Walker has started showing interest in some of the things we do. This morning he decided he wanted to have some coffee with his banana. Of course, we didn’t pump him full of caffeine but we did provide him with a coffee mug full of high-octane (full strength) cranberry juice. He very much enjoyed the morning ritual and it may possibly become part of his daily routine. There were many toasts with Mommy and Daddy accompanied by a jovial “clink” setting Walker up for a wonderful day of frequent peeing.

Walker is terribly interested in decorations — specifically Christmas decorations. Immediately after Halloween he started talking about them. We have no idea how it started but apparently he’s also been pestering Sofiya about Christmas decorations. We’ve been teaching him about holidays and explaining that Thanksgiving comes first. (Sometimes we tell him Turkey comes first.) So he’s now aware that in two weeks it’s “Firstgiving” and then comes “Christmas decorations.” Pop Pop has the Halloween pumpkins, cats and ghosts we made for him on his windows still and Walker made him a turkey to add to the windows. When we go up for “Firstgiving” we’ll be bringing some stuff to make some more seasonally appropriate holiday decorations — perhaps even making a dreidel or two. We may even expand his horizons to make some Hanukkah decorations.

It seems that Walker is starting to identify his emotions. Nick Jr. has little shorts between shows which teach kids about different themes and this month is all about giving thanks. Today Walker was watching the short and turns to Raow sitting next to me, points to him and says, “I’m thankful for you, Raow.” The cat sort of looked at him quizzically and sniffed his yogurt and peanut butter covered finger. I don’t believe Raow understood but I’m sure he hopes Walker would be thankful enough that he might abstain from jumping on him or chasing him around the house with clanging cymbals or bouncing balls.

Earlier this week, Adobe had layoffs and my team was impacted. It was a very difficult day for everyone. I came home and Daddy had a nice glass of red wine waiting for me and Walker had drawn me a very beautiful card. It was so very thoughtful. The next morning, we all started getting ready for work but at one point, Walker came over to me and very seriously looked me in the eye and declared, “Mommy, I so happy.” You know what? I so happy too.

Today is Halloween and as Walker was going to bed he told us that he had a “happy day.” Thank goodness. We’ve been preparing him for Halloween over the last few weeks. We read him stories about the holiday, talked to him about Trick or Treats and put his Batman costume on a few times. (You will note that he is not wearing the Batman costume. He put it on twice for no more than 30 seconds each time — not even long enough for us to get more than a Walker sized Batman smear across the digital photos — despite the fact he talked about being Batman for Halloween.)

Walker has decided the holiday has some scary parts to it. He has us change the channel when the “I don’t like Candy Corn” song comes on TV on Noggin. He gets nervous when it’s dark and talks about monsters (and he talks about the monsters in the back yard during daylight too…) And as mentioned before, he’s not terribly receptive to wearing a costume. So, we’ve taken to making costumes out of things he’s familiar with. Last weekend he went to Boo at the Zoo as a Zookeeper and wore his “Junior Zookeeper” vest (which he wears every time we go to the zoo) but we embellished it with his safari hat and a few Beanie Babies

Today we decided we’d whip up a Construction Worker costume. As I was trying to get him dressed, again trying to convince Walker that wearing underwear and pants is required before venturing outside, he brings in the Batman costume and says, “let’s go Halloween.” Well, OK. That was unexpected. I pick up the costume and he says, “NO! NO!” and then won’t let us remove his Captain Spooky shirt or put anything on over it. So, Walker created his own Pirate Construction Worker and he owned it as he knocked on doors.

For knocking on only a few doors, Walker came home with quite a significant candy stash. We’ve decided to borrow a wonderful tradition a good friend established with his kids — the Switch Witch. She comes on Halloween and takes kids’ candy but leaves a present in return. We sat Walker down and told him all about the history of the Witch and how she would bring him something really nice in exchange for the candy. He was fine with taking out all his candy and choosing the two pieces he could keep (he chose his favorite — lollipops) but when we went out on the deck to leave the bucket, he got very scared and asked to go to bed. (Larry and I told the Switch Witch that Walker would very much like a Thomas the Tank Engine Lego set. We’re hoping that’s what Walker will find under his empty Thomas the Tank Engine candy bucket.)

Despite going to a truly fantastic pumpkin patch last weekend — it had a small choo choo train, pony rides, an amphitheater made of hay with sword-fights and magic shows, and an enormous hay maze with a Minotaur who gives out golden gourds (Walker calls it a “Minotorn”) — we didn’t have a pumpkin. So we bought one at the very last minute and whipped up a bat in five minutes with some black construction paper and toothpicks. Walker loved it.

He had a happy day.

Cold and Flu
About two weeks ago, I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t have the flu but when I awoke, I was not eager to jump out of bed. Walker was up and running around and I absentmindely mentioned I was cold. I hear Larry say to Walker, “Yeah, that’s the one.” The next thing I know, I see my small boy walk into his room wrestling a very large red sweatshirt. He’s trying to hold it up as the arms are falling down and threatening to trip him at any moment. He sheepishly walks over and hands me the sweatshirt and I was so surprised. I didn’t recall saying I was cold and I was convinced he was a mind reader. I embarrassed him by how much I was proud of his thoughtfulness. I gave him lots of hugs. The next day he woke up and immediately brought me my sweatshirt.

Barricades and stairs
As mentioned before, Walker has definite opinions about many things. He continues to demand that I wear my hair in a ponytail — even voicing concern that it’s not up from the moment I step out of the shower. He’s also taken to telling Larry and me where we should stand when we play. One day, he wanted us to play in his room but I had to go out and make his breakfast. As I walked toward the door, he quickly shut it and stood in front of it. That was the first of many human barricades he’s taken to creating in order to get his point across.

It’s not just the human barricades we have to maneuver. Walker has two wooden step stools he’s been moving around the house in order to reach the light switches — he must turn on all the lights in the morning because he’s afraid of the dark — or to get on the bed or wash his hands and brush his teeth. The stools are large and heavy and he must move both in tandem which generally means he has one and either Larry or I must move the other and place it on the floor to his exact specifications. While he can step up on both — one is tall and square, the other is short and long — he likes to have them next to each other so he can step up on one to the other. He also likes to stand on them and play ball in the hall. Suffice it to say, Larry and I must do some reconnaissance before turning in at night to ensure we don’t stub toes or trip and break an important bone or two.

Walker is a lucky boy but he’s not the only one who gets to enjoy fun things to eat. I saw a recipe for banana/chocolate cupcakes frosted and decorated to look like monkeys in the November PARENTS magazine. They are so adorable and relatively easy to make. However, I don’t like giving Walker full-size baked goods, especially those loaded with cookies and M&Ms on top (I can’t fathom the mess he’d make eating the treat or the chaos he’d cause hyped up on all that sugar) so I wasn’t sure when I’d have an opportunity to try them out. I didn’t have to wait long. I was reminded that there are number of good friends at work with October birthdays so I jumped at the opportunity to stay up late and bake away. (Is it bad that I went to shopping for refined sugar products rather than go to the gym?) And, they’re not only adorable, they’re tasty too!

Monkey Cupcake Recipe

Daddy, we love you very much. FAMILY HUG!

Walker is very excited about Daddy’s birthday because Daddy asked me to make him an Elmo cake so we’re going to see how a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting fares when decorated as Elmo. Daddy also indicated to Walker that he will share his birthday (and we’re going to determine what that actually means as we go).

****

As I haven’t posted in a few weeks, I’m going to relate a few notable stories and life snippets.

Walker and I went to visit Gigi in Cincinnati. We loved seeing her and Walker was quite a little gentleman as he met all her friends (we’re wondering if he now thinks all eighty year old ladies come with gifts) but of course, the highlight was the two trips to Graeter’s for the BEST ICE CREAM EVER!

Walker was talking a lot about wanting to see a Winnie the Pooh DVD so Gigi took him to the bookstore on Sunday night. The store was closing but they were gracious enough to let us see what they had. As we ran from one end of the store to the other, Walker sprinted by Gigi saying, “Stay right there. I be right back!” Gigi remained still where she stood, shocked by the little guy shouting orders in the dark store. While we weren’t successful finding the right disc that trip, we did end up getting a Winnie the Pooh DVD a few days later. He loved watching his movies on the portable DVD player and given we were on vacation, I will admit he watched a bit more TV than I normally allow. I’m ashamed to admit that he even watched Barney during a bath time or two (we put the DVD player next to the bathtub). He’s quite technically savvy as well. He knows how to change the DVDs both in the portable and regular player as well as how to navigate my iPhone. He’s even successfully bypassed the password screen once. I anticipate we’re in for a lifetime of supplying expensive gadgets.

I also must say that Walker loves to take photos. He takes them with the real camera and the iPhone and he gets so excited when he sees a photo he’s taken. “My JUICE!” or “Look! BARNEY!” And he’s getting much better framing the photos and choosing his subjects. Below are some of his best photos. I find it fascinating to see how he views the world…

(If you can’t see the photos, click here to see them on Flickr.)

While in Cincinnati, Walker used a small plastic step stool to get into and out of bed, reach the sink to brush his teeth and to simply stand on. Now that we’re back, he’s taken to carrying around his big heavy wooden step stools around to turn off the lights, reach high shelves and help me cook. I love hearing him say, “I need to get my ‘tep (pause) ‘tool.”

We very much enjoyed going to the Cincinnati Zoo, one of the best in the country. Walker was very considerate with helping Gigi get in and out of the tram that took us to different sections of the enormous zoo. However, he did get a bit cranky when I wouldn’t let him sit on a bench by a swarm of bees (one has already buzzed in his ear) so he decided to pout — a little something he’s picked up since being two. My favorite pose is when he turns his back, drops his head, pushes out his bottom lip and crosses his arms across his chest. I couldn’t get that pose on film but you can see the dramatic pouting in the photo above.

Little Mr. Pie has some very strongly held opinions. One of the most notable is his preference about how I wear my hair. A few weeks ago, I was wearing a pony tail and it has started to come loose. I absentmindedly liberated my hair from the band and Walker starts to yell, “No! No! No Mommy!” Coming to full attention, I turn to him and re-coif my hair into the pony tail. Walker applauds, “Yeah Mommy!” He’s also realized his name is longer than just “Walker.” The day I returned from Vegas, he surprised me when I asked him, “What kind of Walker are you?” by replying, “Walker YOUNG!” While he knows that’s his name, he prefers to be called “Walkerpie” (I think it’s because that’s what his girlfriend calls him.) And I must say, I do believe he truly loves Madeline. He often gets on his little fire truck, dons his fire hat and declares, “I re’cue Madeline.” When he’s not rescuing the damsel in distress, he places his treasures under the fire truck seat. This week his special toys are his Bunny (of course); his “guys” (while all the little people he plays with are all called “guys,” what he really wants when he asks “Where are my guys?” he’s inquiring specifically for a tiny police man, robber, and dog from a British-made police car set — it took me a few times to realize there are “guys” and “GUYS”); his flashlight; and his Bouncy Ball (a small yellow ball with a happy face I got him more than a year ago). His Bouncy Ball is the newest favorite toy and I love hearing him ask for it in his adorable sing song-y voice (”Mommy, where is my Bouncy Ball?”) before he goes to bed. Yes, he sleeps with it and he will ask for it in the middle of the night and despite being only half awake, he won’t go back to sleep until he gets it.

Oh. That reminds me, I have to go searching for Bouncy Ball as I promised I’d find it and bring it to him after he fell asleep. He really didn’t want to fall asleep tonight — singing a full rendition of Patty Cake with Bunny on his head after his nightly pre-bed muffin, juice and cheese stick. As he’s got a very good memory these days, I must hold up my end of the bargain. So, given it’s after midnight, I’m I’ll finish these odds and ends at a later time. G’nite.

No, Larry and I are not renewing our vows in the Elvis Chapel and in fact, he and the little Pie are at home. I am attending the Shop.org conference to learn all about more effective ways to convert site visitors into paying customers and the boys are roughing it for 36 hours without Mommy.

The trip did not get off to the best start. Walker has not slept through the night for the past few days and I’ve had to reassure him of my presence multiple times to get him to drift off again. Then he developed some sort of rash originating on his tush and crept down the back of his legs to the bottom of his feet. It doesn’t seem to bother him at all and the nurse thinks it’s probably a small virus or a reaction to strawberries and recommended we give him Benedryl for two nights. In the hour it took me to get ready to leave at 4am, Walker woke up twice and was very upset that I was going to work. To top it off, my cab didn’t come after waiting 25 minutes and I left the house at 5:15 to make a 6am flight. Yes, I may have driven very quickly as I made it to the airport, parked and through security by 6:40. I did make things a bit easier on myself bringing only my work backpack with just a few clothing essentials and toiletries so I wouldn’t have to lug a bunch of stuff around. (In fact, I bring more to work than I did on this trip which has gotten me re-considering my daily packing routine.)

The rest of the day was uneventful. I arrived at the conference by 8:15 and was able to gobble down a quick breakfast before sitting in a series of presentations and chatting on the Expo floor. I chatted with Larry and Walker who had a wonderful and cheerful morning despite being a bit tired and I couldn’t resist but I called Sofiya to check in and Walker was painting away, unconcerned that Mommy was in Vegas having her own small separation anxiety attack.

Did I mention I was in Vegas? I think I’m going to come home smelling like a pack of cigarettes although I haven’t seen too many people smoking. Not sure how that happens but makes it even more icky.

The evening went well and Walker asked Larry a few times, “Where did Mommy go?” Anticipating this question, we made a small video on Larry’s phone for Walker to see when he missed me — I talk to him, encourage him to be a good team with Daddy, I throw him kisses and I deputized Bunny and Frog with Mommy powers. Despite missing me, Walker was asleep without incident by 8:30. By all reports, he slept well albeit restlessly, only waking once asking for me and going back to sleep after Larry gave him some juice and snuggled with him. Larry didn’t fare as well — not shutting his eyes all night because he wanted to stay in with Walker who performed his nightly “feet in the side” routine. I had a King bed to myself and stretched out across the whole thing — just because I could. While Larry found it hard to sleep with the feet in his side, I found it hard to sleep without them.

We had a nice chat on the phone this morning but Walker was starting to show signs that he really missed me. He was quiet in the car and when Larry asked what was wrong, he answered “I miss Mommy” and Sofiya called to say he’s fine and happy and laughing but periodically he tells her how much he misses me. She says I’m driving home to see him now and then they play as if they’re driving in the car to meet me.

I have a few more hours here and then will be jetting back home to see the little man right before he goes to sleep. I’m sure we’ll all sleep well tonight – with the probing feet back where they belong.

The book of this coming year is being written. May it be filled with joy, laughter, wisdom and good health.

It’s now September, I’m back and busy with work.  The wonderful days of summer in Maine are only a lovely memory of perfection and it’s time I reflect and document for posterity.

My father is from Maine and I’ve been spending time there since I was a little girl. Some of my best memories are of spending time at “Camp” — the house my Uncle’s grandfather built on the bank of Panther Pond in Raymond, Maine, back in the 1920’s. It’s been upgraded a bit since then and now has running water, a telephone, and a shower but it’s still wonderfully rustic with the bare wood walls, LL Bean rugs and open rooms.

I have three wonderful cousins who hadn’t yet met Walker so we planned a family vacation at Camp in August. (Luckily Aunt Flonnie and Uncle Al built a year-’round home just up the dirt road from Camp so many people are able to converge at once to laugh and joke and pal around.) We stayed for a week and enjoyed swimming, boating, cooking dinner for 7-10 people, Italian sandwiches (there’s a family dispute about whether Dipetro’s or Amado’s is tastier), competitive Solitaire, trips to LL Bean, lobsters, the sun, and being generally unstructured.

As you can see from the video above, Walker really got comfortable with the water. It’s a good thing because it was hot and humid making the lake the most comfortable place to be (OK, sitting in a chair under the trees with a nice cold glass of wine rates up there too…) We would spend hours on end in the water with Walker jumping off the stairs or playing one of his favorite games — “Scary Monster” or “Special Powers”. The latter game involved Walker waving his arms in front of him and making “laser” noises until Mommy froze and fell in the water — often getting sand and muck in her bathing suit. Scary Monster was loads of fun for all. Walker would walk out 20-30 feet on the sandbar and start calling “Scary Mon-ter! Scary Mon-ter!” I would float up behind him blowing bubbles and he would run toward the stairs and giggle until I caught and nibbled on him.

The water wasn’t terribly deep but Walker was running on sand and I had prepared myself for him to fall and go under water at some point. It wasn’t until the very last day, about an hour before we were getting in the car to drive to the airport that Walker finally tripped and went under — right in front of me and Larry. It took me a couple of very long seconds to get to him but he blew bubbles out of his nose and when I picked him up he was a bit surprised but totally fine. He didn’t swallow any water and was anxious to keep playing until the moment he had to get in the car. Thank you Grammy Jane for those swimming classes!

We also enjoyed boating on the lake. There were many types of boats to choose from — paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, row boats, and motor boats. Walker went in just about all of them with his adorable little life jacket (which we left at Camp — so we must go back!) but I think his favorite was rowing with Daddy. He got to do a little rowing himself and he led the boat in a rendition of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” which was the cutest thing I’d heard in a long time.

(If you can’t see the Maine photos above, you can see them all on Flickr.)

I’ve already mentioned that we took the opportunity of being on vacation in a hot climate to start potty training. Walker loved running around in his boxers (or totally pantless) and he only had a few accidents. One of the more memorable moments was driving to Portland and Walker declared “Pee coming” so we quickly pulled over, set up the portable potty and let him pee on the street. That was just the beginning of having Walker pee in interesting places.

We did do a lot of driving while on vacation — from Boston > Maine > Boston, to and from the grocery store, to LL Bean, to Portland and to visit Larry’s college friend Steve and his wife Karen in Camden. Walker was great and spent the time playing games on Mommy’s iPhone, singing, drawing, and napping. While in Camden, Walker enjoyed picking his first carrot and showing off for Steve and Karen.

We tried to keep Walker on Pacific time and  I had a wonderful time sleeping late — until 8am! It usually cools off at night but that was not generally the case over this vacation. Evenings were hot enough that a midnight swim in the lake was essential to sleeping soundly. And I don’t have to say that was an activity that I enjoyed while Walker and Daddy stayed snuggled in bed. That wasn’t the only late night excitement. Walker and I shared a big queen bed and he didn’t hesitate to take over all the real estate. He decided to sleep on the outside which means that I was pushed against the wall and he had the rest of the bed, often sleeping perpendicular to me with his feet or head digging into my side. However, one night around 2am, he shifted and somehow ended on the floor with a very big, hollow THUMP. I jumped out of bed and cuddled with the dazed and surprised little boy but to my astonishment and happiness, the incident didn’t seem to impact anyone else’s slumber. (I believe it was because everyone was wearing ear plugs in an effort to drown out the various snoring and sleep talking going on between the rooms which are only separated by paper thin walls that don’t extend to all the way to the roof.)

I loved watching Walker play with the Micky Mouse light toy Ruthie brought back from Disney World, seeing Jane and Walker read GOOD NIGHT GORILLA, helping Joanie learn to knit, swimming with Annie, cooking dinner for an army, eating too many appetizers, boating with Al, shooting the breeze with Flonny, and trying to get Walker’s dolls from Juniper the poodle.

Thank you Jane, Joanie, Anne, Roger, Ruthie, Frank, Flonny and Al. We love Morrison LLC and we’re already thinking about next year.

I got home today to find my son had drawn a self-portrait. Walker is 26 months old and is already drawing recognizable images of himself (albeit something that might be more appropriate for a Rorschach test, but a self-portrait nonetheless.) In case you don’t speak “toddler,” at the end he’s saying “Draw Walker more more more more. End story. Go room.” Of course, we’re thinking he’s a genius. GENIUS!

I’ve been terribly remiss in posting — likely because things like work, vacation, and sleep have gotten in the way. However, I have a few things I will provide updates on and then will provide much more detail (hopefully) in future posts.

!!! WARNING: Pee and poop ahead !!!

The first thing I must mention is that Walker decided it was time to give up the diaper. The first week of August he consistently asked to be taken out of his bath so he could pee or poop in the Elmo potty we got him a few months ago. (Of course, we did document his first poop on film but we’ll spare you that photo…) Knowing we had to capitalize on his interest in the potty, I went out and got him some underwear and a travel potty for our week long vacation in Maine. Grandma Shirley had thoughtfully sent us some Pull Ups so we were armed with a variety of potty paraphernalia. While in Maine, Walker spent a lot of time running around pantless (making for some interesting but not postable photos) or in undies and consistently peeing in his little potty. We were amazed.  “Pee coming! Pee coming!” and a run toward the bathroom informs us of his immediate needs. He’s not consistently dry during the day but we’re close and of course, I just bought an enormous supply of diapers. After just two weeks of potty training he made it through two nights without peeing in his diaper — and we’re not even trying to train him at night. He seems to be doing it on his own and is very focused on his goal. I suppose this is a by-product /  benefit of having a child who I might call a “light” sleeper. He wakes up when he has to pee and we stumble to the Elmo potty in the dark and hear Elmo cheerfully declare, “I’m so PROUD of you!” in his loud, chipper voice because Walker has accidentally given him a “high five” as we plop down on the seat trying to carefully avoid the pee guard.

I must take a moment to provide some praise for the inventor of the “pee guard.” We’re teaching Walker to pee sitting down and well, you can’t rely on gravity to take care of delivering the pee from the child to the bowl. If unattended, the pee would be aimed right you. On the travel potty, I had to place my finger on his little penis to ensure it would point down and the majority of pee would make it to the proper destination. Walker tried it a few times but with limited effectiveness. (He’s also interested in wiping himself after pooping but that also is not a terribly effective activity so we’re encouraging a backup pass by Mommy.) Now that we’re home and using the Elmo potty, I have a greater appreciation for that small, round piece of plastic protruding from the front of the seat. Me and the floors are staying much drier than if it was never invented.

!!! END STORY: Pee and poop !!!

Before the potty training (and subsequent wakings to go potty), Walker was consistently sleeping through the night and I blissfully took full advantage — going to sleep early and taking my time rolling out of bed when he awoke in the morning. Walker would go wake up Daddy and then ask, “Where did Mommy go?” Mommy was lying on the bed enjoying the time between sleep and being vertical. After returning from Maine, Walker started sleeping later and is now staying in bed until 7ish. Hallelujah! But he’s now interested in getting in bed until after 8 and won’t often fall asleep until 8:45 or 9pm. He’s getting to be a bit more headstrong so getting him into the bath, then out of the bath, then in his jammies is testing all my powers of negotiation. It’s not always done without a few tears (Walker’s, not mine — yet).

I must sign off now but not before I introduce the next post which will chronicle our Maine vacation. We spent a lot of time in the water and Walker’s favorite game was to play “Scary Monster”. Here are a few photos…

If you find you’re still interested in reading about kids and vacations, please visit Mighty Girl’s “Take Hank Camping, Check” and read about my friends Maggie and Bryan and their 2.5 year old son’s first camping trip. It’s very funny and has banished any thought of going camping with Walker in October for Larry’s birthday.

Larry is off in San Diego at the annual comic convention where more than 120,000 people talk about comics, movies, television, games and other random entertainment — oh, and hopefully spend some money at booths like the AiT/Planet Lar . It’s particularly exciting for us given we’ve had two books recently purchased by big names for live action feature films — MONSTER ATTACK NETWORK was purchased by Disney and HENCH by Danny McBride and Warner Brothers. Not content to keep things simple, rather than renting the cargo van we usually get, I reserved a mini-van. There was some drama when we went to get the car and they initially said they couldn’t take out the seats which is not what I was told over the phone. However, there was a miscommunication and we converted the van into a comic-hauling machine. We knew it was going to be tight getting all the comics, food, shelves, and dollies into the car but as you can see, Larry and Ian did a terrific job packing the car.

This is the third time Larry’s gone to Comic-Con without me and I have to say, I have some pangs of regret for not being there. I suppose I’m romanticizing the event after two years away but I do miss seeing some of my friends and talking about some things other than driving marketable universe, leads, customer satisfaction, and revenue through adobe.com. However, I know SDCC is a lot of work and Walker would completely freak out at all the stimulation so attending would be crazy. So, Larry is there and we’re up here and Walker keeps asking me “Where did Daddy go?” We’ve been talking to Larry a lot on the phone and I’ve been explaining what a trip is and talking about the concept of time.

I shouldn’t be surprised but I’m continually shocked at how fast Walker’s little synapses are putting thoughts together. He’s able to count (albeit inconsistently correct and today he believed the word “number” followed each integer — “1 number, 2 number, 3 number, etc.”), sing his ABC’s, Old McDonald, and Row Row Row Your Boat. He’s forming full sentences, telling me what he does and doesn’t like (which is a mixed blessing) and answering questions. He’s even talking in his sleep. A few nights ago he sang “Mommy”, one night he chatted about the “BEEECH”, another night he repeated “Daddy did it!” and last night he demanded, “No! I do it!”

Speaking of “I DO it!” Walker is emerging into a true two year old. We’ve had a few little tantrums that all stem from frustration when we help him (against his will). I don’t have a lot to complain about as the emotional outbursts are short-lived and relatively infrequent. But one result of trying all these big boy things is that he’s been extremely attached to me. Each morning he’s wanted to sit in my lap until it’s time to start getting ready for work and then he stands in front of the shower and cries. I love the snuggling (and his sweet, soft hands which he likes to put on either side of my face, big hugs, and the little kisses he gives me) but the tears are a bit heart wrenching and it takes monumental effort by Larry to get him distracted. Luckily this morning he was extremely helpful and let me take a shower while he played where I could see him. I’m hoping for the same tomorrow.

He’s also gotten to be a picky eater. Even the old standby of chicken nuggets and hot dogs weren’t working. One day he only ate fruit and three adult-sized servings of yogurt. Yogurt seem to be the favorite food as he’s eaten 9 (yes, 9) 6oz containers in the last three days. Thankfully he eats what Sofiya feeds him and then only eats packaged food (cheese sticks, yogurt, cookies, apple sauce) at home. We met a couple at the zoo with a boy Walker’s age who was having similar food challenges. They said he goes through phases and only ate fruit for two weeks. They found themselves begging him, “You don’t get your blueberries until you eat your pizza,” and then realized how crazy they sounded. I find it fascinating that Walker is the only 2 year old that doesn’t like bread or pasta. We always knew Walker was unique.

Last week Grammie J was on a bike trip (and was a total stud and ascended a 3500ft mountain in less than six miles) so she couldn’t take Walker to swimming. The responsibility fell on my shoulders. We started off by going to Jamba Juice and Walker got his very own smoothie and we shared a blueberry-lemon muffin. Then it was time for swimming. He was so good getting changed and putting everything in his locker. Once we got into the pool it was fantastic. He was amazing — he jumped into the pool, blew bubbles, kicked his feet, paddled is arms and put his whole head underwater. I was so proud of him and as an added bonus, he was so good about taking a shower and getting dressed in the locker room. He is very helpful.

Walker likes to help in a number of ways. He has some chores — he has to put all of his clothes in the “ham PER” and he feeds Rwoar his dry food which entails taking the dustpan and door stop off the top of the container, removing the lid, scooping the kibble into the big bowl, replacing the lid, dustpan and door stop. He’s also expanding his skills to cooking. The Elmo cake was his first creation and yesterday he helped me make soup in the crock pot and today he ran in the kitchen yelling “Hep! Cooook!” after asking for pancakes which he didn’t eat (yes, he had “yo gurt” instead). His memory is good as he has asked me every day for the four days to make him an “Elmo Cke.”

So much happened during Walker’s birthday weekend that I haven’t had a chance to mention the amazing time we had when Larry’s sister’s husband Scott visited. He’d never been to San Francisco before so it was so much fun seeing the city through his eyes. We took him to Twin Peaks (where he enjoyed the city views and those of the well-architected South American woman next to us), drove him around Sea Cliff and Pac Heights (after getting stuck in parade traffic for more than 45 minutes) and ended up at Chrissy Field and our march to the Golden Gate Bridge. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention our venture to Baker Beach and how much fun we had playing in the sand and watching Larry fall into the ocean. I brought extra clothes for Walker but didn’t think to bring a dry set of clothes for Larry…

]]> http://www.mimzilla.com/?feed=rss2&p=319 http://www.mimzilla.com/?p=319 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/kWcK/~3/xJWkLBfpHjU/ http://www.mimzilla.com/?p=302#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:44:28 +0000 mimzilla http://www.mimzilla.com/?p=302 Note: This entry has taken me waaaay too long to complete but hey, it was a very exciting week!

Walker used to say he was “fourah” when asked how old he is. Now he says “TWO PARTY” — probably because we had be preparing him for the string of events that would celebrate his birthday.

We began on Tuesday morning, the day before his birthday. It was what I consider to be a typical chaotic “working mom” day. I wanted to bake the cake and cupcakes so I had time to decorate them later in the evening. After much deliberation between Duncan Heins and cake/icing from scratch, I concluded it was overachieving enough to ice the yummies with an Elmo face so everyone was going to have to choke down very cute looking deserts from a box. So, the easy preparations began at 6:30 am and Walker was the very capable assistant — pouring the water and oil in the bowl and holding the mixer. He was thrilled to help but even happier to lick the spoon (and he made quite a mess of it). I then fed Walker, got him ready for school, dropped him off at Sofiya’s and raced to work in time to give a presentation to the worldwide marketing organization. (It was well-received with over 100 attendees between the two sessions — more than any previous presentation in the series!) After work I carved out a few moments to go to the gym and then home to feed Walker and put him to bed. At 8:30 pm, I started the Elmo challenge — turning white icing, food coloring, ice-cream cone cupcakes and a 6″ round cake, into a legion of Elmos for Toddlers to scarf down without a second thought. (I think they turned out quite well.)

On what he calls his “happy day,” Walker went to his swimming lesson with Grammy Jane and then to Sofiya’s. At 11:30 Larry and I went over to Sofiya’s with Elmo cupcakes and many memory cataloging devices (e.g. cameras) in hand. Walker was exhausted and overwhelmed. Poor kid lept into Daddy’s arms and just said “home?” the entire time his friends sang to him. He was able to get into the dancing and drum playing but there were some tears when we left. Elmo cupcakes were stashed away to be distributed after lunch and nap but we heard they were a hit. Walker had TWO and Sofiya gave him a third on his way out the door to go home. Luckily he only is able to eat a fraction of these things before he gets tired/distracted.

He was greeted by his Pop Pop, Grammy Jane and Uncle Thayer for his family Two Party. Daddy blew up helium balloons to mark the birthday boy’s house so Walker was very excited to come home. We ordered some pizza and started on the present opening. This was a long process due to the tentative way he tears open the packages and the need to play with each item after opening. The first present was his helium balloon adored tricycle. He was THRILLED and immediately hopped on. He figured out the pedals and pushed himself around. However, we noticed he only seemed to go backwards and there was a clicking sound as he moved. “Are there gears on that thing?” inquired Grammy J. “No, I think Larry put the wheel on backwards,” replies Uncle Thayer in a bemused manner. Well, it was true. The little Dude could only back up until the bike was reassembled with the wheel facing the right direction. (Of course, it had taken Larry hours to put the darn thing together because he had to go out and get critical pieces that were not included in the box and the instructions were as clear as if they were translated from English to Sanskrit and back.) We figure this will be the first in a long line of toy assembly mishaps over the coming years. He continued to open many wonderful presents including a set of musical instruments (he loves to wake us up with a loud blow from a recorder or a few heavy-handed bangs on a drum), a few whale-adorned outfits and stuffed toys, books, a growth chart, a letter set, and a variety of Elmo toys. After present opening, we had another baked good in the shape of Elmo — a big cake! Walker blew out his candles and had even more sugar. Unsurprisingly, Walker had some difficulty going to bed despite being exhausted.

The next few days were uneventful but Walker did talk a lot about wanting more Elmo cupcakes.

Saturday was a special event at the Zoo. In celebration of their 80th birthday, Fisher-Price was sponsoring a birthday party show featuring they’re Little People toy line. We went to the member’s only event at 9am and it was fun to go to the zoo before it officially opened. We all gathered under the big tent and all the kids were wearing the special crowns they distributed. Walker was of course, the cutest child wearing his crown and the “Junior Zookeeper” vest his Daddy gave him for his birthday. The rest of the morning was spent playing on the playground, watching the bears feeding, checking out the baby Gorilla, having 80 cent hot dogs (Walker had one and a half), and buying a history of the SF Zoo written by a 16 year old. Walker was exhausted and was fast asleep in his stroller before we left the zoo grounds.

Daddy decided to let Walker sleep in the stroller for his nap so he walked him home. It was a beautiful day and they both enjoyed the fresh air. I sped home in the car and quickly made a second batch of cake and cupcakes and popped it in the oven. Of course, I went through the whole Elmo decorating dance on Saturday night after Walker went to bed.

After nap Walker wanted to take a ride on his new bike. Walker and I ventured out to the beach with his bike and his wagon filled with sand toys. It was very warm and the tide was high. There were many, many fishermen on the beach and Walker started playing in the sand. He sent me to get water in his bucket a few times but then decided to go with me. We walked up toward the water and he wanted me to pick him up. He’s never even liked to have the waves come over my feet while I hold him so it was notable when he encouraged me to walk forward into the waves. A wave came up and swept past my ankles. Walker smiled. He wanted to stand in the water. I let him down and he stood in the water as a wave receded. A wave came up and he stood his ground. He squealed and giggled. We spent the next thirty minutes playing in the waves. It appears he has overcome his fear of the ocean and I can honestly say that was one of the very, very best times of my entire life.

Sunday was Walker’s friend party and it was lots of fun. He had two little friends come — Malcolm who is also 2 and Lucas who is 15 months. They weren’t sure how to play together but they were all brought together through the tight bonds of Elmo cupcakes. By the end of the party, Walker was running to each of the kids pretending to be a lion. Sofiya came by as well and Walker was a bit perplexed. When she arrived, he knit his little brow and you could see the thought bubble, “How can she be HERE? This is my house. Shouldn’t she be at school?”

Mommy and Daddy had fun as well. We had a few close friends come and even some of our neighbors stopped by. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful — it was sunny and warm so we all hung out on the patio which is a luxury in the Sunset during June. I think Walker really enjoyed his birthday and I know we’ll have great memories of a fun and stress-free second birthday. I’m hoping we are beginning a trend for future years.

Adobe was shut down the week following Walker’s birthday and once again, I had a long list of things to accomplish. Of course, I didn’t get everything done but I can say, I got a bunch of paperwork and errands done. I was also able to get in a bike ride — the first in over a decade. I had a fantastic ride around Lake Merced along the ocean and all the way through Golden Gate Park and back. According to mapmyride.com, it appears the ride was 20.26 miles! And other than having a bit of a sore tush — bike seats are just not comfortable — I never even got sore.

One of the BIG objectives for the week was to clean out the garage. In my mind, that meant going through a bunch of boxes and get donate/sell/toss stuff. While that didn’t happen, we were able to make significant headway. I was able to find a buyer for a new 3′ x 4′ window we never used in our construction project and we rented a U-Haul van and took 500lbs of old junk to the dump (unusable ladders, car seats, file cabinets, etc. Thank goodness 70% of SF garbage gets recycled)!

One highlight was on Independence Day, we took one of many of our on demand bike “rides” (which is not exactly the case as Walker rides for a bit but spends more time walking or being carried). We passed a neighbor’s house and she stopped us to chat about Walker. She invited us to sit in her garden and then proceeded to fill us with wine (mango juice for Walker), cookies, and stories about the 32 years she’s lived on our street. She’s 75 and has seen many kids grow up here. Her own son married a girl who lived across the street. We are finally getting to know our neighbors and feel an even deeper attachment to our wonderful home.

One errand we completed was to purchase an iPhone for Larry. It’s been quite a lot of fun for both the big and little boy as evidenced by the video below. (For the uninitiated, Walker and Larry are playing with the Star Wars Lightsaber applications on the iPhone so they can have a laser sword duel.) You’ll notice that Walker chose this last weekend to begin saying his name which he does with confidence. “What is your name?” “Wa KER!”

Back to work and hopefully shorter, more frequent posts.