Adventures In The Sand

After reading two of our favorite summer books, The Berenstain Bears Go On Vacation and Big Bird Can Share, two books of which feature picturesque sand castles, Matthew kept asking me to build a sandcastle with him. His day finally came when the swimming lakes finally opened for the season.

Or so I thought. Wearing bright green flip flops and a white cover up over my bathing suit, it wasn’t until after I locked my keys in the trunk that I discovered that the beach was closed. The car was unlocked but the trunk car button works anymore.

Ninety-nine percent of the time Bob works from home on Fridays. This was the one Friday that he went into the office for a few hours, most of which he spent driving forty minutes home and then back again thanks to his friends, Buzz and Jessie (Matthew has renamed the three of us to Toy Story characters. )

While waiting for Bob to arrive we at least had a scenic view. I took a few pictures and then we collected bottle caps for our sandcastle.

The second lake that we went to that morning was open. The beach had just been covered in brand new sand, which made me appreciate that the first one was closed.

The day turned out to be such fun that we decide to return again the very next day.

The Blue Caboose

“You got to work a child’s imagination because there’s nothing wrong with a little magic in your life when you can get it.”

Quote & Blog by: Kristi Falamino aka Grammy

I had the honor of watching Matthew this past Monday night because both Laurie and Bob had to work. We had so much fun together! I was excited for this adventure, but a little nervous too. It’s been 26 years since I took care of a 3-year-old!

I decided that it would be nice to go visit my mom after I picked him up from daycare. Now my daughter was a very quiet, studious little girl (and still is) and Bob is the same way. FYI – the apple can fall far from the tree. Matthew is a little chatter-bug that talked non-stop and though it was hard to try and decipher 3-year-old language, we had some very deep conversations (as deep as any 3-year-old can have). I discovered so many new things about my grandson that I didn’t know before.

I was very aware of his fascination of anything made with wheels, but did not realize that he has never ridden in a car with only two doors. I would hear this throughout the night – over and over and over again. I am quite sure he that he liked my car because he asked me what my car’s name was. I told him the name is Cooper. He said it should be Mr. Pooper instead. He laughed and laughed all the way down route 70. I didn’t help any by pretending to get mad every time he said Pooper.

I also found out that his dad did not like his own car and when I asked why, he said that it was because “it eats too much gas”. He told me that his favorite animals are tea-cups. OK, that’s what my ears heard, but what he was really saying was kitty-cats. I am thrilled with this news because I have three kitty-cats at home. He seemed to know all about my girls, right down to the colors of each one.

We visited Mame, my mother, who was tickled pink to see her great-grandson. Matthew was all smiles and laughed with delight when my 15-year-old niece, Laurel, played games with him on the floor. Mame cut him up a hotdog with fruit and Mac & Cheese on the side but he was too excited to eat. She is now telling everyone that she sees, even strangers, that her great-grandson came to visit and just walked in the door beaming with happiness.

The big event of the evening finally came when I loaded him back in to my car and drove him to my house. He wanted to visit the blue caboose that sits across the street from my house, next to the bike trail. I wanted to make his first official visit to my home and the caboose special so I bought him a Thomas train and put it in a bright red gift bag with MATTHEW written in big bold letters across the front. I snuck this onto the caboose so that when we were exploring he would come across it.

Unfortunately, the doors to get inside the caboose were locked. Matt kept looking at me and asking me to unlock the doors. He asked me to get the key for the doors and kept looking at my pockets to give me the hint. Then he put on his little man, the one he uses when he plays with his trains and shouted ALL ABOARD. Such a boy!!!! He was mystified when I found the bright red bag with his name on it and a train inside! I don’t think that his eyes could have gotten any larger.

After the caboose visit Matt of course wanted to play with his new train and asked me if I had batteries. I didn’t have the size needed so we drove to the store to get a package. We settled in and he spied my keys dangling from the ignition and said, “Grammy, there's the key for the caboose!”
When I tried to put the battery in to the train, I ended up unscrewing this and that, and taking the whole toy apart, only to find out that the top just snaps off and you slip the battery inside. My roommate Kevin, Uncle Kev, put it back together. Today we still joke about that.

Matthew met my cats but very briefly as they would run and hide whenever he tried to get close to them. For the rest of the evening, Kevin put on a Sponge Bob video and then played a video game with him on his PS3. It was a perfect ending to a perfect evening together.

Bulls In A China Shop

A couple weekends ago we had a play date at the park with our friends Tori, Josh, and Anna. Anna is one, but Josh and Matthew are only a few weeks apart in age. The two of them are as thick as thieves. Josh is the more outgoing, he’s the first to initiate a high five, to pull Matt away from my side and into in imaginary world of good guys vs. bad guys, and who once crammed his feet into Matt’s Buzz Lightyear sneakers and wore them a whole play date before anyone noticed.

When the play date began there was menacing dark clouds overhead. Even as it began to lightly sprinkle there were plenty of other parents and children enjoying themselves at the playground, so Tori, Anna, and I settled under the shelter of a large tree to keep us dry while we had a picnic lunch.

While Matt and Josh wouldn’t have minded playing in the rain all afternoon, the mamas decided that we should find something else to do. So we changed them into some dry clothes and took them to Claytime to make Father’s Day presents. Anna had fallen asleep in her stroller but to their credit Matthew and Josh sat very still while they painted, carefully selecting colors, and washing off their brushes in cups of water. We had tried to steer them in the direction of plates, cups, or toothbrush holders, but ultimately let the boys pick out their own gifts. Josh picked an alligator and Matthew chose a fire truck piggy bank. They were ready to paint more when they finished but we promised we could come back another day.

Matthew kept his fire truck present a secret from Bob until Father’s day. Of course Bob loved it and now the fire truck is proudly displayed in his basement room among his prized sports memorabilia.

Four Seasons

Last year I wrote a father’s day blog with fragments of emails that Bob has sent me over the year about Matthew. It was and still is the most visited blog on this site. This year I’ve compiled a list again to the tradition rolling. Happy Father’s Day Bob!

Summer 2009
After I stole his fruit leather from him, he was very angry. I made him a nice dinner but he picked up the plate and threw it on the ground and wouldn't eat anything.

When I asked him to brush his teeth he stuck his hand in the toilet (not toothbrush).

Oh I forgot, I also found him laying on his changing table so he can climb up there now too.

Do you think matt hates me?

He says "dada... dark outside" and points out the window. Then when you look he says "not dark outside!" and bursts out laughing.

For dinner he had grilled cheese and blueberries. And he had a bath to wash off the slug guts.

Matt looked longingly out the window and said "Cream truck, where are you?"

He acts like me playing video games, yelling at the screen when the game cheats and moving the controller around. He wouldn't share either for about 20 minutes.

NO BUNNIES.

When we got home the first thing matt wanted to do was see the bunny of course
so I let him give that thing a carrot that it didn't eat

Matt was sleeping very soundly still when I got to Julie's. I nudged him gently to wake him up but he just pulled the covers over his head and rolled over and went back to sleep.

We played a lot of games of him handing me something imaginary and I had to put it in my pocket. I assume it was money but it was a confusing game.

We went to get my oil change and matt brought trucks to play with. While they were working, he sang "ding dong ding dong I love you truck" to his trucks.

Matt is very concerned about the bunny outside during boom booms. After a boom boom he came in the room and said "dada, bunny ok? boom booms outside."

He also wanted to play with his cat in the hat doll ("cat hat") which seemed random. Did he just wake up and say "I haven't played with the cat in the hat for 6 months, he'll be my favorite today"?
He slept with cat hat.

When we were getting out of the car at home, Matt headbutted me so hard that my nose bled. I'm still seeing stars now three hours later. It wasn't on purpose, but I still yelled at him because a) it hurt and b) he needs to be more mindful of other people's space.

Fall 2009

I watched him closely to make sure he didn't choke or eat popcorn kernels. He loved it and kept calling it "acorns".

Yes, we said goodnight to Pepper! I know you were going to ask me!!!

At home, Matt helped me pick out some new photos for my desk at work. Every picture we looked at, he wanted to "go again". I guess that means he really enjoyed his summer! I did too!!!

Sorry there's not much more to this update, but all he really did was play with trains for 3 hours with a very short break for dinner and a bath.

At Julie's house, Matt laid on the ground pretending to have a boo-boo so he could trick her into two band aids, including a pink Hello Kitty one.

We read the Franklin blanket book which might as well be called Banana Who Book because B-Who does smell like rotten brussels sprouts.

We just chatted and I asked him if Santa Claus was going to bring presents under the tree and he said "No, Grandma coming soon with presents for Matthew". He also asked if we could take a plane to the moon.

My old excuse for not carrying him downstairs in the laundry basket was that my arm hurt, but now that always makes him go get the doctor's kit to fix me so I can carry him downstairs.

For dinner he had some of my penne. I didn't know I liked penne, or that Matt liked penne.

Winter 2009-2010
He was kind of boogery tonight so I gave him some medicine before bed then we laid on the couch for our nightly Christmas carols.

He got upset that I stood on the couch to put the curtains back up. "Dada, no standing on the couch! Get down!"

Matt was doing his Cookie Monster tonight . He took all the junk mail and pretended to eat it and crumpled it all up like a madman and then said he was Cookie Monster. Then he went and did it to his train tracks and was like "Yum yum yum I Cookie Monster... ... oh no what happened to my trains??? " I explained to him that Cookie Monster shouldn't eat train tracks.

After his bath, he asked to read "one big book" before bedtime

He told me to email the Grinch so he could watch it again

Matt's new thing is to say something was a long time. "Dada I was in the bath for a long time". "I played trains for a long time." "I eat dinner for a long time"

At bed time he told me "In the morning I climb out of bed, open all the windows, find mama, and play more trains

I got so many emails from you today. I don't even know where to begin. It’s all a bit overwhelming.

At dinner, he told me I couldn't eat "mama's lettuce" or use a "special bowl" (regular white one) but I did anyway.

Spring 2010

For dinner he wanted "hot dog sandwich" and crunchy munchy trees.

I’m going to have to start working part time just so I have enough free time to fix bobbleheads

I will now give you a play by play of the last five minutes
Matt: Dad? Daaaaaaad? cough cough gag blah aggggh
Dad: Are you ok bud?
Matt: I threw up blueberries (he did not throw up or even eat blueberries)
Dad: I don't see any blueberries
Matt: Oh... I'm reeeeaaaaaly sick (in sad voice)
Dad: I know, the medicine will help soon.
Matt: (notices box of Cheezits in my hand and suddenly is no longer using sick voice) What is that Dada? I have some? Pleaaaaasse?
(I gave him 1 cheezit then put him back to bed. 1 minute later, he came out into the kitchen)
Matt: Dad, what's that noise? Oh, you eatin the crackers? I have some? Milk please?

Right before he went to bed, he told me "Tomorrow morning when I see the sun, I am going to yell Mama, come play Chutes and Ladders"

He came out in the kitchen and found me
Matt: What is that?
Dad: Its medicine
Matt: Sniff. Sniff. That doesn't smell like grape. Its not medicine! Its ice cream!
And then he took a bite

He's back in bed. tucked in good "so no bugs get me".

He told me when he wakes up he is going downstairs, putting on his shoes, and yelling "mama let's play outside now

It’s a huge bump he put the ice on for 1/2 second "oh it feels better now. I guess I'll watch TV in your room for a little bit"

Matt told me Julie said a bad word today. The bad word was "trash can" I explained that is not a bad word.

He said “my poop is getting some lunch to eat at the restaurant in my bum but it will be here.”

Matt helped me fix the cabinet door but instead of tools, he got out his giant pad of paper and a marker and wanted to draw tools and screws. Then he walked into the kitchen with his construction hat, tool belt, and pad of paper.

Matt tricked me into a number of vanilla wafers tonight claiming he had a boo-boo on his knee and needed nilla wafers. After the first one, he said it didn't make it better and after the second "its still not better dad". Luckily the third one cured his knee injury.

He read his books to me and stopped after each page to turn it and show me the pictures like a good story teller.

I love you and Strawberry Shakes

Matthew also opened a store that sells drinks. The specials are “apple juice” (cold tea, grass blades, water) and “chocolate milk” (water, mulch, dirt). You may order with or without rose petals on top for an additional price. Luckily he accepts rocks as a method of payment.

One morning this week we played robots. Matthew made a costume of paper and aluminum foil, only asking for my help when it came time to put it together with ‘sticky tape’ (scotch tape).


On Friday I took Matthew to the farm to go strawberry picking. He pretended that he was a tractor while we walked up and down the paths before settling on a spot.


“I’m really hungry,” he told me, eyeing the box I had begun to fill with strawberries. He ate while he picked, and by the time we walked over to the playground area his hands and face were stained with strawberry juice.


A






“I’m a strawberry monster,” he declared when catching a glimpse at himself in the mirror over the sink where we washed our hands after.

At home we made up a batch of strawberry milkshakes. “I love you,” Matthew told me when I tucked him into bed at night, “and strawberry shakes.”

Destination Infinity

 Matthew settled downstairs with a construction Trio set and a Fireman Sam movie while I decidedly baked bread in the kitchen. “Are you okay down here?” I asked when checking in on him.
“Um. No."

“What’s wrong?” .

“There’s a monster in the closet,” he responds. Together we search the closet (no monster) and then I let him know that lunch is ready.



Aside from homemade bread I have fresh corn on the cob, fruit, and sandwiches on the table. “You make me so happy,” Matthew says to either me or the corn as he slides into his chair.

At some point this week Matthew has acquired Bells, my stuffed dog and secret keeper that I’ve had since I was six years old.

“His name is Jingles.” Matthew announces. “He has a lot of boo-boo’s." He is examining his patches and tears from over the years. “Let’s go Jingles!” Matthew “Space Ranger Rodak” (last week he corrected us to say his last name was Rodak-Batman) stuffs Bells aka Jingles into the back of his Buzz Lightyear big wheel. “To infinity and beyond!”
aking him squeal with laughter the same way that I used to. It is Bob who asks me to sing it again. So I do.