Chugg chugga

choo choo!

Two!

After a jam-packed weekend full of birthday activities (which I will detail soon), my baby turned two today. We visited the pediatrician for his two-year physical and he clocked in at 39 inches and 32.4 pounds. A big boy, indeed!

I do it, I do it!

Zachary do it! I hear this refrain many times a day. Having hit the independence stage, the little man must attempt it all himself. Whether it's putting on his clothes, zipping his coat, pulling toys out, "helping" with the cooking. It's neverending. I want him to be able to be self-sufficient, but it always takes longer (and is inevitably messier) for him to "do it self." I imagine this is how parenting is from here on out.

Big Boy Bed

The transition seems to be working! As excited as I am that it has not been a struggle, when I walked into the "nursery" I got a little nostalgic and weepy that my "baby" isn't there any more. I know there will be another little one in there soon enough but nothing will ever compare to bringing home my first little miracle.

Counting the cards

I am very excited about the Christmas cards I have made at shutterfly. They have these really great story cards that I have included both a Christmas letter with photos inside the card. I use lots of different photo sites, but really think shutterfly has the best selection this year of both photo cards and very nice qualoity stationary cards. Check them out here and here.

I also used shutterfly to make calendars to give as gifts for the grandmas. I had made a calendar for them last year, but this year's was so much easier using shutterfly. Not only is the selection of background patterns more diverse than many other sites, but shutterfly has some unique features beyond just the display of cute pictures. I especially liked the ability to put certain dates on the calendar such as birthdays. And I even got to put pictures on the date blocks. So, for example, I put a picture of Zachary in a party hat on December 6, 2011- his third birthday. I made a point to use pictures from the right month in 2010, so it is fun to compare what he looks like with his pictures from exactly a year before. Try it for yourself
here.

And you too can blog about your shutterfly Christmas card experience and get fifty free cards through this promotion.

Frustrations and progress

Food-throwing. Ugh. Every meal devolves into it. No matter what we try (taking away the food, giving only a little at a time, praising proper eating, etc.) Zachary still seems determined to throw food. Since when he eats is the only time I get to eat, it really makes it difficult to get a meal down.

But to end on a positive note, Zachary has successfully transitioned to taking naps in his big boy bed and we are going to attempt an all-nighter tomorrow night.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Last weekend, we had our first rather large snow. We are slated to get more this week. Looks like it's going to be a long winter. Sigh. (You can also see what the little man did to his nose by taking a dive on the playground at school- the day before Christmas pictures.)

Zachary's new favorite words

"Boogers" and "kleenex."

More teeth

Another day, another bite. That makes four times in about a week's time. Sigh.

Little vampires

So, poor Zachary was bitten at school twice last week and then on Thursday he did the biting of the kid who bit him, so three incidents in four days (he only goes 4 days a week). I understand this is normal behavior for this age and wasn't too concerned about it.

But then I got another call this morning that he had been bit again by a different kid, this time on the face. Again, I understand that these things happen. But I feel that this level of biting rather than an isolated incident or two requires me to perhaps say something or at least inquire as to what is being done as far as prevention. I feel that it may be a lack of supervision issue.

One of the teachers left last week (abruptly- don't know if she was terminated or left) and I have not been a big fan of one of the two remaining teachers. And I wonder if this is part of the issue or what.

Zachary only has another five weeks in this class until he is transitioned to an older class, so perhaps it's not worth making a stink over? Now, I am wondering if I should start the process of putting him another school now rather than after the baby is born since that is inevitable as we cannot afford two in the current place.

It's always something, isn't it?

Arrgh!

Zachary is quite ready to be a pirate for Halloween. His teacher even tells me that every time they talk about Halloween, he says, "Argh!" We are working on "trick or treat."

Some of the joys of motherhood

(This is not in any way meant to be a complaint; rather, it is just a list of the things about which one must inevitably laugh.)

Figuring out at 3 p.m. that you forgot to put on black mascara despite putting on the white base
Smelling a wonderful cinnamon smell all morning and then realizing it's dried oatmeal stuck to your arm
Having a coworker pull a chunk of muffin out of your hair
Walking around most days with something on your shirt or pants
Getting strange looks for toting a sippy cup into work
Always having a wipe handy
Carrying an enormous purse with its contents spilling out

Such a big boy

Last night I put Zachary in his new footed pajamas as it is getting cold here. They are size 4T! Sigh.

State Fair

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is a big deal around here. Literally, over a million people attend each year. So, of course, we had to take Zachary for the annual pilgrimage. His favorite part was the tractors for sale.


Corn dogs are a must at the Fair


We had a hard time getting him off the tractors


The giant slide with Daddy


The little piggies were cute but Zachary was unimpressed by the huge boar

Big Brother In Training

Zachary is very excited to become a big brother come early next March. When asked if he wants a boy or a girl, he replies, "Boygirl." Not sure how to get him one of those.

Love is in the air

Zachary told me "I love you" today (sounded like "I o u"). It probably would have been more heartwarming if he hadn't been picking his nose.

A Little Beast

Zachary just finished up the "semester" at the Little Gym. For the past six weeks, he has been in the the "Beasts" class (I really wish they'd come up with a better name than this but the younger ones are Bugs and Birds, so I guess they were at a loss for a "B" name). The class is for nineteen months to 2.5 years so he was the youngest in the class, but we just started him at the end in order to get him oriented before starting this summer. Anyhow, he adores going and running around the place. I am amazed at what they can get kids this little to do.

More pictures

because I can


"Grilling"


At the top of the falls after the hike that should not have included the stroller


Grandpa's hat is so fun



with the May day flowers

One thing Mommy can't do

We have started working on familiarizing Zachary with his bodily functions and bought a potty. He certainly isn't ready to start potty-training yet, but I wanted to start introducing some concepts.

Ever the boy, he often pees in the tub. When he did this last week, for the first time he actually noticed what he was doing and was rather fascinated. When the (ahem) stream ended, he furiously asked and signed for "more." I replied that Mommy can't make him pee more, so he thought he'd try "more, please." I couldn't keep in the snorts of laughter.

Eighteen months

My little man hit the year and a half mark on Sunday. He is (what the woman who owns the B&B we stayed at a few weeks ago described euphemistically) "overflowing with joy." Or what my grandma would have characterized as "full of beans"- constantly on the go, careening from one mess to the next, and always wanting me right, right there. No, don't even think of going to the bathroom unaccompanied, Mommy.

His vocabulary never ceases to amaze me. It seems he learns a new word every day (not really, just seems that way). I have been writing them down in anticipation of his pediatrician appointment on Wednesday because she always asked and, of course, I can never think of a darn thing that he says when I have to. But, thanks to my handy list, I know he can say about 30 words in addition to "mama" and "dada."

A few photos to compare:

This time last year





Last Friday:

As summer starts

and my work slows to a crawl, I was hoping to a better blogger. But I haven't been. I am toying with the idea of another blog, as I see this one as Zachary's. I have lots of snarky mommy comments to make, but generally feel bad putting them in the same place as my sweet boy's face. Le sigh.

Einstein

An article in Parenting magazine claims that a "close attachment can prevent diseases, boost immunity and enhance IQ in your baby. . . "

If that's true Zachary is destined to be the smartest man in the world given how much he's attached to my hip. Only mama can console for owies, only mama can put him to bed, etc.

Toddlerhood

Because he hit the magic number of 16 months, Zachary "transitioned" up to the toddler class at his school. I think he was most excited by the new toys they have in that room. I prefer having him with kids older than him- some of the kids are only a month older, but they range up to two years old. He likes that his buddy is in the class with him again.

At his sixteen-month appointment (we had trouble with scheduling at the fifteen-month), he weighed 26.2 pounds and was a whopping 33.5 inches. [Given that I am just shy of 63 inches, one can imagine that it won't be long before he's looming over me.)

Zachary's speech capabilities have exploded almost overnight. He says so many things and it's a random assortment of words- dog, ball, car, bubble, all done- I understand, but "backpack" (yes, very clearly backpack), "owl," "girl," and "whale" seemed rather strange to me.

He loves his trucks and pushing things around. And his books, he can be absorbed by reading for the longest time. I imagine he is already in the running for nerddom like both his parents.

Most days, when I see how beautiful and amazing he is, I still just pinch myself because I can't believe he's mine.

Flower power

I have been drowning in work and sick kid at the same time. Sigh. But because I never want to forget the first flower Zachary gave to me . . .

We were outside (Zachary's location of choice- he puts his jacket on over his pajamas and bangs the front door with his fist to be let out in the morning) and Zachary spotted a dandelion. He plucked it and handed it to me. My heart melted. I told him thank you and put it in my hair. When he saw it in my hair, he proceeded to pull it out (in a rather painful fashion). His next move was to attempt to put in his very boy short hair. Despite several attempts, it wouldn't stay, so he threw into the street.

Thank you, Easter Bunny

Zachary thought the Easter Bunny was quite fascinating on Saturday morning. He was very intrigued by the bunny's glasses and tophat (a very well-dressed bunny this was). Zachary patted Mr. Bunny's hand and gave him five when the bunny was walking around. But when it came time to sit on Mr. Bunny's lap, you would have thought he was a psycho killer by Zachary's attempt to wriggle away from him. The photographer was able to snap one fairly decent shot, but most of them look like stills from a horror movie (minus any blood shedding, of course).

Easter photos

Check out those shoes- just because he's a boy doesn't mean I can't buy him fun shoes.

We hope to go visit the Easter Bunny this weekend.

In the blink of an eye

my baby became a little man. Sigh.

Round and round we go

It seems like we alternate being sick in our house. I don't think all three of us have been well at the same time for more than five minutes at a time.

Despite our sickies, Zachary has reached his 15-month milestone. I am still amazed every time I looked at him that he is such a little boy and not at all a "baby." Some of his favorite pursuits right now include pushing and pulling his "popper" lawn mower and sitting. I had removed one of the couch cushions in the living room as I was cleaning up a spill on the side (love the ease of micorfiber!). Since the couch was now essentially lower, Zachary co-opted this area and sat reading books to himself. Usually, he will bring me book after book to read (over and over each one), but on the day he got to sit on the cushionless couch, he was all about being cosy with his books by himself. It was the cutest darned thing.

I struggle with his limits testing- like throwing a tantrum when he is told no and redirected. I know intellectually that he is not developmentally able to comprehend some things, but it can be frustrating when he laughs at correction and repeats the behavior. He is still very clingy and usually prefers mama, which is a mixed blessing. Poor Daddy feels left out at times.

My sick little Valentine

Zachary woke up Saturday night about an hour after going to bed. He was having none of the pat-pat-pat on the back that will usually put him back to sleep. So, I picked him and we rocked a bit. And then out of nowhere, spews and spews of vomit. We got him (and me- most of it was on me) cleaned up and resumed sitting in the glider. A few minutes later- another vomiting episode. We repeated this dance five more times before heading to the emergency room (per the on-call doctor's instructions).

Some iv fluids and anti-nausea meds later, we left the ER at 4 am. Sunday morning, Zachary seemed somewhat better and was tolerating food. And then, more vomit and a fever erupted in the evening. He did manage to mostly sleep through the night, but was still feeling pretty crummy this morning. His school is closed today, so Daddy had planned to stay home with anyway. No fun trip to the zoo as planned for the boys though.

The part about parenting that I hate the most- the helpless feeling when I can't do anything for my kid. I can try to give him medicine or hold him, but I can't actually make him feel better.

More pics

These are from the a playdate at the beginning of January

in the ball pit


"talking" with a friend


climbing all around


January also meant moving to the "big" tub from the large single-basin kitchen sink

Swallowing problems and full-time working

On December 31, Zachary had a barium swallow study that showed that he had silent aspiration. Essentially, his swallow is delayed because of a low trigger point and he aspirates thin liquids. The recommendation was to thicken his liquids to the point of honey-thickness. This didn't go so well. I have abandoned it because he was not aspirating or showing the vomiting symptoms with eating that initiated the study in the first place. And for the last month, he hasn't had an episode. Until this weekend. It seems that there is a connection between congestion, coughing and the vomiting. I don't think the aspiration issue completely explains it. And at this point, I am not exactly sure what course to follow. Sigh.


TO add to the fun, at the beginning of January, I returned to work full-time (although only four days a week). As I predicted, I hate it. And it's only going to get worse, since in February, it will be five days a week. I could rationalize two (or maybe three) days a week in my head that I was still spending the majority of Zachary's waking hours with him. And now, I'm not. Additionally, I feel like I am in a constant rush. Rushing to get him to daycare in the morning and get to work, rushing to leave the office in afternoon, rushing to get him something to eat for dinner when we get home. Always thinking ahead and not living in the moment. I hate it, hate it, hate it.

First haircut- January 9

I owuldn't say Zachary needed a haircut, but his hair was straggly and uneven and I just don't care for little boys' hair being over their ears. So, off for his first haircut we went. He was fairly cooperative, if a bit suspcious of what all was going on with those scissors.





After

Christmas

(Trying madly to catch up on all the things on which I have fallen behind)

Just for comparison, this was last year's Christmas:



And this was Christmas morning 2009




Most of the presents were for the little man


Christmas Eve before church


I like Daddy's special cranberry sauce


I figured out my new basketball hoop in just one day (and now I like to throw anything in the basket- dog toys, books, Little People, etc.)