our week with zeeke

Zeeke now has a dizzying array of sleep-delaying techniques and isn't shy about using lots of them in one night.  Making his dinner last two hours.  Resisting using the potty.  Finally deciding to try the potty, then not going.  Fighting a bath, then refusing to get out of it.  Negotiating his undergarments.  Letting you dress him in one set of pyjamas and then screaming bloody murder about how he needs to wear a different set.  Inventing new ways to hug, kiss and high five.  Taking forever to choose what books he wants read.  Asking for more books to be read.  Asking detailed questions about the books we've read.  Deciding he now needs to use the potty. Insisting that his stuffed animals be removed from his bed and sent to sleep in other rooms of the house.  Crying that he needs his stuffed animals back.   Crying out that he can't find the the stuffed animals we just walked upstairs and gave him (because he pushed them under his blanket).  Demanding some water.  Throwing his water out of the crib.  And an endless cycle of good nights.

He's become obsessed with watching movie trailers, making us play them multiple times per day.  His favorite is for "Minions" (a spin-off from Despicable Me), which we've seen so many times we all have it memorized.

Saturday afternoon, Karen's mom, Omi, came for a visit.

Sunday, we had breakfast at Chhya with Omi and then headed to the playground.

Zeeke has figured out how to escape his crib!  Karen put him down for a nap this weekend and then went downstairs to get him some water.  When she stepped out of the kitchen, he was waiting for her at the top of the stairs with a huge grin on his face.  Sigh....

This weekend he started writing names all on his own (well, with a little spelling help).  He wrote "Mom," "Pop Pop," and "Gigi."  He's gotten so much better at making his letters a uniform size and getting them in the right order.  He's also started doing little chores like sweeping and helping with the dishes.

Zeeke and his friends, especially Sadie, still love that strip of grass they call Purple Flower Mountain and demand to go there often after school.  Sometimes we have to sneak in through the community garden.  He even asks to go there on the weekend now.

Saturday was Steve's birthday.  In the morning, he came downstairs to a birthday present and bag full of Father's Day gifts that Zeeke made at school.  Steve & Zeeke got out to the playground while it was still relatively cool out, then hit the Acme on the way home.  After his nap, Zeeke & Karen went to play at the fountain and picked up an ice cream cake and birthday candles for Steve.  A great lover of candles, Zeeke had to hold them the whole way home.

Sunday morning we all went to the playground together.  It had rained overnight so we brough a towel and dried off all of the equipment.  Zeeke got very protective when another kid tried to draw too close to the space dragons he'd asked Steve to draw.  After his nap, we drove out to Steve's parents for dinner.  Zeeke had a swell time drawing and chatting and then amazed us all by devouring his dinner with gusto.  He was eating ham as fast as we could cut it up for him.  He did a good job with his cole slaw and green beans as well.  

After three years of not fixating on any particular stuffed animal, Zeeke has developed a very strong attachment to a small stuffed tiger he calls "Tigey."  Tigey sleeps with him and requires his own blanket ("A baby blanket!  Because he's a baby tiger!").  If Tigey falls out of the crib during the night or gets lost in Zeeke's blanket, there will be a panicked cry for help.  Tigey always needs to be on the same floor of the house as Zeeke (but fortunately does not need to go to school or the playground).  "Tigey is my baby!" he declares over and over. "I keep him safe!"

The determination of who is a baby has been much on his mind lately.  That child or animal is a baby and that one is not.  Woe be unto anyone who calls him a baby.  We can't even tell him he's cute without starting an argument, because "only babies are cute and I'm not a baby!"

Often when he wants your attention but he can't quite think of what to say Zeeke turns to the phrase "that you never seen before!"  Examples: "This picture is a picture of something you never seen before!" or "Gloooobalooo!  That's the sound of an animal that you never seen before!"

Zeeke hasn't been the best eater lately.  He frequently demands meals of "just berries" and its takes a heroic effort to get anything more into him.  A low-protein breakfast on Wednesday led to a morning of angry outburst and timeouts and school.  And then one day, out of the blue, he tried to convince us that he needs to get a treat with every meal.  

Tuesday, we had his three year checkup.  He got a clear bill of health and didn't have to get any shots.

Saturday, Steve and Zeeke went to the playground, but Zeeke could hardly contain his excitement that they were going to the grocery store next.  While there, they bought watermelon with which to make watermelon popsicles.  By the time he was up from his nap, they were frozen and ready to eat!  Dena stopped by for a visit before bedtime.  

Sunday, we went to breakfast at Chhya and then Karen & Zeeke headed to the playground where he played with his schoolmate Zooey.  Back at home, we skipped his nap and headed off on the long trek to Maryland for crabs with Karen's family.  Zeeke had a great time seeing everyone, especially his cousins Riley & Bella.  As usual, Grand Pop Bob Bob cooked up a great batch of crabs and Grandma Joy had a fine array of activities lined up for the kids.  He even got his nails painted.

When we pick him up at school, Zeeke now asks us, "How was your day?" or "Did you have a good day at work?"  It's very sweet.  He's also started having brief conversation on the telephone, actually listening to the other person and responding.

He's been very into writing letters this week.  They're starting to show up in most of his drawings and are sometimes the main reason for the picture ("I want to draw Mommy's name.  She's going to love it!").  He tends to write from right-to-left so far and the first letter of a name is often upside down and/or so large that there's barely any room for the others, but it's a good start.

We got his school photos back this week and miracle of miracles he actually smiled for the camera!  He looked extra cute in the suit his Great Aunt June bought him.  

Saturday morning, we went to playground for a couple hours of playing rocketship on the swings and drawing with chalk, then headed off to the last music class of the session, where he really enjoyed being silly with his pal Will.  After nap, Zoe & Nadine came over for a play date.  And then we saw them again a few minutes later for a gathering at their friend Delano's house.

Sunday morning, it was back to the playground and after his nap we went to Karen's friend Sarah's house for a party where she was giving away tons of kid books.  Our friend Lindsay drove with us and Zeeke made her sing many renditions of the song "Slippery Fish."  Zeeke had a great time picking out books and rolling around on a giant ball in the back yard with Moira.

Conversations with Zeeke:

Walking down the street:
"It hurts on my side when I walk."
"Oh no. Did you get hurt there?"
"Yeah, I walked into something made of wood."
"Ouch! What did you walk into?"
"It was..." Walks into a tree. "Ow! I don't like when trees get in front of me."

"Why do we live on McKean Street?"
"Because that's where our house is."
"But why?"
"Don't you like living in our house?"
"No, I want to live at the Chinese restaurant."

Zeeke discovered The Lego Movie this week and (because he was home sick) has watched it at least three times. He doesn't always understand what's going on in the action scenes (and when he does he says things like "She's not being nice!"), but he loves the humor and the soundtrack.  He's even started singing Judy Garland's rendition of "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm" because a snippet of it appears in the film..

Monday was Memorial Day.  In the morning, Steve & Zeeke met up with Tim & Lettie at the playground.  One of their games involved endlessly inviting each other over to visit their "secret garden" (opposite ends of the jungle gym).  And there were tiaras and crowns.  In the afternoon, we picked up Dena and her mother and drove out to a barbeque with Kim & Jen & the twins.  A lot of fun was had in their backyard including a cool kiddie pool, badmitton, and cupcakes (both visible and invisible).

Tuesday, two hours after dropping Zeeke off at school, we got a call that he was sick.  He had a 102 fever and was pretty sluggish.  Karen stayed home with him and nursed him back to health.

Wednesday, he was back to normal, but Steve stayed home with him to be sure.  They painted lots of watercolors in the morning and watched lots of animal videos in the afternoon, particularly ones with cute baby animals.  Zeeke was inclined to recognize bits of himself in all of the animals ("Daddy, do zebras have ears?  Look, daddy, zebras have ears like us!" and "Oh, this baby tiger has blue eyes just like me!").

Saturday, Steve & Zeeke dropped Karen off at the library and then went to the playground (for more swinging and chalk) and then music class (where he managed to enjoy without becoming a dominating ham for once).  After Zeeke refused to take a nap, Steve threw him in the car and they headed up early to his pal Will's birthday hike at the Wissahickon Creek.  As expected, he dozed off during the drive, which helped keep him in a good mood for the party.  Zeeke had a great time playing out in nature, climbing trees, and hiking with the other kids.  He even learned to poop and pee in the woods for the first time.

Conversations with Zeeke:

Testing Zeeke for a concussion:

"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three!"
"What's your name?"
"Ezekiel Danger Wilson!"
"Who's the president of the United States?"
"I am!"

Zeeke now loves swinging as high and as fast as we can propel him, grabbing handfuls of clouds and moon rocks with each swing.  And with the long weekend, there were quite a few trips to the playground.  When he wasn't blasting off to space, he was making Steve play Daddy Komodo dragon and Baby Komodo dragon.

This week, he's been experimenting with adding "I thought that..." to the beginning of all sorts of sentences ("I thought that we should have some cherries" or "I thought that we would see Amelie at the playground").  It makes him sound very pensive.  And he's continuing his crusade against us calling things by the wrong word ("They're not pants.  They're jeans.").

Someone did a gender headtrip on him at school this week.  He told us that he wants to give away all of his Dora underwear because it's for girls. And he wants to play some game called "princess numbers," but is convinced he can't because "it's just for girls."  Steve got Zeeke to teach him how to play the game and the played a little before school one day.  Talking about it later, he told us that it was just a fellow classmate that got him thinking that way, not one of teachers, which was a little relief.

Thursday, when Steve picked him up at school, Zeeke came running, yelling, "Daddy, I have credit cards! Let's go shopping!"  (One of his teachers had given him a couple discount cards from her keychain and he was determined to go shopping with them.)  When Steve asked him what he wanted to buy, he said "Apples!"  It seemed like a reasonable choice, so they headed off to a corner market and Steve slipped the clerk a dollar while Zeeke was fixated with his purchase.

Day care closed early Friday, so after a nap, Steve & Zeeke headed down to the playground for some serious swinging and drawing monsters with chalk.

Saturday morning, we made silver dollar waffles and then it was back out to the playground where we ran into his schoolmate Del and his classmate Amelie.  After nap, Karen's dad and his girlfriend Joy came up for a visit.  Of course, their visit called for a return to the playground, followed by pizza at Birra and gelato at Capogrio.  

Sunday morning, the three of us were back yet again at the playground with Amelie.  That afternoon, Steve dropped Karen & Zeeke off at the library while he went to the Acme for supplies. 

Apparently, Zeeke has been experimenting with being the class cop instead of the class delinquent this week.  He was heard telling misbehaving classmates to "Focus!" and warning them of imminent timeouts should their antics continue.  We doubt he'll stay on the right side of the law for long, but it's nice for now.

Thursday, Zeeke made Steve pop all of the balloons from his party because "it's not my birthday anymore."

Friday, Karen & Zeeke accompanied his school on a trip to Smith Playground.  He had a great time there playing there, but the best fun was just riding the bus with his friends.

Saturday morning, Steve & Zeeke dropped Karen off at work, then headed off for an action-packed morning of Target shopping, testing out his new sidewalk chalk at the playground, and music class.

Sunday morning, we went to the playground in the morning and had a surprise reunion with many of his friends from school: Odin, Lettie, Amelie, Delano.  After his nap, we went over to Dena's house for dinner her and her mom.  The funk-and-disco dance party afterward was pretty epic.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Daddy, I ate a tree and I choked!"
"Oh no!"
"Then the tree ate me. And it got stung by a bee so the tree put the bee behind a gate."
"That was smart of it."
"And then the tree made a car. Because it was lonely."

"Zeeke, are mommy and daddy in love?"
"Nooooooo...."
"Who is in love?"
"Me and Sadie!"

Zeeke turned three this week!  He loves dance parties, being carried and plates full of berries.  His pet peeves include bedtime, having the shampoo rinsed out of his hair and his parents referring to his sandals as shoes ("Not shoes!  Sandals!").  His favorite word is "Why?"

Monday, after school, we ran into Lettie & Tanya on the walk home and Karen performed an impromptu storytime on their stoop.

Friday was his birthday.  We woke up and he opened some presents and cards.  We brought cupcakes in for his classmates.  His teacher Annie let him help plan their agenda for the day.  His ruling:  No circle time!  

Saturday morning, while Steve cleaned up the back yard, Karen & Zeeke went to a flea market, where Zeeke picked out a pair of earrings to give to his teacher and then to the store for a "3" candle, which he adored so much that he had to be constantly apprised of its location.  Then, while Steve & Zeeke went to music class, Karen went to work on the house.  After his nap, we had his birthday party.  It was great (and fortunately not completely overwhelming) to have so many of his friends (and their wonderful parents) over to celebrate.  He had a blast.  The hit of the party was the new alligator see-saw that Karen's friend Heather gifted to us a couple weeks ago.  

Sunday morning, Steve & Zeeke went to the playground where Zeeke actually asked to be pushed in the swing "faster!"  That afteroon, we watched a childrens movie that introduced him to his new favorite song, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls.  He's barely stopped singing it since then.  

Zeeke had a great week at school.  Listening ears are back and timeouts are gone.  Perhaps those bad weeks were just a fluke or perhaps increasing his morning protein intake really did the trick.  Either way we're happy to have our sweet boy back.  On a sad note, his good buddy Gabe moved away to Florida on Friday.  According to Zeeke, Gabe flew there on either a kite or a parachute.

He's been obsessed lately with a book called Animalia by Graeme Base, insisting on reading it once or twice a day.  He loves studying the incredibly detailed illustrations, discovering the myriad hidden images.  His new catchphrase is "I was just joking," which he usually says right after telling us something we particularlly do not want to hear.

Monday, Karen returned from her girls weekend.  Zeeke handled her being away fantastically but was of course very excited to have her back.  She brought him two presents, a dinosaur magnet  and a poseable wooden robot, which he enjoyed tremendously.

Wednesday, Zeeke wanted to walk his friend Sadie home from school.  On the way they discovered two long strips of grass near the local Catholic high school.  They had a great time running and rolling around in the grass.  When they got to Sadie's house, they had a dance party on her steps.  After leaving Sadie, Steve & Zeeke ran into Zoe outside her home and the hijinx continued, then got even crazier when Delano joined them.  It was definitely the longest trip home from school ever!  That night, Zeeke not only slept with the lights off but got himself back to sleep after a bad dream in the dark and on his own.

Saturday, Zeeke wanted to take the subway to music class.  He & Steve left early and walked around Rittenhouse Square and then through a street festival that was being set up, and finally did a very laps around the fountain at Love Park.

Sunday morning, all three of us went to the playground and ran into Zeeke's classmate Amelie.  After his nap, we went to Jersey for an early celebration of Zeeke's birthday.  Zeeke is getting used to sharing the spotlight with the new baby in the family and even starting to enjoy him.

Conversations with Zeeke:

Monday night, Zeeke decided that he wanted to dream about a dragon, so Tuesday morning:
"Zeeke, did you dream about a dragon?"
"Yes, Daddy! I did dream about a dragon and you were riding on it!"
"Oh, wow, I was flying around on the back of a dragon?"
"No, you were riding on its head."
"Oh, so it was a really big dragon then?"
"No, it was a little tiny dragon..."

Walking downstairs this morning:
"Do you want something to drink, Zeeke?"
"No, Daddy, I'm not thirsty."
"Ok, well, I'm going to get something for me to drink."
"Daddy! Why did you get thirsty without me?"

The king of timeouts continued his reign of terror at school this week.  After repeated reports that he'd frequently have a good afternoon after a really bad morning, we started to wonder if we needed to re-think our breakfast strategy.  For the longest time, it was so difficult to get any food into him, especially in the mornings, and so breakfast had become an enticing but nutritionally weak meal high in sugar and carbs.  Determined to change that, Steve went shopping for some high protein options Thursday.  Oh, the difference a few breakfast sausages can make!  He had a great day on Friday.  

It also didn't hurt that Karen told him he couldn't go to the airport to pick up Aunt Patsy if he didn't have a good day.  He was very excited about seeing her and she made a big impression in just a couple hours (one of the car door's is now known as Patsy's door).  After his bedtime Friday night, Karen and Patsy snuck out to Cape May for a girl's weekend with their friend Heather.  

Saturday morning, Steve & Zeeke ran errands to Target and Old Navy, then headed out to music class.  Zeeke continues to be a ham in class.  During one song, when the kids are supposed to bounce tennis balls, Zeeke came up with this trick where he'd charge towards one of the teachers with a tennis ball raised high in hand like he was going to spike it in their faces, then drop it harmlessly behind his back at the last second, causing their brief terror to turn to hysterical laughter.  

That afternoon, the boys went to the playground.  After a year or more of not liking the swings, Zeeke's starting to enjoy them again.  Although his "wheeeees" are still somewhat subdued compared to the other kids' and he's usually shouting "Slower!  Slower!" instead of "Higher!  Higher!"  The fun really got started though when his best bud Sadie showed up.  There was much running around and squealing with delight and feeding of imaginary animals.  

Sunday morning, Aunt Dena came over and rode over with the two bachelors to Jack & William's birthday party at Bounce U.  Zeeke really enjoyed the first bouncing room, but when we moved into the more sports-like one he was less enthused and spent quite a bit of time acting as automatic ball return for the girls who were shooting hoops.  When it came time for pizza and cake, Zeeke wanted to sit with the adults.  He refused to eat pizza until he saw there were pepperoni slices and then endulged thoroughly.  The goodie bag included a temporary tattoo of a toucan and some great toys, all of which Zeeke has really enjoyed.

Unfortunately he fell asleep on the drive home and then refused to nap when they got back.  So, they headed out for a long afternoon at the playground, where Zeeke made friends with a boy named Manuel.  Steve actually got to sit back and rest a little, while the two boys drew with chalk, ran around doing tricks on the jungle gym and pretending to be monsters.  

All in all, Zeeke was amazing about Karen being away for the weekend.  When they bought some new crayons, he asked Steve to "draw a picture of Mommy," but there were no tears at all.  Fortunately he enjoys the intense one-on-one attention he gets when one of us is away.  

Health Update:  We had a scheduled trip to the hemotologist this week and Zeeke's platelet count countinues to be healthy and high!

Conversations with Zeeke:

KERPLUNK!
"Zeeke!"
"I'm ok, Mommy! I just fell into the garbage!"

"OK, Daddy, we're going to play a game called Hide and Drink."
"I like it already!"

Looking out the window on a windy day:
"Mommy, the trees are dancing!"