monday shmonday

monday mornings are usually tough for pepe. transition from full time attention to being one of the many, from full control over his activities and environment (yes, he does play us like a musical instrument) to having to follow the teacher's lead is not pepe's forte. "i don't want to go to school" is said over and over on monday mornings. i don't remember him ever being clingy last year. drop outs were an old time easy breathy. but i hear from chris, who does drop outs this year, that monday mornings at school involve screaming kids fighting for toys. bribery, such as going to see diggers and press the button at the crosswalk several times work well to get pepe out of the house on monday mornings.

one of the niceness about being a toddler (which i fail to remember at times) is that everything is present, and a new truck or interesting discovery completely erases any thought of a shed tear. emotions are intense, but so are happiness and joy, and there is much much much more of the latter.

i picked pepe up after my run around 5:30, warmed up the pasta with hamburger sauce, and pepe ate 2 full bowls. we watched a little of the "there goes a truck video", and then pepe took a bath with bubbles. chris came home around 7, and we all hang out reading books. chris's turn to put pepe down...

another monday gone...

the "perfect" child

this weekend we saw it with our own eyes. i thought grandma was exagerating when she was describing pepe as "easy". no, she was not.

we headed to new hamphsire on saturday after my long run. pepe must have grabbed his coat 2-3 times in anticipation of the trip. the car ride was fun and pepe did not miss (i am positive!) one digger or such construction equipment. once there, our boy became the perfect child. there was no throwing food on the floor, there were no"I don't want to",only "yes, OK" and smiles. we went to the beach and the playground and the children's museum, and there were no tantrums leaving any of these fun places. pepe went to his nap with no protest, and we heard he went to sleep at night easily as well (we heard bc we were out). pepe was on best behavior at bg's, eating his french fries with catchup and acutely sitting in his seat. and, of course, us parents became secondary, and i was even told "go away" when trying to interfere with a grandma-pepe moment (nice to be able to just sit around).

so what happened? is it the constant attention, the excitement of everything, the strong ocean air as grandma says?). and, can we just send him to grandma every time he throws himself on the floor in the middle of the store, or other such (albeit rare) occasions?

who needs mommy?

pepe stays home on fridays. chris stays with him in the morning, and i come home by 2, when chris has to go to work. this is a conversation i had with pepe yesterday afternoon...

P. (in his rib, awake after his nap). I am up, I am UP!
AM. Hi sweety. Did you sleep well?
P. I need daddy.
AM. Daddy is at work.
P. No, daddy is home. I need daddy
A.M. Honey, mommy is here, daddy is at work. he'll be back later. lets change the diaper and go have fun.
P. No, go away. daddy, daddy.
AM. OK, mommy goes. You call me when you are ready to get up.
5 seconds later.
P. I wanna get out.
AM. Ok.
P/ I don't want to change diaper.
AM. Honey, your diaper is wet. You will feel better with a dry diaper.
P. I don't need diaper.
***
(yikes!).

i miss buni

A.M. Pepe, do you know who was on the phone?
P: Buni, pa, pa
AM. Yes, she is in Romania now.
P: At her house, and Obi too.
AM. Yes
P. Take you to the toy store and the other toy store and the concert and music class.
AM. Who?
P. Buni
AM. You miss Buni?
P. I miss Buni
A.M. And Obi
P. Obi, bite the blocks. Obi did it. He is not here. He is at Obi's house. Will see him in a while!

heritage vranceanu side

dora ileana mosoiu and avram axente giurca

ana-maria giurca (buni) + petru marcel vranceanu (mo)

ana-maria vranceanu + chris sofio

pepe sofio


eugenia vranceanu and ion vranceanu

petru marcel vranceanu + ana-maria giurca

the trick to giving a bath

is to have bubbles, lots of bubbles...if so, there will be no chasing of the pepe, the pepe will give a cheerful "yes" to the passing mention of the word "bath" and run up the stairs toward the bath, taking his clothes off. and if you are lucky enough to move fast, you can place him in the bath in time for the inevitable pee, which otherwise would (and does, often) end up on the bathroom mat.

next challenge is to stock up on bubble bath when on sale...with $5/bottle and a boy who now wants daily bubble baths, with lots of bubbles, one can run up a steep bill...

old memories that just have to be recorder

Petru's favorite song for a while was James's "Laid", which was actually the song Chris played for me at our wedding...It has a strong beat, so Petru kept asking for it "Turn music on, I need song" and would keep drumming in his carseat for the duration. So, about 3 months ago I pick him up from school, and complied with his request to put his song on. As we were pulling onto Elmore street I hear a chipper voice from the backseat singing "She only comes when she's (soft voice) ON TOP (screamed). I have not had such an intense blush reaction since....perhaps the wedding day when chris sang that song to me.

P. I need water
AM. To drink or to dump?
P. To dump!

P. I need water
A.M. Ok, but no dumping, OK?
P. OK
(Pepe takes the bottle)
P. Ready, set, go!!!!
(water dumped on the floor. big smile on pepe's face. time out for pepe)

AM. I love you
P. I love you ...more
A.M. Te iubesc
P. Te iubesc...mult.

C. Hi Pepe
P. I missed you daddy.
(ahh!!!)

AM. Pepe, who gave you this (e.g., shoes, toy, spoon, etc)
P. Grandma did.

what's that noise???

it's a bulldozer?

scary realization

it is 4:16 pm on a thursday - i am home 13 patients later. petru woke up a few minutes before i left (usually sleeps in which gives chris a few precious much needed minutes with his bagel and sports) bc i forgot to pull the shade down. i only saw him for those max 5 minutes, giving him a rushed kiss good bye somewhere in between brushing my teeth and grabbing my coffee. so i will only run 3 miles today and pick him up early and have some fun together. or skip it all together. i miss my boy...

what pepe likes

favorite TV show: Wheel of Fotune ; "give me an N", "an N daddy", "two N-s".

favorite foods: apples, macaroni, bacon, peperoni, goldfish, and soychips; oh, and anything sugary.

adult drinks he's tried and we can only drink in dark cups or when he is not arounds: soda ("soda, i need soda"); beer ("it's good");

favorite activities: crosswalks, go to pizza place, playgrounds (Keygrounds), big kids, the other toy store (toy's are us), go to the beach at grandma's house, play with diggers and trains.

favorite shoes: snickers from grandma (not dealing with what we are going to do when he outgrows them)

favorite pbs characters: clifford.

pearls

AM: Pepe, are you ready to give up the baba? You know, babies have babas, not big boys.
P: hmmm (clug, clug from the baba).
AM: maybe we can give the baba to babies...
P: NOOOO
AM: mami and dadi don't drink babas
P: you drink coffee

After going to Drumlin Farm with Chris, Helli, Pillar an Kate.
AM: Pepe, what did you see at the farm?
P: I saw diggers?
AM: Diggers, and what else?
P: Diggers!!!!
AM: Yes, you saw digger. Anything else?
P: And diggers!
(Chris mentioned that there was one digger, which was the only thing that held pepe's interest...who needs to see animals when there i a digger? I mean, a digger!)

Reading the book with ducklings, when a new baby duckling comes out of the egg.
AM: Ducklings come out of the egg. Pepe came out of mommy' tummy.
P: Noooooo,
AM: Yes, pepe was v tiny, and was a little ball in momi's tummy.
P: Haa?
AM: An was kicking momi sometime.
P: Yes, kicking momi, yes in momi;s tumi, go back to momi's tummy..
(why did i ever start this out?)

a usual wednesday in pepe's life

highlights....

AM:Pepe, lets go change your diper
P: I don't want to
AM: why?
P: coz...

usual day...left the house at 7:30am, petru was watching his buldozer video (real life construction site, with buldozers and diggers and construction worker....heaven for pepe), chris was getting over a morning argument over what to put in a soup (lentils or lentil soup...)....chris dropped pepe off after going to see diggers and crossing the street after pressing the button several times in a raw. picked petru up in the back pack that chris left at school in the morning, on the way home after my run. we played "i see..." game, and planned to make macaroni together after washing hands (not face) with apple soap. plans changed when we saw halli, pillar and kate in the backyard, sledding on the cover of the sand box. we joined in, which was fun. petru was shy initially - he put his hands over his face when i asked him if he wanted to go sledding (he does this a lot these days, if i don't see them they don't see me kinda thing) - but joined in soon and had lots of fun. next, we went home and made macaroni together. petru pressed the microwave button, added butter and cheese and stirred everything together. he also ate it all (almost) up, v careful not to drop any little piece (and shouting "i need more" if a piece would somehow drop on the floor),but ultimately dropping the bowl on the floor, his message for "all done" (we're working on it). chris came home around 6:15, and petru watched again his bulldozer video, while we ate dinner (the overargued over soup). petru took a bubble bath while i got a long massage (petru was a bit confused as he could watch from the bathroom). chris left to watch a bbal, and petru and i had some apple and read all 11 books (which are not exclusively digger, trucks, bulldozer book, thank you very much). we got a big baba and petru asked for ducky stories (at grandma's house), so petru and the duckies got picked up by grandma and went to see the beach,the "river", the cranes, ate pasta with tomato sauce and saw the ligthhouse...

time flyes by

i am amazed at how much pepe has grown. i am in owe of his charm, his joy and his ability to manipulate us. i can't understand why i have such a difficult time disciplining him, and am so happy when chris decides to do the time outs. i am constantly struck by the easiness he connects with life, about his "presentness" and easy going disposition. mostly, i am amazed by how quickly he changes, and i want to cherish every moment, and be able to make his memories my present any time i desire.

so through this recordings, we will be able to merge the past with the present and the future. pepe will be able to read these words, should he choose it, and be one of the lucky ones who has clear memories of the early years.

lets the adventure start