So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish for Breakfast

It's been our last weekend with close friends M and K (of Fish for Breakfast blog fame), who leave tomorrow morning to begin the long drive to their new home in Fort Worth. On Saturday, I (and, as a good measure of the number and quality of their friendships here, no less than 8 other friends!) helped them load their furniture and boxes into a moving truck - everyone was so methodical and, well, brawny, that the process was knocked out in under 2 hours. Meh and Zachary planned to come over and help as well, but Zachary had begun his new trend of super-long morning naps, and slept right through the move. With their Seattle life packed up, M and K spent the weekend and today staying at the Selfon house -- much as M started his time in Seattle some 9 years ago. It was so nice to have one last chance to spend some time with them, and Zachary certainly enjoyed their company as well. Oh, and M and K are amazing photographers as well, so they caught some great photos of Zachary cooling off in his bathtub-turned-pool on the back porch. Tomorow they begin their interstate car/truck caravan through the US heartland to M's new professorship at TCU (and K recently locked up a position at another university across town - such an academic couple!).

It's been a ridiculously hot weekend; Seattle can't seem to produce an authentic 'summer' day, it's always toggling between February overcast and August swelter. Our one portable air conditioning unit has gotten quite a workout, moving between Zachary's and our room. (K and M insist that their own room has stayed cool enough - I hope they're not just being polite!) When the thermostat in the house hit 84 yesterday (in our rooms upstairs, it was closer to 88), it was time to purchase a second unit, as well as pondering once more whether getting whole home air conditioning would be cost effective. We've all tried to beat the heat by spending some time outdoors, enjoying meals on the deck, swinging in the hammock (Zachary really enjoys this), moving Zachary's tub outside, making homemade ice cream (featuring chunks of Mackinac Island fudge from our recent trip), and occasionally retreating to air conditioned grocery stores, offices, and cars. M and K even got to finally take a (very brief) tour of Meh's work when we visited for a Zachary afternoon snack earlier today.

M and I grew up together, several blocks apart in the same subdivision and going to the same schools. (For non-Michiganders, a "subdivision" is what the rest of the world apparently calls a "neighborhood".) M was even prominently featured in one of our high school video projects (and remains one of the biggest fans of the Sesfonstein canon). But in many ways we've become much closer friends as adults here in the Pacific Northwest. M moved here about a year after I did, and other than a 15-month stay in Japan, we've been in the same city for the most time of any of my childhood friends.

K is as much a long-term Seattle transplant as we are. (We were reminiscing, and I believe I first met K before Meh and I were even together.) K and Meh have similarly been very close; part of their connection is possibly that whole spouses-of-Michiganders support group thing, but they've had so many other shared interests and activities - creating amazing (and cute) desserts, a love of reading, dogs (yes, even Korby), crafting, and knitting (I think Meh eventually tabled that activity, but K still does it, and made Zachary one of his favorite toys).

We're going to miss them very very much, and hope to visit them soon. Thankfully, I've actually got an excuse coming up, and will hopefully get to spend a few days before or after the upcoming conference I'll be attending just a few hours south of them in Austin. In the meantime, we look forward to reading about their journey and discoveries living in a new place and making new friends, even as they keep up with Zachary's adventures in the same way. Hooray for the connected Internets!

He shakes off the sign...

The head shaking that we hadn't consistently seen for months is back, and it certainly seems to be much more consistent -- in one particular situation.

Zachary's already demonstrated clear food preferences; Cheerios are at the top of the list, followed closely by string cheese. (Both of them elicit screeches of happiness and smiles as he first starts eating them.) Then, for the longest time, sweet potatoes were a close third, followed by a virtual tie between blueberries, grapes, peaches, and yogurt with applesauce. However, in recent days, he's been shaking his head every time we offer him a spoonful of sweet potatoes or yogurt. At first, I didn't think he was saying 'no', since after a shake or two, he'd eventually give in and eat. Then I thought perhaps his tastes were changing and he was finally getting sick of his previous favorite foods. But I'm often able to distract him into eating them by rotating through the other finger food favorites before offering the spoon. Still, the head shaking resumes after a spoonful or two.

Meh stumbled on a potential reason for the rejection today -- it may not be the food, but rather the presentation. It seems he may already be expressing a preference to feed himself; when the previously favorite sweet potatoes were dumped onto his tray, he happily gobbled them up, generating this excellently messy video:

Meh also tried offering him the spoon to see if he wanted to take it and feed himself, but he either still emphatically shook his head at it, or did what I've seen him do in the past: grab the food-side of the spoon and shove it (along with his hand) into his mouth. I'm sure we'll get to proper table manners at some point, though I'm in no rush to send him off to finishing school just yet.

Walk this way

(After the Mackinac trip's ridiculous number of blogged pictures, this entry is offered visual-free as a change of pace.) Our family has started a nice new morning ritual. Since Zachary was waking us up by 5 or 6 am anyway, we've decided to get the most out of our early mornings, and are taking a good long walk around the neighborhood. It certainly helps that it's finally starting to feel a bit like summer here with 60-70 degree mornings, though still a bit brisk in the shade. Zachary's generally still bundled a bit and wears his nifty tan hat, though the sun still bothers him for at least part of the walk. We'll have to break out those sunglasses again for him to try.

Lest you think this is just a leisurely stroll, we're typically out for around 45 minutes, and the area where we live isn't named after a hill for no reason. Thankfully, Zachary's spiffy new jogging stroller (a nice Craig's List acquisition) has cushy tires to keep the ride smooth both for him and for us pushing him. (And a newly purchased air pump helps keep said tires cushy.) Korby, however, is apparently no match for the terrain - he was dragging severely behind the times we tried to take him along, so now he generally stays at home. We're actually up and out of the house early enough that I think sometimes he'll still just be asleep when we leave.

The walk also gives Meh and me back a good opportunity to catch up with each other; with our hectic schedules, it's very special to find a new activity where we get to spend together. Zachary also often contributes to the conversations (which are frequently about him anyway) with combinations of high-pitched singing, "Dah"-ing, and a wide selection of other ultra-cute babbly sounds.

In-flight entertainment

I mentioned Zachary's self-entertainment with the in-flight food menu on our trip to Mackinac, but I forgot to mention we'd grabbed video of it, along with another non-toy he decided was a fascinating object to play with.

Trains, planes, automobiles... and carriages?

I think we covered practically all forms of transportation on our vacation trip this week with Zachary's grandma and friends J & S to Mackinac Island: car, plane (both jet and semi-scary turblence-battered turbo prop), airport rail, van, ferry, bicycles (tandem, no less), pedestrian, and horse-drawn carriage.

Background: Growing up, my family used to take summer vacation trips up to Mackinac every couple of years. The island is situated between Michigan's two peninsulas in Lake Huron, and is known (well, at least in Michigan - most folks elsewhere that I've mentioned it to give me blank looks) for roughly four things:

1. All automobile traffic is banned (how's that for irony in the car capital of the US?) - the island is completely traversed by horses and bicycles. Zachary had his first horse rides, and occasionally looked with interest at the large horses as they trotted past. (The island even has rentals of horses and horse-drawn buggies, though we passed on that particular pasttime this trip.) We of course got lots of stroller time as well in Zachary's new compact umbrella stroller on the excellent footpaths throughout the town and surrounding state park. Meanwhile, Meh and I took a lovely (or as Meh would describe it, death-defying?) tandem bicycle ride around the 8.3 mile island with friends J & S.


2. Mackinac Island fudge. For some inexplicable reason, about the time that the island became a tourist destination, it was decided that fudge was a good tourist draw. This led to a precursor to the Starbucks phenomenon, where the six fudge shop chains occupy like thirty storefronts along the main street, often directly across the street from each other. But it's darn good fudge, and you of course get to watch them make the various flavors daily on large marble slabs. We of course ended up bringing home several pounds, some of which we hope to transform back into Mackinac Island fudge ice cream (one of the tastiest uses for it).


3. The Grand Hotel. A massive and impressive 120-year-old hotel with the world's longest porch (660 feet). Also apparently the only 5-star hotel in the world without valet parking. We spent one rainy evening here enjoying their lovely dinner service (the font and formatting of the menu remain intact from my last childhood visit), enjoying listening to the after-dinner harpist in the lobby, and walking through the hotel's halls to see pictures of its history (including visits from 5 sitting presidents no less). One nice thing about the hotel is that jacket and tie are required in the evening, so even Zachary got dressed up for the occasion. And my, that was the fanciest faux-wood infant high chair that I'd seen.
   


4. It's the setting for the 'unabashedly romantic' (that's Netflix description, which became our running gag throughout the trip) film Somewhere in Time. That alone would be well and good if it wasn't hammered home by every storefront (many sold a variety of film-themed tchochkes, books, and even 'officially licensed' jewelry; one particularly groan-inducing moment was seeing a clothing store subtitle itself 'Somewear in Time'; another was a store that had stencilled lettering announcing that it was through this particular pane of glass that Christopher Reeve was filmed for one scene), map of the island (highlighting the various locations where the film was shot), and even this placard placed where they shot a scene of the film. Our own resort (previously the island's college) was used for a few other scenes, though they thankfully didn't loudly advertise that fact.

The flights were for the most part great, minus the aforementioned rough ascent on the second plane. Zachary was again interested in playing with the in-seat inserts (these were thankfully laminated, so it wasn't quite as bad to see him continually trying to put them in his mouth). We had another first once we landed (at the cute and way-fancy regional airport that hosted a total of two gates): the shuttle booked to take us over to the ferries had installed the car seat facing forward, and it looked like backwards was going to be a bit too challenging to attempt. Zachary loved facing forward, screeching and clenching his fists in happiness the whole drive. He also *loved* the ferry ride over, smiling and giggling the whole time.


On the island, the weather wasn't entirely cooperative (not pictured here :), with rain washing out much of the first full day. Thankfully, that didn't really stop us from taking a nice morning walk around the island, meeting up with J & S for a cozy lunch (followed by fudge of course), and enjoying the aforementioned Grand Hotel dinner -- arriving in style by horse taxi of course. The second day, we had some glorious weather, and got to explore more of the island, including the Michigan governor's summer home and some of the other incredible residences. (All things considered, the prices weren't that insane - or are we just totally impervious to reason with the crazy housing market in Seattle?) We also enjoyed the resort we were staying at - Meh, J, & S took advantage of some of the massage services (grandma and I played with/strolled with Zachary during these), and we all had a lovely tea served by an unlikely candidate (a college student who was the water server at the fancy restaurant at the resort).

Mackinac was much as I remembered it, though there are of course slight changes - an internet cafe on the main street, and a big to-do last year with the opening of a Starbucks downtown. (The sign is totally hidden under awnings, so you wouldn't even know it was there from the street.) The prices are all going up as well; the cost to visit the Grand Hotel if you're not a guest (and aren't going for one of their meals) is up to a whopping $15. (I think maybe it was $4 when I was there last time?) But all in all, it was wonderful to be able to introduce Zachary, Meh, and J & S to one of my favorite childhood vacations, and it was great to be able to share the time there with Zachary's grandma as well.

Weekend cruise

Earlier this week, Zachary started unofficially to 'cruise' - that is, he will hold onto a couch or the ottoman and, step by step, gradually work his way around it without our assistance. These stints were typically interrupted or ended by him hitting the ground -- not usually hard, but generally with either one pivot too many or the splits getting his feet too far out from under him. He kept trying to pull himself up, but often ended up in a position where he was sitting with his legs under the ottoman, so he couldn't make much progress.

Today however, we were visiting friends D, D, and N, and he was sitting on the ground, facing mommy on the couch, and lo and behold, he grabbed her knees and pulled himself up. Another milestone! He celebrated with happy screeches.

Here's a great video Meh got of him in mid-cruise yesterday, where he stopped to play with one of his new favorite toys, a large decorative plate we keep on the ottoman.

The art of the raspberry

Just because we haven't talked about it recently doesn't mean it isn't still a Zachary favorite! In addition to more and more consonant and vowel-like sounds, Zachary still loves the spraying of raspberries. Sometimes it's in response to the weather (in particular when it starts to rain), other times it accompanies screeches and singing), and sometimes there's just no rhyme or reason to the wild spraying.

Here's an excellent video Meh caught of Zachary and her having a raspberry conversation. (Apparently this had already been going on for a few minutes when she turned the camera on.)

Engines full reverse

Zachary's starting to show a little more interest in moving around. (Capturing him on film while he does so remains a challenge though - either me leaving for the camera or the camera's little red distance-detection light tends to distract him from moving.) Monday morning, he and I were hanging out playing, and I put him on his tummy. Usually this makes him unhappy pretty quickly, but this time he was focused on a toy he was trying to grab that was a few feet out of reach. He pulled himself up with his hands, which inadvertently pushed him backwards. He kept occasionally repeating this, and ended up moving about six feet into the next room. Oddly, his inability to get to the toy didn't really seem to make him frustrated, as every time he backed up, he found something else new and exciting to grab at in front of him - another toy, the edge of the carpet, his jumperoo, and so on.

Then last night mommy was giving him a bath in the tub proper (not that plastic insert tub thing we usually use - long story), and he was scooting himself backwards the length of the tub and laughing about it. Movement may indeed be inevitable...

Last night after the bathtub scooting was date night! Friends M and K had wanted to come babysit once more before they move away :(, so Meh and I got to go out for a nice dinner and movie. (And no, I wasn't the only guy in the theater for SATC; there were at least two or three others, even if they all straggled in during the trailers.) It was again nice to get to spend an evening out together, and it was fine if our conversation frequently came back around to the little man and the cute things he's been up to lately. The movie was fun, but turned out to be a bit of a marathon (I likened it to squeezing a full season of the show up onto the screen, which it almost was at 2.5 hours!), and we felt a bit guilty being out so long -- M and K were so wonderful to watch Zachary, and to stay so late!

Self Serve

The little man and I have kept very busy this weekend - he continues to do amazingly well being out and about (actually even better than hanging out at home all day; I think that actually kind of bores him) with multiple errands and fairly full days. Yesterday we went to the bank (where the tellers already know him, but he shamelessly flirts anyway), then to lunch with friends S & J at one of the most excellently child-friendly cafes in Capitol Hill -- who else would dedicate like 15% of their in-restaurant space to a gated and well-padded area with tons of kids toys? On the walk down to the restaurant, friends D & D and their son N were driving past, so after they got home, D and N came back out and joined us for lunch.

Zachary's been eating great - he went through an entire jar of food at lunch, along with his favorite finger foods -- Cheerios and bits of a stick of string cheese. Incidentally, I've been noticing a definite left-hand preference in picking up food, even when I put it closer to his right hand. His papa and nanny are southpaws (and his grandfather was a lefty as well), so it's a definite possibility -- though the child specialists are always quick to point out that it's a bit early for a handedness preference to assert itself. And indeed, apparently most children go through a few flip-flops before settling on one.

After lunch, we popped over to visit mommy at work, then did some shopping at Costco before heading home in time for a nice baffy time, stories (still not a fan of my renditions of Goodnight Moon, though he's happy enough when mommy reads it -- as in the dark video below, where you'll notice he turns pages with his left hand), and bedtime.

Today was a bit mellower - Zachary and I took a nice long walk with Korby, met mommy at work in the afternoon, and then came home and played for a while. When I gave him dinner, we reached another milestone! He started reaching for the spoon, I let him try to grasp it -- and he successfully put it into his own mouth. Granted, it was like his existing finger-food eating technique: the hand wrapped around the food end of the spoon and went into the mouth along with at least some of the sweet potato/lentil mix. But this outfit was just about at the end of its use for the day anyway, and he actually did a pretty decent job with the food transfer. He seemed pleased with himself as well; I'm thinking mealtime is about to get a whole lot messier, which I previously would have found hard to believe!

300

Zachary is definitely much more entertaining than any graphic novel or graphic novel-inspired movie. Well, at least that I'm aware of. :)

How time flies - I didn't even realize until I looked over at the little counter thing (I know, I know, at some point I'll have to 'upgrade' it to count years and months), but Zachary turned 300 days old on Tuesday. And he doesn't even look a day over 275.

Zachary continues to interact in new ways with the world and us all of the time. He definitely loves mommy; when Meh comes home after being away, or we come up to say hi to mommy after her morning shower, he smiles, laughs, and sings. He's also a huge Korby fan, always saying "dah!" and variants when I point the dog out to him, and squirming and kicking fiercely while making happy noises when we first see him in the morning or when coming home. His third-best-friend at this point appears to be gravity. While wild waving and banging of objects is still fun (and honestly, when won't it be?), it's dropping them on the ground to make a gratifying thud or clatter that's his new favorite. Whether it's from six inches (sitting on the ground) or several feet (in his chair at the table - and yes, I'm perfectly happy to 'reset' objects for another terminal velocity trip to the ground), gravity is fun. We'll have to wait and see how soon he shows an interest in trying out more advanced Newtonian experiments.

And continuing the world interaction theme, today he started actively waving when someone waves at him. Friend M was over visiting, and when she waved goodbye, he waved back! Similarly, when I got home from work, he responded to my arrival by waving from the doorway. Still not entirely consistent, but just one more sign that he's continuing to learn avenues for communication.

Speaking of communication, talking/singing certainly continues to be one of his choice activities, as demonstrated in this video:

Is it goodnight for "Goodnight Moon"?

The last few nights, Zachary has been happy with his bedtime stories until we get to what was always his previous favorite. At first I thought he was just getting overly tired and was ready to pack it in for the night before I got to the coveted "In the great green room...", but tonight I tried to do 'Goodnight Moon' first, and he still yelled and 'nah-nah'ed as the book opened. I tried another favorite, and he happily sat and listened (and even grabbed and turned the pages, which he does really well, though sometimes he gets a little bit overeager and turns the pages a bit faster than the actual telling of the story). It was always nice to end the day the same way, but change is after all inevitable and shows that he's developing his own opinions and tastes, yes?

I'll have what she's having

Another nice and full day with Zachary's uncle Josh and some friends! This morning, we met friend K and her daughter N for brunch (well, by the time Zachary wrapped up his nap, it was more of a lunch) at our continuing favorite family-friendly breakfast joint, and N's dad J came by a bit later to join us as well. Zachary was of course very happy to play with his menu and happily eat a lunch of apple sauce, cheerios, and jack cheese. He was also frequently looking across the table at N to see what she was up to - as she's got a few more teeth, she's already graduated to bits of chicken and other fancier foods.

Then we were off to the Ballard Farmers Market. The iffy weather meant it wasn't totally crazy packed, and Zachary conked out pretty quickly. We picked up fresh cherries, a large bouquet of flowers, some tasty toffee, Josh grabbed a vegan brownie, and just had a nice time wandering around the various stalls. We even spotted one or two vendors that had been at that herb and food fair yesterday.

We then wandered over to the home of all that is kitsch, Archie McPhee's. Zachary woke up and spent the whole time in the store with his eyes glued to the ceiling - there's pretty whacky stuff suspended from above throughout the warehouse. I was particularly impressed with the ginormous selection of devil duckies, but the whole place is always fun to wander through.

Headed back home and spent the afternoon hanging out before getting invited out for some of the tastiest sushi in Seattle - at a place I still haven't been to! Alas, Zachary and I were still sniffly, so we decided to stay home and make it an early night. He's already been out for several hours; hopefully this extra rest will help him kick his cold!