Still, he mainly will pick red things at home: the red cup, the red marker or crayon, the red Lego. Red, red, red!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Paint it red
Zeke has a favorite color: red. Everything he talks about is red. Everything he wants is red. Frequently he asks for specific things in red, but usually just to tease me. For a few days, he took a flashlight to bed with him. We don't actually want to let him sleep with our regular flashlight so we went to find him his own. We get to the store and I find an LED flashlight with rechargeable batteries -- really the perfect flashlight for a kid who will likely have the thing on for hours -- and I'm excited because it is red and this is exactly what we came to the store for. Nope. Zeke then says he doesn't want the red one. The same thing happened with shoe shopping today. He asked for red. I got red Crocs out, and then he told me no.
Mommy no more
As of today, Zeke says he is going to call us "Mom" and "Dad." No more "Mommy," "Mama," or "Daddy." Where does he come up with this stuff?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Snort!
Earlier this spring, we went to a "Touch a Truck" Day in an adjacent town. We got to see all sorts of truck and sit in them. I found that I wanted this street cleaner -- it was really cool and you could see through clear panels on the floor. I would love to do my part for civic pride and drive one of these around on a regular basis -- do you think they have a hybrid version? What was especially memorable to me was that other kids were talking about each truck and construction machine and what each one did. Not Zeke, though. Zeke went up to the bull dozer and said, "SNORT!" He kept talking about the different "snorts" in the parking lot.
Why? That is the name of the "creature" who returns the baby bird to his nest in Are You My Mother?, one of Zeke's favorite books to read at the time.
Celebrating Father's Day
Father's Day was a busy day. We started with Zeke and I finishing our gifts while Aaron slept in: Zeke decorated a travel mug for Aaron and wrote "I love Daddy" on it. I juiced four pounds of oranges on the juicer Aaron has been suggesting that we get for sometime. We also had our regular Sunday pancake brunch. After, we went to the Fernbank and watched an IMAX film on dinosaurs and went through the exhibit on dinosaurs. We had dinner at a very family friendly Mexican restaurant and then came home and had a chocolate cream pie I made.
At dinner, I asked Zeke if he wanted to sit with Aaron because it was Father's Day. He said that, no, he wanted to sit with Mommy for Father's Day. After you see how busy he was just in the span of a few seconds, you can see why that was a gift to Daddy that he got to eat without Zeke sitting next to him!
Little prince
A few weeks ago, Zeke went to a Royal Princess Party for one of his good friends from school. (The birthday princess likes to make her father nervous about talking about her "boyfriend" Zeke.) Because I have a poor sense of priorities and time management, finding him appropriate royal attire and then making him a costume became an all important task. I could have just bought a shield and sword and crown from the variety store. I could have. Did I mention I have no discernible crafting or sewing skills?I had an idea for a crown and, what with the internet being the most helpful parenting tool ever, found exactly what I was looking for. I used the pattern and tried to sew it with my little machine for hemming. Why? Why? When we all know that the hot glue gun can solve all problems? Then I embellished from the original with some odds and ends. Ric rac comes a close second to glue guns in solving all problems. A half yard of blue felt and some more glue gunning made the tunic. Zeke was very interested, interested to a point of distraction in the project when it was coming together.
How does this fairytale end? He wore it for one second after I made it. Not one second more. Not one second at the party. Not one second after.
That will teach me.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Happy New Year!
See, lots of old material to put up, including a post I start six months ago about the new year, mostly about some new things that were going to happen in this year. Only now, I can say proudly about things that have indeed happened this year.
To start: It took some time to say goodbye to my grandmother after her death last August. Even though we were not together a lot, she had a very large role in my life and the process of mourning her got drawn out. We had an informal memorial service for her in August, but then had another memorial service for her a few months later in Chicago at her home church where her family and friends could attend. Of course, the holidays came right after that and the obviousness of her absence was hard.
When I came home from Chicago, I spent a long time thinking about what my grandmother's legacy to me would be. She was always very concerned about living her life in a way that it might improve the quality of my life and that of my sister and mother. Wanting to respect that, I thought about ways that my life could reflect that. I decided that I need to do three things to honor her memory and what she would want to leave behind. I thought about the things that I respected and admired about her and came up with these three things and they became my de facto new year's resolutions.
1. Enjoy and grow my friendships. When my grandmother died, we received condolences from people that she had gone to grammar school with. In an age before Facebook and email, my grandmother cultivated almost 90 years of friendship with people across the country by writing letters, inviting people over and getting on the telephone. I still need to work on this more, but I have been spending more time with friends and reconnecting. Lots more time out for lunch. I have even been out for coffee with my 8th grade lab partner who also lives in Atlanta! I still have a hard time getting on the phone and faltered a little on this when I had a large consulting project in February and March, but expect more from me, friends!
2. Grow something, anything. As I wrote before, one of the things that struck me as hard about the death of my grandmother was that there was so much she could do that I don't know how to do and that I have never even tried. One of the things that I have never done and yet she loved was to garden. I haven't gotten to the point where I am doing anything like gardening per se, but I am taking baby steps to at least getting into my yard. I did put some flowers in the window boxes that have been empty for two years and some hanging plants and I have yet to kill them. I also have some very lonely little tomato plants going and they are right next to my new composting bin. We had some new trees planted and also had a new deck built that we enjoy. I'm going to keep trying a little bit at a time, though this is a hard one for me.
3. Be healthy. Two things that I really remember about my grandmother are how much she watched what she ate and how physically active she was. When I was young I can remember going on long walks with her and, among her effects, we found an audiotape of her narrating her exercise routine! She could be very critical of other people's health, though not often mine. Still, I thought she would be happy to know that I was living a healthy lifestyle. At first I thought this meant that I would try to lose weight and maybe even try to get back to the weight that I was in high school, but now it has been about being healthy and active. I thought this was going to be the hardest goal for me and it was the hardest one for me to start, but this is the one that I have made the most progress on this year. First, I told myself that I was going to floss my teeth. Such a little thing, but really important and something I have just never kept up with. Done.
Second, get active. Done. No, really!
I have been faithfully attending a fitness bootcamp since the first week of the year. I told myself I just had to go one session to jumpstart my goal and then start going back to the Y, but I haven't stopped going. It was painful at first and I was a ball of nerves. My mantra that first session was "Show up, not throw up." I mean, I used to do anything to get out of PE when it was free at school. Also, physical activity is not my forte or interest and I shy away from things that I don't think I will be good at. But, I made it through all of that and now I am a "vet" at FitWit, a bootcamp that meets four mornings a week at the local school or park with fifth workout on your own. And, yes, I go in the early morning, which is doubly hard for me as a night owl. To cut to the chase, I have become a poster child for the camp, as the trainers frequently remind me how rough it was for me at the beginning. I am now faster and stronger than at any other point in my life. I have dropped over two minutes from my first mile time which was already faster than my times in high school. I can do toe pushups, pull ups and many other formerly torturous exercises. I haven't lost much weight, but I am definitely more toned and in shape -- people who don't know that I have been doing FitWit tell me it looks like I have been losing weight. Did I mention my new two piece bathing suit? It's been fun, I enjoy the people I've met and I get to carpool with my next door neighbor who has been going for years. I even ran my first 5k and am getting ready for a 10k (the Peachtree!). It isn't really much for other people, but a big change for me and I think my grandmother would be impressed. For the rest of the year, I'm going to try and sustain what I've been able to do and gradually add other health goals like getting enough sleep, a lifelong problem for me.
I think what I have found most challenging and also most rewarding is that I feel like I am making changes in my life and sticking with things that are out of my comfort zone. I have been worried for some time about getting stuck, getting rigid and not being able to make changes and do hard things as I get older. I see it a lot in people I know that they are not able to make changes and repeat negative patterns. So, at least for the past five months, I have been able to take some baby steps (and a couple of miles) to changes. I feel that is a legacy that my grandmother would want for me and my family and for me to share with Zeke.
Here is photographic evidence of my first 5k: crossing the finish line (so serious!) and with the race shirt.
To start: It took some time to say goodbye to my grandmother after her death last August. Even though we were not together a lot, she had a very large role in my life and the process of mourning her got drawn out. We had an informal memorial service for her in August, but then had another memorial service for her a few months later in Chicago at her home church where her family and friends could attend. Of course, the holidays came right after that and the obviousness of her absence was hard.
When I came home from Chicago, I spent a long time thinking about what my grandmother's legacy to me would be. She was always very concerned about living her life in a way that it might improve the quality of my life and that of my sister and mother. Wanting to respect that, I thought about ways that my life could reflect that. I decided that I need to do three things to honor her memory and what she would want to leave behind. I thought about the things that I respected and admired about her and came up with these three things and they became my de facto new year's resolutions.
1. Enjoy and grow my friendships. When my grandmother died, we received condolences from people that she had gone to grammar school with. In an age before Facebook and email, my grandmother cultivated almost 90 years of friendship with people across the country by writing letters, inviting people over and getting on the telephone. I still need to work on this more, but I have been spending more time with friends and reconnecting. Lots more time out for lunch. I have even been out for coffee with my 8th grade lab partner who also lives in Atlanta! I still have a hard time getting on the phone and faltered a little on this when I had a large consulting project in February and March, but expect more from me, friends!
2. Grow something, anything. As I wrote before, one of the things that struck me as hard about the death of my grandmother was that there was so much she could do that I don't know how to do and that I have never even tried. One of the things that I have never done and yet she loved was to garden. I haven't gotten to the point where I am doing anything like gardening per se, but I am taking baby steps to at least getting into my yard. I did put some flowers in the window boxes that have been empty for two years and some hanging plants and I have yet to kill them. I also have some very lonely little tomato plants going and they are right next to my new composting bin. We had some new trees planted and also had a new deck built that we enjoy. I'm going to keep trying a little bit at a time, though this is a hard one for me.
3. Be healthy. Two things that I really remember about my grandmother are how much she watched what she ate and how physically active she was. When I was young I can remember going on long walks with her and, among her effects, we found an audiotape of her narrating her exercise routine! She could be very critical of other people's health, though not often mine. Still, I thought she would be happy to know that I was living a healthy lifestyle. At first I thought this meant that I would try to lose weight and maybe even try to get back to the weight that I was in high school, but now it has been about being healthy and active. I thought this was going to be the hardest goal for me and it was the hardest one for me to start, but this is the one that I have made the most progress on this year. First, I told myself that I was going to floss my teeth. Such a little thing, but really important and something I have just never kept up with. Done.
Second, get active. Done. No, really!
I have been faithfully attending a fitness bootcamp since the first week of the year. I told myself I just had to go one session to jumpstart my goal and then start going back to the Y, but I haven't stopped going. It was painful at first and I was a ball of nerves. My mantra that first session was "Show up, not throw up." I mean, I used to do anything to get out of PE when it was free at school. Also, physical activity is not my forte or interest and I shy away from things that I don't think I will be good at. But, I made it through all of that and now I am a "vet" at FitWit, a bootcamp that meets four mornings a week at the local school or park with fifth workout on your own. And, yes, I go in the early morning, which is doubly hard for me as a night owl. To cut to the chase, I have become a poster child for the camp, as the trainers frequently remind me how rough it was for me at the beginning. I am now faster and stronger than at any other point in my life. I have dropped over two minutes from my first mile time which was already faster than my times in high school. I can do toe pushups, pull ups and many other formerly torturous exercises. I haven't lost much weight, but I am definitely more toned and in shape -- people who don't know that I have been doing FitWit tell me it looks like I have been losing weight. Did I mention my new two piece bathing suit? It's been fun, I enjoy the people I've met and I get to carpool with my next door neighbor who has been going for years. I even ran my first 5k and am getting ready for a 10k (the Peachtree!). It isn't really much for other people, but a big change for me and I think my grandmother would be impressed. For the rest of the year, I'm going to try and sustain what I've been able to do and gradually add other health goals like getting enough sleep, a lifelong problem for me.
I think what I have found most challenging and also most rewarding is that I feel like I am making changes in my life and sticking with things that are out of my comfort zone. I have been worried for some time about getting stuck, getting rigid and not being able to make changes and do hard things as I get older. I see it a lot in people I know that they are not able to make changes and repeat negative patterns. So, at least for the past five months, I have been able to take some baby steps (and a couple of miles) to changes. I feel that is a legacy that my grandmother would want for me and my family and for me to share with Zeke.
Here is photographic evidence of my first 5k: crossing the finish line (so serious!) and with the race shirt.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Recent home improvement projects
Sometimes you want to keep people out, sometimes you want to keep a preschooler in. A preschooler that likes to make a dash for it if he sees his buddies from around the block outside without him.
Friday, June 05, 2009
The party animal dances
The advantage of taking a blogging holiday is that I have a lot of material stored up that I want to share/remember for the future: stories, photos, even some half done unpublished posts. Here is one dusty old post that has been sitting on the shelf since November -- photos of Zeke doing one of his favorite things, dancing, at the neighborhood Halloween festival. It was too hot to wear jeans and the lion pants, but he is still rocking the lion top. Get down, baby lion, get down.
Preschool love
Zeke had a good year at his preschool. To just get the basic out of the way: Wow, did that go fast. It hardly seems like he just started. School wrapped up in mid-May. He'll go back in the fall (September seems very far away) and start going for three days a week, instead of just two. Now that is out of the way....
One any given day, about half of the children in Zeke's class (Sparrows II -- HOLLA!) would race outside to play on the hill in front of the church where the school is based. Not necessarily a convenient way to spend half an hour, but fun free time play to really get them tired before a nap and time for the moms to socialize. One of my favorite parts of this time on the hill was to eavesdrop on the little conversations these little people have.
Overheard from one girl to Zeke one day and said a bit woefully: "I love you, but I have to go home." Zeke, love has its own time and apparently its own place and that is at school only.
One any given day, about half of the children in Zeke's class (Sparrows II -- HOLLA!) would race outside to play on the hill in front of the church where the school is based. Not necessarily a convenient way to spend half an hour, but fun free time play to really get them tired before a nap and time for the moms to socialize. One of my favorite parts of this time on the hill was to eavesdrop on the little conversations these little people have.
Overheard from one girl to Zeke one day and said a bit woefully: "I love you, but I have to go home." Zeke, love has its own time and apparently its own place and that is at school only.
Rollin'
One day early in April, Zeke just hopped on his trike and took off pedaling...at high speed. Before that, he might pedal for just a bit then back pedal or want a push or more often just scoot. Now? Just hell on wheels. Early on, one of his favorite places to ride is our neighbor's incredibly steep 60 degree angle driveway. Now he mainly does laps around and through the cul de sac, but he may just have a hidden daredevil streak. His trike lives on the front porch and he usually goes for a ride everyday with Aaron supervising.
Some photos from those first rides:
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
At the Movies
(Dips toe back in blogging waters and the recording of moments from my only child's life. How long have I been gone? 3 months? No, almost 4. Geesh.)
Last summer Zeke saw his first movie on DVD, having gone two years without being exposed to the medium. I think it was part of the whole "we are going to be our super protective of our offspring/future caregiver and never let him watch anything more than half an hour of Sesame Street" parenting approach. But now, a year passes and I think my stars every day for PBS Kids babysitting Zeke long enough to get a shower and catch up on emails. Zeke gets exposed to media pretty often. He likes watching movies at home and is able to focus for 90 minutes on a moving image like you wouldn't believe. Every morning he wakes up and begs me to watch a movie on DVD. His favorite movie these days is Toy Story. He sometimes sleeps with a Buzz Lightyear or a Woody that we have had for years. Sometimes he likes to carry around or nap with DVD cases.
Then this weekend we took Zeke to the opening of Up. Originally we thought we might get a sitter and leave Zeke at home like we did for WALL-E and Ratatouille -- we don't miss Pixar films -- but that did seem a little silly to pay for someone to watch our child when we go see a family movie. Zeke had a great time and was not restless at all, even keeping his 3-D glasses on for more than two-thirds of the movie. As the credits rolled -- Aaron does have him trained to watch credits -- Zeke pronounced to the people his review: "THE END! That was a good movie. I had a great time. Thank you for taking me to the movie." Sometimes I love him enough to forget how "three" he has been for the past month!
Sidenote: Like a lot of people, my favorite part of the movie was Dug, a talking dog. I'm contemplating getting a plush toy to satisfy my own kiddish needs. While trying to figure out where to get one (they haven't been distributed widely yet), I saw this shirt at the Disney Store website. Yes, the most enjoyable line of the film is probably when Dug says "I have just met you and I love you." It seems a little icky, though, when you put it on a shirt for a grown woman.
So, in May we decided to take the show on the road, or rather hit the road and see a show. (We did try to take him to an IMAX movie at some point last year, but left a few minutes in when it was clear he wanted to talk LOUDLY during the film.) We took Zeke to a nearly empty matinee of earth. Zeke enjoyed the movie experience, though got a little restless at the end. He spent the time naming different animals in the movie and narrating what was going on with those animals.
He really surprised us at one point, though. The movie features a lot of prey vs predator scenes, though always cuts away at the critical moment and switches to another vignette. So, you could hypothetically look at a scene and say, "Oh, how sweet. The cheetah is playing with the baby antelope. Aww, now they're hugging and the cheetah is kissing him on the neck." You're not likely to do that, but maybe if you are 3 and have no awareness of death and killing. During what was a really uncomfortable scene for me, a pride of hungry lions stalk and attack an elephant who has been weakened by exhaustion and thirst. The lions jump on the elephant's back and then the scene changes. What does Zeke make of this? He says, "Oh, he dies. The elephant dies." We were really not expecting that.
Then this weekend we took Zeke to the opening of Up. Originally we thought we might get a sitter and leave Zeke at home like we did for WALL-E and Ratatouille -- we don't miss Pixar films -- but that did seem a little silly to pay for someone to watch our child when we go see a family movie. Zeke had a great time and was not restless at all, even keeping his 3-D glasses on for more than two-thirds of the movie. As the credits rolled -- Aaron does have him trained to watch credits -- Zeke pronounced to the people his review: "THE END! That was a good movie. I had a great time. Thank you for taking me to the movie." Sometimes I love him enough to forget how "three" he has been for the past month!
Sidenote: Like a lot of people, my favorite part of the movie was Dug, a talking dog. I'm contemplating getting a plush toy to satisfy my own kiddish needs. While trying to figure out where to get one (they haven't been distributed widely yet), I saw this shirt at the Disney Store website. Yes, the most enjoyable line of the film is probably when Dug says "I have just met you and I love you." It seems a little icky, though, when you put it on a shirt for a grown woman.
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