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!