The Talk

Still wearing it a week later...
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Zack has many friends with little brothers and sisters now. So, the questions are starting.

Zack: How do babies get OUT of their mommy's tummies?
Me: In the place where boys have a penis, girls have a hole called a vagina. Babies grow in their mommy's tummy for awhile, then come through that hole when they're ready to be born.
Zack: Did I go through that hole?
Me: Uh... well... actually, sometimes babies DON'T come through that hole, and instead a doctor helps by making a hole in the mommy's tummy so the baby can come out that way. That's how you came out.
Zack: Through your belly button?
Me: No, the doctor cut a hole in my tummy and stitched it up after you were born. I have a scar, want to see it?
Zack: (After viewing c-section scar) Oh, I get it. But how do the babies get IN the mommy's tummy?
Me: (Tottering at the edge of how much is too much) Well... each baby is made up of a piece of it's mommy and a piece of it's daddy. The mommy's piece is called the egg and the daddy's piece is called the sperm, and the sperm and egg get mixed together in the mommy's tummy and out of that mix a baby grows.
Zack: (Satisfied and onto the next) Can I have a Fig Newton?
Mom: (Whew!)

A Day in the Life of a Space Suit

Can you hear me?
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

We finally got to the bottom of the birthday present pile. Saved the best for last -- a space suit and helmet from Grandma Cindy and Grandpa John and Auntie Cat. Here's a chronology of its first 18 hours in possession of our small boy.

5:03 pm - Open space suit box.
5:03:30 pm - Don space suit costume
5:30 pm - iChat with Grandma Cindy, Grandpa John and Auntie Cat while wearing said costume.
6:00 pm - Wears suit out to County Cork (the neighborhood Irish Pub) for dinner. Leaves helmet home, deciding it will be difficult to eat bangers and mash with a space helmet on. This prompts mom to check the tag in the neck and discover that -- Hallelujah! -- the suit is machine washable. As we arrive at the restaurant Zack is glad to hear that accidentally spilled food will not ruin his new suit. He now chooses to reveal that he got "just a little" pee on it too.
7:50 pm - Home and into bed. Reluctantly trades space costume for a pair of Batman pajamas (which were the costume of choice until 5:03pm today.)
4:07 am - Zack comes into our room and asks for help putting the space costume on. He is summarily ushered back to bed in as firm a tone as a mother can use while trying to swim through the haze of the Nyquil she took two hours earlier after a 90-minute coughing fit
6:30 am - The pitter patter of little feet is heard outside our door. Cloth is being dragged down the stairs. Whining ensues. The space suit is inside out.
6:45 am - The strife is over, the space suit is back on.

Marching 4th

Caaaaake...
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

It's so hard to get a good picture at a birthday party, isn't it? Here we are contemplating the cake at Zack's 4th birthday party, which we are happy to announce we all survived. I think most everybody actually had a pretty good time. It was a late afternoon party, so folks rolled out of here around 7:30 last night. I shudder to think about the candy and cake hangovers waking up all over town this morning.

Anyway, we did snap a few action shots, two of which are below this. Happy Birthday, Zack!

So Many Children, So Much Cake

And then there was calm...
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Twenty-three. That's how many small children will fit, seated, at our dining room table. They certainly didn't all fit in the photo. (Though we did manage to catch Zack's back, on the far left in the blue w/white stripes.) Naturally, this was the calmest few minutes of the party, as the kids took a brief pause from their experiment in chaos theory to wolf down a little birthday cake.

Nice pinata form, kid!

Nice pinata form, kid!
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Here's a shot of Zack whacking the pinata in front of our house. Luckily the pinata was the only thing that got whacked. He managed to draw first blood -- or "first Pez" as was the case. Crack pinata coaches, George and Dave (dads of Hugh and Ian, respectively) watched from the rear of the line.

Zack Hits the Big 4... Oh!

Look Ma, No Hands!
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

This week Zack will turn 4. Here he is wearing something that has achieved "Most Favored Toy Status" in our house. It's a headlamp sent to him by his Aunt Carol in Colorado. What's especially cool is that she got it while reporting from the Texas Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Someday he'll understand about that. Right now he just thinks it's great to read books under his covers.

Zack's big 4th birthday party is tomorrow. The actual birthday is the 14th -- next Tuesday. The difference is lost on Z-man. So be it. As far as we're all concerned, is a week-long fiesta.

Here are some funny stories I can think of that will give you a glimps into the psyche of an almost 4-year-old...

The other night Zack decided to help with dinner preparations by making a side dish. He got out a serving bowl and created a colorful -- if odd -- culinary masterpiece. Here's the recipe.

3 cups dried cranberries
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's Savory Rice Crackers
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix well. Serve immediately.

The other day while driving along, Zack announced that he and his friend Cole had decided to send all of the girls in his class "...to Jupiter to get more stupider." Classy.

One recent morning as I was hurrying Zack along getting ready for school he just stopped in his tracks, turned to me and said, "Mom, you're wasting my time."

Today in a very serious voice, Zack said "Mom, you made me laugh really hard and it gave me the hiccups and that wasn't very nice of you. If you have the hiccups and you touch my mouth with your finger I'll get the hiccups."

He is currently very intent on differentiating among oceanographers, volcanologists and paleantologists. (sp?).

So there you have it. Zack -- three days shy of four -- in a nutshell. More to come after tomorrow's party. 15 kids, 25 adults and crappy weather. We're going to pad the walls and hope for the best. Say a little prayer...