Trains, trucks, and a little bouncing too

Up until now, we've been able to take Zach to the Mall of America and completely entertain him by just walking around Nickelodeon Universe (formerly Camp Snoopy). He loved all the noise and action, and pointing out his "friends" Dora, Diego, etc. But I don't think that's going to satisfy him any longer, now that he knows what he was missing!

Our friends Wendy, Chris, and Vincent had some "mystery" ride tickets; you take them to the amusement park and find out what the point balance is - in other words, how many rides you can go on. They invited us along, so we could watch the boys experience all the kiddie rides. To their great shock, one of the tickets had 100 points on it - the kiddie rides are only 3 points per ride!

Zach was a little unsure at first; he just watched Vincent go round on the carousel. But it didn't take long before he was game for just about anything. And not just the kiddie rides... while Wendy and I took a little detour to do some shopping, the guys took the kids on the log ride!! And other than not liking being splashed, Zach had a great time (Vincent didn't mind getting wet at all).

^ The kiddie roller coaster... look how much fun the big guys are having!

^ These rides really aren't designed for adult comfort...

^ The Wonder Pets ride, to our great surprise, turned out to be one of Zach's favorites.

It's the type that brings you to the top and then drops you, little by little, with a lot of bouncing in between. I played the pregnancy card and got out of having to go on this ride - look at Wendy's face!

Someone to snack with

A few months ago, Scott used the phrase "help a brother out" when he was talking to Zach. Zach responded very logically - I don't have a brother daddy! Curious, Scott asked him if he knew what a brother was. I loved Zach's answer, which was "someone to have a snack with."

We've often remembered that particular story with a smile because in the spring, Zach will have someone to have a snack with. Yep, we're having another baby!

Some answers to frequently asked questions:

The baby is due May 9th, so I'm 12+ weeks along.

Zach turns 3 on January 21, so he'll be a few months past three when the baby is born.

I've been feeling very well, thanks for asking. Very similar to my pregnancy with Zach - no sickness in the morning or otherwise. I'd hardly know I was pregnant, other than some minor symptoms like fatigue and the desire to eat everything in sight (and out of sight, unfortunately, our Halloween candy supply has been decimated).

We don't know if we're going to find out the gender. We change our minds daily (well, at least I do). It will likely be a decision we make on ultrasound day. We did not find out with Zach, and we are a little curious what it's like to know in advance... but we'll see.

Yes, Zach knows... sort of. We just told him a few days ago. This will be an on-going conversation, since six+ months is a long time for a two year old. We'll have more serious conversations at it gets a little closer, and when there is more tangible proof - setting up the baby's room, my shrinking lap, etc. But the conversation we did have was pretty funny. Scott asked Zach again if he knew what a brother was, and got the same answer about someone to snack with. Then he asked what a sister was, and Zach paused for a minute, and then said he didn't know (apparently you don't snack with a sister?!?!). I used his cousins as an example, that Bryn and Maryn are sisters, and then asked who Chase's sister was; he correctly identified his cousin Sophie. When we asked him if he wanted a brother or a sister, his answer was: a Sophie!

We also asked what he wanted to name the baby. He said Zach. We explained that was his name, and wouldn't that be confusing if they had the same name??? I gave him examples; if I called "Zach!" - that both he and the baby would come running. And that if mail came addressed to Zach Willard, we wouldn't know who it was for!!! He's very interested in the mail these days, since he got so much when he had his cast on, so now thinks that's hilarious, he repeats it and laughs hysterically. He also decided if it was a girl she should be named Sally, since that's the sister's name in The Cat in the Hat. Good input, but I'm not sure we'll be going with his suggestions...

School Daze

As a parent, I've learned there are days you think your kid is fantastic, days you think he's driving you nuts, and lots of days somewhere in the middle, or that swing from one end of the spectrum to the other in the span of a few minutes. This morning... I think my kid is a ROCK STAR!

So, as you may remember, Zach was supposed to start "school" the Monday after he broke his leg. What we are calling "school" is the Mom's Day Away program at the local Christian pre-K thru 12th grade academy. Basically they offer a chance, up to three days a week, for your child to spend the majority of the day with them. They do have a curriculum, similar to what any day care program has, but it's not technically preschool (3 is the magic age for preschool). Zach was going to go once a week, on Mondays; obviously postponed after he became immobile.

As a result, today was the big day - first day of school. I wasn't really looking forward to it, since any time we brought it up his response was generally "are you going to come too mama?" or "I don't WANT to go to school!" Not surprising, since this is a boy who hasn't spent a lot of time in a child care setting, other than up to two hours at the YMCA last winter, the hour or less when we separate at our ECFE classes, etc.

We talked about school this weekend, to get him ready and hopefully excited about what was coming. This morning, when I gave him advance warning that we'd be heading out for school in a little bit, I got the "don't wanna" response. So we talked about it a bit, and he started asking questions: did he know anyone there? Who were the teachers? Was I going to stay?

I answered his questions (yes, you've met the teachers, no you don't know any of the kids so you'll have to ask their names and tell them yours, etc), and then I apparently used a magic word: gym. When it's cold, the kids get to go play in the school gym, riding bikes, playing with balls, etc. So he instantly wanted to know - could he play basketball??? Suddenly he was ready to go.

So to make an already too-long story short - all the drama I was anticipating didn't happen. He chatted away with the lead teacher, asking questions. He pointed out that the bear-shaped name tags marking the kids' coat hooks looked like the Twins bear, but that while the one labeled "Tamar" started with a "T", it didn't say Twins because it ended with an "r". :)

And after we'd been there a few minutes and he was already playing, I squatted down and told him I was going to go. And what did he do? He lifted his face up for a good-bye kiss.

I tell you - this kid is a ROCK STAR!!!

I had the strangest feeling walking out of the school; I'm still not sure I can identify it. I was in sort of a daze. It was definitely a mix of disequilibrium, from just not having my little guy with me, and the relief that the transition was so smooth. But you know what the primary emotion was? Pride. And what a great way to start the day.

Halloween celbration

Yesterday afternoon was the first of our Halloween celebrations (or "celbration," in this case). We joined our friends out at the Brodd Family Compound on Cokato lake for some pumpkin-carving, baseball and football playing, eating, drinking, and kid chasing. Since it is October in Minnesota, we also huddled around the fire and the space heaters in between helping ourselves to seconds and thirds of dessert.

Our new walker did great - I think his little legs were probably exhausted by the end of the day! He brought along his cars, and discovered a fellow obsessive - Nolan had also brought his contingent of Cars characters, complete with carrying case! Some surprisingly good sharing took place, considering we're talking about two 2-year olds!

Scott got to check something off his "bucket list" - he has now carved a pumpkin. Yes, folks, he reached the ripe old age of 34 without ever carving a pumpkin. Don't ask me how! But I did the honors last year, so this year it was his turn to stick his hand in and pull out the goop. Zach watched with interest, but didn't seem to have any desire to participate. He did, however, offer that fantastic smile (see above) when I pulled out the camera. Sigh. At what age do they learn how to really smile for the camera?

(more photos on Facebook for those of you who also waste your time out there!)

Funny boy walking

He's walking!!! Hooray!!

I told Scott when he got home yesterday that I thought all his PT efforts were paying off, and that Zach would be walking any minute now. I was basing that on the fact on some of the progress Zach'd been making, including some that day:

- standing for minutes and minutes on his own
- being able to stand up from sitting, without holding on to anything
- when he was walking, he often was barely holding on to me
- when walking with his walker, he was often walking in front of it, pulling it behind him, just using it to catch his balance occasionally
- he jumped yesterday. Yes - an actual jump - both feet left the ground. He was holding on to my hand at the time, but still! The reason he jumped... peer pressure. Our little friend Kasey was over, and she was demonstrating her newly achieved jumping skills. Zach watched, heard me cheering for her, and seconds later had to try it himself!

So... after less than 9 full days of having the cast off - this morning Zach decided to walk. He was asking that someone walk behind him to catch him if he fell, but he's already stopped doing that and is getting around the house pretty easily, although slowly. We're headed out to our friends' cabin this afternoon for some fall/Halloween fun, and it'll be interesting to see how he progresses today alone, since he'll be surrounded by running kids!

One step closer to "normal"...

Old toys new again

We've pulled out some toys Zach hasn't used much in a while. But they're getting him moving!

^ Scooting around in the basement on his goofy scooter thing.

^ His walker, which he hasn't used in AGES. He insisted it was a stroller, so we had to strap on Kermit the frog to go for a ride. He looks a little bit like a 90 year old man walking behind this thing, but hey, he can get from one side of the room to the other on his own.

Zach also rode his trike outside yesterday (we had a 60-degree day - hooray!). He has never really been good at pedaling it, but he does ok on the slight decline on our street. His little legs kept moving!

I was a bit optimistic about when he'd walk. He made so much progress so quickly that first day or two, but we've pretty much stalled at this point. He can stand on his own for minutes - really until he realizes it and freaks out. He walks a little better with his shoes on, so we keep them on all the time now. He still struggles to put his heel down when he puts his weight on his left leg; apparently those muscles/tendons are pretty tight. We'll keep plugging away...

Balance

Balance - one of the bigger challenges of parenting, in my opinion. But before I get into that, check out Zach's balance:

Pretty good, huh? He's able to stand on his own for a while now, and was even able to swing a golf club and bat while doing so. He has fallen down a few times, and at one point I thought we were going to have to take another run to the hospital! He fell while holding on to the bat, and instead of letting go, he landed on his hand/arm and the bat handle funny. I immediately started thinking "is this the same cry he had when he broke his leg?" and "oh boy, how are we going to explain this one at the hospital?!?!?" But fortunately it wasn't serious - whew. I wonder how long it will take before I stop panicking and thinking broken bones every time he falls?

Scott also got Zach to take one step a few times - slow progress, but we're headed in the right direction. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, Scott is much better at pushing Zach to try new things. It looks so painful when he walks holding on to our hands... he tries to avoid putting his left heel down, and puts as little weight on the left leg as he can.

Which is where my struggle comes in - it's been difficult, to say the least, to find the right balance between encouraging Zach to do things on his own and just doing it for him. While I am very aware that the more he does for himself, the quicker life will go back to "normal", I am already weary of the whining, crying, and screaming that often goes with making him do something himself. It's no different from plenty of other parenting decisions we've had to make along the way - whether to take the easy way out to make the short-term better, but then suffering the consequences in the long-term. I would have said we were pretty good at doing what's best for the long-term, but this particular situation is proving to be a challenge, for me at least.

In other news, we went to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch on Saturday. Zach's desire to go on outings is still missing - if you'd heard him you would have thought we were taking him to the dentist for a root canal or something. Once we got there he was fine, of course, and had fun directing us where to go through the pumpkin patch. Scott did most of the toting... this kid is heavy; we need to get him walking soon!

We also got him a train table, something we'd been thinking about doing anyway, but now seemed like a particularly good time to get one, since he can stand leaning against it to play. He's had lots of fun with it so far, mainly playing with his cars on it. The picture shows him playing with his trains, but soon after I snapped it, the train tracks came off and the cars came back on.