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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
I am a librarian in public libraries. Outside of work I love to go dancing with my husband and play music. I play 5 string clawhammer banjo, and I have also played rhythm with Cajun bands since 1994. I love to garden and nurture plants. I love world travel, and I have been to Egypt (6 months), England (6 months), Scotland, France, Italy, Greece, Thailand, Hong Kong, Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, Russia, Estonia, Ecuador and of course Mexico and Canada. I'd love to go to the Galapagos next. Anywhere I go, and inside the US, I love to go hiking and boating and see the real beauty of nature. I live with my husband, a cat, and a rabbit we rescued from Woodland Park. And now we have our son Zane, born 8/15/09!
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.
