Family visiting means...

Home repairs get done!

I grew up in New Hampshire in a family of fixers. You need the radiator in your car replaced? No problem -- pull it into the garage and Dad will take care of it. Brake pads low? Changed in a day. Oil change? Done in a few minutes. I learned to sheetrock and spackle when I was a kid. We had a garage full of tools (including a hydraulic drill and jack) that Dad and my three brothers put to good use.

And then I moved away to Washington, DC and left my repairmen behind. I cringe every time I take my car to the shop, thinking how Dad could fix whatever problem has arisen and charge me only for the parts.

So I was very happy when Dad and two of my brothers came down for Zach's birthday party. Dad was very kind and fixed our dishwasher drain hose (a mouse chewed through it while we were on vacation in Delaware). At first I thought Jason and I could do it ourselves, but when I googled it and saw that it could involve disconnecting electrical supplies and water hook-ups, I thought it was best left to the professionals.

And my brother Walt fixed the dimmers for the lights in our kitchen (I didn't get a picture of that because Dad and I were on a Home Depot run for hose clamps when that happened). Those had been broken for, oh, say, at least four months.

Now if only I had a landscaper in the family...

Trip to the Fair

Zach and I took a trip with Adriana and Victoria to Luckett's Fair the other weekend. Zach had a blast checking out the animals. First, he tried to pet the baby donkey.

Then, he tried to eat the llama's ear. (Note, most people give their kid a binky to keep them quiet. I give mine a binky to keep him from eating inappropriate things. Like llamas).

He was content to give the llama a hug in the end.

Then it was time to check out the cows.

Since I didn't let him eat the llama's ear, Zach decided to try to eat his shoe instead.

Then it was time for a ride with Victoria and Adriana in the horse-drawn wagon.

Zach would have nothing to do with the seats, preferring instead to sit on the floor of the wagon.

Checking out the horses up close with one of their keepers.

Birthday Sneak Peak

I'm beat after a long day of preparing and partying. Zach had a great time at his party and enjoyed his personal cake. It took him a little while to figure out what to do with the cake, but once he got the hang of it, he went to town. After this, we just plopped him in the pool to clean him up. More pictures soon when I'm not so tired.

One Year Pictures!

I played hooky from work this afternoon to head out to Leesburg to have Zach's one year pictures taken. Polly took part in the photo session too, and I hope to use one of the pictures of the two of them for our holiday card this year. Stephanie (www.thehipstudio.com) took Zach's newborn pictures, which I loved, so of course I had to go back nearly a year later. She posted a sneak peek on her blog already. I love what's there and can't wait to see the rest! http://thehipblog.squarespace.com/blog/ (the post is titled "Sweetness").

Afterward, we met up with Adriana, Victoria and Gooba (Victoria's grandma) for dinner at Red Robin. We had a great time -- Zach loved the balloons and his pizza and Polly ate all her mac and cheese. The only hitch was that the Red Robin mascot was there, and Victoria was terrified of him. Note to self -- no more Tuesday dinner dates with Adriana at Red Robin.

The Big Question Now That Zach's Turning One...

When are you going to turn his carseat around? Answer -- not for a while. It is so much safer to keep him rear-facing. And even though its more of a pain in the rear (keep in mind, he weighs about 28 pounds by now) I'll keep him that way.

One big reason for this is because my family is known for its big heads ("Pumpkin Heads", we like to call them). When you go visit my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve, you have to have your head weighed. Right now, Uncle Steve is king of the Pumpkin Heads, though I think Zach might give him a run for his money when he grows up. The pediatrician always measures Zach's head twice at his check-ups because the measurement is so large, and his first pediatrician even wanted to send him for a CAT scan to make sure nothing extra was growing in there. She decided not to when I explained the history of Kowalski/Gruda big heads. My head is bigger than Jason's (so I always know when he borrows my hats), and I even had to have an extra-large cap for law school graduation.

So you're wondering why I've babbled on about our big heads.... It is best explained by this video: The Importance of Rear-Facing. The Cliff Note version of the video is that there is a risk that the head of a young child who is forward-facing in a head-on collision will become separated from the spine (internal decapitation, its called). This is because the child's head is heavy and the neck muscles aren't strong enough to fully withstand the collision forces. If the carseat is rear-facing, it supports and cradles the head in the way the neck can't. Given Zach's extra-large head, I'll deal with the extra hassle of putting him in the car rear-facing rather than face a risk about which I hate to even think.

(Sorry if this seems like a lecture -- I've just had to explain my decision quite a bit lately. Stepping off my soap box now.)

Playdate at Victoria's House

When we got back from Delaware, we ventured over to Victoria's house to visit. First, Zach had a great time playing with her drum while she finished up her nap.

Later on the kids took a break to enjoy a drink -- Zach from his bottle and Victoria from her sippy cup. They had a great time laughing at each other. Zach did teach Victoria some bad habits when he spit out some formula on the floor, which she proceeded to imitate.

Then it was time to play in the kiddie pool. Victoria sure has some cool pool toys!
Splashing around is so much fun!

Standing on His Own

So I had to censor this picture because you never know what kind of creepy people are reading your blog... Zach's in the buff in this picture because he is impatient when it comes to getting into his kiddie pool.

Zach can now stand on his own. He does this most often in his kiddie pool and in the shower -- no idea why. He can also get to standing without pulling up on anything. He did this for the first time last weekend when we were shopping for plants at Merrifield. Our saleslady obviously didn't have children because she looked at us like we were crazy when we started cheering him on. He also took his first independent steps at daycare this past Monday -- two of them to go and give one of his daycare girlfriends a hug. The next day he took five more. I finally got to see steps with my own eyes today when we stopped by the toddler classroom to say hi to his friend Landon, and Zach took a few steps so that he could grab onto him.