croup.

j tried having z nap sitting up, but it didn't last very long. nap unsuccessful.

last last friday, z woke up with the seal cough, and he had motioned to his ears saying "hurt" the day before, so i took him to the doctor's. everything was fine then - no ear infections, just minor respiratory thing. i was exhausted that morning, and was looking forward to his nap. unfortunately, he never napped! i can't remember the last time he refused to nap. he wanted to stay upright, which i found out meant he was getting a lot croupier. that was the beginning of a hellish weekend. i was already low on energy, & was looking forward to a free weekend to recuperate, but it just wasn't in store. so, i got sick, my mom got really sick, and j got a little sick. i was supposed to do a teaching workshop yesterday with ed sprunger, but i had to cancel just to get a little break. i observed him teaching all of today (two of my students played for him - yay), and i still feel yucky. i don't know how i'm ever going to get better, because the week of teaching always leaves me feeling so drained. thursday & friday are always late days, which i hate... 8:30/8:45pm before i get to eat supper. i'm sort of dreading this week. at least he is napping again, now that lying down is ok. z's fever stopped on friday, but he still coughs a bit & has a very runny nose. i can't seem to teach him to blow his nose - if he learned, he would really feel more comfortable.

z is still in a hitting and throwing phase. he had 2 time outs pretty much back to back, and has had 2 sets of toys put away tonight.

jumping 2

on jan 18, z started REAL jumping! yippee! hurray! we've been working so hard on this, and it's finally clicked!

jumping 1

on jan 15, z started jumping like this (in a pole dancing sort of way)...

new preschool?

two wednesdays ago, z, grandma, & i checked out pasitos preschool, a spanish immersion preschool. our neighbors' kids go there. we stayed for awhile, & z played. neighbor g was dismayed to see us there, and hid his face in his hands for a good 15 minutes, before finally giving up and playing with z a little. the teachers are very nice, and i hope to send z there in the fall. i'm hoping he'll spend a few years there, & then go to a public charter spanish immersion school for kindergarten & elementary school (assuming he can get in). right now arco iris starts in 1st grade, but they're hoping to start kindergarten next year.

after checking out the in home preschool, we went to z's music together class, and then took grandma out for a birthday lunch at meriwethers. z was fairly well behaved. it was a busy morning for us!

bad habit.

z has entered a phase (one of many) of trying to eat his food like the cats. this was documented once, only to never again be encouraged by photo taking or other means.

new.

somebody got some new boots & some new gloves! z has refused to put boots on in the past, but finally agreed to try these on in the store, so they came home. they have not seen any puddle play yet, but once everyone in the house is healthy & some rainy weather comes again, they'll be used. these are the only gloves z will wear, and even these he won't wear for very long

badly behaved z

this is one of those days. one of those days where i've questioned my decision to become a parent. z hit me this morning with a kaleidoscope. we were sitting on the couch, and he sort of held it in the air, still, looking straight at me, and then hit me hard on the head. i took him to time out in his crib, a bit roughly because i was so angry, and slammed the door shut (which i know teaches him bad things, but i couldn't help it - i was mad), and he actually started crying. i was sobbing when i went to get him, because i couldn't believe he would do such a mean thing.

later in the morning he started ripping the wall paper off the bathroom wall while i was using the toilet, so i made him do a time out on the floor. he just now hit me again - not with any object, but with his head. we were sitting together on a couch reading books, and he was leaning against me. he sat forward, then flung himself backwards, sending his head into my face. he was doing that a lot yesterday in the music together class. i don't understand why he has to behave this way. i'm nearing the end of my rope, even though i had 1.5 hours away from him this morning.

screw driver

no idea how he came up with that word...

z had his first "starbabies" class today at the oregon gymnastics academy. this was the class to which he was demoted. only one other child showed up (out of 6 that were supposed to be there), and that little girl wasn't feeling well & ended up going home early, so it was basically just a private playing session with teacher mariah. it's bring a friend week at oga, so there was a huge bouncy playing pen set up in the center of the floor. she spent most of the time working with z to get him jumping. he now likes to say "boing." he was sort of getting the hang of jumping at times, letting his knees move and catching a bit of air on the bouncing contraption. but of course he found the air compressor for the bouncing thing & started crying when we wouldn't let him go & investigate. he did some forward rolls, & almost did one all by himself! this is definitely a better match for him. the teacher had some squeaky rubber chickens, & she put some on the balance beam & actually got him to walk on it, stepping on the chickens. he did one foot in front of the other & everything. she was holding both of his hands when he did that, so she tried to get him to go one step further, just holding onto one hand (or no hands), but he wouldn't do it for very long, & we had to go to another area. he did very well doing the bear walk down the trampoline run - it's so cute seeing him do that! next class i'm going to bring a camera & take some videos.

holidays.

the holidays were exhausting! they take so much more energy now that z is able to open presents & knows who santa claus is. g'ma & g'pa took z overnight on new year's eve, and gave us a break. we saw several movies (one while z was still here), some at home with netflix, and some in the movie theater:

the beach - leonardo decaprio - from 2000 - was filmed in thailand, and evidently the stars & crew were horrible to the land, and the country kicked them out & told them never to return. about finding some hidden island where a few people had established a utopia (didn't last). cheesy in parts, graphic/violent in parts, but not a total waste of time watching.

how do you know - paul rudd, reese witherspoon, owen wilson - seemed like i was watching a play rather than a movie. saw it in the theater. moved really slowly. had some funny moments. was interesting to see reese in that kind of role.

tron - great! not perfect, but lots of fun!

angels & demons - predictable, graphic in parts, but somewhat entertaining.

we spent new years eve with friends. we met up at henry's tavern downtown, and then went to fratelli's. j & i stopped at voodoo doughnuts on our way back home - couldn't believe there was no line!!! we were home by 10:45pm & watched angels & demons, after trying to watch mr. brooks (kevin costner plays a high society guy who is secretly a pathological killer - couldn't continue watching it - too disturbing). we tried to sleep in the next day, and had a nice relaxed lunch at henry's (yes, again - i had gift cards from a student) before going to pick up z. it was so nice to have a break. i felt refreshed. i've learned that movies are my best way to relax.

jersey shore

z, jersey shore style. he loves his raisins!

hair cut

after the hair cut, & z in his favorite pajamas!

hair cut

someone was in dire need of a hair cut!

daddy got to work!