Zane and Vegetables

So, Zane has been on a vegetable boycott for a long time now. Whenever we put any on his plate, he says, "But I don't like vegetables."

Any that happen into his mouth, he will take out and say, "There was a vegetable in that."

Sometimes he asks me what I want him to eat. I'll say something like "broccoli" and he says, "but I don't like vegetables".

You get the idea.

But then he's oddly adventurous in wanting to try everything. So the other night at dinner he decided to try some broccoli. He didn't really like it. Some of it he ate. Mostly, he didn't. He said it was ok.

Just now I was eating some carrots. He said, "Mom, since I tried a vegetable last night, I think I should try another vegetable."

I said, "Ok. What do you want to try."

"I'll try a carrot."

"Ok, great."

So I get him the carrot and tell him to chew a lot because it's crunchy. He chews it. I ask, "What do you think?"

"Good."

Pause.

"But not that good."

Chew chew chew.

Then he gets a plate out of the cabinet and spits it on the plate!

Good, but not that good.

Maybe I should have taken a picture of that?

Backyard Picnic

The front yard is mostly secure, so now we have started working on the backyard. Since this is not just "pay thousands of dollars and VOILA!, done in a week" it will be a much longer project. Oh well. Kevin is loving it. We did get a new table so that we can sit on our butts while the little kids play on Zane's new playset. Ahhhh...sitting on my butt. Ha. Here are some pics of our first picnic outside...

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~t

Zane's New Bike

So, we got Zane this super cool new type of bike. I hear it's European. There are no training wheels. It is not a tryke. And there are no pedals! It's supposed to help him find and keep his balance. He's pretty good at balancing when he's climbing and jumping and dancing, so we'll see how he does with this. Here are some pics...

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Apparently, they are called push bikes, walking training bikes, or walking bikes. Here is one I found on Amazon that Zane seems to wish he had:



The reviews on this one were pretty good. And it's cute, too. We got one of the wooden ones that was more like this (although not quite this spendy)...



~t

ZV Turns 2!

Allright, apparently after I say, "I don't feel like blogging," then I really start to blog. Well, I didn't want to wait too long to report on Zane's second birthday.

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He is such a sweetheart. I know, he's my kid and all, so of course I think he's a sweetheart. But he really is. He recently has been telling all of us how much he loves us all the time. "I love you, Mommy." But it's the emphasis he places on the words that is priceless. So sweet. And somehow, he's also come out with "I appreciate you, Mommy (or Daddy)." That's a big one, so I definitely had to document it.


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Zane's birthday fell during Mercury retrograde this year, which meant that nothing went off as I would have liked it. First of all, I had to work on his actual birthday. Ugh. Even though I tried really hard to get off for it. Nothing doing. Then both Zane and I got sick. So, even though I planned to really celebrate the day before his birthday, I really just kinda sat around on the couch and watched him play with his new toys. Wooo hooo.


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So, Monday morning, we let him open most of his presents. Then we did the sitting around thing. Then we had special toddler dinner: A few kinds of macaroni and cheese.


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We were supposed to do the cake that night, but it fell through. Caspian was misbehaving and Zane was tired and the neighbors who were supposed to come over just plain forgot. Zane actually said he didn't want to do the cake, which was huge, because that was his favorite birthday thing to talk about. So, we waited.

On Tuesday, the 27th, his actual birthday, we just hung out and gave him some more gifts. I went to work, of course. Then we had Kevin's cool Poor Man's Lasagne Casserole that he and the kids made together. Then the neighbors did come over, and that was really fun. We sang and he blew out candles and there was cake and it was all good. It was very nice. He had chocolate volcano cake, "same size" as Caspian's. (For some reason, the word "same" is "same size" to Zane.)


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Gifts included his Little People Garage set, bongo drums, potty books and videos :) starring Elmo and Bear in the Big Blue House, Dora and Diego books, other assorted books and some DVDs, a new blanket, and more mac and cheese! (Probably other things, too, but I can't remember everything.)

Happy Birthday Zane! May the next you bring you much joy. We love you. (And appreciate you.)

~t

Why doesn't my kid sleep through the night yet?

I suppose the title of this post is a rhetorical question. I know the reason(s). I suppose it's my fault. If you had told me 2 years ago that it would take over 2 years for my kid to sleep through the night, I probably would have had a heart attack 5 days before little Zane was born. Yikes.

It's the cosleeping and the breastfeeding, I think. That's what all the books say. But I can't really seem to stop either. I'm not looking for advice. I'm more venting, and also, I guess raising the "If this is you, too, you are not alone!" flag. I know other moms in this situation. For the most part, it's ok, and he will grow out of it. It just takes longer than other kids. It just gets, well, tiring. Ha. I'd like to put my kid to bed, at least some nights and not have to worry that I'm going to have to run up there 3 times before I actually want to go to sleep.

I know, there are things I could do to remedy this situation. But, there are reasons I haven't and probably still won't, so please don't tell me about them. It's just every now and then I cannot believe it, and I thought I'd tell you. There is the odd chance, however, that perhaps he'd sleep WORSE without cosleeping and breastfeeding.

Naaaah. Oh well.

~t

Here's Some Cuteness for ya, Retta

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My friend, Retta, likes to say that I have all sorts of cuteness on my blog. Well, not lately. Hrmph. I thought I better remedy that, in case all this stupid work talk is bringing anybody down. Looks like these pics were taken by Kevin on my first day of work. I remember they went walking around while I turned my closet updside down. Professional clothes. Hrmph. Not as cool as skeleton sweatshirts, n'est-ce pas?


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~t

Working is hard work

Yikes. I haven't been able to feed my blog addiction lately as much as I would like. I didn't even do my Weight Loss Wednesday meme. And I didnt even think about it until today!

Getting used to a new job and a new schedule is not easy (especially since I don't even have a set schedule yet). Other than that, it's going pretty well. I seem to be catching on. My boss seems to adore me. Today I didn't come home with a raging headache, at least (like I did yesterday). I think the 5 hour shift coupled with my 10 hours of sleep last night might have helped. Ha.

Yeah, so I don't even have any pictures to share from lately. Unless Kevin took some I don't know about. Ooooh, there are some cute ones. I'll have to get myself organized and show you what I've been missing around the house. Wah!

At least now when I tell Zane, "I love you." He says, "Love you, TOO, Mommy!" Awwwww!

~t

I'm a holdout

I'm a holdout in the land of sickos. So far. Wish me luck. I started to feel it last night. I really don't want to be sick. I've held out this long. At LEAST let me hold off until, oh say, Thursday. I'd rather just skip it altogether. C'mon Universe, help me bypass this illness. (I always think I'm going to, but I tend to just be the last pin to fall.)

Caspian added to his issues yesterday by a run-in with the cabinet:

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(To here Caspian talk about it without saying much, go here.)

Zane seems to be trying to be a holdout, too, by sleeping for like 3 hours yesterday afternoon. (His usual nap is 30-60 minutes.)


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Illness, go AWAY!

~t

Toddlers are cute

Zane has really been a lot of fun lately. He's been stringing more and more words together into sentences. "I ate it, Mommy!" was a recent one. I also enjoyed him running around saying "Luke hiffin' toes" It took me a bit before I realized he was saying "Luke sniffin' toes". (If you haven't been following along, Luke is our puppy, not some weirdo sniffing toes.)

Last night in bed he was asking if we could have cake. I said we would probably have some in a couple days for my birthday. He said, "Buy hum?" (Buy some?) I said, "Maybe. Or maybe Daddy will make it." He said, "Make it. I help Daddy." Awwww.

Today, in the grocery store, he just took out his binkie, looked at me and said, "You rock, Mommy!"

Here's another pic of his cuteness. Sorry it's kinda crappy. We never got that new camera. Dangit.

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~t

Zane is tough

Poor little Zane got cut this week. By, as he calls it, his "big book". It is a very cool book. He was, unfortunately, trying to jump over it. Here is the result of a missed jump:

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He has been dutifully telling everyone he was "hurt really bad". However, he's a brave buckeroo, and got right back on the book.

Here he is, the next day, giving it another go:


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And I cannot resist posting this one with Dora:


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~t

Ba Ba Bock

We have been enamored of Ba Ba Bock's since we first purchased Zane's awesome Halloween Costume. Since then, we have collected a few other Ba Ba Bock's. This one became attached to Zane the other day, much to his amusement.



(I seem to catch my floor in photos a lot. Hmmm. I guess perhaps I am subconsciously super-proud of our beautiful hardwood floors. Love 'em. Especially with puppies and toddlers, who make MESSES!)

~t

Another Great Use for Baby Sign Language

When your mouth is full of chocolate, sign language allows you to ask for more chocolate. I swear to God, that Zane has not signed anything in about a month (since he has begun speaking much better). Just now, after he shoved a mini Kit Kat in his mouth, he signed "More" so he could have another one.

He loves chocolate.



~t

Toddlers and Puppies

Honestly, even though these pictures tell otherwise, I'm not sure I would recommend this combination. If you hate peace and quiet and enjoy constantly disciplining little beings, go for it. Or if you just can't resist the cute factor. Because they are pretty cute. Even better if your toddler always shuts his eyes when he looks into the camera. Ha.







~t

Luke got his shots

Little pup is feeling kind of listless after his shot today. However, the good news is, the vet says he is in great health. He weighs 3.9 lbs. LOL. He's soooo big! I think I have a photo that Kevin took last night. Yes, he loves a blankie. Now only wish I could get my kid to use one! He has always hated being covered by a blanket and will still only take it for about a minute before saying, "bank-a-let. otff."



~t

Zane's Haircut, Part Deux: The Photos

As promised, I have procured photos of Zane's new 'do. It is so hard to get good pictures of him lately because when he looks at the camera, he sees the red light that signals the flash and that makes him blink, so he's almost always got his eyes closed in photos. Aaaaaaahhh! So, this time as I was messing with it, Kevin was out smoking, and I was trying different things. Kevin came in just as I said, "Maybe we can get Daddy to stand behind me and you can look up at him" and he said, "Maybe you should watch out for the dog who is currently peeing on the yoga mat." (which we have down for diaper changes, of course.) Dang. Oh well, these are the photos I got. The yoga mat is now in the dryer.










Forget what he looked like before?



A little mullety. Also a little like Cousin Oliver. Whew. That's over. I'll take slightly Republican. Really, I just go that short because he needs it that short for his new hair to get caught up with his old hair. And then we don't have to go as often!

~t

Haircuts and Fraggles

Zane got his haircut today! He looks like a little Republican again. Ha. There was a cute little piece of personality on the top but I had her cut it off because I was afraid it would just dork out in weird ways. Then I was sad after she cut it. Oh well. You know what they say about hair.

The hair stylist was very considerate and gentle with him. At first, I thought she was being too considerate. "Just cut it! He's gonna cry. Just do it!" But I suppose she knew a thing or two because we only had a few tears and then she was able to cut it while he clung to me.

Where are the pictures, you ask? I didn't take any. What is my problem? Apparently this is not the real Terri typing, but someone who has been taken over by aliens or something. It's been a whirlwind day. After we got up and took a bath, we went for the haircut, then we drove (too far) to Best Buy (because we had a gift card) to get Fraggle Rock, the first season on DVD. Yay.

Then back to pick up Kevin and get "treats" at Starbucks for Zane being such a good boy. He got a "mocha" (really Strawberries and Cream) and a pumpkin scone. So good, he apparently decided lunch was for sissies and went straight to his nap.

I'll have to try to get a pic of his new 'do when he gets up.

~t

Puppies and Toddlers: Good or No?

Shout out to Bill Gottschalk for the phrase, "Good or No?"

As you may know, we just got a puppy. As you may also know, we got a son 22 months ago.

Sometimes I wonder about the sanity of getting this puppy while we still have our own human puppy. As if we don't have enough on our plate. And both Kevin and I like our freedom. (Sagitarrius & Aquarius). Neither of us are that big on discipline. Both puppies and babies come with a need for a lot of discipline. So maybe I should start with the obvious crazies (or cons?) (or NO?)

Here are the "No"s to getting a puppy while you have a toddler:

• More discipline
• More work
• More mess
• Managing toddler and puppy can be very difficult for one person:
1. You have to take the puppy out QUICK sometimes, but what do you do with the toddler?
2. The puppy wakes the toddler with whining or vice versa: they feed off each other.
3. The puppy wants the toddler's toys and vice versa. You want them to have their own toys.
• Basically, toddler and puppy together can equal anarchy.

But here's the thing: toddlers on their own equal anarchy anyway, so what's the diff?

Here are the "Good"s. Basically, they come mostly under a single heading: "Parents of toddlers are not used to having much of a life anyway, so what's one more little poopy, peey, adorable addition?"

• Poop, pee, and puke are no big thing deal to the parent of a toddler.
• You are accustomed to other messes, anyway, too.
• You are accustomed to constant vigilance anyway.
• You are unaccustomed to uninterrupted sleep anyway.
• You are accustomed to disciplining a LOT anyway, so what's a little more.
• We rarely go anywhere anyway.
• The place is somewhat baby-proofed, and therefore already puppy-proofed.
• It gives you a chance to teach your toddler gentleness to animals from the start.
• After trying to train a toddler on anything, you find that training a puppy is somewhat easier and takes less time.
• And the BEST reason to just go for the craziness: they're just darn cute together!

I'm sure I'll come up with many, many more bullet points as the weeks and months progress, so stay tuned!

~t

More Fun Puppy Stuff, Zane is 22 Months, and Our Bad Camera

Zane thought it was important to read up on Yorkies. (That's the book he's reading.)

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Zane thinks it's really funny for him to sit in the puppy bed. It kinda is. I think I have another pic of him in a puppy bed. He is holding the toy that Kevin was immediately attached to at the pet store. Kinda weird.


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Here's the picture that Zane's mean Daddy took of him after he fell down.


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Ok, the truth is, that this picture is just to illustrate how badly we need a new camera. Zane was coming towards Kevin. Then Zane fell. Kevin asked if he was allright. Zane said yes. So Kevin took a picture of him laying on the floor. I said, "Why don't you just take a picture of him instead of helping him." Unbeknownst to me, Kevin STARTED taking the picture long BEFORE he fell. Silly camera. It's a travesty. We take interesting pictures. We should have a good camera.

Parallel play:

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Here's the first pic of Zane in a puppy bed (from Thanksgiving):


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~t

Poor Sick Baby

Ugh. I've been puked on a couple times and changed a couple of poopy diapers and it isn't even 8:30 am. Poor Zane woke up around 2:30 and wasn't feeling well, but it was hard to get any information out of him. He made it through that time, but woke me up and puked all over around 5:45. Back to the bath for the second time in less than 8 hours. And then when he was out of the bath, he did it again. Poor little guy. Kevin has been very good about cleaning up all the laundry while I take care of Zane. After he gets the stuff out, he seems fine though. He's content to play, watch the Muppets, or just play "steal our spots". We are thinking maybe it was something he ate.

I was suspicious of the yogurt from Safeway. They had to get rid of much of their dairy section because they had been without power for days. But we got some yogurt there. Hmmmm.

Here he is watching Oobi. (One of his new favorite shows.)



At least now that he's not feeling well I feel justified in junking out on TV. I don't feel that great either, but it might have something to do with the 3 hours of sleep I got. The couch is hideous in this shot. The slipcover is in the wash after the last puking episode.

Funny thing about Oobi, I was telling Kevin how I thought it was unrealistic because Oobi and his friend always let Oobi's little sister play with them, and right as I was saying it, they went off and did things without her and it made her sad.

~t

Great New Milestone

I don't know that this is one of the "traditional" milestones. And I'm also not sure I trust it 100% yet. But here it is: I LOVE that my kid seems to know what he should and should not eat. He found some weird thing in his food the other day and he said, "Yucky" and showed us. He did the same thing to his banana that he found sitting out (I guess we need to clean better? But hey, I'm busy BLOGGING!)

Anyway, it's great that he knows what he shouldn't eat. Yay for that!

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~t