A Trip to the Zoo

Yeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! (Complete with full body flap) This is Zac's response to just about everything he loves in life; swimming, eating, petting animals and going outside.

Particularly exciting to Z were the animals at the Central Park Zoo in NYC. As you can see in the accompanying photo, Zac was amazed by Gus the polar bear (and the penguins, and monkeys, and seals, too!). Especially exciting were those animals in the petting zoo - I've never seen a bigger smile on that kid. Perhaps he's destined to be a veterinarian (or a chef, but I'll have to save that for another blog).

Everything is exciting to a 1 1/2 yr old and because of that everything is more fun for us! Give him a call someday, he'll tell you all about it.

The Cutest, Smartest Child on the Planet?

In case you aren't aware, Andrew & I are smitten. We keep thinking that each day is the cutest and smartest that our dear son can be. Only when we retrieve him from his crib each morning do we realize we were wrong, because TODAY he is the cutest and smartest! Seriously, how is it that he keeps getting cuter? (I know, I know you're about to puke.)

As Zac quickly approaches month 17 of his life, I thought I should document his vocabulary thus far. He seems to be adding to it daily, and before we know it he'll be reciting Shakespeare and I'll wonder, "what happened to my sweet little baby?" Gotta milk each day of his toddlerhood while I can.

His booming vocabulary:
MaMa, DaDa, down, bath, outside, hot, hat, belly button (kind of), eye, bye-bye, Ella, B (as in Basco), night-night, shoe, hot, two (he can count to three, but the only number we actually understand is two), banana (nana), hoot, peekaboo (pboo), tree, stuck (funny word to know), that (he recently dropped the what as in what's that?), all letters of the alphabet (of course, they sound exactly the same as one another)

Random feats of physical prowess:
As we speak he's rubbing sweet potatoes all over himself, uses fork and spoon (though, obviously NOT right now), goes down any size slide, runs and plays with "big" kids, climbs up on everything, sits in dining room chair contentedly, runs (and runs and runs and runs), and of course, many more things that I can't think of right this moment.

Ok, ok, I must end this update. Zac has now decided to play peekaboo through my leg with the dogs.

Ciao!

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Can't he just stay this age forever?

June is national whiny-butt month and Zac has been voted President of special whining events (yay).

How come no one told me teething would be so hard?

Taming my WiLD man!

I'm slowing realizing that life as a lazy mom, ie eating bon bons and watching soaps while my baby coos away, is OVER! At fifteen months old, the world is incredible and exciting. In order to feed a ravenous sense of curiousity - such as Zac's - one must employ creative diversion tactics.

My most recent ploy ... make him do housework with me! It works like a charm.

Just this morning "we" swept, wiped down all the cabinets, and picked up toys. Tomorrow, I'm shooting for poopy patrol, weed eating and garage clean up - wait, he is only little over a year. Guess I'll have to wait on those.

Onward as my wild man grows upward!

Finicky Eaters Anonymous?

Hi, my name is Zac, and I am a finicky eater.

I wasn't always this way ... just a few months ago, I prided myself on eating anything and everything. Nothing was off limits in my all-you-can-eat-buffet world. Bananas? LOVED them! Grapes? Couldn't get enough of them (especially AT the grocery store). Mama's homemade apple sauce? ADORED it. These days, though, I'm not so into anything.

My mama has more than once voiced her frustration about my new style of consumption. I enjoy watching her frantically rummage through kitchen cabinets and refrigerator drawers trying to find that one special thing I'll be into at that moment. Doesn't she know that my tastebuds are changing every millisecond? Doesn't she also know that I have better things to do (like play outside!) than to wait for her to figure it out?

So, until I can actually say (instead of type, of course) "finicky eater". I guess I'm out of luck for a meeting and will have to aggravate my mama for some time to come.

Zac takes maia for a walk. So much fun!