The Freeheel Vegan Family Blog 2

Todd is Five (Month 2)

Todd at 5 years, 1.5 months old – October 6, 2019

AGE 5, MONTH 2
SEPT 21 – OCT 20 (2019)

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Humming/singing songs (‘Band on the Run‘, ‘Jet‘, ‘T for Texas‘)
Playing notes of “Jet” on keyboard
Building with Legos: Iron Man Hall of Armor set & making our own Pitfall scene
Playing Pitfall Relic Rush & completing all the levels; he is reeeally good! We got the ninja suit & we cracked up because of how he runs
Playing Pitfall on our Atari classic (and other games)
Play fighting with his figures & play fighting with us
Playing with Hot Wheels cars & picking out “best for track” cars during grocery trips; He finally started using the car track carpet as intended (it was a gift from Grandma 2-3 years ago!)
New game/app: Clumsy Ninja

Playing games on Eric’s old iPad – October 2, 2019

APPLE VALLEY GYMNASTICS

FUN ACTIVITIES

Open gym @ Apple Valley Gymnastics (9/21); doing dive forward rolls & ninja moves
Pedal bike riding (with training wheels) at the court (2x)
We got a new (used) pedal bike for Todd (9/23)
Swimming at the condo pool 1x (9/25)
Eastmont Park: car show & playing in the bouncy houses (10/5)
Walla Walla Point Park (10/6); riding his pedal bike with training wheels on the trail
Annie’s Fun Farm (10/12); dragon slide, bouncy orange thing, corn kernel pit, apple launcher, feeding the goats, looking at the pig, eating popcorn, & drinking hot cider
Puddle jumping on a wet day (10/19)

EASTMONT PARK & CAR SHOW

WALLA WALLA POINT PARK

ANNIE’S FUN FARM

Playing in the corn kernels – October 12, 2019

KINDERGARTEN

Field trip to Sport Gymnastics (9/27)
Field trip to a Ukulele show at the PAC (10/11); all day Kinder that day
Field trip to Rocky Reach Dam (10/16)
Todd talks about the ‘back table’ (a table next to the carpet, where kids go if they don’t listen to the teacher at the carpet)

Field trip to SPORT gymnastics – September 27, 2019

HEALTH & OTHER

At times it’s a major struggle brushing his teeth at night (due to his wanting to be silly before bed & not listening)
I was sick & Todd took care of me by insisting that I have ice cream with him, to help my tummy (and it worked!) (10/15)
Todd is very snuggly with me
Todd said: “I’m sorry for not doing slow cutting” (hours after I got annoyed when he was trying to do his table work too fast)

FOOD NOTES & DINING OUT

He started eating romaine lettuce (10/8); he said “I love it”
He eats carrot sticks without complaint
He eats full slices of pizza with Daiya vegan cheese (instead of just the crust)
New food: Morningstar nuggets
Todd ate French fries at Burger King (9/28)
Todd ate his first bean burrito (Taco Bell, 10/9)
Ice (10/6); Taco Del Mar (10/6); Lemolo (10/11)

SLEEP

Todd wanted to sleep on his couch in his room starting 9/24, then I put a foam mat on his bed & he went back to sleeping on his bed again (10/6)
He fell asleep on the living room couch 1x (9/26)
He asks me to put my hand on his tummy when he falls asleep (to reassure him that I’m not leaving the room…until he’s asleep)
He likes to make up ‘rules’ for made-up games before bed

Todd is Five (Month 1)

AGE 5, MONTH 1
AUG 21 – SEPT 20 (2019)

FIFTH BIRTHDAY – AUGUST 21

Elisa was back to work. In the evening, we went to open house for Kindergarten, then we ate dinner at La Fuente. See post, “Todd’s Fifth Birthday“.

Out for dinner at La Fuente – August 21, 2019

TODD SAID…

Eric: “Will you eat some sweet potato?” Todd: “No.” Eric: “I thought you were going to be 5 tomorrow?” Todd: “I’ll still be 5 even if I don’t eat sweet potato.”
“That’s not a word to say” (after Eric asked, “What kind of logic is that?”)
“Before 55 is 54”
“I’m gonna have a quick Goppa, dudes”
“Break it off!”

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Playing with Hot Wheels cars
Outside: looking at bugs, kicking balls in the grass, running in the sprinklers
Singing to ‘Band on the Run’ & ‘Jet’
For ‘Jet’ he sang, “I want mama to always love me”
Todd was fixated on catching a fish & bringing it to the condo to take care of it; he filled up a bin with water for the fish
Video games: On Eric’s old iPad he completed ‘Dragon’s Lair” & then moved on to playing ‘Pitfall’
Able to work a 45-pc puzzle (we take turns)

SHOPPING

RUNNING IN SPRINKLERS

Sprinkler aftermath! – September 2, 2019

FUN ACTIVITIES

Lincoln Rock State Park (8/23); looking for fish & trying to catch them
Slidewaters (8/24)
Cashmere pump track & catching fish with his net (8/25, 8/27)
TEAMS Learning Center (8/26)
Open gym (9/7, 9/14); they took down the monkey bars 😦
Sorbetto @ Ice, then to Walla Walla Point Park to look for fish & throw rocks (9/8); At the park, he jumped with confidence to grab the monkey bar with both hands, then grabbed the next bar before dropping

Todd at Lincoln Rock State Park – August 23, 2019

Looking for fish in Cashmere – August 25, 2019

Looking for fish at Walla Walla Point Park – September 8, 2019

Swinging at Walla Walla Point Park – September 8, 2019

HIKING – HIDDEN LAKE

See post, “Hiking: Hidden Lake (9/01/19)“
Hike to Hidden Lake (0.8 miles round trip) & looking at fish (9/1)
Throwing rocks & walking over rocks at Lake Wenatchee (9/1)

Todd climbing over rocks at the shore of Lake Wenatchee – September 1, 2019

Todd at Lake Wenatchee – September 1, 2019

BIKING

Riding his pedal bike with training wheels (9/14, 9/19); Eric throws the frisbee & Todd tries to ride away

POOL

See post, “Pool Videos (Age 5, Month 1)“
We swam 14x this month
He did 2 back flips & 1 failed attempt (8/22)
We playing ball toss in the pool
There was a double rainbow (9/16)

Rainbow over the pool – September 16, 2019

KINDERGARTEN

Open house to see his school/classroom (8/21)
First day of Kinder (8/28); he goes 1/2 days M-F
He has PE 2x per week; One evening he dropped to the floor to demo push-ups, so maybe he learned that in PE!

FOOD NOTES & DINING OUT

Dining out: La Fuente (8/21); Ice (9/8); El Porton (9/20)

CRITTERS

On 9/4 we saw a small rat in the grass on the way to the pool. After we swam it was still in the same spot. Later, we saw a worm. Todd doesn’t shy away from touching anything, but I try my best to keep him safe! (i.e., I do know rats can bite.)

SLEEP

We started a token economy on 9/5: he gets 1 star for each night he stays in his own bed, earning a toy if he fills up the month; so far he has not missed a night getting stars!

Pool Videos (Age 5, Month 1)

POOL VIDEOS
AGE 5, MONTH 1
AUG 22 – SEPT 6 (2019)

AUGUST 22

Todd’s first back flip!

SEPTEMBER 6

Lots of slow motion jumps into the pool. My favorites are #7 and #8.

Hiking: Hidden Lake (9/01/19)

HIKING: HIDDEN LAKE
AGE 5, MONTH 1
SEPT 1 (2019)

Our small family was due for a hike, so we picked a new place to explore over Labor Day weekend. Hidden Lake (Trail 1510) is right by Lake Wenatchee. It’s a nice, short distance for hiking with kids (0.8 miles round trip).

Of course, Todd was all pumped up to catch some fish with his hands. There were plenty of fish to see (tiny-to-small in size), but he was unsuccessful fishing (fortunately).

Todd looking for fish – September 1, 2019

Here’s a view of Dirty Face Peak. Eric and I did that hike waaaay back in October of 2003! [The map at the top of this post shows the trail on the Green Trails map. I couldn’t highlight over the tape, but we did complete the whole hike!]

View of Dirty Face Peak area – September 1, 2019

Eric & Todd on the trail – September 1, 2019

After the hike to Hidden Lake, we drove to the small parking lot at Glacier View campground. We lucked out and got one of just a few parking spots, since someone else was leaving right when we showed up.

Initially, Todd wanted to look for fish in the lake, but then he got interested in throwing rocks and practicing climbing over the rocks, back and forth several times.

View of Glacier Peak (in the clouds) – September 1, 2019

Glacier Peak in the clouds – September 1, 2019

Todd climbing over rocks – September 1, 2019

Eric & Dirty Face Peak – September 1, 2019

Climbing over rocks – September 1, 2019

Todd fell asleep in the car after his exertions!

Another time, we’ll have to return to do the shore hike that starts at Glacier View Campground (Trail 1510A). A weekday might offer the best chance of getting a parking spot when we return!

Mountain Biking: Number 2 Canyon (August 2019)

MOUNTAIN BIKING: NUMBER 2 CANYON
AUG 13 – AUG 26 (2019)

Here are pictures from three bike rides at the end of the Number Two Canyon road. Instead of going up to the Twin Peaks viewpoint each time, we started exploring some of the newer trails in that area.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13

As you can see from the Runkeeper map, we didn’t descend the same meadow that we climbed; we looped around and connected back to our start point. Since we had time left before we had to pick up Todd, we added on our familiar favorite, Lower Stairway to Heaven trail, as an out-and-back. We covered about 10 miles but I didn’t get exact stats because I forgot to restart my tracker for one short section (oops).

MONDAY, AUGUST 19

In the parking lot, we saw friends from skiing at Mission Ridge and they made suggestions for our route. This time we climbed Stairway to Heaven and descended Waterfall (new for us), to access the same meadow area that we explored on the 13th. We ventured a little higher than our previous turn around point, then descended on the same trail (on the 13th we did a loop instead). At an intersection, we did another short out-and-back. The total mileage was 10.90 miles at 5.85 mph.

MONDAY, AUGUST 26

We ascended strongly to the Twin Peaks viewpoint, including a climb of Dragon’s Tail. We descended Road Rage (new for me, but it’s not for me!), then started down our usual route. However, Eric crashed hard shortly after starting down Upper Stairway (his peddle caught on a root which threw him over). Fortunately, he was able to ride down to the car…painfully, but it meant the end of our good times. Our total mileage was 10.2 miles.

Elisa at the viewpoint – August 26, 2019

Eric’s bike with Mt Rainier – August 26, 2019

Eric’s bike with views – August 26, 2019

Todd’s Fifth Birthday

FIFTH BIRTHDAY
AGE 5, MONTH 1
AUG 21 (2019)

I had to work, so Eric took him to the splash park during the day.

In the evening, we went to open house for his new school. He’ll do half day Kindergarten this year, then start full day public school Kindergarten next year.

Next, we went out for dinner at La Fuente.

Todd recites lines from The Big Lebowski movie trailer – August 21, 2019

He makes great silly faces!

Todd, with Olivia in the background (our favorite person at La Fuente!)

Todd hid behind Eric when they sang to him.

Singing Happy Birthday – August 21, 2019

During the ride home, I caught him singing to Band on the Run, but partway through, he realized I was filming him.

After dinner, he wanted to drive his remote control car for a little bit.

Todd is Four (Month 12)

AGE 4 (MONTH 12)
JUL 21 – AUG 20 (2019)

TODD SAID…

“Brave kids are averse to Thanos”
“You’re correct, mama/dada”
“Am I correct?”
“Get!”
“Break it off!” (he says this instead of ‘knock it off’)
“But what the hell is this? What the heck does this do, or what?” (while picking up a flash drive)
“I’m not Mr. Lebowski, you’re Mr. Lebowski. I’m the Dude, so that’s what you call me” (he recited lines from The Big Lebowski movie trailer playing at the beginning of a Pink Panther DVD)
Eric asked, “What kind of logic is that?” & Todd said, “That’s not a word to say”

SHARK FRENZY
Todd was a chatterbox talking about his shark toy and about taking it to the pool on 8/4. He was non-stop for at least half an hour before I decided to it write down:

“I think the Great White shark is going to be alive in our pool. I like this GW shark because it’s pretty grey. And we have to be careful of this guy. See, I really, really think he’s going to be alive in our pool. He’s gonna bit your hands. He bitted your mouth. He bitted all of you. Now you’re in his mouth. He ate all of me. He ate all of dada. I’m just kidding. Look at his tail, look. This is really, really going to be alive in our pool, and it will swim on its own and it will open its mouth and close it. Look at the dorsal fin. Let’s see if it sinks or floats. Okay? I think he will sink. How many gills does this GW shark have? I think this is gonna sink. I’m gonna throw him into the deep end and see if he likes it. And let’s dry him off, too, from when we’re getting out of the pool. And look, this is a big one, but not as big as the pool. The pool is bigger than this GW shark. Our pool is huge. Look how big this guy is! Look, look at his tail. This guy is so freaky, from he just bites. Sometimes when he bites it’s really freaky. Right now he’s just watching you guys doing something. He’s pretty big. And this is my idea to put a GW shark in the pool and watch for it. We really have to be careful, mama. So I will be careful, so just chance me.”

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

In the Sharks library book, he likes the page with the ‘mixed up shark’ (above)
Building marble run, playing beanbag toss game, playing a game with chess pieces/board
Building Legos & putting together lots of mixed up figures with weapons/accessories
Fighting with his Hulk figures in slow motion
Pretending he’s a cat named ‘Lizzy’ by crawling, jumping on the couch & trying to lick my face (he started doing this after our trip to Ocean Shores)
He says he’s going to be a scuba diver from when he gets bigger
He is better than me at Hill Climb Racer now! He likes to take screenshots
He said:
- “I didn’t appreciate from when you took it out of her hand” (talking about a Lego figure)
- “I got the wrong vehicle” & “I need a new vehicle” (playing Hill Climb Racer)
- “If you watch me you will be a fan of Neon” (playing Hill Climb Racer)

Screenshot from the Hill Climb Racer game- August 18, 2019

APPLE VALLEY GYMNASTICS

Open gym (3x)
He was able to do a full row of monkey bars! (8/5)
He was able to grasp the bar & hook his legs on the bar; once he flipped all the way around (8/5)

First attempt: Todd almost completed two bars

Second attempt: Todd completed the full row of bars

Third attempt: Todd almost completed two bars again

CASHMERE PUMP TRACK

Eric & Todd went to the pump track while I mountain biked (8/4)
Swinging at the park & throwing rocks in the river

OTHER FUN ACTIVITIES

Play date with Lyndsay/Wyatt/Zeke after open gym (7/29)
TEAMS Learning Center (5x)
Puddle jumping on a very rainy morning (8/9)
Library (1x); getting new books & looking at the fish

TRIP TO OCEAN SHORES (WA)

See post, “Trip to Ocean Shores (July 2019)“
We drove to there 7/24 & drove home 7/28 (stayed 4 nights)
Activities:
- BoomShaka trampoline park (7/24, 7/28) [See post]
- Grammie’s house: Building trains at Grammie’s house, playing Hill Climb Racer, loving on the cat (Misty), tearing apart & rebuilding the Lego Jr. fire set, watching American Ninja show then practicing ‘moves’ before bed
- Grammie’s beach: flying the kite, playing in the water, walking in tide pools
- Riding on Globber scooter (7/25)
- Coastal Interpretive Center & Matthew McGee Nature Trail (7/26)
- Damon Point Beach (7/26)
- Swimming @ the Ocean Shore Community Club, Cabana Park pool (7/26, 7/27); Todd’s first jump off a diving board! [See post]
He got 2 answers on Jeopardy correct (“Great White” & “Thresher Shark”)
He slept on the inflatable bed & said it was ‘cozy’ (during past visits he slept in the travel tent)
He loved the ‘sandwich cookies’ (Trader Joe’s Neapolitan Joe Joe)
Dining out: Carl’s Jr (7/24), Los IV Hermanos (7/27), Pho and Baguette (7/28)

Todd & Eric at Ocean Shores – July 27, 2019

HIKING

Icicle Gorge Loop (8/11); 4.4 miles
See post, “Hiking: Icicle Gorge Loop (8/11/19)“
Highlights were: throwing bread in the water, seeing fishes/water snake/Northern Alligator lizard; throwing rocks in the creek, sitting with Todd on the same log that I sat on when I was pregnant with him

Elisa & Todd on the Icicle Gorge Loop trail – August 11, 2019

TRIP TO BEND (OR)

We drove there 8/14 & drove home 8/18 (stayed 4 nights)
See posts, “Part 1: Trip to Bend (August 2019)” and “Part 2: Trip to Bend (August 2019)”
Activities: Lego building (Old Fishing Store set), playing at the park, mountain biking, floating the Deschutes River, discovering tadpoles/frogs/fish/snakes at Todd Lake, going on the waterslide & diving board at Juniper Swim and Fitness Center, ‘catching fish’ at Discovery Park
Birthday party for Eli & Todd (8/17); we had vegan burgers, cupcakes & ice cream
5th birthday presents:
- Nana & Grampy: Lego Batman Mech vs. Poison Ivy Mech
- Grandma & Grandpa: Lego creator Deep Sea Creatures, Shark Bite game, Megalodon monster truck, Shark/diver/cage toy set
- Elisa/Eric & Karin’s family: Lego Welcome to Apocalypseburg, small bagged figure
Dining out: Burgerville (8/14, 8/18); Pacific Pizza & Brew (8/15); Bonta (8/15); Baskin & Robbins (8/16)

Todd holds a tadpole at Todd Lake – August 16, 2019

Birthday boys: Eli & Todd – August 17, 2019

FLOATING THE DESCHUTES RIVER

This was part of our trip to Bend (see above)
After we got home, he said, “Next time from when we go on the river, we have to go much, much farther, so we can go to South America”

Elisa & Todd floating the Deschutes River – August 15, 2019

Todd floating the Deschutes River – August 15, 2019

POOL

Swimming at condo pool (12x)
He spontaneously decided to try diving from the top step of the ladder in the deep end (See the videos here: “Water Play (July/August 2019)“)
Friends Charlene/Henry joined us 1x

SLIDEWATERS

We went to Slidewaters 3x
See post, “Water Play (July/August 2019)“
7/23: Todd rode behind me on #1 big slide twice, then went by himself for the first time!
8/2: Todd went by himself on all big slides #1 through #4. He liked #2 & #3 the best because of the tunnels; in the pool he practiced making a shark fin by floating prone & placing hands with palms together over his head
8/7: He likes to climb up through the hole in the lazy river inner tube (requires effort but he can do it)

Goggled up and ready for more! – July 23, 2019

HAIRCUT

We convinced Todd to get his hair cut by motivating him with a small Lego set that he saw at Fred Meyer. First, Eric buzzed his own hair then he used his clippers on length #6 for Todd.

New haircuts & new Lego – August 12, 2019

FOOD NOTES & DINING OUT

He ate carrot stick & avocado slice when motivated by a ‘sandwich cookie’
He likes grilled cheez sandwiches made with Daiya shreds
Dining out: Munchen Haus (8/11) after hiking; Froyo (8/12)
Eric: “Will you eat some sweet potato?”…Todd: “No”…Eric: “I thought you were going to be 5 tomorrow”…Todd: “I’ll still be 5 even if I don’t eat sweet potato”

MISC

When he brushes teeth, he takes pretend phone calls [Example: “Hi Boones. I’m getting ready for bed. Are you brushing your teeth? Yeah. Dada already went to bed. Is Jason in bed? Oh!”]
Most nights he wakes up in the night, then goes to sleep with Eric (he says he gets afraid when he’s alone)
Couch nap (8/7; after a short day at Slidewaters)
We met his Kindergarten teacher (8/13)
He is afraid to ride his peddle bike with training wheels!