Boys, Boys, Boys; NO GIRLS ALLOWED

The boys and I had boy-time this week. We are missing the ladies but we had a blast!

10 things we did this week:
1. Day at the Library - Paws, Claws, Scales and Magic Tales
2. Trip to the General Store for Candy
3. Lots of book reading
4. Lots of writing (David wrote some amazing letters)
5. Trip to Dad's job
6. Horseback Riding for David (Pegasus riding for special kids)
7. Trip to Nana's house
8. Swimming
9. SuperPretzels!
10. Close out the week - Movies!

Missing My Daughter

Jaclyn is having a sleepover with the Chaluisan family this week. I've been thinking about her throughout my drive home and I miss her terribly already (she left merely 3 hours ago). Baby Abigail is joining her at only 8 months old. I love my daughters.

Check out one of my favorite photos of Jaclyn on her 4th birthday.

Autism Town

I recently came upon a virtual placed called Autism Town. I am interested in this for multiple reasons. First, I continue to try to understand how to interact with my son, David. Second, my technically curious nature has always drawn me to virtual reality. I have not checked out in detail secondlife.com yet; Autism Town has an striking resemblance to something I encountered a couple of years ago - the million dollar homepage.

It continues to amaze me how we (the virtual community) comes up with new ways to utilize technology. I am especially amazed at how this community supports each other - with comments on blogs or otherwise. I look forward to seeing what other technical advances are ahead for us, our world and our children.

Color of Love

Tonight after arriving home from work, I colored with Jaclyn.
We colored in a tiny coloring book. It brought back memories of how much fun it is & how much i love art. I enjoyed the mixtures of color, the creativity. I enjoyed being with my daughter.

I kissed her on the cheek and I said, "Jaclyn, you know what?".
She replied, "I know Dad, you love me!"

For Dads - this is precious time. I enjoy those small moments - especially during the week when I am away all day. Some days if I leave early and the kids go to be early, I dont see them. I am similar to other Dads out there whereas i dont like days like that.

I will savor these small moments whenever they arrive.

My Wife....she is da WO-Man

JP has a favorite shirt that says "My Dad is the Man!". He likes to feed my ego.

That being said, my wife is the WO-MAN! She always encourages, pushes, supports and is a driver of my fatherhood. By pure nature - I am not a father without her and this blog don't exist.

This past week I have appreciated her even more than usual. In a weird twist of fate (thank you Jesus), the negative stuff we experienced became a blessing of spending much time together. Time spent talking, listening, crying, laughing and time spent re-energizing and pushing life forward.

Thank you - to my wife. Thank you to the mother behind Fatherhood Matters.

JohnnyO Goes to Washington

Going to DC on business. Taking the train. I don't like leaving my kids. I don't like being away from them. I can't explain it, but it it is an uncomfortable feeling leaving them - I will truly miss them. Does anyone else go through this?

I told the kids this morning I was going on a trip.
Jaclyn said, "Are you going to see the President?"
David said, "You are going to BE the President?"

Before I left, Jaclyn made me lunch. She said it was important that I have food for my bus ride and for my "field trip". She really showed me love today and I needed it.

Deja Vu - All Over Again

My day began with a game we created called, "Peas in the Pod". We place ourselves under the bed covers & pretend we are peas inside the pod. Our names are: Paul Pea (me), Patrick Pea (JP), Penelope Pea (Jaclyn), & Johnny Pea (David). This morning JP & I played this game & sang songs (his current playlist is: Spiderman, Bob The Builder and The Wheels on the Bus).

My day ended with Jaclyn telling me she loved me because I am handsome, David telling me he loved me because of my "cool red car", and JP singing to me. Oh yeah, JP sang the same songs as this morning (except this time he sang on his "stage" - in front of the fireplace)

I will take that start & end of a day.......every day.

JP: The boy, the myth, the legend

I love JP. In fact, there is lots to like and love about him. He is lovable, cute, friendly, sensitive, athletic and quite simply a joy to be around.

To the right is a shameless promotional photo of my son playing with dirt.

Pootatuck Duck Race

Saturday, we attended the Pootatuck Duck Race. I purchased raffle tickets for 4 plastic ducks (each of my children) that would compete in this race down the river. What a blast! We played (well, the kids played) in a bouncy balloon, petted llamas, ate duck cookies and then we played in the Pootatuck River prior to the ducks being launched.

Playing in the River was new to me. Trying to overcome my nervousness in the water (will they fall on the rocks? Will a fish bite them?) but allowing them to just experience nature. But I believe they enjoyed this time & they will never forget it. (Shameless promotion: Look for photos and hopefully video posted here soon)

Oh yeah - we lost the duck race.