Zack's Blog

The Life & Times of Zack · 2012-2015 · 191 posts

<p>Pumpkin patch October 18, 2013</p> <p>We love to go to the local farm’s pumpkin patch each year. They have a train and wagon ride as well as a hay bale maze for the kids to run and leap through. This year we took some of the neighborhood kids too as they had a holiday from school. Fun!</p>

February 5, 2014 · PHOTO

Pumpkin patch October 18, 2013

We love to go to the local farm’s pumpkin patch each year. They have a train and wagon ride as well as a hay bale maze for the kids to run and leap through. This year we took some of the neighborhood kids too as they had a holiday from school. Fun!

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← Earlier<p>16 months old!</p> <p>September has been a challenging month with the breath holding spells. Thankfully after 2 of them ZBL seems to have more ability to calm himself in difficult situations. So we are grateful for this new found maturity and are hopeful that the spells are a thing of the past. </p> <p>Fun game – John bought Z a stuffed bear as his souvenir from Disneyland and it has been a great addition to our play. John also thought up the morning game of “finding Koda Bear”: each morning when Z wakes up and comes downstairs, we ask him where Koda is? Either John or SPL hides Koda the night before and Z has a fun time finding him. After he is discovered, Z carries him over to his dad to show him first thing (that was a ritual too :-)</p> <p>First hair cut September 22, 2013: I have loved ZBL’s curls and remember SPL have some too (though many fewer). After SPL’s first haircut, they never came back. So I have been hesitant to cut Z’s hair, even though John wanted to. In September, I thought it was finally time and found a place that could work around the curls. They did a nice job and he has what our friend Diego calls a “Luke Skywalker look.” :-)</p> <p>Breath holding spells – hopefully these are done with. 2 were more than enough (see other post for more details).</p> <p>First stanford football game September 21: All 4 of us went to the Stanford football game this year (we got season tickets as it was projected to be a great year for the Card). Z did great and made it through 1 half!</p> <p>A personal goal: climbing the stairs at preschool – Z’s preschool has about 6 carpeted stairs and he is very interested in them. He’s still a bit wobbly when he climbs but he’s getting the hang of it.</p> <p>Loves the wagon – we got it cleaned out and now take walks: Z inherited SPL’s big red wagon and this month we washed it off (it had been collecting dust and dirt since SPL was Z’s age) and took it for a spin around the neighborhood. Now it’s our regular morning routine: after dropping SPL off at the neighbors for carpool, we tool around the neighborhood for 30-45 mins. </p> <p>Uncle Bryan visits October 5 — We always enjoy visits from Uncle Bryan and now that he lives in Australia, they aren’t as frequent as they used to be. But he does visit 1-2 times per year as his work brings him to San Francisco.</p> <p>Figured out he can get into the cupboard in the kitchen – I was wondering when he’d figure this out! He took out some of the bowls and climbed in. Then he looked a little perplexed as if he wasn’t so sure he could get out. :-)</p> <p>Collecting leaves for Halloween front yard decorations – Z has taken over this important responsibility from SPL now. We still have no mature trees on our lot so we walk around the neighborhood (just like S and I did in Sunnyvale) and collect other neighbors’ leaves :-)</p> <p>Interested in puzzles – I got out SPL’s old puzzles this month and Z took to them like a duck to water. He was surprisingly good at matching up the letters and numbers with their corresponding spot. I was impressed!</p> <p>– Z and his classmate S were able to take turns using a cool toy @ preschool. They each had 3-4 turns witthout getting upset or distracted by something else. Impressive for 16 months.]</p> <p>Excited to see what 17 months brings!</p> Later →<p>17 months!</p> <p>For me, Z’s most memorable development this month was saying mama with intention :-). Before, he would point or wave at to me if you said “where is mama?”. And he definitely would babble my name and had been doing that for a few months. But it was memorable for me to actually get my name this month (funny thing (and headache inducing thing) too is that I am reflecting on this development as I write this and now it is February 16th and he *yells* mom, almost exclusively. But he says “mama” in his sweet and quieter voice)</p> <p>We are still working on animal sounds and snake, bear, pig, dog, cat, monkey were added to the list this month. He wrinkles up his nose and blows out a bit of air for pig (instead of oinking) – too cute!</p> <p>Other communication developments: he can say eggs, bug, light, eyes, and down. Also signs banana, bread and cheese well. In Mandarin: he understands the words for nose (鼻子 or bízi (“bee tzuh”), eyes (yǎn jīng 眼睛), and clap your hands (Pai pai shǒu – “pie pie show”).</p> <p>ZBL is crazy for all things peekaboo and SPL loves this! SPL peeks around the corner @ Z, Z covers his face (instead of his ears as he used to) with his hands or his shirt, and their babysitter will start a game immediately upon arrival to our house by going from one baby gate entrance to the kitchen to the other. ZBL laughs and laughs!</p> <p>Molars– without much fanfare, ZBL’s molars arrived. I noticed them one afternoon during the week of Oct. 21st while I was putting him in his carseat after picking SPL up from school. Hey! Where did you all come from?? Makes eating a whole lot easier too so now he can try more varieties of food. </p> <p>One of the bummers this month has been we have had a bajillion fruit flies in our kitchen! :-(. Yuck. I think it must be due to purchasing so many fresh fruits and veggies @ the farmer’s market (a routine we now have as we live 10 blocks from the Sunday market :-). So I am constantly clapping my hands forcefully and trying to reduce the number. So Z figured this out and has been imitating me :-). </p> <p>ZBL has mastered the use of his fork and spoon and is great about feeding himself. I credit the book Baby Lead Weaning that was recommended to us by our friends Erin and MIke Schroepfer. We never fed him pureed foods, only bite sized foods that he could pick up and feed himself. Now that he’s 17 months, the size of the food has increased, as has the variety. He uses a spoon to eat yogurt too – leaves some on his face and bib but not as much as he used to!</p> <p>ZBL has started sitting still for longer periods of time and even has been sitting on couch reading a book by himself. It’s so fun to look up from the kitchen and see him sitting across the room on the couch silently looking at the book (sometimes it’s upside down but he doesn’t care :-)</p> <p>Challenges for the month:</p> <p>— Z has figured out how to unlock & open back door that leads to 3 stone stairs and down to the back yard. The other problem is that these stairs have no railing! Now for some quick thinking as to a strategy! We don’t want to bolt the door as they are artisan made and practically works of art – seriously. (we ended up buying some more fence sections from a neighbor and blocking him that way. He still has access to the kitchen door but that’s a bit easier to manage).</p> <p>– Kitchen implement obsession: Z is OBSESSED with spatulas. Seriously. And the draw that has all the kitchen tools is not locked and within his reach to open, but he can’t see into it. So this creates a fussy toddler who is getting more and more demanding re. which tools he will and will not play with. I give him options but eventually have drawn the line at the pancake/grill spatulas as they have become whacking implements more than the “scraping the bowl” spatulas. He also like measuring spoons and cups. </p> <p class="p1">– Just in time for 1) our beloved babysitter to get sick therefore creating a need for a substitute babysitter and 2) his grandmothers visit on separate occasions, ZBL became highly affected by separation anxiety. And here’s where his new found identification and use of the word “mom” is a drawback as he stands at the gate and sadly cries “mom” as I get ready to go volunteer in SPL’s classroom or other errands. "This too shall pass" but it’s always a challenging time. This is the first time Z has had it too which is a blessing but it seems to be here with a vengeance. I remember SPL having it more frequently: once at 9 months or so and then again at 14 months and then again at 18-20 months or so. </p> <p class="p1">As you can see from the photos above, Z is developing quite the personality. He laughs a lot and loves playing games like “where is Koda bear” in the morning (SPL or John will hide this bear we got @ Disneyland in August and Z will look for him first thing when he gets up). </p>