Our Funny Ping Pong Bandit...

Zach is obsessed with the BaCkYaRdIgAnS! He watches the clock each morning to tell me when the little hand is at the 9 and the big hand is at the 12...that means it's time to watch backyardigans. He sings the entire intro and then continues to play along with the entire episode imagining he is Pablo. Pablo is the penguin. Whatever character Pablo imagines himself to be that day, so does Zach. There is one episode in particular that Zach has attatched himself to...Blazing Paddles. In this episode Pablo is the "Ping Pong Bandit." Here is Zach in his version of what the Ping Pong Bandit looks like. His church clothes, shirt, tie and sweater vest, his belt, which holds the paddle, and of course the cowboy hat. Yes, Zach is still dressing up, every day! Where are the pants? Penguins, or Pablo never wears pants, so in this case, neither does Zach. He is so observant! This is what I have been looking at every day, sometimes up to 5 times a day, for the past week...

Our Ping Pong Bandit

Oh, and listening to..."Bandit Slam It!!!", the paddle move that beats every opponent. "Hehehehehe", the evil bandit laugh. "If you lose, I get the paddle." He is such a funny little boy.



Kate has been saying Mama and Dada, especially when she wakes up after her nap to call one of us to come get her, but of course doesn't perform on cue. She gets so distracted by the camera.

2 Against 1...

And it all started with sweet little Kate today at lunch. As usual I made lunch for Zach and Kate, and as we are sitting there eating, Kate decides that it would be fun to start practicing her raspberries. Cute right? Yeah for a few times, but then when your three year old joins in then it starts to get out of hand. Pretty soon they continue to do it as a form of entertaining one another, and it can't be stopped. It didn't matter how many times I said "please stop", or if the tone of my voice meant business, nobody responded, especially the baby. They both thought each other were hilarious. Zach would stop for a moment, but then get pulled right back in with Kate trying to get him to do it again. Little stinker... Meanwhile, my own lunch is being spit on by the dueling raspberries, and I am getting the runny baby food, that I have been working so hard to get into her mouth, splattered back at me. Who knew squash could travel so far! Good thing I hadn't showered for the day.

This is the first time that I have felt like it was 2 against 1, and there was nothing I could do about it. I am finally oUtNuMbErEd!

Despite...

The fact that it is summer, and temperatures haven't been below 84 degrees for the past three weeks, Zach insists on wearing pants and a long "sleebe" shirt...every day! Not only does he have to wear a long sleeve shirt, but he has to have his sleeves rolled up a certain way. Translation - ZaCh'S cLoThEs FeTiSh! Here is the daily routine...

First: The whine to fix his sleeves.

Second: After I have fixed one of them 3-4 times, apparently I still didn't do it right, so here is the second whine and pout face I get, and a verbal reminder, "No that's just not right, I need it "Bigger and bigger." ... "Just bigger and deeper."..."Downer and downer."

Third: After I roll his sleeve up the right way, he must go over it with his fingers to flatten and straighten the ridge of the fold.

Fourth: He holds up his arms, as to compare the two, and tells me "Now the other one."

Fifth: Immediately he displays another sad face to remind me, again, that they aren't the same, and that I need to fix them.

Sixth: He points out that I need to "make it just like this", pointing to the sleeve that has finally been rolled up correctly, according to his standard.

Seventh: He adjusts the second sleeve once it has been folded correctly.

Eighth: Finally, the smile of satisfaction. Both "sleebes" are rolled up just right!

Seriously, I miss the days when it was just the tag that bothered him. That was an easy fix, just cut it out, or better yet just buy shirts from Old Navy or Children's Place, both tag less. This sleeve thing is much more detail oriented and must be done just right or I hear about it until it is fixed or he decides to change into another shirt, in hopes that I can get the next shirts' sleeves right. This fetish is not just directed towards me. Grandma and Uncle Tyson couldn't even get it right when they watched him while we were in Alabama. Note to self - Pack only short sleeve shirts.

My solution? ... Hide all his long sleeve shirts!

We love him though, clothes fetish and all. He is a sweet little boy and he received a sweet package from his sweetheart, who he misses a lot. Here's a message to his pen pal...

Pool Days...

Going to the pool was all we could do to get out of the heat wave that we went through over the past weekend. Temperatures reached the upper 90's, but when you mix HoT aNd HuMiD, it feels like 105+!!! To top it off we lost our power for 12 hours the last day of the heat wave. We lasted about 3 hours until we couldn't take it anymore and went up to Grandma and Grandpa's house so that we would be able to sleep. We are so glad they moved closer. We are lucky that we get to see them practically whenever we want. An added bonus is that they keep their house at igloo temperatures. Those who live in the East or the South over the summer can appreciate that.

Now that it will continue to stay hot I guess our days at the pool have officially started. Zach is perfectly happy about this. He is constantly asking what number the little hand and the big hand, on the clock, have to be on to make it time for us to go to the pool. He is a little fish. Kate, thinks she's big like Zach and attempts to crawl her way into the deep end, and loves splashing the water. Thank goodness for zero entry pools...

Curious Zach...

Is always asking Why? Are we to this stage already? I thought for sure it wouldn't start until Kindergarten. Typical scenario...

(While in the car)
Zach - Where are we going?
Me - To the store.
Zach - Why?
Me - Because we need food.
Zach - Why?
Me - Because we are hungry.
Zach - Why?
Oh my, this could go on all day if I keep giving in to his every why!

Some of his other typical questions lately have been...

(While playing outside and watching people leave from their apartments to go to their car.)
Zach - Are they Moving?
Me - No.
Zach - Where are they moving?
Me - They're not.

I think he is scarred from watching so many of his friends and neighbors move, that whenever someone is leaving he thinks they are moving away. I get asked this almost every day, and several times a day. Then he usually adds this...

Zach - We are moving too.
Me - Yeah? Where to?
Zach - Alabama

He is still stuck on Alabama. Poor kid thinks he needs to move too. I think someone is feeling a little left out.

Here's another one...

(While in the car)
Zach - Where are we going?
Me - We are going to your new school that you are going to go to next year.
Zach - Does it have "Booby Traps?"
Me - No

This is one of the many places he has asked if there are booby traps. Don't ask, I have no idea where he gets these ideas...

Last...but most likely more to come is...

(Justin came home all sweaty from his baseball game)
Zach - Is your shirt hot?
Justin - What?
Zach - Dad, your shirt is hot.
Justin - Ashley, do you know what he is talking about?
Me - No, not really.
Zach - Yeah your shirt is all hot!

After some thinking, Zach was talking about the sweat on his shirt. I guess in his mind, SwEaT is HoT!

First Wave of...

GoOd-bYes! There is nothing like feeling left behind. That is exactly how we felt as we have had to say good-bye to some great friends as they have now graduated dental school and moved away to try and "make it" in the real world. This happens every year, and each time I think it will be easier the next time, it gets that much harder. This year was a hard hit for us. More so than the others because Zach became pretty close to the kids that lived here, and actually understood what it meant to have friends. We are a week out and he is doing surprisingly well. He still misses them, and notices that there aren't as many kids outside to play with, but he is quickly adapting to the change. I don't have a great picture of all the kids that actually left, but here are a few...

Here is Zach with his favorite friend Camden...they're just two weeks apart in age.

Here is the love...

And some clips of the funny things they do when they get together and play. It is sad that they will probably not remember this after a year or so.





Zach obviously thought he was moving too. Alabama? It's just what was fresh in his mind because Justin and I just got back from there. We still have a few more moves to go, meaning some more getting used to the way life throws change at you. Hopefully we will be missed too!