Little Slugger

So the Little Z Man has had a rough couple of weeks. He's been struggling w/ a cold and with major separation anxiety from his mommy. Of the joys of parenthood as the little man cries when put into his crib and screams for his mommy at 4 am....At least we've learned this isn't unique to our little man.



Mommy and Daddy have started the reward program. His first reward was a nice t-ball baseball set and, if his first day is any indication, this kid might be a pretty good baseball player. See video.

It Takes A Village

The Z man had a great holiday season and thanks to Grandpa Stew, he got 10 glorious days at Kona Village - complete with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, and Cousin Zack! Uncle Kevin and Aunt Nicole were busy back in Washington bringing Zain's cousin Sawyer into the world.

I think the Z man thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Surf, sea turtles, sandcastles, pools, bright stars, fishing, manta rays, Luaus, ocean kayaks, pancakes everyday, ahhh.... really what could be better..????

I can't even explain the joy in my heart watching my son run around in this environment, in absolute awe, sharing many of the same experiences his father had growing up and returning to this special place every December for over 30 years. It is hard to describe the beauty and calm that overcomes you in this magical place. We can only hope that it will be around for Zain's sister to see....

Making grass skirts. Catching fish at the pond.

Elvis Lives

The little Z-man became a rock-n-roll star for Halloween this year. Armed with his electric guitar and new side-burns, he hit the neighborhood with his little pumpkin asking for treats. He wasn't sure quite what was going on when mommy and Aunt Tanya were gelling his hair back and spray painting it black, but after he saw 4 or 5 groups of kids knock on our door and leave with candy, he caught on quick. Daddy said, Zain, do you want to go trick-or-treating? Zain just grabbed his pumpkin and basically ran out the door. We had a little drizzle and therefore less kids than usual, but we still managed to go through 28 lbs of candy. Daddy still managed to carve his infamous political jack-o-lanterns.

Baby Boxer Numero Dos

Little Z man has some BIG changes coming to his life. Thus far (as you can see from this sweet video) he is just fine with it.... however, we have a feeling, come next April... he may not feel exactly the same about the little intruder in his world.

With life comes many great surprises and we welcome this one with love and only hope he or she will bring half the joy that the little Z man has brought to our lives.

Three Languages in Mexico

At 15 months old this little world traveler is starting to really express himself with words in English, Spanish, and sign language. He wants to communicate so desperately, he sometimes runs all kinds of words (and sounds) together. Mommy's favorite is when he sees a tasty treat unexpectedly (like a cookie - which he clearly knows how to say in English, Spanish and sign language) and gets so excited, he starts moving his hands around his body so fast, doing every sign he knows that he looks like a baseball coach signaling the next play! It is so hysterical.

For now, the most popular words seems to be "thank you" or "gracias." It is very sweet. If you hand him anything, he says, "thank you!" Other favorites are; agua, ball, book, de nada, kitchen, bottle, up, down, outside, dado (short for cuidado - careful/watch out) hot, ven, and choo choo. It is also unbelievable how much he understands. We've had to start spelling certain things already. For instance, if mommy and daddy are talking about the plans for the day, or something we are going to do later, and Z hears... he will start repeating that word (like "outside") over and over and over and over again.... until you take him outside to play.

In September we packed our bags again and headed to Puerto Vallarta with the the Escue (Keeney) family and Aunt Mo Mo. Z got lots of sweet cuddly time with his Aunt Mo Mo, who he loves so much. We happened to be there on Mexican Independence day, which was loads of fun. Ellery (AKA "Ello" if you are Z) and Zain had so much fun. They got to pet a baby donkey and see mariachis (Z's favorite), dancing, and eat lots of yummy Mexican food.

He has always loved the water and the ocean is no exception. The warm waters of Banderas Bay was one big playground for the Z man. Our timeshare has fantastic kiddie pools too, so we spend most of the days in the water one way or another. They have a great water garden area that has shooting up fountains that Zain and Ellery ran through for hours.

Z also got to see beach volleyball for the first time. He was SO fascinated that he stood perfectly still for like an hour just observing the game. Two days later, at the pool, he amazed mommy and daddy by placing his hands in perfect volleyball form to return (well attempt to return) a thrown ball to daddy.

Busy Busy Barack A Baby

I guess mommy and daddy need to face the facts that the little Z man really isn't a baby anymore. He can run and dance and babble quite a bit, and he clearly has a mind of his own....

The last few weeks have been busy busy for Z man, and therefore mommy and daddy. Mommy and Daddy jetted off to Denver for a few days for the Democratic National Convention. Little Z got to spend 3 whole days with Nana and Papa! We don't even want to know how much ice cream he had.... but we know he had a lot of fun.

48 hours later all three of us flew down to San Diego for the Montgomery/Schwarz wedding. Aunt Mo Mo and Auntie Brenda got to spend some time playing with little Z and see all his developmental milestones..

It turns out, Zain loves to run through airports and down the aisles on planes.

Then it was off to the Montclair Jazz festival, where Z strutted his "Yes We Can" paraphernalia.

Lawn Mower Bubble Walking

We are having so much fun watching this little guy go through the phases of learning to walk. He has gone from pushing the lawn mower up and down the street (over and over and over again), to "the waddling starfish," to "Frankenstein's coming to get your brains!"

You can see little Z man in video action through a few of these phases by clicking:

- here for the Lawnmower bubble machine (a favorite toy given to him by Auntie Lyn)
or
-here for the semi Frankenstein/Starfish combo