Some looks into what Zeke's life is like these days.* Zeke built this tower of blocks a few weeks ago by himself. Aaron was impressed enough to take a photo.
* Zeke loves singing. He especially loves singing the alphabet song. He is still working on articulating the parts that aren't letters but is very confident with the parts he knows, so it sounds something like "NOW I mumble mumble ABC! Mumble mumble MEEEEE!"
* Zeke is a regular parrot and repeats all the words he hears and I'm finally beginning to understand some of his mystery words. Who knows, he could be speaking in long sentences, but it has been difficult to know! He certainly seems to be confident that he is saying something of meaning, even if it sounds garbled to me. Sidenote -- I wonder if this is how my sensei's felt when I was taking Japanese in college. Thankfully, Zeke's English is getting much better than my Japanese as I never really advanced beyond numbers and the alphabet in two years.
* We had lots of sleeping issues in February and March, but they just -- poof -- miraculously disappeared one day and he got back to his regular sleep routine like nothing had happened. During the rough days (and before I brought home a bed rail), Zeke was rolling off his bed and frequently falling asleep in different places in his room. We found him sleeping in the rocking chair, face down on the rug in front of the door, as well as on the changing pad on the floor. It was so pathetic and we are all glad that those days are over. See below for more details.
* On a possibly related note, Zeke has started getting his two year molars. Apparently he saw in his day planner that he had turned two and got right on that job, no procrastination there. I forgot what it was like when he started teething: sometimes drooling, always putting his fingers in his mouth, rough sleeping, grumpy.
* Zeke has started steering and pedaling on his tricycle. Not enough to get it rolling by himself. I still push from behind, though he controls where we are going. Anyone want a healthy serving of metaphor? I don't quite have a way to describe the mixed feelings I have about the balancing of my child's independence and dependence. There are ways I am wary of his independence, but also push it, sometimes uncomfortably. See below for more details.
* Last week I started weaning Zeke. I remember when he first started nursing. I thought: "Okay, this is rough, but I will try it for three weeks and go from there." There was pumping at work, nursing in public, teething, working through a nursing strike. Before I knew it, it was a year. I thought: "Okay, I'll definitely wean him by the time he is two." Then I thought that I might as well nurse him through cold and flu season and wait until after his second birthday. I never thought I would nurse him long enough to hear him ask, but now he says "Nuse? Nuse, please!" Now that he is two he is clearly not interested in weaning, but I just don't know how much further to go. We made it past the AAP recommendation to nurse for at least a year and the WHO recommendation to nurse for at least two. I have family and friends who are shocked that Zeke still nurses, but I also have family and friends that believe strongly in child led weaning. (And, I thank all of you on either side for not getting too involved in this decision and making comments. I am thankful especially for the support of my friends who are also going through this.) I don't want to nurse a 3 year old, but it is important to him and there is no real reason to stop. So, on nothing other than impulse I cut one of this three nursings a day out. He was upset and asking more at other times of the day, but accepting of losing that one nursing. I was shocked that after a few days, it seemed that just by losing that one nurse, there was less milk. Obviously, I was concerned for how this would affect that independence/dependence balancing mentioned above. One of my concerns was that Zeke might get sick and lose one of his greatest comforts, something that is really important when my child is still not able to communicate his feelings (or be reassured) verbally. So, after less than a week, Zeke finally came down with the virus that I had two weeks ago and has been sick for a few days. Zeke has been uncomfortable and not eating. So, after less than a week, we are right back where we started: he is nursing, I have mixed feelings.
* Zeke is really working at reading. He is not reading, but I do think he has some word recognition, building on his existing letter recognition. We were at a friend's birthday party recently and they had a banner up that said, "Happy Birthday." Right when we got there, he went up to the sign and spelled out the letters on the sign, which is definitely his MO. Then he starts singing his version of "Happy Birthday." Of course, this all gets a little muddled, because obviously I told him that we were going to a birthday party and he likes singing the birthday song. I still puzzle over it, because it really seemed like spelling the words triggered his reaction. Not that it matters, it is just fun to see him work things out. He practices reading and reads us books now, including one called It's Spring. (Thanks, Aunt Dawn!) I love when he points to the title and says, "It's SING!"He says at least one word from the page and then speeds on to the next. This isn't too difficult to do, as there is a sentence about the deer on the page with a picture of a deer. On that page he says, "Deer." You get the idea. He is paying attention to the story, though. On the page that explains that the mouse cheeps, he doesn't say, "Mouse". He says cheerily, "Cheep!" It is a speedy way to read, for sure.
* Zeke sure is looking like a little boy these days.
* I almost forgot! How could I forget! I've got three P's for you: Zeke pooped in the potty and it was worth a party! Mini M & M's and gummy bears for everyone when that happened.
Well, folks, that is a lot of catching up, but that is what happens with weekly postings. Thanks for keeping up with us.
