Happy Birthday Daddy!

"My hair is bwoken...where's the hairdryer?"

Zach's reply after I told him this morning that I needed to "fix my hair."



COMPLETELY cracked me up.

Budding Ornithologist

Zachary loves birds. Really. Could be he got it from Grams, who is an ardent birder. Could be he loves them because he loves all things that fly. But he really loves birds.

So much so, we bought him a couple bird books of his own: this one (his favorite) and this one (my favorite). What is completely amazing to me is the way he is able to identify so many birds...he knows some of the different calls now, and can recognize many birds by sight. It's incredible.

Grams took him on his first birdwatching outing last week, and said he was a champ. Then we went to Bald Eagle Day sponsored by the Audubon Society on Saturday and saw several birds up close and personal (bald eagle, golden eagle, some falcons, some hawks)--he loved it. He made his own bird feeder and even got to pet a bird (some cross between a peregrine falcon and something else). It was a very fun day.

A boy and his bike

Note the wood blocks to extend the pedals...
they still weren't QUITE enough for him to be able to reach....

So, if you can't pedal it, why not crash it into a nearby snowbank?

What a silly boy.

Trip down memory lane

1.22.05

(Just to help me wash the bad taste from that last post out of my mouth)

17 times???

Pregnancy, while a wondrous miracle, is also unbelievably uncomfortable. Especially when one reaches 32 weeks and is easily the size of the Queen Mary (the ship, not the woman). There's the excruciating (and that's putting it mildly at times) hip pain, the back aches, the constant trips to the bathroom (oh, and the leaky bladder), the insomnia, the heartburn, the sheer exhaustion from hefting this ridiculous girth around...

And all I can think of is: SOME INSANE WOMAN HAS WILLINGLY GONE THRU THIS SEVENTEEN TIMES.

I don't get it.

Yes, children are a blessing (mostly).

And babies are cute (mostly).

And pregnancy is fun (for about a minute and a half).

But honestly, SEVENTEEN times? And I haven't even touched on the joys of DELIVERY. Maybe it's because she's younger than I. But I think it's something more deep-seated.

Like she's totally freakin nuts.

Magical

What is it about watching your child sleep that is so magical...so calming...so amazing?

It could be the best high blood pressure remedy around...tho it does make my heart feel like it could burst.

Fun with Daddy

We have this chair in our living room that Zach
seems to think turns Daddy into a jungle gym every time
he sits in it. Zach is compelled to climb all
over Daddy, repeatedly, until one of them
collapses from exhaustion.
The latest "hard trick" that Zach is most interested
in is trying balance on Daddy's head.
Don't know where he got that idea.....

Happy Birthday Uncle Mo!

And happy half-birthday to Zachary!

Loved. Very well loved.

This is my child's beloved blanket.
In all it's gray, dingy glory.
And yes, he sleeps with it every nite and every nap.
I steal it when I can to wash it, but
honestly, it's not as often as I'd like.
Here's what the blanket USED to look like...(March 06) and an
even OLDER picture of the beloved (Oct 05).
Of course, the blanket was a hand-me-down that
has never had any tags and is therefore irreplaceable.
I know, cuz I've tried.

Oh boy

In hindsight, I'm not sure what possessed me
to take this picture...much less post it here....
The joys of eating with a 3 year old.
Sigh.

"Move your big head, dad."

Add this to the list of things that I didn't expect to come out of my son's mouth for....oh,....another 10 years or so.

(Said to Chris while he was driving - Z's carseat is behind the driver's seat in daddy's car)

Handsome

If he were 15 years older, this could be one
of his senior pictures.
Taken at Sea World

Shower caps make great tub toys!

When we were in San Diego, a nitely bath became part of
routine both as a way to unwind, clean up and kill some time
so that Zach wasn't going to bed at 6PM (and thus waking
up at 4AM or some ridiculous hour), but we hadn't brought
any tub toys with us....so what to do?
Turns out the hotel was kind enough to provide us
with a very low-tech but enormously delightful shower cap.
Provided LOADS of fun, and some cute photo ops.

Fun in the snow

Snowstorm blew thru last nite, leaving us with a
very rare couple of inches of powder to play in...so Zach
"helped" daddy shovel the driveway...and tormented the cat a bit
along the way...

Talking to grams about the snowballs he has been throwing

Watch out Calvin!

Is that hat the cutest thing EVER? My friend Kate in NH
knitted it for Zach for Christmas...we love it!

The phrase of the day was, "You asked for it"
--right before he pummeled you with a snowball
that you had just made for him. Silly boy.

And how about a couple Christmas pics?

New bike from Uncle Jas and Jess

Magneatos!

Super cute pic with cousin Ellen

San Diego, Day 3 - The ZOO!

What an amazing zoo San Diego has! I won't bore you with
pictures of the many animals we saw, but I would definitely
recommend a trip to the zoo if you get the
chance. It was another full day--7 hours--and
again, Zach was a champ.

Feeding the pigeons down at the bay before our trip to the zoo

Enjoying the grandfather orangutan

In the children's zoo

Somehow, even with all the animals and attractions
to see, nothing can compete with a three-year-
old boy's attention like sticks and dirt.

San Diego, Day 2 - SEA WORLD!

We had a marvelous 8 hours at Sea World--
saw many amazing things...
some of them multiple times
(like the shark exhibit--Zach's favorite).
The weather was gorgeous, and despite going all day
without a nap, Zach was a champ and only had a minor
meltdown toward the end of the day.

Outside the Arctic Express exhibit--one of Zach's favorite
because of the movie at the beginning--it's a helicopter
ride to the Arctic. We sat thru the movie multiple times.

Zach running away from the polar bear cave when the polar bear
"roared"...he loved this part too, and wanted to revisit it many
times tho it kind of scared him.

Waiting for the Shamu show to start

Shamu and gang--great show

In front of the flamingo exhibit...those have to be some of
the funniest birds I've ever seen!

San Diego, Day 1

After checking into the hotel, we decided a trip to the beach
was in order, and Zach enjoyed playing one of his
favorite games--running away from the waves.
Much to my dismay, it was quite windy on the beach
and thus, quite cool, so I was not only freezing,
but desperately hoping that Zach wouldn't end up getting
wet as we hadn't brought a change of clothes
or even jackets with us from the hotel.
(can you see where this is going?)

This is one of my favorite shots...

...despite my fervent hopes that Zach would stay dry,
he did trip and a wave washed over him, drenching him.
Luckily, there was a surf shop nearby and the guys
there were HAPPY to outfit Zach in some stylish surf
duds--including surf shorts that reach his ankles!

Tune in tomorrow for more pics...

It's late and I'm a pregnant insomniac....so I'm headed to bed to get some sleep if possible.

San Diego or Bust

Arriving at the airport

Waiting...and waiting and waiting for our flight... Express Jet had
exactly one person working as the ground crew-
-loading baggage, taking tickets, the works...
It was a looooooong wait.

Zach's first time on a real, operational airplane--
a momentous occasion indeed!

Now, waiting in San Diego for Zach's stroller to arrive.
Turned out the one man ground crew at home
didn't get it loaded onto the plane...Zach learned on his
maiden voyage not to trust airlines--and he was heartbroken
that his stroller couldn't be found.
(It arrived in San Diego the day we left, and successfully made it home)


Zach got to pick out the rental car and picked this Toyota Corolla.
Later, as daddy was accelerating to merge onto the freeway,
Zach asked if it was a race car.

Does poo sleep in your bum?

One of Zach's latest inquiries...followed up with the logical question: Does poo close they eyes when they fweep (sleep)?

Ahh....the magical mystery that is a three-year-old brain.