Oh for a Kayak...

Yesterday Joshua and I went out for a date-lunch while Mum watched Wren and Frost. It was wonderful. We ate lunch at Aqua Verde and then, on impulse, went out for a kayak for an hour. It was the first time I had been in a kayak although I have done a lot of canoeing.

At first it felt very unstable, especially with all the large wake from the armada of boats and yachts passing too and fro for seafair. We managed to make it across the channel a couple of times and I loved being on the water at last. At a result I am checking out library books on kayaking and Josh and I are making plans to buy a double kayak and a canoe to set to the rivers at some undetermined future point. If you have any experience in local canoeing or kayaking, especially daily rentals, please give us some advice.

Meanwhile, the backdrop to all my days is the excessive early waking of Baby Wren. This morning, I confess, I did not like my baby. I loved him, sure. But how much can you like someone who gets you up at 4.30am and is grumpy then takes three and half hours of naps during the day while you suffer the ravages of sleep deprivation? the answer is "not much". Oh, and this happens almost every day (5.15am is more common). Mum saved me yet again by taking Wren for a dawn walk and allowing me another hour of sleep. His nights before 5am are much better. HE goes to sleep at 7pm and nurses around 2am but then wants to be up for the day at the next waking. It is very hard especially as Frost is going to bed at 9pm and I conk out shortly afterwards. There is not more than a sliver of adult time going on here.

Today, Frost has been playing rokenbok with a set we bought at a garage sale yesterday. It is great to see him enjoying something other than knights, castles and lego. He says "rokenbok rocks". I also enjoy rokenbok although our play could constitute a personality test. I enjoy sorting balls and challenging myself to organize the balls into different "dumps" using my truck. Frost is keen to demolish things and smash into and obstruct my truck with his own. Josh teases by obstructing my truck but also shows an interest in "how things work" and how to obtain balls most easily. He does nto persist in sorting them once the functionality is determined.

Wren is crawling so much that gates are an urgent need for me. Joshua objects, wanting "free flow through our house". Joshua also wants a family bed so we are diverging in our parenting styles. Since I am extremely sleep deprived I am not managing this diversion very skilfully and am becoming stubborn and non-communicative in my views (aka desperate and clinging to my current theory).

"he is just too active now" says mum. "He got from here [kitchen] to the back door in two minutes".

We went to REI today and I bought some yoga pants. It is wonderful to have something that maketh my fatteth self appear less robust. Long live Prana. Now if I can do some yoga at 5am it might help my state of mind.

This week ahead is going to be Playdate Week (and onwards) for Frost. If anyone wants to send their child over for a playdate or is willing to have Frost over for one... drop me an email. I have been slack about arranging them but have my phonebook out and am making plans (plots) to keep everyone happy and attain an afternoon nap in the process.

The picture up top is Wren and I at Jubilee Farm last week.

Where are the fishies?

Wren is starting to understand us. When we ask "where are the fishies?" he looks up at the fish mobile. He also knows his name although it sometimes takes a few gos before he stops what he's doing to look at you. Unfortunately it seems he associates the whole question with the object so if you ask him "where is mummy?" he also looks at the fishies. As granny said (in the kind of hysteria that waking too early can promote) "mum has become a fishie!"

In further confusion.. Wren thinks the rubber covered Wii remote is a chew toy.

He woke up at 4.45am for the day and since it is raining (yes, those of you who wake in daylight hours may not see this gloomy fact) we can't go out for a walk yet.

Now, some pictures from the past few days. First, Wren bathing in the sink. He usually bathes in the bath in an inflatable tub but due to plumbing problems:

"uh oh, was that a shampoo bottle lid that just went down the drain?
Hrmm... yes. Oh, draino doesn't work.
Okay, Josh, I'll watch the kids while you try to open the P-trap.
Oh, you can't open the p-trap in that pipe without a bigger wrench.
Oh, the bigger wrench worked... but, what? The pipe seal is cracked, is leaking?
The plumber can't be here until tomorrow afternoon?...etc"



and here he is standing after pulling himself up on the high chair.



And finally, admiring Frost's habitat art show on the last day of his zoo-themed art camp. The habitat was for a turtle and wild cat and came with a cave and 2 trees. Actually, this picture shows his sea serpent. I am not sure how they saw one at the zoo.

The urge to travel

Wren's mobility continues to grow in leaps and bounds (or crawls and hops). He moves with increasing speed and has started to learn where things are in the house - following the same path a number of times to find things he likes. One common route is through the corridor to Frost's room. We have started keeping the door shut but it is often open and he crawls like a little steam train to get onto the Lego-strewn floor before we capture him.

He also likes to crawl through the kitchen, explore the heating vent in the floor, and to the cat food bowls. He picks up the cat food and drops the little "pebbles" on the floor.

We need to find somewhere to put it out of reach.

Even more exciting: today Wren learned to pull himself up from the ground. He pulled himself up to standing at the coffee table, in the bathtub, holding the legs of the high chair and at the couch. This is a new and dangerous endeavor because he can now fall from a greater height. He slipped while standing at the coffee table and hit the side of his eye on the table getting a bruise. He let go while holding the high chair and nearly fell.

Tomorrow, I will post the first standing shot of Wren - holding on with one hand.

This evening we went down to swim at Magnuson park. Mum took some photos of Frost swimming with an inflatable boat I bought at Bartells in spring. He had a grand time with it. He has started to become interested in swimming and didn't lament when I suggested swimming lessons in a few weeks time. He wants to pass the swim test so he can swim in the deep water. I am hoping this does not happen soon and its not likely but he is very keen to be released from the murky shallows of the non-swimmer zone. I really wish the lake swimming areas had a slightly deeper area for partial swimmers. Its not that fun wading around by the pebbly weedy duck feathered (poopy) shore and as I dragged Frost in the boat I too looked longingly at the deeper dark water where the serious lap swimmers and teenage girls with braces frollicked.