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

Life is a Whirlwind

So here we are on February 15th....hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We certainly did.!Here are some pics of Zack's first Hallmark Holiday...

We have so much to update about.

Zack is still the happiest and most loving little boy around. We can't believe that he will be 10 months old in 2 weeks...I say this everytime I update the blog, but I am just not sure where the time goes. As you can see by the pics, he is pulling himself up on anything and everything he can. He loves pushing his toys (and the laundry basket) all around the living room. He stands up on his own, but hasn't quite figured out how to take a step yet. Apparently his Daddy didn't walk until he was 18 months old...so who knows what Zack will do.

He is such a boy, loves his cars and trucks and trains, especially crashing them into the walls! Add of course anything loud...He is still into the dogs, pulling and pushing on them and giving them "kisses" (aka drooling all over them) ... and he is eating us out of house and home! Sample dinner menu: Summer Vegetable baby food, cut up Mozzarella sting cheese (a whole stick), a handful of diced chicken breast, a handful of cheerios, Sweet potato baby food, and a few bites of banana...ARE YOU KIDDING ME ZACK?! I have girlfriends that don't eat that much in a day!!!!

We are currently suffering from yet another ear infection...truthfully, we aren't sure that the one from Christmas ever really fully went away. Luckily he isn't very fussy despite both ears being infected, a fever, and a runny nose...he is such a trooper! Good thing tomorrow is a holiday so Daddy will stay home with him so he has a full 2 days on antibiotics before going back to "school".

Now...to answer all the questions regarding my job a ]nd Macys and all of that other good stuff.... Last Monday, to our total complete surprise (we were shocked to say the least!) Macys announced that they are closing their San Francisco, Miami, and Atlanta offices and consolidating to New York. As such, they laid off 7,000 corporate emplyees, myself included. In the restructuring of the NY office, they will be hiring some of us, but we won't know who they want to interview until next week. If they offer you a job, you still have the chance to decline it and take your severence, so of course I have put my name in the pot as "relocatable" just to see what they will be offering. In the meantime, I would really prefer just to take my severence and get a new job. They are surprisngly giving us a pretty nice severence package that under ordinary "non recession" circumstances would afford me some time to stay home with little Z and enjoy some down time, but given the current state of the economy, and the difficult environemnt at Jeff's job, we feel like I need to really be looking to take a job right awway.

My last day at Macys is April 30th (I think)...and at this time it seems that we will have some really tough decisions to make in the next few weeks. Last week I was in NY interviewing with Ross Stores (yes, Ross Dress for Less--don't laugh, they have a really great reputation as a great place to work and are actually one of the few retailers makeing their #s and growing). Additionally, I am going to Chicago (ok outside of Chicago actually) to interview with Sears, and am trying to convince Jeff to let me talk to Belk in Charlotte, but he has veto'd that one already. I also have a couple of other things up my sleeve, but unfortunately none of them are here in SF...so true to form, the Goslin's may be moving again soon....Stay tuned....and please cross your fingers for us. We are so excited about what the future has in store...

Finally an Update

So we're terrible about updating the blog. We need to work on it, but between chasing Zack around the house and trying to have lives, we just never seem to find the time. Zack is not quite walking yet, but he can stand on his own, but he isn't sure what to do when he's standing.

As you can see in the pictures, Zack is eating really well. He's a little butterball now. Foster also scores at meal time, as Zack likes to share his Cheerios. Zack's grandparents were here this weekend so that Jess and I could go on a date to Napa. They've been working on some of his eating skills and he really likes to hold his own fork and eat bananas.

Oh and the best news is that his sleeping is so much better than it used to be. He just wakes up a little early still (5:15 - 5:45 most every mornings).

Here are some pics to placate the angry masses (also known as our family, particularly the grandmothers).

Holidays are fun...Dad took me to the swing on his day off and I met a little girl named Julia...she wanted me.


I found a new hiding spot...



...and got pretty ticked off when I couldn't get out.



I got to help my Popski do some projects. Mom & Dad had him install locks so I can't open cabinets...bummer.



Bath time is so much fun. Now if only Aunt LRN would return my duckies that she stole.



Apple juice is my favorite!



Grandma and Popski took me to the swing again, but it was a lot colder.



We went to Home Depot and I got to ride in the race car.



...but I think my Popski had more fun than me.


Sierra and Foster took advantage of Dad not being around and broke the rules.