This time it's for real

Because actually I had more work to do and it was a little insane. And while I still have work - yey - the schedule is more stretched out for the next two months. Whew.

Zander has been up to a lot in the past three weeks. This week he said his first comprehensible multi-syllabic word: apple. He enjoys saying apple. He'll even nibble on one if the mood takes him. In related news, this morning, as we were going out the front door, he was managing the steps by himself while I locked the door. I told him to be careful and he repeated, "careful." Say it with me: Awwwww!

He also started pulling toys around - you know, those toys on wheels that have a lead string? Yeah. And when he can't find one of those he'll settle for his dad's laptop cord.

Over the past two weeks, Mr. Z has pretty much given up the morning nap. All of a sudden. A little traumatic for me while I am in workaholic mode but we managed. Once I realized it wasn't a fluke, I started doing errands in the morning, in part to help keep him awake. Today we went to the mall and he played in the kid area - he did a fantastic flip that was literally head over heels but he came up smiling so all is good. Maybe next week we can go to some of the playtimes at the library and such that take place at 10 or 11am. Now he goes to sleep post lunch, around 12:30 or 1pm and sleeps as late as 4pm some days. What a big boy.

Zander has become a big fan of Sesame Street and watches it almost every day. I don't dig the kids+ TV thing but I am only human - and I work from home. When I have deadlines, well, I don't clean and I don't turn the TV off. So, Sesame Street: he really likes the songs, especially at the end, some of the muppets and kids are dancing and there's these cartoon skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty also dancing. He thinks that's so fantastic he shouts and manically twists his little body back and forth. It's hysterical, trust me.

The best part is that he seems to be picking up some numbers and letters. Seriously. I don't know that he recognizes individual numbers or letters but when they do sequences, he chimes in. This morning I heard 3, C, J ... and some more, I don't remember. To be fair, he has a music CD he's been listening to for the past year that has an alphabet song on it so he's got a head start there.

In the Department of Dreams Come True ... Zander loves to do the dishes. I'm not kidding. In fact, it's kind of painful to get him to stop and do something else.



Wants to be just like dad:


(either that or he's shopping for a bigger house.)

And last - Zander's first camping excursion. Two nights of bad sleep for all three of us but he got to roll in the dirt all day long. I think this trip is what broke him of his morning nap since he hardly took a nap for the two days we were there. We camped at Green Lake in the Waterloo-Pinckney Rec Area. Two days into hunting season, sheesh, but at least we could have beer because it was after Labor Day.





What else is there to say? He's snuggly - when he feels like it, which is usually when he's just woken up or is ready to sleep. He talks all the time, very earnestly. This morning he was trying to help me fold laundry which consisted of him pulling laundry out of the basket and handing it to me. He's into that phase where he likes to given people random things. He'll mimic any noise you make. He desperately covets remote controls and cell phones (nothing new there).

And ... we need to cut his bangs this weekend. Sob!

All Done!

....back to our regularly schedule programming. I've been swamped with work these past two weeks. But that hasn't stopped wee Zander from growing (taller, apparently) and smarter (more words! and signs!) and stronger (climbing!).

Our favorite latest feat of excellence is that I taught him to say "All done." Mostly he enjoys repeating it and being regaled with laughter and clapping. Context is secondary. Last night he prised my hand open, put him empty sippy cup into it and said "All done" - but what he really meant was "Give me more and on the double!" because when I asked him if he wanted more milk (and made the sign, which he is sometimes doing when he's not impatient - imagine how often that happens)... he moaned, snatched the sippy cup away, and ran into the kitchen whining. His tried and true method to get more milk to stand in front of fridge, trying to open it from either end, whining. Whining.

Hence the need for language.

He's been talking lots more lately, though, don't get me wrong. We're hearing snatches of things all the time amidst his earnest babble. The other day, when denied my attention, he cried out "I want my mama!" He has "cat" and "dog" down pretty good. Actually, he likes to go up to cats and dogs and point at them and say "No!" I'm laughing as I write this - can you imagine where he's learned that association? One our cats has been really REALLY bad lately - he's decided he wants to be outside. He's also figured out he can get my attention by leaping and clinging to the screen portion of the door, which is slowly destroying the screen. Ugh. So there's a whole lot of shouting NO at the cat.

Zander is getting pickier about food. It used to be that just because I ate it made it cool enough to try out. Now he just wants to eat bread, cream cheese, fruit, graham crackers, pickles, olives...you get the idea. Bland kid food. Which is fine, because he's a kid and all those items are reasonably nutritious in the right quantities. But I will have no picky eaters in my house and that's where this is heading. So I am making sure he eats something at every meal even if it's not what I wish he would eat and when the meal's over, it's over. He often more hungry at the next meal and more likely to just eat what he's given. The trick here will be the milk. I think he's already trying to substitute milk for food. I know of kids who do this, or try to, so I am prepared to battle it. Zander can have his cup of milk and, after that, just water if he's not eating the meal.

This is the common sense method of parenting. You will find it in no one book. It's so fluid, so circumstantial, so personal that no one can tell you how to do it except you. And damn, I think it works. Pardon my immodesty for a moment but people tell us all the time how happy and well-behaved our child is. But it's not all us. Zander is a loving, fearless, and curious child unto himself.

He is so sure he can fix the sprinkler. So sure.