September 2010

Okay, so this post has been sitting in my Drafts folder since the beginning of June. What is it about parenthood that makes time fly by so quickly???

Yesterday I looked down at my hands and realized they look very similar to the way my mother’s hands looked when I was little. My mother has lovely hands, so this thought made me smile – until I realized that when my mom was my age, I was seven. Then it hit me…

When Zach is seven, I’ll be 40.
F-O-R-T-Y.

Please enjoy our belated May 2010 pictures below. If you need to reach me, I’ll be frantically applying eye cream while running on the treadmill.

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More adventures in solid foods.

“Chillin’ baby, just chillin’.”

A fabulous Mother’s Day with two of the best moms I know.

Our little family.

Z loves books, and is an excellent page-turner.
I can’t get enough of those big, rosy cheeks!

Our strawberry crop yielded one single, solitary, strawberry. It was so delicious we only needed one. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Grandma Griffin came to visit us in the middle of May.

And by “us,” of course, I mean Zach.

Grandma and Grandpa Eckert also visited at the end of the month!

During their visit, my dad and Trey did the framing and electrical work for Zach’s new little playroom. Yes, it’s going to be the coolest dang playroom – with a 3.5-foot ceiling – that ever was.

Zach doesn’t yet realize how awesome it’s going to be. (Trust us!)

Visits from BOTH grandmas in the same month?!?! What a lucky kid!

We finally had some professional pictures taken at the mall.
This is the angelic look that will get him out of a speeding ticket in 16 years.

The school photo — he’s growing up before our eyes!

This-close to being able to sit up by himself. (Pay no attention to that mom behind the curtain….)

Who doesn’t love a half-naked baby on a personalized blanket? Just too dang cute.

and so is Mommy.

There were two beautiful new additions to our family in March. Both of our sisters gave birth to healthy baby girls! Mia Soleil Coleman was born March 13, and Rylee Elizabeth Steele was born March 25.

Baby Mia

Baby Rylee

Alli and Tracy, Mia and Rylee, WE LOVE YOU!!!

You might want to make some popcorn before diving into this one. By my calculation, there are at least 24,000 words-worth here.
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Zach, about to eat solid food in his cool new highchair for the first time.
George Jetson, eat your heart out.

Although, he’d rather just eat his hands. All. The. Time.

He also learned how to roll over consistantly in April. Grandma and Grandpa Griffin saw the very first roll happen in March — or at least they claim they did. Sure, sure!

Here he goes…

He’s amazing!

Z also learned how to sit by himself in April.

Almost…

My fabulous friend, Camille, visited from Salt Lake City!

We celebrated her birthday with Mama Eckert’s famous carrot cake — and doubled the frosting recipe for good measure.

Notice the solid inch of cream cheese icing on top. Mmmmmmm.

Triple cream brie with raspberries, pistachios and honey. Seriously.

We convinced Camille, the mother of three adorable boys, to give Zach his first haircut. (It was first thing in the morning — we agreed that neither of us was picture-ready.)

Z was extremely cooperative before he realized what was going on.

Then he required a bit of reassurance.

Mayday! Going down, going down!

Flailing, screaming baby. Almost done….

“Awe, Baby Zach, look how adorable your new haircut is!”

Zach’s second play date with Baby Eva.
C’mon, kiddo. Girls don’t have cooties yet.

Z, trying on his new sunglasses and hat for the pool this summer.
What are the chances he’ll actually leave them on at the pool?

He graduated from the “newborn” side of his tub to the “infant/toddler” side. Sigh.

Z’s first time in a swing.
Is it just me or do I look like a vampire in this picture? Ugh, somebody needs their vitamin D.

He doesn’t quite have the “hang” of it yet.

Z, taking it all in.

One of Zach’s favorite places to be — on dad’s shoulders.
It’s enough to melt a cold, non-sparkling, vampire mommy’s heart.

I’m not entirely sure how mothers of more than one child manage to get anything done whatsoever. I have ONE child — who isn’t even mobile yet — and I have been wholly incapable of finding the time to post anything since mid-March. And you don’t even want to know how long it’s been since I’ve shaved my legs with any sort of attention to detail. Ah, the elusive 20-minute shower . . . I remember it in my dreams.

On the off chance that a picture actually is worth a thousand words, my plan is to post (way too many) photos from the last several weeks, and hope that Zach’s wonderful grandmas will forgive me for the delay. The rest of March is below. April and May are in the works.
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I swear Z had a giant grin on his face for the vast majority of Grandma and Grandpa Griffin’s visit.

See what I mean?

“What?! You mean they’re leaving???”

Zach, modeling his “big boy” sweater. (And not-so-big-boy pacifier. )

Dinner at Obelisk — our favorite D.C. splurge.

Brian helped us close the place down for the night. Great stuff!

Picnicking in the park on one of spring’s first warm days.
(By the way, did you know picnicking has a “k” in it?)

“Guys, do we seriously need to bring all of this crap?”

Zach, trying out his new Lil Rinser Splashguard for bath time. And yes, we’re totally going to show this picture at his wedding.

Z’s second bite of solid food — a huge milestone! His first bite hung on his upper lip for several seconds as he stared at us in absolute confusion. Then he spit it out. We’re proud to report that he now has the process down pat. Well, mostly….

My boys.

My boys, again. (Somebody take that camera away from her already….)

My apologies in advance for the retina-searing color palate in some of these pictures. His outfit was one-third of an otherwise less flamboyant 3-pack. Don’t worry, he’ll outgrow it in 3,2,1….

but February didn’t have a 29th day. So, I guess he’ll just have to stay three months old for another month…. If only!

I swear, he’s turning into a little man right before our eyes.

We have become those people who post WAY too many pictures of their kid. I recognize it, and I want to hate myself for it. Does that make it any better?

Now, without further ado, let’s get down to business.

And baby makes three….

Cooing at Dad after a bath….

Dressing up like a Canadian to watch the Olympics, eh?

Inquisitively taking in the sights at Colonial Williamsburg….

How many people do you see in this picture?

Trey, the munchkin smuggler….

Getting ready to go swimmimg at the hotel’s indoor pool….

“‘Sup ladies?”

Dipping a toe. So far, so good….

“Wait. Should I be upset? I think I’m okay. Should I be okay?”

Love those boys of mine!