You Gotta Know When to Hold It ...

Potty Training Diary.
This is really TMI for most people.  Basically, we did a potty training week, it was hard, but I'm hopeful that we are headed in the right direction.  I'm always trying to find info online about parenting situations that other people have encountered, so I hope that maybe someone will find this someday and know that they are not alone in what's happening in their house!

Day 1:
Started late in the day because we needed to go to soccer in the morning.
Pee: On the porch.
Pee: In the backyard.
Pee: In the toilet!  First time ever!!!!!!!!
Pee: In the toilet!
Pee: In the bathtub.
The successful evening pees were more dribbles and drips, but it was something!  Zane got to have a nasty, sugary grape soda to encourage drinking and lots of peeing, which he absolutely looooooooved.

Day 2:
Pee: In the toilet.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee: In the potty.
That was it for the whole day!  Clearly, Zane needs to drink more.  But still, no accidents other than some pre-pee dribbles in underwear.  Zane also had "better" pee, in that he didn't spend a lot of time dribbling, he actually managed to get up a good stream.

Day 3:
We had an unexpected outing come up, so I plied Zane with a big milk drink in the morning hoping to get him to pee before we had to go.  He did (after a lot of work and waiting), and it all worked out with no accidents, but it was stressful!  I ordered a travel potty and some car seat pads for the future.
Pee: In the toilet.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee: In the toilet, with hardly any waiting!
Pee: On the floor, just after an unsuccessful potty time.

Day 4:
Lots of stress and tears about getting on the toilet today.  Stuffed toy Kitty told me she is tired of hearing about pee and diapers.  Zane told me to stop using a timer when he's on the toilet (for minimum "try" time).  Zane and I are generally unhappy.
Pee: In the toilet.
Pee: On the living room carpet.  My fault for going pee first when we came home from the store!
Pee: half in the toilet, half on the floor.  Quite a struggle to get him to sit when he really wanted to be helping Daddy clean out the garage and capture spiders.
Wet nap diaper.
Pee in the toilet after much despair.
We are tired of toilet training.  We want to throttle each other.

Day 5:
OK, new attitude for both of us, and a sunny new day!
Pee: In the toilet, without much wait.
Pee: In the toilet, without much wait.
Pee in the backyard.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee in the backyard after several potty tries and an obvious need to pee.  It's hard to relax!
Pee in the potty while watching us get dinner ready.

Day 6:
A good morning, with a timely pee in the potty, then off to daycare wearing underwear!  I sent him with two changes of clothes.  When I picked him up he was in different pants and a diaper.  He had said that he would hold it until he got home, and well, that didn't work out.  Phylesia at daycare said it was OK to keep trying, so he'll go with undies again tomorrow.  Zane will also bring his own red potty in case that helps.
One good pee at home in the toilet after a nice bike ride.  After bedtime he said he needed to pee, but I think that was just a delaying tactic.

Day 7:
Same deal at daycare: wet himself and came home with a diaper and new pants on.  Oh well.  At home he did great with a potty pee that came out very fast ; he said, "Mama, I relaxed and the pee came out!"  I think he may be getting it.  Then we had a poop and more pee.  Plus, after bed, for the first time he announced he had to pee, and then did in the toilet.  A very successful evening!  He is happy to have figured his muscles out a bit.  He said, "I think when I pee my muscles open up like this (hands move apart), and when I poop they close like this (hands together)."  Pretty good guess!

So, now we seem to have gotten through initial success, a mid-week slump, and now we are on the slow journey to success.  Zane is figuring out how to hold the pee, how to know when he really has to go, and how to tell us, and how to relax to get it out quickly.  I was surprised to find that he would start to have dry nap diapers, too.  Hopefully over the next months he can learn to recognize when he needs to go, and do it.  School starts in 5 weeks, and then we go on an airplane trip in 2 months, so hopefully we'll be pretty good to go then!

The Best Weekend Ever

We all just had one of the most superrific weekends ever!

Saturday morning started out on a high note for me, when Zane pooped in a potty on purpose for the first time.  I'm so happy!  This coming Saturday we start our dedicated week of potty training, but this early success just put me over the moon.  I'm so ready to be done with diapers, and Zane really needs to be potty trained before school starts in September.

Then we headed to soccer.  I had signed Zane up for L'il Kickers in the Thumpers division.  Several weeks ago when I was at work, Michael and Zane headed over for the first class, and Zane had a complete snotty-face and flapping-arms meltdown and refused to participate.  Two weeks ago I was again working for the second class.  Michael took Zane and this time they had a fabulous time.  So this past weekend it was finally my turn to go, and we both had a great time!  The class is almost an hour long, but coach Austin kept us going with lots of different games to keep up the kids' interest.  We ran, did red-light-green-light, planted trees (righting little cones with feet only), kicked balls, tried to do headers, chased the coach, and played with a parachute, plus more!  We've had strange humid and thundery weather for the past week, and thunder storms rumbled during the whole class, but luckily we were spared having to dash for cover.  We also got to meet up with our favorite neighbor Josie (4 yo) and her family.  Josie is in a soccer class, too, and after the classes we hung out at the play ground together.

In the afternoon all three of us got ready to go down into Ballard for the annual Seafood Festival.  I had promised Zane he could have ice cream, so he was excited for it!  We walked down with the stroller, but Zane walked about half of the way himself.  We got ourselves some ice cream, a corn dog, fried zucchini, and salmon and slaw to get started.  First things first!  Then we headed over to the European Super Slide.  This thing is about 3 stories high!  Zane qualified to go, so we bought three rides and climbed the stairs to the top.  All the way down Zane whimpered on the bumps, but once we got to the bottom he hopped up and said, "I want to do it again!"  Then he zipped right up the stairs two more times for two more rides.  Each time he was scared on the way down but wanted to go again!

We were going to go to the spray park next, but it was inexplicably turned off on a rare hot day during the festival!  We saw some bouncy houses across the park, though, and headed over.  We soon discovered it wasn't just a bouncy house, but also a blow up obstacle course!  I had just a few days ago explained what an obstacle course was (in relation to his toys in the living room), and now he got to do one!  I have never seen anything so awesome for little kids.  The whole thing was soft.  You squished through pillow-like bollards, slithered through tunnels, climbed mountains, and slid down the other side.  Zane went through again and again.  We finally convinced him to go home, and he walked halfway home, uphill and pushing a stroller.  Needless to say, after crazy soccer, playground, walking to the festival and back, and being an obstacle course maniac, he slept well that night.

The next day we headed down again for lunch.  When Zane saw what Michael was wearing he needed to have on a Hawaii shirt, too.  This time we started with the park, and found that a small animal zoo had been added!  Michael and the camel got on well.  We also saw two little ponies, a baby pig, bunnies, young ducks, guinea pigs, a dove, some quail, hens and roosters, baby bunnies, and baby goats.  All Zane could see, though, was the obstacle course gleaming in the distance.  Calling, calling to him.  We headed over there and there was no line, so he went through three times fast, and then had a stint in the bouncy house.

Next we headed over to the super slide, but we saw face painting on the way.  I asked Zane if he wanted to do it, and I was surprised that he did!  He chose a tiger face, and sat absolutely still for the whole procedure.  I was amazed. Unfortunately, when he saw his face in the mirror he was not happy.  I think he was weirded out by the fact that he did not look like himself.  As long as he didn't see his reflection, though, he was fine.  He ended up roaring most of the way home.  We had another three turns on the Super Slide, and when Zane got off at the bottom he started to shout "Yeah!  Yeah!" in a gutteral way.  He was still scared by the ride, but he seemed to get a real high from the adrenalin rush.  I think we are in for some scary teen years.  After that we got the same food as the day before, except a pineapple shave ice replaced the ice cream.  All in all another fantastic day!

Monday morning we even squeezed in a visit with Josie at her house, and then 5 kids and 3 moms in our backyard for awhile before Zane and I had to get ready to head out for work and daycare.

I would have to say we had the most fun weekend ever, with all three of us together!  And here we have some video evidence:
 


Next adventure? Potty training!

Summer kickoff

Happy Fourth of July!

Today finally feels like summer.  We frolicked in the sun and had a cookout in the backyard.  We actually had on shorts and sunscreen!  For the sad springs and summers we've had lately, this seems miraculous.  Even though it has been overcast, at least we haven't had days and days of rain like last year.  Zane has been enjoying hanging out on the back porch getting fresh air and listening to the birds.  He has also all of a sudden gotten a great urge to "work" in the garden.  He loves to dig dig dig in areas I've weeded.  He digs holes, moves dirt around, makes lakes with the hose, mud pies, and "highscrapers" for the bugs and flies in the garden.  When I'm ready to quit for lunch or nap time, he tells me I have to keep working.  Such a taskmaster.  I love the fact that I am actually able to get some gardening done while he's busy.  Our yard has been such a disaster for the last three years, and now I feel like there's hope I may neaten it up again.

I can't believe it, but Zane is almost 3!  With my procrastination/busy record lately, my next post will probably be after his birthday on August 15th.  His hair is already getting long from his first cut, and I think some of his pants are finally starting to look a bit short.  He's still a lean mean machine, but when I watch him subsist on fruit and then run around all day like a crazy man, I think I know why.  He's better and better at letter recognition, and can sometimes point out specific words in a book.  Once he even recognized the word gum when I spelled it out to Michael!  Mostly I think he's remembering individual things rather than assimilating the concept of reading, but still, I get excited about the prospect of reading coming in the future.

We've had a bit of a preschool saga, but now we seem to be all settled.  A new Montessori school was built last summer just around the corner from our house.  I contacted the owner and she said she would let me know when they started their waiting list.  And then she forgot!  When I next contacted her she said the school was full for Fall 2012.  Because I thought we had a deal, I hadn't lined up another school, and in Seattle most have wait lists.  I negotiated a #1 spot on the wait list for the Montessori school, and then Zane and I went on three preschool tours around town.  I had settled on one when the Montessori school found they had a spot for us.  It's more expensive than the regular preschools, but I love that it is literally in our neighborhood and Zane will be going to school with kids who live across the street from us.  Also, there is only one tuition (full time), so since I'm paying for it, I'll have Zane go a little extra so I can go back to the gym.  In May my long-time gym cancelled their child-care program so I haven't worked out since the end of April.  I feel like a stiff old weakling.  I'm looking forward to our new routine of school and the gym, although I'll have to adjust to a little less Zane in my life.  Which is sad for me.  The gym will be good.  I've been sick a lot this spring, and I partly blame my lack of exercise.

Some stories.

One night at dinner, Zane told me a story.
Before he was Zane, a long, long time ago, he was a man who painted houses. He painted them yellow and blue. He had a yellow rental car, but he didn't give it back. He left his paint brushes and bucket far, far away and someday will go back and get them. Then, before he was Zane, he was also a woman.

I have no idea where this all came from. It was fascinating to listen to!  This was about a month ago, and a few days ago he brought it up again.  He started telling me that he needed to cover up an old can of gray paint he had left when he was a man a long time ago.  This is so interesting, because we don't talk about past-lives, and I didn't prompt this.  My Mom remembers asking him where he was before he was born, so that may have got him thinking.

At the beginning of June the Touch-a-Truck event happened again.  Last year just Zane and I went, and I didn't even try waiting in the lines to actually get into a truck.  This year Michael and I tag teamed waiting in the lines, so Zane got to explore the inside of an ambulance and a semi truck cab. I think it was actually more fun when we didn't try to wait to get in the trucks.  The ice cream was probably the highlight, though (but I had to wait in line about 40 minutes for it). Zane went back and forth to all three cones treating them like a rotating personal ice cream buffet.

Zane has become a bit of a daredevil on his balance bike.  I have to jog to keep up, and I've been waiting for the inevitable spill.  One day Zane took off down the sidewalk on his balance bike. He went farther and faster than before. By the time I realized he wasn't stopping, it was too late for me to run and catch him. He sailed over a huge bump, went about 6 feet more, and crashed into a huge rock. He got a big bloody scrape on his chin but cried for all of 10 seconds. I asked him, "Were you trying to stop, or did you go fast on purpose?" "I went fast on purpose!" Trying to make a teaching moment I said, "And how did that work out for ya?" "It worked out good!" he chirped.

Last week Zane went to a Princess Party for his favorite neighbor Josie's 4th birthday.  I had been looking forward to this, but unfortunately I was just starting to get really sick, so I had to rouse Michael to take Zane.  Zane had been looking forward to the party, too, so I really didn't want him to lose out.  I put him in a snazzy vest, and then he was completely game to wear a tiara.  The tiara wouldn't stay on, but I did get a quick picture.  Zane ended up falling in love with the vest, though, and it has become a new wardrobe favorite.  When he was littler he wouldn't keep it on, so I'm pleased, too.

Now I have to think of something interesting to do for Zane's birthday!  I'm thinking just burgers and cupcakes in the back yard.  Maybe I can pull off some sort of theme.

 Well, with summer time and nicer-ish weather, we've been getting out to the zoo and the beach a lot.  Today we went to the Aquarium and saw the new Ferris wheel, the Great Wheel.  The line was too long for us, but maybe later in the summer we can give it a whirl.

Photos From Mom

Tra La! It's May!

This has been a wonderful May for us this year.  Lots of spots of fine weather letting us have lots of great adventures.  I'm just too busy and tired to write about them!

We've been getting back out to the Ballard Farmer's Market on some Sunday mornings.  Our routine is to enjoy fresh mini-donuts, wood-fired pizza, live music, and performances like juggling.  Sometimes I get my bike out, sometimes we drive down with Michael and have breakfast first.  I feel a little guilty that I don't buy much from the farmers, but I'm too busy wrangling Zane.  When Michael comes, he buys.

The zoo now has summer hours and giraffe feeding is back on the schedule!  For $5 you can hand leafy branches to the giraffes.  It's really, really fun.  The last time we went I thought I would let Zane have an ice cream for a snack, but we ended up having it pretty late in the day.  It was enormous, Zane didn't share, and he ate the whole thing, so it ended up being lunch!  That was kind of embarrassing from a nutritional point of view, but oh well, he enjoyed it!  And it won't happen again for a looooooong time.  Zane's favorite part of the zoo is the little clunky family zoo, and we visited the tractor again for a drive "to grandma's".

The beach weather has been great, too.  At the end of April we tried to go to a local farm for sheep shearing and pony rides, but construction, traffic, and an accident (not ours) conspired against us.  We ended up going to the beach, and Zane was totally fine with that.  It's a great backup destination!  I was pretty disappointed, though, as I've really been trying to get him on a pony or horse.  We did go back to the farm later in the month and had a great time visiting the animals, exploring a stream, and romping through a nearby playground.

Now that it is coming on towards summer, the Seattle Aquarium sends naturalists down to the beach at very low tides. We've been to two so far, and Zane loves them.  I had to buy my own (polka-dot) rubber boots to keep up with him as he sloshes through the mudflats and fairly deep tide pools.  The first time we went down we found a pet-sized viking burial boat that was singed and had most likely been used to send a beloved cat or guinea pig to Valhalla.  The second time we went it was raining, and Zane impressed a naturalist with his zeal and his knowledge of moon snail egg cases.

All this fun combined with some trouble sleeping lately has made me really muddle-headed.  Zane, however, has a young and nubile brain, and is constantly reminding me of what I have forgotten.  He's becoming very useful!

My local gym has unfortunately canceled its childcare program, but the upside is that now Zane and I are free to go to Michael's kung fu class to see what it's really all about.  Boy did Zane love that!  He quickly took to punching the dummy Bob in the nuts and then swinging on a rail for what he called his "best exercise."


Mother's Day was most excellent!  Zane and Michael got me presents and cards, and we had a lovely morning out to breakfast and at the Farmer's Market.  It's always a lot of fun when we can all get out together.

Zane has started to really get into dinosaurs lately, so I took him to the Burke Museum for his first visit. He had a better time than I expected!  Not only did he like the fossils of dinosaurs, whales, and mastodons, he also seemed to like the cultural displays, too.  Equally interesting were the stairs and elevator, but oh well!

Now it is the end of May, and my Mom is here for a visit!  This is why I now have time to do a blog post.  Zane and Grandma are downstairs playing with trains.  It has been 6 months since her last visit, and I was wondering how much he would really remember her.  Would he be shy?  No way!  Michael said that as soon as she walked into daycare to pick him up Zane started beaming and threw himself at her.  They've been having a great time all week.

Saturday morning we went out for Zane's first haircut.  His hair wasn't really that long, just kind of weird and wispy.  It needed some control.  I had been talking to Zane about it for awhile, and he was not at all concerned.  When the time came, he seemed a little grumpy about having a stranger fuss around his head, but all he did was scowl a bit.  Otherwise, he was perfectly behaved!  The haircut is great: subtle but neat.  The pictures are on my Mom's camera, so I'll post those separately.

That afternoon Michael and I got out to Folklife together by ourselves and got to enjoy and dance to the Roy Kay Trio.  It was great to have a date!  Sunday we got some cold beach time in before I had to go to work.

Monday was super fun! We had planned to take Zane to Folklife, but that morning Zane said he wanted to go to the museum to see the dinosaurs.  It actually was a perfect request!  We got to Seattle Center early enough to score a really close, free parking spot.  First we went to the Pacific Science Center and reveled in: buttons to push and nobs to turn; water tables and squirters; a space capsule; animatronic dinosaurs; gravity well coin donation thingamabobbies; the butterfly room, and 3D insect puzzles.  After a brief snack it was on to the Folklife Festival. We ate great food, hung around the fountain, saw a silver lady pretending to be a statue, a pirate, jugglers, musicians, great music, and scads of people.

Monday afternoon was baking day.  I never got to celebrate my birthday back in March, so Zane and Mom baked me cupcakes!  I came back from a foray to Value Village for fresh work clothes to find Zane covered in chocolate and sporting a fine baker's outfit.  He decided I should have chocolate cupcakes with blue and yellow frosting and sprinkles.  Thus were the cupcakes created, and yea, they were Good.

And so we are up to today: first boating trip to the arboretum!  I wasn't sure how it would go, but the trip exceeded all expectations!  Zane was excited to go but behaved himself well in the boat.  He kept hold of his paddle the entire time and even began paddling (somewhat) helpfully.  He was able to spot the first turtles and was quiet and gentle around the wildlife.  During a picnic break on the grass he ate a great lunch, and then suddenly came up to me and planted a kiss on my lips.  He was so happy!  My Mom and I are glad to have another outdoorsman in the family.

We started out by the UW stadium and paddled across to the arboretum.  Right away we were able to paddle up to a multi-family group of geese with goslings.  We had to go under a couple of freeway spans, and Zane enjoyed reminding us to duck.  We looked at a large old beaver lodge, spotted a heron, and then Zane saw him fly away.  We caught up with the heron later, and Zane was the first to spot the turtles there, too.  Mr. Sharp Eyes!  Ducks kept coming up to us begging for handouts which meant we got some good looks at them; many had babies in tow.

We pulled out on a little beach at the arboretum and had a quick snack break.  Right away a mallard couple came up to us looking for a handout.  Zane scarfed down a ham and cheese sandwich and then said he wanted to get back in the boat.  He's hooked!  Pretty soon a mama duck brought her brood right up to the boat to see if we would offer snacks.  We spent more time and saw lily pads, cowslips, yellow irises, red-winged black birds, wood ducks, cat-tails, some people, and a dog.  Also, some sort of a little bird that skipped around on the lily pads.  After about 1.5 hours of boating, we pulled out again at the boat rental place.

Well, I really had better go check and see if Mom needs relief from Zane!  As soon as I can get pictures from her camera, I'll put some more up in a new photo post.

Easter and 123 ABC

I only have one picture for this post, but some exciting developments!  First, as you can see above, we had our first try at dyeing eggs for Easter.  It worked out better than I imagined.  I thought we would have dye and eggs splattered everywhere, but Zane was careful.  Here is a rather long video of the process, probably only interesting to grandparents!

I had to work on the Saturday before Easter, so I was sad to miss the chance to take Zane to his first egg hunt.  Michael took Zane to the zoo where they have an area for 1-3 year olds.  I guess it was pretty easy, as there was no start time, and piles of eggs were everywhere.  Still, Zane liked it, and even helped put eggs in a baby's basket.  Hopefully this cancels out the bad karma he got a week later from whacking a baby at daycare with a shoe.  It was an accident, but Zane had been told to stop swinging his shoes around or just such a thing might happen.  He ended up having to stay inside while everyone went on a walk.  This was his first "bad" report home.  He's been having a hard time lately listening and obeying.  He's being very 2, and it is quite tiring.  Still, most of the time he is a good boy.

We are all very proud that Zane is now reciting his ABCs and counting up to 13 by himself!  It seems as though all of a sudden a switch has been thrown in his brain.  Around the time we went to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, he had started to say a few letters here and there and count up to five or six.  I've noticed in the past that travel seems to accelerate new development, and that seemed to happen here, too!  While we were in Hawaii we watched a bit more TV than we normally would, and Zane started watching a show called SuperWhy.  It's a show all about learning to read.  He seemed mesmerized and started participating in the show.  When we got home, he was watching it one day and all of a sudden he started repeating the alphabet along with AlphaPig!  Now he can do the whole thing all by himself with no mistakes.  Michael and I and Marie at daycare have been telling Zane the alphabet, but it took a pig on TV to make it all gel.  Oh well, whatever works!

Along with reciting the alphabet has come some letter recognition.  It's very exciting to have him be able to point out a letter on a written page.  He can even distinguish some words from others if I say something like, "It's the shortest word and it ends with a T.  Can you find that one?"  Just a couple of days ago he started drawing in a very different way and announcing he was writing his name.  It looks like a rune or a very long E with many spokes.  It's definitely very different from his usual drawing.

At the same time Zane all of a sudden began reciting numbers up to thirteen and sometimes beyond!  It seems like some sort of list-making set of neurons in his brain are turned on.  He also seems to be starting to understand the concept of counting.  I don't have any illusions that Zane will be reading and doing math next month, but it's an exciting start!

Finally, Zane has started to sing and hum a bit.  I sing to him a lot, even though he complains about it. :)  He started softly and shyly singing to some CDs, though, and it tickles me to no end.  Last week all of a sudden he started humming, and made a big deal out of demonstrating it to both of us.  "I'm humming!  It sounds different."  He likes to go to a spot in our backyard and announce, "I'm going to do some humming."  Then he will fiddle with flowers while he hums.

Today is a warm beautiful day, and I got a little bit of video of him "writing his name," but unfortunately the battery died a short way in, and he wouldn't do it again.  Then some video of him humming.  You may have to turn up the volume for that.


Oh!  And I almost forgot to mention that Zane has also been zipping around on his balance bike like a daredevil.  He goes fast enough that I have to run to keep up.  I know he'll have a major wipe out someday, but meanwhile I don't want to inhibit him by telling him to be careful all the time. Maybe next time I'll get video of that!

Happy Spring!

Hawaii in Motion

Some video clips from Hawaii: the beach at our condo, the Sugar Cane Train, and a windy day at Fleming Beach.

All You Ever Say Is "Beach, Beach, Beach!"

Yup, we went to Hawaii. And it was awesome. I had been telling Zane that it would be warm and dry and have good food, and it sure delivered. Before we headed to Hawaii I had been reading story books to Zane about Hawaii, and he was excited about seeing a coconut tree. He actually had a bit of a breakdown when we came out of the airport and he saw the trees just across the airport driveway, and we made him wait to touch one. We got a wonderful full sized car and installed Zane's car seat facing forward so he could see, and we were off.

Our condo was very nice but not at all the child-proofed environment we're used to! We spent the first two days moving things up and away as Zane found them: delicate tchotchkes, cleaning supplies, glass vases, phones, remote controls ... Zane was really excited to have his own room with a big bed and his very own bathroom! The bed was big, and we surrounded him with pillows, but he still fell out of bed the first night, so I slept with him after that. It was nice and snuggly in the mornings!

The property had a big lawn with palm trees dotted all over, and this led to a narrow but very long beach. There was also a fairly wide drainage ditch/creek type of thing that ended at a hump of sand about 20 feet from the water. It was perfect for Zane. We could quickly go out to the beach to dig in the sand, play with tadpoles and frogs in the "dirty water", and run around on the grass. Zane was not excited about the ocean water at all, so we only swam at the condo once, and that was in the swimming pool.

Our first big adventure was to the Sugar Cane Train. Zane is a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine and other train stories, so I was excited to show him a real steam train. We almost missed it! But we got there in time and even got some shave ice before we boarded the train (hence lots of nice pictures of Zane with crud around his mouth). Michael took Zane up to the front of the train before we got on, and the size of the engine and its loud PSSSSSST scared Zane. It was surprising! He enjoyed the ride, though. It was a one hour leisurely clackety-clack through back yards, by main roads, past a fire station, over a trestle, and through a couple of little train stations. Ukelele music was piped in to the cars. We were in the last car, but at the end of the line the engine detached and came around to the other end so we were in front for the ride back! We got to see and hear big jets of steam, watch water being loaded in from a water tower, and generally experience traininess. At the end Zane had fun climbing in and out of a stationary engine and pretending to drive. We bought him a set of little wooden trains that spelled out his name, and it was great to have a toy in the condo for the rest of the trip.

Naptime for this day and for the whole trip were pretty difficult. Zane's room was the only one without dark shades, so his room was bright with a fabulous view of the lawn and waving palm trees. He just couldn't settle down and frequently ended up rattling around for an hour or more or completely failing at napping. Several times I found him "reading" his books instead of sleeping which I was actually very pleased with.

Our next outing was to Fleming Beach. This was about a 45 minute drive north of our condo. That day was very windy and the waves were enormous. But still, the sun was hot, and we had a great time digging in the sand. Earlier we had stopped by a big drug store to load up on buckets and shovels and extra sun block, so we were well equipped. Zane had a fabulous time, except when Michael and I wanted to go swimming. The waves were really quite big, and when Michael went in he got a little nervous, but when I went in, he almost freaked out entirely. Finally he got up the courage to go to the edge of the water if I held him (he had a life jacket on). The second wave dumped water on his face and went down his throat, so that was the end of that. I guess it's better than having at toddler who wants to throw himself into the ocean!

Before we went to Maui I had just three things I wanted to show Zane: The Sugar Cane Train (check), the aquarium, and a submarine dive. Now it was time for the aquarium! Zane really likes the aquarium in Seattle, and this one has sea turtles, sharks, and a big plexiglass tunnel with manta rays! And it was a total bust! Who knows why. The minute we got inside he seemed kind of crazy, and it went downhill from there. I think maybe the inside exhibits were too dark. He didn't even respond to the turtle tank. There was one room with push button displays about dolphins and whales. Half the stuff in that room was broken, and it was the only part he enjoyed. After that, I decided the mini-sub ride down to the reefs could wait for another year.

Haleakala is a wonderful dormant volcano at the top of the big half of Maui. Michael and I really enjoyed it the last time we went to Maui. I wasn't sure Zane would like the long ride, but he ended up loving the whole trip! A long gentle and curving road about 20 miles long takes you to the top of the volcano. Along the way you pass little towns, farms, ranches, and a lot of changing vegetation. You drive in and out of clouds. Lots of clouds for us, so really no view that day, but Zane didn't care. At the top you are surrounded by black and red rocks and endangered silver sword plants. We knew it was cold at the top, but we forgot to pack our jackets. Luckily, it was quite sunny at the top and the wind wasn't blowing, so we didn't instantly freeze. We were able to get out and walk around a bit. Zane liked the idea that we were walking around on an old volcano, and that all the rocks came from the volcano. At the visitor center we bought a little stuffed i'iwi bird which sings a pretty little song when you squeeze him. Earlier in the trip we had talked about volcanoes, and I explained about hot spots and which volcanoes were awake and which ones were dormant. I explained that the volcanoes on Maui were extinct because the hot spot had moved on. Zane burst into tears and wailed "I don't want the hot spot to be gone!" That was really unusual for him! I think he was tired and also disappointed that he wouldn't get to see a live volcano. But in the end he really liked Haleakala.

That afternoon we had a complete nap fail, so we headed to Lahaina. Of course, he fell asleep in the car and was grumpy when we woke him up. I thought Zane would like the big banyan tree. There also used to be a store with baby pigs in it that we hoped to see. This, like the aquarium, was a bit of a bust. We had to park far away. The piggie store was gone. Zane could not have cared less about the banyan tree. Instead, he wanted to chase pigeons around a garbage can. The highlight was probably the ice cream cone.

On our final full day in Maui we headed to our favorite beach, Makena (or Big Beach). The sand has the consistency of brown sugar, and is fabulous for playing in. No sticks or pebbles in it. I made a sand bunny, and Michael dug an enormous hole which Zane easily disappeared into. Unfortunately the sand bunny's nose got chopped off just as I was taking the picture. The wind was minimal this day, and the waves were just right for bouncing in. Michael and I each took a swim, but Zane again got very worried when I went in. Finally he agreed to go in if I held him. This time we really had a good time. I very slowly went farther and farther in, holding him the whole time. Michael was a sea monster which made the whole experience very fun. Finally, at the end, Zane actually stood on his own two feet and let the waves lap his feet twice. It was sad to leave the beach knowing we had had our last perfect day on Maui. When we came home to rain and cold, this was the day we remembered most.

During the trip Michael really got a lot of good use out of his new Kindle Fire. Before we left he loaded it with books and games for the big people, and lots of games, videos, and books for Zane. It kept Zane pretty occupied on the plane, and they had fun playing games together, too. I have a feeling that as Zane grows up I'll be seeing a lot more of them playing together like this!

We had an uneventful trip home, and Zane seemed really ready to go. One morning of sleeping in followed by a day without a nap seemed to get Zane back onto local time. We headed out to our backyard sandbox, but somehow, it just wasn't the same. Note the hat and mittens.

I have some video to edit, but nap time is over, so I had better post this now and put the video out on another post. Easter and home front reports due soon, as well.

Aloha!

Wishing for Spring

We've been pretending it is Spring around here, but really it is too cold for that. Crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops and the like are up. Early cherries are starting to bloom. I wanted a good little folding table and chairs in Zane's size for art on rainy days, and I found the perfect one! Most tables have a soft top or are expensive wood, but this one is actually made to be an art table. It has crayon/pencil trays, clips to hold paper on, a white board, and a chalk board. Best of all, it wipes off totally clean with water and a rag. Zane loves it! We tried it for meals, but for some reason that was vetoed.

Here he is being a bit silly during some art time. I decided to experiment with talk bubbles to translate some of his mumbling.


We have been doing a lot of art lately, and one day when I went to wake him up from nap he kept his eyes closed and said, "I want to keep drawing. Drawing a picture." Do you want to keep your eyes closed to finish drawing? Nod. "I need pink."

It's not rainy every day this winter, so Zane has been getting out on his yellow balance bike most days. He can really zoom now! In the fall I was back-breakingly bending over to keep him upright. A trip around the block was excruciating. Now he zips around on his own! Seattle is hilly, so for half the trip he zooms downhill with his feet just tapping the sidewalk lightly. One time I saw him actually lift both feet and try to coast! For the second half he pushes himself up no problem, and doesn't ask for help. I'm really pleased. It is so much more fun to get him out for exercise when I don't have to do most of it.

For some reason Zane has been talking about what is real and what is not. I think he may be confusing it with "alive", but we're working on that. It's pretty fun to hear him start listing things. "You're real. Daddy's real. Jo Jo is real. My mouth is real. The door is not real."

He still has some baby talk that I hate to correct because I love it. Sometimes his words are just better.
Fire extinguisher = fire squisher
Blueberries = bluebelellies
Remote control = moku

My trip to Maine ended up being very successful. Zane and Michael were totally fine together. While Zane did ask for me and talk about me, he had no trouble with me being gone. He's so calm and flexible! I had a great time, too, with lots of sleep and uninterrupted adult conversation and food. I visited with my Grandma every day and felt really recharged. I brought back a huge puzzle from my Mom that Zane's cousins Ian and Julian used to love. It was a hit with us, too!

Unfortunately, Zane peed on it the first day we had it out, but it seems to have survived. I've been doing a very casual approach to potty training. It's kind of like pre-training. Every morning that I can, Zane is sans diaper for a few hours to air out. Then as part of the getting dressed routine we do at least one minute of toilet time. Zane gets to put a star on a chart just for sitting there. That part is working out pretty well, but unfortunately we have had no actual success. Just getting used to toilet sitting. Sometime in warmer weather when I have a holiday weekend I'll have to ply him with drinks, put on no diapers, and make frequent trips to the toilet to try to get some success. I know he is getting ready because he will ask for a fresh diaper at night if he has peed in his night diaper (while I know this is a bedtime stall, it is also true that the diaper is wet). He will also pause in the day and then say "I peed." He will also ask whether or not he has a diaper on when he pees or is about to pee. So, the awareness is building, which is all I ask for right now.

One problem we have been having, though, is with chronic constipation for Zane. It's getting really bad with some nights of pain. Poor guy. He eats lots of fruit and gets plenty of exercise, but his liquid intake is not great, and he is mostly off vegetables. I've been working on that, and we are hoping things will be better.

We are heading to Hawaii soon! I can't wait! I'm starting to worry that I am looking forward to it too much and I will be disappointed somehow. What a worry wart. There is some bad weather there this week, but hopefully it will literally blow over by the time we get there. I want to take Zane on the Sugar Cane train, a mini-submarine trip, and to the aquarium. Other than that it will be sand, surf, and sun!

Since I seem to be a blogger slacker, there will probably not be another post until we come back.

Aloha!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh, argh, I seem to never be getting to this post! Nothing really major has been going on, I seem to always be working on chores until I just want to watch some TV and go to bed.

Well, last month we were playing in the snow. This month has been a pretty decent month of spring with sunny days sprinkled into the rainy ones. A few weeks ago it was even warm enough that Zane and I took a bike ride down to the beach. There were tons of other little kids there playing in the sand, and a good time was had by all. You could almost hear everyone's skin sucking in the vitamin D. The sun is also staying with us longer each day! Our winter is almost over. Some spring flowers are coming up! Unfortunately, a squirrel ate a bunch of the bulbs Zane and I planted last fall, and Zane and I are officially mad about that.

Story telling has been happening a lot. I tell Zane stories at night after lights out, and in the last couple of weeks Zane has started to tell me stories! I really enjoy them. In one the story evolved as he scribbled on a magnadoodle: "This is a bush. A mouse is under the bush. It's raining. A pony comes and gives the mouse a ride. The pony licks the mouse dry." In another he was looking at a model of Buckminster Fuller's dymaxion bus, and he told me it was an underground bus for people in an underground city! I have no idea where he got that from, but I was thoroughly entertained!

I've been working on and off on potty training. He's getting more used to the idea of sitting on it, but we haven't lucked out on pee happening at the right moment yet. Because of the Presidents Day holiday coming up we'll be home for the next 5 days, so I think I'll try a more concerted effort. We have a chart on the door that Zane gets to put stars on for each attempt. Let's try to fill that up!

We've been in a bit of an art mode lately. Zane's coloring has developed a little more purpose than just scribbles. Now if I draw a line, or put on a sticker, or give him paper with a picture on it, he specifically colors on the objects or lines. He's pretty precise! He's also into big circles and zigzags, and he pretends he is writing his name. He can occasionally recognize some letters, too, so I sometimes work on that. I recently got a small folding table and chairs just his size, so now he can do his projects in comfort instead of on the kitchen floor as we used to.

I'll be taking a trip to Maine all by myself soon. I'm going back just for a quick 4 day trip to see my Grandma who has taken a spill. In order to do a quick trip I need to do red-eye flights and travel light, so Zane will be home with Michael. It will be an adventure for all of us! I'll miss Zane but get a bit of a break, too. Zane and Michael will get intense time together which will hopefully be good! To make myself feel better (and hopefully Zane, too), I made a series of little paper boxes with a little goodie inside for each morning I am gone. Then I made a chart which Zane can put an airplane sticker on each night. I'll probably call a lot, too!






After a pretty disease free fall and winter, we've had a spot of trouble lately. First, I developed a case of mite bites that thankfully no one else in the family got. I got some medicine to clear that up, and lots of overdue in-depth cleaning has happened around the couch where JoJo hangs out, as we suspect that's where they came from. Unfortunately, two weeks later I still have an itchy rash not from the bites themselves but from my allergic reaction to the bites. I think I need to go back to the doctor to see about this. Then some sort of major crud has been going around Seattle and affecting people differently. I got completely exhausted with a headache and fever for several days and pretty tired for more days beyond that. I even took two sick days and took Zane to daycare for one of them. Then Zane got a fever for several days with some very nasty chest congestion. He's been pretty miserable and unable to rest properly due to coughing. I think he was finally a tiny bit better today, so hopefully we are on the mend.

Well, that's the catch up! I'll try not to take so long with the next post.