Don't Be Koi With Me

Zachary and the Zoo got along famously. This is from the first of two trips to the Niabi Zoo during our three weeks in Iowa. Be prepared for plenty more Z+Zoo pictures!

I was surprised by how voracious the Koi were, climbing on top of each other (an interesting feat in the water!); clambering to get to the quarter machine food that Rico was doling out.

The swans got in on the action too, occasionally snagging some food straight from your hand.

It's not often that you can catch everyone lined up for a perfect picture. Just have to snap the picture when Mame is looking up!

Then Grandma disappears, and Nonna looks away...

 ...Hey, there's a lot to see at the Zoo!

sleeping beauty

Traveling definitely throws our routine out the window, and it usually takes some time for us to get Z back into his normal sleep patterns. That sometimes means that you have to let sleeping toddlers lie. Even if that means that you sacrifice naptime-freetime for a few moments of peace. 

You'd think since Zachary is coming up on two years, that I would have had time to adjust, but I still almost wrote let sleeping babies lie. He's just catapulted into this toddlerhood, and while they warn you that it all goes so fast---they didn't necessarily warn me about how fast Z would go! He hardly sits still, always asking for the next activity. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go for a ride, really just a trip down the street to pick up some things from the Target, but you would have thought I was offering to take him to Moon for as excited as he was. (There is some speculation that Z was hoping for a repeat of his last car ride, which was a trip with Grandma Ann to Chuck E Cheese!) He's just so enthusiastic about everything, and always running full steam ahead. It's a full time job just trying to keep up!

Helloooo down there!

Grandma had one very important job while playing Dudes with Z. She was to yellow down into the castle, "hello down there!" And if she didn't do it fast enough, Zachary would grab her and pull her head down into position!

Explorer

Z is always curious. Just walking around, looking around.

Hippos...Over and Out

Somewhere along the line, Z decided Mame's collection of purple hippos was his to do with as he pleased. I would tell him we were going over to see Mame, and he would happily yell, "Meem!" and then after just a beat, he would ask, "Heepo?" Just had to be sure that Mame's house would still be full of purple hippos for him to play with.

sneak-a-peek

Poor Grandma could hardly sit still while Zachary was visiting. He was always grabbing her by the hand, and leading her off to play somewhere. "Dude" and "Grandma" became practically synonymous. Think Grandpa was getting a little jealous? Take a look at the fourth picture before you answer that question.

Uncle Wear-Z-Out

Uncle Ben is a great title, but it doesn't quite capture the sheer exhaustion Z experiences after an afternoon of playing with him!

Smörgåsbord

No matter the time of day, if you ask Z what he'd like to eat, this is what he'll tell you, "Wahfah? Cheeyo? Eh?" It makes sense, breakfast is his best meal of the day. Quite often he'll have a handful of cheerios while we wait for the waffle to pop-up, and while I'm mixing up some scrambled eggs for him. There are always extras, like bananas, strawberries, cheese or a yogurt, but he has the staples down. And I know he's not just asking for waffles and cheerios and eggs because he doesn't know any better, he'd actually prefer to have breakfast for lunch and dinner too.

the Future Uncle Jonathan Scotti, and Auntie Christine Scotti

Congratulations to Christine and Jonathan on their engagement! We are looking forward to officially welcoming Jonathan into the family, and are happy to have him become Z's Uncle. Love you two, and happy planning!