We're Back...

It's been 3 months since we updated the blog. Ridiculous, I know. As usual, things have been crazy and it was just too easy to find reasons not to update the blog. Plus HP and Gateway computers suck and being computer-less for a few weeks didn't help our cause.

So what's Zack been up to? Zack has settled in to our new apartment across the river. The dogs are having a tougher adjustment to apartment living...and Mom and Dad are probably having the hardest time with it. Zack loved the pool at our apartment complex this summer, and since my schedule was pretty open, we would walk down the hall and go swimming most days. There are also a ton of playgrounds around and Zack really enjoys the slides, climbing, and finding places to hide. Of course though his favorite thing to do is show off for the Moms and flirt with the older girls.

Zack also seems to be checking off states on his been there list. Between road trips to Florida and Maine and a quick trip out to LA, Zack has been to 15 states this summer (CA, NY, NJ, CT, PA, WV, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, MA, NH, and ME). All told he's up to 19 states now (NV, AZ, CO, and TX too).

In early August, the 3 of us hopped in the car and drove to Florida to pick up the dogs. We learned a few things along the way:

• Toddlers do not like to be in car seats for 20 hours...even if you split it up over the course of 3 days. Hence, I drove back with the dogs, while Jess and Zack flew. The trip was also significantly faster, 18 hours straight through the night.
• If you let a toddler run around a hotel room with no diaper, he WILL violate the hotel room. Nothing like turning around and seeing that your son just took a dump on the hotel room floor...except watching him do it again the next morning, after he peed on the corner of the bed. All you can do is laugh. If anyone is planning on staying at the aloft in Charlotte, avoid room 818.
• Toddlers don't realize that syrup is not a food group.
• After a day of driving a swanky Thai restaurant is not the best choice for dinner. Mexican is better, but expect a fair amount of chips, guac, and rice to be flying.
• Zack really missed his dogs and was so excited to see his best friends when we finally got to Palm Beach Gardens.
• If you let your toddler son sleep in the bed and wake up in the morning and he is missing...look under the bed where you will certainly find a smiling kid that is very proud to have found such a good hiding spot.
  
• After 3 months in Florida, never fail the day before we are leaving to come home, the dogs will be horse playing and Sierra will get injured and need an emergency vet trip
  

Maine was also a new adventure for Zack and he learned a few things.

• Dad is a pushover and also a milkshake fan, so he scores on road trips without Mom. I mean who can turn down a Fribble or DQ? That's just stupid.
• Lobsters are fun to play with (some may call it torture).
• Wearing a life vest sucks, but the wind blowing in your face is a lot of fun.
• Safety wasn't a concern when his Dad was his age. Zack used my highchair from when I was a baby and there was no straps or anything to hold him in place.
• He's not so sure about amusement parks or water parks, but splashing in the water and flirting are fun.
• Water gets deeper the further into a lake you walk, but people tend to grab you when you make it neck deep trying to follow your Dad swimming.
• Stairs are fun...falling down stairs, not fun, but he'll get up and start climbing again.

In LA and Carlsbad, Zack learned a few more things.

• If you let an 11 year old girl and her friend play with you, they will be obsessed and not leave the house, even if it drives Uncle Jim crazy on his birthday. They'll even babysit so Mom and Dad can go to the Hollywood Bowl, which is awesome!
  
• Not all dogs like Zack. Some will snarl, growl, and nip. It seems that small dogs do not like it when you sneak up on them and grab them. However, a fat drooling bulldog will let you hug him and slobber on you.
• Not all dogs will let you taunt them with your food or share nicely. Unlike Foster and Sierra, if you offer dogs a bite of your cookie, some of them will take the whole cookie, not just a bite.
• Seriously, guacamole is awesome and no one seems to mind if a baby is double-dipping (or keeps dipping until the chip is totally waterlogged).
• Dick's meatballs are still awesome!
• Business Elite is the only way to travel. Dad expected the worst flying back to JFK from LAX, but aside from throwing some things around the cabin, trying to get our neighbor's attention, Zack was great. Something about the almost lay flat seats and being able to look out the window seems to help.
  

It seems that we were out of town more than we were in town this summer. In addition, we also had a couple of trips to SF without Zack, to get moved, see friends, and go to TK & Afrika's wedding in Napa. Salima and Matt's wedding down in the Dirty South. Then there were the bachelor parties and random other trips. Throw in a trip to CT for a family reunion where Zack ran wild the entire day and a trip to the Adirondacks with Cara and Chip, and we're exhausted and the Pathfinder has probably an extra 5,000+ miles on it.

The last thing...After a trip to the doctor last week, we're happy to report that Zack is not allergic to peanuts, after a couple scares. He broke out with hives in Florida and they flared up again. We put together than he had peanut butter before both episodes and as such he hasn't had peanut butter in a month. We have no idea what the real cause was, probably viral, but the allergy skin testing confirmed he can eat a jar of peanut butter...which he probably would if we let him. His only allergies seem to be grass, cats, and cockroaches (thanks Mom). Jess was devastated to hear about the cockroaches, because now Zack and I have a medical reason why we can't move to Florida. Sorry to kill your (pipe) dream Jess.

Alright, so this rambling novel kind of makes up for us being MIA for a few months. We'll get some pictures up in the next day or so and we will definitely be better about keeping everyone posted on Zack's crazy life...of course we'll be out of town next weekend (Gainesville for Zack's 1st football game and hopefully 1st time water skiing), so we'll post an update when we get home (errr, I mean back to our apartment).