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.

No secrets

It's been a long standing joke in our family that my instructions to Zach are: "If Daddy or Ba (Grandpa Franklin) tell you 'Don't tell mommy,' you run straight to mommy and tell me."

Who'da thunk he was listening already?

Tonite, Zach and Chris were out shopping for my birthday and Chris told Zach, "Don't tell mommy, it's a surprise for her birthday." Zach's response was, "You say don't tell, I have to tell mama...."

So now, apparently, I need to clarify for the boy that Christmas and birthday surprises don't really fall into the "Tell Mommy right away" category....that's reserved for things like explosives and fire.

What a funny little monkey.

P.S. I'll get some picture updates up in the next couple days...well, ok by the middle of next week--we're headed to Sea World - San Diego on Saturday.

Is dere a bed in dere?

Zachary's question when I was laying down with him for a nap and I told him we needed to lay still so the baby could rest....

You gotta love the way a three year old mind works!

P.S. Daddy told him it was more of a "nest"...you can only imagine the images that conjured up for Z!

Open you mouf....

Zach's instructions to me when he was pushing on my stomach in order to get the baby out.

Santa

For the fourth year in a row, we went to visit the best Santa this side
of the Mississippi, and as always, Zach sat on his lap with no
problem--tho he was a bit more shy this year and mostly looked
away from Santa, even declining to pull on Santa's beard when invited.