Gainesville Fun!

We just got back from Gainesville for the Florida - Tennessee game. While the Gators were underwhelming at best, we had a great time taking Zack to his 1st football game and spending some time with the family at the lake and of course tailgating. Zack was great with his baby cousin, except that he really didn't want to share toys. He shared food with him, gave him hugs, crawled with him (since Spencer isn't walking yet), stole Spencer's sippy cup 999 times, and only swatted him once (Spencer hit back many more times though...he has just learned to hit/slap and is trying it out on everyone).

As we were getting ready to leave, we realized that a few bug bites Zack had were swelling and blistering. Yummy! At least we had a doctor at the lake to diagnose him, although Zack was not a fan of getting bandaged up to prevent him from scratching. Oh well, yet another reason we can't move to Florida...Sorry Jess.

Here are some pics from this weekend.

Hangin' with Cousin Spencer at the Lake House...This is when Mommy realized her baby isn't really a baby any more...He is soooo big when compared to Spencer (10 months). Also realized we should probably have another one sooner rather then later so Z-Man doesn't grow up to be a spoiled brat!

First time on skis...Dad, Gramma and Grandpa were very proud of Z-Man, but a lil bummed out that he wouldn't hold on with 2 hands...and of course his unwillingness to wear a life vest is really the only thing that is keeping him from getting pulled by the boat. Maybe he will ski for real at Thanksgiving?

Bath Time for the babies! (AKA - blackmail!)

Faux Hawks for the boys! The ladies just love it!

Tailgating is tough work...a little nap before kickoff.

Running to catch kickoff...just a standard 50 yard return.

First time in the SWAMP!!! This was a very monumental day for the fam!

"No really Mom & Dad, I'm sweating my ass off."

"Don't mind me, I found a better place to watch the game in the F Club. A/C, snacks, leather couch full of chicks. I'm good."

"I can even play with Mom and Nonni in the F Club."

Summer Pics

Alright, here are the pics from this summer that we promised.


Look, I found a fun place to play.
Hanging out with distant relatives at the Cousins Weekend.

I got the stick.

Alright, I got up here, but not sure about getting down.

Just helping Noni clean up.

Corn is good.

Couch commander.


Even in this outfit, I'll smile!

Grumpy introduced me to my new favorite food...milkshakes.

Hanging with the big kids at the zoo.

Hey turtle, you look thirsty, have some juice.

Much better.

I want to drive Dad.


Hold on, what the heck is going on here.
I'm flying!

Being silly with Daddy at the lake.

Everybody look at me cause I'm sailin on a boat

Yeah, never thought I'd be on a boat
It's a big blue watery road

I got my swim trunks, and my flippie-floppies
I'm flippin burgers, you at Kinko's straight flippin copies

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).

City Boy

It started raining walking Zack to school Friday. Even though Zack wouldn't have cared if he got rained on, I couldn't be the bad dad that allowed that. So we came up with a solution and he held his own umbrella for the whole walk.

It's Been a Month

Yeah, legit, it's been a month since we updated this thing so we're probably overdue for an update.

So we're up in NY now for good. It's still not home, because the pups aren't here and we're in temp housing without all of our "stuff." Jess loves the lovely floral print furniture in our hotel though. Hey, at least we're getting Marriott point out of this thing.

Although Jess moved here a month ago, this was the 1st weekend we were actually in NY and it was gorgeous. This whole apartment hunt thing sucks, but Zack has been a trooper. We've walked all over the city and the little guy has behaved great, which is defined as running around bouncing off walls and making sure everyone pays attention to him. As opposed to the alternative of having a meltdown, we'll take it.

This morning, we began to realize we may be OK in this city this morning, even though there are still things we don't like. The odor of urine and trash makes the Tenderloin seem like a Glade air freshener and on the whole, the average New Yorker is an ass hole (case in point, Zack ditched a shoe going to daycare and not one person pointed it out to Jessie...probably the most obnoxious thing I've ever heard). We went for a family run and stopped at the Chelsea Waterfront playground to let Zack get out some energy and flirt with the little girls. A little 6-miler on the Westside Highway up to Riverside Park was the perfect start to the day. Of course we walked to look at apartments up there again in the afternoon, so we're getting plenty of exercise.

Zack has been busy as usual. After the sh*tshow that was me flying with him and the dogs to south Florida, he stayed with Cliffy and Mare for a week. He LOVED swimming every day...oh and he's a big fan of the lack of discipline with grandparents in general. Nap time, oh you don't want to nap...OK, no nap. Bed time, oh you don't want to sleep...OK, come watch TV. After a few days in NY, it was down to Atlanta for a wedding and staying with his other grandparents in the mansion. Zack was a big fan of the stairs, hiding things (a shoe got lost for 2 days), and tormenting Tripper. Last weekend was a trip to Baltimore, but now he's settling into NY life. He loves the subway (lots of people to pay attention to him). He likes to chase the winged rats, which he calls dog. Running up and down the hallway is fun and he's over his initial trepidation about getting in and out of the elevator. Oh and the lack of child-proof cabinets is his favorite.

Zack starts daycare tomorrow and we're certain he'll be happy to be playing with kids all day. We think he gets bored with us, especially if we make him sit in the stroller and look at apartments. Plus, maybe he won't learn so much. The kid is a sponge. He blew our mind today. So we live in a hotel and we have key cards to get in the room. He wanted out, so he grabbed a gift card, which we didn't realize he could get to, and went to the door with it. It took us a second to realize what he was doing, but that was the moment when we came to the realization, we have to be on our best behavior around him now. Damn!

Anyone that remembers Zack's days as a bulimic, when he couldn't gain weight would be happy to know he is a PIG! Feeding him is a 20-30 minute investment of time, because he keeps going. He has recently decided he likes bananas again and eats 2 a day. He's a big fan of spicy Mexican food. He's not much of a fan of Chinese food. He's a true southern boy and loves grits. He'd much prefer to drink from a water bottle or even a glass (need to stop leaving them on the coffee table) than a sippy cup. And of course he's still trying to steal my beers.

Alright, we'll try to be better about posting pictures, but here are some from Zack's Florida vacation.


Going for a run with the girls, but "seriously, why do grandmas dress babies so weird?"


"Silly Foster was scared of the pool. Sierra wouldn't get out."


"I know it's not a real sport, but I played basketball with my Grumpy."


"I'm on a boat! (And yes I got my flippy floppies)"


Me, Mom, and my aunts (by the way the word is NOT pronounced ANT)."


My 1st trip to the beach.


"This is fun!"



Zack didn't understand the concept of waves...or unexposed midriffs.



"I got Daddy's glasses."

Moving Day

Zack is taking a morning nap, the pups are out playing, so I have a few free minutes. I still can't believe we're moving. It's been so hectic getting ready for it, that it hasn't totally sunk in. It definitely started to when we saw Jess off Monday. Picking Zack up at daycare yesterday also made it real, since the girls were about crying and I had to bring 2 bags with all of his stuff home. We're all packed up now and I'm taking Zack's highchair and stashing it, because when selling a house it can't look like anyone lives here...duh!

This flight is going to be a zoo. Literally. Actually, once we get checked in and through security, we'll be cool, but I'll probably need a shower and a drink to relax. Hopefully the pups fly as well as they did when they moved to SF.

Speaking of zoos. Dale and I took Zack to the zoo yesterday afternoon. By our count, we were paid $90 each to be at the zoo. Thank you unemployment. Anyway, here are some pics. Zack walked most of the time, and felt the need to pick up most leaves he'd come across, and true to form, all animals were "dahs" (AKA, dogs).

PS - Zack is up again and is sharing his snack (un-Saltines) with Foster. One bite for Zack, one bite for Foster. Also, not anything new.


"I'm not fat, I'm big boned...and cut me some slack I'm walking off the belly."


"Hey Zack, show us your trick."


"Haha, that joke is funny."


"Slow down Dad, I inherited your stubby little legs."


"I have a switch and I'm going to chase you."


"That dah looks like my Foster."


"Yeah, I still have a major drooling problem."


"These things are fun to pull on."


"What the hell is that?"


"This is the biggest dah I've ever seen."

Zack is 1!!!

Here are some pics from his actual birthday (April 30th) and from his party (May 3rd). As you can see... Like Father, Like Son...Zack hates wearing a shirt!!!

His new favorite song is "Happy Birthday"...and he is a walking fool (running too)...his favorite word right now is still "ball" and he looooooooooooves throwing the ball to Sierra! Oh, and he doesn't like cake! He had it all over his face because we put it there, not because he ate it....we think that's a good thing! He is a meat and veggie lover (meatballs and sweet potatoes are his 2 faves!)

Sorry we are terrible bloggers...love to all! Enjoy the pics!