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To Kindergarten...and Beyond!

Well, today was Koa's first day of school.  Wasn't he just born!?  How is he already our big kindergartner!?  He's going to Hopkins Elementary School here in Sherwood, which is close enough to ride our bikes from our house.  So we figure we'll ride our bikes back and forth as long as the weather's good, and then when it starts raining for the rest of the year, he can take the bus.  Koa's excited about both.  So for his first day of school we rode our bikes.  This district does half-day kindergarten, and he's in the PM class, so he goes from 11:40 to 2:15.

Koa had Orientation 2 days ago which was an abbreviated day to let him see what Kindergarten is going to be like.  We called it his "Practice Day".  We got his backpack all set and found where to lock up his bike and where his classroom was located in the school.  I (Zak) was actually not there to drop Koa off for Practice Day (I was in school myself), but Kathy reports that Koa was about 30 feet in front leading the way towards his room.  No timidity in that boy!

For the last couple days we've been discussing with him various topics in preparation for Kindergarten, and school life in general.  Most of these things we've been working on for years now, so whenever we broached the subject again this time Koa would say, "I KNOW that already, Dad!"  We think maybe he does.  He knows that not only is he not to be a bully, but that we expect him to defend those who can't defend themselves against bullies.  To stand with the weaker kids.  He knows that bullies aren't bad kids or even intend to be mean, but that they maybe haven't had a good example of how to treat other people.  He needs to be a good example to bullies.  He knows that the only people allowed to pick him up from school are Mom, Dad, and Uncle Wes - if anyone else tries to pick him up, he's to tell a teacher.  And he knows that his pistole is for him alone - no one else is allowed to see it or touch it.  If someone tries he's to, tell a teacher.  I think those were the big things we've been preparing him with.

So, all 5 of us rode our bikes (well, Caz and Arwen rode in the trailer) over to Koa's school to take him to his first day of Kindergarten.  Ms. Thompson's policy is that everyone lines up outside the classroom against the wall and then she'll let them all in together.  So when we got there Koa stood in his line with his new little classmates, and we stood in our line on the opposite wall with the rest of the parents dropping their kids off for the first time.  When Ms. Thompson came out she welcomed everyone, gave the kids some instructions on what they were to do once they got in, and then they all started filing towards the door.  But just as Koa was about to go inside, he looked over at us, stopped, and told Ms. Thompson that he had to give his brother a hug real quick!  She chuckled and said that was fine, so he jumped out of line, ran over to Caz and gave him a big hug, gave me a quick hug, then ran into his classroom!

A few (short) hours later we peddled back over to Koa's school to pick him up.  When we got there, his class was already outside walking towards the queue of buses.  When Koa saw us, he jumped out of line and ran over to leave with us, but was stopped by his teacher's aid.  Apparently the default is to put Koa on his bus; not to have us pick him up.  So now we know that if we're going to pick Koa up on our bikes in the afternoon, we need to send a note in the morning saying as much.  Tomorrow Koa will ride the bus back and forth just to see what that experience is like.  He's pretty excited about it.  Luckily, the bus stops right here at our house!

From what we've been able to get out of Koa, he enjoyed his first day.  He didn't miss us at all, he says.  He made one new friend (Bradley) and had 2 storytimes on the carpet.  They began working on a class picnic basket that when completed (based on their behavior), they will use to go outside on a class picnic.  He learned a new song (something about 8 pigs in a row) and had a fruit snack.  Koa told us that his fruit snack had corn syrup in it, but he decided that if we were there with him, we would have allowed him to choose for himself if he was going to eat it or not.  So he chose to eat it!  Also, the class's "person of the day" taught them the letter of the day (his teacher dressed as a magician and pulled a motorcycle, a mug, and a moose out of her magic hat.  Can you guess what the letter of the day was!?  

You can see the handful of pictures we took today in Koa's photo album.  Now we'll see what Koa's second day of Kindergarten brings...

First Time Up the Stairs and First Shiner in the Same Day

Coincidence? Not likely! Fortunately she had only climbed up one stair at the time, but she tried to come back down and she hadn't mastered that skill just yet. She took it all in stride though. She fussed for about 30 seconds and then was back to business.  Last Friday she crawled all the way to the top of the stairs by herself (Well, with our friend, Katie, following behind her!)

Miss Arwen is quite the little go-getter. While she is the most content baby we have ever had the pleasure of parenting, she is also very determined to get to the next milestone! It's a very funny combination. She started scooching forward on March 15. Five days later she started crawling and five days after that she was pulling up to stand and cruising furniture. Now she pushes her little cart through the grass when she gets a chance or just wanders around the house from one piece of furniture to the next. It's amazing to watch her determination. For instance, when she realized that pulling up to stand was an option, she tried to pull up on our coffee table, but didn't quite have the strength, yet she pulled with her arms and pushed with her legs with all her might for at least a full minute--never letting up. When she finally stopped she was so exhausted she was shaking! It was crazy to watch. Zak and I just looked at each other like, "What are we in for?"

However, just a couple of days ago when we had our first real day of sun, we all burst out of the house to the yard to soak up our vitamin D! We set Arwen in the grass and gave her a spoon. She sat there with that spoon for no less than an hour and a half just as pleased as she could be. She would look up at us and smile and laugh and just keep playing with her spoon. Maybe she was studying the design and pondering how the spoon could be improved...

She LOVES chasing after her brothers. I let her keep her nails long so she can defend herself and they get along quite well. She loves to pull Caspian's hair and he just laughs about it. Of course if she does that to Koa she is met with shrieks and squeals. They really get along quite well. The boys really look out for her, especially Koa, and they both love to make her laugh. Caspian gets a little ornery sometimes they are in the car seats and he is getting bored. He'll steal her toys or blankets and make her cry sometimes just to entertain himself.

Arwen and Caspian both had their well-child check ups recently and passed with flying colors. We also had Caspian's blood drawn to check his lead levels since we live in an old house. We figured we would check his since he is the middle child (as well as the best patient) and if there was a problem we would check the others. The test came back with the lowest possible result. That was a relief. He was AMAZING for the blood draw, too. He barely even flinched and sat so still for the whole thing.

We feel very blessed to have healthy, happy children!

Celebrating Koa!

This year for Koa's 5th birthday we celebrated by going to OMSI for the day. He's been really interested in dinosaurs lately so we thought we would take him to see the giant dinosaur skeleton that they have on display at OMSI.  Turns out that in this instance they had taken down the giant dinosaur skeleton and replaced it with a fake camel.  Fortunately Koa wasn't too disappointed.  They had some small fossils of shells and things for him to look at and he got to ride the fake camel with his friend, Amelia, just long enough to take a picture! (That's Caspian doing a thorough oral exam of the camel.)  After that we played for quite a while in the science play ground until the kids were pau.  Then we went home for lunch and naps and had some friends over for cake and ice cream after dinner.

The only thing Koa even wanted for his birthday was chocolate cake.  So, I made my version of my mom's chocolate cake with chocolate icing recipe and we bought the chocolate peanut butter ice cream this year. He said the icing was too sugary, but that was okay because Caspian was happy to eat his icing and Koa filled up on the cake and ice cream!

The Zumwalt Ohana Kidlets

It's been a while since I did an update on any of the kiddos, so I thought in honor of Regina's birthday I would actually update!  Happy Birthday, Tutu!

Koa is our big soon-to-be-5-year-old!  I can't even believe he's such a big kid.  I can't help but feel like "Oh no!  His formative years are almost over.  Did we do a decent job?"  He is becoming quite the responsible and protective big brother though he and Caspian still bicker quite a bit.  He has come through his argumentative stage and is more agreeable (with us, not Caspian) now most of the time. 

He is signed up for tee-ball which will start in April.  We are all pretty excited about that!  He has become more and more interested in writing and drawing in the past few months!  His first word that he wrote independently was "fly".  He figured it out because to sign "fly" you finger spell it, so he knew the letters and just wrote them down.  I thought it was pretty cool when he made the connection!  A couple of weeks ago we all got the flu which was pretty miserable, but we were very thankful for our Netflix subscription.  All we did for a few days was try to stay warm, drink chicken broth and stream PBS shows.  We discovered a couple of shows that Koa loves!  One of them is Word World.  Now he is really into spelling and has picked up a lot of new information.  He also likes to make books.  He will ask Zak and me to spell whole sentences out for him and he will write them and then draw in pictures and staple all the pages together.  He also likes to build letters and words out of crayons or lincoln logs or whatever is handy.  It's so fun to see him be so creative with his new interest. 

Caspian is entertainment on feet.  He loves to sing and dance.  His dance is a little like Elaine on Seinfeld and he looks completely serious when he does it but knows full well that it is hilarious and he enjoys making everyone laugh.  He is also in a very angsty stage right now that drives us a little crazy, but luckily he is cute the rest of the time.  He has an amazing ability to break things and has even managed to break plastic dishes that we have had since Zak and I got married!  I don't even know how he does it! 

He adores his baby sister and that is who he looks for immediately upon waking most days.  "Where's baby Arwen?" and then he smothers her in kisses when he finds her.  If not Arwen, then Koa but on the mornings when he awakes before anyone else (he is our early riser!) he does enjoy the time by himself with Mama or playing alone.  He's starting to like to draw as he watches Koa.  He only draws circles and he always says it is a horse.

His vocabulary has really expanded a lot lately and he's starting to learn his numbers and letters and loves to sing his ABC's and count to 10.  I remember being startled when Koa had learned his ABC's without us realizing it and Caspian has a lot more exposure to that type of thing than Koa ever did, so I shouldn't be surprised this time, but I still am.  The other day we sat down at a coffee shop and he pulled out a game that had letter tiles and I asked him a few of them individually and he knew about half of them.  It's fun to see what little sponges they are right now.

Arwen, is a little go-getter just like her brothers!  She has been rolling over consistently since she was two weeks old and has just kept moving from there.  Now she is working on sitting up by herself and on scooching whenever she is lying down.  She gets up on all fours and occasionally lunges towards objects, but no crawling just yet (thank goodness!)  She loves to play in her bouncy chair (johnny jump up?) and especially loves to sit with Daddy any time she gets a chance!

She's about the happiest baby on the planet.  She is very mellow and smiles all the time!  She's starting to recognize names--her own and Mama and Daddy, at least.  She's just started playing little games like peek-a-boo which the boys love.  She's very rewarding to be around because she flashes you the biggest smiles with very little effort!  She's quite a talker which comes as no surprise and is extremely social! 

They wear us out most days, but we are so thankful for our little blessings!  And soon they will not be Stimple and Tutu's only grandkids.  We patiently await the arrival of their cousin who should be here very soon!!

Great Big Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Pumpkin Guts...

Sorry to Leave You Hangin'

I thought I would be better about keeping up to date with our lives this summer, but the summer got the best of me apparently!  We did have a fun time in Colorado and Caspian had a chance to recover from the illness that made the trip so difficult, so our drive back was much more peaceful.  I won't lie and and say that it was entirely peaceful, but it was much better than the drive there! 

While we visited my parents in Bayfield we got to go fishing and ride horses, ATV's, and tractors, as well as visit all the farm animals and a few members of my extended family.  Caspian called every animal he saw a dog, but apparently learned how to count while we were there.  There were two horses pastured outside my parents' house and he would become very perplexed when he could only find one and especially perplexed when he couldn't find either of them.  He would rush around from window to window saying, "Where go?"  "Dog."  "Where go?" and then he would go back to normal things like calling the elk head on the living room wall a dog and saying, "Soft!"  I kept joking that he must know how to count to two at least because he knew there should be two horses.  I thought I was just being silly, but a few days later when I tried to hand him a snack of some sort he held out his other hand and said, "Two?" 

We left my parents' house and drove over Red Mountain Pass and stopped in Ouray, CO at Box Canyon Falls to see some nature and relive part of my childhood.  Box Canyon looked much different as an adult than it did as a kid.  We hiked around a little there and then hit the road to head for Grand Junction again where we would be staying with Zak's grandparents, Hunt and Myrna.  We got in to their house at around 8:30 that evening and you would have thought it was the middle of the day.  The boys were ready to play and Hunt and Myrna were ready to join right in.  They have saved all the toys from their children over the years, have kept them in pristine condition and love to share these with our boys now.  It is always so much fun to see what they have saved and I'm sure Koa and Caspian enjoy them just as much as Fred, Rose, Von and Jon did.  What a treat it was to get to spend a couple of days with these lovely people!

Even though we were only there for a couple of days, we got to visit the horses and Koa got to ride one of granddad Hunt's horses for a few minutes.  We also were able to visit their church family and we got to have dinner with Rose and Mike.  The weather was nice and the boys loved playing in the back yard so I got to sit and watch them play and relax a bit while Hunt and Myrna entertained.  I even escaped one afternoon while the boys were napping and found a coffee shop with WiFi and Skyped with Zak for a bit.

As I mentioned before the trip back was less traumatic for everyone.  Caspian was no more fond of the car seat, but was exceedingly more comfortable without the diaper rash.  I did finally break down and buy my very first package of disposable diapers (we had been given some to use before [like when Koa was first born], but I had never actually purchased any for us, so this was a big step for me!) and it was an adventure all its own trying to figure out just which brand and what size and style and...holy moly there are a lot of choices!  After I finally did this I had to stop and ask myself why I waited until after Caspian had such bad diarrhea to make this move....sometimes I'm not so bright.  I admit it was much easier, but I did learn the hard way that those things DO NOT belong in a pool....ewww!  So that's why they have swim diapers, eh?

Speaking of the pool.  Remember the ridiculous Caspian-trying-to-drown-himself episode?  Well, I was so afraid he was going to be terrified of the water after that, but no.  He would actually go to the ladder, climb down so he could sit on the top rung and then try to jump in.  I was, of course, always there to catch him, but he would try to bat my hands out of the way so he could do it by himself.  I've started calling him Kamikaze Caspian.

Across Idaho (or somewhere in there) I figured out a good way to teach Caspian to spit out his gum instead of swallowing it and also keep him mildly entertained while sitting down.  I buy healthy gum (surprise!) and it only tastes good for like 30 seconds (maybe a slight exaggeration) and Caspian LOVES gum (which he calls "dumba dumba dumba"), but he always swallows it.  I buy said gum in bulk so it is much cheaper and I had A LOT with us.  During one particularly boring stretch of road I started giving each of the boys a piece of gum and then just a few minutes later encouraging them to swap it out for a new piece.  I don't know how many miles we did this, but I ended up with quite the mound of gum tree or whatever it is made of sitting next to me on the console.  But Caspian rarely swallows his gum now and we survived Idaho!

Another thing that kept Caspian entertained was driving on the rumble strips.  At some point along the way there was an intermittent rumble strip on the outside lane that sounded like a barking dog when I drove along it and Caspian was convinced by the sound and got very excited!  So after that, any time I drove on bumps of any sort he would get very excited and start shouting, "Dog!  Dog!" 

Also as we were driving through Idaho Koa had one of my favorite lines of the whole trip.  As we were passing a feed lot he looked out the window and said, "That's how Wendy's treats their cows."  He hasn't asked to eat at Wendy's since then, either.  I guess The Omnivore's Dilemma won't be required reading for him this year.

We left Colorado on a Monday and got home by Wednesday which was our goal.  We needed to be back for our co-op drop from Azure Standard on Thursday and we did.  And I promptly paid someone else to clean out our car! 

Our Prep and Travel to Colorado

Our crazy week of being at home as little as possible and not doing any housework or gardening was followed by three frantic days of trying to catch up and get ahead enough that we could leave for a two week road trip to Colorado.  I had a Dr's appointment to fit in, and I am also the bread lady for our food-buying co-op and had to fit in a trip to the bread store to get bread for everyone.

Since Caspian and I have such odd food sensitivities I generally try to pack all of our food for while we are on the road so we don't have to eat out very much.  That cuts down on the likelyhood of us being sick the whole time.  I'm not sure what in the world led me to believe that I could get all of this done  in three days and still sleep an adequate amount so I wouldn't be too tired to drive.  It was a crazy balancing act that ended up basically blowing up in my face.  Both boys ended up getting terribly sick that week.  I will be the first to tell you that I have been very blessed by healthy kids.  Neither of them have really been sick much beyond a runny nose and cough for any length of time.  Even the runny nose generally subsides in just a few days.  I take full responsibility because I was the one running them ragged for a week, giving them "special treats" and taking them out to eat more than I should have.  (Food sensitivities are basically an immune system issue, so by compromising on those foods you lower the immune system in general.)  Koa got sick but was still pretty normal and so excited to go on our trip that he could barely sleep.  Caspian, however, was a wreck!  He was much more sick and could barely function much less sleep.  

Wes and Jessi were SO helpful that week.  Wes came over and watched the boys so I could go to the dr and do my bread run a little more efficiently.  Jessi came over one night and helped me make quite a lot of the food we needed to take with us.  Wes also finished putting twine on the trellisses I had built for my peas.  I had saved that as one of the last tasks because it was the first clear day we had had in about a week.  I thought I would get the car all packed and then string the twine and be done.  However, it started raining right as I headed out to do it.  Wes and I got the first couple done as the rain started to come down heavier and heavier and then he offered to just come back later and finish.  I was so grateful!  

With all of the set-backs we got away A LOT later on Wednesday than I thought we would.  Several times I doubted that we should even leave that day.  Caspian was so miserable that I couldn't decide if it would be better for him to be strapped in a carseat where he might be likely to sleep more or if we should just stay home for another night and let him try to sleep in his own bed.  At one point we all just sat down by the door and cried because that seemed like the only thing we could do at that point.  Then we pulled ourselves together and loaded up the car and decided we could at least make it a little ways up the gorge and we would stay in nice, comfy beds and at least we would be started down the road.  The way I figured it we could split the other two days equally and still make it in three (two and a half) days to my parents' house in Bayfield.  

Well, that was wishful thinking.  We made it to Pendleton that night, but the three hour drive to Pendleton took us like 5 hours.  After all that food Jessi and I made, we ended up stopping for dinner because I REALLY had to go to the bathroom, there was no place for a picnic because it was pouring rain and Caspian was a wreck in his car chair.  The afternoon before we left he came down with diareah and got the worst diaper rash!  So, he soon figured out that all he had to do to get me to stop the car was yell, "Poop!" and I would pull over to change his pants--which were always totally dry!

We finally made it to Pendelton, OR and basically went straight to bed.  I let Caspian sleep with a naked bottom to hopefully heal up the rash and we got up, played in the pool and had breakfast in the morning and hit the road a little later than I would have liked, but still with the idea that we could get in around seven hours of driving with stops and breaks.  HA!  We made it to Boise...three hours away.  Caspian was still so upset and acting SO uncomfortable in his car seat and he couldn't sleep because of the plethora of snot that was stored and pouring from his head.  We were still having to stop all the time to change his pants and make sure his diaper rash wasn't getting any worse.  Koa still wasn't feeling well either, so he wasn't tolerating sitting next to his uncomfortable little brother very well. 

We stopped to have lunch in a park and see if running around would cheer everyone's spirits enough that we could tolerate the car a bit longer.  The second we got to the park it started pouring rain.  So, I decided maybe if we took some time to play in the pool and wear them out if they got a really good nap and general rest time maybe the next two days would be smoother sailing.  Also, by this point I was wondering if we were ever going to make it to Colorado or if our vacation was just going to be the excitement of hotel swimming pools.  So, I thought we better make the best of it.

We used the hotel toaster to toast our pizza pockets (lovingly made by Jessi) from our cooler which the boys devoured and then headed to the pool.  We played for quite a while and I can't be totally sure, but I think this is where Caspian actually walked into the pool by himself.  The day before when we were playing in the pool he swam "by himself" using floaties, so I don't know if he was under the illusion that he could float unassisted or what.  That particular day he hadn't wanted to come in the pool all the way.  He was perfectly content to stay on the steps, so I was staying with him and Koa was swimming with the floaties.  At one point Koa started freaking out because he was "stuck" and couldn't go anywhere, so I turned and took like one large step to offer him my hand and when I turned back around Caspian was floating along the end with only his little curls sticking out of the water.  He was frantically kicking and I kind of wonder if I had left him alone if he would have been able to surface.  Of course, I didn't wait to see.  I quickly grabbed him and he coughed and gagged a little but he was totally fine.  I kept him in the water with me after that until he was smiling again and starting to feel comfortable in the water because I didn't want him to be terrified of the water hence forth (apparently I don't really know my child...this is not how his brain works!)

After the pool there were naps and then we got up and went to a park nearby and it was not raining this time.  There were some other kids to play with and a baby puppy to love on.  Koa and I played a little tennis and then we headed back for dinner and bedtime.  I thought the kids were sufficiently worn out and it would be a peaceful night.  I would get a few things done on the computer after they went to bed and all would be well.  Or not.  Koa didn't like Caspian sleeping in his bed and I couldn't blame him because Caspian is definitely a kicker!  So, I put him in my bed and layed down with him for a spell.  He had been wanting to cuddle a lot lately, so I thought this would help him fall asleep.  That's when the crying and kicking and screaming began.  He would try to sleep on top of me and then he would get upset and move to another position and kick his little legs like something was hurting him terribly.  We tried diaper off and diaper on; change of clothes; pillows, no pillows; drinks, snuggles, nothing seemed to help.  I started becoming convinced it was something internal because of the way he was kicking.  I had never seen him act this way and he just seemed SO miserable!  Finally, at 1:30 AM I decided to call the doctor on call at our clinic and see if they had any recommendations or if maybe I needed to take him to the emergency room.  The virus he had was something that had been going around Portland, so I knew if this was a typical symptom they would know about it.  I left the room to make the phone call.  I left a message for her and by the time I returned Caspian was sound asleep and slept for the rest of the night.  Apparently he just had a really bad case of I-don't-want-to-share-this-bed!   When he would stir in the night he would kick at me again, so I eventually just surrounded him with pillows and went and got in bed with Koa. 

In the morning we got up and got our breakfast and as I was thinking about the day ahead I said to myself, "Today we are not stopping unless someone is bleeding."  I got out the cutting board and knife, cut up an apple and as I was putting the knife away I cut my hand.  Funny!  Maybe I should have taken that as a sign, but I did not.  We pressed on anyway and that day we actually made some really good head way.  We made it all the way to Salt Lake City before we even stopped the car.  At that point we had to get gas, and the kids were VERY antsy.  So, we went to a favorite stop--The Children's Museum.  Since we have a membership to OMSI we get to visit this particular museum for free.  We just pay a dollar for parking and then we can play to our hearts' content or they close whichever comes first.  While we were there I was talking with one of the workers and she recommended a little local, organic cafe, Vasuvio's and we decided to give it a try.  I wasn't sure if we would eat there or get it to go, but they were playing Hawai'ian music when we walked in and I was coaxed into sitting down.  One of the owners ended up being our server and she treated us like royalty.  Koa still asks if we can go there for lunch sometimes.  We left them some of our homemade granola and my card with an invitation to come visit us in Portland sometime.  They filled my coffee mug and we hit the road again in hopes of making it to Grand Junction that night.  I figured since the boys had full tummies and it was late maybe they would sleep and we would make it all the way that night.  The next day was the first time we would have the opportunity to Skype with Zak.  Until then we had only had 30 minutes a day to talk on the phone and only on the weekends.  So, I wanted to be somewhere that I knew we would be able to do that whenever he had the opportunity.  Since that opportunity also depends on someone else's schedule and desires (because you have to go everywhere with a buddy) there were a lot of variables. 

We headed out of Salt Lake City and down what ended up being a very curvy two lane road with lots of deer crossing signs and apparently many other motorists who knew the roads a lot better than I because they all wanted me to drive much faster.  The boys were sound asleep, but I was just getting more and more nervous driving and concerned that I was going to get really sleepy before we got all the way to Grand Junction.  So, when we got to Price, UT I decided to go ahead and stop and just avoid the risks.  Of course, from Price to Grand Junction the road is wide and as straight as an arrow, but I didn't realize that.

We settled into our hotel and all went to sleep and once everyone awoke I loaded us all back in the car.  I decided we could snack on fruit etc for breakfast and we would get into Grand Junction and then take it easy for a spell.  As we walked out the door of the hotel both boys started freaking out, covering their eyes and yelling, "Bright!  Bright!"  I had to explain that this is what the rest of the world is talking about when they mention the Sun! 

I think this is the point in the trip where I realized Caspian had a terrible sore throat because I gave him an orange, which he lOves, and he put it in his mouth and then spit it out and threw it back to me.  I did not, however, realize that this would become a fun game for him!  Ugh!

When we got to Grand Junction we met up with my friend, Lauren, who we knew in Hawai'i and now lives in Virginia, but was vacationing near Grand Junction.  Her husband is deployed and she has two little girls who are very close in age to our boys.  We met for lunch where my boys ate almost nothing and ended up bickering with her kids the majority of the time.  Lauren and I didn't get to visit much, but it was nice to see her again after all this time.

During lunch I got a text from Zak saying he was ready to Skype.  So, as soon as we finished lunch we headed back to our cars in the 100 degree heat and I headed for a Starbucks.  Thanks to our GPS we found lots of options but as we drove to each one we discovered they were all in Safeways.  Since I didn't know if those ones would have wi-fi I didn't want to drag the kids (Caz now sound asleep) through the parking lot and inside only to discover they did not.  So, we continued to drive all over the city looking for a stand-alone Starbucks.  We finally found one and I got hooked up and Zak started reading a book to Koa (he bought two copies of new books before he left and took one of each with him so he could read to Koa over the phone or computer).  About that time I discovered Caspian needed clean pants so I took him in the bathroom to change him only to discover that it was NOT a normal dirty diaper.  This one went all the way to his shoes!  So, I was basically bathing him in the sink while Koa continued to Skype with Zak.  When we got back out there Koa desperately needed to go to the bathroom.  So I had to "hang up" with Zak and go with Koa who also had diareah.  At least that explained why neither kid had much appetite and they were both a little crabby. 

When we finished up in Starbucks we headed back to the car to get ready for the four hour drive to my parents' house.  While I was getting things together I let the boys hand out on the sidewalk instead of in the crazy hot car.  A couple pulled up beside me and as they got out of the car they made it abundantly clear that they thought I was a pretty sub-par parent.  I don't know why I let it bother me so much what complete strangers thought of my parenting, but I couldn't stop crying until we were well down the road.  It helped to sober me up when I realized I had missed my last chance to get gas until Montrose and we were not going to have enough gas to get there!  Our gas gauge tells how many miles to empty and the GPS told me how many miles the next station and the two DID NOT match!  Dangit!  I was not willing to turn around, though.  I turned off the air conditioning and slowed down my pace and we made it just fine.

Caspian kept me company (quite calmly) and Koa slept until we got to Ouray then we all got to enjoy the scenery over Red Mountain and Molas passes.  Since it had been such a hot day the snow was really melting and the rivers were running high, fast and muddy!  It made for a lot of water falls and Koa loved spotting them along the way.  Both boys were pretty content until we got to about Purgatory and then Caspian started to lose it again.  But at that point we were so close I just couldn't justify stopping!  I started feeding them animal cookies which worked for a while, but pretty soon Caz would just give me a look like, "You can't bribe me, woman!" every time I tried to give him a cookie.

We finally made it in about 8:30, I think.  Man was I exhausted!  The boys were soooooo happy to be there.  They went to the barn to help dad let a cow out and Caspian immediately fell and hit is head and got a big ol' goose egg right in the middle of his forehead.  Poor guy!

If you want a sneak peak into "the rest of the story" you can get a bird's eye view from Koa's and my perspective by checking out the photo albums Colorado 2010 and Koa's Own Photos.  I hope to get the pictures my sister took, too, and add them to the mix.  It looks like Zak has also started his own photo album in Navy Summer 2010.

Back in the Saddle (so to speak)

We are back home from Colorado and have been for a week now.  I finally gave up on ever getting caught up on chores etc and decided to TRY to get caught up on the blog/journal. 

The week that Zak left I decided to take a hiatus from most household chores and focus on keeping the boys busy with activities and adventures.  We went to parks, took a canoe trip, had friends over, ate out more than I would care to admit and generally kept VERY busy.  One of our adventures was not intended to be an adventure, but a quick errand that went awry.  We ran to Vancouver, WA "real quickly" to pick up some bamboo some friends were needing to off-load.  By the time we got up there it was POURING rain!  We got our bamboo and some frozen strawberries and cherries from them and then headed back home. 

The errand itself went pretty smoothly other than the sogginess involved.  We headed back toward home only to discover that traffic was AWFUL!  There are two bridges into Vancouver and one of them is undergoing major construction.  I guess that, coupled with the rain was a bad combination.  So, I decided rather than sit in traffic forever we would find something interesting to do.  I called a friend and she recommended a little coffee shop with a play area.  We found it...eventually...and headed in for some play and refreshment.  I stepped to the counter to order a beverage for Koa and me and apparently also paid for the kids to play (didn't know that was part of the deal, but ok).  As I was walking away from the counter the lady says, "The kids need to leave their socks on and take their shoes off."  Oh, I guess that means they need to be wearing socks?  Kids who wear slippers don't typically wear socks.  Well, unless you're Koa and then even if you are wearing rain boots you don't typically wear socks.  So, play area nixed.

We sat down at a table with our beverages and there were some cartoons on a TV, so Koa was perfectly content.  Caspian was not.  Koa's chocolate milk was just too enticing.  So, I thought to myself, "I'll just get another chocolate milk in exchange for the play time in which we are not partaking."  By the way, no one in their right mind lets an 18 month old who never eats processed sugar consume chocolate milk in public.  I should just clear that up.  Oh, and this establishment had a keiki potty (a child sized regular toilet) that both kids were totally obsessed with and between the two of them we made about 19 trips to the bathroom in less than 1 hour's time.  Oh, and I only brought one diaper (remember this was a quick errand) which Caspian promptly pooped in seconds after I applied it to his behind since he wouldn't actually USE the keiki potty.

In between trips to the potty and Caspian climbing on and off his chair like a monkey on crack he managed to spill his chocolate milk three different times.  I can't even figure out how the minute amount that he consumed made him act so crazy!  I even insisted that he leave it sitting on the table and drink from the straw and he still managed to spill it THREE times.  The fourth and final time he had picked it up and as I was insisting he put it back on the table, he dumped it right over his head.  As I was frantically cleaning up and scurrying out of there I made a mental note to myself that sitting in traffic is a much better alternative to losing your mind.

We didn't get to it that day, but soon after, we used the bamboo we picked up to build a trellis for the garden that also serves as a teepee for the boys.  Not that I am kicking them out of the house, yet, but just a way to make the stump in the middle of our garden a more interesting and useful fixture.  You can see pictures of it and some of the pea trellises I built in our latest garden photo album.  I didn't get a picture of it, but as soon as I built the teepee Caspian climbed up and started singing like it was some sort of stage.  I really wish I had kids with just a little bit of confidence! 

As we came home from one of our adventures, we were walking in the house and Caspian walked to the edge of the driveway just to see what I would do and stepped one foot into the street.  Koa, in a most encouraging tone told Caspian, "You shouldn't do that.  The cars come by here fast and they will squish you, then we won't have a little brother any more and we will have to use the new baby."

And He's Off!

Zak left on Sunday bright and early with a shiny, clean-shaven face.  The boys aren't really sure who it was that left our house, but they sure do miss their daddy!  I thought I would resurrect the blog in order to keep track of what's going on especially during this time that we won't be able to communicate with him.  Heaven knows I won't be able to remember it all in order to recap for him once we do talk.  I'm sure Tutu will be happy that he's gone since this mean she, too, will get to see the updates.

The last several weeks before Zak left are still a bit of a blur, but we milked the time we had as best we could.  Zak finished his finals on a Friday and the next day we hosted a recovery workshop for Agape which made Zak's finals week even busier than it already was, but the workshop went great and we were happy to have the next two weeks to spend hanging out as a family, tying up loose ends and getting Zak ready to be shipped off to Officer Development School in Rhode Island.  We tried to fill every day with some sort of adventure like visiting the Portland Zoo, going to parks we had wanted to visit, going camping and a trip to Seattle.  While in Seattle we made a list of all the activities we most wanted to do and knocked off nearly every one of them including but not limited to...[bum, pum, pum]...the duck tour!  I'm a little embarrassed to say it since it is about the cheesiest thing I can imagine, but I think the cheesiness, the obnoxious tour guide and the ridiculous price might have been worth it for the look on Koa's face when we drove into the water!  His eyes were SO big and he said really quietly, "Are we gonna' sink?"  Once we reassured him, he was totally fine and hasn't stopped talking about it since we were there.

We got back from Seattle at 1:30 AM on Wed and set to work early that morning getting all of Zak's stuff together that he would need for ODS and chaplain school (which he goes to in South Carolina for five weeks as soon as ODS is finished).  We fit in a couple of dates and Zak and Koa had a daddy day and went for coffee which they have been planning to do for a while.  The plan was to ride bikes to the coffee shop, however, Zak's bike was recently stolen and it was pouring rain, so they drove.  I think they still had fun.

Koa and I both got some terrible cold right before the recovery workshop and couldn't seem to kick it which is very odd for both of us.  I'm sure the camping in 40 degree weather, being up way too late every night and silly stuff like that didn't help.  I finally called Dr. Jen and asked her if she had something I could take.  She asked me about my symptoms and then whipped up an herbal tincture for the occasion that worked amazingly well!  I also vowed to rest when things settled down a bit.

Our two week whirlwind came to an end last Sunday morning when Zak got on the plane, but I'm sure his was just beginning.  Wes came over to stay at the house so the boys could keep sleeping and Zak and I left for the airport at 4:30.  Before I got home, I had a text from him saying he had to pay a $100 fee for his bag being 8 lbs over weight.  Thanks United Airlines!

I will have to start the journaling tomorrow since I'm too pooped tonight.  I wrote this entire post yesterday catching us up to last night and the computer ate it when I went to post.  Arrg.  So, if it does the same thing tonight I'm afraid we are just out of luck.  I'm not doing this again!

Where Have We Been???

I know, I know that's what some of you have been asking for months.  Well, I could make a list, but instead I will just begin with an update on what most of you are most interested in anyway--the kiddos!

Beginning with the eldest, Koa.  He has become a big four-year-old during my blogging hiatus!  Along with friends, we celebrated his birthday by going ice skating at Lloyd Center and having homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  Even Caspian got to skate and we all had a great time.  Well, maybe Caspian just had an OK time.  We didn't bring socks for him because we didn't think they had skates small enough to fit and he loved it for a minute, but that was about it.

Koa has also learned how to write his name and has taken a new-found interest in drawing in general.  He hardly had any interest in drawing unless one of us would draw Veggie Tales with him or he would occasionally draw a "T" or an "H" or another simple letter, but as soon as we would ask if he could draw anything else he would insist that he could not, and that would be the end of it.  We went to see Dr. Jen for his well-child check up and she asked if when he draws people do they have arms and legs.  (Checking his fine motor skill development.)  He told her they have fingers, but no arms and legs.  We confirmed that we had never seen him draw a person with arms or legs.  She nonchalantly said that he is average for his age and the lack of interest in drawing is totally normal, too.  That afternoon Koa went home and drew a picture of Dr. Jen with arms and legs and pupils and hair, etc.  Then we realized that one of the reasons his "people" never had arms and legs is because he generally draws Veggie Tales characters rather than people (if he draws anything at all).  From that day forth, though, he draws people, often times with only one eye (because they are in a Mike Wazowski costume), he writes letters, his people come with all the details and usually have a story, too.

That same day she also asked him if he could stand on one foot or hop on one foot and he could not, but ever since then he has been hopping on one foot while turning in a circle!  Why is it that a near stranger can ask him to do something and suddenly he is motivated beyond measure but if we asked him to hop on one foot he probably wouldn't be able to do it until he was 15 or so?

One favorite Koa quote came recently with his new-found interest in drawing.  He called me in to show me the guy he had drawn who had eyes, a nose, a mouth and some other unidentifiable round thing.  I asked, "So, what is that?" and he said very matter of factly, "Bread.  He's going to feed the poor."  As I was about to leave, he pointed to the other "guy" on his paper and said, "This is his brother." Then pointing to the mysterious thing next to him said, "He has bacon." 

Other fun facts about Koa:

• He can now list the books of the New Testament up to Ephesians.
• He loves to ride his new bike and is working on getting better so he can ride to a coffee shop with Daddy sometime.
• He has been to soccer "practice" 8 times now and is completely tired of it.  He keeps trying to convince us it is over and says that he doesn't like it because the balls are blue instead of white.

Caspian has been growing like crazy, too.  He's physically bigger (there is only about 10 lbs between him and Koa and sometimes he wears Koa's clothes when they are handy and we are too lazy to go get others), is getting all 4 eye teeth at the same time (I think two have finally poked through!) and he's talking like crazy now both in sign and with his mouth.  He seems a little more at peace now that he is becoming more independent.  Maybe it is the curse of the second child to have to watch what the first one does and be constantly reminded of that which you are incapable!  I think as the gap starts to close on major milestones he becomes more content.  As his ability to communicate with words has advanced he has become more social in general.  He still gives people "the blank stare" regularly but I suspect that is for his own amusement most of the time.    He is SUCH a ham when he wants to be.  We went to a Portland Timbers soccer game the other night and it was REALLY rowdy.  Since he is generally a pretty quiet kid in public I thought it might be a little overwhelming for him, but he thought it was great!  He got completely caught up in the cheering and was entertaining everyone around us in the stands.

He loves to eat!  But only the most flavorful foods, please.  He loves things like rhubarb, sauerkraut and pickled green tomatoes, but the other night he asked for a taste of the mashed potatoes before I had seasoned them and as soon as it touched his tongue he gagged and took it out of his mouth and handed it back to me.  Then he wouldn't trust me with mashed potatoes for the rest of the night!  He would drink honey mustard if I let him.  He loves to help me cook, but I just figured out the other night that when he comes in to the kitchen saying, "Cook, cook."  he really means, "Taste, taste."  He and Koa both adore peanut butter and would eat it for every meal if I let them.  Sometimes I'm tempted because it would make my life very simple. 

I guess he needs to be a big eater because he NEVER sits still.  I know this is typical of children this age, but most kids will at least sit still for a story or to snuggle for a spell.  Caspian will bring a book, crawl up on your lap, be present for the title page and then be gone again.  He climbs up onto things just to climb down.  He prefers only toys he can play with while on the move.  Unless he is asleep he is moving.  I also insist that he sits down while he eats.  So, he will eat, then stack his dishes, hand them to me and say, "Up."  It's almost like it is painful for him to sit still.  Maybe he has restless leg syndrome.

He is also the clumsiest child on the planet so he is constantly falling!  Often times I think it is totally intentional because in the middle of a totally empty room he will place one toy in the middle of the floor and then walk over it multiple times and trip every single time!  He also bleeds more easily than anyone I know.  A couple of different times I have found blood all over at his height on walls and on his toys but couldn't find a single scratch on him.

His constant movement has made potty learning a bit of a challenge.  He won't sit still long enough to do anything on the potty, but he also HATES getting his diaper changed!  However, I think he is finally starting to understand the "urge" to pee because last night he walked in and sat down and went shee-shee on the potty all by himself.  Of course this was right after Zak had taken the bowl out of the potty, so he peed right on the floor, but we were no less thrilled.  I secretly think he knew exactly what he was doing.  Today he has actually used the potty every time I asked him to sit on it.  Whoo Hoo!  Progress!  I really don't know if I would care except that he HATES getting his diaper changed and he has such sensitive skin that he gets rashes REALLY easily so he spends a lot of time with a bare bottom anyway.

Other fun facts about Caspian:

• He recently moved up to a toddler bed.  Well, technically down because we took the mattress out of the crib and set it on the floor.  He swears he hates it, but when we are away and he can't sleep in it he says, "Buh-Buh-Buh" over and over for "Big Boy Bed" and as soon as he gets up in the morning and comes in to see us he says, "Buh-Buh-Buh" as if to advertise his new freedom.
• Every time he walks past a toilet (or any other receptacle with water in it) he says, "Bye poop!"
• He stands outside and greets the neighbors or anyone else within earshot with, "Ha!", his version of "Hi" but no one ever understands or responds to him unless they are from Texas.  Then they seem to understand.
• He LOVES to sing!  He can do the tune to the ABC song pretty well.
• He LOVES to be outside.
• He classifies everything in existence as either a ball, a dog, or a bird.

It has been so fun to see what Koa and Caspian learn from each other.  Koa is eager to teach Caspian things (sometimes incorrectly just to be ornery) but it has been fascinating to see what things Koa actually picks up from Caspian.  As Caspian started going through the stage of wanting to help with everything Koa suddenly started wanting to help out more and would actually be pretty productive when he did.  Unfortunately Caspian also picks up on Koa's attitude sometimes and will argue or talk back to us with the exact same intonation that Koa uses.  It's funny and scary at the same time.

For those of you who missed the announcement, or thought I was saying that Caspian had a new imaginary friend (you know who you are!) you might be interested to know we are expecting another little Zumwalt around here around August 18th.  Put this at the top of the list of reasons this blog has not been updated.  Number two should be, "I'm not as young as I used to be". 

We had our sonogram a couple of weeks ago, but decided at the last minute not to find out the sex again.  We went back and forth for months about whether or not we would but in the end decided to be old fashioned again.  We like the anticipation...or we just like torturing the rest of you. 

This pregnancy has been an interesting combination of the others.  I have craved everything I ever craved with the boys and probably a few more things.  That has subsided now.  I have started to swell like I did with Koa, but not as badly--thank goodness!  I'm learning a lot about using herbs for support this time around.  That has been very intriguing!

At our 16 week appointment Dr. Jen said, "I assume you are not feeling any movement, yet."  I said, "Oh, yeah, I've been feeling the baby move for about a month now.  I can feel the movement externally now."  She got a little worried and said, "Maybe we are way off on your dates."  I directed her attention to Caspian and his constant motion and said, "Or our kids are just really wiggly!"  She agreed.  When we did the sonogram they did decide I was one week farther along.  So, I guess I was 13 weeks when I started feeling little BZ3.  Maybe he/she will be the subdued one! :)

We are considering doing a home birth this time.  We are using the same doctor/midwife as we did with Caspian so have the option of a birth center birth or a home birth.  We are still weighing our options.  Zak will be gone for most of the Summer returning (hopefully) a couple weeks before the birth.  It should prove to be an interesting Summer.  Koa and I were talking through our options this morning for what to do this Summer.  He wants to drive to Virginia again.  I'm not sure I'm up for that, but we might at least make it as far as Colorado.  We will have to see how I am feeling and how things are going around here.

We are accepting any and all suggestions for names for both boys and girls.  One morning I was lying in bed before anyone else awoke and thinking about where we would even begin looking for a name.  Thinking about significant things in our lives and during the time of the birth, I thought, "Well, it will be Summertime.  We are planting a garden.  We live in Portland.  A floral name would be appropriate."  So, I started thinking about the plants already in our garden..."Trumpet Creeper, Nasturtium"....that's about as far as I got before I got the giggles and woke Zak up with all the wiggling.  So, there's our list.  Feel free to add to it as you see fit.