Log Ride

Is there any better way to learn about the ever-cheerful and fun-loving Zach than to spend a day with him at an amusement park? Particularly if it involves trains?

Zach and I spent a special day at Knott's Berry Farm over his winter break, and he was thrilled to have a chance to ride the mine train and the steam engine again. But he had never ridden on the log ride before, and my suggestion to ride on it was kind of a lark. You do get a little wet, of course, but it was plenty warm not to be worried about it.

So we went down and...zing! Wheeee! It's hard to describe what a total revelation it was for him. He was completely electrified. I wanted to hold his hand just to get a little piece of his energy. He was jumping up and down, whooping and grinning, and begging to do it again. And again. And again. And again.

You probably don't think of me as much of a log ride person, but his enthusiasm was so contagious that even I was having a great time. I wanted to take pictures or videos or something to document just how thrilled he was, but it was hard to get either of us to hold still enough to capture the moment. You'll just have to go by the crazed look on his wet face, and take my word for it.

That is one happy guy.

Train day

Lucky kid and his dad spend a day riding the rails...

Happiest in the woods

In a tree, on a perch. A happy day for sure.

Worth the Wait

Didja miss me posting on here? Didja? I thought so. There is so much to say about Zach I don't know where to start, but let me jump right in with the fact that he had his very first soccer practice and game today. Did he have fun? Sure. Did he play much soccer? Wellll...Did he have such a good time with his dad that he specifically asked for Dave to put him to bed tonight? Yep.

Working it out in practice.

In the team huddle with Coach Dave and Coach Ben.

Getting a hug from big brother after the game.

Prowling through the snack bag for post-game snacks.

Half-time

I just re-read the entry from the last time I posted on Zach's blog - from May - and I had to laugh; it's exactly the same. Still with the "crosting" and the "dressed." How long is he going to keep "musing" those words? We don't know, but he has shed his unusual sing-song delivery (wipes away small tear) since then.

Here is the most remarkable change in Zach in the last three weeks: It turns out that all this time, his hair was CURLY. We cut off the long locks, and it its place, his little head is now covered in blond ringlets. So that's what the problem was - we were treating it like straight hair, when in fact it was curly. Now his whole face is an exercise in circles; the ringlets of hair, the big round eyes, the turned-up nose, the chubby cheeks, and the angel-pink lips. When you see him, you just want to muuuuush him, or at least I do. Actually, I might have a little problem with other people randomly mushing him.


This picture is from when I took Zach to Travel Town. The whole trip was a little eerie for me because the last time I was there it was with Luke in early 2007, and it was my last weekend out in the real world before I went to the hospital. But their interests were remarkably different. Zach wanted to follow along on the tracks, and he wanted to study the various pipes and vents, and perhaps look for some water heaters.

Zach's interest in water heaters has been much discussed in Beach Bucket; I'll just leave it with this: Zach told me the other day, "Mom, we have to go to Home Depot again because I want a water heater." But Zach, I told him, we already have a water heater in our garage. "No, I mean I want one for my room." Uhhh. OK. Is there a market for toy replica water heaters?

I had been hyping up today as Zach's half birthday and it wasn't until I had actually committed to the cake (see Beach Bucket for the full story) that I realized that today isn't the 23rd, it's still only the 22nd. So I'm off by one day. Whaddya expect for the second kid?

Zach-tionary

Remember when Luke used to want to know "What are you do-ning?" and "What's for tah-sert?" Even though Zach is so much more sophisticated (!) he still has a couple of sweet little oddball things that I'm afraid he might grow out of soon, so I want to preserve them for the ages:

Muse = use ("I want to muse that!")

Fighter fighter = fire hydrant

A lottle of = a lot of ("I want a lottle of powdered sugar on that")

Crosting = frosting

Ruvver band = rubber band

Dressed = clothes ("It's time to put on my dressed" "I don't want to take off my dressed!")

Whistle = missile ("This plane is going to shoot the whistle")

Luke's Guywalker = Luke Skywalker

Also Zach has been showing some little flashes of teen behavior such as:

Independence: He insisted that I buy him his own small practice potty (we had an old one, but I threw it out a while ago). So yesterday he and I bought one, and he took the wrapper off himself and dragged it into the bathroom. He was quiet in there for a while, so I peeked in to check on him and found him, pants down, in the right position for whatever he needed to do. "You OK?" I asked him. "Yeah, Mom," he said. "I like this. Now go away."

Sarcasm: While Luke was at school, I was giving Zach lunch and by mistake I asked him, "Luke, would you like some applesauce?" Zach gave me a withering look and said, "Mom, Luke does not want applesauce. Luke is in kindergarten right now."

But I'm not ready for a teenager yet. Today (May 27) we are home because Zach had his tooth pulled, and I just want to be here with my funny, cozy, gap-toothed three-year-old.

Three is a magic number

"Eye me, Mommy," he says, with his head lying next to me on the pillow. I give him a butterfly kiss with my eyelashes, and he explodes into giggles. Then he brings his face over to mine, and tries to "eye" me, but he can't stop laughing and the eyelash kiss morphs into a wet, sloppy face-bump.

I'm trying to think of a more modest, or less saccharin way to say this, but he is simply an angel, with a little golden halo of flyaway hair. Sure, he has his moments, and his unreasonable demands, but for the most part he is just a happy, snuggly, impossibly sweet little guy. This is a kid who wears his cat-tail around the house, remember.

Today Luke had a friend over and the two older boys were not exactly being nice to Zach, so I kept Zach occupied while we did our own thing. Then we started playing with water balloons - Zach's favorite pastime ever - and Luke and his friend wanted in. At that point, Zach only had five water balloons left, but he gave two to each of the older boys without hesitation. Because that is just the kind of guy he is.

The other day Luke told me, "Mom, I feel like every time Zach sees the blimp, it's like he's getting a present." I thought about this and realized that it is true, in a way. No one gets more excited about the blimp (or a balloon) than Zach, and no one is more fun to watch when he is excited (his trademark circular gallop). He has so much pure, unadulterated joy in even the simplest things that it's a joy to watch in and of itself.

Has it only been three years since we've known him? Impossible.
I love you, my three-year-old boy.