Another fun week! Friday after work, we headed to Bill Sr and Georgiana’s house for a BBQ dinner … buttered veggies, mashed potatoes, filet mignon, an awesome salad, and ice cream cake. We got to see James’ best friend Bill Jr and his family, who flew in from NY. Their son Will is 1.5 months younger than Zachary. The next day we went to a playgroup – we could only stay 2 hours because we had to head back for Bill Sr’s surprise retirement party. It was a poolside BBQ, with a live band (one of his sons is a musician), and an Elvis impersonator! And guess what? Will’s going to be a big brother! Congratulations Bill and Elena!

On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day with brunch in Sacramento, at the Delta King (riverboat restaurant). It was a great brunch … salmon florentine, prime rib, lots of salads and desserts … but Zachary was so poorly behaved that we rushed out of there. Zachary gave me a cement hand that he made in daycare… which can be used as a paperweight or, attached to a stick/ruler, as a spanking device.

 This week’s announcements: Happy Mother’s Day to mom! And Happy Birthday to Dad and Sophie!

Hi! Thursday night, we drove down to the Bay Area and crashed at Sophie’s apartment. The next morning (Friday), we attended James’ Grandmother Jeane’s memorial. It was very nice, with lots of singing (she directed a chorus at a senior center). Zachary was as good as could be expected for a 2-year-old; he sat through the full hour. The only inapproprate things he did were ‘singing’ and directing along with the chorus (I ended that by feeding him Cheerios) and calling out his Great Grandmother’s birthdate from the program: “One! Nine! Two! Threeeee!”. Afterwards, there was a banquet lunch, where Zachary got to play with his cousins Brandon and Auggie (Hayden was there too, but he’s a baby.)

Then, we all went to Grandma Jeane’s house to help clean it out – we now have more Tupperware than we’ll ever need! Zachary had too much fun running around. He wasn’t on his best behavior due to a lack of sleep (no nap), but he was controllable. He did end up losing his toy train Percy. It probably got packed up in a box of goods to donate.   In the evening, we went back to Sophie’s, where she made us a 3-dish dinner (thanks!) and then drove home that night.

The next day, we went to Lydia’s first birthday party BBQ. I used to work with her mom, Karen, at HP. Now I work with her dad at Intel. Zachary did a lot of chalk drawings. He also tried very hard to blow bubbles, but never succeeded. HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY LYDIA!

Saturday evening, Zachary’s friend Tristen (plus dad and brother) came over for dinner and to stay the night. Zachary loves playing with Tristen – who’s funny and outgoing, but not disrespectful or aggressive like some other 4 year olds I’m used to.

Hello! Last weekend, we went to Picnic Day in Davis. Zachary had fun running around and doing the kids activities such as coloring, playing with cornmeal, and making a pin. The weather was excellent!

Then, since my “baby” is now 2-years-old, we put away his highchair and bought him a Stokke Kinderzeat. Goores (baby store) had a 14% off sale … but even still, it was pricey for a few planks of wood.

This weekend my good friend (from college!) came to visit me. She’s from Texas, and had a consulting assignment in the Bay Area. She had never met Zachary before, but they took to each other right away. The Friday she arrived, we went to my co-worker’s house for homemade calzones and games. Unfortunately, I was horribly allergic to their 2 cats, so we only stayed for the food.

The next day, we went out for lunch (pho) and then treated ourselves to a french manicure and pedicure. I basically relaxed with my friend while our housekeeper was scrubbing, our gardener was pruning, and my husband was watching our child. (Okay, I did feel slightly guilty … but not enough to put a damper on our outing.)

That evening, we went to our friend’s house for BBQ ribs. It was fun to see all the little kids run around and play together. Actually, Zachary follows but stays a few feet away. He doesn’t really interact with other kids that much – they even mentioned that in daycare. It seems to take him longer to get comfortable with kids, but he warms up to adults right away.

The next morning (before it got too hot), we all walked to a park near our home. Then Carol and I went out for lunch and outlet shopping. (James was once again, stuck with trying to get Zachary to nap.) And in between our excursions? Carol tried (and failed) to teach Zachary to say her name; he calls her “C.” We read celebrity magazines (People, US weekly). And we played Settlers (3 times!) and Carcasone. Carol left after dinner on Sunday – we agreed that we needed to plan a mini-college reunion with the two of us and Natalie (our 3rd roommate in college) this year!

On a more somber note, James’ grandmother passed away. Her memorial service will be held next week. (Thanks to Carol for the fruit/food basket!)