≈ 5 Months

Zane is about 5 months.

He's easy to take pictures of. He makes it hard to choose just one or two to save, making storing pictures a nightmare for us. :) When thinking about the type of picture to post (like do I post one of him doing tricks or just smiling big . . . ?) I had to go with one that shows my favorite things -- his very happy spirit and chunky thighs.

This last month was an explosion of things for Zane. He can roll over now. He's getting really good at using his hands. He loves to grab at things like remote controls, phones, and just about anything with lights and bright colors. He also loves to grab at noses, mouths and eyes, sometimes gently touching but other times grabbing and pinching and pulling. (He's hurt me on a couple occasions.) He swats or grabs at Vanessa as she races by. He likes to use your fingers as a high bar to pull up on. He recognizes Franny from Franny's Feet when she's on TV. His daddy and I are convinced he recognizes her as a sign for bedtime. He'll smile and talk to her.

At Zane's four month appointment he weighed about 14 1/2 pounds and the doctor decided he was indeed showing signs of being ready for food. He's eating cereal, peas, squash and green beans now. He likes to use his fingers to play with the food in his mouth, sometimes while talking. (Daddy and Mommy can't stand talking with a mouth full of food. We've recently had to try and make Vanessa mindful of that. Zane doesn't make it easy though, cause right now he can get by with it.) He acts like he'd prefer to move on to the funner foods, smacking his lips while we eat things like pizza and burgers and while we chug down our Coke. With an extra sensitive gut like his, it'll be a REALLY long time before he can enjoy that fun stuff.

Did someone say food?!

It's easy to get Zane to smile for pictures, much easier than Vanessa (although she had smiles to share too -- it just took really good timing to capture hers.)

Watch Zane roll over:

Signs & Symptoms

(You're right, Daddy. The pictures aren't that bad. Vanessa loves this picture.)

Last Friday Vanessa woke feeling pretty yucky. There was lovely blueberry vomiting, puffy eyes and a temp. She's not used to feeling so yucky. She's been extra lucky in that department. Over last weekend, her lethargy allowed me an opportunity to get silly with her hair. She doesn't typically like hair twisties and barrettes, but I may have sold her after doing this. The bribe was adding pretty princess pearls and rhinestones. "Ohhhhh . . . . ." she said as she looked at herself in the mirror. (The picture was cute with the pearls, but we'll wait to one day reveal the beautiful look. The milestone was her having patience to let me do something fun.)  

Come to find out, Vanessa would end up feeling worse. But now, after about a week, she's on the mend and no longer contagious.

But then Zane and Mommy got sick. :( Zane is now on the mend and doing better, I think.

(Be thankful I'm not sharing some of his grosser sick looks.)

As you've heard me mention before, Zane can have a temper. Not this week. No complaining whatsoever, just soft cooing and gentle talking and lots of deep coughing. The yuckiness was like resetting/reprogramming Vanessa. Right before getting sick, it became obvious that Vanessa was having a rough moment understanding her place in the family and she had a great need for lots of reassurance. While she was sick, only kind and gentle words came from her mouth: "No thank you, Mommy. I appreciate you asking, though. I'm okay. I'll feel better soon." Now we're back to feeling really confident and helping Mommy with Zane, even taking charge of cleaning up puke and trying to distract Zane from puking. And can you believe that on more than one occasion during feeling ill, Vanessa fell asleep sitting up . . . ? She even had a couple of mornings of sleeping in late, which was good for her (but not that helpful to me since Zane was already up all night.) But we all had a better night last night. And Zane just fell asleep beside me while playing with the camera cord, so after another day of rest, maybe we'll all be better . . .

Oh . . . and let me say that I'm so thankful for hardwood floors! How do people with mostly carpet do it with little ones -- it was hard enough to direct the puking to the many hard and shiny surfaces in our house . . .

Suckers

What do these two cousins have in common?

No pacifiers for us -- just give us our fists!

Caught Red-Handed

Thankfully his sister ratted him out. :)

*Taken in mid January.

And funny since Vanessa doesn't necessarily hesitate to get into my purse, even when I've specifically asked her to stay out of it. :) I can see where this might lead . . .

Zane, my advice to you is to rat her out as well. :)

She generally plays both Princess and  Big Sister pretty well, though.

When asked if she thought her brother would have the same color hair as her and if not what color would she like it to be, she replied: "I want his hair to be pink!" Now that's Princess.

Offhand

Mommy loves:

♥ the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
♥ everything about Daddy.
♥ Vanessa and Zane oodles and oodles.
♥ time with her family.
♥ to take special care of her family.
♥ to hold her kiddos.
♥ to sing, read and tell stories to Zane and Vanessa.
♥ warm temperatures and lots of sunshine.
♥ most things chocolate.
♥ cozy clothes.
♥ wholesome food and yummy beverages.
♥ to run and play and sleep.
♥ to make a mess if it means having fun.
♥ to be outdoors.
♥ extra time with friends.
♥ to talk and sing.
♥ making as many memories as possible.
And right now I especially ♥love♥ hearing Zane's laughter. He laughs when tickled. He laughs at his sister. He laughs at funny noises. He laughs when playing games:


And I ♥love♥ that Vanessa loved our extra special time on Sunday. It was her first time to a show of this magnitude. Vanessa jammed and sang along to the Laurie Berkner Band the entire time . She loved the stage lighting and beautiful auditorium. She talked about climbing to the top/ceiling using a rope :) And she loved the big presents and the big balloons too. I loved the time we had.

Daddy helped Vanessa blast off to a few songs:

At times she sat and watched.

Peek inside . . .

Vanessa's adventures in wonderland. . . . This blog allows glimspes of that. And it allows me opportunities to go back and reflect.

Vanessa is extra blessed to be able to play with a dollhouse from her paternal grandmother's childhood. The dollhouse was made by her Great Grandfather Bill Holton. He made it for his children. The things you notice immediately are that it is huge and has intricate details. He even installed electricity. Indeed it is quite impressive and I'm extra tickled Vanessa gets a turn with it. When Grandpa Bill passed, the dollhouse moved where following generations could enjoy it. Most recently, it moved back from California, where Vanessa's King Cousins played with it, to Grandma Jan's house, where Vanessa, Zane and local cousins can have a turn. Cousin Little Ben has gotten opportunities to play with it recently too.

I'm extra impressed by this dollhouse because I remember once starting my own from a kit I got when I was about 9 or 10. I wanted a dollhouse so very badly. We didn't receive many material gifts in our family when we were little -- times were just too tough -- so I was extra tickled to get the kit. We were at the mall and on an impulse my dad asked if I was interested in one. This is was during a short-lived healthy time for him. It was a Victorian dollhouse and I remember thinking how very difficult it would be to finish -- I mean, I had to build a staircase! It was to be considered that year's birthday and Christmas gift (and perhaps with the assumption that I was not to consider anything else for several more special occasions.) Without someone to push me along, the dollhouse never got completed.

During one of our many moves, the dollhouse pieces were moved into a crevice to be stored and eventually to the crawl space below the house, where it collected moisture and rotted into even smaller pieces. I was heartbroken when discovering it once again as a teen -- another example of something never completed but was sworn to completion when receiving it and, a special gift squandered. And yes, we all have examples of this kind of thing, but this was a rare gift and rare opportunity for me to focus my energy, so that's why it made a special impression. As a result of this and similar situations, I created a mission. :) (I'm sure many have noticed my need to overcompensate, which is a result of many things -- this is one example for why I seem to want to recapture moments I've lost.) I hope to one day try a similar project with Vanessa and/or Zane, if they'll allow me. If not, and if I make it to retirement one day, perhaps I'll get a kit to complete "ALL BY MYSELF!" [Insert image of Vanessa with furrowed eyebrows.] 

But hey . . .

""The adventures first...explanations take such a dreadful time."

~Lewis Carroll

Every Ounce

I assure you the heat was on when taking these pictures. :) Looking at them today makes me feel extra cold . . .

*I should point out that these pictures are a few weeks old. He's changed a ton!

Mixed Up

To no surprise right now Vanessa gets a little mixed up on who is who. Currently I hear lots of things like Mommy, pay attention to what you're doing. Mommy, Zane is hungry. Mommy, that's not okay. Mommy, I need you to turn your head and listen to me. Mommy, please be helpful. Mommy, look at the mess you're making. Mommy, why do you keep arguing with me? Mommy, that doesn't go there . . . it goes by the laundry door. That's okay -- Mommy will clean it. Mommy, maybe Zane doesn't want you to hold him. Mommy, give Daddy a kiss.

These pictures were taken in the last few months. Vanessa still loves to bake and is quite good with the stand mixer and hand mixer. She loves to try anything! (Scary.)