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.

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.

I'm a Drooler

Zach has 6 teeth, and at least one more is coming in, so he's a drooling fool right now. I think I need to get some more bibs for him, since right now we're going through at least two shirts a day, and most of his bibs are stained with some form of baby food (who knew that sweet potatoes never come out, even with Oxyclean?).

Hangin' With Grammy

Grammy came all the way down from New Hampshire to spend a week at the beach with us. Zach's been having some "stranger danger" moments lately, so he wasn't quick to go to her, especially when Jason and I were around. When all else fails, though, Zach will go to whomever has the bottle...

or whomever has the food.

After a couple of days, he was happy to let Grammy hold him on the beach...

and give her some hugs (he's really not trying to choke her here).

He even ventured out into the ocean for the first time with her.

Zach's First 1st Birthday Present

Grammy gave Zach his birthday present while we were on vacaiton in Delaware.

Wow, this box is big!

You mean you're letting me rip the paper?

I love my car! (Yes, he's not wearing a diaper in this picture. We just got back from the beach, and he was impatient.)

What are you looking at? Put me in the car, now!!

So much fun!

Future Lawyer?

Checking his e-mail. You get one guess as to whom he takes after.

Checking out the backyard

Zachs loves to stand at our back sliding doors and look out on the back yard. The windows are quite dirty now from him putting his mouth on them. Thank goodness for our cleaning lady!

And he has a lot to look at, since last week we had some landscaping/patio installing going on in the backyard. Here's a shot of the yard mid-project. I'll post pictures of the end result tomorrow.

Learning to eat solid food

Zach much prefers pureed food to solids. He's quite adept at picking up bites and putting them in his mouth. He'll chew/suck for a minute or two, and then spit it out into the trough on his bib.

He's now learned that is where the food goes and likes to pick it out of there and put it back in his mouth. Good times eating!

Hip hip horray!

It's a Gymboree day! Zach and I have a standing date each Saturday afternoon for Gymboree class. We've been working on riding and climbing for the past two weeks. Zach was not into riding and only a little into climbing. Though I don't have a picture of it, he was really into playing with the cabinet doors. (Sorry for the bad color, here. The lighting in there is horrible, and I haven't figured out how to adjust the new camera's settings.

Here's Zach exploring on the stairs.

And checking out the rocking horse. He was more interested in putting the handle into his mouth than riding on the horse.

He was excited to ride in the boat.

And he loved climbing up the padded mountain.

Bubbles at the end of class are always a big hit.