Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family!

Bye, Grandma Kathy!

My mom just left this weekend to go back to Florida after spending the past two weeks with us. We had a nice time and she got to spend lots of time with Zeke. And, who (aside from me after a full day alone with a teething and slightly sick Zeke) couldn't use more time with the kid? It was especially nice for all since she hadn't had a chance to come and stay with us since Zeke was born. Mom did some babysitting for me when I had a few days of meetings and then babysitting to let Aaron and I have dinner out. She liked my cooking, Zeke did some dancing for her, and we got to take some trips to local attractions like the zoo, the aquarium and Trader Joe's. Zeke might have even gotten a few extra toys from the trip. Thanks, Mom, for everything! We'll look forward to the next visit.

Riding the Pink Pig

Christmas* is a time for family and tradition. We took part in both last week. Zeke, my mom and I all went to ride the Macy's Pink Pig, a 50 year old Atlanta tradition. I will say it was fun to do something seasonal together before my mom returned home to Florida this weekend. (I tried to reschedule our upcoming visit with Santa -- remember Santa takes appointments around here -- but with no luck.) Zeke also likes anything with wheels that moves around, even if it is shaped like a pig and has a loud Southern accent, so it was a big hit with him. He was so sad sounding when we got off. With a frown, he gave a perfectly plaintive "choo choo".

I'm going to go ahead and say it, though, and I'm prepared to have my Atlanta residency revoked for my heresy. It was weird. The ride used to be based around giving riders a view of downtown or the Festival of Trees. Now it is a ride about the ride. Frankly, I think it is a little too meta for mommy and me time. You take two quick circuits around a tent in the mall parking lot and a very loud, very Southern pig named Priscilla narrates the story of the Pink Pink. Why not make it a ride with Christmas scenes? I'm a humanist/heathen, but even I was a little quizzical when Priscilla yells, "Merry Christmas!! Happy Hannukah!! Happy Kwaanza!! Happy Winter Solstice!!" or something very close to that effect. I don't know, I still am not quite sure I heard that right.

Here is the smiling evidence that we participated in this Atlanta tradition!


*By the way, did you know it is already Christmas time? The season officially starts November 1 before you even can finish the Halloween candy your toddler collected from your neighbors for you.

Sprout Boogie

We promised, you waited patiently, so here is some of the footage of Zeke getting down to Laurie Berkner. For added future embarrassment, we filmed this while Zeke was wearing his costume.

A few watching notes:

* You get to hear part of "I'm Gonna Catch You" and "We Are the Dinosaurs".
* Zeke eats and sleeps when the dinosaurs do. He also gives a roar at the end. It isn't as dramatic in this clip as in others we have, but he has a fierce roar.
* We always laugh at Zeke's flourishes at the end of a song. There are two types -- the hand going out horizontal like in the first song and then the hands going up and down like he is conducting like in the second song. We think that the first type of flourish comes from watching Laurie on DVD as she gives her final strum on her guitar.

We are not the only ones to have footage of our kid dancing to Laurie. Go to YouTube and search for "Laurie Berkner" and you find loads of videos of toddlers singing and dancing, as well as throwing tantrums when they can't watch the DVD. The power this woman has over toddlers! It is a little frightening -- I have visions of a toddler army following her directions to world domination. She is very useful, though. Zeke is a grumpy kid when he wakes up from a nap and all I have to do is say, "Do you want to watch Laurie?" and no more tears and -- bam! -- Zeke is standing in front of the TV. And, now, for your viewing pleasure....

That Reminds Me

Despite the fact we have lots of photos of Zeke smiling and laughing, I cannot hide that he is full into throwing toddler tantrums and expressing his displeasure. He now longer really cries when he is unhappy -- he shrieks or whines. He can arch his back and/or go limp and he can throw his weight down on the ground. He scowls frequently, and I am always reminded of this photo when he does.

Sometimes I just have to laugh about my little angry bluebird, though. He is still pretty cute when he has a tantrum and his use of the tantrum as a manipulative tool is so patently obvious, that it is hard not to laugh a little. (That is, if we are not in public, if he isn't covered in snot, and if we have time to let him ride it out.) My mom who has been staying with us for the past two weeks babysat for me so I could go to work yesterday. Kiddo started getting worked up that I was going out without him, building up to a shriek and making a pouty face. I turned on the DVD (there is only one DVD he must have -- it is the DVD that must not be named within Zeke's earshot lest I inspire a pouting session). He stopped mid-shriek, changed faces and said, "Bye-bye!" He also doesn't quite know how to make his expressions of extreme displeasure effective. When he drops to the ground and goes like a rock, he usually waves and says, "Bye-bye." Sometimes he seems so pleased with sitting or lying on the ground that he laughes or smiles a little. Who can take that seriously? I know he has many more years ahead, though, during which he will be working on "Mom, you are ruining my life when I can't have my way" schtick, so I am almost even appreciative of his antics now....almost!

A Beautiful Fall Day

Last week, Zeke and Aaron spent some time playing out in the yard, making the most of a beautiful fall afternoon. Besides a rigorous game of chase around the car and down the driveway, Zeke filled the truck with leaves, moved the recycling bin and chewed on his truck!

Sick in the Sunshine State

If I ever curse Zeke being stubborn about something, I really should take a deep breath and then a look in the mirror. Two weeks ago, I had a quick trip to Florida for me and the kid planned to see my my grandmother since we will not make it there for the holidays this year. What I hadn't planned is that both Zeke and I had colds. Though Aaron of cooler head and more cautious nature advised our staying home with him, I decided to go anyway. My rationale is that we both seemed to be getting better from mild colds and that if I didn't make the trip then, I wouldn't likely be able to go for a few months. I figured if we were going to take it easy here, we could take it easy there.

And, of course, I was just being stubborn and inconsiderate and got it wrong. Zeke started a fever three-quarters of the way on the car trip and kept that fever for the remainder of the trip. I didn't feel well either, but especially didn't feel well after Zeke couldn't sleep the entire trip except when passed out from exhaustion. He would actually moan in his sleep, he was so uncomfortable. So, I took us there and then we weren't really able to do anything (except watch Laurie Berkner on DVD). We did get to spend a little time with my grandmother and even got to visit with Diane, but cancelled all of our other activities, including some quality time with Zach. Poor Zach was disappointed and he wanted to play with Zeke so much, but Zeke would not consider that for a minute. Zach tried to hug him and hold his hand, but Zeke would keep him at a distance. Still, I guess not at enough of a distance as Zach...and my grandmother...and my mom...all eventually ended up under the weather. We came back early to minimize damage and avoid getting the rest of the state sick.

Despite Zeke's best efforts, though, I did manage to get a few shots of Zeke and Zach together. The shot of them in the big chair together makes me laugh as Zach is imitating Zeke chewing on his hand and teething. The one of them in matching green shirts is as they are watching the DVD. While we were sick and likely caused everyone else to get sick, it was still so nice to see family and have the boys together. Zach is growing up so fast and is as sweet and cute as my boy. He is also a real talker these days! I hate that we aren't closer, so we will plan another trip back as soon as possible. Just not when we are sick, I promise.

Zeke's in Love

Zeke loves Mommy and Daddy. Zeke loves puppies and kitties. Zeke loves goldfish crackers. Zeke loves music and dancing.

BUT, above all, Zeke loves Laurie. I mean, he really loves Laurie.

Laurie is Laurie Berkner and we spend at least one hour a day with her a day. If he had his way, Zeke would make it many more. She is a children's music superstar with four CDs, all of are constantly at the ready on the iPod. When he was sick recently in Florida, the only that would make him feel better was watching the Laurie Berkner DVD that his Auntie Dawn graciously let him keep. (Thanks, Aunt Dawn. No, really.) It is without any exaggeration that I say from the moment he wakes up to the moment I put him in his crib, Zeke is asking for us to play music and we all know he means Laurie Berkner. We have gotten to the point where are limiting how much he listens to her. In the morning, he can listen to some of her music on our Apple TV unit (because he often has to see the CD cover, not just hear her). After he wakes up from his nap, he gets to watch the DVD.

How did this all start? Zeke loves music, but really started getting into it when he was a year old. He would do handplay motions for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus". This summer, we started taking music classes and I guess it got me more focused on playing more children's and adult's music for Zeke. Zeke also enjoys making music (including on Daddy's old keyboard). He really enjoyed one CD which I only sorta enjoyed, so I started playing other things from our collection, including Laurie Berkner's Victor Vito. He enjoyed it, so I got more, not knowing what the reprecussions would be.

I complain about the constant demand for Laurie Berkner, but there are some positives and it could be much worse. (I just don't get the Wiggles' popularity, so I'm glad Zeke doesn't either.) Her music is catchy and fun to sing -- check out her website for some video clips. Zeke knows the lyrics to his favorite songs, "sings" along (at least when there are animal noises to be made) and dances his heart out. He even has the choreography down for some of the songs. For example, he spins when Laurie sings "so I turned around" in "I'm Going to Catch You". During "We Are the Dinosaurs", he stomps, marches, mimes eating, lies down when the dinosaurs rest and then roars at the end. It is so amazingly cute. We've taken video of it (both with and without the turtle costume), so will try and post it. It seems to be improving his vocabulary and even buys me some time to make dinner uninterrupted.

As a result of this love affair with Laurie, we have decided to take Zeke to his first concert. Laurie Berkner will be here in December. I feel a little ridiculous taking my one year old to a concert (and having to pay for a ticket for him), but we could not miss the opportunity to see how he will react.

Halloween: Part IV

Trick or treat! Yes, this is the Halloween with almost as many parts as the John Carpenter movie.

Wednesday was the final night for the Turtle, and Zeke used it for a little trick or treating in the neighborhood. He was mainly all smiles despite the fact that it ruined his evening routine for dinner and bedtime.

Zeke held back at first and took some time to fuel up on soy milk on the steps before joining the neighbors on the lawn, including Maisie the Most Adorable Lion Ever. Rrrr! Also, out for some tricks and treats was Kal-El/Cookie Monster, Zeke's trick or treating partner. Zeke got to ride along in Kal-El's cool red wagon. Kal-El and Maisie took a moment to talk Halloween strategy and play with their new "spiders".

One of my favorite parts of the evening (besides sending my only child out to go door to door to get candy for me) was running into the pack of toddlers and babies that live in our neighborhood. While I know a lot of the children and have written about the baby boom we have been experiencing around here, I have never had the chance to really see all of them (or almost all of them) together. The ages ranged from nine months to two years with Zeke being one of the oldest children.

We saw seven other children and that isn't even all of the children in the same age range that live here. It's really exciting to think about what it will be like in just a few years when the kids will take over the streets with their bikes and games. (You know, if they don't all move out to the suburbs!)

Halloween: Part III

By Tuesday of this week, Zeke really had the turtle thing down for dress-up day at preschool. Halloween at preschool meant wearing costumes, painting pumpkins, and eating animal crackers.

Here is what the Turtle looks like from the back.

We weren't able to get any group shots, but you can almost see Kai the Bear and Che the Rocker.

Halloween: Part II

Aaron procured for Zeke passes to "Trick or Treat on Turner Street", a Halloween event for children at Turner's midtown campus on Monday. They had everything: games, a haunted hallway, a pumpkin patch, lots of activities, food, candy. We also got to see where Daddy does some of his finest on-air AfterEffects graphics work and to meet the people he does it for.

A few years ago before Zeke was born, when Aaron first started freelancing for Turner he got to see the impressive set-up for the Trick or Treat and I think had the thought, "It would be great to take my kid to this some day." So, there we were, Aaron's "some day" having come along.


Of course, Zeke isn't even two yet, so a lot of the activities won't be of interest to him for at least another year or two. But they did have a lot of what Zeke likes: an area with toddler toys, popcorn and music.






Turtle pushes around a turtle.

















Little known fact: Turtles love to boogie.
















Turtle, Daddy, Atlanta at night.