Keep Moving Forward

Our family went to see Meet the Robinsons at Edmond Town Hall. I enjoy old cinemas not just because of the price ($2 per ticket is wonderful for families), but because of the history and it is typically a chance to really enjoy a show without the craziness of a multiplex (DOWN IN FRONT!)

The movie reinforced 2 things for me:
1. This weekend was about family & almost turned out not to be. A friend, Victor Batsu, invited me to play golf this weekend. I was very tempted to play but desired to be with my family (see previous post on Struggles of a Modern Day Dad). I declined golf. I gained family. 2 bike riding trips to the lake with JP. Lots of reading with Jaclyn, Lots of baby giggles with Abigail. Lots of playtime with David (saturday morning at the tire shop)

2. I must keep moving forward. I learn more from failure than success. Keep pressing on, surrender life to God and keep moving forward. Something to think about.

When did Al Gore become cool?

I have never been much for focusing on "being green" outside of buying Energy Star appliances and installing new windows in my home. Jaclyn has been focusing on recycling and has been instrumental in changing my thought process.

Today I watched Live Earth festivities and found it not only musical, but refreshing, focused, inspirational and organized and presented by committed people.

I have pledged and look forward to changing the world (in some small and fun way) with and for my children.

Struggles of a Modern Day Dad

I am struggling with the demands of work and fatherhood. I would not say it is a negative struggle. I positively struggle with the demands of my career or my personal life (lets say golf) and wanting to achieve that.

SHAMELESS PLUG: I will soon post "101 things to do before I die" list.

But I also find great joy in being with my kids. I enjoy riding our bikes to the lake. I enjoy playing soccer, baseball and basketball with them. I even enjoy taking them on errands with me or cooking for them.

I also sense that may be more expected of a modern Dad. He is expected to be at the basketball games, boy scout and girl scout activities as well as perform at work.

I wonder if other Dads experience this as well? I wonder if women (Moms) experience this or do they feel different pressures?

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.

David & The K-Kids

Emotional! Emotional is the best way I have to explain how I felt at David's Kindergarten performance (The K-Kids). It's been a long road. Watching him sing, recite poems, put on sunglasses and dance (we have to work on his hip movement & rhythm) helped me realize my dreams come true. He is interacting with a standard Kindergarten class. He was even a minnow in a little skit (ask him about it sometime).

The bad news. He has a long way to go. He is clearly "a little off" when it comes to social interaction. So we rejoice in the good (lots of noise, sounds, people and David survived). We are cautiously optimistic as we battle to improve the bad.

Shout out to Nana who attended the performance. We have video of the event we plan to watch with some popcorn!

Happy Birthday to my Girl

Today is Jaclyn's 7th Birthday party (May 18 is her official Birthday). It is a bit surreal how she has grown up before my eyes. The last couple of days have been stressful to say the least - no power since Wednesday, 1 night in a hotel room. This equals lots of fun for the kids BUT lots of stress for the parents. Well okay, a little fun for Dad.

Today is a bowling party with only girls allowed (except her Daddy). The boys, not invited. I am sure David and JP will have their revenge one day.

Happy Birthday Jackie O!

Man Of Character

We attended a charity dinner for Hopeline Pregnancy Center on Thursday night. The guest speaker was Ryan Dobson. This is the first I learned of him, although I've listened to his father, James Dobson.

Ryan used the term "Man of Character". That term touched me. I am searching & struggling to become this type of man in all aspects of my life. I am particularly trying to become a "father of character". Maybe achieving this is a lifetime journey? Maybe it is unattainable? Maybe I am not trying hard enough?

What A Weekend!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday was absolutely gorgeous weather here in Newtown, CT. The kids & I spent most (if not all) of our days outside. We worked (built patio furniture) and played soccer, tag, basketball, bike riding, running, exploring.

On Saturday we attend Andrew Vincent Caparelli's 1st Birthday party. What a lot of fun for the whole family. Jaclyn said, "Dad, this is the best day of my life!"

On Sunday, the Hoffman & Soloman families visited our home. We had our first BBQ. Again, what a blast for the kids as the day ended with ice cream sandwiches!

I am finding more & more joy in the little moments of life with the family. I enjoyed spending so much time with them this weekend.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

On Saturday, David said to me - "Dad, can you & I have boy time?" I was touched & honored, I happily said "of course". Jaclyn & JP were most gracious as they allowed this time for me & David.

I asked David, "What do you want to do?" He said, "I want to put the lower case alphabet letters in the coconut tree". This is in reference to a children's book - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Disheartening for me. I wanted to wrestle, play football, or have a catch. We set the metal easel along with the magnetic letters. One by one we placed each letter on the board in alphabetical order, removed the vowels, organized by color and then went through the book - WORD BY WORD. David memorized the book.

This is disheartening because the letters are a source of repetition - a calming mechanism for David. After we completed the story, David wanted to do it again. I told him that this was enough focus on the letters. He looked at me & said, "Dad, I love you. Can we have boy time again soon?" I proudly told him we would (heart melting)

David - I look forward to boy time & ya know what - we can do whatever YOU want!

Enjoying (not sweating) the Small Stuff

I learned from my children this week that the small & simple things matter. I learned that spending time with them - just playing - they find great joy in that.

5 small wonderful things from this past week:
- We made homemade pizza together (me, JP, David, & Jaclyn)
- We played Robots (kids are robots and wind them up)
- Jaclyn made her 1st basketball shot (no help) on Saturday, April 7
- Abigail turned over for the first time on Sunday, April 8
- We made a chocolate cake for Easter (Jaclyn licked the bowl)

I am going to make a dedicated effort to enjoying those moments - these small moments where joy is found.

A Father Getting Right with God

I attended Morning Prayer this week in preparation for Easter. Lesson learned - get right with God. Most importantly, getting right with God sets the tone for the rest of your day, interactions, work, relationships, family & fatherhood. I am not perfect but trying.

I carry this lesson with my children. I continually have to step back and re-learn that they are not perfect, they are trying. In doing so - they want to be closer with me & I with them.

Lovable times today with David and J.P. We wrestled, played with dinosaurs, played with baby emperor penguin. Boy time at its best.

Newtown Science Fair

Yesterday was a Science Fair at Newtown High School. I attended sessions with David while Rachel attended Sessions with Jaclyn. The first session we attended was about Eggs! David learned that eggs are Ellyptical (ask him that next time you see him). The second session was about Fire Safety. Their was a stop, drop & roll presentation from the firefighters as well as seeing all the equipment. It was quite a blast for me to see David in a school environment.

Our day continued with David & I attending David's Birthday at Funstation, USA! Again, it was a blast for me to see David interact with his peers.

5 Things I Learned about David on Saturday:
1. He raises his hand when the teacher asks "Does anyone know..."
2. He is more cooperative in class than I expected
3. David's classmates all greet him with excitement!
4. I think he has friends from school (at least that is my observation)
5. David is silly, funny, very cute & has a contagious smile