Boys and Girls of Summer

We've had a pretty nice week with a number of really nice days. The first day of summer was actually a super beautiful day. We all went down to the beach for the morning and had a great time. As we walked towards the water we noticed several people with Styrofoam coolers; they were taking big crabs out of them and tossing them into the water. We walked up and watched and from what they were saying gathered that they were Buddhists doing an act of kindness on a day that was considered extra powerful for such acts. The kindness would come back to them manyfold. Zane was fascinated and even touched the back of one that a lady held for him. Later when Michael and I held out tiny crabs we found, he refused to touch them and kept telling us to put them back. It always seems like we have to leave the beach too soon. One of these days I need to get my act together and get down there early enough to stay for several hours before nap time.

Later in the week, on the way to daycare, Zane had a bunny in his lap (not Bob), and he pointed out its tail. We had a conversation like this:

J: Does JoJo have a tail?
Z: Yeah!
J: Daddy doesn't have a tail, and Mommy doesn't have a tail, and Zane doesn't have a tail. No tails!
Z: Pesis!
J: Yes, you have a penis! But that's not a tail, it's different. Daddy has a penis. Zane and Daddy have a penis, but Mommy doesn't have a penis.
Z: Glasses!
J: Yes, Mommy doesn't have a penis, but she does have glasses!
Z: Boobs.
J: Zane and Daddy have a penis, and Mommy has glasses and boobs. That's right!

We seem to have come to another big leap in language. It's not so much that he has a bunch more words, but that his sentences have become a little longer and more complex. One really noticeable thing that he's been working on this week is his/hers he/she him/her. He's been experimenting with them, so I've been using them a lot more, too.

I also was super impressed with him this week on fine motor control. We got a theme kit from the library that had big beads to string, and after I showed him how once he managed to do it himself after just a minute or two!

A had to work this weekend, and on Saturday morning Zane and Michael went to the zoo. They got the super bonus of seeing an elephant pee and poop an enormous quantity of stuff. You just can't beat that. Sunday I put Zane on my bike and we went to a small park overlooking the sound. Zane loves to look at the boats from there. Afterwards we got Michael and went out to brunch and to the Farmers' Market. We saw our neighbor Gavin who took this really nice photo:I don't have a lot of photos of Zane and me, so I'm especially pleased with it.

Mom/Grandma is coming! Only a few more days -- I can't wait. She'll be here for all of July, and we will almost immediately take off for a week of car-camping at Fiddle Tunes. We're leaving on Sunday, so I may not be able to get another blog post in for a while.

Crushing

Zane and Michael and I have been fighting some crud all week. Michael got the best of it and I the worst, while Zane muddled through and ended up with some pink eye. The cold and congestion part were mild, but it ended up going for my throat and I could hardly speak at all for two days; I'm still a little creaky. The tiredness is what is so crushing, though. I think I'm better and another wave of tiredness and a flareup of an earache or sore throat or some nausea comes back. A co-worker had it and said she felt tired for a month.

While being so tired, we've watched a lot of TV. I sat with Zane and we watched his first movie, The Jungle Book. He seemed to really like it! I'm not sure that he followed the story line at all, but I think he just liked the animals and the music. I've also started showing him some dancing from So You Think You Can Dance. He's been talking about "Hippop" dancing since then, so I think he liked it! He asked to see some of the dances over and over.

Although he likes music and asks for me to sing at night, he's been a bit sensitive about it in the daytime and asks me to turn his CDs off at mealtimes. Yesterday I was singing to him while we played and he gently placed his hand on my face and said, "Mama, music off." He did it again tonight during bathtime, tonight although this time he just said, "Mama, singing off." I can't blame him, though, because I was singing John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.

Zane's been pretty good this week. Today we went out to lunch for Father's Day with Michael's Dad and Stephanie and Kyrin. Zane was an absolute golden child and even ate his food. He didn't fall asleep on the way home and then went right to sleep for his nap. I was all ready for a difficult time and caught a break!

We've really been enjoying some of his funny words as he learns to talk. He still calls books "cooks"; his penis is a "pesis", a hummingbird is a "honey bird" and a washcloth is a "wafflaff." That last one is our favorite. He's pretty much got his colors nailed down so I've decided to start working on shapes.

Zane really likes the concept of CRUSHING and gets excited about garbage trucks or other machines doing it. A favorite activity at mealtimes lately is using garlic presses to crush cereal and crackers. Whatever keeps him seated and eating is fine by me! One night he was crushing something after his bath, and I said "Don't crush your nuts!" Much to our amazement, he then very animatedly did just that and said "I crush my pesis!" Agggh! I asked didn't that hurt, and he said no.

Boys are weird!

Peace At Last

I'm probably dooming myself by saying this, but things have been a lot better with Zane by the end of this week. Today he immediately went to sleep for his nap and woke refreshed. At night he asked to nurse and then to go to bed! No cajoling or telling him what was coming next. He was asleep by 8:15 instead of mumbling to himself or making demands until 9pm. There are still mini-tantrums about this and that, but I'm beginning to learn how to deal with them, and maybe so is he! Sometimes I even benefit from a tantrum. Tonight he threw his dinner cookies, after I warned him not to, and they went away -- right into my mouth! Yum.

Tuesday Zane and I had a visit to the doctor to check on more rashes, this time behind his knees. It is eczema, like on his hands. Zane just seems to have really dry skin, as he has needed various lotions here and there since he was born. On the bright side, maybe he won't have terrible acne as a teen! Zane was extremely upset about being at the doctors (and writhing and screaming), but we managed to get a rough estimate of his weight and height: about 34 or 34.5 inches tall and about 23.5 pounds. Those didn't get measured on his official charts, so I'm not sure about how he compares to other kids. A lot of his pants have gotten too short lately, so I know he's doing well.

This weekend has been pretty nice, but we've been fighting a bit of a cold here, and Saturday I was really struck low. Rather than trying to multi-task I just kicked back and chaperoned Zane's play, and that was actually kind of nice. Today I feel better but not awesome, so we did much of the same. This morning we all went out to brunch and on the way back to the car we stopped at the spray park and Zane got good and wet. I think the fun helped him fall asleep nicely for his nap. This afternoon we had lots of relaxed time talking with neighbors in the front and playing in the backyard with sand and trucks and the hose. In this picture he applies blue chalk to his belly like a Pictish warrior applying woad before a battle. I showed Zane the "jet" setting on the hose, and the little stinker purposely nailed me several times. Michael took Zane for a walk while I got some vacuuming done, then a nice dinner, bath, and early bed time. I can tell you the lack of bed time stress has made me feel pretty good today. I hope this is a sign of a return to more civilized behavior.

The Joy of Trucks

Well, this week has been a lot like last week, although maybe a little better. Zane is still having difficulty going to sleep, and he wakes up about 10 times a night, often with a little shriek. I'm still quite tired.

He remains pretty temperamental, but we're making progress. Today I only needed to say I was about to count to three for him to start moving along, and I didn't have to actually count! Yesterday he actually gave himself a timeout three times -- after doing something that elicited a loud noise from me, he ran into the bedroom and sat down quietly. When I went in to get him he had calmed down and was nice again. I think he's recognizing his anger. I've been trying to teach him the words angry and mad so that he can help to understand and talk about what he's feeling. If he throws something in anger it goes away for a while, and I'm pretty sure he's stopped himself a few times.

The weather has been awful in Seattle this spring, and we finally had temps in the 70s Friday and all weekend. So of course it was my weekend to work! I was really heartbroken about that. Saturday Zane and Michael went to the aquarium in the morning and spent some time in the backyard in the afternoon. After work I got Zane and we went to a cookout at Sabina's house. He had a lot of fun playing in their yard with a swing set and slide, cool lava gravel, and an excellent dirt pile. He loved the enormous bubbles Maya and Alina blew. He was too busy to eat much, but we had fun.

Sunday I didn't have to go to work until 1pm, so in the morning Zane and I had time for an adventure. We went to Touch-A-Truck! It was awesome. A local group set it up as a free event with donations recommended. All sorts of fabulous trucks were shined up and ready for touching: garbage truck, dump truck, two tanker trucks, two enormous cranes, a small bobcat digger and a small bobcat bulldozer, a semi truck cab, an ambulance, and an ice cream truck. When we made a donation Zane got a yellow toy hard hat to wear. His favorite was the garbage truck, even though he sees several of those on our street every Tuesday. He said he wanted to drive the crane and to have one. I told him our driveway wasn't quite big enough.



There were tons of kids there, and the lines to get into the trucks were too long for a toddler to manage. When we got back to my car I let Zane play in the front seat and beep my horn for a while, so he could get his driving urges out.

I had to go to work again today in the afternoon, but the morning was free with no plans! Zane had a nice unstructured morning in our front yard and back yard, watching people mow their lawns, sweeping, poking things with sticks, looking at a ladybug, collecting rocks, and swinging.

And playing with trucks. Always playing with trucks!

Artistic Temperament

This has been a very difficult and trying week, hence the almost too-late-to-bother post. Michael has also been helping me move to a new computer, so I haven't had the easy access to my computer I'm used to (although soon it will be better than ever!). I'll make this post very abbreviated.

For the last week and a half Zane has been very terribly-twoey. I'd heard it tends to happen before they are two, and boy is it happening now. He is having great difficulty going to sleep, and he is also screaming and crying in his sleep and waking up a lot needing Mama. In the day he is very demanding, rude, violent, and insistent on doing things his way. We are having some time outs, a lot of counting to three before I declare Mama will take over, a lot of wrestling to make diaper changes, getting dressed, and getting into the car seat happen. This is not my favorite phase! I hope it is a quick one. Tonight for the first time in a while he has gone right to sleep without asking for kisses, hugs, this pillow, a different pillow, one blanket or the other, no blanket, no pillow, too hot, sun coming in the window bothers him ... He was just exhausted since nap time went so poorly!

I've been trying to wear him out with excitement, but that doesn't seem to be working. We've had story times, visits with Grandpa, visits with cousins and family, trips to the park with its big sandbox, bicycle rides to the beach with much sand playing, Folklife festival (twice), a new set of paint brushes just for Zane (and "painting" with water), swimming, and a playdate with Uma. Here we have the aftermath of the playdate.















I must say I am pretty exhausted by the emotional effort. Plus the fact that whatever is going on in Zane's brain is making his sleep very disturbed which means I get crappy sleep, too. Grouchy sleepy Mama does not have the patience she needs to get through this. And so I really should not be making this blog post longer. I will relax with wine, a cookie, and a bear documentary.

Nice Days

I can't really think of many earth shattering things that have happened this week, it just feels like it's been a pleasant one. We've had a couple of nice days here and there, and the rest were pretty OK (weather-wise). Compared to what we've had, that's stellar. I've been getting Zane out in his sandbox, and to the park, on strolls with him on his bike, and out front with neighborhood kids. On a couple of days we've even managed bare feet. Today Zane kept being anxious that they were dirty, though, so I set up a foot bath in a plant dish. I try to tell him that being dirty outside is really OK, and even fun, but he likes to be clean. Oh, well.

We made a breakthrough in manners in that he finally said please, unprompted, in a sentence. Unfortunately, he said "More cookies, please." I had already said no many times and didn't want to give in. He said "More apples, please" later, and I got to give him those. Mostly he is still imperious, though. "Mama, up! Mama, walk! Over there!" "Mama, sit! Right there!" "Daddy, move!"

Zane's highlight of the week was probably a box that came with 6 new pairs of socks. Three pairs of space socks and three pairs of construction truck socks. Michael tried to take them away and Zane got seriously upset. He threw his body on them and tried stuffing them up his shirt. I guess I got that purchase just right! How many more years do I get where gifts of socks are loved?

City Fun

This week we ended up having a lot of fun outings. Friday I had a day off, and I had planned to take Zane swimming. A couple of nights before his current cold went into his chest and we had a miserable night of coughing, so we went to the Zoo instead. It was the first warm-ish sunny day for us at the zoo, and it was really fun to wander around. The petting zoo was open for the season so we spent a lot of time there as it was new to us. Zane looooved using the (dry) water pump and driving the tractor. We got to pet some sheep and goats. He was so taken by the goat poop scattered around that he was still talking about it as he drifted off to sleep that night.

We finished off our visit with a short turn manipulating an animatronic dinosaur with buttons, a run on a lawn, and a ride on the carousel.


I thought he would be totally pooped, but he was so jazzed he had a hard time going to sleep at nap time.

I worked this weekend so on Saturday morning as I left for work Zane and Michael were heading off to the aquarium for another fun morning there! They had the usual fun of watching the sea lions eat and generally romping around. Sunday morning we all went out for breakfast and in the afternoon Zane helped Michael and Mike lift weights. Zane lifted 2.5 pounds. On Friday he had a small stick and was imitating Michael's Bo staff antics in the backyard, so maybe he's ready to be signed up for a gym membership.

I've also been exercising his brain, and here he is working on his Maine relatives! These days he can get most people except Aaron and Colleen.

Training

I've been talking to Zane about potties and toilets and what's in his diaper from very early on. Just in the last couple of months he's come to really enjoy reading the potty story books. This week he started to spend some time sitting on his potty with clothes on, sometimes to read. Today he peed on a small rug when he was in between diapers, something that he hasn't done for many months; I think his bladder control is getting better. He seemed a little upset about it, so we spent some time on the potty again. Later I asked him if he wanted to sit on it without any pants on, and for the first time he said yes! He wanted his potty doll Xavier to join him for solidarity. It didn't last long, and there were no results, but I feel like we're at the very beginning of the toilet training journey.

Speaking of training, Zane is also getting ready to earn some allowance:


Earlier in the week Zane had a few nights and naps where he had great difficulty falling asleep, which is unusual for him these days. I'm assuming he was just having a brainsplosion. He's back to normal now.

For excitement I took Zane swimming which we haven't done for a while. He had a blast! We have to go more often, even though it's kind of a pain to do. Friday we went to a Cajun jam after daycare and before going home. It was at a cafe so we could have our dinner there. Zane had a great time looking at instruments and exploring a new place, but he did not like me dancing or playing the triangle. Party pooper.

Happy Mother's day everyone!

Spring Fever

Nice warm weather is finally here, and we have been enjoying it a lot. Zane and I spent most of this weekend outside! I got a yard work done, we ran, walked, and played with sand. We've been meeting up with the neighbors, too. Saturday and Sunday evenings we heard kids playing across the street and Zane insisted we go see; we ended up spending some time in their back yard, which was nice. Sunday we started off by going to Shilshole Marina to see a former co-worker off on her foray into the cruising life with her boyfriend. They have a 32' boat and they plan to cruise the Pacific after spending some summer time in Alaska. Zane loved exploring their boat, seeing all the other boats, a ship cat, a school of small fish, seagulls swimming, and a train. Then we went out to breakfast with Daddy, to the Farmers' market, and home to crash hard for a nap. This afternoon we hung out in the yard, with the neighbors, and literally ran halfway around the block. Good legs on that boy!

Earlier in the week I had Zane in a pair of Michael's pants from when he was little, and some red converse sneakers. I thought he looked especially cute and took a bunch of photos and some video. Zane obliged by getting into the tough guy persona.

One of Zane's favorite things to do these days is to hang out in the front seat of our cars and push buttons and levers. I have to make sure he hasn't turned on the lights when we're finished. When I get back into the car the next day the windshield wipers usually start swishing away and the blinkers go off. Monday night when I was at work a neighbor happened by when Zane was coming home from daycare with Michael, and he got some nice pictures of Zane enjoying booping the car buttons.
I leave you with some video of Zane enjoying the spring sunshine.


And a bonus bun!

Happy Easter!

This was Zane's first Easter that he could have fun with. It took a bit of prompting, but he "found" some eggs. At first he was much more interested in playing with his new garbage truck. Later on we played with them some more, hiding eggs within eggs or other things in the eggs and finding them again.


Brady came for a short visit on the first nice day of the year. Zane and I had the day off since daycare was closed, so we got to have a lot of fabulous outdoor time. We played with sand, ran on the sidewalk, went for a long walk with Brady and then a bike ride to the beach. At the beach we threw stones in the water, touched puppies, saw ducks and sail surfers and a train. With the nice weather we're starting to reconnect with our neighbors, too, which is nice. Zane had fun with his Uncle Brady.

This week Zane got a fabulous new garbage truck, bringing his garbage truck collection to three. He has so many trucks I decided to even things out a bit with two dolls. One is an anatomically correct little boy who comes with a potty; it's funny that he has genitals and an anus, but no nipples. I also got a girl doll with zippers and buttons and snaps and the like for dressing practice.

The cut continues to heal nicely and seems to be getting shallower. These days I'm rubbing four different unguents on Zane for various ailments: Maderma on the cut for less of a scar, hydrocortisol on the hands for a tenacious itchy rash, athlete's foot creme on the back of his knees for a different tenacious rash I suspect to be a yeast infection like the one he had in his crotch a while back, and diaper cream to keep the jock itch from coming back. Sometimes I get the tubes mixed up, but it hasn't killed him yet.

Here's an Easter blast from the past.