Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!

We went to the zoo today and even though it was a bit windy we had a great time. They were having a special bird activity where we "flew" to different parts of the "world" and learned about how the bird lost weight in it's travels to reach Wisconsin. He weighed 6 cheerios when we started the journey and only 1 cheerio when we arrived. Zach got treats along the way and a fun bird badge when we finished the trip. Along the way we visited some cool animals. The giant fish were pretty exciting.

This is Zach's new "I dunno" face. It's really funny, he cocks his head a bit then turns his hands out. Jason asked him where the meercat was and this is what we got... "I dunno" or "where'd he go". I love it!

The lions were pretty fascinating too. Zach's getting pretty good at his "growl".

Rocking Horse

Zach loves his rocking horse. He's even just tall enough to climb on it himself. He really got it rocking at one point. THANKS GRANDPA HAYMOND!

A New Toy

Jason helped some friends of ours pack up some of thier belongings in preparation of moving accross the country (bummer!!). As a thank you they sent him home with the great new toy.
Zach was THRILLED! The battery only lasts 10 minutes but my boys sure made good use of that time. Zach was even driving it all by himself- while I curled up on the couch cringing every time he got near me. I was quite sure he was going to take off one of my toes! Boys will be boys though and I really don't think they could have been happier.

Straight from the Chocolate Factory

What do you get when you try to give a sleepy baby Spaghetti-Oh's?
One Cranky Ooompa Loompa!!

(No this is not an effect of the lighting- his face really IS orange! Even more so in real life)

What the...?

We have a very structured schedule when it comes to nap time at our house. 12:00 sharp we head to Zach's room for 3 stories and then straight to bed. He's gotten so accustomed to this he never EVER gives me trouble. Still, THIS
Never happens!

He was playing with our shoes and watching Music Man while I finished cleaning up breakfast and ZONK... by the time I peeked in on him from the kitchen he was completely out. And it was only about 10:30! (I know, kinda late for breakfast- it was a late morning today)

It got stranger though- when I tried to move him he woke up so I took him upstairs, read our two stories like usual and put him in his crib. By that point he was wide awake but he was just talking to himself and singing and whatnot and I knew he had to be tired (as seen above) so I just let him be. After about a half hour of squeels, giggles and "singing" he just laid down and went back to sleep for another 3 hours. I even got my work out in! I was pretty excited. I tell you what- I sure got lucky with this kid. He's just such an easy kid. I love him... and I think I'll keep him. :)

P.S. Since I had a little extra nap time today I got to finally finish a project- check out Teryn's Treats to see my latest design.

Sunday at the Park

Sunday was a beautiful day to we took a bike ride to the park. Zach and Jason started out by building a sand castle. Well... Jason built the sand lump while Zach guzzled milk. I loved how he was kicking his feet back and forth, back and forth.
Then after an unfortunate bloody nose incident, (less than 15 seconds of tears though) Zach attempted to build his own sand castle. He actually filled the bucket about half way all by himself then tried to turn it over. He's a quick study.

Here Zach is actually squeezing the sand with all his might. He has started doing this with bananas too sometimes. It's really funny- he scrunches up his face and shakes his head and arms. The first time he did it I thought he was pooping but then realized he was just smooshing the banana.

We missed the best part, when his face was all contorted but you can kinda get the idea. It's pretty funny.

All in all- despite the bloody nose- it was a fun day.

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!

PARTY!

So, the famous Book turned movie sensation has been released on DVD and we just HAD to celebrate.

Some of the other med student wives got together and I rented a copy. Two of the other girls hadn't even seen it yet AND one of them hadn't read the book.
One of the other girls made these absolutely adorable cupcakes in honor of the film.I am a little compulsive with party food. There were only four of us but we had quite the spread. All things RED and decadent. Cherry Cola, Cherry 7-up, red grapes, watermelon, apples, pink fruit dip, twizzlers bites, chocolate covered strawberries, apple cupcakes, and my "Bella Bites" that I'lll explain below.

These are my new favorite treat. They are amazing! Jason is totally addicted. I got the recipe off of Pioneer Woman's website and she got it from Bakerella. (ahh the blog world!)

Here's the cheesy stretch of an explanation I gave the girls.

THESE are "Bella Bites". They have the white chocolate drizzles to represent the purity and innocence of Bella paired with the darkness that is Edward Cullen. Then the inside is the deep red of red velvet cake. I'm sure you can guess what that represents. Mwa ha ha ha!!!!!

Cheesy right? But, Oh so tasty!

(Explanation to be found later on my other blog TERYN'S TREATS)

More Children's Museum

We went to the museum again today- I know TWO days in a row! How awsome is that! We are really getting edgumacated.

This time I tried to make an extra effort to hand the camera over and get in there WITH Zach. One of my friends had blogged about realizing she wasn't in any pictures and then overcoming the innate desire we women have to hide BEHIND the camera. These are supposed to be memories- I was there too!
We went fishing for a good while this time. Zach was actually pretty good at guiding the fishing pole to the fish where the magnet would snatch them up. He was always so excited when he actually got one.

We also tried the sand box.

Fascinating!

Thank you Whitney for playing Photographer for me today!

Gardening Season

What happens when you plant a garden and then get pregnant?
You get 2 years worth of garden gone BAD!

Zack and I went out the other day because it was nice and sunny (it's been raining ever since) and tried to clean it all out. The crazy part was that a bunch of the plants I had put out there two years ago had actually seeded and spread. Thereby taking over the garden. I how have a whole bunch of strawberries and garlic sprouts. Strange combination right? I'm now trying to decide if I should pull them all out and start fresh or just try to plant around them- which would unfortunatley result in an expremely strange set up I do have to say.

Children's Museum

Today was our first day using our new Children's Museum pass. We went with our friends Melinda, Evelyn, and Lizzy and all of us had a BLAST!

First we played with this neat river obstacle course. You drop the golf boll into a "log" at the top and then it rolls down a pin-ball like course of sticks and stones untill it reaches a dam at the bottom. Zach sat ON the dam most of the time and giggled as the balls rolled toward him.
Then we found the slide. Zach is now confident enough to climg up the stairs and slide down ALL BY HIMSELF.

As you can tell- he thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

There's my favorite crooked grin again.

Tough Guy

It looks like Zach has seen his mom do her work out tapes a couple times. I love the total look of concentration.

My goodness he's growing up isn't he!

Happy Meal!

Today we had a special treat. We went to the Children's Museum to get a FREE PASS! Horray! They actually have a special program for low income families so that thier children can enjoy the benefits of the museum even though they (we) otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to get in. I hope to be going back again and again as Zach gets older. I think it will be really good for him and he just LOVED the slides.

On our way home we stopped at Mickey-D's. We still had a gift card from Chirstmas so I splurged on the chicken salad I've been craving and Zach got to enjoy his very FIRST Happy Meal.

Chicken Nuggets and Apple dippers.
And a toy OF COURSE!!!

Book Review

Since I'm using this blog as a place to document/journal our family I thought it would be important to include Zach's favorite book.

We've reads tons of Dr. Sues Books, we have toy story, monster's in, and the incredibles. (all thanks to freecyle-wahoo!) But the one that seems to be the most requested (followed closely by Toy Story) and get the best sleep results is this one...
It's just a little paperback that I got at a Garage Sale last year for .25 cents. But Zach is always thrilled when I pull it out. Thankfully, I kinda enjoy the story too.

It's about this tiny little girl in the 1st grade who is small, has buck teeth, a voice that sounds like a duck, and is pretty clumsy sometimes. Thankfully she has a grandma with wise words of wisdom to help her stay positive. Like when she said about her buck teeth,

"Smile big and the world will smile right along side you"
And we ALWAYS do when we turn to this page. Zach gets this huge grin and then points out her teeth, her eyes and her nose- OH, and of course her ears too.

It's got really cute pictures, a rhythmic tone to it (I think that's why it appeals to Zach at such a young age) and a great positive message. (unlike poky puppy- I'll tell you about that later)

In my eyes- this book absolutely get's 5 stars. *****

Easter Decor

I know, I know... Jason told me I wasnt allowed to post this kind of stuff on our family blog anymore but I was excited OK! (and to be honest I'm not sure any one really looks at the other blog-see side bar for link to Teryn's Treats)

Remember how I said earlier that I don't generally come up with my own creative ideas- I'm just really good at copying other people? Well here's a perfect example.

Easter is coming and we don't have ANY decorations so I found this great idea on Tip Junkie. She actually linked to Cindy's blog here for a tutorial.

This is what I ended up with. Horray!

OK- so I was wishing I had some fancy shiny pastel eggs (too $$) and this is my first attempt at tying a decorative bow, not to mention my ribbon didn't really match so there is definately much to be desired here. What can I say though, it's fun and at least my home will be somewhat festive for easter this year.