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9/3/2008

For the last week we have been trying to prepare Matthew for the first day of school. He was less than excited to be starting school again. We continued to reinforce school as a positive thing but he wasn’t buying it too much. Yesterday was the open house at school and he had a chance to meet his new teacher Mrs. Shepherd and see his classroom. Lisa said he was all excited once he was sitting at his desk and that he wanted to start school right then. He just called me and when I asked him how his first day of school was and he said emphatically that “It was VERY awesome!”

Mike

2008-6-27

We decided to have a nice family movie night the other day. I was trying to convince Matthew to watch Ratatouille, but he didn’t want to. He really wanted to watch Underdog. I had to fast forward through some of the villain parts but was able to enjoy the whole movie. He was so excited that afterward he called Nonna and Papa and Aunt Andrea to tell them all about it. He was very proud of himself and he wanted to watch it again…

Mike

2008-04-25

We had a great time in Florida this year. We left MA on Thursday, April 17 by way of the Manchester airport in New Hampshire (great airport) and returned from Sarasota by way of the Tampa airport Thursday, April 24. The flights coming and going were direct and very smooth. Matthew did fine with the flying but did get sick and puke after our return flight landed. He was great on the airplane. He likes flying because he gets unlimited time watching shows on the DVD player. Mostly he watched episodes of The Magic School Bus that Lisa checked out from the library before we left. Lisa’s parents picked us up around noon at the Tampa airport. Matthew was very excited to see them. He chilled out during most of the one hour drive back to Sarasota. Before reaching the condo we stopped at a restaurant called Millie’s. It was a nice place with an eclectic assortment of antique furniture and good breakfast/lunch fair. I had a delicious chicken sandwich that had a breast of chicken so big that it took up half the plate. Near the end of our meal, an older woman that was leaving came over to our table and told Matthew that she thought he was such a nice, well behaved little boy and that he was a “cool dude” to boot. Matthew didn’t know what she was talking about so we just told him to say “thank you” and he did. After we finished our meal the waitress also commented to Matthew that she thought he was a very nice boy. Jeez, only a couple hours in Florida and already the people seem much friendlier than back home. We spent the rest of the day at the beach and in the pool. The weather was perfect every day, sunny, breezy, cool and dry. On Friday late afternoon I drove down to Cape Coral to visit with my mother. She was supposed to be on a trip to NY but was in a car accident that left her feeling under the weather. We went out and had a nice dinner together, talking and laughing about stuff. When we returned to her house I played piano for a while then we went to bed. The next morning we had coffee together and talked a bit before I head out to visit with Thomas. I spent the day with talking with Thomas and we shared a nice lunch and dinner together. It was too short but as always very invigorating and wonderful. On Monday we spent the day at Sea World with Al and Donna. Matthew had a great time despite the fact that the Pets Ahoys show was under construction. We did see for the first time the Odyesea acrobatic show. Matthew was afraid at first because it was so dark in the auditorium. We left before the show began, but he then decided (without any coercion) to push himself to see the show and in the end had a good time. The rest of the vacation was spent at the pool and at the beach. One day we saw a manatee that was swimming about 40 yards off shore. For some reason I heard manta ray and excitedly grabbed the camera and ran down the beech with Matthew trailing. As I waded into the water I watched the large, elongated dark shape about 20 yards from me and wondered why the ray looked so round. Then my brain kicked in and I realized that it was a manatee not manta ray. Near the last day I got inspired to make a real sandcastle/sculpture. I did some research online and learned some basic techniques. It fun and it made being at the beach a lot more interesting. It was a great vacation and none of us wanted to leave. Matthew was especially good and fun to be around. We can’t wait to go again next year.

Mike

At The Condo

At Seaworld

2008-04-14

This weekend Mathew and had a great time flying his remote controlled airplane around in front of our house. We took turns controlling the plane and on my turn I was able to get the plane to go very high. It is a glider bi-plane and in the right wind works pretty well. So, at first I got it as high as the the house then as high as the trees. “OK, daddy bring it down now” Matthew said a bit nervously. Well for some reason it was in a perfect circular pattern and it just kept climbing higher and higher. I ran down the street through a neighbors back yard and looked up but i was unable to find it. I used the remote control to turn on the props so I could hear it and I was able to see it still in a circular pattern drifting farther and farther away. As far I as know, it is still out there. I went back and broke the news to Matthew. He wasn’t very happy. While I was trying to help him detach from the loss of his plane Lisa went over to Target’s and got a replacement bi-plane and a jet. One for me and one for him. The jet turned out to be very cool. It can take off from the ground and do tricks. It also has a really cool mechanism on the tale that uses a neodymium magnet to change the direction of the flap. We flew the planes all day Saturday and Sunday until I got the jet plane stuck in a very tall tree. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it down but hopefully a good wind will knock it down soon…

Mike

2008-04-11

Yesterday, I took Matthew to an ice cream social at his school. We met up with our neighbors Sevki, Seyda and Gokai and enjoyed some ice cream together. When the kids and myself finished our ice cream we headed upstairs to the book fair. Along the way we ran into Mrs. Comeau, his pre-school teacher from last year. She was so happy to see him and commented on how tall he was getting. We then made our way to the library where the kids browsed around the book fair. Matthew picked out a book called “Beast Quest” which looked like a good adventure story that I could read to him. On our way out of the school Matthew really wanted to go and play at the playground with all the other kids. I couldn’t help but notice how far he has come in his ability to get into the mix even if it is a bit chaotic. His friend from class Juliana was there too and she grabbed his hand and pulled him to go play with her. They were very cute together. He wanted to stay longer but I told him “ma ma will be mad if we don’t get home in time before t-ball practice”. So, he reluctantly left the playground and we raced back to the car. Once we got home Lisa took him to practice. Later she told me that he had a fun time and that his coach seemed really nice and a good fit for Matthew. She said he was so cute with his Indians shirt and baseball cap on and wanted to wear the shirt to school today…

Mike

2008-04-07

This weekend we had the kids stay over. Fortunately, it was a nice day on Saturday so the kids had a lot of fun outside playing with Matthew’s remote control airplane and his green machine and running around with light sabers. At one point Derek took an office chair that I was going to through away and used it as his “land cruiser”. They were pushing each other around on the street. It was pretty funny. We had sliders and french fries for dinner and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. After dinner, Christina went into the living room to read her book and the other kids were just doing there own thing. Once Matthew saw Christina reading he ran upstairs and got one of his Biscuit books and sat on the couch to read. Then Lisa sat with him and talked a bit about the book. After Matthew went to bed, the girls watched a movie called Bench Warmers and Derek and I played Red Alert until midnight. The next day it was raining so the kids were mostly inside though Matthew and Jamie played a bit on his swings and shot some hoops. Before the kids left they were playing a good guy bad guy game and I became the bad guy. By the of the game I was curled up in the fetal position on Matthew’s bed as they all beat me with light sabers and other pretend swords. Matthew and I drove the kids home and when we got to their house he was all sad and wouldn’t say good-bye. I was a bit frustrated with him because I don’t want the kids to feel bad but then he said to me with glossy eyes “I love them too much to say good-bye”. I am so thankful that he has his cousins, they are such good kids and great role models for him.

Mike

2008-03-31

Yesterday we celebrated Matthews 6th birthday at the indoor playground “Imagine That” in downtown Lawrence. Francis, Henry and Jamie Goldbach were all there in addition to his neighborhood friends and a few friends from school. Initially, he didn’t want any girls expect our neighbor Seyda but we were glad that in the end he invited a couple girls from his class. All the kids seemed to have a great time, many flush and sweaty from running around. It was nice to see Matthew having so much fun despite all the chaos and excitement. The kids played for a while then we went into a party room and had pizza and cupcakes. Matthew had been very excited for the past week and I am so glad that it went off without a hitch. He did a great job opening his gifts and seemed genuinely thankful for everything. He got a lot of Star Wars and Transfromer and Hot Wheels stuff which he seemed to think was “cool” but I can still remember his face lighting up when he got the elephant Webkinz and how he hugged it with such enthusiasm. I know he wants so much to be like all the other kids with their love of movie inspired toys but he truly has a soft spot for cute cuddly animals.

Mike

2008-03-28

Last Thursday Matthew and I wend to the library to see a puppet show. It was pretty amazing. It was a based on a Chinese folk tale about a family suffering from a long drought and the adventures of a grandmother who in the end helps return the rains to the land. It was a very nice story of courage without the need for some evil bad guy. The marionettes were huge, around two and a half feet tall. There was a smoke machine and stage lighting. The background would scroll and other props were added to create scene changes. The puppeteers were not hidden from view so it was a real treat to be able to watch them work. There was a giant squid character about 6′ tall and a long Chinese dragon that came into the audience to spray the kids with water. Matthew really enjoyed it and doubly enjoyed sharing in his enjoyment.

Mike

2007-11-17

Matthew and I had a great day hanging out together. We raked leaves in the morning and he was having a good old running around and jumping in the leaves. Then we went to the Y.M.C.A in Andover and had some fun in the gym. I shot some hoops while he ran around kicking a volleyball, the hoops were too high for him but he didn’t mind. Then we went in the pool and played around for about an hour. He was so much fun in the pool. I told him that last year he was afraid of the bottom, the strips that are created by tiles. He looked at me and said “why, it is just the bottom?” After swimming we went to the showers and surprisingly he was really into it. Last time we went I remember he didn’t like them at all. On the way out I there were these pieces of paper in the shape of a turkey’s feather and the children are to write their name and what they are thankful for. I asked Matthew what he was thankful for and first thing that came out of his mouth was “Christmas!” Then he talked me into buying bags of both small and large marshmallows. When we got home I made some hot chocolate and he setup the chairs in front of the fireplace where we made a fire and enjoyed our hot chocolate with mini marshmallows… It was I nice day that I don’t want to forget…

Mike

2007-06-26 mr

The other day I was putting Matthew to bed and we were laying in the dark talking and unwinding. He asked me if I could get him a drink of water. So, I got up and found a cup of water on the dresser. I gave him the cup, he took a sip then looked up at me and said, “You’re a great guy”. I looked back at him and said, “You’re a great guy too.”