Helper

Note that he isn't doing this in our yard. Oh no. He'd rather go help Cessy.

Milan

Some belated pictures from Rob's and my trip to Milan. We had a lovely time, particularly since we knew that Zack was having a great time with Grandma and Papa back home. I'm pretty sure we missed him far more than he missed us

This first picture is from the Duomo, the third largest cathedral in the world. The irony here is that I wasn't allowed in the first day we tried to visit inside because my shoulders weren't covered---but there are fashion posters hanging on the outside.

This is the outside of the aquarium. We didn't go inside, but the outside is a lovely art deco building with lots of animals all over it.

Rob popping out of a lovely outdoor market.

A view of the Duomo from the new modern art museum. The swirly lines are part of an art installation reflected in the glass.

Halloween

Boo!

A very belated Halloween post. Zack wanted to be a skeleton for Halloween, so Rob went to work while I was away on a business trip. I knew it was going to be a great costume, but I was really blown away when I came home to see this. What you can't see in these pictures is that it also glows in the dark.

Zack really loved his costume and proudly told everyone that his Daddy made it for him.

The pumpkins were done by Rob and by Uncle Geoff, who had mentioned early in October that he thought he'd like to try his hand at jack o'lanterns this year.

Zack LOVED Halloween this year. He was so into the ghosts and monsters and skeletons and pumpkins and witches. He loved trick or treating--he went out with Rob while I manned the homefront. They ended up getting together with neighbors while trick or treating and Zack got a huge kick out of "tricking" me when he rang the doorbell with his two friends.

The face of tolerance

We have totally lucked out with Georgia--she is so very tolerant of Zack and his shenanigans. She's only protested her treatment two or three times. And believe me, it was warranted protest and was done very gently. Regardless of having to put up with this boisterous boy of ours, she's clearly attached to him. She sits for Zack, takes treats ever so gently from him, and sleeps in his bed nearly every night.

What I was surprised at was how Zack is behaving a bit as if he has sibling rivalry with Georgia. Little whacks here, squeezes that are a bit too tight there. Followed by a very gentle hug, kiss, and an "I love you, Georgia" 10 minutes later. And a reminder that we have to take her for a walk/feed her/let her out. This sibling rivalry, combined with other rascally behavior he has been exhibiting lately (more on that in another post), is enough to drive us slightly batty.

At least he's cute.   

And this is the pit.

Why yes, that WAS our backyard and garden. And yes, Dad, they did go through the flagstone walk you just put in (though they pulled up the stones first). And yes, that is as much of our backyard as it looks like--probably more.

And yes, it is raining today, so the workers won't be here and all this will drag on even longer.

Blech. 

There is large construction equipment in our yard.

And also a big pit with an accompanying large pile of dirt.

That is all.

The ever-elusive Christmas Ghost

Hiking

I thought I'd downloaded Halloween pictures, but I seem not to have. Those will be forthcoming. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some pictures of the activity that Zack and I have taken up on the weekends: hiking. We take Georgia over to the Northwest Branch Trail near our house and spend some time outside. This past weekend had the added benefit of being a beautiful autumn day. There's lots to explore for both humans and canines alike. Zack always manages to find the biggest leaves that have fallen, while Georgia is more interested in chipmunks and other dogs. This past weekend had the added benefit of being a beautiful autumn day, and Zack wanted to do some exploring by the water. He didn't manage to fill in the creek, but got a pretty good start on it.

Zack continues to be a cheerful and funny and a joy to be with--when he isn't being possessed by a demon who blatantly ignores his parents, does the exact opposite of what he's been asked, and openly searches for things to get into, break, and harm himself with. In an interesting juxtaposition, he is also becoming increasingly aware that other people have some sort of opinion of him, an opinion that may be different than how he sees himself. This realization has resulted him being much shier in unfamiliar situations and with unfamiliar people. He'll often warm up, but not always. Rob and I find ourselves aching for him in these situations. Despite being a very shy child myself, I have trouble figuring out how to help him negotiate these times when he's unsure. That said, I don't think he's nearly as shy as I ever was, thankfully.

The other interesting consequence of his realization that others have different opinions than him is that he's started....let's say "fabricating reality." I don't want to say he's lying because I'm not sure it's quite as sophisticated as that (though Rob might disagree). So for example, he tried pulling something off the counter the other night and it fell and broke. Now when we ask him about it, he says that it fell off the counter all by itself. Or he'll tell us that he didn't have a vitamin yet when he definitely has had one. Or he'll tell me that Rob said that he could have X, Y, or Z, when I've just heard Rob say the exact opposite. We're not quite sure how to deal with this because when he's questioned about it, it's as if he really believes his version of events.

So long story short, he's still keeping us on our toes.

Heading home

I miss these guys. I'm getting on a plane in a few minutes to head back to them.

Conversation

Scene: Zack is tucked into bed last night, Georgia is curled up at his feet, and I'm lying next to his bed. To truly get the feel for this conversation, you have to know that Zack pronounces Georgia like Zhorzhia.

Zack: What is Georgia eating?
Me: (already half asleep) Nothing, she's just cleaning herself.

Zack sits up to see for himself.

Z: Mommy! She's eating fox!

I bolt upright and sure enough, she's got Zack's stuffed fox between her paws and it's damp. I take it away from her, I say something about how we're going to have to keep an eye on his animals, we lie back down, and all is quiet for a minute.

Until Zack says, very seriously...

"You give Georgia a time out, Mommy? I don't like her eating fox."

A boy and his dog

I think they might be buddies.

Ummmm....

...we're not dog-sitting this one. Meet Georgia. Seeing Zack's reaction when she first took a biscuit from his hand? Priceless. 

Smitten

We've been dogsitting the sweetest dog this week, Sam. Zack might be just a little bit in love.

Quote of the Day

Zack often talks in his sleep and last night was no exception. Sometime very early this morningHe very emphatically said "I love you, Nonno. And then went back to sleep.

Quote of the Day (live version)

Quote of the day

As we were running errands yesterday, Zack came up with this one, out of the blue:
Mama Mia,
Where's my tortilla?
In my tuumm-my.

Mish mash

So this post will be a mish mash. A combination of catching up from our trip to Milan, and some chatter about our boy.

Italy was lovely---the food, the wine, the weather, the gelato, the people. It was great to get away, and it was wonderful for me to finally get to Italy, since Rob talks so highly of it.

We did a lot. We saw a lot of churches (there are a few of those in Italy), including the Duomo, the 4th largest in the world. We went up onto the roof of that church and had a great view of Milan. What is astounding about all of the churches and many of the buildings is all the work, the hand labor, that went into building them. From the stonework inside and out to the painting of the interiors. And it was done so many centuries ago, often before America was even "discovered." Just astounding.

We did some shopping. Milan is all about fashion---from the designer stores, to the women walking around that look like (and might well be) models. We mostly looked, which was fun in and of itself.

We also went to museums and walked around a lot. It was perfect weather for that. We ate lots of good food---proscuitto and other salumi, gelato and granita, bread and olive oil, homemade pastas. Most restaurants are set up to take advantage of the lovely weather, so most of our meals were eaten outside. This also allowed for great people-watching opportunities.

Three of the evenings we were hosted for dinner by the Italian clients that Rob and his colleagues were in Milan to meet. The hospitality! It involved many courses of food, many bottles of wine and prosecco, and many hours. One night we went to the oldest restaurant in Milan, where Rob's client was obviously very well known. I've never had service like we had that night. While the attention was flattering, we Americans were all glad that we only had three nights of this---Italian hospitality takes some getting used to!

But it's also what was so impressive---how friendly and open everyone was. For example, after I was chastised by the elder caretaker of a church for taking pictures, he softened it by telling us about the history of the church, some of its architectural features, and about the important paintings that were in the church. He was obviously very proud of it. And did I mention that he did all this without speaking a speck of English? He really wanted to connect with us and he managed to.

It's funny--Rob and I were very excited to get away and get some time to ourselves, but we really missed our liitle guy! Our babysitters...I mean, Grandma and Papa don't really have to worry about us ever being gone for more than a week. We just miss him too much to go away for longer than that. Luckily, it seemed like we missed him a lot more than he missed us. Papa sent us daily email reports on how things were going, and while Zack would talk about us, he didn't seem to be very bothered that we were gone. By all accounts, he was better for Grandma and Papa than he usually is for us! He had a wonderful time the week we were gone, and I hope the same can be said for Grandma and Papa.

Pictures were taken in Italy, and I will hopefully get a chance to consolidate them this weekend. 

**************************************************************************

Since I see Zack every day (except when we're off galavanting in Italy), I take it for granted how much he's like both Rob and me. I forget that at first glance many people think that he looks more like me. I was reminded of this lately in a conversation with a friend whose son is in Zack's class. Just to keep his similarity to his father fresh in everyone's mind, I need to share with you these pictures that they took last night as Zack was (supposed to be) getting ready for bed.

A continuing conversation

The other day he was climbing into Rob's car. He stopped as he was kneeling backwards in his car seat, looking at the back of the car. I could hear the gears turning. He asked me about the back and then he said,

"My little dog could sit back there.........My BIG dog could sit back there."

And he turned around and sat down with a very satisfied look on his face.

An observation

Zack: "I have to make noise."

A conversation

Zack:  We're going to get a dog soon.
Me: Ohhh? Who told you that?
Zack: I did.