what it means to be a 2 y old

Pepe does not climb into his car seat. No, he climbs into the backhoe. And if you happen to suggest, "common Pepe, climb onto the backhoe so we could go", well,big mistake, Pepe immediately corrects you "It's not a backhoe, I climb onto the front loader". And don't even think about helping him a bit, cause he'll jump out and start from the beginning "I do it all by myself".

Pepe is ambidextrous. His spoon travels from his left hand to his right hand in a matter of seconds. Regardless, he continues to eat mostly with his hands. I blame Chris for that. Those who know Chris well - you know what I mean.

Pepe continues to sleep now because I woke him. If I want him to sleep, he does not. Who said "reversed psychology?".

Some people need coffee to start the day right. Pepe needs to see a digger or two.

Pepe's usage of denial serves him well. "It's not raining" (yes, right!), "it's not night time, it's 5'o clock (favorite number). "It's not all gone, I watch it again".

If Pepe talks to you and you are not paying full attention, he grabs your head and turns it toward himself. There is no escape.

If you are a young kid, beware, Pepe will grab your toys. If you are a toddler his age, beware, Pepe will try to grab your toys. If you are an older kid, beware, Pepe will scream and you will most likely give up your toys.

What gives Pepe pleasure?
"A baba!!!!!!!!!".
"Chocolate...yeah".
"Soy chips...OK."

Anything else..."I don't want to. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO".

i need to sleep more...

Chris told me that pepe went for his nap at 1 this afternoon. Tuesdays I see patients in the morning and rush home so that Chris can go to work in the afternoon. At 4 I thoughts that the nap was long enough (and I like my American Idol at 8pm, so want to make sure no sleeping issues will arise with Pepe this eve) and tried hard to wake him. No peep. I opened the door of his room and was greeted with: "Close the door, I sleep more, I call you when I am up". It is now 4:30pm and Pepe is still sleeping. Is he a parent's dream or what?

feeling guilty

i had pepe this afternoon as chris had bbal practice and then a night of bball watching with banjo jim ("important game", i was told). i was also feverish all day, nauseated, and out of it. i also had 10 patients and a long day. so after i picked pepe up from school i suggested he watch the 'cars" video. he "obeyed". i had fun watching with him, and he even picked up his guitar and played a couple of tunes. he had pretzels, refused the mac & cheese which i set on a little table in front of the tv, and had 1 chocolate chip cookie and 2 bottles for dinner. who knew the movie was going to be 2 hours long (who makes movies for kids this long, hellooooooo????) and, in my defense, i tried to turn the tv off after one hour and distract pepe with the thomas trains or the trucks or a music cd. no luck...and no energy. the movie was over at 8, when he normally is in bed, but we always do stories, and turning the tv off while telling pepe will do stories is much easier than telling him he has to go to bed ("I don't wanna go to bed"). upstairs i changed him into a pair of sweat pants, clean socks and a light fleece - yes, pepe is refusing pj's these days and we went to 'mommy and daddy's bed' for stories: cars, barnies and numbers, spiders *2, bob the builder * 2, murdarica (means "dirty girl" - my favorite book as a kid, that, per mom, i had memorized and used to "read" to myself when i was pepe's age....)... next, we went to look at the sky in the study, and pepe closed all the blinds, and caught his hand in the blind a bit and mommy kissed and it got better (mom and dad used to do this for me when i was a kid...). then off to the crib with a fresh baba, and ducky stories which i did not do right-pepe kept correcting me ensuring that there was no sharing of his toys and he was the only one "using" the excavator...the usual. now he is fast asleep and i feel guilty coz i had so little time with the boy and most of it was spent watching cars. but i guess there will be days like this, and it's ok, and cookies and milk for dinner are all right once in a while, and i will feel better soon and the weather will be nice again and will be outside. and what matters is that pepe had a great afternoon and evening and spent time in my arms telling me about all the cars and what they were doing, and it was ok for a rainy late april afternoon. i love you pepe!

***

Leslie the teacher told me how impressed some moms where with pepe - his language and everything he knows about diggers and construction equipment.
**

Pepe learned about caterpillars today.
P: "Caterpillars, we made caterpillars with paints".
AM: What color were they?
P: Red and blue and yellow. And they have eyes.
AM: Eyes, and mouths?
P: Yes.
AM: And hair?
P: No hair.
AM: And noses?
P: No, no mommy,caterpillars don't have noses. Pepe has nose, and daddy has nose and mommy has nose. No caterpillars. (v. upset!!!!).
Am: Ok,Ok, no noses.
P: And then they grow wings and become butterflies?
AM: Wow.
P; Red and blue and yellow.

**
Pepe rode his red and yellow car from Bianca down the street last night with Chris. I hear there was a tantrum which required Chris to physically remove Pepe from the site and leave the car in front of May's house at the end of the street. This morning Chris and Pepe drove me to the T. Pepe had a meltdown when he saw the car in front of May's house. "I drive it now". He did not forget about it all day, and as we starting walking up the street after picking him up this afternoon, he kept asking about the red car "Red car in front of May's house, It's Pepe's car", and he was reassured only when he saw the red car in the garage...

overheard today

P: Daddy has a big penis. I have a little one.

orthodox easter

we hosted orthodox easter this afternoon. we managed to have 9 adults and 2 kids over. we had a table cloth this time, and margaret brought extra silver ware, and we had enough plates and chairs and a long enough table. it was fun. dragos, kim and bianca, radu and ilii, margaret, jim and nana and luke all came over with nice spinakopita and pasca (illii) and chocolate cake (margaret), and there was cozonac sent by mom. i pulled together a complete meal - made a roast in the crock pot (best idea ever) and mashed potatoes and vegetables and salad. made stuffed mushrooms for appetizers. we cracked eggs and pepe and bibi had a ball with it, and margaret had the champion egg.

pepe and bibi played so well. bibi was so protective of pepe. they played with the ball on the stairs, they sang the abc-s on the guitar, they played in the basement, had macaroni and cake together. pepe was shy initially, just awoken from his nap, and sank into my arms for a while but shortly regained his independence.

margaret, jim and nana hung around for a bit after everyone left and we played with the trains and he new presents and pepe was so sweet and lovely and cuddly.

happy easter!!!!

pepe's letter to his teachers (appreciation week)

April 22, 2008
Dear Leslie, Liz and Carol,


Thank you for a wonderful year.

Thanks for always telling my mom and dad that I was “good” and covering for those “few” occasions when I was not eager to follow your lead with an activity, singing instead of napping, not wanting to share, you know, the “little things’. Mom and dad never had to worry about me, because they knew I’d have a great time at school – and I always do!

Thanks for teaching me about spiders and trains, and crocuses, and sharing, and playing with friends. Thanks for helping me become so independent. Thanks for teaching me to be polite – my “thank you so much”s and “please”s impress everyone around – and I feel so proud of myself.

Thanks also for helping me with the drop offs – sometimes it is hard for me to say good bye in the morning, but by the day’s end I am having so much fun that I don’t want to go home.

Thanks for everything. I love each and every one of you. I will never forget you, and I hope you’ll never forget how important your love and attention have been for my development – building blocks for my entire life.

Lots of looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooovwe

pepe

saturday - fun day!

i had pepe all to myself this morning - after my long early morning run, that is. we trully had so much fun. we watered the garden, played with helli and pilar - on the sled, with a gigantic abs ball, with trains, with cars, with the guitar and other musical instruments. then we went to the library - it was so great to get so many compliments about how many things pepe does and how much he knows. next, we went to the pizza place for lunch (and a little soda) and pepe asked for his slice and watched it get warmed up in the gigantic oven; he even ate 1/2 of it. we drove home an played with the little tikes car for a while. now it is almost nap time and hopefully all will go on smoothly. pepe was very affectionate today.
*

last night pepe and i read "snappy colors" a book where animals pop out. pepe loved the page with the duckie, and requested that we keep the book open in his crib. when i put it down, he started kissing the duckie. this continued this morning. chris expressed some concern and even talked about not telling anyone about this. well, hon, just can't keep secretes, plus this is such a cute story, the boy in love with a paper pop out little duckie!

pepe's cranky times...

....are difficult to take. chris thinks this is normal toddler behavior. i worry that behaviors that can pass on as cute now, can become ingrained into his personality style. what upsets me most is his screaming whenever he disagrees with something or does not want to do something. often he gets away with that, and kids give up toys for him, and we immediately either give him what he wants or, if not possible, console him - these all reinforce his screaming. so chris and i decided this needs to stop - ok, i decided this and chris decided that what i decide was a good decision. will see how it goes. there will be no reinforcement from us, and there will be time out when he screams. results to follow.

pepe loves to garden

yesterday pepe and i planted flowers in front of the house. we raked the leaves, dug out all the rocks, watered the soil and planted purple and white flowers. today we watered them twice. it will take about 10 days until we'll hopefully see the flowers. today we planted some vegetables. pepe wanted to plant radishes, and i planted green onion and green peppers. this was a first for both of us and a lot of fun.

misc.

Bedtime, duckie stories, duckies go to the playground

AM:....so duckies get to the playground with pepe and pepe and duckies use the excavator..
P: No, pepe uses the excavator, duckies sit on the turtle
......................................

AM: and after they play the duckies and pepe get very hungry and tired, and they go in the house and eat macaroni, and then they get babas and they go to sleep because they are so tired..
P: No, they don't go to sleep, they are not tired, they go back to the playground...

*********
Went to the Fells for a hike with pepe and jerry and chris this afternoon. we found a nice trail with white marking and pepe started to touch all the white marking, and we had to lift him when the markings where to high on trees. we walked for over an hour and pepe did great, such a hiker.

weekend in april

we headed out on saturday after my long run on battle road (awesome!!), around 10am. the trip was smooth - one coffee stop for mommy, and 1 h later we were at gradma's. pepe was so happy and delved into grandma's arms and as usual forgot about us. nice to watch chris's face as grandma and pepe were interacting...

chris and i drove to fort foster after an easy lunch out, and spent the afternoon reading and napping and walking, and of course talking about pepe...but enough about us, this is pepe's blog.

we managed not to call until next morning (we did call when realizing that pepe's baba was in the car, but grandma said no worries, will pick up a new one). we heard a few stories about pepe having difficulties with sharing (nothing new) at the playground, but mostly he had a great time as usual. we drove back on sunday - pepe and chris and then pepe and gradma and me took a few trips to the digger at the end of the street and pepe was ecstatic climbing on and 'driving it'. there was also a trip to the playground and beach, and more playground the next day. there was a lot of guitar playing and grandma took nice pictures. there was of course the incident at the playground where pepe played with a toy excavator and actually managed to do an awsomejob with it; but then other kids came by and pepe started screaming "oh, no! and some kids got scared off (as they do at school), but finally we pulled him over. he really remembered the incident bc the following night at home when i put him down and told him ducky stories at grandma's playground, when i mentioned that the duckies played with the excavator i was immediately corrected and told "no,duckies stayed on the turtle, pepe used the excavator". there you go.

at home on monday there was much playing with helli and pilar, both in and out of the house, and more screaming from pepe when helli played with a couple of trains, but also some nice concerts where pilar played the big guitar, pepe the little guitar, and all kids including helli sang ABC.

Bedtime was tough again - hope this is not becoming a trend.

in passing

Heard by Chris this morning
Setting: Hallie and Pilar's playground

P: (coming down the slide, gives Hallie a hug): I love you!
H (backs away)

*****

Yesterday, close to dinner time:

P: Mommy goes in the kitchen and cooks dinner. Pepe goes outside and plays with daddy.

The person who said one needs to get her clues from kids is right - Chris is on cooking duty 3 times a week from today on!

early daddy words - 2005

hi pepe, it's your daddy (i hope you'll call me that)... this is the 1st opportunity i've taken to write to you since you were born + really the first time i've done any journaling in years. right now you're next to me on our new burgundy leather sofa in our little 2 room apt. on grove street in arlington. last night we celebrated grandma margaret's birthday here. she was excited to drive down and see you. we also ate fajitas and probably got you a little too worked up as you didn't want to sleep from9 'till almost 2. i thought today would be a great time to expose you to a more active daytime and your mama just bought us this mayan sling with nice fabric from guatemala so i followed the instructions the accompanying dvd had for setting the baby into it and you were pretty content while i read the sports news on the web and drank coffee and ate coffe cake that we did not have for grandma's birthday last nigh. the after you fed, i put you back in it and vacuumed and went to stop & shop to return cans and now you are sleeping and i'm etting used to being at home alone with you. mama's a little jelous cause she'll be working soon and might miss out on precious "firsts' (words, steps, whatever) or maybe she just doesn't like the idea of being away from you while you're so small and dependent and fragile (though we know you'll be tough and are already strong!) so i'm whiling away some time which i plan to do this year and the result should be a little background for you on your first year in the world and stuff about your parents..things that might interest you when you get older.
first off, i think we settled that you were conceived in romania (shortly after your mama and i visited italy and i turned 40) and perhaps coinciding with the red sox world series championship of 2004. we were in romania for about 10 months, sorting out mama's u.s. visa. i worked at an international school helping a boy names spencer who was in the 4th grade. i used to get up at 6 every morning and ride a bus from piata unirii (unirii means united0 to the school which was in the posh baneasa area of bucharest. i didn't really enjoy my year in romania. we were forced to leave the us because of the visa status and i felt intimidated by the congestion of people speaking a language i didn't understand. when we were finally able to return to the us, your mother was about 6 months pregnant (though she always calculated it in weeks...i think saying "i am 26 weeks pregnant" gave her the sense that she was making a more dramatic statement... i though it just confudes people). anyway, her pregnancy helped to speed the processing of papers which enabled us to return before your birth in boston. the senator's office in ohio had a caseworked named ellen kinker who helped us have your mother's papers expedited. there were concerns that your blood type might be rh postive and could contaminate mama's blood whicvh is rh negative. this put her pregnancy into the "high risk' category and made the visa center (in porthsmouth0 and the consular office (in bucharest0 and other dept. of homeland security offices 9ultimately in rome0 move faster to pass the waiver which allowed mama to become a "permanent resident" of the us (and have a boston baby named pepe who was born about one mile away from fenway park in the morning after the red sox defeated the texas rangers 8-7 in an extra innings game0. your mama's probably written all about your birth, so i'll just note a few details that stand out in the memory. the day you were born..well august 9th (the day before0 your mom and i went to the hospital in the morning and she was given ?????? which stimulate dilations and we were told to return to the hospital at 6 pm. we got ready for our stay in the hospital packing a huge red canvas bag with food, clothes, even CD's and a CD plakyer. at the hospital, dr. leila schuler broke your mother's water (puncured the uterus lining, i believe) and teh contractions began shortly after. we watched gilmore girls and teh aforementioned red sox game until the labor pains got to strong and your mom had an epidural. the initial procedure wasn't easing her pain any so a different doctor adjusted the needle position and mom was able to sleep. in the morning a new nurse came in and found mom was fully dilated. we just had to wait for the doctor and then she could start pushing to bring you out. the doctor came around 8 9i think)...i do know she called mom a "showoff" coz she pushed so hard and you arrived so quickly (8:25) tumbling out into dr. schuler's hands (it seemes -i am sure she had a firm grasp), then you were quickly handed to the nurse who cleaned the blood o of you and i was offered somescisors to cut the umbilical cord. i had to push down to get the scissors to cut and worried i might cut into your mom's tummy, but the cord was cut and the doctor joked that 'if you want scissors that cut they cost extra".

we ended us spending 4 more nights in the hospital as you were jaundiced. you had lots of visitors, coming with flowers and stifed animals and taking lots of pictures. and we got lots of advice about brestfeeding and other aspects of baby care which we knew little about in a first-hand kind of way. you stayed on your 'bily-bed' which had uv lights to kill the excess bilirubin and we could only hold you during your feedings. we thought you needed extra-holding once you came home to make up for this...and you did finally came home on a sunday, a rainy thundery day where they tried to have a red sox-white sox game but only got throguh a few innings before it was cancelled. i remember passing fenway park with the light on in the afternoon the first time we drove with you.

for the first few weeks you slept in the bed with your mom and me. we worried that we might turn over in our sleep and bang you with an elbow orcrush you under our backs but it seemed we were always aware of your presence and we liked having you close, especially as you misteriously slid up against us,seeking one of our warm bodies despite being asleep and unconscious. after a time we transitiones you to a basonette blaced inside a rocky cradle, though you spent more time sleeping in our car seat (where you are right now at almost 11 weeks,asleep at 12:20 in the afternoon0.

during the early weeks buni took you almost everyday. she bought us a stroller which worked with the carseat and took you out for walks on the minuteman bikepath (she called it "path-bike"0 and parked you by the tennis courts so she could sit and knit (for you!). of course little babies do not do much beside sleep and eat 9and cry!). your big trick was when you turned from your stomach on to your back at 12 days old. you lifted your legs (arching your back) and swung sideways and then, from your sideways base, "walked" the rest of the way over. at 11 weeks i haven't seen you do this trick, but you did it repetedly from about 2 weeks old to 6 wks old - very accrobatic!

during the night, i fed you sometimes and samg to you (i am also putting together a songbook with lyrics of these favorite songs0. it's been amazing to see your increased awareness and the first workings of your hands as you grow and progress so quickly. everyone comment about what a "good baby' you are (you are not generally fussy) and remarks on your blue eyes or cuteness or something. we hope we've given you a good start in life, i know it is a big worls out there but you are surrounded with people who love an care for you. i am one of them and i hope you'll be interested to read more about my life before you entered it! ( see upcoming post).

playground conversation as detailed to me by chris

Child to P: How old are you
P: four.
Child: I am four and a half.
P: I am Five and a Half!

another monday

New developments:

Pepe is adamant about not getting changed. It's an absolute struggle. He pulls the fresh diper off "I don't want a new diper". Yesterday he cried histerically when it was time to put on pjs, and we ended up dressing him in seat pants for the night.

Pepe demonstrated the concept of "assimilation".
P: Look mommy, crocuses.
AM. Yes, beautiful flowers.
P: They are not flowers. They are crocuses. They are purple.

We discovered a correlation between pepe's cranky times and lack of food. trouble is, we have no control over his intake.

Chris thinks i am exaggerating my comments about pepe's crankiness. i am not. chris can't cope with anything that's not "perfect" about his boy.

Call me crazy but i love to calm a cranky pepe (both the means and the end).

sunday 4/13/08

Happy Bday Cousin Isabella! Will remind daddy to call:)

busy sunday! we saw penny in the morning. it was v nice for me, as i always get inspired by her vitality. pepe had a blast - penny had blocks and a small tractor ready,and of course a piano and another funky music instrument. we had a nice brunch while pepe played. pepe even ate strawberries, first time in his life. we headed home after, and pepe napped. kate invited us over for a pizza dinner, and we headed over their house around 5 when pepe got up. before that we played the "i push the mommy and daddy game", where pepe stood in his crib, pushed us back and we "fell" tumbling on the ground. pepe played nicely with holi and pilar. the girls are getting potty trained so pepe got to watch them go potty. he was curious but not interested to get a turn on the potty.helli,however, noted that "pepe does not have a va*gina'. it was so nice to watch the kids play, much different from a year ago. we left after dinner...and trouble began.pepe was due for a bath, which he usually enjoys.not tonight. there were screams and pepe refused the bath, then once in everything went wrong, the water was too hot, too cold, too much, too little, yes bubbles, no bubbles, i want out. i managed to quickly wash his face and hair and out we are, kid still screaming. "i don't want pjs on", "i don't want this and that". screaming, screaming. finally chris had the brilliant idea to take him to the video store - the walk helped and bedtime was easy.

it's spring!

we had a super cranker today. he surely had spring fever. and ran on empty - ony 1/2 slice pizza all day.

we did our best to exhaust his energy, with no success. chris took him to the library for a concert in the morning. i waited for them with eggs and bagels. only chris and i ate - not pepe. "i play the guitar". next, he wanted to go to spy pond on the bike, so chris rode his bike with pepe in the backpack, on his back. i met them there so that chris could go study for his test. we had a couple of hours of running around from slide to slide, watching the duckies, throwing rocks in the water, and ...testing if the water is warm enough to swim...i was a bit too slow on that one and only managed to grab pepe when the water was up to his knees. he did not care. we went to the pizza place("Nicola's") and pepe had 1/2 slice of pepperoni pizza. we drove home and played with helli and pillar, who were in the backyard. pepe went sledding on a piece of plastic, and went down the slide with the gals. i have to say, he has the playground manners - makes a mom proud. more guitar playing, stories, and a 2 hour nap. the mall in the afternoon - this time we had pennies for the alligator in the mall. there were tears and screaming when we had to go, and this went on and on until we saw some bulldozers that got pepe's attention. hew! next, chris took pepe to helli and pillars to keep zach company as kate had the night out "we men gotta stick together". no dinner for pepe (but we enjoyed the jambalaya) - the macaroni flew all over the table, and yes, a time out followed (and a crises, coz we could not find the timer). now it's peace and quiet and pepe is watching "goldilocks" and pretty soon it's time for stories, and bed, and i am a bit down coz charlie is sick and he and sonia are not coming over tonight, and it's gonna be one of those nonsocial, unremarkable weekends...but will survive.

pepe's first guitar purchase

chris broke down yesterday. his old guitar has been getting too much smacking. pepe has been refusing to play it on the floor, and would pick it up and drop it frustrated that it was too heavy for him. one time out later chris comes to his senses and agrees that pepe needs his own guitar. so after the nap, i took him to toys'r us to get the guitar. after the usual car hopping, following other kids around, shouting "oh, no, i drive that one, it's mine" when another kid attempted to get into one of the many, many toy-cars, and the usual chase around the store, we purchased the guitar and were on our way home. of course, pepe with his super developed id required instant gratification in the form of playing the guitar "now", i mean, in the car. which he did. all the way home. and he was adorable. he held the guitar over his car seat, and jammed it on the tunes of "abc's", hello (which goes "hello, to daddy, so glad to see you, hello to...mommy, petru,grandma, buni, and everyone else he knows) and "it's raining, it's pouring" (with the happy version when the man actually ' wakes up in the moooooooooooooorning'.
the concert continued at home when i was required to play the piano, and chris the "big guitar". it was one of those moments that i wanted to be able to share with everyone we love, and everyone he loves. i did take a couple of bad pictures (coz the batteries were low) and we charged the video camera battery and i am sure there will be more concerts to capture in the near and further future. rock on little boy!

"daddy's first (post)" and "lost"

on tues. we went to the concert at the library...not on the bus (the usual means) or the bike (as we'd done the week before), but in the car. our 2nd stop was the library (after stop n shop and the obligatory crosswalk there)...and we got there good and early to get our tix (it's frequently too full for everyone who'd like to get in). we were early enuf to explore the library, including the boys' room and when we left there i went to put our coats by the window, and petru went...i wasn't sure where?! so i checked the stairs to make sure he wasn't trying to escape the bldg. and i didn't see him, so i went in to the concert room (without a ticket) to find petru seated front and center waiting for the 1st song.
instead of joining him, i sat in a chair in the back and watched and listened. petru had a wonderful time singing, dancing, and attempting all the hand gestures. when "the wheels on the bus" came up, he started to mingle thru the crowd and appeared slightly anxious, but he found me and we enjoyed the rest of selenia's concert together.
that afternoon he gave his first concert with his own guitar accompaniment. after finishing one song, he'd introduce the next: "okay let's do 'happy and ya know it'....let's try that!"

who do you like?

AM. How was school/
P: good
AM: Who did you play with
P: Coleeee
AM: Who were your teachers today?
P: Liz, Carol, and Leslie
AM: Who do you like the best?
P: Buni

some things just hurt

AM: Hi Pepe
P: Mommy, you go to work.
AM: Mommy is at home now with Pepe.
P: You no work?
AM: No, not now.
P: But mommy go to work. Mommy work. Pepe plays.

I truly hope there will be other things associated with me rather than work.

pepe the rock star

it' true, pepe is already giving concerts. he holds the guitar properly and scratches the cords on the rhythm of "abc", "twinkle twinkle", "it's raining, it's pouring", "hello', "happy and you know it" singing out load, and saying "Lets try this" one changing songs.

busy sunday

we headed to new hampshire for my 1/2 marathon sunday morning, on a gray misty day. pepe was a bit upset because he wanted to be in the basement. but then he heard we are meeting grandma and he got excited. we met grandma, i ran my race, and met up in new castle. i hear pepe was a bit of a rascal, dumping his goldfish on the floor and running away when asked to pick the up....typical behavior at home, but never before at grandma's.

pepe had a blas at charlie and sonia's. first, sonia brought a plate of fruit and chocolate fondue, and showed pepe how to use a stick, get a piece of fruit and dump it into chocolate. well, you can imagine what happened next...chocolate all over, fruit all over, fruit put away. next, the exploration process started, where pepe was fascinated by charlie's bathroom, and little drum. next, he started throwing himself all over which involved a dumped plant and ground all over. then pepe discovered the stairs, and the well known game about the digger started, and went on and on and then pepe did not want to go back home...and when he did, it was a bit too late and we won't go into details about what going to bed entailed..lets just say i was grateful it was "chris's night".

the basement - land of new possibilities

the basement is becoming pepe's favorite place. it is the place of the men of this household,and i am not invited to partake in the joys that it offers. "I go in the basement with daddy, you stay upstairs mommy"...

so what happens in the basement. all i can share is what i hear from upstairs... there are imaginary games where the stairs become backloaders and frantloaders, and there are major constructions going on, and even songs that are sang to make the time go by. pepe's mouth keeps going and going. there is no more "i want to watch tv", there is "i NEED to go to the basement". and chris is kinda getting tired of the game so we decided that it is safe for pepe to be in the basement by himself (after a thorough cleaning).

so there will not be a therapy office made out of the basement any time soon. someone just beat me to it!

car conversation

P. I want to go to the playground.
C. It's raining, the playground is wet.
5 minutes go by, another playground in site
P. That playground is not wet!

misc

petru requeasted that his toe nails get painted - just like mommy! bright red fits him well.

record in the history of naps

goes to pepe, for a 4.5 hours today - 1.5 hours were napped with the door open, loud music on, me cleaning up the room next door in high heel noise making shoes. when a pepe wants to nap, nothing gets in his way. may the naps continue until the college years!

such a show off

jim the banjo guy came over for dinner tonight. initially pepe was upset bc when i mentioned jim he thought about jim and grandma, and he was sad that no, grandma is not going to be coming today...but jim is nice and personable and pepe warmed up to him quickly, particularly after hearing that he plays banjos - we are now reading a book about banjos. so when he saw jim he dragged the guitar from the living room to the kitchen, where the 3 of us were hanging out, and started playing. next, during dinner, pepe started telling jim elaborate stories about the different parts a backhoe has, and how to tell apart a bulldozer from a digger and how he went hiking in the fells and he saw alligators, and how he knows alligators eat money, just like the alligator from the other mall (aka burlington mall). boy, that little mouth kept going and going, laughing when we were laughing, and offering explanations for complicated machineries, in a serious, grown up manner. such a show off...we love it!

things we hope pepe will eventually be able to do

1. eat with a spoon or a fork (rather than eating with a spoon and a hand, or a fork and a hand, or only hands).
2. share
3. share
4. share
5. not pee on the bathroom rug when we get him ready for bath.
6. not throw his toys when things don't go his way.
7. not hit us when excited.
8. learn to be gentle.
9. learn the kiss on the chic trick, rather than kiss us by turning his chick to our mouths.
10. give up THE BABA
11. develop new interests - diggers are getting OLD (not for him).

things that pepe can do now

1. entertain himself by having imaginary conversations with inanimate objects such as cars and trucks and bulldozers and diggers (we like that)
2. watch TV for more than 1 hour at the time (we don't like that)
3. wash his hands and face by himself (we like that).
4. walk to school (we like that).
5. walk and run (sometimes we like that, other times we don't).
6. put his plate away (we like that)- no more throwing it in the trash.
7. put his toys away (we like that).
8. play nicely with other kids (we like that).

horror

no, there is no connection between this blog and the loads of porn sites i came across when googling "pepe".

summer pepe dreams

Romania

Maryland with me and chris for my NIHM workshop

Hiking and camping in New Hampshire (Diana's bath).

Race in May

Learning to be comfortable in water and (fake)swim.

Trips to the Fells.

Sandbox and tent in back yard.

Buying a kid guitar.

Making a train table for pepe - cardboard on milk crates - and putting it outside.

Transition to big boy bed

Learning to "practice patience" and "sit quietly". Helping him learn to detached himself from objects.

More art projects - put kid table outside and maybe use watercolor. Buy supplies for projects.

Bake a cake with pepe and decorate with him.

Involve him in gardening and cooking.

Take him around the block for runs.

thinking ahead

i think this summer pepe will be ready to see a movie in the theatre. he will be ready to ride a bike, and if we area lucky he will transition smoothly into a big boy bed. he might even get a hang of using the potty. he will turn 3 in a few months.



his impulsivity reminds me of my dad. his messiness reminds me of my years on lakeview ave. his antagonisms is chris. i see the light of my eyes in him when he is excited. i see my ambition in his stubbornness. i see chris's simpleness in his interest in things that are not obvious to the eye. sometimes he reminds me of my grandfather mo. other times i think he looks like margaret, other times he seems a blond version of me as a child. i see my dad's "i am up to something" smile.

there are generations that intertwine, several kinds of blood from several parts of the world, all intertwine into this little ball of fire that is pepe.

the "cars" video

jim gave pepe the "cars" video over the weekend (no occasion, jim likes giving presents). we put it on on sunday eve, and it was pretty fast and scary (i thought). of course, pepe fell in love with it. although he did not ask for it on monday, i hear that he picked out the video when he and chris went to the "movie store" last night, wanting to take it home. he also started naming the cars on a Tshirt he has with the movie theme (where did that come from?). this morning he woke up talking about the cars, and he requested to watch the video. we watched with him - it is a cute story about a racing, and only the beginning is "fast and scary". chris was laughing harder than pepe watching it.

is this the start of something?

2:00pm pepe in his crib

2:01
P: It's sunny out. It's sunny out mommy. Go to mommy's gym and play with toys.
This keeps going until 2:09
2:09 on
P: OK, there is a digger, no it's a front loader. you backhoe go this way, the digger goes the other way... here comes the bulldozer.
This keeps going until 2:34
2:34 on
P: It's sunny out today. It's sunny out today.
2:45
P. It's sunny out.
Bum! Bum! Pepe shaking the bed.
P: It's sunny out mommy.
(Mommy prays there will be a nap so that she can get some work done).
3:00 Pepe asleep...hew!