oh, hello blog

Wow, it's been two weeks since I've posted. Time sure does fly. My hectic work schedule is my excuse, of course. It's true too. The work load has been insane. Meanwhile, it seems that life just keeps zooming by at the speed of light. I can't frickin' believe it's September already. Christmas is just around the corner. Even more surprising is that The Deuce turns one in November and it'll be here in a flash. I wish things would just slow down a bit. Perhaps a relaxing, slow-paced vacation is in order. But enough about that.

So what's going on in the iVegasFamily house? Well, Z-Dub is in school and is seems to be doing well. He fights me every morning when I drop him off, but embraces the whole thing once I leave. He's learning a lot, like the calendar, how to write, Spanish, etc. We bought him a dry-erase activity book that he works on at home as well. Our goal in the coming weeks is to get him writing his name without assistance. He's well on his way, although he still says his name is spelled "Eueeuue." I don't know where his obsession with "e" and "u" originated. It's a little peculiar.

As for The Deuce, he's now pointing and trying to talk and walk. He's a rambunctious little dude with a hot temper as well. I have a feeling he's going to be a handful when he becomes mobile. He and Z-Dub have been playing well together though. It's amazing to watch their interactions.

As for HotMomma, well tomorrow's her birthday. She's turning 29. We'll be celebrating this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.

That's a quick and dirty update. I'll leave you with a video of Z-Dub playing Wii Bowling for the very first time. He actually did very well for a newbie. He bowled a 74.

it's mr. jackson to you

He doesn't even know who the deceased King of Pop is, but Z-Dub's heard the name so much over the past several months, this doesn't really surprise me.

Seriously, note to media, talking about him every day for months will not bring him back.

But I digress. Back to the point of this post, Z-Dub was introduced to HotMomma's sister's husband's brother's three-year-old son yesterday. And never one to disappoint in the comedic sense, for the entire day he referred to this kid as "Michael Jackson." We have no idea why, but he just did. As much as everyone tried to correct young Z-Dub, he still called the kid "Michael Jackson." Not "Michael," but the whole name. HILARIOUS!!!!

The weird part is that this kid looks nothing like the real "Michael Jackson." I don't think anyone saw him moonwalk or dangle The Deuce out a upper story window either. He even has his original nose. His real name is nowhere close to "Michael" or "Jackson." We don't get it.

Anyways, he's going to go play with "Michael Jackson" again today. Perhaps he'll get his name right today.

superdad

This morning, while eating breakfast, Z-Dub turns to me and says "Daddy, I want to be big and strong like you. I need to exercise." He says this while flexing his arm muscles up in the air.

This caught me off guard a little, because he usually says he wants to be big and strong like Superman. Of course, the first thought that came to my mind was "wow, he thinks his Daddy is big and strong." I guess my renewed workout regimen is paying off more than I thought.

Thanks kid for the boost in confidence.

ten excuses

Here are the ten excuses Z-Dub tried to not go to bed last night...

1. "I heard a noise...it was a dinosaur. I'm scared.

2. "The fan is to noisy."

3. "I have to poop."

4. "The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout."

5. "I have to pee."

6. "I want a granola bar."

7. "I want to sleep with you and mommy."

8. "I'm itchy."

9. "I'm cold."

10. "I don't want to go to school tomorrow, so I don't have to go to sleep yet."

Three-year-olds!!!!

death to max & ruby

I mean it. I absolutely hate those little hair-brained rabbits. Unfortunately, every time you ask Z-Dub what he'd like to watch on television, his reply is "Max & Ruby."

For some reason we can't break him of his obsession. And I don't understand it either. Every episode is the same. That bossy bitch Ruby is hell-bent on doing something or getting something and little Max is always interrupting. Although, at the end of every episode it turns out that Ruby was in the wrong and Max was in the right. It's probably a good message about how being bossy and single-minded can backfire, but that's beside the point. It's just too annoyingly wholesome for me.

Also, where in the hell are their parents? Seriously, these two little hares live on their own. They have no adult supervision except for when Ruby's "bunny scout leader" or their grandma stops by the house for a visit. Other than that it's young Ruby caring for her toddler brother Max. No wonder she's bossy, she's got too much responsibility. And, since when do rabbits live in houses?

Personally, I prefer when Z-Dub watches Phineas & Ferb. It even entertains me. Who doesn't love a little summer vacation angst?

It's kind of funny how Z-Dub's cartoon tastes have evolved. He went from Backyardigans to Caillou to Little Einsteins to Wow Wow Wubbzy to Max & Ruby. He's getting onboard with Phineas & Ferb, and he's caught onto Bernstein Bears lately too. Who know's what'll be next. Perhaps Hung on HBO. He is, after all, fascinated with his "pitoy" (penis).

my kid can write...sort of

Recently, Z-Dub has become very interested in writing, which makes us very happy. At three years old our first goal is to get him to spell his name. We've been working on it. However, last night he decided that he was going to spell my name.

"Okay Daddy. I'm going to spell your name now," he said with excitement.

With a pen in hand he says the letters out loud as he writes, "e, u, s, e, u, e. I did it Daddy. I spelled your name."

And this is what his interpretation of the alphabet looked like:

And I still haven't figured out the obscure language in which my name is spelled Euseue.

squeaky boy

Something strange has happened to our Z-Dub's voice since his tonsil surgery on Saturday. He has suddenly become squeaky and, dare I say, kind of girlie. At first we chalked it up to a post-surgery attempt to get attention and sympathy. It's been almost a week and he still has this squeaky little mouse voice, so now I'm concerned. So much so that I did a little research online.

I was shocked to discover that tonsillectomy can in fact cause both temporary and permanent change to voice pitch. Our doctor never discussed or even mentioned this to us before or after surgery. According to the experts all over the Internets, the causes vary and include:

1. If they were large, removal of the tonsils can change the resonance of  speech (voice would be the same as that's produced by the larynx). 
2. If the adenoids were removed as well as the tonsils (which is what Z-Dub went through), then there could be some velopharyngeal incompetence and hypernasality.
   
3. Muscle tension dysphonia. 
4. Vocal cord damage from intubation injury. 

Whatever the cause, I'm fine with the temporary change as we can deal with our little mouse for a while longer. I read somewhere that it can take up to 12 weeks to go back to normal. However, a permanent change would be a little too hard to swallow, especially if he continues to sound like a eunuch.

kid talk

Z-Dub amazes me every single day with words that come flowing out of his mouth. Sometimes they're funny and other times just out-of-left-field strange. For example, right after waking up this morning:

Z-Dub: "The coyotes are all over Grandma's house! Pandora (sister-in-law's English bulldog) is going to eat the coyotes...and the bats. Bats are flying around Grandma's house. And the chipmunks eat Pandora's food."

Me: "Huhhh!?! Did you have a weird dream?"

A few minutes later while walking down the stairs to have breakfast and get ready to head over to Grandma's house:

Z-Dub: "Daddy, I want to ride the city bus."

Me: "The city bus? How very environmentally conscious of you."

Z-Dub: "Huhhh!?!"

As we're walking out the door:

Z-Dub: "It's raining for us outside."

Me: "No it's not! It's hot!"

Z-Dud: "I want to go in an airplane. I have poo poo in my tummy and I go poo poo in an airplane."



I'm not even at work yet and my brain is exhausted.

---------------------------------------------------

In other news, my latest Uptake.com post about treating your special mother to a poolside retreat in Las Vegas for Mother's Day got picked up by the Los Angeles Times online travel blog. Cool!!!

blame it on the parents

The other day, while HotMomma was off with her friends having "mommy" time, I took Z-Dub and The Deuce to Target with me to pick up a few things (diapers). While driving up St. Rose Parkway, all of a sudden I realized that Z-Dub was singing along with the song playing on the radio. He seemed to know most, if not all, of the words of the chorus. This was the song:



At least the song teaches life lessons. Right?

Like, if you get her drunk she'll take her panties off.