Marsh Madness

We Love The Children's Museum!

2010-02-08T22:53:00.008-07:00

Zach loves riding "the train" (Trax) downtown and playing at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. So, thank you to Grandma for the membership! We love you!

Choo Choo Train

2009-11-23T13:46:00.007-07:00

Zach's latest obsession is trains. He loves Thomas and anything else train related. He will happily follow Brooke around the house choo-chooing and dancing along. I lit upon a good idea a few months ago and took him to ride Trax which is the Utah light-rail system.

Even though Trax looks nothing like Thomas, Zach loves it. There is a Trax stop right by the Children's Museum so Zach's favorite activity is to take Trax to the Children's Museum (Thanks to his Grandma Marsh for the membership) and play for a few hours and take Trax home.

Did I mention that he has developed a weird habit of putting on a few variations of his over-the-top smile and staring at people on Trax until they notice the weird kid staring at them with a creepy smile!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T11:02:00.010-07:00

Here is Fireman Zach!
Zach wore his costume all morning to preschool on Thursday and for Trunk-or-Treating on Halloween! He was a very handsome firefighter!

Zachary loved helping carve the pumpkin.
As long as he didn't have to touch the "yucky stuff" inside!

Web Cam

2009-09-19T19:29:00.004-06:00

Zach loves our new web cam. He shows off all of his jumping and spitting skills for it. He also likes to take everything out of the pantry so the web cam can check it out.

Happy 70th Anniversary!

2009-09-19T19:17:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday was my grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary!
Congratulations! We love you!

Preschool

2009-09-19T19:01:00.003-06:00

Here is Zach on his first day of preschool! He loves it!
When I come to pick him up he refuses to leave.
The first day of class his teacher had to explain that it's okay
to leave because he can come back next week.

He's 3!

2009-07-07T19:08:00.011-06:00

Now that he's 3, Zach can:

Blow out his own candles!

Eat his own cake!

And, help himself to more!

Happy 3rd Birthday Zach!

Can't figure him out!

2009-05-27T20:55:00.005-06:00

So Zach's latest favorite thing to do? Still spelling, but now he's added counting. We still haven't spent any time teaching him either of these, I think he's just picked it up from some of his toys, but he loves to sing the alphabet song and to count to ten, not bad for still being 2! Now if only we can figure out why he can spell and count, but can't say much else!

You may need to turn the volume up, the sound isn't that great.

Also, note his attire of choice: the pajamas that Mom made him, he probably spends a solid 20 hours in his pj's on a good day. He refuses to take them off unless forced!

Dentist

2009-04-22T13:21:00.007-06:00

Zach had his first dentists visit today. He went to a special pediatric dentist who had a really cool office. After refusing to watch a movie or read a book in the waiting room, Zach was at least willing to go back into the office with the dental assistant. Zach was really good as the dental assistant helped him brush and floss. The dentists chair was really cool with a TV built into the ceiling so you could lay back and watch a movie. Zach had no interest at all! After marking his territory by spitting on the dentists equipment, Zach condescended to let the dentist poke around in his mouth.

The report was good: no spots or stains and tons of room. The dentist said he could tell that Zach had Daddy's teeth, never sucked his thumbs and would probably never need braces! (in fairness, Mommy has good teeth too, she just sucked her thumbs and messed them up!) We didn't get any pictures at the office, but here's Zach back at home showing off his clean teeth with his new Eeyore toothbrush and his doggy balloon that he got from the dentist.

Introducing The Next Bobby Flay!

2009-04-16T21:01:00.009-06:00

What is this???

Yes, my two-year-old is kneading dough!

His Grandma came to visit last week and made her homemade pizza for us. Zach watched her prepare one pizza crust and then insisted on doing the second one!

This morning he created this concoction for breakfast
(he didn't really eat it, but he had fun making it).

For those of you who would like to make this at home, here is his recipe:

Zach's Breakfast:

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup banana flavored bee-shaped crackers

Stir thoroughly until combined and mushy.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-16T20:45:00.008-06:00

Here was the Easter haul at our house . . . thanks to contributions from several Easter Bunnies!

Zach were straight for the Cadbury Robin Eggs. He then moved on to coloring with markers. And then being naughty with the markers.

Here was the Easter egg hunt haul at Grandma & Grandpa's house!
There were Elmo juice boxes, plastic eggs filled with candy, Sesame Street and Little Einstein figurines, games, books
. . . you name it!

His favorite? Goldfish crackers.

Random Zachary

2009-04-04T13:56:00.006-06:00

We recently got a new additional to our entertainment center. It adds a serious amount of volume to the system but unfortunately because of its odd shape, it can't be stacked on top of other components.

Zach and Mommy went shopping a while ago at Old Navy and got some stuff for Zach and some for Mom. When they got home and were showing off their haul, Zach decided he wanted to wear everything they had just bought. Here he is in about 5 layers of his shirts and sweaters and Mommy's new pink shirt. If only he had been wearing his heels.......

This image has never been shot in the wild before: this is a sleepy Zach actually admitting to being sleepy by laying down in the front room with his denim blanket Great-Grandma Marsh made for him!

Zinhosa

2009-03-18T15:25:00.011-06:00

Zach's back in to soccer these past few weeks so I've been teaching him some new tricks. Last time we worked on heading the ball and he's a natural: he takes it on the right part of his head, bends his knees and drives the ball.

With his rediscovered interest, I ran him through BrazilName to find his nickname in case he ever becomes a Brazilian soccer star. His result? I give you, Zinhosa:

Mattress Maniac

2009-03-13T20:45:00.004-06:00

I know that most parents start to worry when their kid is suddenly very quiet. For the most part, when Zach is suddenly quiet, he is just really into whatever game he is playing. Not today.

I put Zach down for his nap and he was noisy at first, as always. Then he finally quieted down. I was hopeful that he was asleep. When I went to the door I could hear him quietly singing. It was so cute I peeked in the door and saw this...

That is/was his crib mattress. I don't know how he did it, but that's Zach for you! I was so shocked that I wasn't even mad. I finally explained that it was naughty and had him help me clean up. Zach apparently knew that what he had done was pretty bad and that he had better be on his best behavior. He brought me a can of the vegetable soup I always try to get him to eat. He climbed right into his booster seat and ate the whole can without complaint!

Zach Spelling and Other Tricks

2009-03-06T12:43:00.007-07:00

Here are some of Zach's favorite tricks. In the last 2-3 weeks he has developed an interest in letters. He loves his letter puzzle, singing the alphabet song, and watching 'Word World'. Today he picked up a random bottle from under the sink and decided he wanted to spell the name. This is his first attempt followed by a few of his other favorite tricks.

His speech is still a working in progress, it's almost a year and a half since he started his speech therapy, but at this rate he's going to be reading before he's talking!

There is hope!

2009-02-09T23:11:00.006-07:00

There are times when I wonder what we have unleased on the world! Zach can be very naughty when he wants to be and I know I couldn't deal with him around the clock like his Mom does. There are however, times when he thinks no one is looking, that you can peek into his soul and see what a sweet kid he is. He has his little buddies, old ducky, new ducky, old froggy, new froggy and Elmo, and he takes such good care of them, there has to be a good kid in there somewhere!

He always makes sure they are comfy and can watch him play.

On cold days, he makes sure they are nice and warm.

And sometimes, when he is tired or bored, he just needs a kiss from his best buddy, Elmo!

A Very Zachary Christmas!

2009-01-21T13:50:00.026-07:00

Zach had a great Christmas this year. He still hasn't figured out the skill we were most hoping for: anticipation, but he has a handle on opening presents and realizing it's new stuff for him.

We started out Christmas morning at home where Zach got to open his stocking. He was excited to find MatchBox cars as he had been resorting to forcing kids at church to let him play with theirs!

On a side note, you can see the t-shirt he has to wear over his pajamas so he doesn't strip and pee all over his room overnight.

After his stocking he pulled the blanket back on his new kitchen set that Grandpa and Grandma Z. got for him. We spent about 4 man hours on Christmas Eve putting it together and of course it took Zach about 2 'little man' hours to break the first piece off!

We then moved on to Grandpa and Grandma Z's house for the bulk of his present opening activities. Zach was clearly excited to get new stuff, here he is opening one of his new puzzles.

He got lots of new books and a massive bean bag from Mom and Dad. He absolutely refuses to sleep in his bed, the floor is apparently much more comfortable, so the bean bag is our last ditch effort to at least get him to sleep on something soft to sooth his aching back after a hard days work. So far, it's a success, but it does make one more thing to wash when he manages to get his clothes off and pee on everything! (Notice the overalls, another anti-strip and pee device!)

Zach got a cool 3-D viewer and some slides of his favorite Disney shoes, Little Einsteins and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. It took him a while to let us put it up to his eyes but he was quite fascinated once he got a good look.

One of his absolute favorite presents is from his Grandpa Barlow in England. Zach got an 'Elmo Live!' which he loves. Elmo talks and dances and tells jokes. Zach feels a lot of responsibility as he thinks that his Elmo is the real one. He gets very distraught when Elmo falls over as he doesn't want to be the kid that puts Elmo in the hospital and deprives all the other kids of Elmo!

Zach had a really great Christmas and wants to say 'Thank you!' to all his family and friends that made his Christmas so great!

Santa!

2008-12-24T09:39:00.003-07:00

Zach saw Santa for the first time last Thursday at St. Mark's Hospital. To be honest, I expected tears. But, Zach went right up to Santa for the picture and stared at him in awe. Then Santa gave him a little stuffed Rudolf Raindeer and a Barbershop Quartet sang "Rudolf" to him. He loved it.

Birthday/Attic Girl

2008-12-05T21:52:00.009-07:00

My birthday present from Darryl finally arrived! He has been giving me clues for the last 6 weeks. He told me that it was "one of a kind" & "my collage roommates would like it". What?!

So what arrives? A personalized license plate. It stands for "Attic Girl". When Darryl and I met I lived in this tiny, quirky apartment called "The Attic". I was the tallest one living there at the time and I hit my head on the slanted ceilings all the time. But, we loved and took great pride in being Attic Girls! Thanks Darryl! I love it!

(Just had to add this picture because the kid is cute!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-05T21:44:00.004-07:00

We had high hopes that Zach might actually eat this Thanksgiving. But, no luck! He enjoyed a lovely meal of goldfish crackers dipped in ranch dressing. Yum! He then went down for a nap so his parents could actually eat. Zach wandered downstairs on his own 20 minutes later carrying his baby monitor. Thanks!

(Half) American Ninja

2008-11-02T18:12:00.016-07:00

Zach was a Ninja for Halloween courtesy of Old Navy. His extended Halloween started on Thursday when he attended a party at his pre-school. He made a ghost out of a sucker and drew a spider and here he is frosting a cookie with Mommy.

On Friday night, we went to Trunk-or-Treat and had dinner and some homemade root-beer in the cultural hall while we waited for it to get dark enough outside. We tried to get Zach to wander and play with the other kids, but he just wanted to hang with Mom and Dad.

Grandma and Grandpa Zentner came after dinner to take Zach around to all the cars. He was a bit sceptical at first...

...but caught on fast once the candy started coming. His first stop he got a KitKat and then was offered another KitKat at his second stop so, being the good boy he is, he offered his first KitKat in exchange and was very confused when he got to keep both.

The confusion didn't last long as he soon figured out that he was cute enough to take whatever he wanted. By the end of the night his "Trick or Treat" was even mostly intelligible!

Soccer?

2008-10-16T23:55:00.006-06:00

For the last three weeks, Zach has been going to soccer lessons at the local rec center. I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually kicked a ball in the class! Don't get me wrong, he loves the class, but only for the cones! His favorite thing to do is to try and stack all the cones that the other kids are using in their drills while we stand on the sidelines and urge him to kick a ball like all the other kids. He still got a long way to go before he's the next Beckham!

Shoes and Socks

2008-09-29T23:48:00.010-06:00

I think that Zach's bizarre infatuation with shoes and socks is another expression of his main goal in life: to make it to adulthood by age three. He will do anything and everything that makes him feel like he is a grown-up, without regard for the generally accepted norms of behavior (for example, not using sweaty socks as gloves!). As a father, this is rather wonderful as it provides years worth of material to hold over his head when he actually begins to approach adulthood! Behold the latest examples of the shoes and socks fascination:

Pretty baby!

2008-09-24T16:04:00.002-06:00

Lately in Zach's speech therapy they have worked on encouraging Zach to mimic, either sounds or actions. Zach has gotten pretty good at it! He mimics cleaning, cooking, even putting on makeup just like mommy!

Nebraska!

2008-09-24T15:58:00.003-06:00

This summer we took a trip to Nebraska to visit Darryl's family. We were nervous about a 10 hour car trip with Zach, but we made it without bloodshed. It was nice to spend some time with Darryl's grandparents as well who were visiting from Texas.

Lookin' Good

2008-07-11T20:45:00.007-06:00

I finally gave in and took Zach to a professional for a haircut. It's not that I don't know how to cut his hair, he just won't let me! So I took him to Cookie Cutters, which is a hair salon that caters specifically to children.

When we walked in Zach immediately went for the slide they have by the entrance. Then he got to pick a movie to watch. We went with Thomas the Tank Engine. Next he had his choice of vehicles to sit in while his hair was cut. He chose the airplane. The stylist was able to cut his hair in just 10 minutes! There were minimal tears and he walked away with a balloon and a lollypop!

With that treatment he might even look forward to his next haircut. I know I will!

Big Boy Bed

2008-07-10T13:26:00.003-06:00

The day we left for Saint George, I converted Zach's bed to a toddler bed in hopes that being gone on vacation for a week would ease the transition to a different bed for Zach. I hear horror stories all the time at work about transitioning kids out of their cribs so we we're prepared for the worst, but it never materialized! In addition to changing the bed, we blocked the light switches and baby proofed the inside door knob so he can't get out of his room once we put him in there for the night or his nap. The first night back, we set him in his bed, told him goodnight and walked out the door. He hit the door right behind us as soon as we closed it and cried for about five minutes and then was quiet. When we went in to check on him before we went to bed, he was curled up with his blankets on his bed, sound asleep.

On Wednesday, we put him down for his nap and he didn't even fuss at all, he just played for a few minutes and again we found him in his bed asleep. He seems really happy with his bed and has yet to make a major fuss or fallen asleep anywhere but his bed!

Saint George

2008-07-10T13:01:00.005-06:00

We packed up the car last week and headed down to Saint George for Brooke's family vacation. We left right before Zach's nap time in hope that he would take his nap in the car and be asleep for most of the drive. Of course he napped for 15 minutes and was awake for the rest of the trip. He really upset and loud the last hour or so of the trip but eventually we got there. The house we stayed in was great, it had a really nice pool and tons of space for Zach to explore.

Zach really enjoyed swimming this year and was really adventurous in the pool. He would swim with anyone and wasn't clingy at all.

He found a kitchen play-set downstairs and loved putting things in the little fridge and then moving them to the oven and then repeating that process twenty times over. He also loved climbing on the really high bar stools which made Grandma and Grandpa really nervous!

It was a fun trip but we're glad to be back in our own baby proofed home!

An apple a day...

2008-07-01T03:29:00.006-06:00

Having hit the 24 month milestone, Zach had a date with the Doctor for his 24 month check-up. Now that we're in Salt Lake, we had to say goodbye to Doctor Savage in Provo, who has been Brooke's Doctor since she started at BYU, delivered Zach and who we've been 100% happy with as a Doctor (I'm rarely 100% happy with anything). Fortunatly, as we elected to have Zach's Hep B booster at 18 months, this was a 'no shot' visit so Zach put on his best strappy heels and was as happy as a clam to go to the Doctor.

Zach was really good and liked his new Doctor, although he wasn't thrilled about having his ears or his mouth checked out. He got a clean bill of health which he has promptly responded to by throwing up for three days straight.

We were also advised to end the crib years as he's perfectly capable of climbing out if he puts his mind to it. Zach really hasn't figured out the old rule: it's not the fall that gets you, its the sudden stop at the bottom! Our plan is to put his toddler bed together the morning we leave on vacation and he'll start sleeping in it when we get back. Hopefully, after having slept in a strange vacation house for a long weekend, he'll be in the mood for change when we get back. I'm sure that will result in another Blog post, one way or the other.

His new particulars are: 31 lb's 8 oz and 37.2 in. which are 84% and 95% respectivly. He's essentially the size of an average three year old, which we didn't really need to pay a co-pay to figure out as he's been in 3-T clothing for at least a few months!

Bathtime!

2008-06-29T01:28:00.005-06:00

The highlight of Zach's day (every other day or so) is bathtime. He loves being in the water and loves to splash around. He's always liked to bathe except for two months last year when he went through a bath hating phase. He newest trick is to strike the George Costanza pose shown below as the water drains out to extend his bath enjoyment until the last drop is gone down the drain.

Our favorite part of the event is when he's all wrapped up in his giraffe towel, smelling like clean baby!

Birthday - Take Two

2008-06-24T00:46:00.008-06:00

Last week's Birthday events shown below were actually a week premature because that was the best time for Brooke's family to get together, which meant we get Zach to ourselves (for better or worse) for his actual Birthday this week. We started at the Aquarium where Zach was interested in everything except the fish. The most interest he showed in fish, were the ones on the desktop of the computer station!

After about 35 minutes, Zach decided he was done with walking around and spent the next 10 minutes trying to climb into every stroller he could find, much to the chagrin of their respective owners.

After carrying him kicking and screaming to car (he didn't want to stay, but he didn't want to leave either), and getting him home, we moved on the the messy portion of the program. Brooke made him that great cake you see below last week, so we went with a simple cupcake this week with equally happy results from Zach. He was in piggy heaven as he got to not only eat the cupcake, but even better, he got to hold the cupcake himself!

Cake?

2008-06-14T21:24:00.020-06:00

So, after the zoo we headed home to eat birthday cake. Now, last year Zach had birthday cake on three separate occasions. Each time he would look at the cake, poke it, then be disgusted by the sticky frosting on his finger. So, for this year, we had no idea what Zach would do.

Here goes the first poke and taste.

Yum! An now an actual bite!!

Whoa! Slow down there!

Guess we like cake this year.

Birthday Animal

2008-06-14T21:04:00.023-06:00

Today we went to the zoo to celebrate Zach's birthday.

It started out well.

Zach was interested.

Having fun with Dad.

Having fun with Mom.

But, pretty soon it was obvious that Zach was not very interested in seeing the animals. He wanted to push the stroller.

Eat snacks.

Walk up and immediately back down the same set of stairs without stopping to look at anything.

And, just mostly looking cool in his new sunglasses.

Oh well, he seemed to have fun. And who knows, maybe next year he'll even care about the animals!

Daddy's Shoes

2008-06-06T22:36:00.003-06:00

We've moved and Zach is enjoying all the extra space. He now has access to our coat closet and we often find him clomping around in our shoes!

Discovery

2008-04-26T15:55:00.004-06:00

We took Zach to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. He had so much fun! He played the huge xylophone, splashed in water, put together puzzles, and saw a real helicopter.

All-Star

2008-04-26T15:48:00.003-06:00

Zach has outgrown another pair of shoes.

Here are his brand new Converse All-Stars! His first pair of lace-up shoes!

Too Cool

2008-04-26T15:37:00.002-06:00

Last summer Zach refused to wear his sunglasses eventhough they were so cute. Looks like he might be ready for the cool crowd now!

Breakfast of Champions

2008-03-15T20:29:00.010-06:00

This morning Zach refused all of his normal breakfast favorites. In desparation I offered him more of the garlic-rosemary bread he had gobbled up last night. He wouldn't even eat that! So, Zach likes to eat some weird things. So I dipped the bread in balsamic vinegar (hey, I like it!). He still wouldn't touch it. But, some vinegar got on his Cheerios. He ate them . . . and loved them! Balsamic vinegar Cheerios have comprised breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. Yummy!

Say What?

2008-03-06T22:25:00.006-07:00

Zach is now 20 months old. Because lately we have noticed he isn't talking much we are now working with a speech therapy program in our area. It's called "Kids on the Move" and the therapist comes to your home to work with your child. How great is that! There are classes for the parents as well. I attended the first one yesterday and the tips we got have already helped. Darryl got Zach to try to say "book" this morning. It comes out mostly as a "k" sound so far, but we're on the right track!

So Cute!

2008-02-16T23:06:00.004-07:00

I just had to share these super cute pics!

Blanket

2008-02-16T22:59:00.004-07:00

Zach has recently become attached to his yellow fleece blanket. He carries it around and sleeps with it. If I fold the blanket and put it next to me he will come and lay his head on it. It's really cute!

When I was a baby I used to hold my favorite blanket against my cheek just like Zach is in this picture!

More Trouble

2008-02-16T22:56:00.001-07:00

Here is another trick Zach can do with his highchair.

Troublemaker

2008-02-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Zach recently learned it's fun to climb from the couch up to his highchair tray. Apparently the view is better up there!

Just one more picture for the "Troublemaker" file!

Artist

2008-01-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Zachary's First Artwork

Strong Man

2008-01-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Zach helping us put away the milk. Yes, he is strong enough to pick up a gallon of milk. He actually can pick up two!

Candy Inspector

2008-01-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

On Monday, while I was working on the computer, I realized Zach was being very quiet. I turned around to see Zach sitting on the dining room table, with no pants, inspecting the candy dish!

Marshmallows!

2008-01-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

This picture was too funny not to post! Zach loves mini marshmallows. Here he is stuffing his face!

New Tricks!

2008-01-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Zach racked up three amazing new tricks!

#1: He can now remove his own diaper. This we learned on Saturday when we went to get him up from his nap. We also learned that our washing machine is pretty good at removing poop from bedsheets, bumper pads, etc.

#2: Zach loves nursery. He attend church nursery for the first time yesterday. I dropped him off, planning to stay the whole time, but he just ran over to a table and began playing with a puzzle. Later, during singing time, they suggested he sit in my lap, but he refused. He wanted to sit in a chair like the other kids. He even kicked up his feet on his neighbor's chair, much to her chagrin. I finally left for Relief Society and he watched me go without a fuss.

#3: Zach can do somersaults. He has been close to this for a while. He would go down on all fours with his bum in the air, downward dog style, and just stay there. Finally, on Sunday, he managed to push himself over. Once he figured it out he did about 40 in a row!

Goodbye Elder Zentner!

2008-01-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we said goodbye to my brother Steve as he left to serve a mission in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even Zach waved "bye-bye"!

My parents are now officially empty-nesters. How does it feel?

New Favorites

2008-01-08T17:46:00.001-07:00

Zach has two new favorite toys--lion & hippo wrist rattles. They are meant for tiny babies, but Zach never cared about them until now. Every morning he brings the rattles to me and holds out each wrist for me to put them on him. Throughout the day I catch him either kissing them or looking at them like he is checking the time!

Zach's Dr. Appt

2008-01-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

Zach went to his 18 month doctor appointment yesterday. He now weighs 31 lbs. and is 34" tall. That is the size of some three-year-olds! I'm sure strangers wonder why my three-year-old doesn't talk much or even have all of his teeth!

Zach only needed one shot this time, Hep A. He only needs one more immunization before Kindergarten. Shots are one part of babyhood I won't miss!