Fun-Day (à la carte)

 

Zane's FUN-DAY

Ingredients:

- infinite scoops of water

- tons of toys and gadgets

- numerous things to open and close

Directions:

Drop, toss, pour and drink scoops of water. Drizzle toys and gadgets throughout the visit. Sprinkle with moments to open and close things.

Chorus Boy

Zane loves to dance and move. It's often we look in the backseat of the car and we see both kids' heads bobbing and swaying. When he's not strapped in, Zane tries to spin and slide on his feet to perform some dance moves. He jumps up and swings his arms in the air, with a clap here and a clap there. Usually, of course, he doesn't cooperate for the video camera, but on this particular day, Vanessa was preoccupied with reading and Zane was ready for some physical fitness. He was still a little distracted by the camera but you will get the idea that this boy has some moves.

 

This Little Light of Mine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

My Father

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."  ~ Billy Graham

Braveheart

The king and queen desire peace. :)

Brother of Mine, Valentine

We didn't put too much of a concerted effort into taking Valentine pictures this year, but there were a couple of opportunities that made me think I ought to grab some shots, even in poor lighting. Most of the shots turned out like the one above. They are having a big time -- Vanessa is tickling Zane, not hurting him. Zane plays really rough. He takes almost everything his sister has to dish. He's also as fast as a "dart" so many pictures turned out blurry. But he gave full cooperation when asked to give kisses. (Almost always a sure bet. I get at least 30 when he's trying to drift off to sleep. He even makes the sound "Mwah!!!")

Zane may not appreciate these pictures, but I will. And I have a feeling his sister will too. :)

Fabio

Zane loves extensions too. :)

Rapunzel

Vanessa really loves the story of Rapunzel. She admires Rapunzel's long locks and wants to have some of her own one day. She's adamant about brushing out every curl in her hair to make it as long as possible. Some days she obsesses over it. On a fun shopping trip in early January, we found "extensions" on clearance for just a few dollars. Vanessa was so excited to wear the extra hair. She flung it around constantly.

 

Like many children, Vanessa doesn't like to have her hair brushed. Once I remind her that it's important so her hairs don't break and they can grow really long, she is happy to oblige.

Toddler…Tyke…Small Fry…

This dude is too cool. Dangerous, but cool. :) When Dr. LaMonte walked into the well-visit room last week, the first thing he said was "Well I see he's full toddler now." (We forgot our 15 month appointment and made it up last week, at 16 months. :) I replied, "He has the markings, right?!" I'm sure the 15 or 20 minutes of listening to Zane roll stools across the floor and pound walls also helped the doc prepare for his entry remark. :) Luckily mommy remembered his appointment a few days after he fell off a stool and landed on a return air grate. He had a goose egg (not his first) on his forehead and cuts in the shape of a grid on his forehead and shoulder. He let Daddy ice the goose egg and wipe the cuts clean. Of course the experience hasn't stopped him by any means. :)

Zane has changed a ton recently. He is full toddler. Bittersweet. (Although I still get tons of affection, so that makes up for it.) He marches with knees high. He tells knock-knock jokes and laughs at them right on cue. He hides his eyes and counts for hide-and-go-seek. Out of the blue he will use words so very clearly. Like yesterday he said, "Nap. Mama." Most of the time he's grunting for you to hand him things he can't have. My understanding is that developing verbal skills can be a lot like potty training -- a strong-willed child will withhold words for when he wants to use them. It's okay though, since he whips out words every now and again and our mouths drop when we hear him use them so well. And I'm really impressed with his use of "dank a" for thank you. He moves the stool around the house to grab at things and to scale things. He can reach a tall cup up to get water from the fridge door. He helps himself. He practices dressing himself, while being exceptionally good at zippers and snaps. He has now slept six nights in a row from bedtime at 8PM till about 7 in the morning. (Oh so opposite of Vanessa…) He tells us when we have voicemails and texts. He storms into Vanessa's room to wake her from napping…here come the paybacks!

Simple Things

I love the slow days that allow us to bring order to our lives and allow Vanessa to explore her own agenda. Although we aim for few and far between, an unstructured day can be good for Vanessa. On this particular day she asked to use a roll of masking tape to fix torn paper. I handed it to her and then moved on to my endless to-do list, not once giving any rules or restrictions for using the roll. While I was doing my thing, she set out on a mission. She was so focused and so very creative, so it was worth the three dollars I probably spent.

Vanessa moved from the torn paper to the great room. I visually checked on her 15 or 20 minutes later. She had created a "web" in the great room and then tied herself to the middle of it. I acknowledged her creativity but also confirmed that she will clean up the mess. She agreed.

 

Then Vanessa used the tape with a balloon to make an ice cream cone. In fact, she made two, one for her and one for her brother.

 

At one point Vanessa used the tape to make bandages for her feet. She created things like purses. She fixed things around the house by taping parts securely. Before we knew it, the day was over. And near the end she wadded the tape into several different sized balls we used for playing various games.

Yesterday she wanted to make an indoor swing set. (And yes, even though we've been outside a ton these last couple of days.) And when I came back to check on her, she had. :) Her daddy is extra impressed by the knots she ties. But the swing had to come down so we wouldn't break the doorknobs.