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.