our week with zeeke

Zeeke cut his first tooth this week.  Surprisingly it was a molar.  That tooth, which is a year early, has been greatly disturbing his normal sleeping and eating patterns for over a week, mystifying us, but finally revealed itself when it started breaking through on Friday.  He's been handling it like a champ, very little crying, just some pained expressions and a constant drive to jam things (his hands, your fingers, his clothes, a stuffed animal, etc) into his mouth to relieve the pressure.

Karen and Zeeke took a lot of walks this week and chatted with many local folks, including our new next door neighbor.  During playtime, he's showing greater and greater dexterity in how he plays with and handles his toys, turning things over to examine them and demonstrating good hand-eye coordination.  We started Zeeke playing in the Exersaucer and he loves it (thank you, Katie, Dave & Greta).  He looks so proud sitting upright in it on his own and playing with all the attached gadgets.  His other favorite toy this week is a stuffed book that makes great crinkly sounds.  

On Monday, Karen reports that Zeeke saved her from getting caught in the rain by making a fuss just as she was about to take him out the door.  Minutes later, there was a long downpour.  Perhaps his new tooth can predict the weather?  Later in the day, they finally made it to the library to return some books (since Karen is just a patron now, not a librarian) and Zeeke was a big hit as always.  They called him LL Cool Z (Librarians Love Cool Zeeke).

Karen's mom came for a visit on Tuesday and put together some of Zeeke's hand-me-down toys (like the Exersaucer).  They had lunch at Chhaya and gelato from Capogiro until Zeeke said it was time to go.

On Wednesday (after a very long and trying night), Karen & Zeeke went to storyime with Riley, Bella & Sarah and Sharri & Nate.  Zeeke slept through some of it, then woke up happy to see his cousins.  Riley & Bella even put on a puppet show for Zeeke.  Unfortunately, it was another  rough night.  Steve had to walk him around the neighborhood for an hour to get him to sleep and Karen was up a lot of the night with him after that.  

Thursday, Karen found the first hints of his tooth and took Zeeke over to the South Philly branch for a visit and to sign some paperwork.

On Friday, as Steve was slipping Zeeke into the baby carrier, Zeeke started screaming bloody murder, causing some fear that he'd hurt his leg.  It turned out instead to be his tooth breaking out.  Our friend Colleen sweetly sent us a tin of coconut macaroons and one of them would have been Zeeke's first taste of solid food if we hadn't grabbed it out of his hot little hands in time.

On Saturday, Karen upgraded Zeeke's wardrobe and lamented how quickly he's growing and how fast the time has gone.  We drove out to Chestnut Hill for lunch with Jen, Kim & the twins and Zeeke did great in his new car seat both ways.  He weighed in at 16 pounds, six ounces on their scale.

On our rainy Sunday, we just hung out together and tried to keep our poor teething little guy happy.

Zeeke has been so talkative lately!  He spends much of his day talking and singing, often expressing his feelings on things quite clearly (and cutely).  His vocalizations give us some real clues as to how fast his mood can change from happy to sad and back to happy depending on whether he's getting his way.  

During playtime, Zeeke is really learning to use both hands together.  Grabbing a spinning toy with one hand and spinning it with the other, passing toys back and forth. 

Zeeke and our guest Patsy got along famously this week.  It was so great to have Patsy's help for a few days and for all of us to enjoy her company.

On Monday, Karen, Zeeke and Patsy trekked up to South Street.  After the second shoe shop, Zeeke put his foot down and made it quite clear that he was done looking at shoes.  They had specialty hot dogs, handmade sodas, and fries with curry and chile sauces at The Hot Diggity.  Zeeke had his lunch in the graveyard at Old Pine.  When Steve got home, they whisked him off to our much mentioned Birra for a quick dinner before Zeeke's bedtime.

On Tuesday, Karen, Patsy and Zeeke headed up to Mannayunk to see Heather and Thilo for homemade gazpacho.  Their daughter Ariadne was great with Zeeke and loved the way he smelled.  Heather said Zeeke's whole face had changed since the last time she'd seen him.   Zeeke handled the drive pretty well.

On Wednesday, the threesome headed out to West Philly to visit Steve during his lunch break. He took them to his favorite food truck, Cucina Zapata, for chicken satay tacos, short rib tacos, and green curry.  Then we went out for gourmet popsicles at The Pop Shop.  Later on, Karen and Patsy walked Zeeke over to David & Steve's house for a little drink.

On Thursday, we had a nice breakfast at Hawthorne's, then Steve went to work while Karen and Zeeke drove Patsy to the airport.  Zeeke did well on the drive down with Patsy sitting in the back to entertain him, but was pretty upset driving home in the back by himself for the first time.  Karen and Zeeke both cried seeing Patsy leave for another year.   

Friday, we went to a retirement party at Karen's library. Zeeke handled the crowd a bit better this time, but still preferred sneaking away from the spotlight for some quiet time.  It was the first time a lot of people had seen Karen since before Zeeke's arrival.

Zeeke got the day started very early on Saturday morning (4 AM), which left his parents zombies for most of the day. Fortunately he generated lots of extra cuteness to make up for it.  At one point, he grabbed his gush rag out of Steve's hand and blotted his own mouth dry.  In the afternoon, we tested out his his new upright car seat (a hand-me-down from his cousins) out on the front stoop.  Instead of instantly crying (as he usually does in a car seat), he smiled and giggled the entire time.

On Sunday, we drove down to Wallingford to see our friend Gordon who was visiting from Japan with his wife Kanako and daughter Samantha.  It was a lovely afternoon with his awesome parents and great friends.  Bonus:  Zeeke did great in his new car seat!

As of Sunday, Zeeke now weighs 15 pounds, 12 ounces, not quite as big as our weary backs were telling us, but it does put him into the 82nd percentile for weight.

We may not be ready for it, but Zeeke is increasingly showing that he wants to be mobile. He can now slither crawl right across the bed if someone puts an arm behind his feet for him to kick off of. And when we're helping him stand these days, he sometimes experiments with taking steps.</p>

He's mimicking us more and more when we talk to him and really seems to enjoy it. His "hello" is sounding startlingly close to the real thing. And he's starting to nod his head yes and shake it no when we ask him questions.

On Monday, Steve's parents came for a visit, but Zeeke was sound asleep, so they helped Karen clean up the back yard and pick some figs. Karen woke him up before they left so that they could see him awake for a bit.

On Wednesday Karen and Zeeke went to Liz's storytime with Sharri and Nate. Then on Thursday, they got together again for lunch at Green Eggs.

On Friday morning, while Steve was working from home, Karen slipped on the Ergo carrier and took Zeeke for a good long walk. Then we all slipped out to Weber's for a quick lunch and visit with Elspeth.

On Sunday, Patsy arrived for a visit. She'd barely recovered from her flight when we whisked her away for a nice brunch at Chestnut Hill Grill with Jen & Kim & the twins and Pam & Mike & Emma.  The four-baby brunch guaranteed that there were few moments when we were all at the table at once, but overall it went quite swimmingly.

Zeeke turned three months old on Wednesday!  We can't believe how fast the time is flying.

This was Karen's first week going solo with the baby with Steve back at work.  She did a great job but was a little extra exhausted at the end of each day without someone to hand off the baby to when she needed a break.

Fortunately, Zeeke has been doing a bit better in his swing this week.  During the days, Karen's been setting up a play area for him on the living room floor and introducing him to some of the great toys folks have given him.  Of course, some playthings aren't bought in the store: he's discovered his feet and Daddy's beard this week, both of which have proved fun to yank.

To maximize his time with Zeeke in the evenings, Steve did all the cooking for the week (beef stew and a roast turkey breast) during the weekend, which worked out great.  

On Monday, Marci visited with some cool gifts for Zeeke.

On Tuesday, Zeeke got a bath, which actually seemed to relax him for the first time once he got used to it.

On Wednesday, Karen took Zeeke to Liz's storytime at the Fumo branch and met some other local moms.

On Thursday, Karen and Zeeke had pancakes with David at Black & Brew.

On Friday, Steve was working from home, so Karen got to sneak out for a much needed massage (carrying around this big baby is no joke!).

On Sunday, we did the unthinkable.  We drove our baby who hates to be in the car all the way down to central Maryland for a crab feast at Karen's dad's house.  Zeeke actually did an amazing job with it.  He slept for half of the way down, then Karen fed him at a rest stop, after which he got upset for a while but fell back asleep by the time we arrived.  We had a great time with Pop Pop Bob Bob & Grandma Joy, Cris & Lily, Aunt Kathy, Sara & Mike, and Zeeke's adorable cousins RIley & Bella.  He was pretty exhausted by the drive home, but perked up quite a bit at Delaware's lovely new rest stop where he thorougly enjoyed watching a surprisingly international cast of characters coming and going.

Zeeke's been really been making some noise this week.  We can't be sure what he's saying, but he's definitely trying to use his sounds to communicate with us.  When we sing to him, he sometimes tries to sing along.  It's pretty much the cutest sound ever.

We put together his big boy stroller this week and so far it's been a hit.  He still gets a little antsy in it after a while, but he definitely prefers sitting upright and being able to see everything, instead of being on his back.  This mobility development came just in time for Karen since Steve returned to working full time this week. 

We also introduced him to the talking monkey Rachel gave us and he's been loving it.  In addition to making monkey sounds (and other background noises), it can record brief messages, so Steve was able to leave his voice on it in case Zeeke missed him.

Monday, we celebrated Steve's last two days off with lunch at Green Eggs.  After that, Steve's parents and nephew Connor came by for a visit.  Steve's dad brought his power drill and we put him to work in Zeeke's room, hanging curtains and the adorable coat rack they made for him.

Wednesday was the end of Steve's paternity leave and a very rough day all around.  Karen took Zeeke to the farmer's market, but the crowd and the singing fountain made him meltdown a little. 

On Sunday, we went to Dena's housewarming party, but it was way too crowded for Zeeke's liking  To keep him calm, we had to sequester ourselves in Dena's study for most of the party.  

 

 

Zeeke's been napping well on his belly this week.  He moves his head as needed, but it it keeps his arms from swinging around and waking him up.  We're looking forward to trying this new position soon at night.  Karen's been using a book called Itsy Bitsy Yoga to incorporate a little baby yoga into his morning and bedtime routines and he really enjoys it.

Zeeke's starting to get interested in toys, grabbing and holding them briefly, but his favorite playthings are still his parents.  He's slowly getting used to his new hammock rocker and dealing fairly well with the reality that he can't be in our arms every single minute.  Fortunately he's still soothing himself by sucking on his fist and sometimes thumb. 

Showing their personal predilections, Karen is convinced that he is slowly becoming a redhead while Steve is trying to make sure that he uses his right hand at least as much as his left.

On Monday, Zeeke met some other local babies while he and Karen were walking Steve to the subway.  Then Karen's mom visited.  She watched Zeeke while Karen ran some errands and made a lot of progress getting Zeeke to like the pacifier and the rocker.

On Wednesday, Sarah brought Riley and Bella over for pizza and a trip to the playground.

On Saturday, we drove out to Chestnut Hill to have lunch with Jen & Kim and the twins and watch some Olympics.  Zeeke's getting a little better with the driving, but it still gets traumatic for at least part of every trip.  Sometimes when he's crying, Karen can snap him out of it by saying "Wah!" over and over until he smiles.

On Sunday, Zeeke and Steve went to the classic car show on Passyunk while Karen had a much deserved brunch with the girls.  When she got back we packed away some clothes that Zeeke had outgrown and then broke out some new big boy clothes, including some snazzy hand-me-downs from Elspeth and Augie.

 

Zeeke, aka Bud-Bud, is cooing and smiling more and more.   He's getting better about taking afternoon naps, although some days he refuses, especially when we try to put him down drowsy instead of milk drunk.  We're trying to instrument a more orderly bedtime routine, which so far seems to be working.  He's been sleeping pretty well, usually giving us either an eight hour span or a five-and-four combo.  It also helps that we're getting better at not running in every time he makes his grunts and growls.

He's become quite smitten with the mobile above his crib and can happily chill out under it while his parents get some work done nearby.  We picked up some CDs from the library that he's really been enjoying.  One is "Sing Me to Sleep," a collection of lullaby-style covers done by Indie bands.  Another is "Lullabies With the Beatles."  

He's getting pretty skilled with his hands.  One morning, during a diaper change, Zeeke grabbed the fresh diaper that was lying by his head and and handed it to Steve.  And then during tummy time one day, when Zeeke's stuffed monkey stopped giving him kisses, he reached out, grabbed it and brought it to his mouth, then held it tight, which was a  first.

Monday, Karen managed to capture Zeeke expertly rolling over on video.  

Then Liz delivered some squeezable blocks and a board book from Karen's patrons Denise, Penny, and Salvatore.  The book, "Goodnight, Gorilla," has become one of Steve's favorites during story times.  Afterwards, she joined Karen and Zeeke for a nice walk.

Tuesday, Zeeke had his two month check up at the pediatrician's.  Somehow (although Karen wasn't surprised) our little guy managed to gain almost a whole pound in a week, weighing in at thirteen pounds, four ounces.  Karen cried a little when Zeeke got his vaccinations, but Zeeke handled them pretty bravely, just a few minutes of red-faced tears.

Wednesday, we went out to Chestnut Hill to have lunch at the Trolley Car with Jen and the twins.  It was so nice to see them again after several weeks.  All three boys had grown so much since their last get-together.

Thursday, we met up with our neighbors Sharri & Paul, whom we met at a birthing class at the hospital.    We had a lovely walk to and brunch at Green Eggs.  We managed to get Zeeke and their son Nathan to make brief eye contact with each other, which was a fairly new thing.

Friday, Steve's parents swung by for a quick visit.  Steve's dad was impressed by Zeeke's grip.  While we were having a photo session out on the sidewalk, Karen brought Zeeke over to meet our 94-year-old neighbor Mary.

Saturday, Jen and Kim brought the twins to South Philly and we all had dinner with Dena at Birra.  With plenty of extra hands around, both Karen and Jen got to eat without babies on their laps, which was a treat.  Instead of Karen breastfeeding there, Steve fed Zeeke from a bottle, so a very happy Karen got to enjoy a nice meal including a blood orange margarita.  With a little prodding, Zeeke and William spent some serious time staring at each other, possibly conspiring telepathically to build tree-houses or start rock bands together.

 

Zeeke weighed in at twelve and a half pounds on Tuesday, even more than we expected.  So it was out with the newborn insert for his car seat and up with the shoulder straps, both of which have led to him being slightly more comfortable in the car.  It's also meant graduating to size two diapers.

It's been an interesting week for Zeeke's sleeping.  Last weekend, Zeeke surprised us with an eight hour chunk of sleep each night.  Unfortunately, during the rest of the week, he was... less sleepy.  Three hour chunks at best most nights.  On Friday night, though, he gave us a five hour sleep followed by a four hour one, which was awesome and then he was back to eight hours on Saturday night.  The heatwave and barometric pressure are likely playing a big part in his erratic sleeping.  He's been spending a lot of these days just snacking and napping on Karen, which is of course very taxing.  That said, Karen accomplished an amazing feat on Wednesday when she got him down for a nap without using feeding to lull him to sleep.  

Zeeke's hand-eye coordination when grabbing things is getting more and more fine-tuned.  Instead of just batting at his toys to spin them, he's showing a little finesse.  He's still practicing rolling over from his stomach to his back, although he hurt himself for a few minutes doing so on Sunday.  On both Tuesday and Sunday, he pretty much crawled about five or six inches.  It's more like slithering really since he drags his belly along the bed, but locomotion is definitely achieved.

After his weeks of sucking on his fist, he's started to manage getting his thumb into his mouth.  It's pretty cute and we're happy that he's learning to self-soothe.  The drooling has become a constant and we're making sure that there's always a bib or cloth around to dry him off.

On Wednesday, we finally took Zeeke out to the new Shake Shack and then hung out in Rittenhouse Square and met up with Michael.

Thursday night, we brought Dena some Thai food to celebrate her moving into her new house.

Friday, Karen and Zeeke went to a Mommy-and-Baby yoga class and had a little kismet experience.  As some of you may remembered, back in January, when we found out our baby would be a Zeeke instead of a Trixie, we ended up giving our beloved girl name to the new KitchenAid mixer.  Well, the only other participant at the yoga class brought her seven-week-old girl Beatrice, aka Trixie.  Karen got very excited, saying that we hoped our guy would have a Trixie in his life and telling the mixer story.  The mom got quiet and then revealed that Beatrice was wearing a KitchenAid mixer onesie!  Woah!

Saturday, Jenny W. visited to meet Zeeke and look through some of the clothes he's already outgrown for her soon-to-be-here little guy.  Then the four of us (five!) went to a kid clothing swap.  That evening, we met Katie, Dave, and Greta for a fun and decadent dinner at Birra.

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon with Elspeth, Augie, Laura, Jen, Katie, Eric, Dave, and Greta.  Unfortunately, most of the places we'd planned to go turned out to be closed, but we had a nice lunch at the Cantina and fun hanging out in the heat.

Zeeke is now crazy about standing.  When sitting in our laps, he used to enjoy a variety of sitting and leaning positions, but now he's all about standing.  At least, when he starts getting grumpy, we can now pull him up and let him stand on us to calm him down.  Standing seems to be really helping him develop his balance, as well as further strengthening his neck and legs.  

On Monday, Karen and Zeeke had a visit from Lorissa.

On Tuesday, we finally made it over to Karen's library to show him off and pick up some wonderful gifts from her fabulous patrons.

On Wednesday, we went to a Fourth of July barbeque at Carl, Micaela & Harper's house.  It was a great time until Steve went outside and found we had a flat tire.  We got the flat dealt with just in time to get caught in concert/fireworks traffic.  Since Steve's nerves were frazzled and Zeeke was managing to sleep through the ordeal, we decided to skip our other barbeque at Kris and Ed's and just go home and sleep.

On Sunday, Steve's parents came over for a visit and we gave Zeeke a bath. 

After that, we went to our friend's Books & Snacks party.  Zeeke had a great time chiling in the AC with lots of adoring ladies.

Zeeke has started smiling, little elusive smirks that are impossible to get on film, but fill us with delight.  He tries to talk too, making noises that sound a little like words from the repetetive sing-songs we do to teach him his body parts and left from right.  But it's not all joy out of his mouth; he's also started spitting up and drooling this week.

During tummy time, Zeeke can now keep his head up for nearly a minute.  Even more impressive, he can now roll over from his tummy to his back.  It takes a bit of work for him to do it and he sometimes his efforts get him a bit frustrated, but he's done it several times and seems quite pleased with himself once he's done.

On Monday evening, Karen and Zeeke sat out on the stoop waiting for Steve to get home from work and meeting some of the neighbors who hadn't seen him yet.

On Wednesday, Jen brought the twins into the city and the six of us went out for a fun dinner at Birra.

The Night Market came to the Italian Market Thursday night.  We walked up and enjoyed the frenzy of people and music, ate delicious snacks from cool food trucks, and generally overwhelmed all of our sense.  It was funny and strange to see babies smaller than Zeeke in the crowd.

On Friday, Karen joined her friend Lorissa for a free noon concert by Jukebox the Ghost.  Zeeke handled her brief absence like a champ.

On Saturday morning, Katie came by to meet the baby, bring us sandwiches & salads from Chhaya, and give Karen a lesson in using the big fancy electric breast pump our friend Laura sent us.

Sunday was cousin Bella's 2nd birthday party.  Zeeke had a great time being adored by all the ladies and amazingly stayed happy for most of the long car ride.  The formula for success seems to be Mommy in the backseat, lots of air conditioning, and clasical music.