A Morning in the Life of Zack

Good Morning! Let's Play!

I bet you don't know where I am going....

My favorite spot! I don't think Im supposed to be here...

Looook at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Splash Splash Splash!

Now lets go outside...The weather is gorgeous here!

Foster, Let's Play Ball!

Zack is growing so big! On Monday he will be 11 months old. As you can see, he is very active. He loves climbing on anything and everything....and he's really fast!!! In fact, last week he almost gave me a heart atack when I looked up to find him almost all the way to the top of the stairs!!!! Looks like we need to get a gate for the bottom of the stairs, not just for the top.

We are going to our fourth week of swimming lessons on Sunday and Zack LOVES it. He is such a water baby. He is not very good at listening and following directions, but he loves being in the water, splashing around, singing the songs, and seeing all of the other kids.

Lots of other things to update about but as usual we are running out the door. Headed to the farmers market to support our friend Bill in his man of the year campaign...www.billshen.com

Zack Invades Sonoma

It's been a while since we let the little guy go up to wine country. Something about a fully mobile baby crawling around tasting rooms just doesn't sound like a good idea. With Abby and Curti in town, we had an excuse to go to wine country...again. So we did what any responsible parent would and looked up "family friendly wineries" on Google. Surprisingly, there seem to be a lot of options.

We decided to hit Cline (www.clinecellars.com) and Larson Family Winery (www.larsonfamilywinery.com). Cline was 1st and when we pulled up, we weren't sure what we got into. Definitely not the Ledson or Hall experience, and certainly not the debacle that our semi-annual Silver Oak release parties become. While everyone tasted, I took Zack around to see all the animals. After having a snack and bottle outside, we headed down the road to Larson.

We have a new favorite place to go. There were a bunch of other kids there, "Billy the Black Crab," "Henry the Hermit Crab," some beefy girl that Zack had to teach a lesson, and some infants too. Add to that the 3 labs on the property (they had the whole set of colors), toys, picnic tables, and yard, and the place is perfect for kids. For the adults, the wine is pretty decent, the staff is super friendly, and there's bocce. For any freaks out there, you can check out the pygmy goats.

Here are the pics of Zack in his new happy place.

"Are we there yet?"


Cline Cellars tasting room


"It seems old people celebrate some guy Patrick and get drunk. I don't get it."


"You guys keep drinking the wine, I'll just eat this crayon."


"Still wine tasting? I'll go play with this doggie."


"I like the grass."


"Oh, what's this?"


"I want to play with the car more."


"This chick is crazy if she thinks she's going to take my car. I don't care how old she is."


"She thinks my tractor's sexy."


"Yeah, you know it's true girls."


"John Deere ride for Daddy."


"Holy crap, what do you weigh Dad?"


"It's windy here. Give me that wine Mommy."


"Hold on, is this my Sierra?"


"I loved this place!"


...and in case anyone is wondering, yes, Zack is eating VERY well, as evidenced by his chins.

More NY Pics

Daddy and Zack on the plane-Zack made BFFs with one of the male flight attendents from Brazil. He got to walk around the whole plane and hang out up in first class for a little while. Everyone on the plane was so impressed with his good behavior!

Zack sitting like a big boy in his very own seat!

YUMMMMM I love bananas!

And yogurt too!

This was Zacks make shift high chair in the hotel room

Back in NY

Since it seems that we may be moving to NY, Zack and I decided we'd join Jess on her last Macy*s West trip for moral support. I also figured we'd relax and go for runs in the park, tool around town, etc. Yeah, that was before we knew that the highs would be in the 20's. Actually, I think tomorrow is set to be a real scorcher with a high of 41...watch out!

Our trip got off to a great start with a 5 hour flight delay. Our flight attendants had to wake up and get to the airport from the hotel. That took 3 hours...I'm not sure if they were staying in Tahoe or what. When they finally showed up ATC put a hold on all flights to JFK, so we sat on the plane for 2 more hours. Once we were on the way, Zack made sure everyone saw him on the plane, waving at everyone (waving is his new favorite thing) and giving them a huge smile when they waved back. When we finally got to JFK, we were greeted by snow and cold. Good thing I was wearing flops and a tee.

On Tuesday, Zack and I left the hotel twice (temp was in the high teens), lunch and dinner. Zack hates getting dressed to go outside (he hates wearing a heavy coat), but he seems to love the cold weather (he smiled so big and was trying to catch the wind in his mouth). Plus going out gives him a chance to flirt and get showered with attention. We went to a fancy dinner and we were definitely nervous about how he'd behave. He was great (of course)...happy and hungry. He got a little fussy as it got later, so we had to walk him around a bit. In reality, I think his real motivation was the tall, blond, Eastern European bartender (what can I say, I taught him well).

Today Zack and I went to the Museum of Natural Science...a little educational field trip. Zack was a big fan of the stegosaurus, fossilized eggs, and mammoths. His absolute favorite though was playing with other kids (some little girl fell in love) and of course waving at everyone. We went to the kids Discovery Room, but when Zack tried to put everything in his mouth, we realized that he may not be advanced enough for the 5+ years play area...oh well.

I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow. I know we're going to see Zack's "gay uncles" Stevie and Mason tomorrow night, but we'll see what we can do based on the weather.

Here are some pics from last week and the museum...

Just ignore the drool on his shirt, but pay attention to the Havaianas (from Dad of course) and notice that Zack is eating VERY well (chubbers!)


Dad & Zack have matching flops


Zack has figured out how to crawl outside...and how to take off shoes and socks (where did your flop go buddy?)

"What the heck, will someone let me in?" (Notice Foster through the glass)

Zack's not a big fan of clothes or the gate (but we can't have the baby falling down the stairs...like Uncle Greg)


Yeah, King Kong really doesn't like the gate.


Zack checking out the scene at the Museum of Natural History


Playing with the dinosaurs in the background


Zack's favorite part of the museum...play time. This is where all the nannies were with the babies (plus 1 Dad). Zack decided to just lay down for this little girl and play hard to get.


Yeah, she loved him!!! I didn't get a picture, but she was kissing him too. What can we say, he's irresistible