Story Blob

Do You Even Know Who I Am? Matthew The Superman

2012-03-03T22:34:00.001-05:00

What we have today is a drawing by Matthew and few enhancements done by me like the Superman S and Superman word in pencil with Matthew's green tracing over.

Note the logo is cut out because I did mistake and wrote 'wrong way' S. Well what can I say, I get confused when I try to write upside down, but that wasn't acceptable by Matthew.

Sometimes I feel like I push him too much at his age (3 3/4), but I think it is good exercise to start him on drawing and writing. Matthew is now able to write letter M very well. He can spell and write (copy) his name. He also can draw a face, sun, full body as seen above, and snowman. On the pictures he added Krypton (the green crystal) and bunch of colored Smarties.

Matthew loves superheros and Superman is still his most favorite one. He was Superman for Halloween. Few weeks ago I had to hide the Superman suite because we had to go out and no way he was going to be Superman, especially when it was really cold outside. The unfortunate thing is that I forgot where I hid the suite. However, I promised him to get bigger size for the next Halloween.

So the other day we are walking through our subdivision with other children and their nanny. One of our neighbors came out from the house to collect the newspaper. It was almost noon and she was still wearing the nightgown. 'It's my lazy day today' - she announced.

We chatted a bit and then Matthew interrupted with yelling to her 'Hi'. She waved and said 'Hi William'.

I smiled because she called him that once before. However, right after Matthew called back to her 'Do you even know who I am?' She did not hear him very well so Matthew continued 'I am secretly Superman'. She heard him and replied 'Hi Superman', and we laughed.

May be it is time to say something to her, otherwise the only Superman boy that lived in our street will be William.

But Where Is My Cake? Life Is Full Of Surprises

2012-02-10T20:49:00.003-05:00

A week after Christmas holiday we were visiting my parents (Matthew's grandparents). During the week before the visit we picked up one of those packaged Christmas cakes on sale and brought it with us. Matthew made a mental note.

My mom asked if we could open and eat it next week as she already bought some sweets for us to enjoy after lunch. It was okay with us.

So we had cookies and tea and Matthew had cookies and some drink.

When we finished I told Matthew we have to get ready for home. Matthew looked at me surprised and turned to look at Baba (the grandmother, that what he calls her).

'Baba, but we did not eat the cake. Where is the cake Baba? Baba I brought you a cake?' - Matthew kept talking.

I thought he will never stop about the cake. He really wanted to eat this cake. We had to spend five minutes to explain to him why we are not eating this cake today. It was because next week his cousins will be coming and they want to eat the cake too. It was settled.

***

Last week we were visiting my parents again and for lunch Matthew was enjoying his chicken soup. When he finished his soup and the second dish he brought dish back to the kitchen and came back to the table. Then he lift the place mat and being surprised asked: 'But where is my surprise?'

It happened once on Christmas Eve, Baba placed $20 under place mat for each grandchild as a surprise (way too much in my opinion, but I couldn't argue). So he remembered and asked again. I cannot believe that my mother went and found another $20 because he just asked.

He knows better to say that 'Baba this is too much', but no instead he said he is going to toy store to buy some more toys. Yes, like he really needs more toys.

I think instead of having serious talk with Matthew I will have to have a serious talk with my mom.

Don't Forget Carrot In My Chicken Soup

2012-02-09T20:26:00.000-05:00

It is official Matthew is now registered for the Junior Kindergarten (JK) and will start next fall. We ended up enrolling him into the public school system as opposed to other options we had - catholic or Montessori. The reason being is that I thought it would be hard on him to go full time for five days so I enrolled him into the public system where they still have two and three alternating days per week. Okay, I will admit too, it would be hard for me to let him go as well.

On Monday this week we delivered last piece of paperwork to the school. Matthew is eligible for school bus, but I thought that we test out how far we will need to walk. Yes, I am going to walk with him.

It took us 20 minutes to walk with Matthew sitting in the wagon. I think we can do it.

On the way home we dropped by the playground. Matthew loves kids his age and is not afraid to talk and play. Soon as we arrived he engaged playing with a boy little older than him and a girl about his age, who were also siblings.

He raced them into the play tunnel and up the stairs and slid down on the double slide with the girl. He loved the fact that they slid together. Right after the girl went to play somewhere else and the boy went back into the tunnel.

Oh it was lot of fun for Matthew, so he decided to direct the play.

'Hey boy, you stay in the tunnel and I will go and get my friend' - he said to the boy.
'Hey, your friend is my sister' - the boy yelled out from the tunnel.
'Okay then, I will get your sister' - Matthew waved at him.
'Hey girl do you want to come and go up the tunnel and slide' - he asked her.
'I want to play on the ropes' - she replied.
'Okay then lets play ropes' - Matthew replied, abandoning the boy.

Well the rope game did not last very long as the mother of the boy and the girl called for home. The girl stayed behind and almost cried not wanting to go home. The mother and the boy were leaving the playground.

'Hey boy your forgot your sister' - Matthew yelled after the boy.
'Matthew don't worry they know' - I replied.

Today I told Matthew that he will be having chicken soup for lunch.
'Okay Mom and don't forget the carrot' - he replied.

I just hope that all the demands by the three year old do not grow proportionally, but I will miss him when he goes to school.

The Best Secret Ever, A Secret Re-Defined

2012-01-07T02:12:00.000-05:00

I was talking on the phone with my sister. Matthew was with his Daddy in the computer room upstairs. He knew that I was on the phone and since he always wants to talk to people I talk to, he did eventually picked up the phone.

'Hi' - he said.
'I am fantastic' - he answered my sister.
'I have to tell you something, Daddy is doing card for Mommy for Christmas, photo of me' - he is telling my sister (its Ukrainian Christmas today). Whereas, Daddy on the back is telling Matthew that it is a secret.
'It is a secret, Daddy is doing photo of me for Mommy' - he continues to tell her.
'Mommy it is a secret and don't tell anyone' - he told me right after.
'Matthew that is best secret, I will tell no one' - I replied. Matthew hanged up but came back in couple of seconds.
'And I am secretly Superman, okay, I got to go now, bey bey' - and that was it.

The News Guy

2012-01-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

Toys, toys everywhere. We live in the toy land. We don't have a big house, so to contain a child in one small place with toys is hard. We gave in and let it be.

This Christmas we treated ourselves with a new television, a flat screen. It was time to take the old beast out. We strapped the new TV to a stand; however, with all the television falling on children stories, we continue to remind Matthew that is dangerous to hover around.

The other day for whatever reason Matthew ran towards the TV with his toy and as we needed a scratch, I raised my voice to prevent him to go any further. Matthew got little shy. I looked at him seriously but I try to explain again in the lower tone.

- 'Matthew you don't want to fall into the TV'- for whatever reason I said that.
- 'And yeah I don't want to be a news guy too' - he replied laughing.
- 'Come here you joker I need to give you a hug and a kiss' - I opened up my arms.

No I Am Not Ready For School YET!

2011-11-02T22:45:00.003-04:00

Matthew will be 3 1/2 next week and soon we have to look for potential schools. He will be going to JK next September. When did the time go? It went into raising this wonderful little boy who soon will be going to school and learning, and be on his own most of the day and 5 days a week. Deep inside of me does not want to let him go yet, but I know I have to. My boy is growing up.

So really, what is the big fuss?

Well it is only JK and our provincial system implemented full time Junior Kindergarten. It used to be 2 full time days a week, and next year it will be 5.

That is the fuss. Typical mother worries, but I still think going to school full time for 4 year old may be little too hard. I am sure there is economic benefit behind this system, but I am not benefiting. I am sure he will love it, he really enjoys presence of little people around him.

Let see what my little bright child says about all that.

'So Matthew you know you are going to school next year' - I tell him.
'Yes, and there will be children to play, teacher, and I will learn' - he tells me.
'But Matthew what am I going to do all day without you? - I asked him.
'You will cook and wait for me Mommy' - he tells me back.
'I guess I will have to give you lunch box to school' - I concluded.

Well he is right this is what I do most of the day. Always cook for him, we walk, visit other children, go to playgrounds, hike, read and play, watch TV and play games. He knows that cooking is the only activity he is not able to do with me, so I guess I will have to continue to cook and most of his activities he is taking with him to school.

I thought that it was entertaining what he said about me cooking and waiting. We asked him again in presence of my family. His answer is always the same, but he also added:

'And wait, Mommy will give me big box of food to eat.'

We all laughed. I am amazed that he remembered the lunch box and lately he also been asking me if he can have chicken soup in his big box of food.

Can you see? We just have too much fun together - 'no I am not ready to send him to school yet'.

Too Much Growing Up

2011-09-08T21:28:00.003-04:00

How can Matthew forget about something we took away from him. Every where he looks, on Internet, in stores and newspapers - there is NintendoDS.

Couple of weeks ago we went to our local mall Upper Canada Mall. They have few little attractions - a playground, rides and spinning wheel games.

We we arrived the amusement area and I could only see how Matthew eyes opened up. He noticed the NintendoDS to be one of the prizes in the spinning wheel machine.

'Mommy get this, get this, the NintendoDS' - he got excited.
'Matthew we don't know if we can win it' - I replied.
'Mommy win this, win this' - he kept asking.
'Okay, let see' - I took some cash and we had three tries to accumulate points for the prize.
While I was spinning the wheel, Matthew was cheering me, jumping around and pointing at the game console. 'NintendoDS, NintendoDS, NintendoDS' - he kept yelling, yes yelling. Luckily there were no spectators.

Well we did not win the NintendoDS, but we got a soccer-ball key chain.

I tell you the marketing strategy for the toys and video games is not helping me.

Later that day we went home and Matthew took his regular nap. When he woke up he started to ask again about NintendoDS.

'Mommy can I get the NintendoDS?' - he asked soon as he woke up. Talking about persistence.
'No Matthew, not yet, you need to be a big boy and be 5 or 6 years old' - I told him again for the millionth time.
'But Mommy I am 3 years old and 5 years old is too much growing up' - he replied.

I smiled.

Little Charmer

2011-08-18T01:33:00.000-04:00

I was cooking and he stood behind me.

'Mommy can I have Nintendo DS' - Matthew asked me the other day.
'Why?' - I asked him back.
'Because I love you' - he replied and smiled.

I did not know what to say, so I smiled back and gave him a hug. Then I remembered ...

'When you are five years old as we agreed' - I whispered to his ear.
'Okay' - he replied and left to play with his toys.

Where Is God?

2011-07-31T23:15:00.001-04:00

So we thought Matthew how to pray. Sometimes we have to ask him millions of times to pray before bed, and sometimes he just does it.

His daily evening prayer consists of sign of the cross at the beginning. Then he blesses everyone and himself. In the prayer itself he thanks God for everything, including 'nice good day', 'good food', 'breakfast, lunch and dinner', 'thank you for going zoo', 'thank you for playing with friends', 'thank you for ice cream', 'thank you for mom and dad', and anything else that happened to him during the day. He concludes with sign of the cross, blesses everyone again and himself.

All that accompanied by heavy jumping around the bed on his knees, and when finished he drops his body on the pillow. So once I dropped with him.

- 'Matthew that was a very nice prayers' - I praised him.

- 'Matthew do you know where is God?' - I asked him.

- 'On the shelf' - Matthew replied and pointed towards his dresser.

Theoretically he is very correct. We never got to hang the cross on the wall.

Things We Only Say At Home

2011-07-31T16:20:00.002-04:00

So we have fun. I sometimes pinch him in the bum, so he pinches me back.

One day we went outside and met with our local nanny and all her children. Matthew likes to play with them a lot, but he adores Lady Margaret, the nanny. One day when we arrived at her place, first thing he said to her was - 'I pinched Mommy's bum'. 'Matthew don't say that. We can only say that at home' - I explained laughing inside. 'I understand' - Matthew replied and ran to children to play.

Another time ...

We are playing hockey outside. Matthew is really good in hockey for his age. He always makes me run on the street to catch the ball. We only play ball hockey for now.
- 'Oh Sh!%' - I heard him saying.
- 'Matthew this is a bad word and we do not say things like that when things go wrong' - I told him.
He is at the age that he understands, so rather than ignoring it we rather explain that to him when it happens. They will pick up the bad words eventually, so why not teach him right from a start.
- 'Matthew we do not say bad words ever' - I explained again.
- 'I understand' - he confirmed.
The things kids pick up from the TV, and they know when to use it. We watch kids channel almost 80% of our time, so the time we switch to something else, here he is picking up the bad words. But he knows now, and he understands.

Later that day in the evening ...

I was talking to Matthew about something and I remembered what he did when playing hockey.
- 'Hey Daddy, Matthew said a bad word today' - I called to my husband.
Matthew smiled.
- 'Oh no Matthew why did you do that for' - Daddy put a serious face mask on and asked.
- 'Daddy we only say it at home, right' - Matthew called back to Daddy.
- 'No Matthew bad words, we never say them' - I started to explained to him.
Matthew looked at me kind of confused.
- 'F$#@&en Damit' - he replied, and walked away with smile on his face.

Oops we definitely missed that one. After that we had another little talk. Matthew now understands.

Only Three Years Old & Wants His Own Car

2011-07-31T15:55:00.000-04:00

We were eating lunch together and talking. Daddy left the table to get something. I told Matthew that after lunch we have to go to the car dealership to look for a new car.
- 'No, no, I don't want to go to the car dealership' - Matthew demanded.
I explained that we need to get a second car.
- 'Daddy needs new car for work, and Mommy will take the KIA' - I told him.
Matthew started to think, and he is very obvious usually by grabbing his head or tapping on his forehead.
- 'What will Matthew drive?' - he asked with both hands in front of him, almost demanding.
I thought that was very funny and cute.
- 'Well, you can drive your red wagon' - I replied.
He looked at me, first surprised and then laughed.
- 'Oh that is funny' - he jokingly replied.

My Next Politician To Be Always Knows When To Skip Numbers

2011-07-11T23:45:00.002-04:00

We often take Matthew to the local coffee shop for sweet treat, sometimes a cookie, a bagel with butter or his favorite timbits (cut centre from the doughnut). Matthew usually places his order and then we do ours. That day he insisted on having timbits. I advise him that he was only to have three. At the counter, I told him out loud that he only to have three timbits. I ensured that the clerk behind the cash register heard, and she did.

- 'So Matthew tell lady you are going to have three timbits today' - I told him.
- 'Matthew speak louder so lady can hear you' - I added.
- 'Okay three timbits' - Matthew replies to me.
Then he turns around to clerk and trying to speak loud.
- 'Four timbits, please' - he places his order.
She laughed and got him four timbits.

The other day we were coming back from visiting our local English garden. As always Matthew is very friendly with people by saying Hi or talking to them.

While walking out, three ladies were passing by. I was tagging on the back trying to take some flowers pictures. When I caught on, I joined the conversation.

- 'He is the next Prime Minister' - one of the ladies said to me.
- 'This is not the first time someone told me this' - I replied.
- 'Ask him who is the Prime Minister of Canada' - I told her and she did.
- 'Stephen Harper' - Matthew replied proudly.
- 'What is your name?' - another lady asked him.
- 'I am Matthew and I am three' - he replied.
- '... and next year I will be five' - he added.
- 'You know why he said five' - I told them.
- 'Why?' - they asked.
- 'Because he really wants Nintendo DS and he can have it when he will turn five' - I answered.

Funny enough today while out shopping, Matthew started his greeting round in the store. An old man came up to him to whom he said Hi, shook his hand and asked him.

- 'Are you a politician?' - he asked.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied not knowing what it is.
- 'Will you take taxes away from us' - he continued.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied.
- 'You know this is not the first time someone told me this' - I told the old man.
The man laughed and walked away. Daddy came and picked up Matthew.
- 'No you will not be a politician' - he whispered into his ear.

I'm Eating A Chocolate Vanilla Mouse

2011-07-11T22:25:00.001-04:00

- 'Matthew what kind of ice cream is this' - I ask while he was eating his ice cream cone.
- 'Mmmmmm its a mouse' - he replied.
- 'A mouse, what's that' - I asked surprised.
- 'It is a swirl ice cream, not squirrel' - Daddy corrected him.
- 'I am eating vanilla-chocolate swirl ice-cream coooone' - proudly with ice cream all over his face he corrected himself.

I turned my head away and started to laugh. Matthew could not remember the 'swirl' word, he knew was similar to 'squirrel', so he picked another furry rodent a 'mouse'.

Children Learn To Count

2011-07-07T23:55:00.000-04:00

Short and sweet counting post. It is amazing to see how children see patterns when they learn certain things, especially counting. Matthew is now three years old and this is how he counts.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

... Twenteen

'Matthew, it is Twenty and not Twenteen' - I corrected him.

'Okay Mommy, Twenty' - he corrects himself and continues to count.

Twenty One

Twenty Two

Twenty Three

Twenty Four

Twenty Five

Twenty Six

Twenty Seven

Twenty Eight

Twenty Nine

... Twenty Ten

'Matthew, no it is Thirty and not Twenty Ten' - I corrected him again.

'No Mommy its Twenty Ten' - Matthew replied.

'Matthew, next is Thirty One' - I wanted him to continue.

'No Mommy, I am done counting NOW' - he replied.

A Sneaky Old Lady

2011-06-07T01:49:00.000-04:00

I was waiting in line with Matthew. It was the express lane or fast lane for those with few items. More people started to line up behind me, but suddenly out of no where an older lady, probably in her seventies, stood in front of me. She was holding a pouch of seeds. I thought to myself - she is probably with the lady that was in front of me. After all she stood very close to her.

The old lady gave the cashier the seeds and paid. The first lady front of her already took off. What did I miss? No excuse me, no eye contact. She was just a sneaky old lady that was able to get her self in smoothly, but acted not that smoothly as the lady below ...

A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him around. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout line, but she got in front of him.

'I'm sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you look just like my son, who I haven't seen in a long time.' - she said.

'That's a shame' - replied the young man.
'Is there anything I can do for you?' - he added.

'Yes' - she said.
'As I'm leaving, can you say Good bye, Mother! It would make me feel so much better.' - she said.

'Sure' - answered the young man.
As the old woman was leaving, he called out - 'Good bye, Mother!'

As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50.
'How can that be?' - he asked, 'I only purchased a few things!'
'Your mother said that you would pay for her' - said the clerk.

Ouch! I am glad then that she only got in front of me, and nothing more.

Warning! Chocking Hazard - Do Not Eat It

2011-05-13T14:58:00.000-04:00

Matthew is now three years old and is starting to behave like one too. I don't know if it is me, but he showed some changes right on his birthday. On the day of his big day we went out for a small lunch. During the lunch Matthew was acting like a little man, no more booster chair, sitting on his own chair and enjoying his meal. With a little shyness on his face went up to the server in the kitchen area and asked for 'after lunch treat' - the ice cream.

I also noticed that Matthew wants to read and is very curious what is written everywhere. 'What does it say here?' - he would ask. Couple of days ago we walked to our local supermarket. It is about 1 km walk one way. It is a nice walk through the park and little trail. I nice walk full of nature's surprises.

At the store Matthew got himself another figurine - The Iron Man 2 Mark V, the one with the suitcase. He is always so fascinated when in the movie Tony Stark's iron man suite in the suite case morphs into the Iron Man. I also bought him a bun to munch going home.

At some point, out of blue Matthew grabs with both hands nice green grass. Okay I thought he will fill up his pockets again, no he started to eat it. 'Oh Matthew, spit it out, spit it out' - I yelled. 'Phew' - luckily at the same time he was eating a bun. The soccer field grass is usually sprayed and full of chemicals. 'No eating grass' - I said firmly. Then going up the hill, he started to reach out for the tree with a smile on his face. 'No eating trees either' - I said it again.

I will check with the doctor, may be there is something like 'green pigment deficiency' or simply he is still teething, which is true.

As the journey continued, he took the Iron Man toy from me and tried to read what was written on the packaging. 'What does it say here?' - he asked. 'WARNING CHOCKING HAZARD' - I read. 'In other words, do not eat the iron man?' - I explained. 'WARNING DO NOT EAT THE IRON MAN' - Matthew repeated. 'Well, warning also could be for DO NOT EAT GRASS OR TREES' - I continued. Matthew laughed, but understood.

Last night we were going out. As daddy was strapping Matthew into the car seat, I tried to test his knowledge and to see if he remembered the WARNING word. I pointed on the WARNING word in the car, 'Matthew can you read this?' Matthew looked closely, thought about it and replied - 'WARNING DO NOT EAT THE CAR'.

Letter to Matthew - Today Is Your 3rd Birthday

2011-05-07T23:01:00.000-04:00

Every year day before Matthew's birthday I start to write a letter, and finish on his birthday. A letter outlining how Matthew enjoyed his life in the past 12 months. I started this tradition on my photo blog My Only Photo. This year is for Matthew's third birthday. I know that sometimes it is hard to keep up with reading, especially if you have lot of blogging friends, so do not feel obligated to read, however, you can enjoy his pictorial gallery. Read More ...

The Need To Win

2011-04-15T00:28:00.000-04:00

I know I have not been posting a lot lately here. However, everyday I want to write here, I just don't make it. Days are busy with Matthew, and really feel bad when I have to let him play alone. Every day I think about things I can write here, but now they are just titles and notes in my notebook. I will, I will - just like in the book The Little Engine That Could - 'I think I can, I think I can'.

Let me share something I read recently in the The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton, a little book I once picked up at the bookstore. I can also relate.

'When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets -
He is out of his mind!

His skill has not changed. But the prize
Divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting -
And the need to win
Drains him of power.'

Our Children Are Our Greatest Teachers

2011-02-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Learning is something Matthew enjoys very much, however, he also knows what to do when things are getting harder with learning. When things are getting harder, not just children, us too, sometimes we redirect our energies somewhere else. Let's see how Matthew redirects his. He will be three years old in about plus two months.

I started Mommy's school a couple of weeks ago. Mommy (me) is a teacher and Matthew is my only student.

Day 1: 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Yes, Mommy Matthew is coming to Mommy's school' - he would yell with excitement, come and sit on his colored chair. He would also say things like 'Yes Mommy teacher, lets get stickers'. He loves stickers every time he finishes one page of tracing.

Day 2: 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Oh yes, lets go to school' - Matthew would yell again with excitement and come running to his colored chair.
He is drawing lines, zig zag's and spirals. Two pages completed at no time. He gets a sticker, smiles and walks away from my school to play with other stuff.

Day 3, 4 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'Yes I am coming to Mommy's school' - Matthew would reply every time.
However, he starts to slow down. Pages are getting a bit harder to trace - circles, squares, triangles, diamonds. One page per one school day now. He gets a sticker, but this time he gets it himself - he picks, he sticks. Matthew is gaining more control over my school.

Day 5 'Welcome to the Mommy's School' - my invitation.
'But Mommy, you sit Matthew's chair, I sit Mommy's chair' - Matthew replied on the day five.
'Mommy you be student, Matthew be teacher' - he announced and would not let me talk.
'Mommy you WRITE' - he commended me before I opened my mouth.

'Our children are our greatest teachers' - goes with this story.

Spaghetti Pasta Defined

2011-02-18T00:25:00.000-05:00

Matthew asked: 'Where is my friend Daddy?'
Yes, Matthew now calls his Daddy his friend.

Matthew said once in the car while eating chocolate: 'I am chocolate-holic.'
We told him once that he is chocoholic. He loves chocolate. Favorite: Kinder and Lindt.

Matthew once was walking home with me and saw lady shoveling a snow.
He looked at me and asked: 'Can I say Hi to lady?'
I replied: 'Of course you can.'
After he greeted her, she asked him: 'Where are you going?'
Matthew proudly replied: 'I am going home and going to eat Lindt chocolate.'
I followed his response to her: 'He is chocoholic.'

Today I asked Matthew: 'Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?'
Matthew responds: 'Prime Mister of Candada is Stephen Helper'
He eventually got it right, the Minister, the Canada and the Harper.

Matthew answers the phone: 'Hello, anybody there?'
We get lot of dead calls, so he starts with verifying if anybody is there.

'Matthew what do you see, one finger and one finger together?'
Today during dinner I showed him one finger from left hand and one finger from right hand side by side.
'I see eleven'- Matthew replied.
Visually he is correct, mathematically he now knows that there are two fingers.

Matthew is a proud owner of the 'Matthew's Cuisine' - play kitchen for kids.
After while my kitchen tools slowly migrated to Matthew's Cuisine. When I look for something, now I have to extend my horizons to his kitchen.
Matthew while cooking in his Cuisine: 'Look Mommy I am chef cooker.'

Ten thousand times a day I have to pretend to be Pepper Pots from the Iron Man.
My line: 'Here comes Pepper Pots. Welcome to Tony Stark Expo' - and I slide the Iron Man suitcase.
Eventually Matthew got bored of me being Pepper Pots.
Matthew: 'Mommy you be bad Iron Man, and Matthew be Pepper Pots.'
Why bad Iron Man? No idea.
Matthew's line now is: 'Here comes Pepper Pots. Welcome to Tony Stark Expo' - and he slides the Iron Man suitcase.

While typing keyword for his favorite cartoon on the YouTube - PINGU (yes he can spell this typing and reciting), Matthew turned around and said to me: 'Look Mommy I am good typer'.

Matthew likes spaghetti pasta. I make him spaghetti pasta very often and I have usually handy if he feels like having it for dinner. When Matthew wants spaghetti, he asks: 'Mommy can I have straight long pasta for dinner'. This is his definition of spaghetti.

'Matthew how old are you?' - lady at the department store asked him, while we were shopping for appliances few days ago.
'I am two years old and nine months, I live ### Street Trail in Aurora home, I spell two words PINGU and ELMO' - and that was his answer to her.

Every time I remember things Matthew said or did, I laugh inside and I put a big smile on my face. Now I am sharing it with you and hope you can laugh and smile with me.

For Love Of Pete

2011-02-01T00:55:00.000-05:00

Children learn fast. When we are angry we have tendency to use bad words. I did it - once and twice. The parrot started to repeat, so I had to stop. For love of the Pete is the safest saying for me around Matthew - it really covers all the angles of frustration. Love and Pete, it cannot get any better.

Matthew is now speaking very clearly, and builds perfect sentences. He also understands everything, but has very selective hearing. He picks up everything we say. He uses later. He even sometimes repeats our conversation - a technical one. But then I also wonder - when children pick up those bad sayings, how do they know when to use it?

I knew that For Love of the Pete will become his one day, and it did. When first time he was saying it, we were not impressed. We did not even know what is was, but is sounded bad, very close to Italian swearing. I asked my husband - have you been swearing in Italian around him? Slowly we figured out, and now whenever Matthew sees someone acting funny, doing something that is funny he has his own saying.

For love of Pete this lady is crazy! Or for love of Pete this man is crazy! - and he laughs out loud. Never mind he told me once 'For love of Pete, mommy is crazy'. What's next? The 'oh my Goodness' is slowly creeping in.

By the way, to follow up with the Santa Mommy post. I ended up dressing up as the Santa. Matthew enjoyed it very much. Wasn't even scared and he took a picture with me - but I know why. I forgot and started to speak normal to him. He kept looking back, thinking I was in the room. May be next year I hire Santa to do the job - I can only see him laughing at me, and he may think for a long time that all Mommies are Santas.

Santa Mommy Will Be Coming To Town!

2010-12-17T01:23:00.000-05:00

All these wrapped gifts in my living room, and none for Matthew. 'Is this Matthew's present?' - Matthew would ask. 'No honey, this is for baby Lucas' - I would reply. I was wrapping a box of liquor chocolates. Matthew comes, pulls of the wrapping paper and says, 'Oh thank you Mommy!' 'Matthew sweetheart, this is not for you, its for uncle Ben' - I said it again, and gently took it away from him. Today, I put one of the wrapped presents on the table, 'This is Matthew's present!' - he demanded.

Well its time to have a little talk.

'Matthew dear baby - all these presents are for other people. Yours is coming with Santa. Unfortunately he is still shopping for your present, so that is why we don't have one here for you' - I told him. He nodded his head. It is so cool to have such a grown up conversations with the 2 year old (+ 7 months). 'Okay Mommy' - he replied. I went back to my wrapping, and Matthew went back to his playing. But then at some point Matthew comes running to me and says - 'Mommy sit with Matthew on the sofa and wait for Santa'. So I did, and I told him again about Santa bringing Matthews presents, and that he is shopping for many nice presents. I ask him if he knew what stores he will be visiting, 'Ahhhhh Wal-mart'. We laughed together.

Later in the afternoon, one of my orders from online finally arrived. The delivery man rings the bell. Matthew jumps and yells - 'Mommy Santa is here!'.

I guess this Christmas, first time in the three years, Mommy will be wearing Santa suite. Daddy offered, but I told him unless he looses some weight, he will be able to have the act. And for now I will have to keep Matthew busy for another week, otherwise there will be an early Santa in our house.

Happy holidays to all my readers!
Wishing you lots of love, happiness and peace.

Kids Say the Darndest Things - NO Bath Time Please

2010-11-27T00:23:00.000-05:00

Life with Matthew been very exciting and entertaining as usual. Kids always say the darndest things, and this is another one for me to report on. I am very blessed that Matthew is able to express himself at that early age. He is officially 2 years old and 6 months, however, he still thinks that numbers don't change, so for him 2 years and 5 months.

Last week we been hit with some flu or cold (cannot never differentiate), and Matthew has not been himself since then. He would get irritated very easily, change his mind in the last minute what he wants to do and what he does not, and struggling with his constantly running nose.

Couple of nights ago, all day I been reminding Matthew that tonight is a bath time. He has no choice but to wash his stinky feet. He agreed every time with a smile on his face, but do you think he would do it? Let's see.

Its been a long day for all of us. Matthew didn't really want to go sleep and did not want to drink his milk either. Okay we let go. Then time for a bath. Matthew does not want to get undressed, he cries - 'No bath time please.' At some point we just let him cry in his bedroom. He calmed down by himself and came out. We talked, but no not able to convince him. I played with the water, I put some toys - still no, not interested at all. Finally I lured him with some splashing for him to come closer to the bathtub. He came. So we started to talk, and this is after 45 minutes of convincing, some little yelling (which never worked), and talking back and forth. Poor Daddy from all that eventful evening ended up sleeping through the best part of our conversation.

So both of us standing by the bathtub.
'Matthew will you take bath now?' - I asked.
He did not responded, just looked at me.
'Matthew please say yes, Y E S.' - I spelled the word yes for him.
'Yes.' - He answered softly and not very confident.
'Okay Matthew O K A Y?' - I spelled the okay word for him.
'Okay.' - he answered again softly and still not confident.
Matthew is thinking very hard (literally steam is coming out his ears).
We are looking at each other, eye to eye, then suddenly...
'Mommy spell NO.' - Matthew demanded.

Well on the end I gave him bath anyway. I splashed his shirt, so he had no choice but to go inside the bathtub anyway, of course after little fussing. Once in he told me: 'Mommy go do laundry Matthew's shirt'.

I Hate Spiders But I Will Not Kill

2010-10-30T22:54:00.000-04:00

Some nature creatures just don't go with me. I rather stay away from them, and they can mind their own business too. Them being spiders and snakes, but more spiders once they are over certain size. Let's say one centimeter is starting to look scary too me.

A recent encounter with a giant spider (giant to me of course) reminded me this little incident my mother put me through.

I stood their on the stool. I cried, and once in the while would looked up in the corner. There he was entangled in his own web, not even looking at me. Probably minding his own business, not worrying, not carrying, and not knowing what I was about to do to him. In both hands I had rolled newspaper. It was my weapon, the weapon I didn't want to own, hold or use it. I was crying hard. Tears rolling my cheeks. I cried to my mother, 'No I will not kill him, I can't, I am scared'. My mission only lasted for about ten or fifteen minutes of crying, and it was not accomplished. My sister said, 'No she will never do it, let her go'. She was right. I will not kill a spider, why should I. I am scared of them, but killing them will not get rid of the fear of spiders.

Until today I am not very fond of spiders. I will not kill them, but I don't want to be friends. Relocation program works with me. I still don't know why my mother put me through definitely unforgettable moment of my life, and definitely not good moment when you are five or six year old.

Handyman Or Candyman

2010-10-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

By now probably all of you figure out that I will be writing a lot about Matthew. This is my 24/7 job, a job I absolutely love and it is worth writing about.

Today, I will list cute things Matthew says everyday. His vocabulary is absolutely amazing, however, sometimes, he has little difficulty remembering the right pronunciation or even structuring the sentences. It really sounds so cute, hopefully you can hear the same.

'Mommy I need a waterlemon' - Matthew said.
'Matthew I think you meant a watermelon' - I replied.
Never mind after while the waterlemon becomes contiguous word.
'Honey we should get more waterlemon for Matthew today' - I told my husband.
'Mommy (my second half calls me Mommy), I think you meant a watermelon' - he replied.

'Mommy baba and dzido lives in Mr. Saga' - Matthew said.
'Matthew its Mississauga' - I replied.
By the way, baba and dzido, means grandmother and grandfather.

'Mommy I want McDonald handburger' - Matthew demanded.
'Matthew its McDonald's hamburger, and you don't want to eat it, its not good for you.' - I replied.
These days it is very easy to learn from the commercials, and he learns fast.

'Mommy I am going to play panio now.' - Matthew told me.
'Matthew how about playing p-i-a-no?' - I asked.
'Okay.' - he replied, and walks away.

'Look Matthew little girl Melody says - Hi' - I told Matthew.
'Hi Medoly, I am Matthew, how you doing?' - he told Melody.

'Matthew this is an elevator, would you like to go up?' - I asked.
'No no no alegator mommy!' - he yelled.
Well, for some reason we cannot take him to the elevator, he is scared; and it has nothing to do with the alligators.

We taught Matthew the full home address, from home number, to street name, to town name.
'Matthew where do you live?' - we ask.
'I live ### Street Name in Aurora' - he replies.
So every time Matthew sees Aurora sign, he get excited.
'Look Mommy, Daddy Inaurora sign on the road'.
It gets even better, when we tell him that lady Mary (our neighbor) lives in Aurora.
'Oh no that's wrong' - Matthew replies with serious face.
He thinks only Mommy, Daddy and Matthew live in Aurora.

The latest and greatest. I got him Halloween dress up suit. Matthew will be the handyman. We got home and started to test all the tools. Matthew puts hardhat on, safety glasses, and picks hammer to hold.
'Mommy look I am candy-man' - he tells me.
'Matthew you are a handyman, but you will be a candy-man after you go trick-or-treat' - I replied.

If you have not seen yet, here is picture of Matthew taken in August - Good Bye Summer & Welcome Autumn Full Of Good Memories.