Happy Valentine's Day (A few days late)

Yeah, Mommy's writing in the blog again!
I love Valentine's day chocolate!
Can this stuff be used as hair gel?

No pictures, but...

Zach had a great time entertaining all the folks at Ryan and Curtis's election watch party tonight. He toddled around, ate grapes, and distracted everyone in between the predictions. Jason came to pick him up before we counted down to 11 (the final poll closings) and toasted Obama's victory. (We live in a divided political house... Only one of us is happy this evening).

My Ride to the Polls!

So I took this picture last week, not today, but Zach really did get to ride his Beep Beep to the polls with me today. He got his own "future voter" sticker to match my "I voted in Arlington" sticker (which I will use to get coffee and Ben and Jerry's later today). I was prepared with a bag of snacks, toys, and books for a long line at the polls. But there was no line at all. I literally walked in, showed my ID, and walked right up to an empty electronic voting booth. I guess everyone took advantage of early voting -- all the better for us!

The sweater that Zach is wearing in this picture was handed down to me by my mom (I cried when she gave it to me) and was knitted for my older brother by my grandmother many, many years ago. I'm sure she's smiling at her great-grandson making good use of it.

 

I'm A Bad Bloger

So things got away from me. I promise more updates over the next couple of days, including Halloween fun. In the meantime, he's a photo from this evening that I could not resist taking. Some kids have favorite blankies; mine has a anti-dandruff shampoo bottle.

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.