Jump Around

Today Z attended a birthday party at what turned out to probably be his favorite venue yet: there were wall to wall trampolines, a giant digital clock (his new pasttime involves announcing the time every minute at meals), and topped off with ceiling fans. Here's a ten second video that apparently represented the entire hour that he was there (minus a 2-minute potty break).

But he did fabulously, not objecting one bit when mommy cued him that the hour was up. He even enjoyed everyone singing happy birthday to his friend N - the only minus was that the nap that followed meant he's likely going to be up crazy late this evening; Meredith and I are going to see a film, so hopefully he'll do okay for the babysitting mima.

Playing with food

In addition to his constantly expanding vocabulary (new recent words include "both" for pairs of items and "just" for emphasis or excluding something - "I just want to go outside" when I ask him to get in the car), Owen continues to surprise with his ability to both pretend and draw comparisons to other things he knows. Whether it's riding his horse, picking up a blue lego and pretending it's a car (yes, the cars are still on holiday), cooking in his kitchen while mommy or I am making something to eat in the grown-up version, or inventing some new friends to read to (watch below), this kid has a wonderful imagination:

Mommy has a yellow hairclip that he says "looks like an airplane", and indeed, when he said that, I immediately saw the biplane shape. (He more specifically says it's an "airplane with fruit", since it has some dangly plastic fruit decorations.) Here he is making comparisons and references to both a piece of construction equipment he saw recently and one of his favorite books:

Garden Gnomes

Spring has finally started to, um, spring, with a few warm days sneaking through the grey ones. The boys have been really enjoying getting to spend more time outside; they often want to check on the fairy door Meredith installed a few months ago, to see how our little neighbors are doing -- though unfortunately this often involves tromping through/flattening mommy's pretty and just-sprouting flowers. Then of course O has taken to the toy lawnmower, and thinks that those same flowers are the perfect items to mow. Z for his part has rediscovered the large blue ball, and enjoys sitting on it and then rolling/falling off it (forward or backwards is apparently equally fun). Here they are both incorporating Thomas the Tank Engine into their outdoor activities:

On the plus side, they've been doing fairly well with sharing -- taking turns on the swing, both playing in the playhouse, and even occasionally cracking each other up with their antics. Oh, and I don't know if it's just that I have a somewhat squinty smile that O is imitating or what, but when we ask him to smile for a picture, it usually ends up looking something like this -- silly man. Anyway, heavy duty outdoor playtime is always balanced with a bit of chillaxin', sometimes back inside the house with snacks, but several times now on the deck chairs, casually sipping on milk or juice while surveying the premises:

Give it the boot

Well that certainly didn't take long - the boot is off, and Z is already mostly back to full on walking. Today he even climbed aboard the bus all by himself -- Go, Z! On the topic of the bus, lately O really wants to join us in waiting for and then boarding the bus. It's only mildly nerve wracking having the two boys running up and down the driveway, climbing onto and off of the stone bench, and often one doing each in opposite directions. But O has made a huge fan/friend in the bus driver, who he chats up and receives fun stickers from while I get Z belted in. And there's nothing quite as cute as O waving and saying "bye bye Zachary, bye bye yellow bus" as the bus pulls away from the house.

Doctor Doctor

A very busy day for our insurance card, as each boy got to visit a doctor today! Meh took Owen to his 24-month wellness checkup in the morning, and in the afternoon, Zachary and I returned to Children's Hospital for the latest status check on his leg. First, to Owen, who was very happy to be going to "see the fish" (they have a nice aquarium in the lobby) - apparently the happiness went away pretty quickly when they gave him his three shots ahead of the doctor's exam, when usually the shots follow. But beyond the sadness (not even assuaged by a pair of blue Snoopy bandaids) and the super-snotty cold he's been fighting (despite diligent kleenex application, his sleeves at the end of the day are a pretty gross sight), he's in good health! The stats:

• 26 lbs 6 oz (25th percentile)
• 34 1/4" tall (50th percentile)

(No head circumference measurement this time around apparently.)

In the afternoon, I drove Z to his own appointment -- he talked much of the way there about getting a "picture of his leg", and had a nice time wandering around the lobby (even saying hi to an older boy - it was very cute to see him interacting in this way with another kid), having a snack, and looking at pictures of cars and trucks (see yesterday's post) on my phone. He did great with both the x-rays and the exam, removing his boot twice so the leg could be examined. And we are delighted to say the boot is needed no more! The doctor said his bone growth looks great, and indeed in the before/after images, where there was a clear fracture before, I don't see a thing now. She indicated he might have a limp for up to 6 months, and we'll keep an eye on him to make sure he gets his leg strength back. But all in all, hooray -- tomorrow we'll try sending him to school sans boot and see how things go.

Virtual Toys

The boys' obsession with cars and trucks continues unabated despite the cars remaining on extended holiday (due to some pretty dramatic tantrums and constant fighting). They have a new favorite Curious George episode where he plays with cars (actually giving them a car wash, which the boys experienced in person last week with mommy -- Z apparently loved it, O got scared of those vertical scrubby cloth strips). And yesterday, they asked for "double decker buses on the TV"; sure enough, the Xbox YouTube app supplied us with video captures of both London and Brighton bus routes, and then motorbikes ramp-jumping over a series of double decker buses. The boys loved the latter so much that I found them a few other monster truck and stunt videos that they can watch again and again (but hopefully never imitate?). But their very favorite was a video of an evaluation of the "Cars 2" line of die cast toys. The boys continued to ask to watch the toys being removed from their plastic boxes ("here we go, opening presents!" said Z) and then stored inside of the larger Cars 2 playset storage Double Decker Bus. It's no tamagotchi, but these boys clearly have a favorite new virtual set of toys.

(And incidentally, more than a million hits on both of these videos?! Perhaps we're not the only ones with kids who are into toy unboxing.)

The Number Two Bus

While Owen isn't quite two (I'm particularly sad to miss the proper day, as I head out to San Francisco tomorrow morning and don't get back until the day after his birthday), we celebrated his birthday today with family (mima, papa, grandma, and J were all in attendance!) and several of his young friends. As usual, Meh was amazing and outdid herself with incredible decorations, food (for both the kids and grownups), drinks (tea and even London Underground-themed labelled waters for goodness sake), activities (making jeweled crowns), little picnic lunches for the kids, and pretty much everything; even the invitation was amazing stuff, not to mention our sons' matching outfits. More pictures of the fun times can be found here.

Oh, and ever since his friend L's birthday party a few months ago, Owen has had a very specific request for his own birthday cake:

(If you're wondering, "minna" is what O calls nursing -- we'll pass on discussing that topic in this entry, though I was amused to discover that one of the streets/venues I'll be at this week shares the name.)
Anyway, more than a month later, and Meh fulfilled this 'red heart' request on the back window of her amazingly incredible double decker bus cake. I myself contributed some UK-based chocolates, a miniature pop-up book of London sights, some stickers, and a piggy bank shaped like a double decker bus from my recent trip.

O was particularly giddy with everyone singing happy birthday to him, getting a huge smile on his face. He also chowed down on the cake itself (occasionally with a fork, mostly with his hands), in addition to playing energetically, making a crown with his friends, and generally having a blast. Z did very well with the flurry of other kids too.

Grandma and J had generously wanted to offer us a date night, but between our activities (my orchestra had a dress rehearsal Friday night, a concert on Saturday night, and Meh had a meeting Sunday night) the only opportunity was after the birthday party wrapped up. Meh and I had a nice quiet tea at our favorite Seattle tea house - thank you grandma and J! The whirlwind continues tomorrow, with grandma, J, and me all driving to the airport to fly our separate ways. Again, huge huge thanks to mima and papa for supporting Meh and the boys while my work travel schedule goes through hopefully its craziest stretch of the year.

London Calling

It's been a hectic week of travel and meetings here in the UK. I did get a brief chance to catch up on some shopping, and even hopefully will help equip O's upcoming London/double-decker themed birthday party with authentic accoutrements. It was also nice just to walk around Central London and catch up with my locally based coworkers. I got to briefly chat with O and Z online; Z apparently keeps taking about daddy "going to work on an airplane to London". Meh remains the most amazing, creative activity planning, and patient mommy, and a huge preemptive thanks to mima and papa for all of the assistance and support they're providing during my absence!

Did I mention the posh and pretentious-looking bar I walked past in Covent Garden called "Detroit"? Awesome. Anyway, tonight, a coworker and I had a lovely catchup dinner with friends N and S after delivering a Costco-sized portion of the one surprising food they most crave from the US (trust me, O certainly agrees on its value), and getting to hang out with their fabulous kids for a bit. But tomorrow I head back after perhaps one more attempt to grab some gifts/birthday party decorations.

Very much looking forward to getting home tomorrow afternoon, though unfortunately I have to turn right back around and head to San Francisco on Monday for my annual Game Developers Conference pilgrimage. On the plus side, the aforementioned O birthday party promises to be fun (if hectic), and grandma and J are flying in on Friday to join us for the big number two, before heading back to the airport with me on Monday.

The Darndest Things

O has come up with some classic quotes over the past few months; the other day rather than asking for me to turn off the light, he wanted me to turn on the dark. Why not? But I think I've got a new favorite: Mima was watching O today, and when I got home, she reported that he had been scrunching his eyes closed, then opening them and looking around. Eventually he turned to her and commented, "It's dark in there!"

Z continues to get used to his new boot. He actually really likes wearing it, but isn't tremendously sure about navigating around while it's on. His school has thankfully retained the wheelchair so he can keep up with his classmates when transitioning between rooms, though in the classroom he's been crawling, pivoting on furniture, and starting to try out standing on it. Based on how he was handling the cast towards the end, I suspect he'll be getting around at high speed on it in no time!

Cast Away

The day has finally come! Z had been talking about it for quite some time, but today was "pictures of cast, then bye bye cast". There of course was one more hitch; the doctor he was supposed to see had to cancel, but Seattle Children's managed to score us an appointment with another doctor back at their main hospital where the adventure had first started just over a month ago. Things ended up being in reverse order than I'd expected/prompted -- cast off, x-rays, then exam.

But Z did an awesome job, waiting in the lobby, then giggling as the ticklish saw cut off the cast, then listening and holding still for the x-rays. He even commented and watched as another little boy at the station next to us had a very similar (though shorter) green cast removed -- that boy unfortunately was getting set up with another cast, a bright purple one that had Z reconsidering whether he really wanted to be done with his leg immobilization.

The x-rays looked good, and there's just the slightest remaining visible remnant of the fracture. He now transitions to a little boot for the next four weeks, which we can thankfully remove for bath and bedtime. No jumping or sliding, but in all other ways, he's encouraged to walk on it as much as possible to build back up the bone.

The technician didn't ask if we wanted the cast saved, but when the doctor inquired at the exam, I said sure; she said kids like to save them and fill them up with candy, making for an odd-shaped candy dispenser. (I'm sure Meh would do something more creative, but anyway...) So she fished it out of the back room -- only when we got home, we realized it was not Z's cast but actually that other little boy's. Whoops. Ah well, no physical souvenier from this particular adventure is fine by us!

I Heart Pancakes

Meh continues to astound with her amazing and creative food presentation skills, from a hot dog octopus to ongoing bento box portions of Z's favorites for school lunches. This morning she took it to the next level, making the boys and me tasty heart-shaped pancakes for Valentine's Day, and serving them along with strawberries and boxes of heart-shaped chocolates. And on heart-shaped plates of course. Somehow getting this all done despite the boys being up at 6 am. Amazing!

Z actually commented on them for quite a while (and tried the chocolate) before requesting his classic Cheerios. In the meantime, O ate/smushed his way through at least one heart (and a few of his chocolates) and was still talking about them at dinner tonight. Mommy is the very best!

Car Wrecks

Our boys do love their cars. Occasionally their playtime looks like this:

Sometimes there's even a live action version:


Early on, the inevitable "everyone wants the same car" conflicts seemed like good opportunities to learn sharing and turn-taking. However, more frequently of late things seem to completely break down to Z wanting to hoarde or put away all of the cars (even in the above video, notice the cluster on the brown couch), O wanting to continue to play with one or two of them, and dual crying / screaming / throwing / tantrums ensuing. It's gotten to the point where the cars have to take a break; we've first hidden them in near-plain-sight in the laundry room (at which point O still wanted to go "visit" them fairly frequently, pointing them out and talking about them), and have finally decided the boys need to focus on some other toys for a while; the cars are now on "holiday" up in our closet. (It's particularly cute when O first asks where the cars are, then rhetorically answers "Cars on holiday!") Thankfully playing with trains or the slightly larger sized vehicles doesn't seem to fall apart in this way, so only the cars are in exile for the moment.

False hope

We'd been happily looking forward all week to Z getting his cast off today, even starting to prompt him about going to get a "picture" of it (an x-ray) -- but when I went to check the appointment time in my calendar this morning, I couldn't find it at all. And then I did find it -- but for next week. Meh's calendar said this week, but alas, the hospital confirmed that we're on for next Wednesday, so we've got a few more days to watch Z basically walking on the cast. All things considered he's really been doing amazing getting used to it and dealing with the awkwardness of baths (we got him a cast cover, but he's such a skinny little man that the hole in it doesn't make a skin-tight seal -- so instead, we have to cover it with a few garbage bags and still keep his leg elevated during the whole bath), but I think all of us are just about ready to move on to the next step, even if that ends up just being a boot. Seven more days!

Six Degrees of Imitation

Zachary is a great memorizer and imitator - books we've read, television shows he's watched (so we definitely need to be extra careful about what he watches!), things he's seen, and yes, sounds from his environment. When O was very young and cried, Z started imitating O's whines. He still does it on occasion, particularly first thing in the morning when he wants us to come get him. In the last few days, the reference has gotten a bit circular, as O has started to imitate Z's imitation of O's baby cries; how very infinitely recursive of them!

Of course in general, the boys do continue to pick up on things each other say and repeat them, sometimes back to each other, and sometimes causing each other to giggle uncontrollably in the process. Here's hoping that neither one discovers any potty language, or I expect we'll never hear the end of it!

Back to School

Z had his first day back at school today -- between winter break, snowstorms, holidays, and that broken leg, it may have been nearly a month since his last full day! I drove him (a rare green car journey) and the little wheelchair to the classroom, where he got reacquainted with his favorite school toys and activities while the teachers, physical therapist, and aide assigned to help him out got oriented with the wheelchair and adjusted a few tables and desks for him to use. I ducked out once it looked like things were in order, and it sounds like he had a good first day back -- I think he really missed it!

Wheels of fortune

In addition to his recheck yesterday, we had a nice conference with Z's teachers to figure out how to handle his immobility for the next three weeks. We'd written them last week from Arizona to let them know the situation, and the school district's physical therapist had already made great progress in both hiring an aide to assist (we got to meet her) and hunting down potential leads for a children's wheelchair to help with navigation and participation in class activities. Perfect timing: she successfully located one early in the afternoon, the doctor wrote a prescription for it at our appointment, and early this afternoon a tiny yellow and black wheelchair was delivered. (It was so petite that Meh initially presumed it was folded up, but nope!)

I haven't actually seen Z in it yet, but Meh reports that he likes it quite a bit. The district PT even came by to check it out and make sure it will be a good fit for the school -- she indicated they might be able to make adjustments to allow Z to steer himself. Why am I thinking he'll be reluctant to let it go when the cast and boot are gone?! Anyway, for tomorrow we'll have it around the house for Z to get used to it. He's definitely really looking forward to getting back to school, so it's great that we could line up everything to make his transition back smoother -- here's hoping for a good first experience back on Thursday!

Casting Call

Z has been doing a great job adjusting to the "giant green cast"; in the past few days he's started crawling and scooting around on it. And with snowmageddon or snowpocalypse or whatever finally behind us, Z and I made our one-week-delayed trip back to get his leg rechecked, this time at the closer eastside rendition of Seattle Children's Hospital. Still a very cute and kid-friendly place (if a hospital can be kid friendly), and this one even featured a Starbucks in the lobby. Only in the Pacific Northwest.

Z did amazingly well with the x-rays, even going so far as to say thank you to the imaging technician (along with his current favorite exiting salutation of "happy new year") on our way back out to the lobby. He also did great with both the medical assistant and doctor, entertaining himself by weighing and reweighing himself on the portable scale and reporting on the results (35 lbs if you were wondering). There was a lull in the action before the doctor herself could see us, and the assistant asked if he'd like a snack -- how cool is that? Z enjoyed some cinnamon bears and juice before the doctor came back and showed us the results of the "pictures of the giant green cast" (Z's words) -- he's already growing new bone and healing well. She reported he'll be done with the cast in about 3 weeks, likely to be followed by a boot while his leg restrengthens.

Snow Men

Seattle's first snow of the year has come with a vengeance; we arrived back in Seattle on Monday night after the first accumulation, and the warnings for the real snowstorm were lined up for the rest of the week. School was preemptively cancelled (via an automated call every day of the week at around 4 pm), and the forecasts in some ways actually managed to understate the conditions, as things have been increasingly messy all week. I slipped and slid our car the block and a half to the grocery store for supplies at one point (where I was entertained by what people here apparently find important to stock up on in a snowstorm: empty shelves for soda, bread, and a long queue of people waiting to rent movies, but plenty of milk, dairy, fruit, and veg). Finally things started to improve a bit today and I was able to make it into work for some meetings, after picking up Mima to help Meh out with the boys (and get her out of the house herself!)
But for the most part, we all just stayed indoors, snuggled and warm. Meh tried to initiate arts and crafts with the boys a bit, but they were getting pretty stir crazy by the third day at home. Z of course couldn't get out into the snow, so Meh had the brilliant idea to bring the snow to the boys -- he played with it a little, but O was fascinated and had a great time. Here he interacts with the excellent indoor snowman Meh made:

And finally, Meh and O headed outside for a little bit of walking, sledding, and even a quick inspection of the boys' playhouse (he really wanted to go inside despite the high snow drifts and its door facing our house for the winter). My favorite is still just how bundled up he got for his snow adventure:

Travel Marathon

I think we can say our trip to Arizona was a big success all around! The boys had a wonderful time on planes, at parks, and in the "big red car" (with apologies to the Wiggles), Meh shaved 10 minutes off her last half marathon time, and it was very special to be able to catch up with and spend a long weekend with friends T and P and their sons J and M.

On Thursday morning, Papa dropped us off at the airport, where the boys made it through security (I got to carry Z, and his cast got to be swabbed, along with the boys' liquid sundries) and hung out for a bit in SeaTac's spacious central mall for floor to ceiling views of lots of baggage carts, trucks, and of course airplanes -- there was a rainbow-colored Horizon one that I think was their favorite; they're still talking about it days later. Onboard the plane, O actually slept most of the flight while Z enjoyed watching the view out the window (including the Grand Canyon), reading books, asking for "big presents" (last trip we'd wrapped some toys; this time we forgot, so he got to unwrap cars that Meh stuck in the [clean!] motion sickness bag), and watching the adventures of his favorite animated monkey.
Once we landed and claimed our "big red suitcase", we drove up to T's parents' house - they were out of town during our visit and had graciously offered for us to stay there. It was so nice being in an actual house rather than a hotel, and I think Z and O both liked having a few rooms (and lots of grandparent toys!) to choose from. They even had a tiny little bed for Z, though he's still getting used to the cast and had trouble sleeping except in bed with us, often leading to some heavy-footed kicking of mommy and daddy in the middle of the night. And the "neighborhood" is very lovely southwest desert, with plenty of catci and wildlife: the boys and I saw a coyote, rabbits (Owen: "where'd the bunny goooo?"), birds, and more.

We had lots of playtime with the J family boys, as well as M's college friend C and her daughters. Everyone played really nicely together, and all of the kids were particularly helpful to the immobile Z, bringing him many of their favorite toys (and once they learned he liked vehicles, often carried him tributes of every car, truck, and airplane in the house!) O got his first taste of our favorite west coast burger joint (that still somehow hasn't gotten to Washington); clearly he's a big fan of their grilled cheese, and was also pleased to nosh on their french fries. Z was meanwhile very happy with the excellent collection of In-N-Out stickers the cashier gave us.

On Saturday, we caravaned up to Phoenix for the girls to register for the race, coordinate getting into the same starting group, and collect their bags o' swag. The kids and I have clearly left the building, thankyaverymuch:

Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and went back to the excellent McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park that Z had last seen nearly three years ago. Did he remember? Hard to tell, but both he and O had a great time pointing out the many parked trains and riding on the small scale train. The park has even since built a giant indoor model railroad hall, where I think we could have easily left Z for the afternoon if we so chose. But instead, he and I rode on the even smaller scale train while O and Meh watched.

Of course we brought some of the boys' favorite music on the road trip, and Z is so smitten by one of our newer CDs that he started his own performance on the drive back from Phoenix to Tucson:

Sunday was race day, and Meh left very early (4:30 am) with T to get back up to Phoenix. The boys were up soon afterwards; O impressively said "mommy running in pink shirt in Phoenix" when I asked him where she was. After a bit of toy vehicle play, watching an excellent sunrise over the desert, and then an episode of George, we decided to head off with P and his boys to Tucson's Reid Park Zoo. Everyone had a great time; J and M fed the giraffes, O visited some fish that were about as big as he is, and both O and Z fell in love with the playful sea otters (they're still talking about them today). We all had a nice guys' lunch (O ate a literally footlong hotdog plus suddenly decided that he liked potato chips) at the zoo cafeteria while awaiting news from the ladies of their successful race completion, then headed home for nap time before an evening dinner (outdoor grilling in January!)
On our last day in Arizona, we all headed to the mall where the ladies got to enjoy a nice pedicure (well earned after running 13.1 miles!) while the kids played (well, except Zachary, who was content to watch) in the mall's fun play area. Once they'd burned off some energy, we toured the mall (including a stop at the pet shop to visit with puppies, hamsters, and other cute creatures), with O joining the J boys in their jogging stroller while Z continued to stroll solo. At one point, O spotted a yellow bus in the mall, and everyone piled out to go play with the multiple toy claw machines it contained. Then a joint group lunch, and it was time to return the red car to the airport and get ready for our flight back -- the boys had big snacks and enjoyed watching the far fewer planes of the somewhat petite Tucson airport. Both boys were awake the whole return trip, which made for an exhausting afternoon -- papa picked us back up (with snow on the ground, talk about a temperature swing!), and we're now back home with the boys in bed, ready to conk out. More pictures of our Copper State adventures can be found here. Thanks again to T and P for spending time with us and being such wonderful hosts, and to J and M for playing so well and also being great hosts for our boys!

Break a leg

A dramatic follow up to yesterday's post: Zachary's injury turned out to be a bit more serious than a bump, bruise, or twist. This morning he couldn't put weight on it, so he and I embarked on an epic medical adventure, visiting no less than four locations (ah the joys of specialized medicine -- next time we'll skip the pediatrician-radiologist-pediatrian roundtrip and head straight to the ER) to determine that he had a spiral fracture of the left tibia (non-displaced). Apparently it's common enough among kids his age that it even has its own term. Meh and Owen joined us for the final leg of our day, a visit to the impressive Seattle Children's Hospital for Z to be fitted with a cast (or as O calls it, "big green sock"). It was a very long day, but all in all Z handled things really well.

Tomorrow the adventure will continue -- we'll be flying to Arizona for the long weekend to visit with friends and for Meh to run a half marathon. After much discussion and debate about whether Z should be grounded and Meh and O should fly solo (er, duet), we agreed that Z will hopefully enjoy the distraction of flying and travel in general, and of course this may be the last time he gets to see the J family for a while as they're soon moving to Europe. The bags are all packed (and once again, impressively, a single suitcase for a family of four -- amazing!), and here's hoping for a smooth and hopefully fun and semi-relaxing trip for the family.