...

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.

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!

xmas '10

some pics from the tigard get-together....

uncle j & aunt m & z. z loved the hummus and the brie!

our family ugly christmas sweaters that all lighted up.

all of one side of the family...

the cousins playing the piano together

other side of the family, minus a few who are off in belize...

clutch

we recently had to replace the clutch on our subaru legacy. j said he never had to replace the clutch on his zippy red mazda mx6, so i was freaking out, worried that it was my driving that had killed the subaru clutch. we knew it needed replacing because when accelerating from 3rd to 4th to 5th gears, the engine would rev loudly, but the car was really really slow to accelerate. while we were driving to canby this morning, we were listening to car talk on the radio. a guy called in with a subaru forester, describing the exact same problem we had a few weeks ago. the car talk brothers said that subarus have AWFUL clutches that don't last long at all. hurray!!! it wasn't my fault! i drive a manual car perfectly well. it's the stupid car's fault.

xmas '10

it's been a busy weekend! yesterday we opened gifts at home (see the following pictures), then had an afternoon dinner at my parents' house in tigard. today we had a lovely turkey mole lunch at j's parents' house in canby & exchanged MORE gifts. we're all very lucky - santa was very generous! z slept until 9:20 this morning, which was another nice gift. j & i got to enjoy watching a movie while he slept. the holiday excitement just wears z out!

opening gifts...

choo choo!

it has a remote control!

z sees presents from santa for the first time.

christmas '10

some things z received for christmas....

a workbench, with things to re-invent

a marble run, which can be reconstructed

frame for a fort- just add a blanket

daddy & z work together!

christmas eve

we had uncle c over for dinner on christmas eve, after going to the intergenerational service (aka childrens service) at church at 4:30pm. yummy dinner! not pictured was the brie & crackers, broccoli, panna cotta, and the torii mor olsen 2003 pinot.

yorkshire puddings

roast beast

second hubby

j chases z around with my pregnancy pillow, aka second hubby. no, i'm not pregnant right now. we had just gotten it back from lending it to aunt c.

christmas eve

we recovered from the bad night. z was pretty much a perfect angel yesterday, and today is going well, too. we had lunch with grandma & grandpa today, & exchanged some gifts.

z is enjoying a roll with strawberry jam. he didn't want to try it at first.

he definitely likes it! thank you, g'ma & g'pa, for such a delicious lunch! now, off to church for the childrens' service, and then home for another roast beef dinner with uncle c.

fun outside

z has fun playing with odd things in the garage. one day the mop is his favorite...

and other days he likes the plunger (mommy cringes).

mortified.

simply mortified. we went out for dinner tonight at the cedar hills mcmenamins restaurant. we were just finishing up, but z was starting to act up. both j & i saw it start to happen, but we weren't quick enough to react. z picked his hummus plate up off the table and turned around and dropped it on the floor. it broke, and food went everywhere. i almost cried. it was awful. the waiter brushed it off, but we sure didn't. we put z right to bed without a bath and without STORIES. bad pumpkin. very bad pumpkin. santa might not come on saturday....

sigh.

we've started going to the oregon gymnastics academy. they have open gym play times each week, and they also have classes for kids. i started z in a class for the 2-3 year olds. we went last week & today, and today the teacher recommended we move him back to the class for 12-24 month old kids. z can't jump yet, can't do a somersault by himself, can't walk foot in front of foot on the balance beam. i'm not surprised, given that his speech therapist says he has motor planning issues that cause his speech delay, but honestly.... can't SOMETHING be easy with him? can't he learn something on his own without my having to painstakingly teach it to him?

breaky with santa '10

on saturday, we went to the portland childrens' museum to have breakfast with santa. it was pretty tacky, and the food was AWFUL, but we weren't expecting much anyway. i imagine it's basically a fundraiser for the museum. at least we all got to play in the museum without many people there for the whole morning.

zoo lights '10

last friday night, while i was busy teaching, z & j went to see the zoolights with the neighbors & other friends. it was neighbor s's birthday, and i guess it's a big tradition. they took a wagon filled with snacks & hot chocolate for the whole entourage. fun times. mommy was sad to have missed it.

z at zoo lights, with his magic nike hat.

z with neighbor g.

z on the train - he loves it!

z & daddy had lots of fun.

neighbors

the neighbors had us over for prime rib - a potluck dinner- 2 weekends ago. there were several kids, and 3 two year old boys. they all ended up taking a bath together, but z didn't like that part so much. he wasn't used to sharing his bath with strangers!

kids meal

z's very first kids meal from burgerville.

he tried our milkshake but found it yucky!

baking

this was our first successful joint cooking venture!

bike riding

riding my bike in the garage...

i finally like "riding" my bike! i'm a bit tentative, though...

the northwest look

z in a hoodie

z in a hoodie with vest...

i made an advent calendar of sorts, based on an idea i saw a friend create on facebook. there are little dollar store type trinkets in each bag. z gets excited about opening them each morning. it's helping him learn his numbers, as i make him count through from the number one each day.

santa j & santa z

decorating the treeth...

we decorated it after going to the deschutes brewery, before going to a friend's party in lake o. we saw several oregon symphony friends, and we met 2 new babies! z did very well, playing happily with other kids.

b'day

new running shoes!!! eased in slowly. started with a 1/2 mile, and last night i finally tried going farther. i'm not getting really sore anymore. thank you everyone for the shoes - they were a birthday gift. it was a long birthday this year. j & i went out to dinner with our friends j & d to fenouil (not so good this time... won't be going back). the next night some friends took me out to a fondue joint. the following weekend, we met up with family at the deschutes brewery. two friends took me out to lunch later, because they missed the fondue night. i am lucky to have such great family & friends!

:)

z loves playing with mops when in our garage, for some reason. it's one of his favorite activities.

wine tasting.

we went to pick up some futures we had purchased in may from shea vineyards. we had z with us, so this was a very quick tasting before leaving with our wine. poor gimpy husband... looks smashing with the cane, i have to say.

old chicago

z at old chicago. i received a coupon for a free pizza for my birthday, so we went out to eat on thanksgiving eve. z did really well in the restaurant! afterwards, we headed to our friends' for their annual thanksgiving eve party, where they play the movie, "planes, trains, & automobiles," starring steve martin & john candy. z did a great job there, and he wasn't in bed until 10:30!

:)

someone has new pajamas!

knee surgery

here are some pics of j's fun surgery...

shaved knee. j wasn't happy.

ready to walk to the operating room! yay!

thumbs up, in paul perrault style, post surgery. j is feeling great, albeit starving & really sleepy.

almost ready to go home - just have to get dressed. doesn't he look great, post op?

he's been very good about his physical therapy. he hardly needed crutches. he's already able to drive the manual car. has his post-op appointment with the doctor this friday. good luck, j!

funny.

so j & i are lying in bed, looking at the month's schedule on the computer. i pointed out that i have a hair appointment coming up, and asked him when he was going to schedule his hair appointment, as he had been talking about making one. he started laughing. i scanned the schedule, and couldn't see any other appointments. he kept laughing. i looked at him... .... ...

and realized he had a hair cut today.

never noticed it.

ever.

not

one

bit.

until now. nice hair cut, honey!

busy.

busy busy day today. vacuumed upstairs & washed kitchen floor, went grocery shopping, made hummus for z, coconut lemongrass chicken soup with quinoa, and chicken mushroom marsala with quinoa. my feet are still aching from cooking so much. the kiddo (z) had a few meltdowns due to a lack of mama's attention. he slept through the brief snow that fell during the afternoon.

thursday i tried making peanut butter cookies with z, but right after i had the butter & peanut butter mixing, he threw a kiwi into the mixer (it was sitting on the counter within reach). never again. i was FURIOUS!!! i had been craving cookies for awhile, and i had to spend his precious nap time doing it all over again - cleaning the bowls, softening butter in the microwave (doesn't always work, but it did this time, luckily), assembling everything once again. and at the last minute, i realized the eggs were too old, so i had to run to the grocery store to get more. pretty much took up the whole nap time. sigh. they were good, though, and didn't last long, so i made a bunch more yesterday. z & i delivered some to the neighbors.

just to update, z thankfully started walking on monday, in time for his dentist's appointment. no sugar bugs yet.

sigh.

j had knee surgery on thursday. it went well. i've been busy caring for 2 boys. j can stand without crutches for very very short periods of time. z is getting over his cold.

z was sitting on a bottom stair, fell backwards, and somehow injured his foot. so i have now 2 boys who don't walk so well. z refuses to stand up. i made yet another visit to urgent care. so far we're to do nothing but motrin. no x rays. if he's still not walking in 2 weeks, we'll make a trip to the pediatric ortho people again. i'm wondering if z will ever be illness or injury free for more than a week. really.

i was so exhausted from caring for 2 boys, that i slept for z's entire nap time, which is why i can't sleep now. i was pretty tired this evening when he was tantruming and i was doing bath/bed time, but then i didn't sleep for 2 hours in bed, so now i'm up & online for a bit. later today will not be pretty.

perhaps i shouldn't have another baby, maybe halloween was a sign. i can barely handle one child.

i need to get to sleep.

:(

miscarried at 7.5 weeks. worst halloween ever.

i think z had fun, though. he had his picture taken in the afternoon, and j took him trick or treating with the neighbors in the evening.

off to sleep.