Haircut

Petru had his first professional haircut this past weekend. Chris and I have been talking about it for a while, but Petru kept postponing. Somehow Chris convinced him with a trip to Toys R Us as a reward. They called me and warned me of the drastic difference. I was surprised at how emotional I was. The boy looks so much older with short hair. We do think he looks cooler with longer hair and we will probably not go this short next time (unless Petru will choose differently, which he might because he said today "Everyone tells me I look so beautiful", Ha!).Yes, he probably drinks 4 apple juices/day, but who is counting. He is wearing his oversized T-ball Blue Claws t-shirt.




P.S. Yes, we still have not gotten the signs down, and I can't blame Petru for that (hmm, Chris!).

Spring is here

The weather has been gorgeous around here in the past few weeks. We celebrated Easter quietly, just the 3 of us. We colored 3 eggs (one each) with coloring left over from last year, and Petru and I messed up with Chris's color adding a few different shades when he was not looking. The giggles that little boy can give! Petru had the champion egg- we followed the Romanian tradition of cracking eggs. The easter bunny arived - he was late and had to pay extra for next day shipping, but it all worked out. Petru was happy with his candy and his traffic signal. For the next 2 weeks he asked us to wake him up with the traffic signal noise.

Petru started T-ball last week. We missed the Saturday session so Petru joined the party late on Sunday. I was concerned that he would be clingy, but he was not, he held his own, he listened and concentrated (aside from a brief moment when he and a little friend made sand castles in the infield). The coach is wonderful and Petru is excited to go back. I am excited to go back. I had a blast watching the little people play.


Other than that, we've been going to the playground a lot.


Petru has been riding the tandem bike with daddy.

Hello 2011

Trying to do a little catching up around here. Time flew by! Our little boy has grown and changed a lot. He is still fascinated with traffic signs, but now he also loves railroad crossings (you often see him watching you tube videos and pretending to be a railroad crossing; sometimes he "needs" more arms so he grabs mine for some extra gates). More recently he has become really interested in clocks, and has found a way to google youtube videos of clocks! Fascinating, at least to him!

School is going really well. The decision to postpone public kindergarten was a good one, as Petru has made huge strides emotionally. He is more independent - dresses himself most morning while I cringe (but keep my mouth shut) seeing that his pants are backwards. He only wears fleece pants (soft pants) as he calls them, and apparently this is a trend in his class. We have been taking him for family swims once or twice a week and he has become more comfortable in the water. He continues to enjoy spending time drawing and makes intricate pictures, multidimensional now. His favorite thing is to "copy" him, and this often happens at school, when he makes a picture and other kids copy it.

School is wonderful. They lean things I have never learned in school. They learned about the impressionists, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Michelangelo, and made their own paintings following each era/painter's trend. Petru has learned to play chess, and he is quite good. He is now able to play games without cheating, and can tolerate losing games. He can read a bit, and his math is quite impressive. We do not interfere or promote any of this. My view has always been that these things are eventually learned by all, and I am in no rush. Same with extracuricular activities - I am staying away from overscheduling, and love Petru's ability to free play, to make up stories with his Thomas trains (still a favorite - now his old bedroom is a train room), or traffic lights and railroad crossing.

Petru has learned a lot about friendships this year. It was interesting, and hard to watch sometimes. For a while, he kept getting possessive of a kid or another, and could not tolerate if that particular kid also played with other kids ("friends", how they call them at school). He and I can talk quite well, which I love, and I think our conversations helped him become more secure and tolerant. He is still quite bossy and somehow kids put up with that, as he is quite popular. I think he gets away with stuff because he is very funny, and has a certain way with words and phrases that brings laughter and joy. we've had a lot of playdates this year, mainly with 3 boys, 2 from school, S and E. When they are around, I have to stop myself from interfering bc I keep feeling that Petru is too bossy; however, I think it is important for kids to figure things our, and negotiate on their own (within reason, of course) without adult interference. I had several conversations with Petru about his bossiness, and he is getting better. I think part of it is impulsivity, and this will get better with time. It already is.

Petru made huge strides with his motor skills. He continues to be cautious, but much less than before. He has a great sense of direction, he is a backseat driver and he'll call you on it if you speed. I've worked hard to clean up my language as he started using some words that, hm, hm I was using. Not v nice, particularly when he used them at school.

Petru took drumming this winter, and enjoyed it a lot. We will likely start keyboard or guitar in the fall. In the summer he will do T-ball. Chris got a tandem bike and I hope this will help Petru become more confident on his 2 wheeler.

Petru continues to love book and stories. He is a very inquisitive kid, analytical and perceptive. The conversations I can have with him are quite intense and sophisticated. Of course, I love that.

So what have we been up to:

# Mom visited In January and it was lovely. I was spoiled getting picked up from work daily, and not having to rush around to go get Petru from school. We ate well, lots of amazing Romanian dishes. Mostly, it was nice to see Petru and mom together, and the joy that he brings to her life. Oh, and Petru got a ton of toys (per usual) when she was here. When I threaten I will take something away, he often responds "Buni will get me another one".

# We took a trip to North Carolina for Christmas, which was a lot of fun. Petru had a blast with the cousins, and everyone enjoyed a little time off.

# Chris continues his job at Bracket afterschool, which worked out nicely this year, giving us a tuition discount, and allowing Chris to take care of the household stuff. My work was busy, as I moved more seriously into grant writing. Oh, and I also became Assistant Professor at Harvard Med School, something I must be proud off given the intensity and length of the process. And yes, this does not mean more money:) I have been running a lot, doing really well with that, and also prepping for triathlon season. Petru has been joining me for races, and even went on the podium with me at a recent half marathon.

More later. For now, some pictures. I am realizing now how bad they are...

Here is Petru setting up the table...for 25 cents!
Here is me, all dressed up to go to a concert. And no, I do not typically wear dresses. On your right, you can see a few of the many traffic signs that are decorating our walls.



Petru using the foam roller, just like mom and dad.
More signs
During one of the few moments when he sits to watch TV. He likes Bali, Peep and Curious George. He has never seen any other channel but pbs, and I will keep it like this for as long as I can.
Yes, that is my triathlon bike on the R. A thing of beauty.

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.