The Dinner Party

Yesterday, when we went to the doctor we determined that Matias should start eating solids. He has been giving three signs to indicate this. First, the past couple of nights he has been getting up at around 3 AM hungry. He used to last more than this sleeping. He could normally do about 6 hours straight from 11 to 5. Second, he is eating a lot, a baby his age eats about 32 oz a day, he is up to something between 36 and 40 oz. Finally, whenever I have been eating in front of him, he just stares at my food begging like a puppy.

We bought some cereal powder that you mix with the baby formula to make a liquid that has the consistency of an oatmeal bowl. We waited until dinner time and he was very hungry. He was crying when I sat him in his chair, but as soon as that spoon came close to his mouth he knew exactly what to do. He really enjoyed it and would get upset if Alegna took longer than she should giving him the next bite. We started small and just gave him 2 oz of cereal to see how he handles it today. After that he drank the rest of his bottle and went placidly to sleep.

The plan is to give him this cereal for the next few days and then we can start giving him more interesting foods like vegetables and fruits. We are supposed to start with vegetables first because if you give him fruits first, he will not enjoy the less delicious vegetables. I remember how exciting it was with Lucas whenever we were giving him something new. We would laugh at his faces. It's going to be fun. We can make videos of him trying a lemon. Lucas really wants him to try mangoes.

What did I watch?
The Parent Trap: The original, not the Lindsay Lohan one. It was enjoyable but I could not get past the most glaring plot hole. Imagine hating someone so much that you decide to divorce him and send him away to the other side of the country with one of your children and not even try to see them again in 14 years. There is no way there is the slightest chance of these people getting back together, I would even question a cordial relationship between them.

The Betrayal

Today it was Matias 4 month visit to the doctor. The pediatrician we go to is right across the street from Lucas's daycare, so my plan was to go straight after dropping him off. The problem was that the appointment was at 10:30 AM and, as I have mentioned before, Lucas likes to come into daycare early now so he will have time to play inside. I decided that I would pack up some formula and a bottle for Matias and just get to the doctor early and hang out for about an hour in the lobby, maybe catch some Pokemon in the process.

We have been practicing in the morning to when I will actually have to rush to leave early, so I can get to work on time. We are developing a routine where I try to delegate as many tasks as I can on Lucas so I can work in parallel getting Matias ready. What this means is that sometimes I have to take my eyes off Lucas for some seconds. This morning I gave Lucas his clothes and asked him to get ready and went to Matias's room to pick his clothes and get him back to Lucas's room to dress him. When I came back to his room, Lucas had decided that he wanted to wear perfume to school today and had opened a baby cologne that was on one his drawers and poured it completely on his bed. He looked at me and said "it's OK, I'll clean it up" and came back from the bathroom with one baby wipe. I took the sheets of his bed, put them in the washer and turned it on. I got both of them dressed and left for the daycare and doctor.

I dropped Lucas off, saw the time and used a little bit more of it by pumping some gas on my car. Then I went to the doctor with my expectation of a long wait. Matias was getting hungry so things were lining up as planed. I got there and tell the receptionist that I am very early for an appointment and she replied "Yes you are!". I tell her I don't mind waiting and prepare the bottle and start feeding Matias. Five minutes later a nurse called his name. Apparently the 9:30 AM appointment was late and the doctor was free.

Matias was examined and everything looked great, he had eaten half a bottle so he was pretty happy with his full stomach. But then, the time I was dreading came, vaccine time. The nurse asked me to hold his arms while he got his two shots. He was so happy and had no idea what was coming. As soon as he feels the pain he looked at me like asking "What just happened?" and with a big pout started to cry. Luckily, I had been saving half his bottle for this moment and put it on his mouth. He stops crying and starts eating but he steel gives me this look that said "You betrayed me!"

What did I watch?
They Were Expendable: I didn't know anything about PT boats in WWII. Pretty interesting stpry with some nice war sequences. This was supposed to be some sort of morale booster propaganda film but it was actually released shortly after Japan had surrendered. I have trouble believing any character played by John Wayne that is not a cowboy.

The Face Painter

Matias had a rough night, he kept tossing and turning and making noises that would wake us up and make us check on him. Finally at around 4 AM, after I had been trying to get him to sleep for about an hour, Alegna took him and placed him on the bed next to her. He was finally asleep. I got to sleep for about 3 hours until I could hear Lucas calling me from him bed. Dad I have to pee! I tell him sure go ahead and since it is more than 7 AM he gets to watch some videos.

Yesterday we got to the daycare really late and Lucas's classroom was already playing outside when we got there. For some reason Lucas did not like that and he was insisting that today his friends needed to be inside when he got there. So we rushed through our morning routine so he could get there early. In our rush I forgot his lunch box and only when I parked my car in the daycare did I realize it. So I left him in his classroom, no crying this time, and I promised him that I would be back with his lunchbox. I drove home and then went back with the lunch box. I found him building some Legos on a table and when he saw me he was very excited. He ran towards me and I think I got the best hug he has ever given me. He was happy to see me and thanked me for his lunchbox.

After this I went to the supermarket with Matias. I realized I was pushing it time wise with his next meal but there was no bread or cheese at home. Those are the only two items that must never run out. I quickly go through all the groceries we need and by the time we are paying I can already see Matias starting to get restless. I rush home and feed him. He falls asleep so I prepare my lunch and then anxiously await for the event of the day. The UEFA Champions League playoff game between Nice and my favorite team Napoli.

 It is a very important game because the winner qualifies to the Champions League and gets a paycheck of about $40 million. The game was great, Napoli played beautifully and won 2-0. Matias was paying attention to the whole game. He was sitting in his swing smiling and staring at the TV. I guess he really liked the colors. He laughed when I celebrated the goals. This is a great start to a season that for the first time in a while has Napoli as a serious contender for the league title. Not since the Maradona days in the late 1980s did Napoli look this good. I hope they spend those $40 million wisely and plug the missing ingredients that can get us to that next level. Forza Napoli! 

What did I watch?
My favorite team qualify to the Champions League!

The Airport

I survived. It was tough travelling with a 3 year old and a 4 month old alone on an airplane, but I made it. The day started early, I wanted to make sure I had everything prepared. My mother helped me figure out everything I would need. I had diapers, baby wipes, three bottles and enough water and formula to fill them up. I went to the airport with both my parents. They were sad to see their grandchildren go. Their house would be quiet again. I had checked in at home and already had our boarding passes but I still had to drop my bag and Lucas's car seat. The line was longer than I expected and it took a while to drop them.

We walked to security. It had a long line too. We said our goodbyes to my parents. My mom helped me strap the baby carrier to my chest and we set up Matias there. I held Lucas's hand and off we went. I was expecting the TSA agent to have pity on my helplessness and send me on some sort of priority line but she did not. I had to go through the long line. I looked at the clock and my plane will start boarding in 30 minutes. There's no way I'm going to make it in time with that line. Fortunately my mother was already talking to another agent and they came to pick me up and send me through the pre-check line. I empty my pockets and place my laptop on a bin but when I knelt to take off my shoes I bumped the bin into Matias's head. This was the first of three bumps he would receive that day.

It takes a really long time to go through security. I am carrying Matias so they have to make extra screenings on me. Also, they need to check the water on the baby bottles. I can hear the speakers announcing that my plane would start boarding. I say this to the agent, but it makes no difference on how patiently he is doing his job. Lucas understands what I just said and starts to freak out saying that the plane is going to leave us. We are finally done and I walk fast with Lucas on one arm. I calm him down telling him we are going to make it and we do.

We sit down on our seats. Lucas is excited and I'm already exhausted. As I calculated Matias starts to get hungry right before take-off. Perfect timing, he will be sucking and the pressure will not bug him on his ears. I start to make his bottle and kneel down to get the formula. Bump number 2 against the arm rest. He cries a little but calms down while he feeds. Lucas is restless and wants to start watching TV on the plane entertainment system. I explain that it will start working when we take off. We take off, but the system is not working. My whole trip depends on Lucas being entertained with cartoons and the system is not starting. They announce that they are having some issues with it and it will start in about 20 minutes. Lucas asked me every second of those 20 minutes when the TV would come on. It is finally on and Matias is asleep. I can finally relax for a few minutes.

Matias wakes up after a while and I can smell some bad news. I had no idea what I was going to do if I had to go change Matias's diaper and now it just happened. I turn around and tell Lucas that I have to go change Matias's diaper, I ask him if he wants to come with me or if he's ok watching TV by himself for a bit. He tells me he'll stay so I trust him. I get up and bump Matias's head against the ceiling, poor baby, it must be hard to have such a clumsy father. I rush to the bathroom, I'm afraid Lucas might change his mind and start asking for me while I'm at the restroom. I get in and it is tight. I quickly realize I forgot the change pad. So I improvise and cover the table with paper towels. I change his diaper as fast as I can and get back to my seat. Lucas was relaxed as if I had never left. I thought the worst was probably over.

The rest of the flight was ok except when Matias pooped again. I had to go through the whole process one more time but this time without bumping his head or forgetting the change pad. We land and stay on the plane until everyone is off. We are the last to leave the plane and Alegna is waiting for us. I'm so glad to see her. All my energy was drained, I think it was just the tension of being in constant alertness. I just wanted to pass out on a bed until the next day. But Alegna has a bachelorette party she needs to go to. I have to take care of them for a few more hours. At about 8 PM I came the closest I have been since I started this blog to give up. I called Alegna in despair but she could not hear her phone. I had to do this by myself. BY 9 PM when I got her call back I had finally put them both to sleep. She found me passed out on the couch a couple of hours later.

Today was Lucas first day at daycare in 2 weeks. I knew the drop off would be hard. But it was harder than I predicted. He started crying as soon as we walked in. We had come in late so his classroom was already playing outside. I took him to the playground and he was losing it. He was still crying when I left and was waiting for me hugging the fence crying with a very sad face. I talked to him through the fence to try to calm him down. When I said I was finally going to leave he just laid down on the floor in resignation. It broke my heart. The teacher told me that as soon as I left he started playing with the other kids. I hope tomorrow is better.

What did I watch?
Strange Brew: I finally have my DVR back and saw this 80s comedy that has not aged very well. By the end of the movie I did want to call everyone a Hoser, Eh!

The Alternate Side

This week was fun. I came home and did not have to worry about dinner or lunch. I didn’t have to pack anyone’s lunch bag for school. I crafted and left a mess without worrying Lucas might come to my desk to play with my beads or pliers.

I came home and had all the time in the world to binge watch Parenthood, Velvet and Big Little Lies. I even had time to try a new hobby! I came home and there were weeds everywhere so I thought perhaps gardening was my thing and I just didn’t know it… my dreams and hopes of being the next Martha Stewart of gardening faded away when the first worm crawled from the earth. YUCK!

All in all it was a good week. However, coming to an empty house was rough, not having anything to do was strange, having so much free time on my hands was weird.

The highlight of my week was Saturday at 2 pm when I went to the airport to greet Armando, Lucas and Matias. I made Lucas a goody bag with some fish crackers, Welch’s gummies, Pocky sticks, PJ Mask stickers and a Welcome balloon. I was so happy to finally have my boys at home.

The Beard

We have a barber on site where I work and there is where I usually get my haircuts and shaves. So I had not cut my hair or shaved since I started this blog. My mom used to be my barber when I lived in Venezuela, so for old times sake we decided to try it again. Also because I probably looked like Hagrid. We had been trying since I got here, but always something new came up and we would have to re plan. Finally today we were able to do it. Lucas wanted in on it too, so I let him shave part of my face with a hair clipper. It did not last long, as soon as some hairs fell on his hand he decided it wasn't as fun as it looked.

More importantly for this blog we had Matias go into the swimming pool for the first time. He can't wear sunscreen yet, so we waited until about 6 PM and got him an umbrella. We had a floatie that was in the shape of a frog and sat him there with the umbrella. He really enjoyed it, he kept moving his feet underwater and tried to bite on the floatie. He also motivated Lucas to get into the pool. Lucas kept trying to show him how he was supposed to move his feet to swim. We made some videos so mom would not miss it.

This is my last day in Florida. It has been really fun and relaxing. I got to see a lot of family that I do not see often. Lucas had a blast playing with everyone and being the center of attention. Matias was treated like royalty, people would get into fights to feed him, change his diaper or put him to sleep. Tomorrow I will get back to reality. Next week it will only be me and Matias again. I'll have to get used to our routine again and being in charge of everything. I also have to catch up with my DVR. I am a little nervous about the airplane trip tomorrow with both of them by myself. You will read about it Monday.

The Race

Today we went to the Gulfstream racetrack. We wanted Lucas to see the horses and do something different. After lunch, we got to the track and since we told him about horse racing he got obsessed with the number 10. He kept saying that the horse with number 10 was the best horse and he was going to win. We walked to some sort of "on deck circle" where the horses were being walked around and the jockey for the  number 10 horse said hello to Lucas and gave him a thumbs up. We followed them into the track and picked some random seats, Lucas sat on the one with the number 10 of course. I thought a little bit on whether I should take heed of all these signs and bet on number 10, the odds were not very good, but before I could make up my mind the race started.

It was a very good race, a three way competition that ended with the race favorite as the winner, number 8. Where was number 10? Dead last. As we say in Venezuela he came in behind the ambulance. I saved some money by not making the bet. Lucas was sad, he was really rooting for number 10 and its performance was very disappointing. I had to make up a story that it had twisted its ankle and that's why it could not run as fast. Lucas really wanted to see another race, but it was about 98 degrees and the next race would not start in about half an hour. We convinced him to go bowling instead.

Bowling was fun, we played on a mini lane with guardrails that made the game more enjoyable for a 3 year old. Honestly it was more enjoyable for a terrible bowler like me too. My score was incredible! I beat Lucas and celebrated. The Vinciguerra way is not to let your kids beat you at anything. We are very competitive. I did congratulate him for his effort and told him that if he kept practicing he could beat me one day. He took it as a challenge and was not bummed out. We then went to play some arcade games. There was a Mario Kart game that we really wanted to play. I left him seating on it while I was buying some tokens a couple of steps away. I heard a loud bump and turned around to see him on the floor crying. He fell down from the car seat and now had a big bump in his forehead. I went to get some ice and consoled him. When he calmed down we played the Mario Kart game and then I won a rubber duck for him in one of those claw games.

It was a fun day, a little bit accidental but I think Lucas had a blast. Matias was Matias and smiled throughout the whole day.

I would also like to recommend you all to follow my cousin in Youtube. She is working on some very funny videos. I personally recommend the life hacks and the venezuelan word quiz ones. You can click here to watch them all. They are in Spanish.