18 Months Already

Zane says things like "tickle", "Fa Ba, Uh!" for Fresh Beat Band, "bur" for booger (because that is what we call the ornery him -- I'm slightly concerned he might think it's one of his names), "weee . . .!", "psss . . ." for please, "yiece" for yes, "ba" for back, "wolf" for woof, "Ufff . . ." for up, "bat" for bite, and "Geesh" for Jesus. He likes to throw his arm up and yell "Yay!" On St. Patty's Day, Daddy heard him describing flipping a light switch back and forth with "Ight ah. Ight ufffff." He will sometimes call out "Pa-Pa" when we near Grandpa's neighborhood.

He identifies many animals by fetching examples when asked. He likes to tell us that elephants say "mmph . . ." (his braloo), monkeys say "uh, uh", and dogs say "wfff . . ."

He uses his big toe to show you his nose.  He likes to sing lots of songs and can do some of his favorites like "ABCs" and "Twinkle, Twinkle".

I don't want to rush things too quickly, but I will like when the throwing food and pulling things off counters stages end. Sometimes his silliness while eating reminds me a lot of the laughter Ralphie's little brother in A Christmas Story would produce, snorting and all. He's testing his power by constantly asking to do things. (Yes, the loud yelling stage.) He would watch Fresh Beat Band all day if you let him. His interest in TV is much stronger than Vanessa's was.

He waves at every stranger. He's pretty social too, although he's not really into being left in the nursery at church. He's unsure about those with lots of facial hair and big men. He likes to flirt though, and I've noticed he likes redheaded women - not sure if they remind him of Grandma, but boy he goes crazy! (He went after two today!)

He has considered the real purpose for the potty -- not just playing in it. He bathes himself with hands and washcloth. He will wash Vanessa's back and hair. He loves to stand at the sink and brush his teeth. He checks his weight on the scale nightly. Recently, when asked to fetch some clothes to put on, he ran into his room, came to a sudden stop, turned around and ran back into Vanessa's room, grabbed a shirt and bottoms from her drawers, ran them into the bathroom, and handed them to Vanessa to put on. Sometimes he's such a helper! He likes to sweep and wipe things clean. And deep down I know he likes to do the right thing. He's sure to have you take note of when he does. :)

He has his first full set of molars. He's a tiny guy still -- staying in size 12 month for things like shorts but wearing 18 months in things like onesies and rompers. He freaks for granola bars. He loves to swing on his belly. He teases a lot. He climbs to the top of the fort all by himself (but hopefully with a spotter) and flies down the slide (again, hopefully with a spotter.) He tries to scooter and bike. Sometimes he sits at the piano and plays softly . . .

He loves late night adventures playing with toys and making cars and trains go. He likes late night piano music . . . for the rest of us, not so much. Not the best sleeper and he's trying to fade out napping. He naps about 45-60 minutes a day now. I think Grandma said his daddy quit napping at around 18 months . . . oh mercy. . . . He likes to sleep in, though, as long as his sister will let him. We're moving him to a full size big bed on the floor soon . . . just so Mama can get some decent rest!

We're such suckers for this boy! And he knows it!!

Social Butterfly

 

Vanessa is extremely social. She rounds up kids at playgrounds, runs into classes with stories and news to share, and asks daily to email or text friends to make plans. If I don't make the plans, she pretends to. I overhear phone calls and catch glimpses of texts being sent. She gives the time and place and tells the order of events -- games they will play, snacks they will eat, and everything. If she has to settle for spending a morning at home with no company, she has imaginary friends come to visit. (It's hard to convince her right now that one or two mornings at home is a good thing.) 

She used to play like her favorite fictitious characters. (We've had several Transformers and Justice League characters here for breakfast. They sometimes go on car trips with us too.) In the last couple of months Vanessa acquired totally made up people. She acquired a little sister named Shawna. Shawna is 3. Vanessa describes her as younger than some of her real friends but older than Zane. She says Shawna will do a lot more than Zane. Shawna isn't around much. In the last week or so, Vanessa acquired another new friend named Neeko. (Transformer Bumblebee's child, she says.) Before bed last night, Vanessa asked me to email to make plans for today. I promised I would. She carefully instructed me to email from her pretend computer, not any of our real ones. I need to think of a clever response -- I just want to play the day by ear and do nothing! 

Something I noticed is that these new friends come around when I've asked her to be patient, and quite often while I'm doing something for Zane. Or when I tell her something like "I can't climb the tree right now because I need to stand behind Zane to be sure he doesn't fall" or "I can't chase you with Zane acting like he's going to take off in the other direction." 

Vanessa is engaged in a variety of activities daily but it's the free play with me that she seems to miss most. She leaves real friends behind to come ask me to do something with her. I remind her that we're there to play with so and so, and she pouts and says "But I want to play with you."  She and mommy need more dates -- it's obvious. I believe she misses our alone time together, with no hidden agenda for learning a particular concept and to just be free to do whatever we want. Perhaps I showered her with too much of me early on . . . something I can't say I will ever regret, though. But she's been patient for a really long time with many things. I admit in recent times I've taken advantage of her strong ability to self entertain. Slowing down now to embrace the little things would be good, before her rat race begins in a few months. I think it will help a ton if she, Zane and I get back to impulsive nature hikes, picnics, and car rides all by ourselves, when we do whatever and enjoy each moment as it presents. I like to be free . . . Vanessa seems to like it too . . . 

Guess How Much

Oh . . .

. . . I LOVE you . . .

. . . this much!!!

We have lots of pictures in the highchair that make us laugh. We've only shared a fraction. Playdough and crayons are fun. But peanut butter messes are better for future bribes. :)  Zane is such a character!

*Pictures from early February.

A Periodic State of Rest

 

We'll take even the unnatural.

Party On

Vanessa was so very excited to celebrate Cousin Tucker's b-day at the Columbus Museum of Art! What a neat idea!

 

Zane felt too yucky to join the party. 

Vanessa was also extremely excited to celebrate Cousin Luke's b-day at the roller rink. The girl took off on skates! I think all of her practice sessions on our hardwood floors paid off. She skated for almost 2 hours straight.

Zane seemed interested in skates but we decided we'll wait till he's a little bigger, even though Cousin Seth was impressive! Instead, Zane scoped out all the fun things to be had.

Never Imagined

Who would have thought 18 years ago . . .

. . . Miles and Katelyn would be hanging together?

 

. . . Zane and Charlie would be sharing?

 

. . . 1994 Stradley Hall dudes and their kids would be eating lunch at COSI in March of 2012?

 

 . . . kids named Vanessa, Bella, Griffin, and Megan would be willing to pose for pictures?

. . . we would allow preschoolers to plan the day?

. . . we would be heading to the old campus La Bamba Burritos on a Sunday afternoon and with munchkins in tow?
. . . and it would be just as good?

 

. . . we would make it off campus without our three destroying something (like breaking a dinosaur bone?)

. . . there would need to be more visits to explore all the rest?

 

. . . we would be easily entertained by kids just resting eating, hanging, climbing, running, and mixing things up?

Old Man Winter

We saw glimpses of him to prove it.

    

But recent "milder" days have left us feeling like he may have moved on . . . did he?

(In reality, 1 more week, at least according to the quartered calendar. Seriously.)

Trendy Guy

Zane loves putting things on his head. He's quick to grab a hat on the way out the door.

Spunky

*I'm grateful she knows what to do with her time when I need just a little more sleep. :)
**A very sweet friend calls her spunky. She is.

So among the variety of things I do, I write activities to teach 5th and 6th grade students literacy skills. Of course one of those skills is comparing characters, so naturally I tend to think about my children in similar ways -- comparing their character traits to those in stories written long ago and those in recent years -- that whole silly analyzing thing I like to do. For fun.

Last week I brought up more books from the basement that were passed down through my siblings to me. As I was flipping through one of them, I caught a glimpse of the title The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. For just a split second I started to think about how maybe Vanessa has some similarities to Tom. I quickly left the thought due to some random request for something like lunch. :) While playing with friends this week, while Vanessa was skipping from one adventure to the next and coming back to drag her friends along, a comment was made "Vanessa reminds me of Tom Sawyer." I replied "Yeah. Yeah. I get what you mean."

Vanessa is Vanessa. That's for sure. I like making connections and relating things, so it's fun to think Vanessa might share some similar adventurous qualities.  I admit that some potential adventures for today's child are more concerning to me than ones I faced as a child . . . so lots of extra prayers are requested!!

A funny tale: Vanessa likes to play and hide-and-seek, in case you haven't figured that out. :) The requests are so often that we have to decline some. Tonight, before getting to work, Vanessa asked to play a quick game. I told her I'd like to do something else. A few minutes later she came back to me and asked "Do you want to play a game where a person or thing gets lost and I need to come find you?"
I replied "That sounds a lot like hide-and-seek. Is it?"
"No. There's no counting for this game, but I'll wait in the other room while you get lost. And then I'll come find you."
Zane was confused -- he still hid his eyes and counted. :) 

Happy Birthday, Tucker! (And Sweet Thoughts of Celia!)

 

~

Happy Birthday, Luke!!

"Va-Ba!"

"Va-Ba!!!!" (sometimes "Da-Ba") is what Zane yells for Vanessa. He hardly ever says it softly -- it almost always echoes through the house. He yells for her when she's upstairs in her room. He yells for her when she's not home. He yells for her when she's in the bath. He yells for her to play. He yells for her during a game of hide-and-seek.

There are many words to describe Vanessa's high energy and acute thinking, but I think Zane has really nailed it with "Va-Ba!!!!"