Friday, August 24, 2007

Tales of Cristian

Ok. Can my son be any cuter? I swear. This week has been totally weird for me. It's like, there's been a new revelation of full blown cuteness at a level that I cannot describe. The kid is too delicious for words, really.

So. I was changing this morning getting ready for my day, when my little man stormed into our room. Although he's seen me in the buff many times before, this time was slightly different. He stood in front of me, bent down on his knees and began examining...

Here's what he had to say:

"Mami no has joojooleeg?" (joojooleeg is a cute word we use for his pee pee, peeshulino...you get the point?)

That's when I knew I had to dress myself fast.

I smiled and said:

"That's right kiddo, mami doesn't have a joojooleeg....mami has a...umm...eghem....a...Va jay jay?!" (Thanks Oprah!)

Gosh. Since when did I have to start thinking about discussing the female anatomy with my barely two year old son?

What's next, really??

Thursday, August 16, 2007

He's My Cristian-ity!

I finally did it. I finally signed him up. Cristian is officially going to start ‘pre-kinder' school in less than a month and my heart is aching for this new beginning. I don’t want him to go, but V and I both agree it’s best for the little man. He has what we call ‘mamitis’ when all he wants is ‘mommy’ - and he’s happy. As am I knowing that my presence holds such importance in bringing my little guy a huge dose of happiness on a day to day basis.


So, after much hesitation and deliberation, I finally decided it’s the best thing for him, to go and spend a few hours (3.5 hours to be precise) a day in the presence of other kids his age. I know he’ll be happy and enjoy his time playing and socializing with other children. The school is called Centro Educativo Bilingue De Pitic.
I met with the director last week who went over the program with me. My little man will bring home a report card once every two months and parents will be invited to attend a variety of concerts at the school throughout the year. They will have science class, math class as well as 2 hours of English, gym and art. I’m excited to see him in a different light, learning things that I may not be able to provide here at home.

He’s truly brilliant. And, I don’t just say that because he’s mine. By 18 months (which was back in March) he already had the entire alphabet memorized and knew every single picture in his Baby Einstein Alphabet books! So figure there are three pictures in each book and 26 letters in the English alphabet, that brings us to a whopping 78 words... plus everything else he knows aside from that.

He’s also doing really well in adapting to the different languages. I speak to him solely in Armenian and believe it or not, he’s learned to address me only in Armo and his dad in English. And not to mention, Asuzena who speaks to him in Espanol! He can count till ten in all three languages and has this innate ability to put together sentences using three languages in one. Here's an example of this much complicated skill:

"Mami, agua goozem please!" *Spanish/Armenian/English
Translation: Mommy, I want water please!


We’ve also begun potty training. BABY STEPS. The initial signs of his ‘readiness’ was taken into account when he started tearing off his diaper at random moments during the day.

The first Incident?

I was putting away some laundry when I heard Cristian call out mommy. I walked into the living room to find him standing bare bummed proudly showing me what he’d done with his dirty diaper. It was nicely draped over his sister’s wee head, as she looked up at me with her big round eyes – dazed and confused.

The second incident?

He woke up from his nap one afternoon. I walked into his room to find a naked C sitting on his pillow proudly showing me the remnants of his poop in the diaper he had removed himself and displayed on his blankie.

I knew then the time had come. So, off I went to buy him his first pair of undies…and the ‘fun’ has begun. Stay tuned for more updates as I’m sure I will have plenty on this topic!

His attitude is amazing. Truly. He’s fantastic with his sister and is always giving her gentle hugs and kisses, though at times he doesn’t realize how much bigger or stronger he is than her. And of course, there is the odd time he’ll get upset and pull at her foot or try and stick his finger in her eye (don’t ask, it’s not exactly one of his most endearing moments but I figure truth must be told!).



The kid is just full of energy. So much so I even get tired watching him sleep! He’s my best friend...my little buddy. And frankly, I think I’m gonna have a harder time seeing him off to school than he is leaving me for a few hours.

Who’s gonna go shopping with me in the morning? Or wait by the window and call out “Mommy” when I pull into the driveway after my daily morning workout? Or go for lunch at our fave kiddie hangout - Peter Piper - to eat his fave food – PIZZA!

Or let me dress him up in his not-so-fave Sonoran cowboy boots for the sake of taking pictures?
Or continuously ask to go out on his tricyle?

Aaaak. This sucks.

I wish I could just keep him at home with me, snuggle on the couch and watch his favourite movie, Shrek... for the kazzilionth time… over and over and over...for eternity…..

Friendship On a Platter

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