2 years 12 weeks

We've been very bad at taking pictures lately, so here is just a verbal update.

He's very interested in falling. Literally. He likes to fall off the bed--he thinks it's funny. He likes to pull us off the bed so that we fall. This is great fun. His toys fall. When he's doing something that requires him to concentrate on his balance, he tells himself "Don't fall."

He's been able to open the refrigerator to get cheese sticks for awhile now. The other night, while I was occupied doing something else in the kitchen, he opened the fridge for cheese. I was in the process of telling him that he couldn't have cheese just then because it was almost dinner time--as I turned around, there he was, standing on the egg carton (yes, it was full) that he'd pulled out of the fridge and placed on the floor so that he could get a better look inside. Apologies for no pictures (though it did cross my mind)--I could only really think of cleaning raw egg off of the carpet. Remarkably, all the eggs were intact. And one does have to admire his ingenuity.

He reads along with us when we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He's also very enamored of the Dr. Seuss Foot Book. So enamored that he wants us to read it to him again...and again...and again.............

The other Sunday afternoon he decided that he only needed to nap for about 35 minutes. Which means that I only napped for 35 minutes. Then he was all ready to go outside in the 88 degree heat and humidity. I was not so enthused about this idea. Luckily, I remembered that we have a wading pool, which worked out perfectly. He was content to play, completely contained, in the water for nearly 2 hours (yes, we slathered on the sunscreen), and I could sit there with him just soaking my feet in the pool. I suspect that the pool is going to get a lot of use this summer!

The next night after we got home from daycare, we went outside and he was looking at the pool. I had just looked down after saying we weren't going to go in the pool tonight, when I heard a splash. Oh yes, he was standing in the pool, fully clothed and in his sneakers. "Pool!" he says with a grin.

While I was blowing up the pool on Sunday, a white cat came through the fence and started looking at me and meowing. Zack, in his typical all-animals-are-my-friend way, walked up to it. The cat hissed at him, and did so whenever he got anywhere near it. This did not please me, particularly since I'd never seen the cat before, so I went about shooshing it away and telling Zack that the cat wasn't happy so he should stay away from it. The cat clearly wanted something from me, so getting rid of it some doing. It finally left, no harm done to anyone or anything. But Zack remembers this. When we go outside, he goes to the place where the cat came through the fence and opens his mouth wide (like the cat did when hissing), then starts making a very gentle meowing sound. Then he goes to the side of the fence where it left and looks for it. It's really quite sweet.

He now wakes us up in the morning by calling to us.
Mom.
Dad.
Mom.
DAD.
Mooo-ooom!
Mom!
Daddd-DY!
When we enter his room, he's standing there with a big grin on his face, holding his items of the day (e.g. bear, motorcycle, penguin) and bouncing up and down.

He's very interested in what we do when we get food ready for a meal. He pulls his stool over to the counter to look. He wants to help, so I've started letting him do some small things, like pull handfuls of shredded cheese out of the bag to add to a bowl of eggs before they go in the frying pan. He's also started getting out his own fork and spoon from the drawer and taking them along with his plate of food over to the table, which makes him so proud. He also puts his own ice in his cup.

He knows the letter O and that it stands for Octopus.

I’m so proud of how brave he is. This coming from the mouth of someone who has always been incredibly shy and afraid to take risks. He isn’t afraid to go up to people and talk to them. He tries to play with other, bigger kids at the playground. He navigates a pool like he was born in the water (well, he almost was. And he is a Pisces). At an outfitting store the other weekend, he was dead set on traversing the stone-studded bridge that customers use to try out hiking boots. And he did it. I spotted him the first time, but after that he did it all on his own, a number of times. He took it slow, and he told himself “don’t fall.” And he did it. He’s not afraid to explore, he’s not afraid to try new things, he’s not afraid to laugh and make a joke. He’s not afraid to make mistakes and test limits. I hope that he keeps this, I hope that it stays with him.