luisarodriguez.com » mike

WANTED: Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Luis Rodriguez — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:58:59 +0000

It’s spring time and that means time to break out the tee-ball equipment and let the homers fly. For those of you who know my Mike it wouldn’t surprise you to hear that my son is full of tons of heart and soul. He is -as scholars like to put it- Artsy Fartsy. Personally, I love his artistic soul, but in our continuous effort to be regarded as the best parents in the WORLD, we think it prudent to expose him to all sides of life. First stop? Tee-Ball!

You might be thinking, Why Tee-Ball? There are two major reasons we started with Tee-Ball. First, Cheryl has a strong desire to see Mike play Tee-Ball due to it’s overall mega cuteness. Second, he’s Puerto Rican and I don’t want to brag but -in general- we Puerto Ricans rock at baseball (me excluded) so why not start with the sport where the odds are in his favor. He didn’t last very long but he’s three. We had a blast anyway. The best part was when he -in true three year-old form- promptly transitioned from Tee-Ball to playing with dandelions in such a way that you would have thought that blowing on a dandelion is what your supposed to do after rounding first base. Enjoy the pictures below (click on the arrows to cycle through them, click on the actual picture to see it full size). For those of you with access I have a zip file with these pictures on the downloads page.

Click on the pictures below to see a couple videos of that day

It’s been a while. (republished)

Luis Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:56:59 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. I guess it’s easy to get busy when you’ve been promoted. Yeah… that’s right I got a little promotion. Hooray for me! I am now to be called His Excellency at all times… just kidding. I am now Product Manager of Research and Development. Sounds cool huh? Actually, it’s a pretty neat job, but it’s only a stepping-stone towards a better place. Ultimately, progress is progress and I’m blessed to have made any to begin with.

My wife has recently taken to rocking face 100% of the time compared to my measly 80%. She is nearing the end of the school year and looking forward to making a change into Kindergarten from 1st grade next year. I am super excited that this change does not mean that I have to move her to another classroom. Moving her classroom is harder that moving into a new house. I feel bad for all the other teachers at Clearwater. I think Cheryl lucked out and is one of few teachers in the entire school that doesn’t have to move classrooms.

Annaly is growing. She has a cough right now that sounds like a baby moose. Doctor says it’s fine but it freaks me out a little each time I hear it. However, the good news is that we now know that Cheryl’s gift for communicating with Elk when she has a runny nose appears to have manifested itself in Annaly in the form of coughing like a moose. Albeit a baby one. (Edited by Cheryl to add that if you don’t know the story about the Elk this makes very little sense. Sorry about that! )

Mike is talking and talking and talking. Good Lord that boy talks. He doesn’t even need to talk to someone. He is just fine calling his own play-by-plays like a toddler Bob Costas. He makes us laugh on a regular basis. For example: Mike is now making it through the day without a fully qualified diaper on. Meaning he is using the toilet on a consistent basis. However the boy is a bit of an entrepreneur when it comes to this.

Mommy has instituted a rather effective Jelly Bean for potty bartering system where in exchange for a successful potty visit Mike receives a yummy gourmet JellyBelly Jelly Bean of his choice. That is, a jelly bean for number one and additional jelly bean for number two. Mike does not like to leave a trip to the potty without having at least both hands occupied with a fresh jelly bean. Meaning, if he goes to the bathroom for number one, he’ll wait for number two. That’s right, he’ll wait. He is so committed that he’ll wait for however long it takes. Needless to say 10 minutes is a long time for a toddler, let alone half-an-hour. So he takes to playing with his -unit previously referred to as- Mamba. Recently, he discovered that with enough poking Mamba wakes up and gets (let’s see… how does he put it?) long. The toddler scientific method is one to marvel at. The first time he noticed he was so amazed that he yelled. “Daddy! My Pee-Pee is loooonnnng” In an effort to control my laughter I said, “Amazing huh?”. He replied “Daddy, I want to show Mommy my Pee-Pee is long.” Mike was SURE Mommy was going to be just as amazed if not a little proud. Turns out he was right. That Mommy is one special person.

Here are a few more pictures to enjoy. I’ll try to pick it up in the updates.

Click on the picture to see the whole gallery

Republished

This post was originally posted April 27th, 2010. It has been republished with enhancements as part of the new site design.

Protected Post

Luis Rodriguez — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:10:44 +0000

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The Power of TV. (republished)

Luis Rodriguez — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:02:07 +0000

It is amazing what TV can do to inspire a child. Before clicking on the image to the left I encourage you to take a second and try to imagine which Winter Olympic event inspired my son. Vote for your favorite move by leaving a comment below.

A word of caution: Please refrain from writing the Olympic Committee with demands on behalf of Mike. Don’t get me wrong I am convinced that this was a gold medal caliber performance, but I think there is a competitive age limit.

Get this in iTunes

Republished

This post was originally posted Feb 21th, 2010. It has been republished with enhancements as part of the new site design.

Foul Play… Toddler Style.(republished)

Luis Rodriguez — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:52:49 +0000

Recently, I came home and found some serious evidence of foul play on a beloved friend…

At first I thought he was just sleeping, but as I got closer it appeared something wasn’t right. At first glance I assumed my buddy here had a little too much to drink, but then why the Magna Doodle? Something was amuck. So I scanned the area for signs of a struggle.

Best I can tell. There was a fight, my friend here was bludgeon with a high end Magna Doodle. Once the perpetrator realized what he/she had done there was a frantic attempt for resuscitation which unfortunately failed and left my friend here in a quiet coma.

If you have any idea or knowledge of what may have occurred here please respond below in the comments section. We want to bring a renewed sense of peace to our home and any help is appreciated.

Note!

Under the banner of the obvious, I felt compelled to add a disclaimer on the above post. The story is fictional and is meant to bring humor to my son’s current inability to return his toys to his toy box when he is done playing with them.

Republished

This post was originally published on January 27th, 2011.

Catching Up. (republished)

Luis Rodriguez — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:49:30 +0000

I’m not going to lie. I need sleep, but Cheryl needs it more and deserves it more. Having said that, here are a few tips. If you run into Cheryl please do the following:

Save the positive talk for the web. When you are tired, it’s better to read well wishes then to have to stay awake to hear them. (i.e. leave comments below)
If possible, buy her food. I’m not pandering here, I’m just saying that’s a big help.
Call in the afternoon. Trust me.
Don’t ask for pictures. I’ve posted a bunch on this site for people that know us. Just email or Facebook for the password.
If you live nearby. Visit. Just call before you come.

I know it seems silly but little thing like these help keep thing in balance at home. Oh, and if you bring food feel free to include some extra for me.

Here are some pictures. Each picture represents a different gallery, so make sure to go through them all.

Setting up Annaly's Crib

Last Days in NICU

Home Sweet Home

Republished

This page was originally posted on January 26th, 2010.

Mike & Annaly (with Video)

Luis Rodriguez — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:42:47 +0000

Mike is really falling into this big brother business well. He loves to give her kisses and play with her. We couldn’t be more proud.

Click Here to see the Video

My Name is Ho Ho Ho!

Luis Rodriguez — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:44:53 +0000

Mike

This is the first Holiday where Michael (my son) is talking and let me tell you, he is a talker. Recently he declared this to an otherwise silent room. “I look GREAT!” We all started laughing immediately and he followed that up with “You heard that?”. This is kid is crack up.

Here is a little video of his antics:

My Name is Ho Ho Ho.