lincoln city

we're in lincoln city through monday. z is doing well sleeping in a big boy bed. the second room has a queen size bed that's really high, so j lined pillows under the covers along each side. we've had fun swimming & exploring the beach. this afternoon we went to get ice cream (well, j & z... the dairy aggravates my cold), but z cried after a couple bites. he doesn't like cold things. i had gotten a cookie, and z ate most of it. we've watched monsters, inc twice now, and started cars this evening (we brought both movies). it's been fairly restful, although it's sometimes a challenge keeping z from destroying this place. the condo is a bit of a disappointment this time. the hot tub on the balcony will not go below 103, which is too hot for z. the hot tub in the pool room is not filled up for some reason. the pool was colder today, so i skipped swimming (and napped - yay!), but j & z had fun. we brought our blow up turtle, which z hadn't used since the very first time we took him swimming in bend. both j & i had fun lounging on it, while we took turns with z. tomorrow we'll go to the aquarium in newport.

oh, and we finally got our tax returns back from the accountant (i had submitted all the information way back on feb 1st!). yay for a refund, but boo for giving the government an interest free loan. estimating taxes with my self employment is pretty difficult, and last year we owed a lot, which wasn't a nice surprise.

lincoln city

getting ready to stroll along the shore.

low-ish tide. he kept throwing every rock he came upon into the water.

shadows

really high tide.

lollipop

lollipop

z doesn't really understand how to eat a lollipop. i hope the speech therapist will address things like these in the upcoming sessions, as i think it will help his speech.

i finally received a call from the artz center, and his new therapist looks promising. it will probably cost lots of $, but at least insurance pays for some of it. he starts on feb 28. i have a long questionnaire to fill out. things such as when he first rolled over/sat up by himself/belly crawled (never)/crawled/pulled himself up (way before he crawled)/etc. i've spent two hours on it so far.

valentine's day

there's my sweetie, covered in hearts, thanks to abuela & abuelo. he loves snoopy!

here is z, with grandma, in one of daddy's old shirts, all ready to try painting on his new easel. that thing is great! it's only $15 from ikea, and has a dry erase board, a chalk board, and you can attach a roll of paper. it's lacking a bit of shelf space, but for $15... who cares? thanks grandma/pa!

this mama went to see the doctor today. i had to cancel 2 lessons for it. i've had the same cold for a whole month now, and i thought it was time to try to do something about it. i'm tired of feeling sick. i was given a prescription for antibiotics, and hope to pick them up tomorrow.

i spent most of the morning playing phone tag. i've decided that z's speech therapist is not doing enough for him, and it's time to look into private therapy options. one of the teachers in his preschool on friday gave me the feeling that z is not where he should be, and encouraged me to search for more help for him. a friend from high school who is a speech therapist said that z's being seen every other week is not nearly often enough, and recommended i look into private therapy, so i'm trying that route. i called ohsu, but they have a 4 month waiting list. i saw that the PROMPT institute techniques have been helpful to kids with motor planning issues (after scouring message boards about apraxia - i was lying in bed this weekend), and emailed them for a list of local providers who have had that training. after a few calls to cigna, i finally figured out who were preferred providers, and most of the people at the artz center here in portland were on the prompt peoples' list and the cigna list. someone finally called back right before my doctor's appointment (almost made me late), so hopefully someone should be calling in a couple of days about starting therapy there.

helping mama

z is starting to help around the house.

well, actually, not really. i call the mini vacuum cleaner the "mini snort." that's in reference to one of his favorite books (which is in tigard at the moment), "have you seen my mother?".

it was the first time he wasn't too afraid to play with it, and was just trying it out. the actual cleaning didn't last long. he just wanted to take the thing apart, but mommy didn't let him.

adventures in z-town

yesterday was a fun day.

z pulled one of the curtain pulls out of the wall in the guest bedroom.

he also pulled up one of the register covers & dropped it down the vent. this was the one in the upstairs bathroom off the kitchen (while j was in there with him). it was one of those things that couldn't be predicted, that happened too quickly. most of the vents beneath the register covers bend, but not this one. it was a straight drop 12-15 feet. after placing the naughty pumpkin in time out in his crib, j managed to recover the register cover by use of a nut tool & climbing rope. all i did was hold the flashlight. the scary thing is that yesterday's events probably aren't the worst to come. at least life isn't dull. i had wanted to get a picture or video, but j just wanted the problem fixed. next time, and i'm sure there will be a next time, i'll grab the camera!

waaa ter

me - "z, say waaa-ter."

z- "wa wa ter."

me - "no, waaaaa-ter."

z- "wa wa ter."

me - "waaaaa-ter."

z- "waaa-ter."

me - "good!!! waaaa-ter."

z- "wa wa ter."

argh.

...

mouth is stuffed full of...

what could it be?

what goes well with milk?

chocolate chip cookies, of course!!! we made some on (wed?thurs?) and shared some with the neighbors.

z can now jump OFF things. it's very exciting. we've been working on it for awhile now. he gets so much fun out of it. he's always very proud of himself.

he is STILL coughing, and has a runny nose. on the 14th it will be one month that this cold has lasted. my cold has come back, as this past week (and actually this whole year so far) has been incredibly busy. we stay busy... we usually go to the oga gym on mondays after running errands, story time & sometimes speech therapy on tuesdays, music together classes (which we had today) on wednesday, abuelo & abuela come to see z on thursday mornings for a couple hours while i run errands, and z has preschool on fridays. saturdays bring gymnastics class. it's good to have a bit of structure to the day.

z has been hitting a lot lately. hitting, kicking, and throwing things. i used to take it personally, but i've learned not to. we've been using a variety of ways to deal with the bad behavior, but for the most part, i'm just waiting for the phase to pass.

eating.

z is always coming up with creative ways to eat. this time he balanced cheerios on a banana, and then bit them off. i started filming a little late, and he stopped doing it, but his grin at the end is entertaining.