Big Pine Cone

Big news in the past week is that Zain has started stringing together two and three words.  Instead of just saying "no" or "more", he can tell us what he doesn't want or wants more of.  The cutest is when he wants something more to eat or drink - he says "more bite" or "more sip."  He seems to be getting the concept of big and small - or at least big.  We went to the park yesterday and were picking up various treasures - rocks, sticks, leaves, pine cones (well, he picked them up and I was tasked with carrying them).  He learned the phrase "big pine cone" (complete with outstretched arms) and it has been on auto-repeat today.

"Big tick"

"iking"

This was also "iking" - sliding down the muddy hill on his bum

Stalking a robin

Some other recent pics:

Diner breakfast and streetcar watching after Z's 18-month shots

Sweetie pie cuddling with me in bed one morning. Mum Mum (Shif's new name - he's finally differentiating between us) had a long overnight shift and we sent her this pic to make her smile.

Closing himself in closets or between the house door and screen door has been a popular amusement lately

Visiting Akron

We made a spontaneous visit to northern Ohio two weekends ago to help Missy and Adrianne celebrate the Ohio portion of their wedding.  One bonus of the weekend was that we got in a little visit with my mom, a.k.a. Grammy, who drove up for a day and got some fun quality time with little Z.  Zain immediately put Grammy to work lifting him in and out of the hotel crib.  Apparently, she was the only one of the three of us who could do it to his standards.  

Having a serious chat

And a laugh

This is a wink - needs a little work

You turn right at the light....

This cup and straw provided hours of entertainment.  We shouldn't have bothered bringing toys on the trip.

It was nice to get back to Akron and enjoy some of the fantastic urban hiking there.  

Random snowstorm coats hikers and dog

Zain loves hiking (which, of course, delights us to no end).  He loves to tell us to go "up" hills and stairs.  Easy for him to say...  The other day at home, he looked out the window and saw that it was snowing and immediately said "hiking!"  That's our boy.  He says "hiking backpack" whenever he sees the backpack. Shif says this counteracts the fact that he can also say "IKEA".

Once in a Lifetime

Those of you who are familiar with Zain's sleep habits may realize that the above is a rare sight.  Like spotting Bigfoot in your backyard.  Today, for what we think is only the second time in his 18-month life,  Z was headed for a whole day without a nap.  During his regular naptime, he spent over an hour in his crib singing, squealing, speaking Klingon, playing with his feet, bouncing on his knees, and not napping.  Shif herself was trying to nap and said she ended up watching the whole thing on the video monitor instead because it was such compelling TV.  


So we gave up on the nap and decided we'd put him down early for bedtime.  Later in the afternoon, though, I took him out with me to run a quick errand.  He dozed off in his car seat as we drove home.  I figured he'd wake up when I carried him into the house, as usual, but he stayed lumped on my shoulder.  Since it was way too late for him to have a real nap, I decided to experiment by putting him down on the cushions in the living room.  He's really not one to miss anything and he's pretty finicky about where and how he sleeps, so I expected him to wake up instantly.  An hour later, he was still snoozing away - in his parka.  What's this - acting like one of those (normal) kids who will fall asleep anywhere?  For the first time since he was about 2 months old!


Some other events from this week:

No parka required yesterday!  This is Zain "throwing" the ball to Binda.  Most of his throws go over his head, two-handed, and backwards.

The discovery moment in a serious game of hide and seek

He figured out how to lock the door of his room.  Need to visit Home Depot....

Broccoholic
(Incidentally, broccoli produces some fascinating diapers)

Black Tie, Red Shoe

We were honored to be asked by our friends Missy and Adrianne to be a part of their wedding this week.  We introduced them three years ago and we're thrilled that things have worked out so well for them.  We look forward to Missy moving north!  They asked Shif and me to be their witnesses at the ceremony and Zain to be the ringbearer.  Missy found an awesome little tux for him and he managed to keep all components of it on all night.


The wedding was a small affair, held at Toronto's City Hall.  They have a nice little wedding chapel there.  The three of us stood up front with them.  Right before we were getting ready to start, Zain started saying "pee pee".  We didn't want him saying "pee pee" 500 times during the ceremony, so we got the okay from the brides to scurry off to the bathroom located right behind the chapel, if we could make it fast.  Luckily, Zain is pretty good these days at making it fast!  Apparently, the justice of the peace said something to the crowd about a delay because the ringbearer was "indisposed" and right after that, they heard us flush the toilet.  


Shif held Zain during the ceremony, where he proceeded to chatter as loudly as he could.  She tried all the tricks she could think of, and finally hit upon the magic trick - humming his designatd sleep song, Frere Jacques.  He cuddled up on her chest and was quiet through the rest of the ceremony.  And he managed to deliver the ring boxes very nicely to the brides.  

What's with the weird clothes, moms?

And what's with this weird flower?

I'm wondering if there's a market for tuxedo shirt onesies

Exploring City Hall

Zain makes friends wherever he goes

The newlyweds, their witnesses, and an uncontrollable toddler

Zain looks like he's been celebrating too much