he'd point and say "playground". After going to the "alligator mall" (aka Burlington) only once, he pointed to it when on our way to New Hampshire, saying "Alligator Mall". And there more that I can't remember. Because my memory is not that great in this regard. This is why I blog.

So lets fast forward. Pepe is now 3 and 2 months. Yesterday Pepe and Chris got a new book from the library, a book about lighthouses. It's a "big kid" book, black and white, with drawings rather than pictures and lots of writing. Chris and Pepe looked over it before nap once. Last night I put Pepe down and he wanted to read the lighthouse book. Which we did. The moment I turned the page ("so I can see more", as Pepe says), Pepe immediately announced a summary of what was in the text, "This lighthouse eroded (eroded?????) and they built another one". "This is from France". "This is modern". "This is an old lighthouse. They did not have electricity so they used gas". I doubled checked with Chris. They looked over the book only one time. So the boy has a good brain, when it comes to what he really likes. Hopefully he'll find many things he likes and do them well. Unfortunately he does not like potty training, not yelling, going down easily for naps...oh well!

"I want a hot summer" - Pepe, Friday am on the way to school.

a big little while..

Pepe and I went for a walk this afternoon. It took us 1:17 minutes to walk down the street to the video store and pick a video, then pizza store and have pizza and icecream, use the crosswalk twice and walk back home. Pepe got really bored with walking home. He asked to go to the playground. t"Perhaps for a little while" I said, to which Pepe replied :" A big little while"!

afraid to be ..bitten

by the animals in his new book..

Papi and MJ came over for for dinner and a movie last night. They brought books to Pepe, as they always do - 2 construction and one alphabet with flaps that cover various animals corresponding to the letters. Which one did Pepe like the most? Not the construction books, can you believe it? He loved the alphabet book! The funny part was that when he flipped the flaps for some animals like the bear, the wolf and the alligator, he got really scared, "He is going to bite me, that's not nice", which prompted a game aimed at achieving habituation. He is definitely into biting these days - talks a lot about teeth, and biting, and alligators, and makes up biting games as well. Hopefully all of these will mean less actual biting of anything but food!!! Will see

what's up

Not much, really. Everyone is getting adjusted to the new schedules. Every morning Pepe announces that he does not want to go to school, but ends up having a blast once he is there. Chris drops him off and I pick him up - I think Chris has the tough job, as when I pick Pepe up, he rarely wants to go home.

Fridays we go for pizza and ice cream. Last Friday it was super busy in the pizza place and one of Pepe's friends came in, Charlie, with his dad. It was so great to see Pepe reacting to his friend. He has the same mannerism as Chris, a bit nervous but very happy and social. He and Charlie ran around a bit until Charlie's dad picked up his order and Charlie went home.

We also joined the YMCA, which is nice because Chris and I get to swim and Pepe loves the playroom where babysitting is free. Yeah!

Fall is here and the weather has been hard to take - lots and lots of rain. I have a few races planned for October and November. Maybe a get away for Chris and I on Columbus long weekend. We will stay around for Thanksgiving, we decided, and just enjoy the few days off. We'll have a large party for Chris and Charlie, who were born a day apart and have been friends since middle school. We'll have to do some cleaning and organizing, switching clothes, donating some of Pepe's clothes replacing them. Mostly, I'll have to say good bye to summer and embrace the Fall, and get the boys out for apple picking, hiking in the Fells and Halloween (Pepe will be an alligator).

All is well on 8 Elmore Street!

not sure how to help pepe with

his biting. but we have to. this afternoon he bit helli and pilar, twice each, with no reason. after first bite he said "sorry". after teh second i took him in and we talked about how he won't have friends if he keeps this up, and we made a card for pilar. i thought that maybe he wanted attention bc i was talking to kate and not interacting with him. so i started playing with him. but he bit again and again. i took him inside and told him he can;t go outside any more. he started trying to bite me, and also screaming, running around. he knocked the bowl of mac and cheese. finally he calmed down and ate his food. chris came home and took over. was taking him to the movie store a reward. who knows. gotta check in with some of my child psych friends, and/or mom friends. perhaps i should just remove him from the situation at first bite, and just ignore him, and he will eventually outgrow this. lets hope.

poop in the guitar

Yes, you did read it correctly...

I checked in with the boys from work this am. Chris put Pepe on the phone. He announced that "I pooped, in the guitar, it is yuckyyyyyyyyyyyyy, it smells". I thought I did not understand correctly. But I did. Chris explained that he was cleaning the kitchen and Pepe was playing on the porch, and when he went to check on Pepe, he found the guitar filled and smeared with poop. So, how did Chris deal with the situation? When I got home I found the guitar in the front garden, and Pepe rather smelly - Chris did watch his hands but thought that there was chocolate on his shirt..hmmm! So this evening Pepe and I washed and disinfected the guitar. Pepe was thrilled to announced to everyone that "there was poop in the guitar, yuck"!

is he lying

AM: How is the new school
P: I don't like school. I like to stay home and spend time with mommy and daddy.
AM: I know you like to play with mommy and daddy, but school is fun, too.
P: No (pout).
AM: Why?
P: Because I cry cause I miss mommy and daddy (disclaimer -not what I hear from the teachers....)
AM: But don't you like the teachers?
P: No, I don't like them (smiles and starts laughing and gives me a behind the eye look)
Hmmm

our weekend

I got home Saturday night from Chicago. I called Chris when I landed - good thing bc he was asleep on the couch, guess being in charge of The Pepe for almost an entire week is tiring (particularly if every afternoon when you pick Pepe up from school you take him to McDonalds and toy stores and put him down after 9pm...but I digress).

Sunday am I ran the Maine 1/2 marathon for women, gorgeous weather, great company, first time I did not run a race for time, and actually did pretty good, enjoyed the race and did not feel banged up and sore thereafter. We went to Margaret's after the race to pick Pepe up, and had a yummy healthy lunch nr.2, after yummy greasy lunch nr 1 of pizza post race. Pepe was happy to see me, gave me a big kiss and hug - very different from his "I am mad at you, leave me alone" behavior when I returned from my last trip. I gave him a new toy, and he was ecstatic. He was very shy around Kim, my friend from work who did her first 1/2 with me, but opened up and kept asking about her after we dropped her off at the train station. Once again Margaret was awesome, making the nice meal, and we all felt "spoiled", as Kim put it. Pepe had a short nap in the car, not long enough to hold him for the day, as he was a major cranckster in the afternoon. But it did not matter to me, really. I missed him so much and had loads of patience for him. I kept wanting to kiss and hug him all day yesterday, to make up for the lost time, and he obliged, which i truly unusual, as he normally likes to cuddle on his own terms...

pepe misses his mommy...

or so i hear from chris, who is alone with pepe these 5 days i am in chicago... i miss pepe as well, and i know he will be mad and not pay attention to me for a couple of hours when i get back, to "punish" me for being away...

what's been happening

I am in Chicago working on some jitters - 4 h workshop later today - so time to update. All is well. Pepe continues to blossom. Chris and I are back to our schedule, bye bye nice relaxed summer...

Pepe is doing well at his new school. However, mornings are again tough as Pepe prefers to be at home. I am not concerned about this because once he is at school he does v well, and the school is truly great. Everytime I go there kids are all involved into an activity and happy, v different than his old school...I also think Pepe has such a good time at home, with all his toys and special attention and fun activities, that school just can't compete. I keep telling Chris that he is too good of a dad:)

Speaking of attention...Pepe is biting at school. And at home. This started (I think) because of his buddy Ali (see Ali the Alligator post), and also bc we picked up a cool alligator head toy from a yard sale - you press in his teeth and ultimately your hand gets caught in the alligator's mouth. And how did I find out about the biting? Last week when I picked Pepe up from school, one of the kids came to me and said: "Pepe bit my friend". Then the teachers talked to me about it and how it's developmentally appropriate and they are working with Pepe on this. They believe that Pepe does this bc he is the youngest in the class..I think it's attention. He continues to think biting is v funny. I was thinking of doing one of those reward for good behaviors (e.g. no biting) star system, but after reading yesterday's NYtimes Well section (awesome!) I decided to just ignore Pepe when he does this at home, and stop playing with him when he bites. I trust the teachers will come up with a good system as well. V different attitude than Pepe's last school, much more laid back...

Bedtimes are a bit of a challenge again - Pepe wants to be awake and he really is not tired at 8pm. Might be time to push his bedtime, but I confess I cherish the time after 8:30, with a quiet house, even on nights when I have to do work...

Music class still not a favorite. Pepe should practice and that is not happening. I think it was a mistake to pick the class time when I have my running group. I think it would have been better for both Chris and I to go to class and then try to practice with Pepe...Oh well.

OOPS!

In the car, driving, stuck in traffic.
P: (from the back seat, with angry voice): "Hrrr, GO, GO, GO, JESUS CHRIS GOOOOOO".

(P.S. I am sure he got this for Chris, not from me, oh, nooo)

the best birthday present

was Pepe singing "Happy Bday "to me, voice and guitar, and the boys helping me blow out the candles!!!!

when your 3 y old start talking like you...

AM: Pepe, lets pick up the toys together.
P: Well, I get my backhoe, and you get the rest.
AM: Can you help me?
P: No, you can do it. It's good exercise!

**
P: Don't be sad, sometimes things happen and....

how many lollipops..

have I removed from Pepe's hair thus far? 3.

This am Pepe comes to the bedroom wakes me up and says: "Mommy, I have a lollipop in my hair". He turns his head and a tiny lollipop is indeed stuck in Pepe's hair. "I want to see the circle, mommy", Pepe keeps saying, but of course he is not ready to sit still so that I can take the lollipop out. Eventually we put detangler in and I cut a large chunk of Pepe's hair - good think his hair is always on the long side...

The morale: Parents, make sure there are no lollipops in your son's bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

weekend in september

We've had a load of rain this weekend, but we coped well, by keeping busy. Friday night we did the usual - games with Charlie & Sonia, post lasagna (thanks Chris) and brownies and icecream. Pepe was super energetic and went to bed at 10pm. Saturday we all got up at 6am, as I got a call from a friend to cancel our morning run bc of the rain. We had my boot camp barbecue in the afternoon and Pepe got to play around (in the rain). Sunday we went raspberry picking - Pepe was not into it as he really wanted strawberries, but got into is after Chris started carrying him and throwing him all over and around. We had dinner with the neighbours and the kids played nicely - the 3 of them are so grown up.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Pepe started piano on Saturday. V basic class and no actual music yet, which is probably why Pepe was not into it - oh, and also bc the class was close to one of Pepe's favorite places, "Henry Bear's Park"!

Likes and dislikes

Some likes
Tugging trains
Crosswalks, including making crosswalks - brown tape pieces on the floor, buildings made of blocks at the "intersection", and "lights" made of blocks with pieces of paper on which we color or make a "hand" or a person "walking".
Toy stores - he could spend an entire day there playing - no need to buy any toys...
Books, including catalogues
Playing guitar and compozing - last night I was told to go away and he brought the big guitar into his room, closed the door and started playing...a pick into the teenage years...
Talking to ALi the aligator about his day.

Some Dislikes
Rain - "I don't like the water comning out from the sky on me, it has to stop".
Being stopped in traffic - "It has to go. Go, go.."
Loud noises, like the fire alarm - "No, Stop".
Going to be - "I don't want to go to bed. I am not tired. It's not nap time. It's sunny out today".
Being transitions into another activity - "I am still using this. I am still playing".

preschooler talk

I had this cold for a few days. This morning was really bad. Pepe and Chris brought me to the train station in the am. I kissed Pepe good bye, and he said : "It's OK, mom, you'll feel better soon"...

*

I picked Pepe from daycare today and we drove on Mass Ave to get home. I stopped to take a L on Appleton, and this woman just could not make up her mind about taking a L from Appleton onto Mass Ave. I ended up going around her and raised my voice and commented a bit about her driving. Pepe said: "Mom, it happens sometimes, there are cars that can't drive, so you have to wait"...

Ali the aligator

Tuesday am Pepe accompanied Chris to Ikea, as Chris needed to buy a few things for his classroom. They returned with Ali, a 7-8 feet alligator. Both Pepe and Ali were black-dirty, as Pepe draged Ali all over the floors of Ikea, and then hugged Ali...

I have never thought that Pepe would ever be interested in stuffed animals. I mean, he got tons of them as a baby and did not pay any attention to them. I actually told Chris to tell Papi to stop bringing the stuffies to Pepe as they all ended up in the basement or goodwill. But now, it's all about Ali. Ali sleeps with Pepe. Ali has a blankie. I have to cover Ali and Pepe when in the crib. Ali gets to eat whatever Pepe eats. Pepe talks to Ali. It is truly cute...

first day as a preschooler

Pepe started his new school today. He is no longer a toddler, but a Preschooler I. He was very excited about his new school and the drop off was easy. Chris got a call from one of the teachers who said that Pepe was having lots of fun, playing and talking up a storm. We heard that Pepe went up to one of the teachers and said: "Hi, you work with my daddy!". Chris told me that indeed he had told Pepe that that particular teacher is working with him, but it was a long time ago.

So the boy is adjusting well. Or this is the honeymoon, the excitement of having new toys to play with. Will see. So far so good:)

what's been happening

We had a rather eventful weekend. We visited Charlie and Sonia in their new house, and Pepe took over their CD player putting "Life would be a dream" on replay, and calling their living room "the playroom", and did lots of swimming and walking at Walden. On Sunday we drove to NH and I did the craziest things of my entire life (I think), ran the Wapack race, and 18 miler over 4 mountains each way, with a total climb of over 3700 feet one way, which I completed in 4:15, as the 5th woman overall (out of 13, in a male dominated race). Pepe and Chris had a nice time at a nearby playground, and hiking in the woods. At the half way point Chris and Pepe waited for me with a peanut butter sandwich and Pepe looked at me surprised and said: "Are you running again, why?", as if he was reading my mind. Overall Pepe had a blast. The race volunteers kept filling up his cup with M&Ms, and his face got more colorful as the hours went by. next, we drove to Grandma's, who took over as I was completely useless the rest of the day. On Monday Grandma Pepe and I went on a boat ride and Pepe was mesmerized. He was in a trance the entire hour and a half, taking everything in, running from one side of the boat to the other, looking for boats and cranes and lighthouses. The highlight was seeing daddy wave at us from a bridge, during his run. Pepe was a bit confused but finally things clicked for him and he waved to daddy. We returned home Monday night and I got to witness the duet Pepe (guitar)-Chris (drums), composing and singing together the lighthouse song. Too bad our video camera is still not working.
Now back to reality. Both Pepe and I have colds, and Pepe starts his new school tomorrow!

P.S. I am writing about my races for you, Pepe, to remember your mommy as being young and tough!

pepe's first musical compozition

is called "The Lighthouse".
Pepe wanted to take his guitar to Walden Pond this afternoon, and we complied. As soon as we got to the beach, he took the guitar and started playing "The Lighthouse". I was unable to understand all the words, but it went something like "Boats pass the lighthouse.....You can press a button and the light comes on...Oh, the lighthouse", and the chorus was "bum, bam, bum, the lighthouse". He was very specific about what Chris and I had to do, sit down, stand up, dance. He loved having an audience and kept looking around to see whether people were watching him.I hear from Chris that he also composed "The other lighthouse" and "The Lexington toy store". I missed that, as I went for a swim.

toddler talk

Yesterday Pepe ran out of the back door, into the neighbours yard, without saying a word to us. I went to the porch, which oversees the neighbours' yard, and called to him:
AM: Pepe, come back.
P: __
AM: Pepe, come back.
P (playing with the diggers in the sandbox): Mom, I can't hear you, I am working....

***
Pepe's new favorite line, we have no idea where it came from:

"I thought you'd know what to do".

****
Pepe's favorite activity these days is to cuddle with mommy in mommy and daddy's bed, or Buni's bed. This is major roughhousing, and poor Chris is stressed out that someone will eventually get hurt. And we do get hurt once in while, like yesterday when Pepe bumped his head onto my ankle bone, and he bit my stomach along with the shirt... But overall, we have fun, scream, and tire out the toddler. Pepe likes to "wake me" and when he does, I tickle.

*****
My new trick with Pepe is using the watch to help him move on to a new activity - like going upstairs for sleepies. I explain to him when 5 minutes will be up, then give him the 1 min warning and we watch together the second hand is moving around and gets to 12 ("the red"). The Pepe excitedly runs up the stairs into the bed. Will see how long this will last.

******

Lots of guitar playing these days - favorites are "Cars" - mostly Route 66 and Life is a dream (pronounced Baba maghee - it took us a while, and lots of screaming on Pepe's part, to understand what his request meant), Peter Bjorn "It's a must". He plays the guitar, and I need to hold up my microphone (a banana) and dance around.

pooped over and about

I blogged a bit about Pepe's constipation last week, and about the enema experience. Last night Chris and I were all worried about his lack of pooping for the past 3 days. Pepe was playing on the porch, tagging his trains. At some point Chris went to check on him and ....I heard a; "Hon, Hon, Ana-Maria (he never calls me that!), we need help". I went on the porch and there was poop everywhere, Pepe's hands and face and clothes and trains and carpet. Chris looked overwhelmed and started showing me that he has poop on his arms (Chris gets easily overwhelmed by poop, as I discovered 3 years ago when I wrapped Pepe's first poop diaper and gave it to him as a present from Pepe), and gesticulating how I need to help and there is an emergency. Well, I do not get overwhelmed by poop and I have the European openness about pooping experiences, so I took Pepe to the upstairs bathroom and washed him and Chris helped a bit although the entire night he complaint about his arm smelling like poop (it did!).

Fast forward to this morning. Replay last night pooping episode, minus Chris's overwhelmed. This is called habituation, hopefully only for Chris.

Oh, and this kid will MAYBE get potty trained by the time he starts college!

Bye bye A Place to Grow

Today is Pepe's last day at A Place to Grow. We got gift cards and donuts this am, and made some cards for the teachers. it was a good place for Pepe but it is time to move on. I confess I am sad. I don't like transitions, and every transition means that Pepe is getting older. I do like to see him developing into his own self, and I like his independence, but I do miss the times when he was happily sitting in my arms. Now he almost never does that. I remember my mom telling me when Pepe was born, "enjoy it now, coz when they turn 4 they are not *yours* anymore". Well, Pepe is only 3 and I am already discovering that.

Pepe was all happy this am, as he has no idea that this is his last day at his old school. Oh, except when it was time to go, and he started screaming that he does not want to go...the usual. I hope he'll look forward to going to school when he starts the new one.

back to school

Pepe is back to good health. He went to school today, so he tried hard not to. I am a bit concerned about his constipation, but he has been eating lots of raisins so hopefully we'll see a poop soon (god, the things you are looking forward to when you have a child). I am also thinking of ways to ensure that he is getting enough dairy. No baba now, and he does not want to drink milk or even chocolate milk from a cup or sippy cup. He likes water and sometimes juice, but not milk. He does eat a bit of yogurt, and overall he eats much more solid food since giving up the baba. So that's a good thing.

still under the weather

pepe is getting better, but he is still under the weather. we all got back home today after a weekend away - me, hiking with my bootcamp palls, chris and pepe at grandma's house. i felt a little guilt leaving while pepe was sick, and much appreciated chris's push to go. i had fun. on sat night chris called saying that pepe has still not pooped (since tuesday) and jim was concerned, and chris called the pediatrician who suggested suppositories. chris had wanted us to start pepe on those earlier in the week, but i still have the memory of getting those as a kid and how i dreaded it and how they stung... chris said pepe was fine, as they gave him one in his sleep. but it did not help. so this morning pepe had an anima, which actually helped. so all is regulated at the moment. i still feel guilty for having been away, but am working on it. i never go away on my own, for a full weekend, and who knew this would happen?

so back home, pepe is very testy, fussy, and difficult. hopefully just a phase, not the terrible 3s.

conversation

AM: What's your name?
P: Pepe
AM: And your last name?
P: Ofio
AM: And daddy's name?
P: Chris
AM: What does daddy do for a living?
P: He is a teacher
AM: What's mommy's name
P: Mommy. I mean Ana Ria
AM: What does mommy do?
P: She is a cocologist.

sick

pepe is resting at my feet, watching a thomas tape. he has been sick for the past 2 days. tuesday morning he felt sluggish all morning, chris says. we all left in the am toward my work, and the boys stopped at kendall to pick up a baby bjorn potty that we got on craig's list. pepe seemed his happy self, v excited about the trip. when i came home from work, he was hot and sleepy and cranky. chris and i held him all afternoon. he perked up a bit and chris took him to see diggers. he fell asleep in his crib, but was up at 12am, and chris and i took turns telling stories until i made the decision to take him to our bed, and he fell asleep pushing me almost completely out of the bed. this was 2am. i barely slept as i worried i might wake him if i move him towards the middle of the bed. i left at 5 am for bootcamp, and pepe and chris got up as well. i hear that they slept in the livingroom, on the floor, sharing a pillow. i called pepe from work and he seemed cheerful. but this afternoon when i came back he wanted to stay in bed, which we did, and he was v low energy. he managed to eat some pasta and crackers, and drink a little water. his fever is down thanks to the tylenol. he seems more comfortable now. lets hope for a good night sleep for everyone...and that i'll manage to be quieter tomorrow morning...

no baba..ok!

i could not find the baba tonight. i looked everywhere. i called chris but of course he did not answer - he'll tell me tomorrow that he did not hear the calls, the sox were too loud i guess. so no baba, and i anticipated a tough bedtime, particularly since i had to interrupt pepe's playtime to get his ready for bed. so i asked him to help me find the baba. we looked everywhere and pepe announced, "no baba, daddy has it' (thanks, i bet it is in the car, left there by DADDYYYYY). that was the end of it. we went upstairs, read stories, cuddled, and pepe accepted the two sippy cups - one with water and one with milk- that i put in his crib. he even wanted to share his milky - "have some, mommy, it is really good'. so after 5 minutes of ducky stories, the boy is fast asleep. nice work, mommy

p.s. i did not mention that pepe poured the water from a bottle onto my head when we were cuddling, and laughed hysterically thereafter. whose fault? of course chris's - they keep playing this game at the rez and in the bathtub, and the "poor kid" could not make the difference. yeah, right!

update on the 3 y old

Not much going on post the bday party. I think everyone had a great time. The weather was wonderful, the pizza nice and greasy, the cake(s) a toddler's delight. It was great to see the kids playing together, interacting, talking, running around. It was also lovely to catch up with the parents! I am still looking forward to those parties where you can just drop the kid off...maybe next year?

Pepe has been v busy with all the new toys and books. He keeps having conversations with his trains, diggers, backhoes..v sweet to watch.

Our plan with giving up the baba is not working. Pepe announced with a pout on his face that he does not want to give the baba to babies, "I still using it". There you go. So we still give it to him at night, 1/2 full, so that's progress. The potty training has stagnated. Pepe pees everywhere and loves to watch the flow.Once he peed in a dump track and was very excited about moving the liquid with his backhoe...none of that happened, luckily, as i got involved. Tonight he caught poopies in his hands, and transported them to the toilet, I guess that is progress, too.

Pepe is so eager for peer acceptance. At school he is super popular and all kids want to play with him (or so I hear). At the rez, however, he gets kinda lonely. He tries to butt in to other kids' (older) plays, building with them, talking to them, but he is rarely successful. Kids are not v acceptant of a younger kid (dahhh!). This afternoon the situation got to him. Both Chris and I watched him from a distance. A bunch of older kids were building one of those water dumps, and Pepe wanted to get involved. He tried talking to them but they did not pay attention. He got a little bucket and started pouring water like the older kids, but he got yelled at a few times. All of a sudden I see him banging the bucket into this older kids who gave him a hard time. It was an easy one, but still, the kid got mad, went to his mom crying. Mom immediately went to Pepe, and I sent Chris along as well. Chris started telling Pepe that he should not have done that, and the mom mumbled something, too. Immediately Pepe hugged the kid, said sorry, it was an accident, and went his marry way. Good social skills, but obviously nothing internalized. And it was clear to me that this was all related to the frustration of not being included,and not having the language and ability to express this frustration. i tried to talk to him this afternoon about it, not sure how much sunk in. i really hope he'll have it easy on the social realm. there is nothing worse then the feeling of not being accepted...