ZJ at 22 months

first day of pre-K

Today was IJ's first day of pre-K and last year before he goes to elementary school.  He is in the Panda classroom and knows the majority of the other 15 kids from previous classes or summer camp.  He went off with no apprehension, as usual, and had a great day.  He's there from 9:00 am to 12:45 pm, Monday through Friday.


8.19.13

Click here to see the first day of school last year.

lego maniac

IJ has been a master builder with his duplo blocks for quite a while but started playing with a few small lego sets recently and received several sets for his birthday.  I have been very impressed with his ability to follow the directions and build according to them completely on his own.

This was the first time he came to me with a properly built model. 

7.9.13

He received a construction set from uncles M & K for his birthday and sat for hours that day building every possible combination.







7.20.13

A couple weeks ago we made our first trip to the zoo this summer.  They currently have a special lego exhibit that I've been wanting IJ to see.  There is info on the number of legos and the hours each animal took to build.




























He received one large lego set for his birthday, for 5-12 year olds. He did need some guidance to build the fire truck and burning house it makes but did most of it on his own upon returning home from the zoo.

8.3.13

He's now making requests for all future birthdays (up to age 10 so far) for various lego sets in his lego magazine.

ZJ is 22 months old!

8.6.13

ZJ has been adding to her vocabulary and can say a couple 2 word phrases now.  She can say "hi ____" but it doesn't come easy and she has to hear us say it first.  She'll also say "all done" which is a common 2 word phrase we use.  She added "ut oh" this month and says it constantly.  She says it if something is dropped, if something is out of place, if she finds a piece of fuzz on the floor, etc.  She now says "mama me" for mama milk.  She has always said "fuff" instead of "woof" when making a dog noise and now calls her stuffed dog "fuffy."  She has also been seen sticking her dog's tail in her nose just as she's seen her brother do.  She will say "one" and "five" if we count and she shows that number on her fingers.  She started pretending to read and every line sounds like "ah bebe ah bebe."  She switched from calling IJ "bubba" and now calls him "Lani." She also started calling her daddy by his first name since she hears me say it so much. 

ZJ is finally back to letting us read her complete books although she always wants to read the same few books.  She enjoys her puzzles and likes the lacing beads her brother just passed on to her.  She has become wild in the bathtub and lays on her stomach, kicks and splashes, drinks the water and several other dangerous things.  She has learned to climb into her highchair and buckle herself in.

ZJ seemed resistant to potty using for a bit but then started using it easily all day long.  She has days where she only wets 1-2 diapers and she even wakes up dry most days now.  She still resists sometimes and even yells "no" when asked to potty but mostly will run to the bathroom, say "climb" and carefully step onto the stool, climb onto the toilet and slide herself back.  When she's done she even wipes herself.  She peed on a toilet away from home for the first time this month when she was waiting for her cardiology appointment.  She seemed quite comfortable in doing so.  She also peed twice in toilets at the zoo last weekend.  Oddly, she refuses to pee in our portable potty that we keep in the car and briefly tried with her in the house.  She even peed standing at our pecan tree while her brother was doing so a few weeks ago.

ZJ is regularly skipping her nap now and then going to sleep easily at 7 pm.  If she does nap, it's usually from 2ish to 3ish (we have to pick IJ up from camp at 1 pm) and I have to walk her in the stroller to get her to sleep around 8/8:30 that night.  This frequently doesn't work and then NJ drives her to sleep.  She still wakes several times a night and breastfeeds back to sleep. 

ZJ did not get sick this month.  She started chewing her fingers a lot and I discovered her lower, right 2 year molar is coming in.  She had her 6 week post op visit and had another echo, xray and ekg.  Everything looked good and we have to return in 6-9 months.

July 2013 Pics

Helping put groceries in the car and showing off the fake smile.


More fake smiles at her first park visit post surgery.


After some naked, backyard kiddie pool play, ZJ ran over and actually peed on the tree while IJ was doing so.  I almost caught it on camera.


We made peanut butter but it actually wasn't cost effective.






IJ is now the proud owner of a scooter.  He's wanted one for quite a while and great grandma made it happen for his birthday.


We made sunflower seed butter at home.  It was cost effective since sunflower seed butter is expensive for some reason.  We will continue to make it since IJ's school is nut free.


ZJ actually liked seaweed.




ZJ has decided she likes to eat bananas like a big kid now.


She loves to color.


ZJ has the same dog as IJ, just a different color.   Apparently she's been watching him stuff his dog's tail into his nose because she did this for a while.


IJ got to be forward facing for a few days while the kids had to ride in the Mazda.  They interacted a lot more in this position.




I can't let ZJ near IJ during his TV time.  She harasses him the entire time.


ZJ at her 6 week post op appointment.  Upset because she just had a chest xray.


I made IJ his own snack shelf in the cabinet where he can serve himself.  He loves it.