our week with zeeke

Tuesday was a snow day.  After playing superheroes for a while, Steve & Zeeke trekked out into the snow for a play date with his pal Zoe.  The kids made a family of rocket puppets and then put on a show.  On the way home, Zeeke stopped to help a total stranger shovel his sidewalk.

Thursday, while Steve & Karen were out to dinner, Nick & Nadine had Zeeke over for a play date and dinner with Zoe.  Zeeke ate baked cod and smoked salmon, two new foods for him, which he actually liked!

Friday was St. Patrick's Day.  Zeeke's school had a party and almost everyone wore green.

Saturday Karen & Zeeke went to gymnastics class with his pals Zoe & Delano.

Sunday, Zeeke mentally combined two different crafts he'd seen in one of Karen's magazines and decided he wanted to make penguins out of toilet paper tubes.  While Karen & Zeeke played, Steve ran out to pick up some black and white paint (and a few bargain activity books).  They hot glue gunned the penguins together and Zeeke painted them like a pro.  While the paint was drying, they took a quick trip to the snow-covered playground.

Conversations with Zeeke:

Zeeke, pretending to be a teacher:
"Okay, children, so when Green Arrow was a little boy he used to watch videos on his computer of Jackie Robinson. So when he grew up, he decided to dress all in green and shoot a bow and arrow just like Jackie Robinson. And one of the arrows was a boxing glove arrow."

Crying mad at Steve because he gave claws to the giant robot crab that Zeeke told him to draw:
"He was so cute until you drew those claws! Why did you draw them? They are not cute! Not cute at all!"

We're really enjoying Zeeke's artwork lately.  He'll set out to draw one of the robots from Transformers and end up with something that looks like a Joan Miró painting.

Zeeke earned the coveted Helper of the Week position at school.  He's gotten stickers for good behavior every day so far this month!

Wednesday, Lettie joined us briefly at Purple Flower Mountain while Tanya was running an errand.  They were sad that they didn't get more time together so we set up a play date for the weekend.

Thursday, Zoe came home from school with us while her parents went out to dinner.  We went to Purple Flower Mountain, then came home to play games and eat dinner.

Saturday morning, Steve & Zeeke played superheroes, drew pictures. and went to gymnastics class with his pals Zoe & Delano.  After lunch, Tanya brought Lettie & Winnie over for a play date and then we rented Disney's Moana and loved it.  

Sunday, Zeeke refused to go out in the wind and cold, so we had a lazy day at home, doing activity books and watching Moana again.

Wednesday was Wacky Wednesday at Zeeke's school.  Zeeke wore his shirt and pants backwards, socks mismatched, underwear on his head and pineapple sunglasses.

Saturday, Karen & Zeeke had extra fun at gymnastics class because his friends Zoe, Delano & Rosa are in the class now.  After lunch, Karen took him to get his first professional haircut.  When he stepped into the salon, he got scared and ran out, but once he was in the chair, which reminded him of the dentist's, he was fine.  He wanted to know what all of her tools did and took a surprising interest in how she cut it ("This part needs to be shorter").  

Sunday, Karen & Zeeke went to the art museum in the morning.  Zeeke pounded nails and made a relief painting sail for a driftwood sailboat.  After his nap, we went to Jersey to celebrate his cousin Riley's birthday.  The kids had a ball jumping off the couch into a huge pillow.

Conversations with Zeeke:

Playing with his Transformers:
"Sideswipe is hanging out on the bathroom floor with his feet sticking out and Stuntwing is going out with the girls from the gas station."

"Daddy, have you noticed all the Lego superhero movies? I love them. I just love when people are made of Lego."

Zeeke has gotten super obsessed with Pokemon and Transformers lately.  He knows so much about them and will happily correct you if you say something wrong.  His favorite pokemon is one named Squishy.  He's also a fan of Squishy's trainer, whom he refers to as "the girl who loves Squishy."  Sometimes he makes Steve sing a song about Squishy and have "squishy battles" which are like a cross between a pillow fight and professional wrestling. 

Monday was President's Day so we headed out to visit Jen, Kim & the Twins.  Styrofoam swords and the bounce house kept the boys busy while the grown-ups chatted.  After a hike in Carpenter's Woods, we grabbed lunch at the Chestnut Grill and the boys even sat at their own table!  Total strangers were walking by asking us how we pulled off that trick.  

Friday, Zoe joined Zeeke & Steve for a trip to Purple Flower Mountain, then came home with us for dinner.  We were happy to see that the purple flowers had returned to the mountain.

Saturday, after a morning of cartoons, squishy battles, and gymnastics class, Karen & Zeeke went to the playground.

Sunday morning, we went to Toys R Us to spend a gift card Zeeke's great-aunt June gave him for Christmas.  He bought  some Transformers and was over the moon playing with them.  Later in the day, we went to his friend Maddy's house for game day. 

Conversations with Zeeke:

Talking about Pokemon:
"No, Daddy, Zubat evolves into Golbat and Golbat evolves into Crobat."
"Really? Let me look that up.... hey, you're right!"
"That's why you call me Smarty Pants. Cause I'm really smart!"

Monday night, we made valentines for the kids in Zeeke's class.

Saturday morning, Zeeke wanted to play underwater superheroes with Steve. He was OctoDragon and Steve was Sharkrick.  He enjoyed telling Steve what his powers were and when to use them.  After gymnastics class, Steve took him to McDonalds as a reward for a good week at school.  After lunch, he worked on making the superhero masks and wristbands from a kit he bought with Valentines money.  They ended the afternoon with a trip to the playground where he hung out with Tristan and Sadie.

Sunday, Steve & Zeeke made the mistake of going to the zoo on an unseasonably warm winter's day.  They sat in traffic for hours, only to arrive at a zoo that was overcrowded and understaffed.  It was not the best trip ever.  Zeeke fell deep asleep on the way home and Steve let him nap in the car until dinner.

Conversations with Zeeke:

"Well, Daddy, did you know that soy milk and cow milk are both kinds of milk. But that soy milk is made out of soy beans and cow milk is made out of cows?"

"Daddy, do you know what Tabasco peppers can do?"
"No."
"They can make an old man weak. They can take the paint off the wall."

"What is this picture Zeeke?"
"The Dirty Apartment Building."
"When did you see a dirty apartment building?"
"Mommy, the pictures are not what you see."

Wednesday, Zeeke's class celebrated the hundredth day of the school year by dressing like they were one-hundred-year-olds.  Karen dressed him in a three-piece suit and made a long white beard for him.  But it was also super warm, so Steve picked him up early from school (with a change of clothes) and they had a great play date at Purple Flower Mountain with his pals Delano and Zoe.  The kids even got to do a little early gardening.

Thursday, after school, Zoe came over for dinner so that her parents could go out.  And then on Friday Zeeke went home with Zoe so that Steve & Karen could go out.

Saturday morning, while Karen volunteered at the library of the school Zeeke put will be attending next Fall, Zeeke put Steve to work hot gluing an ambitious and difficult-to-describe craft project.  After gymnastics class, nap, and some more gluing, all three of us went to Cloth to cash in some store credit Karen had earned by selling some of his old things.  He had a ball choosing games and puzzles (which he will still have to earn through good behavior).  

Sunday morning, Karen & Zeeke went to the art museum.  After nap, we went out to Jersey for dinner with Pop-Pop & Gigi.

After a long period only wanting to do color-by-numbers, Zeeke is getting creative again and entering a new phase in his artwork.  It's great to see him getting passionate about it again.  

Saturday, Karen & Zeeke went to gymnastics class.  After his nap, his friend Odin came over for a play date. 

Sunday, Steve & Zeeke had planned to go for a hike, but Zeeke changed his mind at the last minute and said he wanted to go to the Zoo instead because it was too cold to hike.  When they were leaving for the Zoo though, Zeeke decided it was too cold for that as well, and that a lazy day around the house would suit him better.  Steve did get him out for a short bicycle ride though in the afternoon.

Conversations with Zeeke:

While spinning (in front of his vertigo-plagued mother):
"Mommy! You look like you're falling off of a mountain!"

Saturday morning, Steve & Zeeke went to Delano's birthday party, which included a trip to the local firehouse.  Zeeke got to shoot the fire hose and even ran through it!  He had a great time and said it was the best party ever.  After his nap, he finished detailing the model plane he made last weekend.  He did a great job on it. 

Sunday morning, Karen & Zeeke went to coffee shop to see a puppet show of Peter Rabbit.  After his nap, we went to his friend Maddie's house for a game night.  

Conversations with Zeeke:

Talking about his helium balloon:
"Daddy, did you know my horsey poops ice cubes? I'm going to go out on a date with him. Do you want to come with us on our date? There's a couch in the back of the wagon that you can sit on."

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Steve & Zeeke went to the Academy of Natural Sciences to catch the final day of their Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit.

Tuesday night, Zeeke learned a painful lesson about what happens when you push your naked penis into the space heater. No damage, but ouch!

Saturday, after gymnastics class, Zeeke & Karen bought a wooden model airplane as his prize for having a good week at school.  After his nap, Zeeke painted his plane and then while the paint was drying, he & Steve went out for some bicycle riding practice.  He made it all the way around the block.

Sunday started with waffles and touch ups on the plane's paint job, then Karen & Zeeke walked around the neighborhood doing errands.

Zeeke has been insanely obsessed with doing color-by-numbers on the computer.  As a reward, it's proven to be very effective at motivating good behavior.  Sometimes we even draw up our own and give them to each other to color.  

With the warm weather we've been having, we've even made it to Purple Flower Mountain after school a few nights.

Saturday morning, Steve & Zeeke went to gymnastics class.  Zeeke did a great job and is really getting a hang of it.  After his nap, we went over to Tim & Tanya's house for a play date with Lettie.  They played Zingo and Light Brite, threw a dance party and had many costume changes.

Sunday, Karen & Zeeke visited the little lending library at the Singing Fountain and then went to Museum of Art for a kids program.  They had fun imagining themselves into paintings.