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.