2 years 17 weeks

Just a few pictures to end the week.

We've given him the "job" of watering the plants. As you might imagine, there's often as much water on him as there is in the garden, but it keeps him happy. It took him about 2.3 seconds to realize that it's lots of fun to spray Mommy with the hose. You should see the gleam he gets in his eye before aiming at me!



He likes to jump and run and climb and fall. Often these activities are done on his parents.

When we got him his new bed, we couldn't resist getting this little chair for him, too. I'd put a video on for him one afternoon so that I could cook dinner. When I looked in, I caught him chilling out, like this.


Other times he chills out like this.


He'll be starting a new preschool in a few weeks. To help him adjust, he and I have stopped by to meet his teachers and check things out for a little while, just so he can get used to it. On both occasions, I was impressed all over again with the teachers and the facilities--I'm so glad that they had room for him this year. His teacher, Miss Carol, has been there for 28 years and clearly loves kids. They've made it very clear that it's their job to make him comfortable with the transition and to make sure he's happy there. However, I don't really think we'll have any problems with that. Both times we went, he marched right in and made himself at home. The first time he was won over when he discovered a Thomas the Tank Engine in his classroom that's bigger than the one he has at home. I actually thought there might be tears when I tried to get him to leave!

He's sort of doing better in his Big Boy Bed--some nights are better than others. Unfortunately, he seems pretty set on waking up at 6 am.

His language development is just amazing. New words everyday, putting new things together, talking about what's happened. At bedtime he's started to prefer reading to us instead of us reading to him. He has a book that has pictures of lots of different animals, and we go through it, page by page, so that he can name all the animals, or ask us what they are. He knows most of them, and seems to spend extra time on the pages with insects and spiders on them. I'm not sure how well this bodes for what I find in his pants pockets some day!

Speaking of which, did I mention that he tried picking up a slug the other day? He's very interested in bugs, and I try very hard to control my "ew" reactions (though I do tell him it's a bad idea to try to step on honey bees). However, when he came to me with his fingers out saying "Mess, mess" and I realized what that mess was....Let's just say that slugs are where I draw the line in terms of controlling my "ew's." Blech!

He's a Big Boy now

So the big news in the Spotts-Malootian household is that the Mini Maloot has graduated to a Big Boy Bed (hereafter referred to a BBB).

Here he is guarding his precious cargo at Ikea.

It took Rob awhile to put it all together. Actually, I'm sure he'd like me to tell you that it took him 6 hours. At least he didn't come down to the last couple pieces only to discover that a crucial part was missing!

Zack had to get right in there and help.

Zack was SOOOO excited by his BBB. Even before Rob finished it he wanted to go in and check on the progress, and he'd get in the frame and jump around with joy. He proudly tells people about his BBB, and when I tell him it's time to read books before bed, he proclaims "in my Big Boy Bed." Absolutely!


Unfortunately this enthusiasm hasn't translated directly into sleeping well in the BBB. He's been going through a bit of a procrastination phase when it comes to going to bed anyway, and this seems to have been exacerbated a bit by having free reign to his room. While I don't mind that he wants to play a bit before going to sleep, I don't really need to feel the need to accompany him while he does this. Which is the way he'd like it to work. He's also been waking up way too early (even by his standards) and wanting us to sleep with him or to come into our bed. Which is sort of alright, but not really. I'm hoping that this is just the way this transition is manifesting behaviorally for him, and that once he gets used to the change, he'll go back to normal. Or at least go back to acceptable.

I do have to say that once he's asleep, he sleeps solidly. And he's been doing really well with staying under the blanket and not ending up in strange positions.

One of the reasons that we decided it was time to get him a BBB was that he was running out of room in his crib--what, with him being rather long, and with the menagerie of trucks and stuffed animals that need to accompany him to bed. It seems that Rob and I got it wrong. He needed a BBB so that he could bring more paraphernalia with him to bed. Before Rob even finished putting it together, Zack was lining up his trucks next to the frame. And once the mattress and sheets were in place, in went all the stuffed animals and even more trucks. Whatever works!

2 years, 14 weeks

So I've got some catching up to do. We've had quite a busy couple weeks that involved Zack seeing just about everyone related to him.

It started out with Grammy Leslie coming down to stay with us on her way both to and from Florida. She had a great time seeing him and he loved the extra attention.


Then we headed up to Connecticut for Rob's Aunt Angie's 75th birthday party, where he saw most of Rob's mom's family--Nonni, Nonno, his aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as a lot of other extended family. We also seem to have turned a corner in terms of his sleep away from home. He wanted nothing to do with the pack-n-play, so we had him sleep in one of the two double beds in the hotel room, packing pillows all around him. He did great! Though one night Rob looked over and didn't see him, only to find him snuggled up on the floor with his blanket and Bear Bear. We have no idea how he got on the floor, but no harm was done whatever method he used. The weekend was lots of fun and it was great to see everyone.

When we got back, Grandma and Papa were already at our house, ready to take care of Zack all week while daycare was closed. We'd told Zack that they'd be there, but you should have seen his face and exclamation of amazement when he saw first saw them! He had a great time with all of the individual attention he got that week. He helped Papa do all sorts of stuff in the yard (thanks lots for doing all that stuff, Papa!), went on walks, did lots of drawing. Grandma and Papa enjoyed their time, too, though I'm pretty sure they must have gone home and slept for two days straight!


The Friday of that week we left to go to Pennsylvania to go camping with our friends Deb and Shawn and their two girls, Kayla and Haley. This was our annual Unbirthday Weekend, where we celebrate the kids' birthdays all together. What a great weekend! We picked a great campground, had great weather, and had lots of fun. Zack just loves Kayla and Haley, and he had lots of fun with them. We took lots of walks, the kids collected caterpillars as pets, and just relaxed.




While Zack did eat one cupcake, another night he passed up a cupcake in favor of grapes! I'm not sure I've ever heard of a kid doing that before!


He loved their dog, Amber, and still talks about how Amber would give him kisses. He gave her kisses, too, and was really good about petting her.


All of us went to play miniature golf one evening. Thankfully, we were the only ones on the course because it was....well, let's just say that herding cats would have been a more organized activity. The girls sort of got it, but Zack ran and picked up everyone's ball after they hit it. Then as he was going under one of the miniature covered bridges to get a ball, he misjudged, conked his head and fell backwards. He recovered quickly.

We tried it again the next day, and Zack got the idea a bit more. Though he kept heading the wrong direction.

Feeling confident after our trip to Connecticut, we didn't even take the pack-n-play with us. We started talking up sleeping in a Big Boy Bed early the day that we got to the campground. He didn't really take a nap, which helped later in the evening. We went through our routine at bedtime, and though there was a little resistance, he finally decided that he did want to sleep in the Big Boy Bed. I laid down with him until he fell asleep, and then he pretty much slept through the night! By the next night, he was ready to jump in his BBB even before he had his jammies on. He also did great at taking naps. We're thinking that maybe we need to make the most of this momentum and switch him to a BBB at home, too.

He's been talking up a storm, putting several words together to get his point across or to tell us about things that have happened. If he's asking us to do something and we're not quite getting it or are taking too long, he'll take our hand and lead us where he wants, putting our hand on the door knob when he wants to go outside, for example.

And outside is where he loves to be! Digging in the dirt, taking walks around the block, looking at bugs, picking flowers, "mowing" grass with his lawn mower, blowing bubbles. We're going to have a tough time this fall when it starts to get cold and dark! He has his own watering can and is able to use the hose to fill it. The first can-ful will make it onto the plants, but as time goes on, more and more water ends up on Zack. Ah, well. He's happy and he won't melt.


He loves trucks. And cars. And tractors. He's got what seems like a bazillion small vehicles everywhere in the house and he has to be carrying around at least one at all times.

He's also very helpful (except when he's being 2 and contrary). He wouldn't leave the plunger along the other night as we were getting ready for a bath, so I put it outside the bathroom door and closed the door. I'd forgotten about it, but after the bath and getting jammies on, I hear a "Mom, see". He'd put the plunger back where it belongs and wanted me to see.

He started washing the bench the other day, of his own accord. (Note the trucks in his hand.)

A bit of background--our neighbor Ed (married to Cecelia) lost an eye a little while back (this is relevant, really). The other day Zack found a sheet of eye stickers, which he was sticking on the fridge and other places. Cecelia watched him for a few hours and took him over to her house for awhile, where Zack proceeded to put eye stickers on the fridge, where eyes were on some magnets. And on Ed's glasses, right over his missing eye. And Ed has kept it there.

My guys

2 years 12 weeks

We've been very bad at taking pictures lately, so here is just a verbal update.

He's very interested in falling. Literally. He likes to fall off the bed--he thinks it's funny. He likes to pull us off the bed so that we fall. This is great fun. His toys fall. When he's doing something that requires him to concentrate on his balance, he tells himself "Don't fall."

He's been able to open the refrigerator to get cheese sticks for awhile now. The other night, while I was occupied doing something else in the kitchen, he opened the fridge for cheese. I was in the process of telling him that he couldn't have cheese just then because it was almost dinner time--as I turned around, there he was, standing on the egg carton (yes, it was full) that he'd pulled out of the fridge and placed on the floor so that he could get a better look inside. Apologies for no pictures (though it did cross my mind)--I could only really think of cleaning raw egg off of the carpet. Remarkably, all the eggs were intact. And one does have to admire his ingenuity.

He reads along with us when we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He's also very enamored of the Dr. Seuss Foot Book. So enamored that he wants us to read it to him again...and again...and again.............

The other Sunday afternoon he decided that he only needed to nap for about 35 minutes. Which means that I only napped for 35 minutes. Then he was all ready to go outside in the 88 degree heat and humidity. I was not so enthused about this idea. Luckily, I remembered that we have a wading pool, which worked out perfectly. He was content to play, completely contained, in the water for nearly 2 hours (yes, we slathered on the sunscreen), and I could sit there with him just soaking my feet in the pool. I suspect that the pool is going to get a lot of use this summer!

The next night after we got home from daycare, we went outside and he was looking at the pool. I had just looked down after saying we weren't going to go in the pool tonight, when I heard a splash. Oh yes, he was standing in the pool, fully clothed and in his sneakers. "Pool!" he says with a grin.

While I was blowing up the pool on Sunday, a white cat came through the fence and started looking at me and meowing. Zack, in his typical all-animals-are-my-friend way, walked up to it. The cat hissed at him, and did so whenever he got anywhere near it. This did not please me, particularly since I'd never seen the cat before, so I went about shooshing it away and telling Zack that the cat wasn't happy so he should stay away from it. The cat clearly wanted something from me, so getting rid of it some doing. It finally left, no harm done to anyone or anything. But Zack remembers this. When we go outside, he goes to the place where the cat came through the fence and opens his mouth wide (like the cat did when hissing), then starts making a very gentle meowing sound. Then he goes to the side of the fence where it left and looks for it. It's really quite sweet.

He now wakes us up in the morning by calling to us.
Mom.
Dad.
Mom.
DAD.
Mooo-ooom!
Mom!
Daddd-DY!
When we enter his room, he's standing there with a big grin on his face, holding his items of the day (e.g. bear, motorcycle, penguin) and bouncing up and down.

He's very interested in what we do when we get food ready for a meal. He pulls his stool over to the counter to look. He wants to help, so I've started letting him do some small things, like pull handfuls of shredded cheese out of the bag to add to a bowl of eggs before they go in the frying pan. He's also started getting out his own fork and spoon from the drawer and taking them along with his plate of food over to the table, which makes him so proud. He also puts his own ice in his cup.

He knows the letter O and that it stands for Octopus.

I’m so proud of how brave he is. This coming from the mouth of someone who has always been incredibly shy and afraid to take risks. He isn’t afraid to go up to people and talk to them. He tries to play with other, bigger kids at the playground. He navigates a pool like he was born in the water (well, he almost was. And he is a Pisces). At an outfitting store the other weekend, he was dead set on traversing the stone-studded bridge that customers use to try out hiking boots. And he did it. I spotted him the first time, but after that he did it all on his own, a number of times. He took it slow, and he told himself “don’t fall.” And he did it. He’s not afraid to explore, he’s not afraid to try new things, he’s not afraid to laugh and make a joke. He’s not afraid to make mistakes and test limits. I hope that he keeps this, I hope that it stays with him.

2 years 9 weeks

He's still busy.

There are cars to drive.

Play dough to check out.

Grandma sent a miniature garden to Zack. Conveniently, it came on a lovely afternoon, so we took it outside. He filled a dish with water from the hose to moisten the dirt cakes.

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of wet afternoons this summer.

He scooped the dirt from the dish into the pot, then put the seeds in, covered them with more dirt and tamped the dirt down. We're happy to report that the seeds have sprouted and there are little sunflowers growing in the dining room.

At least for as long as Mom remembers to water them. Ahem.


There is much other gardening to do, as well. He loves getting his shovels out after we get home in the afternoon. He's old enough now that I can get some gardening done while he goes about his business. He's even started handing me my gardening gloves when he gets his shovels. There might be hope for a decently tended flowerbed this summer!


Speaking of which, I wish I could send this gorgeous smell over the internet to you. Our neighbor's lilac bush continues to creep over onto our property, and the cold winter seems to have done it lots of good. There's a bumper crop of blooms that have lasted and lasted--I think it's been about 3 weeks now.


There is sushi to eat. Bet you didn't realize that eating sushi was such a full body experience!

He has also rediscovered his duck, which sings the Chicken Dance. He now flaps his arms along with the duck, which is pretty darned cute!

2 years, 8 weeks

A quick recap of Easter: We all had a great time. We had a lovely dinner for Mark's 85th birthday. Thankfully, Anna had the foresight to reserve a room just for us, so all the cousins could run around between courses and not get in anyone's way. I'm pretty sure that Zack was running the entire duration of the party! He had a great time with his cousins--this picture pretty much sums it up:

While he did not sleep the first night we were there (and in fact we had to go on a 1 am drive to calm him down), he definitely slept the 2nd night! He was tuckered out after all that running. Oh, and did I mention that he didn't take a nap? At all? Energizer bunny, that boy. We also had a lovely Easter dinner courtesy of David and Anita. Yummmm........

Last weekend we finally got to meet the daughter of my dear friend, Kristen. She and CJ visited and we threw a Meet the Baby party to reunite with her DC peeps. It was so wonderful to see Kristen and meet her little one. Zack wasn't quite sure what to do with a baby in the house. He's fine with older kids that he can play with, but a baby seems to be a slightly different story. He was very interested in her and needed to know where she was at all times. He'd do things like give her toys, then take them away from her. At one point when I was holding her, he came up and rolled around so his head was in her lap, and he just lay there as she poked around his face...

...and slobbered on his nose.

All in all, I think he handled it pretty well. And he still talks about "the baby."

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At the top of our stairs is a set of folding doors that open to our furnace, hot water heater, and a bit of storage. Zack decided he needed to be in there the other night, a decision that I didn't quite agree with. I removed him from the closet and closed the doors. He looked at me, gears turning, and then indicated to me that I should either go into his room or into my bedroom. I knew what he was up to, but complied. Sure enough, as soon as I was out of sight, he'd opened the closet doors and was right back in there!

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I made a coconut cake last weekend. Zack helped me make the frosting. He watched me use the mixer to mix it. He stuck his finger in the bowl to make sure it tasted just right. And when my back was turned, he helped to pour the can of evaporated milk all over the counter.

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He's continuing to develop and grow. He's using more words together at a time, and talks about things that have happened in the past. Watching him pretend is lots of fun--he holds a sock to his nose and he's an elephant; he puts the head of his penguin humidifier on his head and he's a penguin; he pretends he's sleeping. He's started to "read" the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear with us as we read it. He'll sit and talk himself through books all by himself. He likes to pick out his own socks in the morning. He rarely walks anywhere, but prefers to gallop, run, or elephant walk. He's taken to pulling a stool over to the counter as we're getting dinner ready so that he can help. He can now open the refrigerator, pull out the drawer, and get a piece of cheese for himself (I'm not sure this is a good thing, but an accomplishment nonetheless). I'm sure the gods will curse me for saying this, but he's been sleeping really well, too--going down without a fuss and sleeping through the night.

We've been loving the warmer weather and the longer days. We spend about 30-45 minutes outside each evening before dinner. He likes to pick pick flowers, dig in the dirt, and visit our neighbor, Cecelia. He has recently become fascinated with bugs and has no qualms about picking them up (though I suspect that the bugs aren't nearly as qualm-free). I'm rather certain that all those images of Dennis the Menace's mother picking odd things out of Dennis' pockets are going to become the story of our lives soon enough. I've already picked some rocks out of the washer. Luckily, he hasn't become as excited about his pockets as he has about bugs.

At least not yet.

2 years, 7 weeks

Easter pictures will be posted soon, but here's a story to tide you over.

As a bit of background, I've heard that Redbud trees are the true harbingers of spring, as they only bloom when it will really stay warm, unlike the magnolias that nearly always get frostbitten after they bloom. So I am always very excited when they bloom. Thus the following conversation between Rob and I on the way to NJ last weekend:

As Rob, Zack, and I were driving, I commented on the cherry trees that were along the road, then I told Rob that I'd seen Redbuds blooming.

He pointed to some trees along the road and said, "Like those?"

"No, those are maples."

"But they're red and have buds. They're redbuds."

"Buy they're not Redbuds."

"They're redbuds."

"No, they're not."

"They're redbuds."

"No, they're not."

All of a sudden, from the back seat, comes a little voice saying "They're redbuds. They're redbuds. They're redbuds."

Case closed.

2 years, 6 weeks

This weekend was the kind of weekend where you just wanted to get out all of your puzzles...

...and put socks in water bottles.

How was your weekend?

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!

Year 2, week something or other

2 years, 4 weeks


Yeah, it's been awhile.


Zack received a basketball hoop for his birthday. He hasn't really had any experience with this sort of thing, but is making up for lost time. Unfortunately, I missed it's debut which was apparently met with a crazy amount of excitement--laughing, shrieking, jumping up and down. Rob said he's never seen him like that. Now he likes to stick balloons in the net, where they get stuck, then thrown a ball in after them to knock them loose. I'll post a video shortly that gives you an idea of his excitement, just watered down a bit.

We also got him an age-appropriate remote controlled fire truck. This he isn't sure what to do with. It really scared him the first time Rob ran it around on the floor and we had to put it on the counter. Then he wanted to look at just the truck, but would have us put it back up after awhile. Now he's OK with us making the truck zoom around for a little while, but he won't really go close to it unless it's stopped. He won't take the controls, either. After a little while he's had enough and will take the truck and take the controls from our hands and tell us to put it up on the counter or bureau. His reaction is interesting because there isn't much he's wary or afraid of. It's been sitting on the bureau for weeks now, with no interest at all.

He also got a set of Duplo blocks, which are a big hit. He loves to pour them out of their container on top of him. Then he sets about putting all the square pieces together. He's really gotten the hang of snapping them together. There was a major breakthrough last week--he put them all back in the box, without being asked!

He discovered that pens aren't just for paper anymore.


The next Andy Goldsworthy in training? He was working on this installation one day after work. The pile of stones is still there now that the snow has all melted.


Last week I was away for a few days at a conference in Philadelphia. While I was away, Zack "got" the phone. The first morning I was away, he picked it up, showed it to Rob, and said "Mama!" So they called me. Which was a good thing. I'd thought I'd set the alarm in the hotel room, but apparently hadn't, so they woke me up (seems I was tired--I'd been asleep almost 10 hours!). I can't even describe how sweet it was to wake up to "Hello, Mama! I love you!" He definitely seemed to understand that he was talking to me because he was telling me what he was playing with.

Friday night Zack and Rob drove up to Philly so that we could spend the weekend with our friends Mark and Judy. Oh, and most importantly, their dog, Gus. Gus was the highlight of the trip, I think. Zack was so gentle with him, and would get nose-to-nose to give him kisses. He still talks about Gus.


We were getting ready to go outside one day while we were there, and I couldn't find his hat. I kept muttering, wondering where it was. As I was looking, Zack took matters into his own hands.

We also turned around at one point and found the construction hat on Gus.

Saturday afternoon we had tickets to see the Picasso show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The tickets were for 3 pm, so the plan was we'd go and Zack would fall asleep in his stroller while we went through the show. Except that when we got in line we were told that we weren't allowed to bring the stroller in the exhibit. Oh dear. Zack really was a trooper while we were in the exhibit (particularly given that he'd had no nap, that the rooms resembled sardine tins, and that he couldn't get down and walk because no one was watching where they were going), but he didn't have a lot of patience for that many abstract paintings in that over-stimulating of an environment. I was also getting tired of getting snotty looks when he'd let out a shriek of frustration (come on people, it's not like he was interrupting a performance or something). So we did an express walk through the exhibit and let Mark and Judy go at a more leisurely pace. Once he was out of there and could walk, he was much happier and enjoyed walking up the big main stairs. Then we walked into the armor hall--he was in heaven. So we tried another hall, with renaissance-era rooms--he loved it. Then we tried the Asian hall, where there was a monastery courtyard with a fountain in it--that warranted repeated visits. All in all, it was a great afternoon, and we learned that he's really good in museums as long as he can walk and the galleries are relatively empty.

He's still growing like a weed. I couldn't believe how much he'd changed just while I was in Philly! He's putting words together to describe things now. He's jumping, with both feet off the ground. He understands the concept behind the number 2--he tells us when there's two of something. He's started stacking and ordering things, like blocks, coasters, plastic containers. When he's using his crayons, he tries to color a specific thing, like a dog's nose in his coloring book. He loves to be read to, and one of my favorite times of the day is when we snuggle in our bed at bedtime to read books. He snuggles in next to me and drinks his milk while I put my arm around him and read to him. It's one of the few times during the day that he sits still.

It's been gorgeous this week, so when we got home yesterday afternoon, we immediately went outside. He helped me plant some seeds in a pot--he took the seeds from my hand and sprinkled them in the pot, then he helped me pat down the soil. Then he helped me clean out some debris from one of the flower beds, both by using his garden tools and by putting sticks in the lawn bag I had out. Then he had to go help Cecelia in her yard for awhile--and by "help" I mean picking all of her crocuses and giving them to me.

We're looking forward to some more good weather through Saturday, which will be great since our friends Deb, Shawn, Kayla and Haley are going to be paying a visit. I'm hoping we can take a trip to the zoo. I can't wait to see what Zack thinks of real, live elephants!