A grandparent legacy

We're fortunate enough to live close to my parents, and they (especially my mom) make a huge effort to spend time with the boys. Z gets to spend one morning a week with them, and A gets almost all day one day a week. These are two lucky boys, and I'm obviously very lucky to benefit from these arrangements.

My folks travel a lot for business and pleasure. Recently they were away again, and A kept pretending to be drinking wine, reading newspapers and going to California. My folks often drink wine with dinner, and often talk about various different events with friends where they drink wine and eat yummy food. A has clearly decided that this is the way things are supposed to be and thus likes to pour himself an imaginary glass of wine in one of his Seasame Street-themed cups. Drink up Cookie Monster.

My mom also apparently likes to read the newspaper while A reads his own books during his weekly visits. So, while my folks were away, he would pick up one of the board books and sit on the couch reading his newspaper. If I interrupted him, he'd say, "Shhh, Mommy. I reading newspaper."

Finally, part of my parents' annual travel seems to take them at least once if not twice to California to visit family and friends, and of course, drink great wine. Every time A got in his little Cozy Coup Police Car, he'd tell me he was going to California and ask me if I wanted anything. Thoughtful, no? He would usually bring me pizza (in the form of yet another board book) after driving the circle from our kitchen to dining room to foyer to kitchen again.

All of A's pretending definitely said "I miss Grandma and Grandpa" quite as clearly as the actual words.

Z eating cupcake video

Happy Birthday Z!

Party #1 - post-cake face

Z's first 1st birthday party was at home yesterday. This was his face after the pasta, cheese, milk and then the yummy brownie cupcake. I love that you can see his chocolate-y teeth and totally hyped-up eyes. Fortunately he was pretty ready to crash after this bath.

I ran the numbers last night and realized that A will likely graduate from high school in 2024 and Z in 2027. That's the first thought that really made me pause and almost brought tears to my eyes. Thinking of those milestones as something tangible, however far off (and we all know how time flies), really caught my attention and made me start to think about how much I want to cherish this time with my little guys. Of course, they're growing up so fast. What's a mom to do?

Z's already walking up a storm and just started talking this week. He said "Hi Dada" and waved when G came home from work on Wednesday, and then said it while waving two more times at dinner. Also during dinner, he started clapping his hands, but I think it was his imitation of the sign for "more".

I've even taken down the gates on the stairs for the majority of the day because Z is so accomplished with going up and coming down without incident. When both boys are on the stairs together, I watch them like a hawk, but individually, they're doing great. Plus we're instituting stair rules like "No touching" and "No playing" on the stairs. The biggest drawback is that Z now is going through the phase where it's fun to take various items and throw them down the stairs. *sigh*

1 year puppy pics

Z turned 1 yesterday. Here are the two best puppy pics. Alex was able to help Z stand still long enough for me for me to actually capture a decent image. His mobility certainly keeps me on my toes.

Aren't they both cute?

Swinging

Ok, thought this was too cute not to include. Does it make you feel like you're swinging too?

Preschool begins!

A's first day at preschool was yesterday. He'll be going two days a week and couldn't be more excited. He even gets to eat his lunch there too, which is apparently the coolest thing ever. Now he wants me to pack him lunch every day so that he can use his lunch box.

I'm so proud of my big guy!

The same eye color?

I'm not sure what eye color Z will have yet, but I thought both of my boys' eyes look similar in these pics.

A Day at Franklin Park with friends

A week or so ago, I took the boys to the park to play with some friends. A and his friend, W, playing on everything, but the favorite item was the tire swing. The big boys probably played on the tire swing for a good 15-20 minutes which is pretty impressive given attention spans and other fun things to play on/with. Another fav was the sand box. Z tried to eat sand for the first time and decided he didn't like it (thank goodness). Mostly he just wanted to walk around, pick up something yucky of the ground, try to stick it in his mouth, then repeat. W's brother, G, was giving their mom a workout by walking her all around the park. G is almost walking on his own and likes to practice, practice, practice... with mom's help of course.

It was a great day and we look forward to going back.