Zeeke has heard adults say they love his "little voice" so often that he now thinks we each have a little voice in addition to our normal one: squeaky, tiny, and high pitched. He sometimes asks if he and Karen can read a book together in their little voices. Once in a while, we use the concept to lower his volume when we're in a public place ("Let's talk in our little voices!"). This weekend, Steve's family delighted him by all singing Happy Birthday to his cousin Connor in their little voices.
With the exception of an insane tantrum on Saturday, he was a bit mellower this week. We've noticed he tends to be calmer when only one parent is present. Maybe having both of us there is too stimulating or maybe he's too greedy for our full attention and doesn't like sharing us with each other. Still he loves it when we're all together and he loves groups hugs. One day, Karen and Steve were hugging while Zeeke was putting his shoes on and he said, "Don't stop hugging! Wait for me!"
For a while now, he's been asking us how our work was at the end of the day. Lately he's been asking for more and more details about what we do at work. When Steve tells him he was writing at work, Zeeke gets excited and says, "Did you write my name, Daddy?"
Karen was holding onto a baby bouncer for one of her co-workers this week, so Zeeke and his friend Amelie got to relive their childhoods by taking turns climbing in and pretending to be babies.
Thursday evening, we went to the pop up garden with Jen & Amelie. They were out of most of the items on their menu, but Zeeke and Amelie still had a ball playing together, despite the presence of a large dog that Zeeke had to carefully avoid. They rode home together in Zeeke's stroller again.
Saturday, Steve & Zeeke arrived at the playground to find most of it blocked off for construction. We played a little on the big kids playground and colored in some bricks, then headed off to Target. In the afternoon, the three of us were walking to an errand but Zeeke couldn't stop crying about the shoes we made him wear, so Steve turned around and took him home. That made the crying turn to screaming. His tantrum about not being able to go on the errand was so intense that Steve suggested they draw how they were feeling. As they colored, they expained what emotion was represented by each color in the chaotic drawings. It seemed to do the trick.
Sunday afternoon, we went to see Steve's family. Zeeke enjoyed seeing everybody, although he wanted us to spend a bit too much time outside in the blistering heat.