Bathtub Bubbles
Posted on October 20, 2008 - Filed Under Parenting, Stinker, Stories, Year One
Alex enjoys taking baths, which is pretty normal.
He also enjoys farting. Again, I assume this is pretty normal for a boy.
Combine the two? Hilarity.
Alex was in the tub today and Toni had to run downstairs to get some clothes for him. She was literally right below the bathtub when she heard a deep, loud “ka-bloom!” above her head. You guessed it, Alex let one fly.
Apparently, Toni could hear him laughing about it on her way back to the bathroom.
Thankfully he has not crapped in the tub yet. I know it is just a matter of time and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he does it while Toni is on duty (doodie) and not me.
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Alex is trying to talk more each day. He tried to say “Travis” over and over the other night and did a pretty decent job of it. The thing is, he will only do this in bursts and then wont say anything again. We can’t get him to say “Travis” again to save our lives. I swear he does it on purpose.
I’ve got him saying “uh oh” more and he uses it at the right time. He is also shrugging his shoulders when he means “I don’t know” and it’s kind of funny to see him do it.
The Tour
Posted on October 19, 2008 - Filed Under General
The memorial service for my Grandmother was yesterday and her cousin Anne’s funeral was Friday. I’ve been calling this the Lepore Funeral Tour 2008, which is twisted but that is how I deal with things.
Grandma and her cousin Anne grew up together, born only a month apart in 1911 and shared an amazing lifetime friendship and bond that goes beyond anything I have ever imagined. As they grew older, they swore that they would either die together at the age of 100, or that the other one would “go first”.
They died on the same day, hours apart. They spent their entire lives in a remarkable friendship and knowing that they died together almost helps a lot of us cope with losing them. As mom said yesterday during the memorial, it helps take the edge off of their deaths knowing that they are now together, out there somewhere.
Their deaths are literally the end of an era for our families. They were the last link to the old family ties, knowledge and wisdom. I’m glad they were both willing to share their lives with me.
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Most of the day was a complete blur. Things went so fast, and so many people coming up to say they were sorry and asking how we were doing. I have never been in this type of situation before so it was kind of surreal.
I spoke to my friend Lenny and out of all the people there she almost had me crying a little bit. She runs a Bed and Breakfast called “A View With A Room” and is an excellent photographer. Most of all, Lenny understands things, and she is a wonderful, beautiful person inside and out. With just a few words and a solid hug she helped get me through the day. It is the small gestures like that… they really count.
I also took the opportunity to let her know how much she has meant to me, and continues to mean to me. She just “gets it”.
Toni has been incredibly supportive through this whole thing. Despite her own feelings and being sad she has had the strength to help me get through this as well. What a wonderful wife I have.
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We are celebrating the boys birthdays today. Sean just turned 20, Travis hit 15 and Alex will be 2 years old in a few days. Family is coming over to the house this afternoon for a small birthday party. With all of the negative stuff going on it’s nice to have some positive things to focus on with the boys.
Smelly Baby - Part 2
Posted on October 14, 2008 - Filed Under General
So remember when I was writing about Alex and his funky smell? It was like a sour smell on his head, kind of like sweat and sour mixed. Anyway, we have resolved this!
We had been using normal baby wash during bath time, and using that to wash his hair. We switched to a product called “Method Kid 3 in 1 Squeeky Green Shampoo” and that stinky funky smell is gone. This stuff is the best and I can’t recommend it enough.
I assume he was just not getting clean enough with the other stuff, and there is something to be said for using a more natural cleaning solution on a baby. :)
He still stinks when he wakes up from sleeping because he sweats a lot, but at least we can scrub that stink off of him now!
Out Of Nowhere
Posted on October 11, 2008 - Filed Under Life, Memories, Stories
It’s been a tough week.
I am usually the one that can keep my emotions in check but I am a complete wreck right now. I am all over the map, and it is frustrating.
Travis has never really seen me cry before. When he came home from school the other day and we told him about grandma he started crying, then I started and I think it caught him by surprise a little bit.
I live in my grandmothers old house and grew up here with a lot of memories. It’s the little things that trigger a memory about her and then I start crying out of the blue. We had so many good and fun times in this house together while I was growing up and I shouldn’t be sad about it, if anything I should be happy knowing that we had so much fun and shared a lot of good times together.
My grandmother used to make bread by hand every few days and it is one of the memories I enjoy the most. Something so simple, yet it floods my memories with the smells and sounds of the entire process.
I remebr her kneading the bread by hand in this huge silver bowl at the kitchen table. She would work really hard at this and I remember how easy she made it look. The first time I tried it I was tired after a few minutes and my hands hur tlike hell. I don’t know how she could do it and not complain.
When she was done kneading the bread, she would place it in a different bowl and cover it with a towel, then place it next to one of the furnace vents so the dough could rise before she baked it. The dough would give off a fresh smell that is one of my favorite cooking smells, even now.
During the Easter holiday she was in full bread baking mode. This is when she would make special bread for the holiday. The bread was shaped like little dolls (similar to what you see here) and the faces were actually drawn onto whole eggs that were part of the bread. The bread is flavored with anise seed giving it a light licorice scent and taste.
Easily my favorite bread and something I look forward to every year. I need to learn how to make this and wish I had taken the time while she was still alive to learn the process from her.
Monsters, Penguin March and Wall E
Posted on October 10, 2008 - Filed Under Baby Life, Parenting, Year One
I wrote earlier about Alex and his passion for the movie Monsters Inc. and how we have been trying to find something new for him to watch.
We tried the Jungle Book movies, and while he likes a few sections of those they are not something he will sit through.
Yesterday I picked up a pre-release version of Wall E and fired it up to see what his reaction would be. We now have a new favorite! It may not topple Monsters Inc. but it’s growing on him. We are happy about it because after watching Monsters Inc. for the 100th time it’s starting to get old.
Next we tried March of the Penguins because Penguins are Alexanders favorite animal. I never realized how sad that movie is until sitting through parts of it yesterday. Maybe I’m a little sensitive right now because of my grandmothers death, but man it really tugs at you.
Alex is too young to understand the movie, all he cares about are the penguins running around on screen. Maybe we should pick up Happy Feet and let him watch that instead?
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