"Fun Get Cany"

Happy Halloween everyone! This was Zane's first year trick or treating and we weren't sure what to expect. He had 2 costumes to choose from, and although the horse was the favorite of Mama and Papa, he sadly did not agree (sorry Uncle Argyle and Auntie Megan!). 

With the promise that we were going across the street to Zoe and Jack's he let us put the bear suit on him. Isn't he adorable!? He even kept the ears on the whole night! The chilly night may have had something to do with that though.

 Here's the whole Trick or Treat crew: A Witch Princess, Bob the Builder, and Bear Cub.

After the first few houses Zane got really into it. He skipped the stroller and was running from house to house. He said "tickr teet" and "appy al-een" and "thank you!!" at all the houses. It was so much fun to see him running around, having a blast with his friends, and learning. He was weary of the houses with big decorations but he wanted to go in the houses with live cats.

For only going up our street and then ONE BLOCK (from Lombard to Rosa on Wabash) this kid got quite the haul. Towards the end he kept requesting "hold punkin mama" because it was getting too heavy for him! There was one house that had 2 full size candy bars in a sea of minis...he choose a full size! When he was in the stroller, I looked down on occasion to find him gnawing through the wrappers of several candy bars. He had his first Butterfinger tonight...a good first choice if you ask me.

The one eyed pumpkin is Zane's "Muno punkin" that Papa made. Muno is his favorite character from Yo Gabba Gabba who only has one eye. 

After Mason did Zane's whole bedtime routine, Zane was still fired up so I poked my head in. He looked up at me and said "fun get cany", "fun Ara (our neighbor, Tara)", "fun Jack", fun Zoe." It doesn't get much sweeter than that.

Pumpkins!

On Monday we headed out to ye old Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island for some fall time fun. The pumpkin patches are quite the walk for little ones so we opted for the hayride...plus, who doesn't love a good hayride?! Zane was happy he got to be so close to the "tactor" and thought sitting on hay was pretty neat. We took two rides total. One to pick a pumpkin and another just for the heck of it.

Zane wanted the first pumpkin he came across.

We convinced him to look around.

They have a HUGE hay pyramid set up for the kids with tunnels going in all directions through the middle of it. It's a long tunnel and there were kid traffic jams in the middle so Mason army crawled through it with him the first time (the tube was too small for adults to be on their knees!), I got to go the second time (FYI:  a knit, knobby sweater is a bad choice for army crawling through hay tunnels), and the third time we decided he was fine and could go by himself. He loved it.

Let's Play

Zane has been having a blast with all his new options for play time! He still seems a little overwhelmed by it all and doesn't focus on one thing too much. He'll be playing with his trains and then look up and say "where backhoe?", and then sprint off to find it. Then he says "calk" and we go outside and play with sidewalk chalk...he's all over the place :)

Mason took Z and V on a walk the other day so I could set up Zane's new train set from Great Grandma Lueder (Imaginarium Mountain Pass set, which is compatible with Thomas and Brio tracks for those interested). I took photos of it because I knew it wouldn't last long!

Hey Grandma - Thanks for Z's swim lessons too, he started on Tuesday! It's mostly bobbing and kicking but maybe by the end he'll put his face in. I'll let you (and everyone else probably) know how it goes.

Zane loves our neighbor, Mike. He's always got something to tell him and Mike always stops and listens. The other day Zane walked out the front door, glanced over and saw Mike and then said "Hi Mike" with a casual wave before proceeding to the rock pit to play. It was hilarious! So Mike, his wife, and their grand kids brought Z a little something...I thought that was so nice of them. 

 

Reading on the Rody. We named him Brody. Brody the Rody. We think it's a...donkey? Right Aunt Kathy? A donkey? :)

 Every serious train aficionado needs a conductor's hat! Thanks Nick and Kenz!! Pictured here in glow-in-the-dark shirt from Oma and Opa.

A natural! Grandpa Dave and Grandma Doris gave him this SWEET Melissa & Doug mini piano and he loves it. He doesn't say piano just yet but will yell "song" and run to it and start jamming. He also says "jam" when he wants to play either the piano or the drums.

This train set came all the way from New Hampshire courtesy of Zane's friend, Wally (and his parents Brian and Sarah). Thanks guys, he loves it. Especially the tunnel. "Where tunnel go?", "uh oh tunnel", "WOOK tunnel!"

Bike! Zane will be a pro cyclist in no time with this sweet Mini Glider from Grandpa Hal and Granmama. He absolutely loves to ride it with Mason or I pushing him, but it's designed for him to straddle the seat and walk it. There are no pedals...he will learn to balance until he can get up enough speed to coast with his feet on the pegs. He's taken a few steps with it so far, but walking and balancing a bike is tough!

 Check out this kickstand!

Thank you so much to everyone for thinking of our little man on his big day. There were so many goodies I couldn't possibly post them all, but know that he loves it and it will most likely make an appearance here at some point :)

2 Year Photos

We documented our little man's big 2 years with a trip to Columbia Park and lots and lots of photos. Zane lucked out and saw a real train right as we arrived. It was much bigger and louder than anything he's seen or heard so far and took a little getting used to!

 Choo choo tracks are fun even if there isn't a train on them!

 "Where choo choo go?"

 Zane just had his 2 yr. check up with the doctor and he is very pleased with where he is mentally and physically. Physically, Zane is following the path he's been on since birth. When the doc shows me the graph of where his weight, height, and head circumference are, the dots are making their own arc right above the highest line of "normal." Yay for big boys!! He is 35lb and in the 95% for both height and weight.

 The doctor spent most of his time watching Zane play on the floor (some trains + track, and the monkey "ooh ooh" came with us) and was happy with Zane's level of play....i.e. Z would make the monkey ride the train, and can put the tracks together by himself. Proud parent moment: the doc said "you guys have got a smart boy on your hands." BEAMING!!

 

Zane is in daycare 2 days a week now. On Wednesdays and Fridays he goes to her house from 8am - 4:30pm and is doing great. He naps, eats, and plays just fine. We found her through our friends, Jo and Annie, who both take their kiddos there. I think it's great that he gets to spend all day with his little buddies! The woman is fantastic with children and a pro at redirection, explanation, and routine. As long as it's not raining the kids are outside, and when they are inside they have organized playtime. Mason and I are very comfortable with her and her home and are feeling extremely rejuvenated and productive with our 2 days to ourselves per week. The first time I went to pick him up he ran halfway to me, stopped and pointed at the trains he was playing with, and then turned back to play...he is in good hands :)

Second to trains, are backhoes. He can point them out in books, at construction sites around town, and on TV, so you can imagine his joy when one arrived in a box from his cousins for his birthday!

He is all boy all the time, and to me that means he is as equally sweet as he is wild. He likes to give hugs and kisses, and says Thank You all the time. If he hands something to you and you fail to say it, he will say it for you. When he falls he gets right up and says "okay", like he's reassuring us and himself that he's OK. In the mornings he sits on the couch with me, him with his milk and me with my chai, and we snuggle and watch cartoons. I know someday he won't want to do that anymore. Right now I'll take all I can get.

 Two peas in a pod.

Two-Choo!

Zane's second birthday was yesterday and he had a FABULOUS time! Thank you to all those who could make it and all those who sent well wishes for him. He was in heaven with all of his little friends, a clear day for running in the yard, lots of food, sidewalk chalk, presents, and of course, cupcakes. I can't express how much it makes my heart happy to see HIM so happy. Thank you.

We were so happy that the weather held out for us. It was perfect to hang out on the back patio and leave the back door open so people/kids/Virgil could go in and out as they needed. Speaking of Virgil, he did manage to score at least one slider, part of a pig n' blanket, and some crackers...with all those short targets it was inevitable.

 Mason made his amazing sliders once again...a real crowd pleaser. We also had pigs n' blankets, veggies & hummus, chips, little cracker/cookie things, juice boxes, beer, and cupcakes. Sounds like a party to me!

With 12 of Zane's buddies around it was hard to look around and NOT see cuteness. The airplane trike was a big hit, as was the dirt box that used to be our garden.

With all the toys around, they opted for a bug hunt in the dirt.

 Zane was so cute when everyone sang to him. He sat there looking proud that he was getting his own song and he blew out his candles on the first try without any practice beforehand!

A big thanks to Brad for taking some photos so Mason and I could be in the moment! After singing, we moved into opening gifts and I'm sure you can imagine the cuteness/hilarity/chaos that ensued when unwrapping with that many littles around. They were all excellent helpers and once Zane unwrapped his choo choos he didn't mind having the help!

These little monsters were part of the giftie bags...I couldn't resist sharing a photo.

Rainy Days

Summer is definitely gone on Portland! Though Zane is not deterred by the wetness at all, we do need a break from wet feet every once in a while. He's very focused on moving objects from one location to another right now so the other day we got out some cups and popcorn kernels to play around. I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of them on the floor when we were done. Virgil was disappointed that the ones that did fall weren't very tasty.

Zane has discovered Papa's man-cave in the garage. For those unfamiliar, it's a 4x4 "sound proof" box that houses all of Mason's musical equipment. I was in there for 5 seconds before getting claustrophobic, so I'm not sure how he does it, but he likes it in there. Zane likes the drums.

We are also still members of the St. John's Swap n' Play and have been meeting up with friends there regularly. I don't know what I would do without that place!