dad catching up - 2010 events

Wrote this in late October...the day after my 46th b-day, waiting for my mom and Petru in front of the Wenham Train Museum. Now I'm typing on the computer (feeling an awful lot closer to 50!) and it's December, on the eve of St. Nicholas Day.

It's been awhile...I'm a lil' frustrated with the picture files on my preferred computer and I guess it kept me from sharing any Petru news for some time. Summer's gone, I know, a stunning observation from the foliage capital of the world...but many fun memories of surf and sand linger. Petru was at Camp Seaside (his daycare's summer program) three days each week. The first few week's were tricky as I worked mornings at a science camp (teaching Exploring with Engineering to 2nd and 3rd graders). Petru enjoyed the various "sitters" we arranged as well as extra mommy time. He even made a lighthouse with his grandfather (Papi) one of those mornings...while I helped the 2nd graders make towers and bridges.

Once camp ended for me, there was more time for outings like the Science Museum and riding together on the bike to Harvard Sq. to check out their unique playground (and frequently intercede when the children disagreed about how to run the troughs and dams). We also went swimming outdoors at the Waltham Y where a parent I know commented that I had a "little cling-on child" similar to hers in water behavior. Petru kicked and splashed, but most memorable for me were the neck scratches of little hands clinging-on as I tried to ease him away from my body into a floating position. Petru showed no fear when wrapped in an innertube and allowed to float about freely, but these devices are usually not allowed. Ana -Maria managed at times to "trick" him into games in the water and he'd forget for a minute that he was no longer holding on to one of us.

Another swim spot was Walden Pond. Here Ana-Maria got accustomed to "open water" swimming in preparation for her half-ironman triathalon, and Petru and I took hikes around the pond. "Let's go see Henry's house!" was what Petru said before scurrying off on the trails around Walden. We would also stop at the RR tracks of the Fitchburg line where Petru found a rusted train part that became a musical bell (he's always curious about the sounds he can make by banging on things...and quickly turns the sound into an imitation of a train crossing - arms swinging down for gates and hand aloft, opening and closing to show the flashing signal light).

Summer wound down. Petru's 5th b-day party was held at Jump-on-in, a party place full of inflated slides, jumping houses, and obstacle courses. At the end of August, we made our family trip to Romania where Petru visited Dracula's castle (5 minutes walk from Buni's house in Bran, a town in Transylvania), jumped on the trampoline and sang Beach Boys' songs, saw a circus, visited with his cousin Bianca who showed him the fun playground by her house in Bucharest, and noted the different varieties of street signs and traffic lights in a foreign country.

When we returned, it was time to start kindergarten (the subject for another post) and Petru chose his Bran castle t-shirt to wear on the first day. More to come on this blog (I promise!) and thanks for reading.

A few Petru-sisms

all from November/December 2010

# Petru called a friend "stupid" and he got sent to the principal. She helped him write the word "stupid" on a piece of paper, and told him to put it in his pocket and look at it rather than say it, when he gets the urge. The she gave him cookies. How awesome is that? ACC is the best, I tell you. Petru told me about this at home, but realized he lost the paper. Next day, he went to the principal and asked for another note, which he put in his pocket.

# Petru told me that he told teachers at school that "cam tampit' (means stupid in Romanian) means please.

# He is very excited that St Nicholas is coming on Dec 6th. This is a Romanian tradition which we follow. Chris told him that kids who are not good get coal (not part of the romanian tradition..). Petru almost started crying. When I asked him why he is sad, he said "I am a little worries, I might get coal".

# This morning he collected all our shoes because "They are bigger and St Nicholas can fit more presents in it".

Kindergarten

We decided to keep Petru in kindergarten at ACC. He loves it, and he has made great strides in independence. The program is focused more on social emotional development, which is what Petru needs. Being an only child, he is very bossy. He is learning about the effects of that, however. The other day he got whacked in the head by his pal S., which made me happy; he needs to see the effect of his behavior onto others.

Things that he can do now that he could not do before kindergarten:
-easy drop offs.
-arranges playdates by himself - I often get emails from parents telling me that Petru asked them to email me about a playdate at X time and Y day.
-easy bed times.
-recognize all letters, read and write a bit.
-count to 1000.
-count by 5.
-understand shapes.
-play games and handle losing sometimes. By the way, he is very good at games, and has the ability to think ahead about moves. He also can cheat in a v clever way, but he understands now that he is not supposed to do that.
-dress himself.
-put shoes on.
-wet his hair at bathtime.
-use playground equipment almost as well as his peers.

Things we are struggling with:
-his nutrition - although he now is able to try new things, his diet is pretty limited. We used to have struggles with his dinners, but now we have a calendar and right down every Sunday night what he wants to eat during the week. Everyday he checks the calendar and eats whatever it says he should eat. His favorite? Nicola's pizza.

-hitting - still hits us when he is frustrated (he told Chris one day, in frustration: "When you stop the car, I am going to hit you!"; also to Chris, one night after he hit him and I came in with pretzels saying that daddy bought them for him : "Daddy, you should have told me you got pretzels, I wouldn't have hit you"; and to me, when I questioned him about hitting at school: "Mom, I don't hit at school, only at home"). He is making progress with this, though, and he is able to use his words and breath instead sometimes.

-being oppositional - if you tell him not to do something, he will go and do it. teachers at kindergarten have taught us great tricks in terms of communicating with him on this, and we are making progress.

-trying out new things.
-ability to sit still when not engaged fully in the activity.

Personality:
-happy
-funny
-great sense of humor
-very sensitive
-caring
-affectionate.

Oh, and he's got a good head on his shoulders, too!

Other summer happenings

in bullet points:

* spent lots of time at Walden Pond and at the outdoor pool at the Waltham YMCA
* enjoyed long weekends at the beach at Grandma's house.
* watched Petru become interested in running. More recently he said: "I want to run fast like you, mommy, I want to pick a hard race, I think I can do it". That's my boy!
* took lots of trips to the Dover Children's museum.
* spent time with Grandma and Papi while Chris and I had a get away in Vermont for my half ironman.
* struggled with the decision of whether to send him to public kindergarten this year. We decided against that, and it was the best decision.

Trip to Romania 2010 - in restrospect

We finally made it to Romania this summer. It was a great trip. Aside from the plane ride, Petru had an absolute blast. OK, he had a blast in the plane as well, we not so much.

We left US on August 31st, the day after I completed my first half ironman (yes, had to throw that in). We spent a night in Bucharest, had dinner with cousin Bianca, had a run around a lake (me) and a long play session at a playground (Petru), and left for Bran, 4 people and 2 dogs in a tiny car. The trip went surprisingly well. At Bran we were treated like kings by mom, who cooked, cleaned and pretty much did anything humanly possible to make our stay as comfortable as possible. There was a conference in Cluj for me, and Chris and I travelled together, while Petru stayed with mom (somehow, he managed to convince mom that he "needed" the biggest toy in the store, and she obliged, of course). There was a trip to the place where I used to go as a little girl to pick up raspberries. There were endless trips to Sanda's restaurant for pizza and fries. There were visits to Dracula's castle, and lots of time spent on the trampoline. There was lots of visiting, which Petru did not particularly enjoy, mostly bc of the language barrier. There was a train trip with Petru to nurture his fascination with railroads.

On Petru's part, there was frustration with smoking (P: "You should not smoke, it is bad for your health"), with people not carrying for the no smoking signs in restaurant (P: "There is a no smoking sign, you should not smoke"), with people crossing the railways in front of trains (P: "It is dangerous).

It was a great, relaxing trip. Petru even started to speak some Romanian. He even told Chris: "Daddy, I feel sorry for you because you don't understand when Buni, mommy and I speak Romanian".

Happy 5th Birthday- in retrospect

We celebrated Petru's birthday in style this year. By style, I mean by spending money. For the first few bdays we got away with having simple gatherings at a nearby playground. I would have gone for the same thing this year, but Chris (yes, you read it right) suggested we have the party in an indoor gym type place with lots of inflated slides and other kid friendly paraphenelia. It ended up being a blast. And, of course, I made a cake by request - train cake this year. I am surprised as to how much I enjoy making these theme cakes for him, even though I resent everything kitchen related.



We've also had a celebration at home.

Oh my, time flies

I can't believe i have not posted here since May. Amazing! I'll try to catch up and promise to be better in the future. Pics at the end of the post.

School ended for Petru in June. The end of school celebration was wonderful, and involved singing one of Petru's favorite songs, "All I really need". I got there a few minutes late, and the moment he saw he started waving and singing for me. Then, during an intermission, he came to me and said he wants to watch.

Ed, Robin and the kiddies visited for 2 weeks, and Petru had a ton of fun with the cousins. They were both wonderful with him. They even allowed him to sleep in the same room with them, even though they were tired and Petru was not.

Chris started a 3 week teaching job, which means crazy scheduling since Petru is now in camp Seeside but only 3 days/week. But we managed.

We are really enjoying the summer: Waltham pool, the Rez, Walden Pond, trips to Grandma's house and the beach.

Petru continues to be obsessed with traffic signals and crosswalks, and he gets daily trips to entertain his hobbies. He is also mesmerized by traffic signs. He draws constantly and asks us how to spell everything. He can read a bit and write even more. He is very curious, and a bit of a perfectionist with his work (hm, I wonder where he got that from, hm, hm); if something is not how he wants it to be, he crosses it over and redoes it. Hopefully that will translate to school work.

Since he is turning 5 in August, we decided to keep him in the ACC kindergarten, as opposed to the public school. Most of my colleagues and the people I spoke with, including teachers, told me that this is a good idea. After the year, we can decide if he goes to public school kindergarten or first grade.

OK, pics now..

With daddy after camp
Milkshake time
With mama after camp




Donuts post mom's triathlon
End of year recital
Singing in Harvard square with the street musician


Making his own music at home

update

We've been really busy over here and I've been neglecting this blog. Sorry Petru!
The main reason for my business is that I have started training for a half ironman, which means 2 workouts a day, or about 2-3 hours weekdays and more weekends devoted to exercise. Yes, not much time left for other things.

Winter is almost a thing of the past. We've had some beautiful days when Petru played outside with the neighbourhood kids. It is more and more apparent that he is a corcky kid. His interests (cross walks) are so different than those of most kids. He is much better at interracting with adults than kids, mostly because adults make him the center of attention and he loves that. He has lots of fears, probably developmentally appropriate, but given my profession, worrisome at times. He is securely attached and could care less about whether we are around. He eats crap. Literally. Now we are paying him to eat fruits and healthier foods. I think it is worth it. I hope it will work.

A few weeks ago I started to have my special night with Petru. Friday nights we watch a movie, eat popcorn and chocolate, and then Petru gets to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed, while daddy sleeps in Buni's bed. I love these special nights as much if nor more than Petru. I love to watch him sleep.

Not much else, or maybe I am too tired. Will return shortly!

Our gymnast and soccer player

Petru's been taking gymnastics at Tumble kids USA for over a month now. He made AMAZING progress. Click on the pics to see him better!




And, he's been also taking soccer at the YMCA! Do you also notice a pattern in the soccer pictures?Yes, we've been working on that! No naming names but he HAS not gotten that from me! Hm, hm!

Update

Goodness, I am behind! Lots and lots has been happening around here. I just uploaded 60 pictures and was reminded of all the memories.

Here we go, the "in brief" version.

Ed, Robin and the NC cousins visited in February. Great fun was had by everyone. Petru and Michael clicked over trains (Michael was v patient with Petru) and farts (the i-phone fart app is outstanding!). We visited Tree House Toys and G Wiliker's in Porthsmouth...
Isabella showed us how to use the Apple photo booth...
More trains....
Petru got more attached to his "snugglies". He now sleeps with Clifford, Big Ali, little Ali, the cow, the duck (made by my grandmother when I was a little older than he is now), Stripy, and Obi. He also likes to be covered with 10 blankets. He also likes to sleep naked. No, no pics of that...
Sleepy P with Ali
There was a trip to the Dover Children's Museum
And lots of trips to New Castle to grandma's house
Fun with the neighbor's gals when Petru announced that "I want to be naked" and immediately took all his clothes off before I was able to intervene.
Train ride Nr 1 to Andover to visit Papi


More fun with the neighbor girls in our back yard.
Playing with his trains, which took over both the living and dining room...
Train ride Nr 2 to Newburry port to meet Grandma. This time our car was in the shop so Chris biked to the train station with Petru on his back

Last night Petru was particularly difficult. Bed time has been going smoothly since we ditched the nap (he does nap at school a bit, but v little). But last night, he kept coming downstairs or calling us to cover him, or to tell us that he can't fall asleep, he is bored, etc. Chris left around 9:30pm to watch the bball game at a friend's house. At 9:45 Petru called again. I was frustrated and went in there, covered him, and then said: "Petru, this is the last time I am coming up, I need to finish my work". As I left the room, Petru said: "Must be hard for you to have a little guy. Must be hard to have a little boy". I went back and asked him: "Why do you say that?". P: "Well, because you have to take care of me, and you have to come up when I call you, and cover me, and make me food". I almost started crying. He sounded like a 20 y old, not a 4.5 y old. I got in bed with him and snuggled with him and told him that I love to have to do all these things, and that he is my best boy. To which he said: "I love you to, mama. You make me happy every day". Does it ever get better than this? Did not think so.

Petru on marrige

P: Mommy, I think I am going to marry Carly and Grace. Because, you know, you can't marry boys.
AM: Who said that?
P: Just kids...
AM: Actually, you can marry a boy if you want to.
P: OK, good, then I will tell my friends
(oops!)

*

P: Mommy, when you are my married, Buni will be your mom and my mom?
*

FEB and March 2010

We are riding out winter here....it's been springlike the past two days, so we look forward to being outdoors (and warm) soon! This is a hodge-podge post (my second, I think), so beware of my rambling narrative and ubiquitous three dots.

There was a lot of sledding at Robbins Farm Park - some scary downhills, but no fence to run into at the bottom (like the one at our neighbors' hill)...Petru learned that snowboots and warm tights have some merit (vague memories of the struggles to get a hat on his lil' blond two year old head emerge). Other sledding happened with Michael, Helly, and Pillar in the backyard, but aside from this fun, winter seems to have shut us in (so bring on the spring!).

How else did we break up the winter malaise?? There was a train trip to N. Billerica on Presidents' Day - only three railroad crossings, but those three left a lasting impression. And there were excursions on the subway - once to visit Nana at the hospital and once to just get out of the house and wander around Boston Common and the Flower Garden. Petru also started tumbling with his Tumble-bear friends on Tuesdays. He is the tallest Tumble-bear and having a lot of fun (though he is keenly aware of gravity and potential not-so-soft landings). Hopefully, his Romanian spirit and enjoyment of the group will build his confidence. He's certainly flexible and does well imitating certain body movements - jumping along the long trampoline with legs out, then in. Soccer starts today at the Y and I know he's got a strong kick in those wiry legs.

Petru has spent less time drawing than he had been. We usually only get 2 pix from school, usually of RR crossings - sometimes they're like little maps with roads and rails, but mostly he shows the details of gates and lights. His art has really evolved in the past 12 months. His preschool I teachers first alerted us to his interest when the class did an animal book and Petru spent an hour or so making detailed ridge's on his alligator's back. Last summer there were literally hundreds of pix he made of 1) lighthouses 2) traffic lights 3) bridges. He even began copying lighthouses from one of his numerous lighthouse coloring books, doing an entire book's worth (40 pix) in one evening (there was a time when we let him color as much as he liked for special bedtimes - before we realized his true, tortured-artist, up-til-dawn nature).

Last note before signing off here...Petru received several lighthouse calendars for Christmas (we have six 2010 lighthouse calendars!) and is very fond of perusing them, learning their names and locations etc. Last Thurs. he wanted to look ahead in the calendar on the fridge and we saw that April's featured lighthouse is Cape Disappointment Light (in Wash. state). Petru wondered why it is called that and I said something like "maybe there was a shipwreck there or??" and Petru chimed in that "probably a boy went to the lighthouse and saw that it was on a little island, but he couldn't get there, so he was disappointed".

Chocolate fondue and preVday party

We celebrated V day at Charlie and Sonia's house. Adelle and Sandra came as well, along with their 2 daughters. Sherinne is Pepe's age. He is not into girls, so I did not know how the 2 of them would do together. Well, you'll see from the pics. We had a great time dipping anything and everything (from cheeze to strawberries to Lacota's butter cookies) into dark or milk chocolate. YUM! Of course, Pepe managed to dissapear in the kitchen a couple of times coming back with large pieces of the 4-lbs TJ's belgian chocolate! Good times were had by all!
Sherine and Pepe dancing away....

Chris started to flip the kids over....Sherine watching Pepe getting flipped over by Chris...

And to top it off, tonight Charlie and Sonia and spending a few hours with Pepe while Chris and I get to enjoy dinner out! Do we have the best friends or what!!!

Back home

After the cruise life got back on track. Work, school...Buni stayed with us until the end of January. I think she was bored a lot, bc I tend to work evenings while at home. She and Pepe had lots of trips to McDonald's playground. She tought Pepe some romanian words including; "cam tampit", "dreptul, stangul", "gata". Pepe had a hard time when she left, and kept asking about her daily. Now he knows that he is going to Romania in the summer. I have a conference there in September, so hopefully the entire family can go (meaning Chris, too, even though he, hm, hm, dislikes travelling).

Pepe drew a lot! Chugged trains and cars a lot! Lets just say that living room and dining room are taken over...