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

First "real" haircut

Grandma and Mommy took Zain to get his first professional haircut. Zain did great and almost managed to sit still for the entire 15 minute cut.... with the help of the movie Cars in the DVD player and the race car chair he sat in.

Mommy, on the other hand, did not do so well. She is totally traumatized by Zain's new "big boy" look. "He's just growing up so fast! He also looks so 'square' now," reports Mommy. Daddy keeps reassuring her, however, that "it is only hair and it will grow back."

365 Days and Counting

ZAIN IS 1!

It is hard to believe but our Little Z Man turned 1 year old on Saturday, June 21st. Crazy how time flies.

We had a small party at our house with close family friends. We put up a jumpy on the carport for the kids to play in while the parents tried to stay cool. It was 98 degrees on Saturday in Oakland.

Nana and Papa brought over a wonderful Finding Nemo birthday cake. Everyone thought it was the best birthday cake ever (Seriously, it was delicious). See below.

As you can see below, Zain really didn't know what to do with the cake even though we have been trying to teach him to blow out the candles for the past month. (The Tilin kids -- Isaac and Leila -- are giving Zain some encouragement. They really wanted to eat that cake!)

Zain got some great gifts especially the one from Auntie Nikki, Uncle Marc and Cousins Sara and Max. Maybe Zain will take after his Great Uncle Jerry and be a star baseball player.

The Little Z man got to play with lots of his friends like Ellery Escue and the Tilin kids. Here Leila Tilin keeps a watchful eye over Zain while he learns how to drive his new Lightening McQueen car.

And here, Zain and Ellery get a ride in Zain's Little Red truck, courtesy of the Sweet family.

What color are his eyes?

Not a whole lot of pictures except this one, which shows the Little Z Man's eyes. Tough to pick one color. His one year birthday is coming up so stay tuned for lots of pictures from his Big Day.

Artichokes!

This kid just continues to amaze. Who knew kids like, no LOVE, artichokes. Little Z Man sees an artichoke and he goes nuts -- starts flapping his arms and chirping like a bird. Check this out. He just couldn't get enough!

What's his profession?

The Little Z Man is showing lots of promise in many fields. Can you name his future profession?

Pianist?

Swimmer?




Rockstar?



Environmental Advocate?

Or

Rabbi?

Mexico, Part Dos

More pics from the recent trip South of the Border. Hope you enjoy them



How cute is this kid? The Little Z Man giving his daddy some love!

Here the Little Z Man is getting love from the locals. Quite a charmer he is!

Mommy is making sure music is a huge part of Zain's life. Godmother Maureen bought his first set of maracas. You can't see it here but they're even inscribed with his name.

Godmother Maureen and the aforementioned maracas.

The ice buckets come in handy for keeping more than beer cool.

See, Corona is good cold!



Mommy gets loads of smiles!

Our Little Crawler

The Little Z Man is really cruising around. Here's just a quick sample of him crawling during our Mexico trip.

Zain Goes to Mexico

It's been a busy time in the Little Z Man's life -- well, actually busy for his parents. But we did manage to squeeze in a vacation to Cabo San Lucas at Nana and Papa's new fractional ownership house in a development called Peublo Bonito. It's a gorgeous place built into the side of a mountain with a view of the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Every day at about 4:30 pm, you would see at least 8 whales breaching. Truly amazing.



The Little Z Man loved Mexico. He'll be speaking Spanish in no time. We taken to calling him "Pajaro" because he's been squeaking like a bird the last week.



As you can see, he loves his passport. Yes, a eight month old needs to travel with a Passport. Thank you TSA.

The whole immediate Lynch side of the family (except Tanya and Mike) were in Mexico with us including the Weinberg clan, Max and Sara too! He even had his godmother Maureen there. Mommy and Daddy had plenty of hands to help out.

Papa and Nana's house has a pool and you know Little Z loved that. He is a fish in the water. Here Papa teaches the finer things about the view.

His Nana also got to spend some fun time with Little Z. We don't have pictures yet but she taught him how to drink Mexican beer and play the maracas.

His cousin Sara and his Auntie Nikki loved spending time with Zain -- mostly in the pool (see the pattern here). Sara and Max were a great help in getting the Little Z Man to eat as well. Max mostly with his funny faces (he takes after his father).

More Adventures in Eating

Grandpa Stewie came by a couple of weeks ago and found himself trying to feed the Little Z Man. We're not sure exactly what method Grandpa was using but there seems to be more food on him than in him.

Aunt Nikki B. was also in town a week or so ago and she decided to give Zain some retro style (circa. 1969)