Zeplin Junior - {4y. 9m}

🌀We took Zeplin and Arrow to Jump Time in Meridian to try and ward off the remainder of a particularly bad day in August and it was successful. Zeplin surprised us with all sorts of back flips, front flips and spins. And surprisingly, he loved it!! I was thrilled to see him so engaged in his activities! 

I would like to put him back into karate but I'm going to wait awhile until he's a little more ready.  

🌀 Zj has been in school for 2 weeks now and he loves it!!! Honestly, we all love it! He's truly blossomed and is growing in leaps and bounds.

He jumps in the car after class and professes his love of me and how much he missed us. He always hugs us the biggest hugs too!

Z claims he doesn't remember everything he learned after each class but he eventually gives in and shares all that he's learned.

His new best friend, Leah, is basically his favorite person. It's so cute to see them together.

🌀Leah is 6 days older than Zeplin and they really get along well. I've gotten reports that the two of them are great friends and get along better than anyone.

🌀 We've been struggling with some outbursts from Zeplin lately though. And some unwarranted belief that he's in charge.
One particular Sunday had me in tears ... we requested that he clean his room and would be rewarded with a toy that he had been asking for. We showed him the toy, placed it on top of the fridge and let him know that as soon as his room was clean, he would get it! 4 hours went by and his room was still a disaster. 2 more hours and we heard him stirring downstairs so Matt went to investigate. He met Zeplin on the stairs where Z was caught with his new toy, opened and yelled at Matt, "I've already opened it and there is nothing you can do about it!" Matt was furious and I was appalled. Zeplin was locked in his room until it was finally cleaned another 2 hours later.
Later that evening, while at the uncles house, he peed his pants - on purpose. I started to cry and asked him what was going through his brain. He couldn't comment and just said it was an accident that time.
But then at home, I caught him spitting on our floor and on our dogs. Matt locked him in his room again and forced him to go to bed.
It was a rough day. When I was crying at Jeremy's house, I made the comment that I need to stop connecting my worth as a mother to my sons adolescent behavior. Jeremy affirmed my comment and counseled me to not be so hard on myself .. adding that it's his professional opinion that my children are wonderful and well behaved. These years are hard as he's trying to test his parents but we need to just keep loving him harder.

I can usually tell when Zeplin is really tired - because he starts acting out more and more. But it usually means he will take a great nap or sleep really well after this outbursts.


🌀He is growing in leaps and bounds - emotionally and physically.
Emotionally, he's getting better at telling us what's in his brain before reacting to stuff. If he's upset, he will sit next to us and hold our hands while we talk to him.
Physically, he's huge! He's not even 5 yet and he's wearing 6/7 clothes! He's always hungry and eats almost 2 apples a day. It's awesome!