ZEKE

It really bugs me when it goes this long in between posts! Needless to say, it has been a busy summer with Jake being gone to Mexico, and then having shingles, and now being gone again on retreat. He comes home tomorrow and the kids and I couldn't be more ready. Still, we have been having good times enjoying our back yard, Ayla-her new hanging bar and rings, me-my garden, the hot weather and biking as much as possible.

So Mr. Zeke is growing and changing so much these days, it is hard to document it all. I saw some friends of ours post on their blog a list of things they know about their son so far and thought it was a good idea. So here goes...

What we know about Zeke so far...

-He loves cars and things that go. Often he will come scooting into the room pushing one toy car in each hand. He is almost always scooting a car or truck around.

-He likes to play catch and will give you "five" after each toss

-He says uh-oh, cracker, nigh-night, bu bye ("du- dye"), cookie, uckie (like yuckie), duck ("guck"), hi, up ("bup"), daddy, car, go, among other things I can't think of right now. His favorite is definitely "uh-oh" which he uses in the right context with the right inflection.

-He sings. Sometimes he just breaks out into song. His singing sounds quite a bit different than his talking.

-He dances. Any time he hears music of any sort, he starts to break it down. Usually when he stands on his own it is not in order to try walking, it is so he can be-bop and jive.

-He is an absolute clown. He loves to smile (and has a HUGE smile) and to laugh and LOVES to make others do the same.

-He has very red hair (which is growing out rather blond)

-He has very bad eczema :( :( :(

-He likes processed meats. Bring on the hotdogs and summer sausage.

-He is sweet but opinionated and can throw a heck of a fit wen things don't go his way.

-He is a very early riser. So is sister. Tiiired mommy and daddy!

-He likes to tackle his big sister and then sit on her head. Look out sister, some day he'll be tackling you for real!

-He signs "eat", "more", "all done", "light" and "Daddy" (which he uses for me and Jake and Ayla) he doesn't just use "all done" when he is done with something, but when he wants you to stop something. Like the other day when I was using the blender, he came frantically crawling into the kitchen signing "all done all done all done" and crying. Smart little bugger.

-He can stand on his own and takes a few steps here and there on his own. Doesn't seem to be in a hurry to start walking.

-He is very affectionate. He gives hugs and kisses. He wraps his arms around your head and squeezes you tight and sometimes lays one on ya. And you don't even have to ask for it!

Ok, that's all I can think of right now. Maybe one of these days we will post the video of him we promised in the last post. Both kids were asleep by 7 tonight and I need to water the garden and haven't eaten dinner yet(but am enjoying something delicious to drink from New Glarus.) Let's see if we've uploaded any picture to our computer lately. hmmmm.......

Nope! Sorry, this picture is about a month old, but I like his face in it. He makes that face when his is waving things around crazily. Maybe our next post will be all pictures.