Last weekend we lowered the crib and installed the bumper, in preparation for getting tough on Zeeke's bad sleep habits. After a great night sleeping Sunday night, we were feeling pretty optimistic, but the frequent wakeups and difficulties getting him down came right back and lasted all week. His sleeping just hasn't snapped back from the progress we lost during his sickness. Of course, once we're all up he's often happy to take a long nap in the morning, so he's the only one in the house that isn't completely sleep-deprived.
Zeeke still hasn't mastered crawling, but he's gotten around that by combing his skills at spinning himself around and pushing himself backwards. He doesn't get where he wants to super fast or with any great accuracy, but with enough effort he can get there. He even looks back over his shoulder to keep an eye on the direction into which he's reversing.
We introduced Zeeke to yogurt this week, first banana, then peach.
One of Zeeke's new quirks is hording toys. If you wave a toy at him while he's playing with another one, he has to have them both. Then if you wave a third toy, he'll freak out trying to grab it between his feet or the hands that are still clenching other toys. It's pretty funny.
Feeling well rested Monday morning, Zeeke and Karen decided to organize Steve's closet. Later they met up with up some other neighborhood moms & babies for Miss Joanne's storytime at the South Philly branch. Afterward, they walked around the neighborhood until all the babies were asleep.
Tuesday, after Miss Liz's storytime at Santore, Karen & Zeeke went to Italian Market to pick up some produce. Later we took down the Christmas tree and Karen got a little teary taking down Zeeke's first ornaments.
Wednesday, after Miss Lindsey's storytime at Fumo, Karen & Zeeke went to Steve's office and we all went out to lunch at Han Dynasty.
Karen's mom came to babysit for a couple hours on Thursday. Zeeke was a little stand-offish at first, but once she danced for him, he loved her. While Karen ran some errands, they had a good old time and he even napped for her. Later Karen and Zeeke went to the park where they bumped into Teresa & her baby Beatrix, whom they had met months and months ago at baby yoga, and also Karen's library patron Jake & his mother.
Friday, Zeeke & Karen went to Fumo and visited with her boss David. Katie the guard, who is already one of Zeeke's favorite people, entertained him royally with a lizard puppet. And they came home with a DVD of Zeeke's favorite part of Sesame Street: Elmo's World. That night, Dena came over and babysat Zeeke while we drove out to Jersey for our friend Elspeth's party. It was our second Friday night out in a row and we had a great time. Elspeth also sent us home with some great hand-me-downs from her son Augie. Meanwhile, back at home, Dena had a great time because Zeeke woke up and she got to hang out with her little buddy. We came home to find them cheerfully snuggling on the couch, watching tv.
Saturday, we went to lunch at Birra with Sharri, Paul & Nate and it was such a warm day we went to the park to push the babies in the swings. After Zeeke's afternoon nap, we ran some errands together, including a huge Target run.
Sunday, Zeeke and Steve got to spend some together while Karen went out for a lovely brunch with the girls from her old West Philly library.