Mr. BeanJangles
This week has been so pleasant and normal. Separation anxiety and sleep are returning to normal. Sigh.
Zane and I started dance lessons on Monday! I tried to get him to wear the snazzy vest above, but he kept pulling it off. Maybe another time. The class had lots of activities with songs and stories, and as the teacher predicted, Zane mostly stared and didn't participate. She says she will often see a big change after just a few classes once the kids have soaked up a bit of the idea of movement to music. This Sunday evening we went to a family contra dance. I mostly wanted Zane to see live music, but once he warmed up to the place he enjoyed exploring, interacting with other kids, watching music, and even letting me hold him for a bit of dancing. Every time the musicians stopped he'd wave his arms and say "more!" When we got home he went to the CD player, and I'm pretty sure he was trying to say music -- "misi". We worked on how to turn it on by himself, which I may come to regret.
Words are really starting to explode out of Zane. This week alone we've heard (or heard something 
close to): crotch, milk, soup, soap, Cheerios, more, steam, music, cracker, and Zane. He's even starting little sentences such as "More boob" and "I pooped." He will now tell me right away when he's pooped and sometimes even go to get diapers! The other day he told me before he pooped, which is nice progress on the way to toilet training.
The obsession with fish continues. There is a National Geographic article on them that he loves, so he is joining the family tradition of reading while eating.
We started swimming lessons two weeks ago, and Zane seems to like them. The pool is a little cold, though, and he gets pretty cold by the end. Hopefully that won't sour him on the experience. The lessons are pretty basic, and I think the games and activities are things I can easily continue on my own. After this short string of lessons is done, I hope I can get it together to go back up to the warm Mountlake Pool which is literally made for kids.
The weather has been pretty yucky, but the last several days have been warmish and clear to drizzly. A good day in Seattle during the winter. We've all managed to get outside a bit and get fresh air. A neighbor just gave us a little tricycle that Zane has instantly fallen in love with. His little legs dangle off the seat and don't really reach the pedals yet, but it comes with a parental push bar to keep things rolling for now. We hope it's a nice enough day to go out again tomorrow!
