This Week in Pictures--Week 15

Dear Augosto.

I know it has been a while so I will get down to it.

--Last weekend, I hopped on a train and met you and your mom in Kenosha, WI. We went to Texas Roadhouse and spent a few hours reconnecting. It was awesome!



--Another milestone. Here you are holding your teething ring with no help. Now all you need are teeth!



--Here is my attempt at being "artsy." I call this one "Breakfast with Augosto."



--Today, I made chicken soup. Of course, you helped. This gave me a great idea for a cooking show. We'll call it "Cooking with Augosto." The basic idea is that I will cook while you sit on the counter in your Bumbo chair. And each time I mess up a recipe or drop something on the floor, the camera will cut to you doing what you do best--drooling, laughing, crying, smiling, showing off those big brown eyes, etc...

Here's the promo picture...



That's all I got for now.

I had the greatest weekend. Hope you did too.

Love.

Dad.

This week in pictures(from the archives).

Dear Augosto.

I wish I had new pictures to present but, unfortunately, I am still in Evanston.

So, I figure this would be a great opportunity to showcase some of the other pictures that I have stored on my computer.

--This is my attempt at multi-tasking. I needed to do a small bit of work on my computer while keeping an eye on you. Hence, the reason you are sitting in your Bumbo on my desk right next to the computer.



--Your cousin Eva "I love Yale football" Galvan took this one.



--You and your cousin MoMo or just plain "Mo."



--Your tia Vanessa.



--Hangin' with Grandpa Rios.



--You and Grandma Lopez on the first day this great journey began.



Have a great day.

Love.

dad.

another first around the corner...

Dear Augosto.

Today, you went to daycare for the first time. I forgot the name of the place but it's a great place. It's on the same lot as a hospital, so it's one less thing that we have to worry about.

I wish I was there to be with your mother as she dropped you off. No matter what it would have been hard to do. Your mother cried and I'm sure I would have too.

I know it's only daycare but at some point I know it would have felt as if we were dropping you off for your first day at school. What seems years away already feels like it is right around the corner.

But before we get to meet your first kindergarten teacher(mine was Miss English), I look forward to other "firsts" that are a lot closer.

--Your First Step. You're not far from that now. Your legs are quite strong and you like to stand more than sit. I wouldn't doubt you bypass crawling.

--Your First Tooth. We have a teething ring that you like to drool all over. Each time I give it to you I can see you trying to bite it.

--Your First Word. This is definitely going to happen really soon. Sometimes I think I've already heard you say, "Mom." But it could be my overactive imagination and all you're really just saying is "MMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH." Close enough.

--Your First Bite of Real Food. I suggested "Strained Jalepenos" but your mother is definitely against that. No matter what, sooner or later you will find out very quickly that we Rios' love our food spicy because it's in our blood.

--Your First Spanking. Just kidding. :)

--Your First Birthday. I can already envision it. One candle on a birthday cake and your face is all covered in frosting.

Gosh.

You're three months old and I feel like you are ready to go off to college tomorrow.

I'm kind of glad you are not off to college yet. We got a lot of years of "firsts" ahead of us before I have to worry about that.

Miss you.

Love.

Dad.

3 months and counting...

Dear Augosto.

I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that you are officially 3 months old.

You spent the whole weekend with me and now you and your mother are back in Milwaukee.

Your mom e-mailed me this picture that she took with her phone.



Gonna miss you while I put the nose to the grindstone. Gotta a lot of work to knock out.

Sleep tight. Don't keep your mother up too late.

Love.

Dad.

PS. Today(Wednesday) you start daycare. Be good. :)

Chili with Augosto...and his parents

Dear Augosto.

I don't usually post on Sundays but I feel I have to. Mostly because yesterday was amazing.

It was a day of new & not-so-new friendships. It was a day of warmth and love and laughter. But most importantly, it was a day of homemade chili--one for meat eaters and one for leaf eaters. Guess which chili ran out first?

"Chili with Augosto" was a "party/gathering of the minds" that we hosted in my dorm room yesterday. We were a bit worried about fitting a lot of people into my small room so we turned it into an all day event.

Luckily, everyone fit into my small humble abode. We barely had enough chairs but nobody seemed to mind.

At one point, there was so many people in the room that I had to open the windows to let out all of the hot air!

People came and went as they needed. You were passed around to many loving arms. And the world of theater & writing(of all forms) became a little bit smaller.

See for yourself...

Tam--your mom's friend from her USC days.



Greg--a fellow MFA cohorter. He endured the whole event by taking mini-breaks to check on his beloved New Orleans Saints.



Tony--another MFA cohorter and my teaching partner.



Farhan--fellow MFA cohort buddy & writing partner.



Soo-Jin--a friend we met in Texas and now lives in Chicago.



Zora--one of the smartest kids in Evanston and she has the award to prove it.



Meridith--a fellow MFA cohort buddy who can't wait to babysit you.



And the great thing about all this is that after everyone left with bellies full of chili, we still had leftovers. :)

Enjoy the warmth. It's almost 40 degrees.

Love.

Dad.

sleeping habits....

Dear Augusto.

So many things I want to say.

First off, you(as well as your mother) returned to Milwaukee yesterday. And I back here in Evanston all by my lonesome. :(

Also, I that I have been meaning to write about your current sleeping habit. It seems that you have been sleeping longer. "Seems" is the key word though.

It hasn't happened a lot but there were a few times where you slept for 6 hours straight! And I have to say that on those days I feel so well rested that I am convinced I could do anything. Like wrestle an alligator.

I am sure your mother is looking forward to the days that you sleep 8 hours. Hopefully, they are not that far around the corner.

Here are a few pics of you doing what you do best--NOT SLEEPING.





That's all I got for now.

Sleep tight.

Love.

Dad.

PS. Sorry it's been awhile since my last posting. As always, school is taking a lot of my time. And big projects loom ahead. No matter what. It's almost over. :)

making extraordinary...

Dear Augosto.

On Monday, I learned about something called "Making Strange." It's a term used when a character turns something very mundane into something extremely extraordinary.

Coincidentally, a few days later, life imitated art. You did something that could be considered very very ordinary. Yet, it was something totally opposite because ordinary things don't make me feel the way I felt when I saw what you were doing.

You pushed yourself up with your arms.

Crazy, huh?

I was in the living room reading a few openings from various plays that I had checked out from the library. Just as I was two pages into Octavio Solis' Santos & Santos, your mother came running into the room.

"C'mere. Hurry!"

Just as quickly as she said those words, she disappeared back into the bedroom.

I threw down my book and followed.

Arriving in the bedroom, I saw your mother standing by your bassinet. A wide smile all over her face.

"What's up?" I said.

She pointed.

There you were. On your stomach, but you were pushing yourself up with both arms. It kind of looked like you were doing push-ups. :)

Smiling was the least I could do. I laughed. I was wordless. I was also feeling those tingles that I got when I first met you.

If this were a movie, sappy John Williams music(the guy who did the soundtrack to E.T.) would kick in and my eyes would start to glaze with tears. Flashbacks would also ensue. Your mom showing me the pregnancy test. Your sonogram picture. Me cutting the umbilical cord.

As I think about what you did, it makes me realize that this is one of those things that one can only truly appreciated when one becomes a parent.

I remember those times that my friends told me about their kids' milestones. Teething. Walking. Speaking. Eating solid food. (not all in the same order)

But none of it seemed like a really big deal.

Until now!



I can't wait to see what you do next.

Have a great night.

Love

Dad.

PS. We are back in Milwaukee for the weekend. We planned on being here yesterday but mother nature decided to dump a lot of snow in the Chicago/Milwaukee area.

one teacher. one student.

Dear Augosto.

Your dad did something pretty cool today. I got to teach a class at Northwestern University. A screenwriting class!

I have to admit that if someone would have told me 2 years ago that I would be teaching a screenwriting class at Northwestern, I would think they were drinking too much wacky kool-aid.

Luckily, this wasn't my first time teaching. And, most importantly, it wasn't anything like my first teaching gig either.

My word to describe my first "official" teaching experience would be--strange.

This was many many moons ago. In Houston. Not long after I received my English-Creative Writing degree.

I was in between theater gigs. I had just finished directing a play and had a few months before I went into rehearsals for another play.

A friend called and asked if I would like to teach at a Community College. Without hesitation, I accepted. Partially because of the money. But mostly because I always had those "what if" moments floating in my mind where I wondered if I could actually be a teacher.

For my first class, I only had 3 students enrolled. BUT...only 2 students would show up. AND...what made it worse was that I had one student who would show up late every day. Not once. Or twice. But every day.

It was as if this student was upholding a time honored tradition.

It never failed. I would be 20 minutes into my lecture. My one student would be as attentive as one student could be. Then, the door would open.

It wasn't one of those silent type doors that you didn't hear when someone opened it. No. This door was one of those type of doors that you would expect in a scary movie.

CREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

I tried to ignore it but it didn't help when my one student would look over at the late student. With no one to teach but the chairs, I had to stop lecturing and wait for my late student to get settled in.

I think what also made it strange was that I always wondered why the head of the department didn't tell me to just cancel the class. At one point I just convinced myself that I was "paying my dues."

Eventually, my late student stopped showing up. And my one student aced the class.

I figure no matter how many jobs I get, I will always keep this teaching job on my resume. It will always serve as a reminder of how far I've come.

From Community College to Northwestern. Not a bad journey.

Have a great night.

Love.

Dad.

not just another day in January...

Dear Augosto.

Today is the first day of school. Well...technically not the first first day but it is the first day of the Winter 2010 quarter.

I'm back in Evanston. Your mother is here too. Of course, you are with us.

And, it shouldn't be much of a surprise, it's coooooooold outside(currently 13 degrees).

Here we are. Back in the ol' dorm room at Northwestern. Tryin' to stay warm.

But being back in school(and in the frozen winter wonderland called Evanston) is not what makes today special.

Today is also Grandpa Rios' birthday.

Usually we are in town for his birthday but this year the moons did not align for us as they have done in the past.

Even though we aren't there for his special day, I'm glad you at least got to meet him during our Christmas trip to Texas. He's a great man.

He loves to fish, do crossword puzzles, eat noodles, and grow chiles(or as the fellow Texans say "peppers.") If you ever see me habitually doing any of these activities when I get older, you know where I got it from.

He is one of my major sources of inspiration for doing what I do(Your Grandma Rios is the other). And as you get to know him, I am sure he will be your too.

One day, I look forward to him teaching you how to fish. Who knows. You might catch something like this.



And if you ever want to grow hot peppers in the back yard, we know who to call.

Have a great day.

Love.

Dad.

week 10--the texas days...

Dear Augosto.

I type this with a long sad face because Christmas break is over.

Yet, I have to admit we did have a blast in Texas. You included.

You met so many people. Friends. Family. People we barely knew.

You also received tons of gifts. Actually, you got so many that we had to mail them back home in a large box. 30lbs. worth.

Here are some of the pics from our trip...

---Your Aunt Claudia took this picture of you sitting in Grandpa Rios' favorite chair. If you look closely, you are wearing a TEXANS hat.



---Your cousin Eva took this one. She actually took a lot of great pics but this one is my current favorite.



---My buddy Hugo took this one.



---Your mother took this one. You are meeting your uncle Carlos for the first time. He's already got a nickname for you, "Wisconsin."



---This is you(with Grandma Rios) as we were waiting for all your aunts to meet you for the first time. Your face says it all.



That's all I got for now. Time for me to crash. We are heading to Evanston tomorrow because school starts on Monday. I have lots of prepping to do, especially since I start teaching on Tuesday. YIKES!

Wish me luck.

Love.

Dad.

a resolution for 2010...

Dear Augosto.

Every New Years Day, many people make resolutions filled with hope and ideas of change. Some make long lists. Some just a few. As for your dad, I only make one.

To make this year better than last year.

I make this same resolution every year. Luckily, each year I have been able to live up to it.

Here are a few examples:

--I used my own money to produce a play I wrote and made my money back even before the play opened.

--I formed a performance troupe and toured one of my plays nationally.

--The day after Christmas(98' I think), I convinced a theater in Hawaii to commission me to write a play.

--I proposed to your mom after performing to a sold-out audience of play that I wrote and she directed.

--I studied with two of the most amazing American playwrights.

In 2008, I achieved my resolution by getting into graduate school at Northwestern.

And in 2009, it was you.

I can only imagine what I am going to have to do in 2010 to top having a son.

I'm sure I'll figure out something.

And if I don't, I'm fine with that.

Happy New Years.

Love.

Dad.