What's he up to?

Zach is really becoming a little busy body. He absolutely LOVES to play the piano. He even pushes the buttons to change the sound and twists the volume up and down. I'm sure the nieghbors are pretty curious about what sort of music this family is into- especially now that we've been leaving our windows open for the fresh air.
I remember the days when Zach would just buldoze any attempt I made at building a tower of blocks. Now, on the other hand, it's all about the building. I love his look of total concentration here. And YES- he did build this one All By Himself!

By Popular Demand...

By popular demand of the grandparents... we proudly present...

THE EASTER EGG HUNT!!!

I know they are a bit long but they crack me up. I love how fast he jets after the eggs once he spots them and the way he fills his cheeks with goodies like a hampster. He definatly enjoyed himself that's for sure.

p.s. Sorry it took me so long to post these. Jason put them on the computer but I couldn't find them.

Felt Board Project

I've been working on this project for a little while now and I am really excited about it- thus the double post (see Teryn's Treats). I'm actually hoping to find a couple more books to copy and my next set is going to be for counting. Zack really likes the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" one. We sing the words along with Twinkle Twinkle as he puts each of the animals on the board. Anyone have any other ideas?

Zach's Egg

This is Zach's egg. He decorated it all by himself! I would give him a

sticker and he would stick it on the egg. Then Clap enthusiastically. When he was done we peeled it and he ate it- the WHOLE thing. I think Zach likes Easter.

Zach's First Peep

Upon first examination I decided the object needed to be disected and holes were cautiously picked into it's squishy surface to determine if it was safe.

The pokes were followed by tiny tastes and it was decited that...

The squishy object is edible.

So I dug in!

The Easter Witch Came!

We woke up this morning to a great surprise. The Easter Witch came!! (In Norway they have a witch instead of a bunny- don't worry she's not a scary witch)
We had an Egg hunt. Zach loved hunting down the eggs once he realized what was inside.

Don't worry Grandma. His treats were goldfish, pretzles, and fruit snacks. Once he spotted an egg he would race toward it as fast as he could, then pop it open and fill his cheecks with goodies. He looked like a hampster! Once his belly was full he started actually collecting the eggs in his bucket. We wondered if he was old enough to even enjoy an easter egg hunt but he loved every second of it.

Dads present to Zach was a new tree swing! I picked it up at a garage sale last year for $5 but we just hadn't ever gotten around to putting it up. Now we can swing every day!

I won!!!

I may have mentioned before, but a while back I joined this photography group online. A friend of mine told me about it and I thought it would be a fun way to practice some photography skills. Basically the premise is that 2x per week we are given a word and then 24 hours to take a NEW picture that, to us, represents that word. Then at the end of the challenge we all vote so choose 1 picture that is the best take on the challenge and 1 that is the best overall picture. I have added a picture link in my sidebar that I will update as each challenge comes along so that I can show what I've done.

Anyway! The point of this post is... this last one... I WON!!!

Me, the amatuer of the century. I actually won- Best Overall even. This is the picture I submitted for the theme of "Black and White"

This was taken on a walk over by my friend's house. It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky but when I turned the picture black and white I got this great scary path into mystery. I was pretty excited about the picture but the others were also great so I didn't think in a million years that I would actually win! It's funny, there's no prizes or anything but it still feels really good.

Horray! I won! (I may or may not have done a little dance)

Check out Mission 24 to see my competition

Fantasy Mobile

Zach loves his Mega Blocks. He loves to drive his Mega Block car- drives it all around the house.
Here, he has created his "dream car" all by himself!
Yes- it still has a picture on the side from primary. Ah well...

New Additions

Well, we have taken the plunge and added to our family x 3

Introducing Bolt (top right), Spaz (top left), and Nosy (bottom)- given names, subject to change upon review.
Zach is pretty excited.

We've been taking Zach to the pet store every once and a while so that he could ooo and ahhh at the animals there and when these guys were posted on FREECYCLE I just couldn't turn them down. They are really cute and Zach loves when they stand up on thier back legs to look at him.

So, it's official that Zach now has his first real pets. Jury is still out on how his dad feels about the matter.

Spring Time!

The weather here may not be able to make up it's mind but I sure have. For me- spring is officially here. My seeds sprouted this morning. It is amazing to me how fast they sprout. This morning there was just the one tomato, Now there are signs of several Zucchini, and a squash to go along with these two precious beauties.

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Better than that- I began my spring cleaning.

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Here's a little confession, though it may be a little to much info to reveal, I'm going to own it. I don't clean. Or I didn't anyway. I've tried. I've had great intentions but it's just been something that I really struggled with. To give you an idea, as a newlywed,when my hubby mentioned his mom was washing their walls one day I thought it was a joke. I figured it was a figure of speech saying she was doing some deep cleaning. I never imagined that one would literally clean their walls.

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I'm SORRY! I just never learned that stuff. My chore growing up was washing dishes- that's just what I did. I do dishes VERY well- walls, not so much.

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Regardless, I'm now ready to turn over a new leaf. I realized that I've struggled with housework because it just seemed so overwhelming. So many things, so many different little tasks. My ADD would go wild and I would wander aimlessly through the house not knowing where to start. My other problem was, since I really didn't know HOW to clean I would look at each task as basically impossible. Afraid that if I attempted to do anything I might ruin something or asphyxiate myself with toxic fumes. I've been getting better over the years but now, I think I've hit a breakthrough with one simple quote

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"Housework done incorrectly still blesses your family"

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AHA! What have I been so worried about? It's actually from http://www.flylady.net/ a cleaning program that I recently subscribed to. It's great for an ADD gall like me because they break it down so simply. Each week we have a "Zone" we are working on and a special "mission" to complete daily. Simple stuff. This week is Living room/entryway. Today's assignment was to wash the walls of the entryway. WASH THE WALLS! (ooooo see, it really does happen)

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SO, I did. I washed the walls. Maybe not correctly but I did. Then I scrubbed the door. Washed and vacuumed the screen and it became contagious. It started to spread. I don't know what happened! I don't know if it's this Fly Lady thing or a new vitamin I started today or finally breaking the 10 lb mark on my weight loss plan but something clicked.

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Before noon today I had washed most of the windows, the mirrors. The walls in the entryway. Changed the sheets, vacuumed the ENTIRE house (even the stairs! I don't remember the last time I vacuumed the stairs) cleaned the kitchen and living room, mopped the floor, swept the porch, dusted all of the downstairs, did 3 loads of laundry and other various tasks along with multiple breaks to play with Zach. (He figured out how to put together a puzzle today)

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Maybe that doesn't sound like that big of a feat for normal people but for me it was pretty great. All that is left in my ENTIRE house is the bathroom and 1 load of laundry. I'm feeling good!

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Tomorrow.... I think we deserve to play! Any ideas?

April Fools Day

So, is this a desert OR...
Meatloaf and Potatoes!!!!
Zach got a kick out of it.

Then, he DUG IN!!!!

I didn't think he would get the joke but he laughed all the way through dinner as he dug into his cupcake meatloaf. Maybe he understands a whole lot more than I give him credit for?

Sadly, Jason didn't get home until late so he didn't get to be there to enjoy them with us. He did roll his eyes at me a bit when I reheated a couple for him when he got home.

p.s. I got the idea from U create

You can't really believe I'm that creative all on my own!

Growing up

Zach is growing up so much! His little sense of humor always has me laughing. This morning he started collecting these rings and stacking them on his arm. Then he would crawl around the living room giggling till one fell off. Then he would just slip it back on again and off he went.

He has also started comunicating fairly well considering he still refuses to learn any words. He will bring me his shoes and then point to his feet until I put them on. Then he will find his Jacket, and usually one of Jason's ties to bring to me. We don't really get out too much so maybe he's got cabin fever as bad as I do.

He signs please by frantically patting his chest and if he is hungry or thirsty he taps his lips with his pointer finger. We're not sure where he learned that one but it has helped him be a lot less frustrated when he can just tell us what's the matter.

He has also started climbing on things, anything he can find really. He's even pushed a box in from the living room so that he could climb up on it to get to a chair to get to the table. Ahhh! And he's not even walking yet.

He loves to read stories. Yesterday I was getting ready for the day and he brought me "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" a fun rhythmic ABC book. I think we read it at least three times. At the end there is a page that just shows all of the alphabet so I always sing it for him while pointing to each letter. This time, he took over "singing" at the top of his lungs as he pointed to various parts of the page. It made me laugh. I love his singing. Somehow it is just so BOY. I'm not quite sure how to explain it except to say it's more of a low wail/holler. We've actually had people turn around in church during the hymns because he almost sounds upset but he's smiling and he promptly stops when the song is over.

Oh! This picture I have of him above. He's wearing a 2T shirt! I just can't get over it. He's just not a baby anymore. He's a kid!