Our Preschooler!

Our big boy started preschool today! He was so excited to start, except for the fact that he thought he was going to school on a school bus (or 'cool' bus as he says) and to his great dismay, Mom and Dad drove him in the car. Damn. Oh well, he was still happy!!

Look at that smile! Love it!

Mr. Independent-I-Am-Going-To-Walk-In-Front-Of-You-'Cause-I-Am-Cool-And-Confident-And-Know-Where-I-Am-Going

We went in to his classroom and he went right over to the construction toys- he loves diggers, pushers, and haulers! When Foti and I were leaving, I leaned down to say goodbye and kiss him and guess what he said? "See ya!" Like, "Later, Mom. Whatever." What a stinker. Seriously, he had a great day- he played with new friends, read books, ate a nice lunch, napped a little and got to play outside. He is most excited that the playground has a basketball court and hoop sized just right for him. He said, "Mom, I played bak-et-ball with kids and I hooped it- two points!" Oh, and he also told on himself to me that he pushed another kid- we're working on that one. He was so tired- he was asleep by 8 pm- more than an hour and a half earlier than normal. Maybe he'll sleep past 6 am tomorrow... Wishful thinking!

Two Year Update

Matt had his 2 year check up and passed with flying colors! He is right on track with where he should be developmentally (plus he's extraordinarily cute!) He's 36 inches (75th percentile) and 28 pounds (50th percentile). Long and muscular our little man is! He's talking so much, more English than Greek, but he is learning both. A few things he's doing:



-Counting in both languages (although the numbers are never in order- "1,2,5,8- YAY!")

-Sitting and pretending he is reading a book by jibber jabbering

-Drinking out of a big boy cup without spilling (most of the time)

-Using 3 or 4 words together ("Daddy is in kitchen", "Mommy, I got you!", "Matt sleep in bed"

-Using his big boy potty three or four times a day, mostly number one, but every once in a while he does number 2

-Learning his colors

-Awesome coordination with throwing, kicking, jumping, swinging- anything active, preferably with a ball



Some of the funny words he uses:



Nilk=Milk

Nakes= Snake

Apow!= S'agapow ('I love you' in Greek)

Tars= Cars (his fave movie)

Matt-Afayos= Matthaios (Sorry we gave you that long name, dude)

Mo-Mu= Nemo (from his second fave movie)

Bah-et-ball=Basketball

Bite-a-meen= Vitamin



Oh, and he knows that Foti and I have names other than Mommy and Daddy (Thanks Grammy Paula!) All week, he has been calling me Mommy Jessi- too cute!

Potty Time!

"Hi Everyone, Matthaios here. Since I am such a big boy now, I decided on my own that it was time to pee in my little potty. I've had it for a week but wasn't so sure about it until today. Mom let me run around without my diaper and when it was time for me to go, I knew what to do! Mom clapped and cheered for me then called Dad at work to share my achievement! After that, Mom let me run around in my birthday suit until I pooped on the floor. Oh well, you gotta start somewhere."

Twinkle Toes

Here's my little man, or as my friend Billie calls him, "Twinkle Toes." The kid looks for any reason to dance, including his bedtime lullaby aquarium. What a wacko!

We have had another busy week as usual. Ok, that line is getting old, Who *isn't* busy these days?? Anyhoo, I got my promotion at work, *YAY*, but have had a cold all week so I haven't really felt like celebrating. YiaYia is coming tomorrow from Greece (duh, where else do YiaYia's come from?) and I have to speed clean my house, or as mi madre says, give it a "lick and a promise." Can't have YiaYia thinkin' that her son and grandson live in a pigstye!!! I am just gonna clean a little, 'cause within one week of her being here, everything will be torn apart and shiny! Woohoo!

The Mardars are coming over tomorrow to take their stinky nephew out for a few hours so I can get some work done. Thank God for them. We love us some Mardars. Oh, yeah and did I mention my friend Billie? She has been watching Matt for the last 6 weeks since we took him out of day care and has been awesome! She knew I was sick this week and not feeling my usual spunky self so one night she gave Matt a bath before I picked him up and tonight she made me dinner to take home and heat up. How incredible is that? In addtition to watching my munchkin torment her munchkin all week, she did all that great stuff for me! Love ya Billie!

Matt got two teeth this week, one I knew was coming in and another one, a MOLAR, I noticed when I was tickling him tonight. My baby is getting his molars! What the hell?!? He had a follow up appointment with the ENT this week and his ears looked great so no tubes for now!!

We are getting excited about next week as our dear friends Keith and Danielle are getting married! We'll be home in the 'burgh for a few days to visit everyone. Hope we have a little cool weather- I am getting tired of this heat. Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

Weekly Review

"Hey, Mom- whatcha think of my new kicks?"

Girls Night in!

Me and my girls- Karen, Martha and Michelle with our Mojitos.

Matt with his mad skills. The nursery is slowly transforming into a big kid room. What is going on here?!?

This past week has been another crazy one, so here ya go, the highlights in no particular order:

- Matt had another ear infection (do I sound like a broken record?) which I took him to the doctor for on Monday. On Friday, he had a high fever so back to the doctor we went and she said he has pneumonia. WTF??? More antibiotics and tons of diarrhea. I feel awful for my little guy, but he has been such a trooper. We took him out of the day care and now my friend Billie is watching him at her house until Yia Yia arrives next month.

- My Aunt Sheila and cousin Marchelle are here this week visiting from PA. Marchelle is looking at colleges in the area and they are both enjoying this (ugh) hot weather we've been having lately.

- I had an interview last week for a promotion at work which went very well. Hopefully in another week or two, I'll be movin' on up!

-My girls came over on Saturday for a "Passion Party" and we had a blast! If you ever get invited to one- don't pass it up- and please invite me!!

- Me and my main squeeze went on a hot date over the weekend for dinner and a movie. Foti knows how much I am in love with Matt Damon so he took me to see 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and I was in hea-ven!!! This is the best movie I have been to in such a long time!! Go check it out- the car chase and fight scenes are the most realistic I have ever seen. Oh, did I mention Matt Damon is hot?

-Matty got hix sixth tooth on Saturday- now he's even, 3 on top and three on the bottom.

I guess that's enough for one week. I am pooped and it's only Monday. Sigh.

Matt's First Fencing Lesson

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Yesterday, Matt was playing in the kitchen with a wooden spoon and spatula. Daddy came home and decided to show the little guy how to sword fight. Matty went crazy!! He was hitting so hard and smacked Foti in the knuckles a few times- ouch!

He got his 4th tooth today and he hasn't been biting like he was in Greece- thank goodness! Although, he got bit on the face this week at school by another little kid. No bleeding, just a bruised cheek and ego. Poor booboo!

He also had a recheck at the pediatrician today for his ears. He has had quite a few ear infections and she wanted to make sure they looked better from 6 weeks ago. He has fluid in both of his ears, but he is just getting over a cold so we have to go back in 4 more weeks for a recheck . We'll keep you posted!

Guess What I Did Yesterday!

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Guess What I Did Today?

"Hola- Matty cakes here, or as I am know here in Miami- Mateo- cause nobody can pronounce Mat-thay-os. Anyhoo, just wanted to brag a little about my latest accomplishment. Today at school I pulled myself to a complete and upright position holding onto a low bookcase- I was so proud of myself! Then, Mom came over at lunch time and I did it over and over again for her to see how big I am getting. She was very pleased with me! I am sure she is going to catch me doing it again so she can record it on her new camcorder, so stay tuned..."