Merry Christmas

I wish I had pictures to post, but I left the ever-important cable at home. So you'll be overwhelmed with photos (and video too) in a few more days. In the meantime, just picture us:

- eating

- shopping

- eating

- playing cars

- creating snow men (or snow deer, since these snowmen have real antlers... this is Montana, after all)

- watching football

- reading

- eating

- playing cars

- playing cards

- eating

- reading

- visiting the Museum of the Rockies

- eating

- playing cars

Other than all that entertainment (trust me, the eating has been spectacular!), the best part for us, of course, is watching Zach with family. He and his grandparents have had great fun, and now that his cousins are here, the fun has notched up another level. Both girls are amazingly patient will Zach's insistence that they play cars and little else. :)

And, of course, the gift-opening frenzy was a highlight. I have to admit my favorite was observing how differently all the kids handled the experience - you could see their individual personalities coming through. Bryn, Zach's 7-year-old cousin, was absolutely psyched by the idea of the presents, and for the days leading up to Xmas Eve, was regularly sorting through the stacks, counting hers and creating appropriate piles. And when it came time to open - she flew through that paper, exclaiming loudly with delight at each gift before she quickly moved on to the next one.

Maryn (age 5), on the other hand, took a different yet equally charming approach. She wasn't too interested in the gifts ahead of time, let Bryn do all the handing out, and then took her time opening each present. Her reaction to each one was priceless - you honestly felt like you had just given her the best gift she would ever receive in her life. And she often left her stack of presents to come and ooh and ahh over a gift you had just opened. Bryn had to keep reminding her to come and open more presents!

And then there was Zach, with his own unique approach. Like Maryn, he wasn't the least bit interested in the wrapped gifts in the days before Christmas Eve. When he opened the first gift, he instantly wanted it taken out of the package so he could play with it. We made the mistake of doing so early on, and from that point on he had no interest in opening any more presents! Scott has to practically bribe him to keep going. :)

I have lots more updates, but I'll call it good for now. I hope your Christmas has been as filled with family, food, fun, and joy as ours has. Merry Christmas!

PS... I'm also happy to announce the potty-training progress has continued!

Fewer and fewer diapers

Now, let me start out by saying I am very aware that the subject of toilet-training is not interesting to most people. If you are one of those, feel free to skip the majority of this post. But let me tell you, as the parents of an almost-3-year-old, progress in this area is pretty darn exciting.

So far this process has had a lot of different stages. A few short months ago, he would never go when we put him on his potty chair, even if his diaper had been dry for hours. But, as I mentioned previously, then Scott had success getting him to go before and after his bath, and eventually before bed too. And by the time we left for Montana on Thursday, Zach was probably only going through three, sometimes four diapers a day, all depending on how often we asked him if he had to go and took him to the bathroom to give it a try.

But then we got to the stage I've been waiting for: him letting us know ahead of time that he had to go. Whoo hoo! That ever-important awareness! I think it was twice before we left that he successfully gave me the heads-up and completed the job. I was a little concerned we were going to lose that progress when we got to Scott's parents, with all the fun and new distractions awaiting us there.

But no... not only has he given us advance warning 6 or 7 times that he had to pee, today he told me he had to poop, and then he pooped on the toilet!!! Can you believe it?? I know, I know, it's exciting. :)

I think the Dora potty-seat has definitely helped our cause, but probably not as much as the peanut-butter M&Ms that grandma and grandpa have been offering as a reward. Whatever it is, I just hope it continues!

As another bathroom-related side note, I was quite surprised when I took Zach to the ridiculously-cramped bathroom on the airplane to change his diaper. It had been a couple hours and a lot of liquids, so I was expecting a pretty heavy one. Nope - totally dry. So I half-heartedly suggested he go potty... and the kid did it! I don't even like to pee on airplanes, and Zach did!

And finally, a non-bathroom story: as we began our descent into the Bozeman area, we hit some pretty wicked turbulence. It was the kind that makes your stomach rise and fall, like being on a roller coaster. We explained it a little to Zach, telling him we were going through some bumpy clouds, but then tried to make it seem like it was fun. Zach gamely smiled a little, and then said: "Mama, I'm not really scared. I'm just a little bit scared." Our brave boy. :)

I'll have lots more stories coming, and pictures after we get home...

Catching up

Yikes - where has the time gone? Busy getting ready for Christmas, I guess! We've also been getting Zach's "big boy room" ready - it is now painted and has new curtains; when we get back from Montana we'll put in the big bed! I have to admit I'm not too excited about switching; Zach LOVES his crib, and sleeps so well. If we didn't need the crib, that boy would be in that crib until his feet started hanging out! But somehow I suspect our easy-going boy will handle the transition just fine.

We took part in a Christmas tradition last weekend - taking Zach to see Santa. As we stood in line watching slightly more than half of the kids scream their heads off when plopped in the lap of the big bearded stranger's lap, I found myself wondering "why do we even do this?" Zach was telling us he didn't want to, and while we told him he didn't have to sit on his lap, he was still darn apprehensive. And who could blame him?? When it was his turn he was his usual self - willing to talk to the guy in red, but he was going to be cautious and not get too close (see pictures). Afterwards he received a candy cane for his bravery. When he tried it later, he decided he didn't like the taste and had a cookie instead. :)

We also checked out the Holidazzle parade for the first time last weekend, with some friends. We got the "hot seats," which despite the fact that at 25 degrees it was the warmest day in a while, were worth the money. Brrr! Zach thought it was all pretty cool, watching the lighted displays go by - Peter Pan, Mother Goose, etc. He was, however, quite disappointed there wasn't a Cars display. (no pictures, since the parade is at night)

Zach and I went down to the curling club to watch Scott curl the other night (mostly because he hadn't seen daddy all day and was missing him). Zach was excited to get out on the ice, but seemed disappointed at how heavy and hard to move the rocks were. We pointed out the rock weighs more than he does! He was pretty interested in the game for a while, mostly whether or not one rock as going to "knock" another one. But in the end, he had more fun playing cars while I watched the match.

We spend some time every week with our friends Wendy and Vincent, and it's been fun lately to see that the boys are actually starting to try to play together more than they used to. Zach's favorite thing to do right now is run (I don't know if this is because he's still so thrilled to have the cast off and be able to run, or just for pure fun), so we've been playing a lot of chase at our house, and in other places too. So when we went to a local mall with our friends the other day, Zach and Vincent had the most fun chasing each other around the fountain. Both boys also got great enjoyment out of playing on the rides - without us putting in a dime! Doesn't take much to entertain these two these days!

As far as pregnancy news, we've reached the "no news is good news" stage. But I'm happy to report I haven't had any more of the issues previously mentioned, and I've reached the wonderful part of pregnancy where I feel invincible! I have to constantly remind myself I should still be taking it easy, but it's hard when I feel great. We're almost to the halfway mark now - hooray! Our little guy has been moving around alot, particularly when I'm sitting down for some reason (with Zach it was when I was laying down). The best feeling in the world, I think. And we finally took a "belly picture" (don't worry, the one I posted isn't a bare belly one); we were so diligent about taking regular pictures when I was pregnant with Zach, and of course have not been as on the ball this time around. And while my friends are telling me I'm not big at all, I feel huge! When I look at the pictures from my pregnancy with Zach, I am as big now as I was when I was at least a month more pregnant last time. My stomach muscles have clearly waved the white flag. :)

Comfort

You realize pretty quickly when you are about to become a parent for the first time that there are some "hot issues" of parenting. Decisions you need to make that seem to bring out the strong opinions in everyone, and even some zealots (breastfeeding vs formula being the big obvious issue). It's very overwhelming and intimidating as a new parent, since there is SO MUCH information out there, including people's rants on why you're a horrible parent and person if you don't do whatever it is they are advocating.

But I've also been quite surprised that there are a lot of other things that seem to bring out the zealot in people too - things you would never expect would be such a divisive topic. Some examples off the top of my head:
- Finding out the gender vs. the surprise route
- Epidural vs natural
- Letting them cry it out vs. the no cry solution
- Cloth vs. disposable diapers
- Organic vs. not-organic
- Using a pacifier vs. thumb-sucking

I was reminded of people's strong reactions to the decisions at our ECFE class, and it got me thinking about all of it again (mostly wondering why we can't just recognize that people will always choose to do things differently and that's ok!). And that last issue in particular that has been on my mind in the last few months.

Back in October, right before Zach was about to get his cast off, I wrote a blog entry that I never ended up posting, mostly because I had so many other things to update people on. But I now feel the need to include this in our blog for posterity, since it has been a huge part of Zach's childhood so far. What am I talking about? Zach's thumb, for one!

Post originally written 10/13/09:

As I've mentioned before, we have so much to be grateful for. We have the most loving, supportive family and friends, and it's never been more apparent than it has been the last 5 weeks. We have received gifts from our immediate families, close friends, friends' parents, parents' friends, friends of friends, and more distant family too (from both a family tree and a geographical standpoint!) - toys, books, stickers, coloring books and crayons, videos, you name it. People have been so creative in their effort to help, to keep Zach entertained and to minimize the challenge for us. I can't emphasize enough how much my parents' two visits helped us get through this, for so many reasons. And we know Scott's parents would have been here if they could have. And we can't express our gratitude enough. Truly.

But, as odd as it may sound, the special thanks I want to give today is for someone, or should I say, something, else. Two things, actually. Two things that we literally could not have gotten through this experience without: Zach's cowbungadee and his thumb.

I know, it's strange. But I couldn't help thinking about it yesterday, as I watched Zach get tired as we were playing cars, and lay his head down on the kitchen floor, sucking his thumb and clutching his cow in that certain special way he does. I remembered my friend Anne, who has known Zach since he was 3 months old, expressing surprise that Zach was a thumb-sucker when she saw him do so during a playdate. I remembered that twice over the last 5 weeks I've seen a callous fall off his upper lip - something that I haven't seen since he was in the early days of breast-feeding.

Zach used to just suck his thumb to fall asleep; he has since he was a baby. Occasionally he'd do so when he was really tired, and every once in a while if he seemed really stressed or in an unusual situation. And his cowbungadee used to remain either in our house or in our car - he didn't need it other times.

But starting with our night in the ER, it because obvious how important his thumb and cow were going to be. The first IV they put in his arm was in his left arm - the thumb-sucking side. He had a horrible time trying to bend his arm - and therefore couldn't really comfort himself as he wanted to. But once that was fixed - he was finally peaceful and slept. And now he has been sucking his thumb much more, and keeping his cowbungadee with him at all times. And quite frankly, I'm thrilled.

I was thrilled when Zach first started sucking his thumb, and eventually latched on to the little Taggies cow blanket I tucked in his crib with him. Between those two things, he had learned how to self-soothe! A skill he'd need forever, a skill he's used many times to drift off to sleep in any situation, any place.

Yes, I've heard all the warnings about how hard it is to wean kids from their thumbs (you can't just take them away!), and imagined Zach trotting off to kindergarten with his cow in his backpack. And you know what? I don't care.

The world can be a scary place for me - I can't imagine what it's like to be two and not have any understanding of what's happening to you, let alone control. So I am nothing but glad Zach has his thumb and his cowbungadee to help him through whatever comes his way.

(photos: snuggling with dad when sick at 11 mos; 18 mos; 2.5 years old)

Random funnies and updates

A few recent funny moments from the Willard household:

Today, as we were driving, Zach was quiet in the backseat for a while. I looked back, since this is pretty unusual from our little chatterbox. He was staring out, or perhaps at, the window. A few minutes later, he broke the silence saying "Mama, my head is shaped like a trampoline!"

Yesterday, I overheard Zach singing as he was playing with his cars. My ears perked up when I heard a familiar tune - The Farmer in the Dell. But he was changing the words... the ones I caught were:
- hi ho the derry-o the Chick knocks the King.
- I like Lightning best because he-e's the fastest.

I also heard him providing some loving care to his cars when they crashed. First he'd slam one into the other; one car would then say "ouch ouch" and a third car would come up and kiss it better. :)

Yesterday we took Zach to Target, so he could spend some of the Christmas money he got in advance from G&G Willard. He didn't really get the concept, since Scott often takes him to Target after their weekend breakfast outings, to play some running-through-the-store games and then to look at the toys for a while (yes, we live in Minnesota... this is what we do for entertainment when the weather is less than desirable). Anyway, it took us a while to convince him to pick something out to take home; he ended up with a McDonalds cash register and appropriate plastic food, and a Cars puzzle. So we've been playing McDonalds all day, and as a result, Koskie has been freaked out all day. Apparently the beeping of the buttons is exactly the right pitch to make Koskie very very nervous - shaking, panting, and following me everywhere I go. He didn't even want to eat his breakfast! Poor dog... I think he's going to have to get used to it.

And a few random updates:

Everything is fine with the baby. He's kicking away every day. We got the results of the quad screen back; the levels indicate there's no signs of any chromosomal disorders. Whew. We will have the 20-week ultrasound right around New Year's - and it will be in 2d!

We had Zach's check-up for his leg today. They took another x-ray, and boy was it a delight to have him not cry during this process! Actually, we both commented how nice it was to have Zach running ahead of us down the hall in the hospital, and zoom his cars around on the table in the waiting room, chattering away. A big change from the last few times we were there! Anyway - everything looks great. The leg is completely healed! It's too soon to tell if we need to worry about the length differences... we go back in 3 more months for more x-rays. But we were thrilled to get some good news that confirmed what we suspected was true just from watching Zach in motion.

Zach has also been making some progress with potty-training. Scott has been the driver of this process; with Scott's encouragement Zach has been going to the bathroom on his little potty chair before and/or after his bath, and before bed, for a few weeks. Since Scott had four solid days with Zach over Thanksgiving, he made some real progress - Zach was going on the potty pretty much any time we put him on, and started saying "uh-oh, I'm going potty in my diaper!" I have the feeling this process is going to take a long time, partly because I'm not nearly as active about it as Scott is. But since this boy wasn't the least bit interested and rarely went when we put him on the potty a couple months ago, I'm happy with the progress!

The pictures... Zach decorating our cute but sad little Christmas tree. Since we will be leaving for MT well in advance of the actual holiday, it didn't seem worth it to haul out our big tree. So I dug out the one my parents gave me when I was living in a dorm, and it was the perfect size for Zach to decorate with a few favorite (Sesame Street) ornaments. He put them on, took them off, put them on, took them off. Somehow the little tree survived all of that manhandling!

Thanksgiving in pictures

Once again, I took too many pictures over Thanksgiving weekend. So this will mostly be an update in pictures...

Thanksgiving day festivities at the Klickas: Zach jumping, dancing, playing football, and attempting a group photo with his cousins, including second (?) cousin Mya:

Friday family portrait session at the Domes (professional photos will be coming), followed by reading with grandma:

Saturday outing to the largest train display I've ever seen, including a shout-out to Montana (click on the 4th picture to enlarge) and some of Grandma Cookie's Disney favorites:

Saturday outing to visit our friends the Nowaks:

In summary - we had a great weekend, with lots of reminders of everything we have to be thankful for.