Saturday at the Park

Texas has crazy weather. This week on Wednesday the high will be 30, but on yesterday, the high was around 70. After Zev's nap we went for a walk to the park near our house to play.

He went down the slide racing mom.

Down the slide racing dad...

Down a different slide on his own.

Here he is going up the stairs to drive and go down the slide. When he got to the top, he shoved the other boy out of the way. Waiting for your turn is not yet something Zev understands...

Zev is driving his steering wheel and the other boy's wheel. That boy gave up and left. We are working on sharing...

water break and hugs

Zev decided he needed to walk on these.

A little help from dad is needed.

We have had a busy weekend. Zev went to a baby shower on Saturday where he did very well and a Christening today where he did not as well. He did enjoy the lunch afterward. We have a busy week planned with play dates, park time, school, and more.

Fun with Friends

On Monday, Zev had a few friends over to play.

This is my favorite new picture. Ari was not impressed, and said Zev is in the middle of blinking. I just didn't care. I think this shows his current personality perfectly.

Here is everyone playing. I forgot to take pictures before Catherine and Sofina went home, but here we have Beth, Lucy, Zev, and Kade.

Kade, Zev's cousin, was really enjoying the magna doodle. Zev has never made a picture with that much coloring.

Kade also liked the power tools.

Lucy was taking turns with her mommy on the phone.

Mr. Social

Zev's sharing is really improving. He only got mad about other people using his things a few times. This is something we are definitely working on with the new baby coming. At least it will be a while until the baby touches Zev's (or at least what he believes to be his) toys.

On another baby note, if you ask Zev where the baby is (and he feels like it...) he will point to my belly or lift up my shirt. I don't know if this is helpful or confusing, but it sure is cute.

pictures from school

Zev's teachers put up pictures on a website from time to time of what he does at school. Here are a few for you:

Here he is painting that cloud we were so proud of. He does lots of painting, and I can't wait to bring it all home.

coloring

playing outside

eating lunch with his teacher and friends...

too busy eating to look at the camera

Zev is still loving school, and he is doing well being sweet to others.
Yesterday, he painted a cow and made "java dough" in Discovery class. Hopefully more pictures to come!

less than 100 days...

On another note, I cannot believe it is less than 100 days until the new baby comes. It is just about 3 months, and that seems so short. Ari and I have been getting Zev's new room ready, and I will definitely post pictures when we get it finished. It will have a big bed and a crib we are borrowing from my mom, so it won't be in final condition for a few more months until he is ready to move to the bed, but we are excited!

I think Zev is going to do as well as can be expected. He likes babies and only experiences moderate jealousy when I hold another baby. We have been reading books to get ready, and we have a few more months to go. I know Z will be a great big brother and the new little guy will fit right in.

20 months...

This week, Zev was very sick. He just had a bad cold, but it came with a terrible fever and a bad cough. He had to skip school Tuesday, but he made it in Thursday and had a good day. Tuesday was Zev's 20 month birthday. In honor of Zev's twenty month birthday, I give you 20 minutes in the life of Zev.


Zev put his own hat on, and he was very proud of himself. We didn't tell him it was backwards.

This hat goes along the same line as the dinosaur costume, sometimes he just had to wear it and be a monster.

And, of course, do monster things, like mess up mom's stools.

Oh wait, a phone call. How do I get these flaps up?

He figured it out.

The after phone call hat look.

Then he completely lost the hat. This is a severe case of hat head.

Zev is doing lots of new things now that he has made the big 2-0. When he FEELS like it, he can identify just about every body part from elbow to neck, he can pick out most general colors like red, blue, green, etc., and he can definitely say a few more words. He says Elmo, and he doesn't say many ending sounds, but he is happy to say "bu" or "bo" for button, book, Buby, bear, blue, blue berry (bu bo), etc. He will definitely let you know what he wants somehow. He understands everything I say and follows instructions really well. If he spills a little bit of milk on the floor, I can give him a towel, and he will clean it up himself. He is also just so much fun. He still loves cars, his dog, reading, and singing songs. He will do teddy bear, teddy bear and wheels on the bus. He loves to color, paint, draw, and do play-doh.

I know this is a lot of details, but this is our baby book after all!

We could not be luckier because Zev is just an awesome guy. His teacher told Ari last week that he is a great "peer model" for his classmates. They say he shares well (besides people who are slow on the slide or try to take his car) and he never cries.

These have been a great last 20 months, and we can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Art at home

Zev and I have been doing lots of art at home lately. He loves coloring, play-doh, and stickers.

He is very particular about his stickers. He likes to put them on top of each other, and the circles often have to go in certain spots on top of each other or the balloons on another sticker. It is fun to watch.

Today we decided to try painting. I thought, if his teachers can do it with eight kids I can do it with just one. Right?

Started off a little rough when he wanted to keep the whole bottle of paint in front of him.

He recovered nicely though.

stamping

As you can see, he got messier and messier...

I thought about making him stop putting it on his hands, but he usually hates having his hands dirty, so I thought maybe it would be a break through.

He was pretty happy with himself.

Here is a little video of him painting. It cracks me up. I love when he accidentally makes a noise with his brush and then decides he should keep doing it.

After the mess I had to clean up, we may not paint again for a few weeks or maybe we will just stick to painting naked in the tub.

Day 2

Zev still loves school!

He didn't cry this morning when I dropped him off. He was busy playing cars, and when I asked for a kiss goodbye, he gave me a big kiss and went back to work. He had a good report from his teachers. They said he had tons of fun, no crying, and look what he made today!

I can't wait to bring it home to hang on our bulletin board!

Zev's first day of school!

Today was Zev's first day of school. As soon as he woke up, the paparazzi were in his room taking pictures of a morning in the life of Zev. Please enjoy.

Morning hair do:

Just showing off the open chest I am greeted by each morning.

Then we move off to wake up dad.

He found a hat, so of course, he had to wear it.

Zev loves to put things in the dirty clothes basket, this one though, he was pulling out. He is sure that Ari should wear this jacket everyday. When Zev makes a fashion decision for you, he wants it followed. We have spent mornings trying to convince him that you don't wear slippers to work or that we already have on shoes, but he is sure he knows best.

We went to the kitchen for breakfast. I looked over and Zev's favorite dog was in his sink. He told me he was giving him a bath.

Then he was microwaving some breakfast. I don't think he knows about putting metal in the microwave.

Breakfast is ready! Zev is not a man who likes to eat slowly.

After all that mess, it is time to change for school.

Here is he trying to sneak in a few books while he gets his shoes on.

Finally, we arrive to Zev's first day of school! He is starting to feel a little shy, but he has his dog.

Oh, you have toys in here?

Here he is playing with his first friends. He is going to be getting there early each morning before school starts at 8:45, so we went early to today so I could stay with him in the early room, and then we could move into his real classroom together.

Then we moved into his real classroom. Here he is playing with one of his teachers, Miss Lori.

Zev loves the kitchen where ever he goes...

A whole tub of balls? Don't mind if I do.

Then he found a helicopter. By this point, he doesn't care if I am there or not.

So I went home. I told him goodbye, and I heard one scream. When I came back, they said that was it. He didn't cry, he just went back to playing and having a good time. He had a little paint on him when I got there, so I know he had fun with that. They said he loved playing outside, and he loved lunch. All in all, a great first day.

Here we are when I came in to pick him up.
A proud mommy and a tired boy.

Hopefully it will go this well on Thursday. I will keep you updated!