Thursday, January 31, 2008

Johnny Cash's #1 Fan!


In the Fall, I decided that I needed some new tunes to listen to in the new car. I purchased John Mellencamp's newest CD and Johnny Cash's box set. Each morning I would tell Tyler who we were listening to that day. After awhile, he started requesting Johnny. For months now, we have listened to Johnny Cash in the morning! The problem is, is that he gets stuck on certain songs-- "play the fire song, mommy", "I want to hear Hey Porter, mommy" and so on.


In January, Tyler began to give up problems going to bed at night. One night, out of pure desperation and frustration, we asked Tyler if he wanted to listen to Johnny to help him fall asleep. He said yes. For weeks now, he has listened to disk one faithfully every night. All we can pray for is that he is not going to be scarred by the lyrics-- all about fighting, drinking, and shooting! Hopefully he comes to appreciate Johnny Cash for who he really is, a musical icon.


Now every morning on the way to school we have to listen to disk two. At first he did not care for it (what child likes change?). However, a quick educational lesson about who that "girl" was in the songs has changed his mind. He now loves June, the wife of Johnny, and requests Jackson every morning, followed by Folsom Prison, where "he sings about jail."


Tonight, after his bath, Tyler requested Jackson on Youtube. I have attached the clip he loves listening to. When we went downstairs he said he wanted to play the guitar for me like Johnny does with June. My son, 3 years old, doesn't request Barney, Elmo, or anything else age related, but requests Johnny Cash! Gotta love it!

Monday, January 28, 2008

It's a Little Warm Around Here....

Driving home from Rainforest Cafe Sunday.....
.... and watching Dora and Diego in his jammies on Monday.


What a bummer-- Tyler is sick. He broke out in a 103 degree fever yesterday afternoon, slept on and off all night and this morning it is down to 101... Needless to say, mommy was quick to call in and take a day off to nurse her little guy back to health! We have watched endless cartoons, slept, and tried to eat and drink an assortment of whatever he will have.
The ironic part about this illness is that it come on a non-hockey weekend in the winter. The last time we had one of these (where daddy's team does not have a game) was the year I found out I was pregnant. Knowing that they come every 4 years or so, we planned a great family day yesterday. We were going to drive down to West Hartford, have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, and then go to the Children's Museum. Needless to say, we only got through lunch. We will try and do it again in a few weeks, but even Tyler didn't fight the fact that we decided to come home right after lunch- he was pure mush by then. Instead of posting our great adventures at the museum, you gets pictures of my pitiful son, instead. We were all vey bummed, but made alternate plans.
In order to make the day look appetizing to a sick 3 year old, we decided instead to go rent movies-- his request? Monsters Inc. I could not believe it when I saw that Blockbuster was OUT! What other parent would have the mind to want to rent this movie on the same weekend that my poor, sick child wants it? After gathering my wits and scouring the entire store to quadruple check that it was not there, I discovered it on a table, for $22.... How could I pass this up? My son is sick for goodness sake and if this is what he wants, this is what he gets!
One thing I have discovered being a mother is that there is never a definitive answer to what the question is. Tyler was FINE on Sunday morning-- no temp, no cough, no runny nose, NOTHING! Frank and I saw the thermometer and immediately thought of a few other times when he ran high temps-- at 4 months old when he had RSV and we made a trip to the ER, and then again at 16 months when he came down with the flu and it was back to the ER we go. He is a trooper, though. He has been through surgery, has had IV, he has had his swallowing study, 5ths disease, enemas..... I could go on and on. The bottom line is that we have made it through all of those and we will make it through a little temp this week!

Monday, January 21, 2008

A Boys Best Friend

Ever since Tyler was about 15 months old and could really move on his own, he discovered the joy of having a pet. It used to be that he would crawl up to the cat (Puck)and she would run off, usually jumping over a baby gate to get away from him. However, as he has grown, he has gotten a lot smarter about how he interacts with Puck. He now "plays" with her (note the green martian in front of the cat on the couch). This weekend, he asked to give "Baby Kitty Puck-Puck" (as he calls her) some treats. He sat on the floor in the kitchen and watched as she ate them up. At night, he seeks her out to give her a kiss-- such a sweet sight to see! Last weekend, cat hunting was a sport in the Genovese household. Tyler and his friend Olivia went searching over three floors to find the cat. Us adults didn't mind, the kids were entertained. So in a way, not only has she turned out to be a great playmate, but also a wonderful babysitter!

The Fat Lady Has Sung......

Wearing out Sunday best!
Boy, it sure looks cold there!
"I think Brett is going to win the game for the Packers!"



As the saying goes, it isn't over until the fat lady sings..... She sang LOUD AND CLEAR last night! We watched in horror and shock as the Patriots won their game and then the Packers LOST theirs. Needless to say, this household has been in a deep state of mourning all day today. We had a great time as a family watching the game and cheering on the green and gold-- that is until overtime. Those of us who were still awake were very sad and quite upset that SuperBowl weekend will bring the one thing we have come to dislike the most-- a Patriots game! The real connundrum is who do we root for? The Patriots (who we can't stand), or the Giants (who beat my beloved Packers)??????

Saturday, January 12, 2008

101 Uses for the Liquor Cabinet.....



Ever since we moved into this house, Tyler has found more and more uses for our liquor cabinet. It is nothing fancy, just one of our cupboards in the kitchen. When he is playing hockey in the kitchen, it become his penalty box, when he is done with the game it is the locker room (I have opened it up to find his hockey sticks in there). Tonight it turned into the Power Ranger hideout. I thank goodness that he has a great imagination and hope it never goes to waste!

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Happy Birthday Daddy!



Today is daddy's birthday. I am not going to tell you how old he is today, but I will tell you that he was born 38 years ago today at 6:06PM! I love my daddy very much. He is a lot of fun to play with, he is very smart, and he teaches me good things. I hope that some day when I grow up I will be just like him. I hope he has a great year and good things happen to him in his 38th year! I love you, daddy!
PS-- Mommy helped me write this and she says "ditto".

Thursday, January 3, 2008

A Trip in the Time Machine....

Tonight my Grandpa Perry sent my mommy this song from Youtube. My mommy listened to it and she said that she remembered this song from when she was a kid. She said that it was on Sesame Street, but I don't remember the kids on Sesame Street looking or dressing that way when I watch it! I also don't see Elmo there, but I will take her word for it! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P32Tnok65cI

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

No More Dirty Diaper Blues!



This is a photo of me that was taken when I was about 2 months old. My mommy and daddy took me to Indiana for Thanksgiving and I got to go and see Santa Claus. I can't believe I was this tiny! My mommy thought that we should share this picture because I am getting to be a big boy! Tonight I pooped on the potty for the VERY FIRST TIME! I have been scared to go poopy on the potty becuase I thought that I would fall in. But my mommy sat next to me and we took out time. She was right, only mo poopy went into the potty! My mommy and daddy were so excited, they said that they were proud of me and that I have grown up so much! We all danced around the kitchen! They said that now I can go out and do special things that I couldn't do when I was this small! I am so excited, too!

Happy New Year!

This weekend we went to New York to visit with my Grandma and Papa and Aunt 'Rette, Uncle Jim, Conor, and Skylar. I got to open more Christmas presents and celebrate New Years. I got a golf club set, an air hockey game, and a Cars mitten set! We had a great time. On Sunday, we all took Grandma and Papa out to dinner for their Anniversary. I ate fried calamari, salad, and pasta with meatballs. Then we got ice cream because I ate so good!
On Monday, us kids ran and ran and ran and ran and ran. It was so much fun! My cousin Conor got a lot of WWE guys from Santa and he showed me how to wrestle. I also made sure that I played with Skylar and her new dolls. Their friends came over later in the day to have a party with Aunt 'Rette, Uncle Jim, and mommy and daddy and they were also a lot of fun!
On the way home yesterday mommy and I took a really long nap. When I woke up, we were almost home and there was lots of new snow on the ground! Yay!
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
I love the fish tank. Skylar and I had a great time looking at the fish and talking.
Here are Conor, Skylar, Papa, and I at the restaurant. We were waiting for everyone to finish with their dinner so we could go and get ice cream. I got cookies and cream with M&M's!
This is what mommy and daddy were doing after us kids went to bed.....
Happy New Year Aunt 'Rette and Uncle Jim!
The next morning even us kids were tired. We spent a lot of time watching the train under the tree while all of our mommy's and daddy's rested. I guess they didn't go to bed early the night before!

Go IU, Fight, Fight, Fight!

Mommy and I made sure we packed our IU gear to wear on New Years Eve (thanks, Heather for the shirt!). Here we are waiting for the game to start. After awhile, mommy was kind of quiet and didn't have much to say. She said that I could probably take my shirt off and put on my jammies. She said the shirt would be better of being worn next year!