Molarity

Poor Zane is getting even more teeth. His first lower molars are burbling up, so he's now working on four molars and two incisors all at once. Luckily the two incisors are through and about halfway up. The molars seem to be taking forever, though. The good news is that Zane is not otherwise sick, and he's a tough cookie, so we just have some crankiness but not much more.

As a result of the teething, I think, Zane has been constantly asking for "boob" (I swear to you that for months I tried to teach him to say "nurse" or make the sign for it -- when I finally said it was a "boob" he immediately picked up on it). It's pretty cute when he goes into the bedroom and starts dragging the Boppy to the living room chair. My milk production has slowed to a literal trickle, so I don't think he's getting much out of it other than comfort. I hope he's not just asking to nurse a lot because he's not getting enough -- that makes me kind of sad. Pumping at work has almost become an exercise in futility; I realize I'm going to have to give it up soon. I guess Zane can just nurse in the morning and evening when I'm home with him. I think that's pretty normal for second year nursing, but it's a little hard for me to let go of something that was so crucial for his well-being for so long.

This week I signed Zane up for swimming lessons and dance lessons that will both start in the first week of January. The "dance" class is really just a movement class, and I think Zane and I will have a lot of fun: "Parents/caregivers and children explore the joy of dance together through fun warm-ups, games, folk dances, music, instruments, and other exciting props." Both lessons are just a few blocks from home, which is one of the benefits of living here in the metropolis!

Next weekend we will be on our way to Maine, so there is a good chance there will be no posts for a while. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

WHO's Healthy

This week we saw a pediatrician who said Zane is just fine the way he is and is not too skinny. He compared Zane's weights to the World Health Organization's charts, and on those charts breastfed babies don't look too skinny. The pediatrician said Zane looks very healthy and is just "expressing his genome." Zane ate pizza to celebrate.

For some mysterious reason Zane has been waking up at 5 or 5:30 this week. I wish I knew why. I thought it was a random bad morning, but so far it has been 4 days in a row, so I've been going to bed at 9:30.

Going to bed and sleeping in general are good, though. Here at bedtime Zane tells Daddy all about elephants. Zane loves to sit in a chair to look at books, so we created one on the bed out of a boppy and some pillows, and he settled right in.

Well, it's after 9pm and my coach is about to turn into a pumpkin, so I had better get going. Here is a last photo of Zane practicing to run the universe.

Fishy Kissy Tissue Boy

Last week I mentioned that Zane has perfected his kiss. This week he's been kissing everything. I saw him pull out his finger puppets and kiss each one. He kisses us in the morning and after he bites us to make amends. He kisses us instead of biting, which is better. His daycare mom Marie said he was sitting at a table with the only younger baby, Allen, and Zane leaned over and gave him a kiss. What a sweet boy!

I brought a book home from the library called There are cats in this book, and Zane's favorite part is the two page spread filled with fish. I was pointing out all the fish and saying "Fish fish fish fish," and so he learned the word ("sish")and the concept of fish-ness. He can now pick out pictures of fish in books and other places. Monday I took him to Swanson's Nursery to see their holiday camel, donkey, and reindeer, but Zane got most excited about the koi pond that is always there. Those are some big sish! We've been back to see them two more times.

After the previous weeks' sicknesses, Zane has become an expert nose wiper. Left to himself he will pull out tissue after tissue, or many many Boogie Wipes, and delicately wipe his nose once before tossing the tissue and going for another.

After finally getting over his sicknesses, Zane has been a champion eater and napper this week. At the same time, all sort of his clothes have become suddenly too short. He can now just barely reach the doorknobs, although luckily he can't do anything with them yet. I'm pretty sure he's gone through a growth spurt! Monday morning we have an appointment to see a pediatrician about Zane's slow weight gain, and I'm very interested to see how big he is now, just 3 weeks after his last visit. Maybe we'll get a nice big number and be sent on our way!

A Rash of Teeth

We've had a cold week -- I thought Zane looked pretty cute in his toasty sweater, flannel lined jeans, and wool socks.

Zane continued to have a rough time earlier this week. After having a fever all last weekend, he acquired an itchy rash all over AND started erupting four teeth! Two of them are his upper first molars and so are very big and painful. The other two are his second lower incisors. In a week or two he should have a new smile! The rash went away in a couple of days, and by Thanksgiving he was happy again. Just teething is OK after all the other stuff!

This week brought real stick-on-the-ground now. We tested out Zane's snowsuit and boots. It was a bit of overkill for our snow, but I wanted to know if they fit well before we go to Maine. Good thing I did, because his snow suit is really too small. I thought Zane would have fun in the snow, but he was so miserable health-wise that he did not like it at all. Maybe next time.

Because of all the snow I put out trays of seeds for the poor little birdies. I put one on the back porch which is right next to a big window where Zane sits and has his meals. We have had lots of squirrel and bird visitors, and as a result, a frequent cat visitor. Zane has been really, really excited about this! After he got over being sick, he's been eating more because he stays in his chair to watch the animals.

Zane has had some nice developments this week. He is now giving very nice kisses; not slimy open mouthed ones, but sweet little smacks. I've even heard him say "kiss." He can now ask for help ("hup") when he needs it; it's fun to have him ask for what he needs. His word for book is now "cook," and once in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep he asked me for a "cook", which I thought was pretty funny. This apple did not fall far from his trees!

Twice this week Zane has "hupped" me do a bit of cooking. For Thanksgiving I mixed up a bean casserole, and on Friday I made banana bread. You heard right. I squished up bananas. The things I will do for love. Michael says it is very good, and Zane has eaten some, too. For the cooking I let Zane tip in some ingredients, and I had him standing on a step stool next to me. I think climbing up and down the little ladder was more fun for him than cooking.

Michael bought Zane his own little laptop-esque toy, and right now Zane can use the music feature. Too bad the music bits are so short, 'cause he was starting to get a little cha-cha going:

Poor Baby

Zane has been sick all week. In the picture above he was feeling pretty good and being silly with Mom's slippers and PJs. Last Sunday night he started coming down with a cold. Monday we went to the doctor for his 15 month checkup, and Zane got 4 shots, including a flu booster. I didn't do a good job of holding his hands, and he grabbed the needle after the first shot; he didn't hurt his hand, but he put a big scratch in his leg. By Monday night he was limp, feverish, snotty, and his legs were sore, scratched, and bruised. I took a sick day Tuesday to be home with him, and Wednesday I don't work any way. Those two days he was kind of low key, but not feverish anymore. Meanwhile, I got the cold. Thursday and Friday we managed to get off to daycare and work, but neither of us were doing well after being up all night with Zane's coughing. I left work early on Friday to try to get home and rest at a decent hour. Zane's daycare Mom mentioned he had been feverish again on Thursday.

Friday night Zane and I had really nice sleep with only two brief wake ups and a nice sleep in. I thought we'd be OK! But no, Zane has been feverish all day Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday night was crap sleep again with Zane coughing and whimpering and crying. He's also not eating well, which is pretty stressful, since he's already too skinny. Thank goodness I still nurse him, and we did lots of that this weekend.

The only ray of sunshine in all of this is that Zane has been so limp that he nestles into our laps and sits with us for quite a long time. Our little zippy boy hasn't done that since he was just months old and unable to move. Michael and I watched a lot of TV with him. Zane and I watched 3 PBS shows on dogs, crows, and elephants. He loved it and responded to the animals with barks and caws and hoots. He even repeated a few words he heard that he knows, like "hot" and "up". I figure the sin of TV with a baby is not so bad when he's sick and I make it an interactive activity.

The doctor visit revealed that in the last 2.5 months he's only gained about 13 ounces and a half an inch. His weight percentile compared to other babies went down again. Rather than go ahead with blood draws which are painful, we are first being referred to a pediatrician to see if he thinks the tests are necessary. Our doctor is a little puzzled since Zane is so clearly an otherwise very healthy active bright baby. Probably he's just built like me, eats like me (not much), fed healthy food, and is very active.

Zane got to see his first snow today. We had some beautiful fluffy flurries. Unfortunately, he was too sick to do more than a quick step out onto the porch. We have a snowsuit and boots, though, for when we go to Maine over Christmas! I'm hoping to get some good snow play time in.

A New Verb!

Monkey boy reminds you to floss. The only photo I took this week!

Zane has many many noun words, but for a long time his only verb has been "up" (and maybe "out"; I'm not sure if that is a verb or noun for him). I keep asking him, "When are you going to get another verb?" Well, he has one now, and boy does he use it a lot! I'm already kind of tired of it.

"I want! I want! I want!" Actually, what he says is something like "Iant" or "aunt" (not pronounced ant), while madly opening and shutting his outstretched hand. It has largely replaced his point. Things like this that we haven't worked on show up all of a sudden, and I think they come from daycare. Like calling a phone "call" instead of "phone", or saying "No, don't!" Hmm, now that I think of it, "don't" is a verb, too!

Saturday night I got to be a big girl and go out to see a play with Sabina. We saw "Dancing at Lughnasa," and it was really wonderful. I was out way past my bedtime, but I never once looked at my watch. Michael and Zane had a nice evening together, and Zane even went to sleep in his crib without Mama! Bravo to them both!

We had fun earlier in the week when Michael brought out the "thumper" for his sore back. Zane was instantly smitten. The video is a bit long, but has a lot of silly bits.

Standard Time Zane

Zane is still anxious about Mama going anywhere, but he is starting to relax his grip just a bit. Last Monday we went to our monthly toddler group, and Zane uncharacteristically sat on my lap for about 20 minutes before he would mix with the baby mosh pit. This weekend Daddy was away at a cousin's wedding, and Zane's cousin Kyrin babysat while I worked. Zane cried when I left, but was otherwise cheerful. He asked a bit for Daddy, and wondered where he'd gone! We both got home Sunday night after Zane was asleep, but then he woke up a lot, I think to check on us.

Sleep continues to be mostly really good! I've been slowly moving his bedtime over the last month, so the change back to Standard Time seems to have gone well.

He started to use the words "cup" and "hat" this week. He also started to use "ow" for himself when he falls or hurts himself. For the first time he started to point to the right things when I say "Where is ..." That's pretty fun -- I feel like two way communication is really starting.

Our neighbor let us know she is pregnant, so now there will be about 20 kids on our block not including teenagers! It's like a neighborhood from the 1950s! I don't see how we can afford to move soon, so it will be nice for Zane that we live in a place with so many other kids.

Here's some pre-bath time fun!

Tiger By the Tail

Happy Halloween!

Last year Zane didn't dress up, we just handed out candy at the door. This year Zane got to dress up in his tiger costume for daycare and also for some downtown Ballard fun on Halloween. Zane was not too keen on the hood, but otherwise he liked his costume. Actually, he loved it more when it was off and he could snuggle with it.

The downtown Ballard businesses hand out candy from 3-5 on Halloween evening. It was quite a crowded place! We didn't get candy, but it was fun to people watch. Zane seemed to enjoy the inside of a shoe store more than anything! He got to sit at a table just his size and play with a purple dinosaur while I bought him some toasty socks.

Zane's separation anxiety seems to be continuing. It's not quite so bad as last week, but I still can't go downstairs without tears sprouting from his eyes. He has gone through several minor illnesses (or different symptoms of the same bug -- fever, dry cough, diarrhea), so that may have left him feeling vulnerable.

The good news is that he's been a champion sleeper lately! I feel really rested, and when he's not crying for "Ma!", he's generally super chipper, too.

He's also developed a small fear of the vacuum cleaner and mowers. He used to be really interested in them, but now he gets anxious and wants to be picked up. Is this all just a sign that his imagination is developing?

Zane has a little monkey backpack/harness that we've been getting used to. The monkey is really just a glorified leash. I figure he might come in handy for the airport when we travel to Maine. He actually seemed to enjoy having it on! Lucky us.

Mama Mama Mama

Mr. Personality here has been very clingy this weekend. He has been a little barnacle saying Mama Mama Mama almost constantly. I think we have a combination of separation anxiety and maybe also fighting a bug. Saturday night I was feeling quite tired and had a scratchy throat. Zane went to bed early, but woke up many times throughout the night crying for Mama, until I finally brought him into bed. I think he was having bad dreams. We slept in until 8am (!!!) and then rushed out to a breakfast date. Our friend Maya came over to be a Mother's Helper so I could get stuff done, but Zane was so convinced I was going to leave him it was actually more work than if I had been alone. It was exhausting. He finally had his nap, and ending up having a 3 hour one, which is twice as long as usual. By bedtime he was his usual perky crazy self, so I think he may have beaten off the bug (as have I).

This week was fairly mundane. Monday, flu shot for Zane (with a booster needed in a month) plus a shopping trip to get toasty PJs for the fall. Wednesday, story time, which he actually participated in a bit for the first time. And of course our weekly Grandpa visit!

Saturday I put Zane in a snazzy outfit and did a fashion photo-shoot to submit him for the Gap casting call. What a great model! I especially like his version of Blue Steel, over there on the left. An easy and inexpensive way to enter a modeling competition. Not much chance to win, but you never know! It would be a nice way to sock away more college money. Then we went to Children's Hospital for a free car seat check. It turns out I should have had the seat installed with the seat belt rather than the latch in my particular car. Other than that, we were pretty good. I got some very useful tips on getting the seat in nice and tight, which makes me feel good. And although Children's Hospital was a very nice place, I hope to never, ever need to go there again.

Well, Zane has been illness-free for almost 3 months now, so here's hoping we've beaten the latest bug!

How YOU Doin'?

A busy work week, and not much to report that I can think of. I had to rush to take some photos so I'd have something to post!

Zane seems to be getting quite tall. Here are some things he's managed to reach (which are now farther out of reach): A large sharp knife, a pointy meat thermometer, a cheese grater, my birth control pills, finger paints. He can now reach the stove knobs, and I think we will most likely just take them off rather than invest in a fancy kid-shield (new word of the week is "hot"). He has also developed an obsession with Tolkein and Vonnegut and keeps dragging those books out of the bookshelf. I started to read one to him, but he didn't seem quite ready. Slacker.

On Monday Zane earned another plastic dinosaur (stegosaurus!) by going to the UW iLabs and participating in a behavioral study on imitation and learning. He was supposed to look at pictures in a book and figure out what to do with a gizmo from the pictures. He became very impatient with the pictures (which were boring), but still figured out some gizmos, especially one which involved pushing a button which is something he loves to do. His impatience with the pictures is apparently right on the money for 14 month olds.

I think that's all for this week!

Computer Boy

These late blog posts are beginning to be a habit! I'll try to get the next one in on the weekend, but I'm working so you never know ...

This week my brother Brady and his girlfriend Erica are in town on their way back from Alaska. Brady brought out his laptop and Zane was mesmerized. So many buttons! So much computer-ish-ness! Zane loves all computers and buttons, so he was in heaven.

The past couple of weeks Zane has been trying out a face I call Stink Eye. He bunches up his brows, lowers his face, and looks out of the tops of his eyes while making a sour lip face. It is one mean scowl. We're not quite sure if he knows what it means or if he's just trying it out. It's pretty hilarious. He's been doing it at strangers and when we say no, or when he falls, so I think he realizes it's some sort of bad-thing face. In this video of Zane trouble-shooting Brady's computer, you can sort of see it briefly in the middle after he falls a bit.


Sunday we went into Ballard for the Sustainable Ballard festival, which this year was scaled way back to a small group of tents. Zane thought the hula hoops were pretty awesome. This shot was followed soon after by Zane attempting to get the two hoops behind him, which pulled down the folding chairs, which knocked over the bike. Pretty spectacular, but with no injuries. We also saw chickens, ducks, Morris dancers, and coolest of all, a little boy with a fire truck.

Last Monday we went to a toddler Q & A session at Birth & Beyond which was informative for me and fun for Zane as always. Now that he can walk around, massive mosh pits of kids are just that much more fun.

We got tickets to go to Maine for Christmas! This trip should be a breeze since Michael is traveling with us this time. I can't wait! Zane really loves to look at airplanes in the sky, so going to the airport should be very fun this time.

Mr. Sandman

Oh, dear. I was going to do this post Monday night, but then our internet connection was spotty and I couldn't. Better late than never!

Monday I took Zane to a nearby park. We've been there before, but this was the first time he could trot around by himself and decide what to do. After standing still for a survey, we went to the slides for a short time and then to the swings. From the swings Zane spied The Sandbox! Wow. Full of trucks. He had an awesome time and got thoroughly filthy. We also had our first time on the little zip line, and Zane said "Wheee!"

Zane has been wanting to be a big boy, and he is requesting to sit on the regular chairs instead of his high chair. I got out a booster seat I bought long ago, and Zane was mightily pleased.

Another big boy change is that Zane is starting to move to one nap a day. At home he naps at 11:ish for about 1.5 hours. It's a little early and a little short, but I've still been keeping him up instead of letting him have a nap at 4:30 or 5 which is what he wants. Instead he's going to sleep at 7 or 7:30, which I like a lot! Today when I dropped him off at daycare I found out that when he's there he routinely stays up until 1 or 1:30 before taking a nap! I guess it's pretty exciting there. Meanwhile, during this transition we're weathering some mighty tired and cranky times.

He's picking up a few more words here and there. Ball, boob, crow. He's almost got vase and shell from looking at stuff in our hallway. He has figured out how to get past the toilet paper guard to get a little toilet paper, but at least he can't spin off the whole roll. Pretty soon he'll be figuring out the toilet lock and the baby gate.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something wonderful and cute! I want to get this post out, though, so I will end for today with some music to enjoy.

Daddy's Boy

All of our stuff that had been carefully secured in locking Tupperware is no longer secure. Zane figured out how to get in, and by the look on his face it seems he clearly had the idea that maybe he wasn't supposed to be getting in.

Not such a big enormous language jump this week, but we're having fun with what he's got. Now we're starting to understand him a bit when he mumbles to himself. Friday night after I put him in his crib I lay on my bed to keep him company in the room while he fell asleep. I heard: "Mumble mumble. DAH-dee! Heh heh heh. ... ... Uh-oh, Bob. ... mumble mumble." I worked this weekend, and Saturday while I was away Michael said he heard Zane say "Ma-Ma" a couple times in the midst of mumbling to himself. Then, after spending the day with Michael and Kyrin, Saturday night after I put Zane to bed he just kept saying "Dah-dee" over and over with a few giggles thrown in. In the middle of the night I heard him wake up and say "Uh-oh" and go back to sleep. Then, Sunday morning when he woke up, he was right back to "Dah-dee, dah-dee, dah-dee!" He's started to say "dah-dee" when he sees JoJo or me, too, so we think that right now "dah-dee" might mean fun things in general. I guess "Ma-ma" just means having your butt and nose wiped and getting hugs.

At meal times I try to give Zane a little something to work on with a spoon or fork while I'm also popping stuff into his mouth. He's doing pretty well!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

In addition to Zane becoming quite the budding talker and communicator, he really likes to imitate things he sees us doing. He will now hold the phone up to his head, scrub the back of his head with a brush ('til it's red), try to squeegee the tub (but only make things wetter, not dryer), try to put diaper cream on my arm, brush my teeth, poke the dirt with garden tools, throw toilet paper (and one other thing) into the toilet, and sometimes successfully use a spoon and a fork but mostly just stir food up with them. He's very observant! His maturity is also making him crankier than usual since he has wants and desires and is starting to communicate but can't really do much of it. Plus, he often wants stuff I won't give him.

Monday we went swimming with Uma and her mom Olivia. We were mostly free swimming, but the kids got in their little water saucers so Olivia could watch them both while I took photos. This is the only shot I could get with Zane not chewing on the toy boat; he has a fish shaped ring on his head purely for decoration. The swimming was very fun, but that night while in the bath he accidentally turned on the shower and was not at all amused by the water.

Later that day I figured out that he was saying "appoo" (apple) to mean food in general, or maybe fruit; he also will now go to his high chair when he is hungry, which is helpful to know. Then he said "bee" really loudly while we were looking at some, and I hadn't even said it yet that day, so he wasn't just parroting! He has also unfortunately begun to say "no", but I don't think he really understands what it means yet.

Tuesday morning Zane woke up early and could not go back to sleep and was trying to get me up. Finally at about 5:30am he said loudly, "Up-up-UP!" Cute in retrospect. Also cute in retrospect is when he peed on the floor, and about a minute after I exclaimed about it he was talking to himself and I heard "Go pee." Just a mimic at this point, not a sentence I imagine!

Wednesday I made the useful discovery that if I take Zane in the stroller to a construction area, he gets so amazed I can cut his nails; this is pretty hard these days so that is a major discovery. Language-wise, he's started to answer "What's that?" with the name of an object. I'm not sure if he gets the question or is just saying what he sees ... He also began naming brooms with a kind of raspberry b "bbboo" which is different than plain "boo" for balloon.

Today we went out for a quick walk in the rain which was pretty exciting.


Finally, this morning during a yummy snack of grapes I figured out he was making the sign for "more!" I thought he had for some reason begun clapping during meals this week, but I just figured out he really has been saying "more." Yay! All of this communication, especially around food, is very exciting. This week has been a big one for language!

Oh, and one last thing. Did you know I am saving a paper copy of this blog, all nicely color printed and in sheet protectors, for posterity? Like a weekly baby book. So keep those comments coming, because those get in there, too!

Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk

Zane has had a pretty exciting week full of adventures. Monday morning we biked down to Golden Gardens beach and park. It was a nice long bike ride, and when we got to the park we got to see dogs and kids and ducks. Zane also got to have his first experience of walking in and feeling sand. Unfortunately it was cold and blustery, so we didn't stay very long.

Wednesday we got out some crayons and tried to do drawing, but Zane was not that interested. He made a few marks, but mostly he wanted to figure out how the crayons came out of the box and how they fit back in and how they tasted. The result was some very purple teeth!

Later that afternoon we went to the zoo for a short visit, which is extra easy now that I have a membership. The zoo is nearby so we can just drive over for a short walk. Zane loved the penguins and the big cats most of all. At a bear exhibit he spent more time looking at a man with long red hair and a bushy red beard than at the sleepy boring bear.

Saturday we went to two parties! Such a social whirl we live in. Zane's friend Uma turned one, and we went to her party and met up with two other babies Zane knows from story times. Zane helped with the birthday gifts and of course refused to eat any cake or any food for that matter. He did have his first orange juice and his first drinking straw experience, both of which were very good. That evening we went to a neighborhood party to say goodbye to some long-time neighbors who are moving out. There are a bazillion little boys on our block, and most of them were there. Zane loved it, and I felt bad making him leave early, but I knew he really needed to get to bed. He was tired but had a very hard time going to sleep, I think due to all the excitement in the day.

This past week has seen a big improvement in walking and talking. Zane had been saying a few words but not always in the right context. All of a sudden he seems to be using them correctly more often than not. He definitely says Momma, Daddy, JoJo, and up. He says boo for balloon. I'm pretty sure he also says car. One day I was changing his diaper, and he was looking intently at it. He's been paying attention to what I do with them these days, especially while the contents are getting flushed. I said, "Zane! Oh, you pooped!" Zane said, "Poo." I got excited and said, "Yes! Poop in your diaper!" Zane said, "Diapah." I was floored. He never said those sounds before, so I don't think it was random. He hasn't repeated the performance, but it shows how much he is paying attention these days.

Zane is also surely a toddler now. He can walk quite a ways on his own and no longer needs sticks or hands, although he still likes them. Saturday I scored a $2 mini scooter that converts to a stroller/walker, and he loves it. Two short videos of his prowess!



And finally, we leave you with a little bit of dancing and singing to the B52s.

Healthy Chub

Can you believe we took no photos last week? Here's a first bubble bath from the week before. He wasn't too impressed since he couldn't see his toys very well.

Zane had his one year checkup on Tuesday, and he continues to gain some healthy chub. He gained 14 ounces over the past month and is now 18 lbs 12 ounces and 29.5" tall. He got his weight percentile up to 2.74. It's nice to know he's going in the right direction so that when we have days that he doesn't eat very well, I don't worry so much. He got three vaccinations at his checkup and coupled with a crappy cough he's been off his feed. Unfortunately, since he's nursing less he also has been dehydrated a bit, so we need to develop some water and cow-milk drinking habits. It should help keep his poops from looking like little pebbles in his pants.

Walking is progressing steadily. It seems like I hear from some people that their kids just took off walking one day. Zane seems to be more of a steady improver while he works hard on a skill. Every day he takes more steps in row before plopping on his butt. So far no major wipe-outs while walking. However, he did keel over twice while just sitting down and got his first bloody lip as a result.

Another area where Zane is slowly crossing over into learning is talking. He definitely understands some words, but we can't yet say for sure that he can say words. He has some words that he uses a lot, but not always in the right context, so does that count? He says Momma, Daddy, JoJo (we think), and lately Up! "Up" is said with a very pronounced final "p" and seems to be an all purpose verb rather than really meaning up. If he wants to do something or for us to help him do something he says "uP!"

Right now Zane takes two naps a day, but I think he may be starting the move to one. On Friday he took one enormous three hour nap from 10:30-1:30 and then stayed up until bedtime. In fact, he seemed incredibly well rested and was pretty zippy all afternoon. I wasn't ready for such a long nap and didn't use my time as well as I could have. It will be nice to have Zane take one long nap once that develops. The morning nap gets in the way of some adventures I'd like to do with him, and storytime is currently at 11:30 when he is often sleeping.

Stick Walker

Now that rainy and cold weather has begun to come, I had to buy Zane his first real outside shoes. Not too many more days or weeks of walking in bare feet! We like to practice walking outside on the flat sidewalk. Zane loves to carry sticks and a broom, so we've co-opted them to save our backs when helping him walk.


Earlier in the week Zane and I had our first trip together to the zoo. It was near nap time and we couldn't stay too long, but the best thing was the jaguar. What a BIG exciting cat! It was also fun to see other bunnies at the petting zoo. The petting zoo wasn't open at the time we were there; next time I hope we have better luck.

Not much else to report! Enjoy these wonderful pictures from Maine I just received from Ann and Jon. Thanks guys!

He Walks Among Us

Zane is walking! Not very far, but he can do it on his own. The video above shows just a step, but the farthest so far was 8 steps Saturday night. He was trying to get to his bunny Bob who was in my lap getting blow-dried after his spa date, and Zane forgot he couldn't walk yet, so he did it! All this week Zane has been working on standing and going up and down, and now that he's pretty good at that, he decided to just go right into walking! He's even doing it in the bath tub. I'm amazed at the fast progression. By the end of next week I bet he'll be pretty good at it.

On Wednesday we went to the UW brain lab to participate in a study. Zane got to play with toys, and occasionally a lady would blind fold herself and see if Zane knew whether or not she could see. Instead of acting as though he thought she could see the toys she was looking at (with a blindfold on), Zane would point to the blindfold as if to say "Um, you might want to take that off."

Monday we go to another developmental screening, and we get to help them test out some new questionnaires for social development.

Two weeks ago we went swimming again, which Zane hadn't done since he was just learning to crawl. He had a blast and I need to try to squeeze that in more often. There aren't any story times for a while in September, so maybe we'll take that time and go to the pool.

Our next adventure is a trip to the zoo tomorrow morning with some other moms and kids. I haven't been for a long time, but Zane has with his daycare! This will be our first time together. I can't wait to see what he thinks of seeing rabbits that aren't JoJo.

Here's our cutie-pie in Maine with Grandma.

Happy Birthday, Zane!

We made it! We made it! Zane turns one year old today. We had a really nice BBQ out back with friends and family. It was a lot less organized than we would have liked, but it's hard to get with it and also take care of the Birthday Boy. Oh well. There is no cake picture as he was completely uninterested in his cupcake. So I ate it. And then in the evening I offered him another, but he was again uninterested. So I ate it. The sacrifices of a mother.

I've been thinking a lot lately about last year at this time. When labor started, what I was doing, and how Zane finally came into the world 49 hours later! We've been watching old videos and marveling at how wobbly and un-able he was (Michael says "pathetic"). Zane sure has changed a lot in the last year, but he's not done yet! Still a lot of growing and changing to go. This next year will bring walking and talking and tantrums.

Here he is when we brought our little elf home and the eleven months following.

He slowly changed each month. I think he really achieved his Zane-ness at around 4 or 5 months. Before that he was much more of an infant and didn't look so much like himself.

I may put up more pictures from his birthday later, but I'm plum tuckered out!

Zane Walker, Ballard Ranger

Zane is really working on walking this week! He needs to hold onto both of my hands, so I don't think solo walking is super imminent, but it is definitely on the horizon. When we are outside I think Zane recognizes the value of walking as a way to not bang up his knees. He really seems to enjoy it. At storytime on Wednesday he forgot to hold on and took one step by himself, and then later at daycare he did that again but crashed and burned. We'll get there!



Today we went to ReclinerLand in Lynnwood, which turned out to be very exciting for Zane. Miles of soft furniture and carpets. We got a new chair to replace the rocker/glider I used for Zane's first year. He doesn't need so much rocking and effort to get to sleep these days, and we wanted something soft that everyone could enjoy. It'll be delivered Friday or Saturday and I can't wait! I've also ordered something to organize Zane's toys and I received a new bookshelf for his books. Now they're all accessible to pull out at any time!

Tuesday I managed to finish getting a baby bike seat (Thanks, Sabina!) installed onto my bicycle, and we went out for a ride on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was fun! The first day Zane said "Ahhhhh" for a while and seemed to be playing with his bumpy voice. When we got going fast down a hill he put his hands and feet on my back. A backseat driver putting on the brakes! Wednesday we took an early morning jaunt to a park overlooking Puget Sound (now also the Salish Sea) and had a nice time talking to some people and exploring. This morning we went to the Locks and saw many dogs, joggers, and rushing water but not many fish. Once I get my bike legs back (I haven't been biking for about a year and a half), we can go to Golden Gardens. Zane looks like a little boy, not a baby, in his big bike helmet.

Eating and sleep have been wonderful! For most nights in the past week he has slept 9-11 hours straight. Zane has become a pea-fanatic and now I give them to him as an appetizer while I'm preparing his meal. It helps cut down on last minute Oh-god-I'm-hungry whines. I've started trying foods that he disliked in the past with some success. Lentils with ham got urped up, though. I'm not sure if it was yucky or a thick texture thing. I'm adding ground chicken to meals, too, so he's getting more protein. Today he had tiny star pasta and had stars stuck to his lips after dinner.



On our way to the post office on Monday I picked up a sorter toy at a yard sale. The little shapes are rattly, which is fun. I showed Zane how to put the toys in, and when I point to the right hole he can manipulate them the right way and push them in. He seems to think that's pretty cool. On his own he doesn't quite get the idea of the right shape and color for the right hole, but this toy might help that light bulb go in. These are also a nice size to practice throwing!

This week's mischief has been learning to open the toilet lid and fish around. A toilet lid lock is in our future, but hopefully not a complicated one so I don't pee my pants trying to get into the toilet.

Wednesday was our last baby story time at Shoreline! Shoreline's story times are on break until September, so we are going to start going to a young toddler story time at Ballard during the same time. We can bike to the library!

Graduating to the next level of story time is one of many almost-birthday changes. I've been thinking a lot in the last couple of weeks about what I was doing last year at this time. Last day of work. Mom comes to visit. Big and pregnant during a heat wave. No idea what's coming!

Mr. Engineer

Michael helped to engineer Zane, but of course he has an older baby, too.

People are always asking me about how Michael's software MoI is doing, and what the heck is it anyway? Here is a nice big 5 part series all about it.

A Stand Up Guy

More pictures from Maine! A couple of professional portraits, some at the lake, and some with Zane outside and inside the L. L. Bean aquarium.

Zane continues to get a bunch of new skills. I wonder if his improved nutrition is helping these come out? He now loves to play with lids: he takes them off, he puts them on (correctly!). He is also beginning to precariously let go with both hands while standing. Friday morning he stood for 3 seconds, standing tall and straight! This week he learned how to let go of a toy and hand it to me. The first time he did this he laughed and laughed! We had to do it over and over, and he still thinks it's pretty good fun. Sort of related is that he will also feed me some of his food (as long as he isn't eating bananas).

Poor Zane got pretty sick earlier in the week. He had a high fever, excessive drooling, runny nose, and no appetite from Saturday night through midnight Sunday. Monday the fever and snot were gone but the drooling and lack of appetite continued along with severe unhappiness. He may have had a sore throat. Only a bath would make him happy, so we had some extras. It was sad to see our happy boy feeling so poorly. The only plus is that he was so limp and tired JoJo felt confident to hang out near him. Wednesday afternoon he broke out into a little bit of a rash, so it may have been Roseola.

Tuesday he was better and eating again, which was good because we had a weight check coming up! Wednesday Zane went to see Dr. Globerman, and he is officially chubbier! At the last visit Zane had only gained 6oz in 6 weeks and had dropped to 1.35% for weight for babies his age. This time he had gained 13oz in 4 weeks and is up to 1.99%! Yay! We are really making progress now, which is a relief to me.


Sleep has been totally awesome! I've been trying to get Zane to bed consistently earlier, and we've been shooting for 8pm, and getting there at about 8:15pm. Tuesday night we got to bed late but slept until 9am! That has never happened! Wed, Thu, and Fri nights he slept about 11 hours with just 2 wake up breaks! I'm feeling really refreshed and hopeful that this is a new trend. Many many people tell me that if I can get him in bed by 7:30 he will most likely still sleep until 7:30am. This would be wonderful because I would have more time to get chores done in the evenings, and maybe even a little down time.

We are just back from a Sunday stroll, and Zane now has his first bike helmet so he can go for rides on a seat on the back of Mommy's bike. Hopefully we can go tomorrow!