Little Christmas Elf

Snowman

How 'bout that. Snow in December in Houston.
(There is actually snow - hard to see in the pic)

It's almost as shocking as snow on Christmas in Corpus Christi.

Still not walking

Seriously. I'll bet he walks around in his crib at night when I can't see him. Just takes a little stroll.

Yes, that's Martha on TV. With Kristin Chenowith standing on a big box. They're making little stockings and filling them with Martha's special edition Christmas M&M's.

Those aren't bath toys!

Well, Bethany, it finally happened. Thanks for the warnings.

More Prop Comedy

Of all of the things on John's tchotchke shelf (wind up Jason & Michael Myers, button of Ray Garza's senior picture, tiny red velvet sofa from Hillary Rodham's terrarium, etc.), Zane loves the rubber chicken that poops out an egg when you squeeze it (who wouldn't?). I can only presume that it fell on the floor and he did NOT climb to the 4th shelf to retrieve it.

Bobby Hill

This is why Zane still doesn't usually eat from a plate. Because he thinks he's a comedian. Like Carrrot Top or Gallagher.

Knuckles!

A rare picture of me and Zane!

Swedish Santa

We needed a few things from Ikea yesterday, so decided to have lunch. We saw that they were doing pictures with Santa (for a toy donation), so we went for it. Zane was excited to see everything, but not so much into sitting on Santa's lap. And, as with many purchases from Ikea, when you get home and see what you've got, you question the value. Granted, the quality of this photo is diminished by scanning and cropping, but what do expect from Ikea? You have to do everything yourself.

November Retrospective

Here's a lovely selection of pictures from the month of November.

Who needs lots of toys? Zane loves his box and talking Chuckie doll.

He is squeezing his cup as hard as he can and groaning. He also does this with food and will compete with you if you do it, too.

I used to think babies running around in diapers were tacky. Now I know that most of the time it's because they spilled, pooped/peed or just ran off when you were trying to get them dressed.

Zane did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. This gave me the opportunity to get some of my Thanksgiving dinner items ready in peace and quiet. It also gave me the opportunity to slice my hand open with the mandolin and call my dad over to help. Here's how the phone call went:

Me - "Hi, Dad, how are you?

Dad - "On my second cup of coffee"

Me - "Oh yeah? I'm still on my first....soooooo, I don't think I need stitches...."

Dad - "I'll get dressed and be over right away"

So, Dad to the rescue. And he finished chopping for me (without incident)!

Poor Zane got stuck in this position and I had to get the camera before I could unstick him.

Does anyone know of a toddler-proof trash can? This one is dog proof but that's not good enough anymore. I think glueing broken bottles around the edge might be too extreme.

Life's a Beach!

Recently, John took a Tuesday off and we all went down to Galveston. This was Zane's third trip to the beach and, by far, his favorite. He LOVED the sand and would have crawled right into the water if we'd let him. Since it wasn't really a "beachy" day, we hadn't thought to bring a bathing suit or even a change of clothes. So, we dragged him off kicking a screaming. Can't wait to take him back to Isla Mujeres.

OK, for reference, this was Zane's first trip to the beach. We took him to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for New Year's last year with our good friend, Leslie. It was great, but Zane couldn't have cared less.

Omigod! Can you remember when he was this small and pudgie?

(This isn't at the beach, it's at the house we rented, but I had to post this pic.)

15 Month + 2 Days Update

Oh, yeah, as was pointed out in the comments, Zane also gives knuckles (fist-bumps), high-fives and low-fives. He gives hugs on command as well as kisses (not as much on command). And he and John like to head-butt each other (fair warning if you're ever holding him).

He also calls both Grandma and Grandpa "Pa," but not to their faces.

15 Month Update

Today Zane is 15 months old. He has taken a total of 5 steps, so he's officially walking. Which is nice because his 15 month check-up is on Tuesday and that's apparently one of the things on the checklist. We weren't worried or anything. I just hope he doesn't have my fear of failure and therefore won't try anything new. But I'm pretty sure that's my mom's fault (nurture, not nature) and she won't pass that on to her grandchild.

Zane has far more teeth than he probably should. These last few have been the only ones that have bothered him and it really hasn't been too bad. He can eat an entire apple whole including the core if we leave it in, but he spits out the peel. All the old ladies at HEB have to stop and ask how old he is and, tut tut, should he be eating that? He even tried to eat a butternut squash yesterday because I took his apple away. He didn't like it, but did get a few good chunks out of it.

Zane can say many words: Dog, cat, apple, banana, outside, Dad, Mama, ball, duck, circle, bath and up. Of course, a lot of them sound like "baaaaa" or "daaaa" but we know what they are! He can tell you that a dog says "woof," a sheep says "baa baa baa," a horse says "nay nay nay," and a cat says "mow mow mow." Everything else says "woof." He can say that a truck says "mmmmm." He can identify a circle.

He also knows a few signs: food, water/thirsty, milk and more. We haven't been as diligent with teaching him signs, but the few that he knows really help him communicate. Otherwise, he just points in a general direction and says "uh, uh, uh!"

He knows what he's not supposed to touch: dog food/water, cables, electrical outlets, my phone, the stove knobs, dvd player and the toilet water. He still tries to touch these things but looks to see if you can see him. Depending on his mood, he may just point to them and shake his head "no." He can almost climb into the bathtub, which means the bathroom door stays closed now.

Zane loves Cookie. He hugs and kisses her, pets her, pokes her in the eye, pulls her tail, bites her paws and stands on her head. She loves him, too, and doesn't mind any of his attention. Especially if he keeps sharing his food. He also loves the cats, but the feeling isn't mutual. They will tolerate minimal petting (which usually leads to grabbing and pulling). There's been one incident of a poke in the butthole (let's face it, the cats don't have tails and it looks like a button).

***OK, I could go on and on. Here's a summary: Zane is super cute and smart and the coolest kid in the world. I'd better post this, since I started it on Sunday and it's now Tuesday.

October Update

OK - I've had a lot of complaints that I haven't updated the blog. Here we go...

Zane got a new lounge chair from Ikea. He LOVES it. He RARELY sits in it.

I went off to Miami on my own little vacation. John apparently kept Zane locked in the pantry with nothing but rootbeer to drink.

Zane had a little mishap in the bathtup. He bit his tongue, spent 7 hours in the ER and came home with a stitch and without about a pint of blood (which ended up on me in the beginning and then eventually John after the most disgusting barfing incident you can imagine). We'll spare you the pictures from the hospital. This is the morning after. And let me tell you, the tongue heals super-hero fast.

Halloween! We went cheap and easy with the costume: skeleton sweatsuit at 40% off, black eyeshadow on the face. I was at home losing 5 pounds the hard way. John took Zane to the Creetch's party and to a select few houses to trick-or-treat. It was rather tame.

OK there you have it. November coming soon!

Chinese Velcro

Did you know that rice sticks to a sweater like...wait for it...here it comes...like white on rice?

BTW, we were at a Chinese restaurant, so the title of this post is a reference to the food and not at all derogatory.

Spaceman Zane

Well, Uncle Lance's birthday gift finally arrived and John and my brother, Spencer, put it together Saturday morning. Here's how it went: The Auto Mechanic skoffed at the Engineer for reading the instructions. The Engineer insists that he read the instructions correctly but apparently the Frenchy who translated the Chinese into English didn't do it very well and something went terribly wrong. Thankfully there was an Engineer and an Auto Mechanic on hand to save the day!

Zane also helped put his Star Buggy together. I don't know what happened to his right shoe - perhaps it was needed to rig up one of the wheels.

Unfortunately, Zane's still a little short for the buggy. He can only go backwards by himself.

Thanks, Uncle Lance!!!

Treasures of Virginia Davis

Cathleen and the kiddos visited last week. Virginia gathered up a selection of toys (and things) to play with exclusively. Since the babies kept wanting to play with them too, I suggested that she take them away from the play area so she wouldn't be bothered. These are the toys that she selected...We have a baby-doll bathtub, a dinner napkin, stacked stainless steel ramikens, a rubber ball, rubber poop, plastic stacking bowls and an empty saline nasal sprayer.

One Tree Hill

This is our house after the hurricane. We lost three trees, but this was the biggest. It is currently still in our front yard. John was chainsawing it and discovered a metal pole inbedded in the middle of it. So, it's still there. I think we're the only house on our street that still has a downed tree in the yard. On the plus side, we took the plywood down!

Sadly, this was the tree from which we were going to hang Zane's swing that he got for his birthday. I guess he'll never learn to like swinging.

San Antonio Hurrication Montage

This is how Noah used to look everyday when my mom was babysitting him. He really looks like a refugee, doesn't he?

You can't see it in this pic, but Zane is wearing his Nike basketball outfit (thanks, Dan & Ian!) and playing with a basketball. In a walker that's too small for him. While fending off Noah (who wants to get in the walker that REALLY too small for him).

Boy - Zane'll take a bath with anyone. Just a few days after this he was in the tub with Jude.

A "touching" moment. Ha ha. No, really, it was rare that we got these two strapped in and sitting still at the same time.

We finally got it together one day and made it out to the San Antonio Zoo. It was lovely.

Unlcle Robb came down from Austin for a visit. It was lovely. Ha ha. Zane didn't scream when he saw him, so that was nice.

Packing for Evacuation

Zane really loved playing with my suitcase.

This was while I was packing to evacuate.

The suitcase was also a big hit for playing on at the condo. The situation below was very distressing for Zane. Not so distressing, though, that I couldn't run and get my camera before freeing him.

Overboard

A few months ago Zane learned to throw his toys out of his crib. At that time it broke his heart and broke our hearts listening to him crying at his teddy on the floor. Now he thinks it's fun. This is the scene that usually greets me when I get Zane up in the morning or after a nap. I think the toys look very sad (and a little creepy) like that.

Couch Potato

(Pre-Ike)
Zane has finally learned about gravity. He can climb off the couch all by himself and does it quite well. No headers. He really enjoys sofa-lounging. I look forward to him falling asleep on the couch just like his dad. Of course, HIS snoring won't enrage me.

Hurricane Ike update

OK - I'm not ready to post anything fun or pictures. We were officially back from Hurrication on Thursday night, 13 days after Ike hit. We road out the storm; Zane and I slept peacefully while Ike raged around us. Trees fell, water came in, power went out. Zane and I left with my Mom and sister-in-law and Noah. We spent the next week in San Antonio then came back to Houston. Still without power, we lived in harmony with the Davis's. Then, finally, power was restored on Thursday afternoon. Ironically, the exact day that Centerpoint Energy predicted.

So, I have pretty limited internet access because our cable's still out. When it comes back up, I'll return to regular posting.

Happy Birthday, Zaniac!

Last Saturday, Zane turned 1 year old. To celebrate, we had a tiny little party. It was tons of fun and Zane really enjoyed himself (as did his parents!).

We had a station set up for the bigger kids to decorate their goodie bags. I think some of the really big kids were disappointed that they didn't get their own bags.

Then there was painting! Mostly on the canvas. Some on dresses. Ben and Samantha stayed surprisingly clean. Kyle's influence? The finished canvas will be displayed in Zane's room for a limited engagement (maybe 'til his 2nd birthday?).

The paint was non-toxic and super tasty!

Jude and Noah preferred water sports. Ella was everywhere doing everything.

Virginia preferred lounging (time-out).

Emily sat patiently waiting for cake. Noah, not so patient, made some calls to get things moving.

Finally time for cake! You can't see it in the picture but Virginia is behind me blowing out the candles each time they're lit. This was probably my 4th try. I wonder what she wished for? Maybe no more time-outs?

This is Zane's first taste of first birthday cake! Sadly, it's not his first taste of cake. He do love his Central Market buttercream just like his mamma!

And then presents!!! Virginia and Ella were very nice to "help" Zane open his presents. In return, I hear that Zane munched on Ella. Sorry, Ella - it's because you're so sweet! Zane's friends were very generous and he loves all his new toys and books and swings. We had to take the batteries out of one of his phones (it was ringing incessantly) but it's OK because he's got a baby doll phone (he pushes the belly button to make a call). And we can't get "I see a fire truck, a big red shiny fire truck, I see a fire truck, coming down the street, and there's noisy siren wailing on that truck!" out of our heads! Ah, payback.

Party's over, so John gets to do his favorite thing. Cookie was at a playdate, otherwise she would have taken care of the floor.

A Big Fat Thanks to everyone who came to Zane's birthday party - and to those who didn't make it - we love you!