Boys Who Wear Glasses

Zane has been enjoying wearing my glasses lately. He doesn't seem to be bothered by looking through the lenses, which I think is odd. He has fine eyesight, though, as we know he can see little things from far away.

Last Sunday night Zane got feverish and had a cough again. I think now it was just a little relapse of his old sickness, as it's now all gone. We've been having some weird behavior this week, so I think he's having some neural rewiring and maybe a growth spurt. Zane is generally really good about going to sleep (and lately staying asleep), but this week he had two days of great difficulty in going to sleep. He was also extra clingy and toddlery, and has had several sudden shrieking crying fits over what seems like nothing. One day I had to hold him down and wrestle him into a diaper and clean clothes so we could get to daycare and work (late). I am not liking this. I hope it is a pretty short phase. Luckily he's his normal cheerful self in between.

The weather in Seattle has been cold and snowy, and we didn't get out and do much. Today, though, Zane and I went to a family contradance where we just watched the musicians, and Zane had fun exploring. Also, his favorite dump truck was breaking down, so Daddy went out and got two new ones, which had Zane squealing and clapping and being very impatient for them to be washed so he could use them.

Ahh, the small pleasures of life. Such as soap.

I Want That!

I worked this weekend, and then there was sickness drama Sunday evening, and no-nap drama today, thus the late post.

This morning I was trying to teach Zane how to play with Play-Doh. Here his is learning about its stickiness. Mostly I made the Play-Doh into "rocks", and Zane spent a lot of time dumping them in and out of his dump truck.

This past week Zane has slowly been getting better. He's had a number of days with champion 3-4 hour naps and then 10-11 hour nights of sleeping without once waking up! Unfortunately, Michael has gotten really sick which is bad for him, and bad for me as his snoring is monumental. Someday I'll sleep again, I keep telling myself.

Tuesday we had Zane's 18 month checkup, and it was not a fun visit. Zane was still extra-sensitive to life from being sick, and he writhed and screamed anytime anyone came near him. His weight and height seem to be the same as they were 3 months ago, so we need to go back in a couple of months for a weight check. Zane had been under the weather and not eating well for several weeks, so I'm not surprised. Earlier in the year he had no size change for three months, then had a period of sleeping really well followed by a growth spurt, so I'll bet some growing is coming soon. Other than a bit of a fungus in his frontal diaper area, Zane is doing well and didn't even need any shots! He's getting athlete's foot cream on his nuts now, and that should hopefully clear up soon. He'd been yanking on them and telling me they hurt.

Wednesday afternoon we went to the aquarium for another fish visit. Last time when we saw the octopus, it wasn't moving and I don't think Zane knew it was alive. This time it moved, and he was mesmerized. Then he declared "I want that!" I think this qualifies as his first sentence. We came home with an encyclopedia of ocean life which had nice pictures in it, and a slinky.

We were having fun with Zane, saying "I want that" to his body parts:


Zane eventually pointed to his own ear and said "I want that," and then tried to pull it off.

I'm off to try to get some cold weather yard cleanup in!

Sick and Stunned

Poor Zane has been really sick this week. The cough and mild fever of the preceding weeks came back with a vengeance on Monday. We skipped swimming on Tuesday, dance class on Wednesday, and Zane stayed home from daycare on Thursday and Friday. His cough was awful, a fever would come and go up to 104, his chest was congested, nose was running, he had diarrhea, and he was just generally miserable. He hardly ate or drank. Other times that he's been sick he's been tired or snotty but generally cheerful, but this time you could tell he felt awful. Nights he spent coughing, whimpering in his sleep, and having nightmares. Days he was tired and wheezy. One night he threw up a bunch of mucous which had been dripping down from his sinuses. After that, he just sat in my lap with his arms around my neck sobbing "Mama." I took him in to the doctor to make sure he didn't have anything too bad, but he just needed rest. We watched a lot of videos on buses, garbage trucks, dump trucks, and fish. A neighbor lent us a 30 minute road construction video which has been a favorite.

Today, Sunday, he seems to be finally on the upswing. He had enough energy that this morning we drove out to a park to walk in the trees. Zane has been very keen on saying "don't" lately, and every time a person approached us on the trail he held his arm out in a stop signal, and said "Don't!". I explained to him that it was OK, the trails were for everyone. Luckily, everyone thought he was being cute and waving, so they all waved and said hi. We also saw a dog take a really long pee on the trail right next to us, and that made Zane laugh and laugh. The outing was good for both of us as we were a bit stir crazy. When we got home Zane crashed for a three hour nap, and the photo above is of him still trying to come out of his stupor.

Here is evidence of Zane's TV stupor this week:

Superbowl Edition

Zane demonstrates the proper way to watch the Superbowl. He really only watched a little, mostly the half-time show. He liked the dancing and tried to do some, but his dancing ended up being running around in a circle and flinging himself to the floor. It was pretty entertaining.

This week we had a great time at swimming and a clingy time at dance class. Zane's favorite part of dance class is the music, though, and he loves to grab the shakers and make sound. This week he learned to say "music", and now he is even asking for it when it's not on. Here Zane practices his DJ skills:


Saturday we had an 18 month developmental testing session with Marni at Parent Trust. Really it was just an excuse to visit with Marni, since I have no worries or questions about Zane's development. He is of course, doing fine. He is beginning to do imaginative play, and while we were there he dutifully fed a bottle to several baby dolls, and later shared some of his snacks and an empty cup with some bears. At home I sometimes have his bunny Bob do play, and Zane always thinks that is funny and has Bob do more stuff. This morning he gave Bob and Kitty a whole pile of crayons while we were drawing, and later he was sharing a book with them.

Zane seems to be starting another little virus of some sort, so we stayed inside all of today, which is pretty rare. I almost always plan some sort of outing, even if it is a trip to the grocery store or a walk around the block. It's hard to entertain a toddler all day long inside! We managed it, though. Lots of books, crayons, and videos of buses, dump trucks, and garbage trucks.

After Bath Boys

I worked all weekend -- sorry for the late post! Actually, not much happened this week that I was itching to post. Last Monday night Zane started a minor to middlin' bit of congestion and cough and maybe a low fever. We stayed home from cold swimming lessons on Tuesday and had kind of a subdued time at dance class on Wednesday. I got a touch of it, too. There's been some major crud going around Seattle, and the library has been full of coughing sneezing people. We'll be lucky if that's all we get.

Zane has been continuing to say new words just about everyday. He's also been having a hard time going to sleep at night, and I wonder if the two are connected? He's not upset, just rolling around his crib, scratching at the bars, and mumbling to himself. I sometimes have to resettle him several times before he sleeps, and last night when I was at work Michael had to resort to the vibrating bouncy chair. I'm thinking maybe all of his new language synapses give him a lot to think about when he goes to bed.

Here's a fun collection of videos of Zane and Daddy goofing around after bathtime. The "thumper" Zane talks about in the beginning is the massager that he really likes, and "hot" is the heater.

Sins of the Mother

Ohhh, how attractive TV is! I generally disapprove of TV for kids, and I agree with the recommendation of no/limited screen time for children under two. But it is so wonderful to have your child blissfully and quietly engaged while you try to get something done! Zane loves to watch YouTube videos of fish and garbage trucks, so we've brought them up on our upstairs TV/PC. I'll let Zane watch about 20 minutes of garbage trucks while I clean up the kitchen, and boy does he love it! So do I. I can see how people routinely plop their kids in front of the TV. Zane asks for "TeeTee! Gabboo!" You can see he has his own remote control and comfy chair, just like Mama and Daddy. At least the YouTube videos are not full of rapidly changing scenes and commercials, so I don't think I've totally brain damaged Zane.

We've had a pretty nice weekend. Saturday Zane and I went to the Zoo in the morning. We did some warm indoor exhibits. Highlights were the meerkats jumping, getting to feed the birds in the Australian aviary, poison dart frogs, Komodo dragons, and the kids' Zoomazium play room. I've never been to the zoo on a weekend, and the Zoomazium was, well, a zoo. When we got home we looked at our new reptiles and amphibian book and remembered the turtles and frogs we saw. I pointed out the Komodo dragon, and Zane said "Moto!" Today, Sunday, we took the bus for a very short ride to the Ballard farmers' market. Zane loves to see the bus, so it was fun to go on the bus instead of walking. This way we got to spend more time at the market. We ate mini donuts and honey, bought honey and a CD, and watched some great music. Zane even shuffled his feet a bit while we watched a lady buck dancing. Now he's tired out and napping!

I belatedly stuck together some Christmas videos. Enjoy!

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!

Home Sweet Home

Boy are we glad to be home! There's nothing like your own comfy chair.

Before we left for Maine, Zane had a pretty excellent Christmas. He got very excited about his presents and grasped the concept of unwrapping quite quickly. I think his favorite presents are his very own chair with his name on it, a standup piano keyboard, a remote control, some monsters, and a garbage truck ("Gabboo").

At Grandpa Milt's house he got to play cars with his cousins, and he got a cool car from Grandpa and an electric guitar from his Aunt/Uncle/cousins.

On Christmas morning we were off to Maine. The trip to Maine went pretty well, although Zane only slept for one hour of the trip. He had a fun time watching planes take off, but mostly I think he liked to see all of the airport service trucks zipping around. He made the sign language sign for fan when we got into the small plane with propellers. Smart kid!

We started our visit in Maine in Harpswell with my Dad, Becky, and Brady. Zane was pretty ecstatic to be in a house with THREE cats! We had a little blizzard while we there, and it was cold and blowy so we didn't get to go out and play in the falling snow. Zane learned the word snow. We did take a drive out to Cook's Lobsterhouse during the storm, and while we were there only two other groups were in the restaurant. Zane spent a lot of time wandering around with a chaperone. He got to see his first big fully decorated and lighted tree there, and he also had his first french fries. Brady brought my Grandma Henderson up to the house, and we all had a quiet visit with football on the TV.

It was a little wearing to be in a non-baby-proofed house. It's amazing how much I take our safe house for granted! I had to follow Zane around and make sure he didn't fall down the basement stairs, or go up to the second floor and fall down those stairs. Pens, scissors, cleansers ... And we had to keep the telephones and cats safe from Zane.

Tuesday we headed out to Camden, and Zane got to re-meet his cousins Ian (9) and Julian (5). He really had fun with them. Ian was especially good and patient with Zane. My brother's house was pretty fun for Zane, but from my point of view, a mega death-trap. The two resident cats, Manuel and Polly, are a little shier than my Dad's cats, and Manuel can be downright vicious. There is a red-hot woodstove in the middle of the house surrounded by a sharp and trippable brick hearth, and fronted by a slippable and trippable carpet. Stairs to go up and fall down. Cleansers. Tiny Bionicles parts everywhere. Mousetraps! I was exhausted. I didn't want to keep Zane cooped up and constantly say No No No, so I followed him around and put my body between him and danger. He had a blast.

The Christmas tree here was decorated with many outdoorsy things. Zane is still very excited about fish, so he was happy to see lots of fish ornaments. There were also many boat ornaments, and boat toys for the bath, so Zane learned the word boat. After learning the word he came into our room, spied some wooden duck decoys, and said "Da Boot!" He was sure they were boats, and we decided that was OK.

It was finally time for Zane to have a Maine snow experience, so on a beautiful and relatively warm sunny day, we went to the Camden Snow Bowl. We got the sled, stuffed Zane into his snowpants and boots, and went to have fun! Whee. Zane would not crack a smile. He seemed pretty stunned, like he couldn't understand why we were torturing him with layers of clothes and freezing air. We finally gave up and went into the lodge to eat, and he perked right up and had a grand ol' time. I have a feeling that when we go on our next vacation to Hawaii he will be happier.

Zane also got to spend time with his Grandma! Grandma is an early morning person, so I got to catch up on some sleep while Zane ate healthy breakfasts with his Grandma. One day I was in bed for 10 hours, the next for 12. I can't wait for July when she will be with us for a whole month! And not just for the sleep.

My friends Ann and Jon came to Camden to visit, and gave Zane a super-stylin' embroidered vest. I think maybe Zane will wear it for his dance class starting on Wednesday. My aunt Vicki came to visit, too, and we had quite a full house of guests. It was pretty relaxing, because Zane was napping! We also had a quick visit with my Grandma Robarts and Aunt Connie.

At this point we were pretty exhausted with keeping Zane alive, and really looking forward to going home. Back to Harpswell, which we decided was actually quite safe compared to my brother's house. A nice lunch out with my Dad, Becky, Grandma Henderson and Aunt Vicki and we were off to the airport! Yay!

Well. If only it were so simple. The weather issues of earlier in the week were all gone, but for some reason Newark Airport was all backed up in air traffic, so our plane from Portland got in late before our flight, and so our flight departed very late. I spent much time with Zane in the Portland airport running back and forth and making friends with other little kids. Zane was great in the terminal, but on the plane he ended up screeching and crying for most of the 1+ hour flight. He fell asleep right before we got to Newark. By the time we got to Newark, air traffic was still backed up, so our plane hung around in the air for 10 extra minutes before landing. Then they couldn't find anyone to drive the skybridge to the plane. Finally we got off and trotted trotted trotted to our connecting flight -- and missed it by 5 minutes. @#%%@!

After a really long wait at customer service, we were able to get a flight for Monday morning (a day and a half later), so we had to stay in a Newark hotel for 2 nights. During deplaning, running to miss our flight, wading through customer services, getting our bags, and getting on and off trains and elevators Zane slept soundly in his car seat on wheels. He woke up just before we got the shuttle to the hotel. The shuttle was completely packed with people standing in the door well and loud music coming from the driver's area. This was just a sign of things to come!

We were put up in the lovely Newark Ramada Plaza Hotel. As you can tell from these reviews, it pretty much sucked. And Continental only paid for one night of such luxury, so we had to shell out for some of it. This is odd -- I just went to look at my Facebook account where I had mentioned staying in a yucky hotel, and the post is gone! I don't think I even mentioned the name of the hotel! Creepy. I've been edited. The hotel was in some sort of weird freeway interchange and freight yard dead end, so you couldn't walk anywhere. Not that you'd want to what with the State Prison next door. There were no diapers in the hotel store, so Michael had to take a taxi to get some to tide us over. The towels were very thin and small, and they wouldn't seem to let you have more than one wash cloth at a time. Unvacuumed floors. We asked for a crib several times and didn't get one. The lobby was stained and filthy. At the restaurant we had to ask for a high chair three times before they gave us one. At least the shower was hot with nice water pressure, and we didn't seem to encounter bedbugs.

The restaurant was pretty good, though, and we managed to pass the time walking around the hotel over and over again. Zane and I played with hinged door stops over and over in an empty dining room, and Zane finally began to learn the concept of up and down. Because of the Ramada, he learned some vocabulary! Zane napped and slept pretty well in a bed surrounded by pillows so he wouldn't fall off.

Zane had really had it with travel, and he began biting us frequently. I decided not to deal with it too harshly until we got home, since I figured he was just out of sorts. He also started sitting in his travel seat and saying "home", which was sad.

When it came time to leave, we were almost late to the airport because the shuttle was too full and then didn't come back to pick us up for 30 minutes, but eventually we made it home. We stood in the living room and jumped up and down!

We've had some transition time with sleep schedules disrupted, and Zane has been very clingy and has more separation anxiety than usual. After his very first time out, the biting subsided, too. Mostly we're back to normal now.

On Wednesday our friends Jeff and Claudia visited with their son Finn, who is one month older than Zane. Zane was a bit of a pill about his toys -- he didn't want Finn to have any. Luckily, Finn didn't care.

And now, hopefully life will go on. No more travel adventures for a while!

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.