What a hot weekend! We kicked off this weekend with Picnic in the Park, a family oriented, live music event. A group of us got together and had a potluck picnic.

On Saturday, we went to Kevin’s 1st birthday party. I got to see my HP friends that I haven’t seen in a long time. HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KEVIN! And Christopher is going to be a big brother this November – CONGRATULATIONS!

After the party, James’ parents came to visit. They read lots of books and played with Zachary. That was great because I had to log in to work throughout the weekend. We went out for dinner at Round Table pizza, and Zachary threw a fit because we wouldn’t let him knock over his highchair. Luckily, it was at the end of dinner, so we just picked him up and hightailed out of there!

Oh – and Zachary sings the alphabet song now. It’s very cute. He also finally has some 3-word sentences … such as “dada fix choo-choo?” The other day, he was sitting on a bench in a park. I came up behind him with some sunscreen and sprayed his neck – he jumped and fell off the bench. On the ground he started chanting “mama. dada. choo-choo. frog.” I guess those are his comfort words!

I got my camera back this week, so it’s time to post some pictures! First, some pictures of Zachary in the morning:

This Saturday, we had a BBQ at our place – grilled pork chops, stir fried veggies, burgers, portabella mushrooms, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, drumsticks, basmati rice, berry cobbler, brownies, and ice cream. And would you believe that the food that went the fastest was … hot dogs?! What a slap in the face!  Zachary had so much fun with all the kids over.

The next day, Zach met up with his friends at the water park. It’s a great water park – walking distance from our house, free admission, and an area in the shade to sit!

(Zach got new water shoes – one of many purchases made while James was in India! Let’s just say I have 3 Gymbucks too. James has no idea what that means.)

Last but not least  HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!  James got a card and travel mug from Zachary. We planned to go out for dinner, but we had so many leftovers from the BBQ, we had to stay home and eat them before they expire.

I haven’t posted in a long time since James went to Bangalore and Penang for business – and took our camera with him! It was a pretty tiring trip; a long flight and they lost his luggage for a few days. And his cab in Bangalore hit a pedestrian on the way to work on day. At Panang, he saw a reclining Buddha, which is supposedly rare (only 3 in the world). James is a man of few words and even fewer pictures, so that is all I can report on his trip.

I played the single mom role for 11 days – it was surprisingly easier than I expected. Only a few mishaps. Okay, one major one. I went into work on a Saturday and took Zachary with me. On our way down the elevator, Zachary wanted to press all the buttons. I told him very sternly not to. When the door opened, I walked out of the elevator and into the lobby, just like I typically do on a weekday. I was almost out the door when I realized Zachary was not behind me! I had security bring down all the elevators. Luckily, Zachary didn’t push any buttons and stayed in the elevator so it was easy to find him. I could hear him whining (not crying though), as the middle elevator came down. How very Britney Spears of me…

Other than that, Zach and I had lots of fun! The first weekend, we did a lot of shopping – great sales at Gymboree and Old Navy. We also went to an EncouraGYM open house, where Zach played on the bounce house and trampoline, while I ate pizza. On Sunday, we met up with 2 other moms and their toddlers at a water park … we played for almost 3 hours. After that much sun, Zach took a great nap!  The next weekend, we went to dinner at Ki/Megan’s – Vietnamese crepes…so good. I love fish sauce! Zach had a great time playing with all the little kids there, but wasn’t well behaved (throwing toys)and ended up with three time outs.  The next day, we went to Bhavana/Vish’s house for a playdate and lunch. Their pool was too cold (just refilled it), but the boys had just as much fun playing with a plastic tub filled with water! And Monday night – James came back home!

Okay – catching up on my posts. Memorial weekend, we went down to the Bay Area. We took Sophie to Bonfante Gardens theme park for her 25th birthday. Her favorite ride was the “banana split”, which she went on twice. Zachary’s favorite was the “artichoke dip” – he also rode it twice.

There was a water area too – new since the last time I was there. I decided that there is a reason why children under 3 are free at theme parks … Zachary didn’t really enjoy the rides. He preferred activities like running around the rock maze and climbing the stairs to the waterside … basically more park than theme park activities. For dinner, we went to one of Sophie’s favorite restaurants – I cannot recall the name, but the chicken was dry and the curry appetizer was really good! Zachary was so exhausted that he fell asleep mid-eating in the car seat.

The next day, we went to the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. Zachary LOVED it. It was totally geared towards younger kids, including toddlers. He could have spent the whole day there – he was climbing and playing and having so much fun … he even hugged The Cat in the Hat after story time. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. 

And after the museum? My sister Alice had a BBQ at her place. The food was great – and Zachary, as the only child at the party, enjoyed the attention. After the guests cleared out, we played Munchkins with my sister and their boyfriends.

We drove back home Monday afternoon – and then got invited to a Memorial Day BBQ! Zachary had fun and even ate some corn for the first time (that I know of … maybe he eats it at daycare. Although I doubt it, since I never see it in his poo.). He also played on a hammock, fell out, and got his first ever bloody nose.

Yesterday was my/James’ 3rd anniversary. James bought be a spa certificate and we had Mikuni (sushi) take out.  Happy Anniversary James!

Zachary went to the dentist – for the first time in his 25 months. No cavities.   He was actually pretty good when they scraped his teeth – I thought he would totally flip out. But then he cried when they did the fluoride treatment and polishing. Their only advice was to start flossing since his teeth are fairly crowded; he has a small mouth. We forgot to add him to our insurance, so I had to pay out of pocket. We better remember to add him next open enrollment - his next cleaning is in Jan 2007. (And by we, I mean James.)

It’s been so busy the past 2 weekends! Here’s my post for 2 weeks ago… Friday afternoon my team at work went to a park to play volleyball as a team builder. Karen and Lydia came by too! That evening, I went to my coworker Chris’ house for dinner. He has an entertaining 3 year old that loves to talk. Much to his dismay, Zachary has already learned, at a young age, to tune out chatter.  Zachary loved their cardboard playhouse. If only I knew how to make one…that and I’d also have to buy something big that we don’t need, like a new appliance or TV. Yea … nevermind…

Anyway, Chris’ wife was setting up for a neighborhood garage sale, and we had some items to add. We ended up making $50 selling old computers! More valuable, was the space it freed up in our closet.  After the garage sale (on Saturday), we went to an Intel sponsored carnival. There were games, a jump house, art projects, a big slide, clowns, and jugglers. They also had some police people taking kids’ fingerprints, and a fire truck on site for the kids to crawl in. We met up with a bunch of our Intel friends, who also have toddlers. Zachary really liked the jump house!

After the carnival, we headed to Kaitlyn’s 2nd birthday party at Encouragym (where Zachary had his 1st birthday.) Zachary had fun playing at the gym, and even ate well … a few servings of real mac/cheese and some ice cream cake. The food was great, and I was so glad the party was indoors since my allergies have been terrible this season. Happy 2nd Birthday Kaitlyn!

Alas, Sandy wins the hula hoop contest. I think the key is to have a waist. I have the child-bearing hips, but unfortunately also the cake-eating tummy.

On Sunday, we went to a BBQ … where we had grilled chicken in pitas with delicious Greek sauce. Zachary had fun – he loves following the older kids … and especially enjoyed the toy parachute they had. He really liked playing Yatzee (okay, just throwing the dice!) with Kathy … it’s interesting, my friends without kids (Kathy, Dana, Carol) are so good at entertaining toddlers and coming up with creative games. I wonder if it’s because they aren’t tired and burnt out yet, like me! 

Speaking of well needed breaks, I went to see Da Vinci Code mid-week with my bookclub girlfriends. It was okay – I would have preferred more historical data and a stronger female lead character. The book was definately better, but the move is worth watching.