our week with zeeke

Zeeke has been very interested in things being broken lately, asking us to fix broken crayons, broken bananas and torn stickers, then being sad when we can't.  He also points out whenever someone or something goes away on television.  "Penguins go away!"

Speaking of which, Steve got back from Toronto on Monday. Zeeke seemed happy enough to have him back at first, but on Tuesday night laid into him with some major Daddy hate. Fortunately, he snapped out of it by the weekend.

Saturday, after music class, Steve & Zeeke picked up Karen for a trip to a clothing swap and Target. After his nap, we went to the playground where Zeeke had fun riding the slides and hording everyone's sidewalk chalk.

Sunday morning, while Karen slipped away to hit another clothing swap and meet some friends for brunch, Steve & Zeeke visited the Rizzios and then went to the playground. They got there early enough that we were able to play on the big kid jungle gym and Zeeke had a blast riding the super high slide over and over! After his nap, we started off Zeeke's birthday week with dinner and ice cream cake with Steve's family at Pop Pop & Gigi's.

Conversations with Zeeke:
"How was school today, Zeeke?"
"Him push him!"
"Who got pushed, Zeeke?"
"Gabe."
"Oh no. Who pushed Gabe?"
"Zeeke push Gabe."

We had some rough sleeping this week, a lot of coughing and early wakeups. Of course, Zeeke wakes up refreshed and raring to go, his parents not so much. Tuesday was Karen's birthday, so we stopped at Termini for some cupcakes, but Zeeke decided to play with Mommy by telling her that it was still Zoe's birthday, not Mommy's. We'd ask him over and over whose birthday it was and he'd get this little grin and say "No, Zoe's." Fortunately he changed his tune when he realized he was getting any cake until he said "Happy birthday, Mommy."

This week we acquired a cool tricycle with a push bar from a neighborhood mom and Zeeke has enjoyed experimenting with it. We keep it in the backyard and he greets it when we go out to water the pea plants. He's really enjoying being outside. The good weather is making him more active even indoors. One of his new favorite games is jumping at Karen with a wild-armed hug and yelling, "I got you mommy."

Zeeke has been really opening up lately about his school day lately, usually accounts of who cried or got time out. Tuesday night, we got this story from him:

Conversations with Zeeke:
"How was school today, Zeeke?"
"Gabe fell."
"Oh no."
"Gabe fell off."
"What did Gabe fall off?"
"Gabe fell off Zeeke."
"How did that happen?"
"Zeeke push Gabe."

Saturday, Steve had to leave for a conference, but Zeeke & Karen never wanted for company. Lindsey joined them for music class and then they had fun at Love Park. Zeeke really loved the fountain, dancing in the mist and yelling "Water." After his nap, he ate some Brussels sprouts and then they went to Chestnut Hill for Jack & William's 2^nd birthday party. He has a great time, ate sausages and cake, and Aunt Dena cracked him up the whole drive home with her Dracula impression.

Sunday, Zeeke had play date with his classmate Amelie (aka Amoooooona). They got pastries and then went to the playground. Zeeke is much better about sharing with Amelie than he is with anyone else. He went down down the slide dozens of times while Karen watched from the bench, each time running up to her and declaring, "One more time!" Their classmate Delano showed up at the playground too. Zeeke tried blowing bubbles but his technique needs a little work as he tends to inhale the soap.

Zeeke has really been talkative this week. He mimics a lot what we say and then often plays with the sentences. Changing the name of who is being talk about or the food or item being discussed. At school he's been learning sight words and can now identify a lot of simple words like "cat" when you write them down. And he's even started "reading" books to us, combining things he sees in the pictures with words he remembers from previous readings and binding it all together with a fair amount of gibberish.

Saturday, after music class we bought Zeeke a box of colored pencils that he'd been requesting and he had a great time drawing with them.

Sunday morning we hung out in the back yard. We did a little yard work, we planted some pea seedlings that Liz & Kate gave us, and we drew with chalk. At lunch, Zeeke demanded his own BLT (after eating meatloaf) and decided he liked bacon. After his nap we went to Jersey for Easter dinner and egg hunting with Steve's family. Everybody had a great time.

Karen came home from her girls' weekend Tuesday. She brought our friend Patsy along as a house guest. Zeeke was a little cool to her at first, but by the time she left on Thursday she was one of his main subjects of conversation. Possibly because he heard Patsy saying it, Zeeke started experimenting with calling Karen by her name instead of "Mommy."

He's very interested in upstairs and downstairs lately, frequently requesting that we move the party from one floor to the other.

For the past couple weeks, Zeeke has been asking for milk and apple juice at the same time, taking a swig from one and then the other over and over. His tastes are getting a little more adventurous too, sometimes surprising us by gobbling down meatloaf or fish.

On Saturday, Zeeke went to his classmate Zoe's birthday party. It was great getting to see Zeeke play with his friends from school. Zeeke was especially thrilled to find new sidewalk chalk in his goodie bag so after the party we headed straight to the playground, where Zeeke surprised us with his overnight confidence on the sliding board.

On Sunday, we went to Jen & Kim's for Dena's Passover Seder. He had a great time playing with the twins, adored Kate's smoked brisket, and came home second-hand quoting The Princess Bride: "Inconceivable!"(probably his first five-syllable word).

Zeeke's talking more and more, sometimes in four word sentences, mostly names, nouns and verbs, but sometimes prepositions as well. Every once in a while he even uses "I" instead of talking about himself in the third person.

Zeeke got some new pots and pans for his play kitchen this week and has been cooking up a storm. A couple of old toys have seen new life lately as well: His alphabet train which he makes mommy ride with him and Karen's childhood doll, Jenny, whom Zeeke greets with huge enthusiasm whenever he sees her.

Thursday, Zeeke decided to pee in the potty for the first (and so far only) time. We were excited, but he didn't seem to think it was any big deal. Unfortunately, a couple hours after dropping him off at day care we got a call that he had a 103 fever. Steve went to pick him up and Zeeke was sound asleep on the floor surrounded by loudly playing kids. He was such a feverish little rag doll all day. He came back to life Friday morning but then the fever came back in the afternoon. His eating, sleeping, and breathing have been terrible.

He was still symptomatic Saturday morning, so we reluctantly skipped music class and his friend Nate's birthday party, but showed signs of improvement in the afternoon and on Sunday he was largely back.

Karen headed off Sunday morning for a couple nights away with some friends. It was a very tearful farewell, but Steve & Zeeke survived. Zeeke had a good time at the playground, surprisingly trading his chalk for the jungle gym and even using the sliding board. When he and Steve got home, they had a nice visit with Pop Pop and Gigi.

Zeeke's appetite is back with a vengeance! He is now eating as much as an adult. One night for dinner, he had an entire can of black bean soup with a side of chick peas, crackers, and a whole mango. The next morning he demanded "Two waffles!" for breakfast. We're taking advantage of his appetite while it's here in case it goes away again and wondering if a growth spurt is happening. He's getting better and better at drawing on his own, instead of trying to make us draw for him. He still prefers to collaborate but is willing to accept a minimal participation from us.

Conversations with Zeeke:
As we turn left on Broad Street:
Karen: "We're turning right, Zeeke."
Zeeke: "Left."
Karen: "Oh, was that left?"
(Zeeke makes an "L" with his left hand and holds it up.)

Zeeke's appetite is finally increasing! He's even started eating cheese, which he's never cared for. His new favorite shape is the octagon, which he demands us to draw for him constantly. He still wants to be with mommy as much as possible, but he's been giving daddy a little more love lately, warming his heart with breathless shouts of "Yay, daddy!" when Steve brings him food or something else he's requested. We're also working on "Thank you," but "Yay, Daddy" will definitely do for now.

Zeeke got hysterically mad at Steve on Saturday when it was time to stop drawing with chalk at the playground and go pick up mommy from work. "Yellow and pink!" he lamented over and over, as they drove to the library, desperately wanting his chalk back. "Yellow and pink!" When we all got home, he and Karen covered the sidewalk in front of the house with ABCs.

Conversations with Zeeke:
Zeeke giggles with delight at his fourth serving of mango.
"Are you living the good life?"
"Yes."
"Are you the happiest boy in the world?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Yes." Smiles delightedly. "Amoona girlfriend."

We're still not making a lot of progress on the eating front. Zeeke is still into his screen time, now calling the videos by their names (or his version of their names) so that we can understand well enough to figure out what he's requesting. We're working on teaching him to say "Please" when he asks for something. He's lost most of his interest in building with with blocks and is focused more on coloring in his drawing pad and applying stickers to every surface in reach. Steve & Karen have become accustomed to finding stickers on themselves even after they've been at work for hours.

Zeeke still isn't eating much. We're trying to keep in mind that his nutrition needs are much smaller than ours and this is a phase toddlers go through. His latest obsession is with watching alphabet and counting videos from Sesame Street on our computers and phones. We may need to think about limiting his screen time.

It was another warm weekend, so Steve and Zeeke went to the playground where Zeeke once again wanted only to draw on the black tiles with his colored chalk. This time he was fully in the zone, hopping from spot to spot, hunched over with chalk in each hand, scribbling intensely, then drawing large fluid shapes. Zeeke & Steve visited Aunt Dena who is recovering from foot surgery. On Sunday, Karen's dad and girlfriend Joy came up for a visit. They joined Karen & Zeeke for a trip to the Please Touch Museum and then Steve met up with the crew for dinner at Han Dynasty.   

Conversations with Zeeke:
Zeeke: Zeeke beer!
Karen: No, Zeeke doesn't drink beer. Just Mama and Dada.
Zeeke: Zeeke beer!
Karen: No, I'm sorry. Beer is only for grown-ups.
Zeeke thinks for a moment.
Zeeke: Zeeke grownup!