ZumwaltOhana.com

Vacation!!

We are getting ready to leave on a little vacation to Lana'i tomorrow around noon.  Well, that's what time we fly out, but we are leaving the house between 7 and 8.  Zak and I both have to work tomorrow morning and then we pick up our friends, Eric and Bethanyanne, and head to the airport.  I wanted to share a couple of things from this past week or so before we leave.

Koa got to talk to his Papa Cundiff for his birthday and he actually called him "Papa".  It was so cute!  What a fun birthday present.  My dad was feeding the animals while he was talking to Koa and was telling him about them as he went.  When he got to the horses he said, "Do you know what a horse does?" and Koa started running in place. 

Then a few days later he was talking to Grandma Tutu Zumwalt on the webcam and he called her "Tutu" for the first time.  I think he is starting to get the idea that we all have names and he is figuring them out.  Actually, he has acknowledged people when we say their names for a long time.  He just hasn't shown any interest in calling anyone by a name until now.  Our friend Jessi lives just up the road from us and when we pass her house he says, "Jess, Jess, Jess."  The funny thing is that he says her name all the time when she's not around, but when she is he refuses to say it.  He also calls Zak "Mama" now.  Paybacks for all those months of saying "Dada" and no "Mama".

Speaking of "no mama", he says that now, too.  That would be a bad thing except that I have been trying to get him to add "mama" or "thank you" to his no's so it's at least more polite.  In addition to that combo he has started stringing a few other words together but right now the only thing I can think of is "Go Dog Go" which he says for any Dr. Seuss/P.D. Eastman book with a dog on it.

He's been teething again this week.  I guess it must be his molars, but he won't let me put my finger back there to check things out.  He had a fever again with no other symptoms.  We finally figured out that the last time he had a fever it was his eye teeth.  So, the only two fevers he has had in his life have been related to teeth!  That is so weird!  I wonder what the purpose of that is...  Unfortunately he got the fever the day I needed to accompany someone to a meeting.  He went to stay with our friend, Lisa, and he just slept the whole time he was there. 

Well, we're off for a long weekend!  Yea!!  I'll be sure to report when we return!

Ahhhh!

I just had to share something I thought was so sweet.  The last couple of days I have been teaching Koa a sign for "I love you" (basically just giving himself a hug).  Almost as soon as I showed him how to do it he started to use it.  I thought that was so adorable!  Tonight when he was getting ready for bed I told him to go give daddy a good night kiss and he did.  Then I said, "Can you say, 'I love you, Daddy!'?" and Koa said, "Love you." and ran off to bed.  As I was getting him in bed and giving him kisses he said it again.  These are the moments that make the ones when I want to pull my hair out seem worth it!

What a Flop

Well, I wanted to have pictures and a great report about how fun our game night was last Sunday, but to tell the truth it was not really all that fun as far as game nights go.  (So, I posted a picture from Zak's birthday celebration which was a good time!)  We played the Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud board games and they were really quite bad.  Bible Jeopardy was fun, but a little difficult to execute with teams and no buzzers.  One of our friends just made that one up.  It was still a good time to be with friends and the food was good, but I don't recommend those games--not for a group, anyway.

I got to try out Grandma's apple pie recipe for the first time.  Unfortunately the recipe was written with measurements, and I don't think Grandma ever used measurements, so they weren't very accurate.  The crust came out great, but the apples ended up a little too sweet.  I guess if you're going to err on something with apple pie sweetness isn't the worst thing.  On Wednesday we had a couple of folks to whom I wanted to take some meals, so I decided to try again.  I think the second one turned out better.  Of course, it's still not as good as Grandma's, but I'd say it turned out pretty good.  I've also been making her chicken noodle soup (with homemade noodles) for a while now (I attempted it for the first time last time we had food-from-your-childhood night) and I think I've just about got it down.  Of course, by now the only thing that is the same is the noodles because I cook just like Grandma did--no measurements and I morph the recipe a little every time I make it.  It's so fun to have food that we ate growing up so I keep trying to add new recipes into my repertoire. 

Koa has now started to hide when we play hide-and-seek.  However, after he hides he doesn't have the patience to let us find him.  He will hide and almost immediately reveal his position (by giggling and running out of the place of hiding)--especially if we say, "Where's Koa?"  He usually hides in the same places we have hid previously.  I don't know where he gets his love for games...

He's getting pretty close to actually jumping now.  I think he must watch us very closely when we are doing jumping exercises at Stroller Strides because he has perfect form and uses his arms and everything.  He will put all this preparation and effort into the jump and only end up on his tip-toes or with one foot off the ground.  It's pretty hilarious.  He also loves playing on my BOSU ball and has very good balance on it.  You can see him playing on it in Update Sixty-One.  There are also two other videos, Updates Sixty-Two and Sixty-Three.

I forgot to mention in the last post that Koa also says "Hazah!" and "ahh-ha!"  I'm not sure if those count as words, but they are pretty fun to hear!

One more funny thing.  Today we were at Borders shopping for a friend.  Since I knew Koa would want to touch ALL of the books, I brought along a couple of his so he would have one to touch at all times and would be less tempted.  I was right, the minute we walked in the door he started in with the oooohs and aaaah's and he had to touch, touch, touch.  So, I gave him one of his books and that seemed to satisfy him--until he saw a lady seated on a very low stool.  He walked over, handed her the book and sat down in front of her and proceeded to let her read the whole thing to him and when he knew it was coming to an end he turned the pages back to the middle of the book.  She was so nice to sit there and read to him (one and a half times).  You'd think he never gets any attention at home!

Now for the non-Koa news.  Zak is in between semesters until Monday, so hopefully we will get to hang out and relax as a family tomorrow.  Maybe we will go to the beach!  Zak completed his three classes last week and finished with two A's and a B.  However, he may have gotten the break of a lifetime!  He had an A in his Preaching class until the last week of his semester when he didn't turn in an assignment because he was working on assignments for his other two classes.  But the professor made a mistake and gave him credit for turning it in, thus gave Zak an A for his final grade in the class.  When this mistake was discovered, the professor took the lost points back which dropped Zak's final down to a B.  However, the new B grade hasn't been updated in Zak's official transcript yet (it still says he got an A), and on Friday Zak applied to have his transcript sent to Thomas Edison State College since that's where he's getting his degree from.  So, it's possible that even though Zak technically finished with two A's and a B, the official transcript sent to TESC might still say he got straight A's!  We'll know for sure when his transcript arrives at TESC and they post his grades in his degree plan.

As far as Zak's scholastic future goes, it's pretty crazy.  His goal is to finish his BS by the New Year because Navy Chaplain applications are accepted annually in the spring, so he needs to be done with his degree by then.  So, to fit his remaining 5 classes into the next 4 months, he's going to take classes through multiple schools.  Zak's taking Biblical Interpretation with WBU starting on Monday.  Then he starts an interim semester (only 10 days long) Intro to Philosophy class in mid-September with Chaminade University.  Then on October 1st he starts English Composition and Reading (a prerequisite for a class he needs later on) with WBU, Introduction to Islam with TESC, and Foundations of Christian Theology with Chaminade.  Yes, that's 4 classes from 3 different schools at the same time!  Then in mid-December after 3 of those classes are over, Zak will start an interim semester Sociology and Philosophy of Religion class with Chaminade (that's the class he needed the English prerequisite for).  So technically all this will get him his remaining 5 classes by the end of the year - as long as it doesn't kill him!

Currently (while in between semesters) Zak is working on finding Malama Group (small group) leaders and getting the training started for them.  He's recruiting until the beginning of September.  Then throughout the month of September he'll conduct leadership training.  Then, God willing, our church family will begin our Malama Groups the first Sunday in October.  I'm getting pretty excited for them to get started!  Please pray not only for Zak, but for our church body as a whole as we enter this exciting yet nerve-wrecking time!

Let's Try This Again

The last time I tried to write a post something went haywire with our internet and when I tried to save it I lost everything.  It was late and I was frustrated, so I just went to bed.  This time I will practice good computer "technique" and save often...

Boy there are lots of updates--especially on the boy, so we will start with him.  He is now sleeping soundly in his big boy bed which is no longer on the floor (the mattress), but back on the bed frame.  So, I guess we have made that transition.  He's only fallen out of bed once out of all the daily naps and night-time sleeps over the past month or so!  However, with new developments come new freedoms.  He is a little more difficult to put to bed.  The child who used to jump at the chance to put on PJ's and get in bed now writhes in pain at the thought of it.  Maybe that's a little extreme, but he is learning to use his manipulation techniques to delay the process.  One more book, one more hug, kiss the teddy bear, drink please...any parent knows the routine, I'm sure.  We try to be strong, but sometimes we, too, want to read on more book and get one more hug, etc.  Eventually he goes to bed, but that usually isn't the last of him we will see.  He is known to frequently appear as if out of nowhere, blanket in hand, with a huge grin on his face ready to face the day again.  We scold him and put him back to bed.  It does not matter how much trouble he gets into he will be back in no time (just barely suppressing a giggle).  One night he tried to be sneaky and just stand right inside his door just to listen to what was going on in the other room.  Unfortunately for him, his sneakiness was sabotaged by a bad case of the hiccups!  It was really hard not to laugh as we put him back to bed.  Lately if he doesn't go right to sleep we close his door for a while.  He doesn't always like it, but he goes to sleep in just a few minutes when he's not distracted by what he might be missing.

He is getting better and better at communicating and all those months of teaching him sign language have started to pay off.  We were pretty sure he knew exactly how to do all of the signs we had taught him (especially since he was an expert when he thought it might get him chocolate), but it became quite clear when he suddenly started using all of his signs on the same day.  I guess he was just storing them up until he was proficient.  He now says, (in sign) more, please, thank you, all done, potty, food, drink, and he has started using some of them in compound.  Here is a website with an American Sign Language dictionary if you want to see what the signs look like.  Some of them are his own version of the real sign.  For instance "please" is supposed to be your right hand over your heart making a circle but when he does it it looks like a full body massage and he scrunches up his face in this adorable smile.  Of course as soon as I try to show that to someone, he does it exactly like it's supposed to be done.  What a little nut!

The sign language has really helped cut down on the whining and he seems really proud of himself when he can tell us exactly what he wants.  He still whines sometimes when he is trying to get our attention, but we have been working on having him say, "Mama" or "Dada" and then give us the sign for whatever it is he wants.  That is helping a lot, too, but he has to be reminded quite a bit, still.   

Koa has been saying "Dada" for quite a while, but he has just recently started using "Mama" regularly.  He is also picking up new words almost daily.  I'm not sure I can even list them all but some of his latest are thank you, Bible, nut, rubbish, duck, dog and stack.  The other day we were looking at his board book Bible together and we got to the story of baby Jesus and he started singing his version of Jesus Loves Me.  He continues to love to sing and lead singing and any chance he has a free arm.

He also continues to love to read.  His favorite books right now are "Rattletrap Car" by Phillis Root and "From Head to Toe" by Eric Carl.  We have to read each of them several times a day.  Well, at least half way through.  We never quite make it to the lake in "Rattletrap Car", but he still insists on reading the first half multiple times.

In other news...(this is where you stop reading, grandparents :) Zak finishes up his college semester tomorrow.  He is writing his last final exam as I type this.  He will have a short break between semesters in which he can work on small groups for our church family and then he starts the madness all over again.  He has just five classes left, but those are proving to be the hardest--not because they are all upper division and the subject matter is challenging--he is having a hard time just getting signed up for the right ones at the right time.  He is getting his degree on-line from Thomas Edison State College, but they don't offer all the classes he needs to complete the degree!  How crazy is that!?  So he has already been taking classes at Wayland Baptist University to try to fulfill the requirements.  Well, he needs one certain class that they don't offer, either.  So, now he is enrolled in yet another college, Chaminade University, to fulfill that credit.  Unfortunately in order to do that he needs a certain prerequisite that they don't offer in time for him to take it (the prerequisite) and take the course he needs!  What a hassle!  I guess there are still some bugs to work out with on-line degree programs.  The whole system has served him well until now.  The saga continues...

Zak did get to take a little time out from the madness for his birthday.  We had lasagna and tiramisu at home on his actual birthday and then on the following Saturday we went out to dinner with friends to 3660 On the Rise.  We started out with a group of 15, but two couples had to cancel.  We still ended up getting the private room they had reserved for us which made for a lovely evening of fellowship.  The food was an 8 out of 10 according to Zak.  Boy, he is becoming a food snob, isn't he?

We get to have our monthly game night this Sunday night with some of our closest friends.  This month's theme is "game shows and food from our childhood."  I will be attempting to make Grandma's Apple Pie and Zak will be making his No Yolk noodles, just like mom used to make on the Trail of Tears!  (Regina, Zak added that and wouldn't let me delete it!)  I need to go shop for the Wheel of Fortune game that we offered to bring before we realized we had trashed it when we moved.  Oops!  The other games will be Family Feud and Bible Jeopardy.  It promises to be a fun time as usual! 

Growing Up

Well, based on the comments posted today, the cat is out of the bag!  Zak is getting older!  When Zak and I decided we wanted to grow old together we made a deal that he would get a year older with each birthday and I would get younger with each birthday until we met in the middle, then we would grow old together.  It seems to be working.  I haven't had anyone ask or comment about my son (Zak) or my grandchild (Koa) in about seven months now.  Now we can grow old together.  Happy birthday, Sweetheart!  I like growing old with you!

Zak's grandma must have made some sort of deal like that, too, because she seems to be getting younger and more agile with each passing year.  She celebrated her special day the day before Zak.  Happy birthday, Great Grandmother Mother!