March 2007 - Part 2 - growing... in oh so many ways....

"we're going to rock this town, rock it inside out..."

(to understand the title, visit www.imageevent.com/yann to see Zak get his groove on....)

....yes, that's right folks, give a boy a haircut and the whole world shakes.....we've just had spring break so Zak and Mama spent some quality time together getting their hair done, some gardening organized, the car sorted out and various other bits and bobs. Zak also displayed his dancing prowess to Tchaikovsky - the finale is definitely a stunner....and is expanding his singing repertoire which now includes: Happy Birthday, the alphabet song, Twinkle twinkle, Alouette, Frere Jacques and we are working on 'there were 10 in the bed and the little one said...' He does stump Mama with requests for French songs, so guess who is going to have to trawl through MusicMatch????


... in the meantime, Theo puts his fingers in his ears....He continues to do well at school where he loves to push the girls - yes we will need to work on that one - and has gotten quite adept at the old 'kiss and make up'.... ok, so maybe he's smarter than we think. He continues to charm the pants off most while infuriating anyone in authority as he wants everything his brother has, and to do all Zak does;obsesses over cars, trucks and books, often sleeping with all three; and has become a regular jack in the box during the night so that all other members of the family enter the sleep deprivation zone. Needless to say, Theo Poppette is facing a steep learning curve in the realm of consequences for the above actions. He's a courageous walker though, showing impressive will and stamina and is keen to cruise on a bike. He also climbs everything and has recently started to nod his head which is making the communication of desires a tad easier for all....


Dada made himself highly unpopular and took off to Moab for a few days sans Zak, who tried to hide among the luggage while Yann was packing and announced 'Zak conduit' (Zak drives). On the first day Dada was gone, Mama was greeted by both boys smeared head to toe with Theo's butt cream which is waterproof....not to mention the humidifier, the chest of drawers, desk and Theo's bed. An hour later, as Mama took a shower, the boys took a mud bath and gave the patio and back of the house one too..... later that afternoon, Zak took it upon himself to do some laundry, climbing on top of the laundry basket to reach the soap and add as much as possible to the machine to rewash a load just completed. Mama is still rinsing the machine...... can anyone say 'Uncle Bart'???? Watch out Tiger = you're next........

When Dada came back it was time for boys on bikes. Zak very enthusiastically helped Dada clean bikes and then they all went for a spin.... We now have to buy Zak a bigger bike as Theo has decided that he too wants some pedalling fun....

March 2007 - Part 1 - into the garden we go....!!!

"the spring has sprung, the grass has ris....I wonder where the birdies is..."

....and Theo is still getting more teeth.... this time it is the canines or those big fangs that every mother learns to hate as they cut their way so literally into the wee ones' mouths.....still if he gets all four, we'll be getting close to 16 teeth which bodes well for the 2 year old check up....yeah!

.....we've also been a little sick this month, especially Theo, although Zak seems to have sailed on by it. Theo has learned to say 'mine' which aggravates everyone and insists on doing all that Zak does. He has also taken to going over to Ms Madison's house as well..... usually because he's stalking Tiger the cat, who seems to have decided that Zak and Theo's sand pit is a prime pee pee spot.....not that he would be alone in that decision.....


.....as we begin to see the signs of pee pee advancement in Theo as he attempts to mimic his older brother, even standing at the pot, zee zee in hand..... and then we wait..... and wait.... and he gives up and pees on the carpet/mattress/floor.......we're working on it......as Mama can see the light at the end of the nappy tunnel....happy, happy, joy, joy~!


....there is much running in the house as Zak and Theo chase each other around and around and around.... there is also much mudbathing as we begin to recover the garden from the snow and add to the sandpit as well as the vege garden. Yann has constructed a new addition to the garden in the form of Zak and Theo's garden and there are many Mummy dreams about how the boys can get the salad from their garden while Dada mans the barbecue!!....

....for some reason both boys have decided they want to learn to drive Mummy's car, at the same time.... yeah.....



....Zak continues to evolve and struggle. He is now almost entirely bilingual, switching in and out of languages at the drop of a hat, on a flight of whimsy or the entry of someone new into the context. He's becoming adept at figuring out who speaks what and needs to be spoken to in which language. He and Theo have wonderful renditions of 'Happy Birthday to You'; Zak sings 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star' with Theo doing backup 'lalala' and is now venturing into the alphabet song.... Numbers can go sequentially but usually '1,2,3,7, 9, 10' a little something he picked up from Ms Madison, which Mummy is trying to eradicate......(ggrrrrrr)......

......Zak is also now chief table setter, vege chopper and dish washer, all with varying levels of prowess. He can now almost entirely dress himself and has begun his morning bathing rituals. He likes to style his hair himself and scare Theo with the hairdryer, both boys are partial to some mousse.....and Zak has been known to wear mascara because it makes his eyes 'jolie'....not that he needs too much help in that department....

.....when we measured Yann's head for Bison, it came in at 60 cm, Zak measured 52cm and Theo at 50cm..... Mama measured 57cm......scary......

February 2007 - come together, right now.....

"come together....right now..."

....yes, yes, yes..... inspired by our travels in NZ, Mama and Dada took the plunge and...... moved the boys into the same room!!!!! Moreover, into the bunk beds, so now Zak has his 'grand chateau' on top and Theo has his, well, cavern on the bottom.....we have been hesitant given the less than stellar ability Theo has displayed in staying a) asleep and b) in his bed......and these are still issues, but they have taken to it rather well, seeking instead, solidarity when they decide to go on early morning excursions. Zak remains the heavier sleeper, with Theo waking, like his Mama, at the drop of a footstep, but Zak has also managed to not pee his bed, get down and go to the bathroom early in the morning, sleep through random ramblings by Theo including night time sonatas and perhaps most of all, share his space.....


....this has meant the creation of the 'salle de jeux' or games room in the basement..... so that the bedroom is now a place of rest and reading, all the toys have moved out of the living areas down to the basement and we have also constructed their art works, art stations and jumping/wrestling/running/ stations there as well. Mama and Dada still patrol the 'no toy zone' with only books and puzzles allowed in the living area now and were astonished at how much space they reclaimed. The imperial tendencies of the two toddlers are not quelled easily however and Mama and Dada remain on guard for any encroachments into lands newly reclaimed.....

...Most of this month has been about change and stabilizing..... as we all get used to our new schedules, we have had to work in some serious fun time, making the most of the cooler times to get out and about in Denver, having day trips to the Children's Museum, Aquarium and eating out for lunch with da boyz......Valentine's Day proved a very special day with Zak and Theo making cards for all their schoolfriends and being inundated in return = they both feel well loved.... Mama cooked a Valentine's Dinner for all the family and we celebrated in style with Theo eating an unfortunate amount of chocolate covered strawberries. In the middle of the month, Mama went to Seattle for a conference and the boys and Dada had some serious man time.....

....in a frozen river canyon!!! But also some of the most beautiful pictures Mama has ever seen of us....:)