2 years, 5 weeks

Wow, what a great weekend! Not only was it 75 degrees and sunny, but our friends Deb and Shawn came to visit, along with their two girls, Kayla and Haley. They arrived Friday night after Zack was already in bed. Saturday morning, Zack and I went downstairs to say good morning. As he rounded a corner, he ran into Kayla. He stopped dead in his tracks, stared at her, and said "Wooooooowwwwwww....." Then he immediately tried to take her hand to get her to go play with him. The entire weekend he had to keep tabs on them and was pretty much just smitten. Sunday morning he woke up before they did (before anyone, actually). Rob took him downstairs so he could get breakfast started. Rob found Zack standing over where Kayla was sleeping saying "Wake up, wake up!" Oh, the screams of protest when Rob dragged him out of there! I had to take Zack outside for a walk so that they could keep sleeping!

Saturday we took the Metro to the zoo. Along with just about every other family in the DC metropolitan area. The one good thing about that many families and that many strollers is that no one cared when you momentarily got distracted and got in someone's way, or your kids suddenly veered off course. We had a great time. And Zack got to see the elephants.

As you can see, he was totally smitten with Kayla. He didn't want to hold anyone's hand but hers.


Sunday morning, after Zack tried to wake up the girls, they were all pushing each others' buttons, so we took them to the nearest playground to run off some steam. They had a great time running around and climbing. Zack also had his first playground accident--he got hit by someone swinging on the swings. Luckily, that someone was Haley, so there wasn't a whole lot of mass behind the impact, but it still knocked him over. He'd been running straight towards the swings all morning, so I was trying to teach him to freeze. But he thought it was a game and ran right into the line of fire. He got over it pretty quickly and is fine now (well, he has a shiner), but my goodness, did my heart skip a few beats!





After everyone left Sunday afternoon, Rob, Zack and I went for a walk and stopped at a different playground. Clearly, Zack was suffering from amnesia, or his brain is still unable to make cause and effect connections because he headed straight for the swings with no regard for his own safety. Sigh. I have a feeling that my heart is going to skip a few more beats over the course of the next few years.

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Zack is becoming much better at communicating. He describes things that have happened. He's also linking events that occurred at different points in time. For example, last week Rob was traveling. I told Zack that Daddy got in an airplane to go to California. The next day, on the way home, we passed a bus that had a Southwest Airline ad on the side, complete with a picture of an airplane. Zack noted the airplane, then said "Daddy airplane." It took me a minute to get what he was saying, but clearly he remembered what I'd told him!

He's also figuring out ways to get what he wants (aside from giving us that charming smile!). Exhibit A: We gave the kids ice cream before Deb and Shawn left on Sunday, then we served ourselves some. Zack had finished his by the time Rob got his, but Zack felt that he should have some more. So with words and hand gestures he pretty clearly indicated that Rob should put some of his ice cream in Zack's bowl. Exhibit B: Last night he wanted another juice box, which I wasn't inclined to give him. Sensing that his verbal requests weren't effective enough, he took my hand and led me to the refrigerator.

Now that it stays light later, it's so nice to be able to go outside after we get home during the week. We take walks, or go play in the backyard, or call on our neighbor, Cecelia. He loves to look for flowers and put sticks in his bucket. The fresh air also seems to help him go to sleep more easily.

Zack is also exploring interior decorating. He knows very well where his crayons belong (on the table), but often will test how steadfast that rule is, with a gleam in his eye and a grin on his lips. Last night he was really wound up, and not only decided to test where the crayons were supposed to be, but also on what the crayons were supposed to be used. In so doing, he graced one of the walls with a small mural. Somehow, I have a feeling that it won't be the last mural we ever get from him.

And another first--he blew out the knee of his pants (see, he's putting his finger in the hole).


He talks more to himself now. Some of what he says is obvious--telling himself not to do things, reading books. But he also sings to himself sometimes. My favorite thing that he sings to himself when he's going about his business is "digga digga do, digga do digga do, digga digga do......" We have to get it on video, it's just too cute!