Zeeke's displays of emotion are becoming increasingly sudden, volatile, and intense. If he ends up more than a few yards from us while playing, he'll scream in terror and run back to us sobbing. One night, he was misbehaving so badly, that we had to threaten to remove reading books from his bedtime ritual. He scoffed at that and continued disobeying, so (for the first time in three years) we put him to bed without books and he was outraged. For the next fifteen minutes, he jumped around his crib, screaming, "You... can't... do... this... TO ME!!!!" over and over.
In better news, Zeeke has started reading a little bit. He can sound out the letters just enough to help him remember the words in his favorite books. In his drawings of animals, he now draws environments around them like trees and grass (although he doesn't like more than one animal to be in a single picture).
Thusday, school let out early (for Fourth of July weekend), so after his nap, Steve & Zeeke went to playground where he had a great time playing with his schoolmates Asif, Sofia and Esme.
Friday, Steve & Zeeke dropped Karen off at work and then went to the zoo where we met up with Mike, Beth & Esme. Zeeke showed a lot more interest in the animals than he did during his last trip, but his favorites parts were getting an ape tattoo, watching a film about the big cats, and eating an ice cream cone. Zeeke and Esme rode a camel, which was super cute. Unfortunately, we paid a price for that ice cream cone. Back at home, the sugar in his bloodstream turned Zeeke into a wild creature that we didn't even recognize as our son.
Saturday morning, we hit the playground and the Acme. In the evening, we went to a party at Nick, Nadine and Zoe's where he got to play with a bunch of his classmates. He and Amelie had a lovely time strolling home from the party together. Fortunately, he was worn out enough to fall asleep even with the South Philly amateur fireworks display going off all around us.
Conversations with Zeeke:
"Where are we going?"
"To a party."
"Is it a barbeque?"
"Yes."
"Good! I like meat!"
Zeeke freestyling in the bathroom at Liz & Kate's
"My name is Little Zeekey
I took a little leaky
I cannot walk on soap
'cause it's too slippery for me!"