1 year, 19 weeks

Last week was a crazy week--Rob travelled, I was running a workshop, Grandma and Grandpa came down to watch Zack....and then we got sick. Woo hoo! Good times!

We're on the mend now. Zack got the least of it and, in fact, may have been plagued by forthcoming teeth rather than the ague that Rob and I got hit by.

Last weekend we broke out the wading pool for its inaugural run. Guess who was wet before he even got in it?



We were surprised that he was as wary about actually getting in it as he was, given that he loves taking baths and going in big pools. He really clung to me at first and didn't want to stand in it. But once our neighbor Cecelia came over to get in on the fun, he warmed up entirely and enjoyed it as much as we thought he would. We've got pictures of that on Rob's camera, which we'll download soon.

I was cleaning up after dinner one night and turned around to see this:

He sat himself in the booster seat and pulled over the foot stool (yes, Deb, that's the one I made in shop!). I thought it was just too cute!

Later I caught him sitting like this:


I'm not entirely sure how that worked, but extricating himself involved landing on his nose.

He's fascinated by the grill. And you can kind of see his new buzz cut here, too.

Can I also just say that while I've never been a huge fan of shoes made by Keen, I'm absolutely smitten with them in miniature?

A closeup of the cuteness....

...and a better one of the haircut.

While I say this every week, he's still growing like a weed. He just keeps doing more and trying more. He's trying to jump now, something I'm pretty sure he picked up in daycare given the accompanying sound effects. He's also trying to climb up on chairs and sofas, with mixed success. This seems to have been motivated by me telling him he couldn't have a glass that was on the table. He then turned right around and tried to climb up on the chair. I'm quite sure that he'll be dancing on the table soon.

Did I mention that he's started testing us? Yep, that's definitely starting. Some days more so than others.

He's got more words: apple, banana (more of a 'nana), let's go, cheese, book, shoes, Mama (LOVE that!), Dada, Whoa, peek-a-boo. There's a word for water that doesn't sound like either "water" or "agua" but is the same whenever he asks for his cup. He understands a lot more now, too. When I say it's time to go upstairs, he heads for the stairs. He heads for the back door when we say we're going outside. He can get in and out of the open door by himself--he's working on figuring out the door knobs.

He loves books. He'll sit for quite a long time just pulling them out of his book box, looking through them, pulling more out. He's also started bringing books to us, wanting us to sit him beside us and read to him. We like that a lot.

1 year, 17 weeks

June 15, 2009---a day that will live in infamy, hereafter forever known as the Day of the Great Toilet Paper Massacre.


Luckily, the culprit...
...was caught red-handed.

1 year, 16 weeks

A few weekends ago Zack charmed the cashier at Trader Joe's and got a balloon, his first, for his efforts.

Obsessed doesn't even come close to describing his affection for this thing, even if it did shake his world view a bit when he let it go and it went UP rather than down. He carried it with him all day and pitched a fit when we tried to take it away for meals.

It went everywhere with him.


It finally popped later that night, surprisingly with no tears.

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One of the best things that Silver Spring did when it rejuvenated itself was to put in a fountain in the center of downtown.

During the summer it draws kids of all ages. We took Zack for the first time this past Sunday. We weren't sure about it at first, since he was the youngest kid there. Silly us--he held his own.



These were all taken before he got a face full of water. He felt the need to inspect one of the fountain openings up close and personal--and then the water came out. All he did was sputter and cough, though--no tears! And he went right back in.

After our fountain experience, we went and got ice cream. Yummm!

1 year, 15 weeks

Long time, no post. Things have been busy, and by the time I get home I just haven't had the energy to crack open the computer and post.

But rest assured, we're all well. And now you'll get 3 weeks worth of pictures all at once.

Over Memorial Day, we met up with our friends Deb and Shawn and their girls Kayla and Haley to camp in Cape May. What a relaxing long weekend with fabulous weather! Zack had a blast--what more could he want but sticks in the campground and sand on the beach? I have to say he's such a little boy--he was dead set on burning himself, either by camp fire, grill or citronella candle. (You'll be happy to know he was thwarted in his efforts.)

He loved the beach.



He's got his dad's feet.

He loved the pool...

...but it tired him out (this was taken about 5 minutes after we put him in the carrier and started walking back to the campsite. Out like a light!)

He had fun with my yarn.

He had fun with his buddies (this is Kayla).


But he completely missed out on some fabulous people-watching opportunities on the Wildwood boardwalk.

He was cute.


The reason for getting together, aside from seeing some really good friends, was to celebrate all the kids' birthdays--to have an Unbirthday Weekend. It's never easy for us to get to each others' kids' birthday parties, so we decided to stop feeling guilty and just celebrate all together on a totally random weekend during the year. We had cupcakes and presents and it seemed to work out really well.


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Aside from his travels, Zack is just one busy guy right now. Someone recently asked me what his favorite toys were and I had to laugh. Aside from his bear, I think we could get rid of all the rest of his toys for now. He's happiest with the contents of the tupperware drawer and with the beaters for the mixer.

He's also very good at playing "Tornado"--in about 5 minutes flat he can have the dirty laundry strewn about, tupperware all over the place (I find it everywhere), and the paper recycling "reorganized". I'm surprised that he left the dish towel on the oven! See him peeking around the corner there at the laundry basket?


His words include "bear" (for his stuffed bear), some variation of "woof woof" whenever he sees or hears a dog or a picture of a dog, a variation of "meow" and "quack quack", "ball", "keys", which sounds a lot like "shoes", and the ever-favorite "uh-oh", which we hear an awful lot of. He's got a word for "belly button" and knows where his is.

He's still his happy-go-lucky self and imitates all sorts of things we say and do. He makes all kinds of funny faces, and we share jokes now. For example, the first time he touched my belly button, his hands were freezing and I let out some sort of "woo hoo" or "ah HAH". Now he touches my belly button, throws back his head and says "Ha Ha Ha".

1 year, 12 weeks (aka 15 months)

We had a relaxing Mother's Day weekend. The sun decided to make a rare appearance, so we went for a walk.
Zack was thrilled.
The rest of the day was spent at home, working in the garden, napping, eating a lovely dinner.



Here he is, looking for trouble.


And here he is, finding it. One night this past week I was apparently taking too long getting his dinner ready. So he took matters into his own hands.
That would be a mix of chicken curry, rice, and avocados.

"I've got avocados between my toes, Mom."

"Hmmm...what's this?"

"Doesn't look too dirty."

"Yummmmmm!"

Just for the record, he didn't eat his entire dinner on the floor. We regrouped and he ate in his high chair while I cleaned the floor.

1 year, 11 weeks

A few weeks ago, Rob went up to Connecticut to give a talk at Connecticut College. He decided to take Zack with him, particularly since it was also Nonno's birthday that weekend.

Zack liked the cake.


He also liked Nonnie and Nonno's backyard.



Back here at home he's been busy perfecting his walking. He's really starting to move! He gets a big kick out of being chased and goads us into doing it. He rarely walks around empty-handed. Usually he's got his bear...

...but sometimes it's other things.


The book says that around now is when he'll start learning programs (figuring out that there is a goal that requires steps for achievement). And whadya know? It seems that he is. Last night when Rob was getting him ready for bed he said "Let's go brush our teeth" and Zack immediately opened his mouth and said "Aaaaaah" before they even headed to the bathroom. Saying "aaah" is how we get him to open his mouth.

Some of his programs require a little tweaking. He's getting very good at shaking his head and saying "uh-uh" after he throws food from his high chair.

It seems that that sun has decided to make an appearance this weekend, so we'll hopefully spend a lot of time outside, drying out from the soggy week we've had. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Happy Mother's Day!