Building the firetruck at Lowe's

Finger Painting

A few days ago Zach had an idea and he was pretty excited to carry it out. He found a bottle of paint then gathered up his bib and insisted on being put into his high chair. How could I deny him? We started with finger painting and then pulled out an old jeep for a repeat of our driving project from his tot class a few weeks ago. He was totally thrilled to get down and dirty. Here are his creations. I thought they turned out pretty neat.

Then, I turned my back and when I looked back I found this. HOW, I don't know. But I thought it was pretty funny. He didn't like me laughing at him very much.

What a Freebie!!!

Have I told you how much I love freecycle?

Well- I LOVE FREECYCLE!!!

Why? Do you ask? Isn't that just a whole bunch of just people are trying to get rid of?

Maybe... but not always.

A few weeks ago, we got THIS...

No, not the boys tangled up and giggling- We got a trampoline! FREE!!

It's in great condition and already it's a HIT.
We had some friends over to roast marshmallows and hot dogs in out fire pit (also from freecycle) and play on the trampoline. The kids had a blast. And believe it or not, NOBODY got hurt. Horray!
Zach also enjoyed making funny faces at mom while practicing our rolling skills in the wonderful sunshine.

THANK YOU FREECYCLE!!

A Special Zoo Trip

When we renewed our zoo pass for this year we got a whole pack of free tickets for the special exhibits and they're expiration dates were swiftly approaching. Last year, they expired before we remembered to use them. DARN! This year I was proactive and we planned a trip specifically for the purpose of using those tickets.

We started with the TRAIN!!

Zach is obsessed with trains so he was thrilled.
Those silly pursed lips are him making the train noise, which coincidentally sounds a whole lot like his cow AND his cat noise.
Then, completely worn out already, we headed home for a nap.
The day wasn't over yet so, after his nap, we met some friends and enjoyed the Sea Lion and Seal show.
Zach thought the sea lion's honking noise was hysterical.
The ball balancing trick was quite impressive. But the hi-light of the day was our trip to the Birds from Down Under exhibit. Jason caught a bird with his food stick right as we walked in the door.
Zach followed his dad's example, putting his stick into the air after the birds.
He wasn't expecting one to ACTUALLY LAND on it. A bird swooped in only moments after we had walked in the door and he latched on to Zach's little stick.
I expected him to immediately drop it. But, he kept a secure hold and the bird stayed for several minutes. He kept looking nervously my direction like"Mom! He won't get off!" But he somehow managed to stay calm.
The bird got a pretty good meal out of it. If only he had known how close he was to a perilous drop.

Zach tried to catch more birds without much luck.
This guy was especially elusive. He would act interested, reach out for the food...
Then snatch a chunk off and high tail it out of there.
It was quite the experience. And I think we might actually go again, even if we ARE out of free tickets. It would still be well worth it.

What a happy kid!

Artwork by Zach

So, I've been REALLY bad about posting lately haven't I? I guess my focus has been elsewhere. Zach is definately growing up so fast. It's tough to keep up sometimes- literally! I have to keep my running shoes on since he never seems to stop running. I enrolled him in a class through the community to get some 'out of the house' socializing in. It's supposed to be a sort of toddler fitness class where they get to dance and run around. So far, the dancing isn't so much his thing but the running, of course, is a hit.

They also have a arts & crafts time. This week we painted with cars. What could be more fun! I expected Zach to go wild, rolling back and forth as fast as he could. What was I thinking? Zach is a very thoughtful kid and, of course, even the rolling of the cars were slow and meticulous. It was like he was intently concentrating on getting the lines just right. Here's his masterpiece:

When Jason got home he was SO excited to show his creation to his dad. He ran the painting over to Jason and then picked up a car to show him just how it was done, rolling it over the picture for him.

Last week was equally exciting. We learned about the animals on a farm, well everybody except Zach who was way too interested in driving the tractor around. Of course! The craft that day was to paint the mud for Mr. Pig with pudding. He loved it and, as you can see, he actually tried to keep the mud in the puddle outline. I tried to get him to go crazy with it and spread it all over (the stray smudges at the top were actually mine) but NO, once again he very carefully painted the picture just the way he thought it ought to be. And then snacked on the "mud" just a little bit.
That's my boy!