Zack's-Eye View
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

I was scanning our photo files and found a bunch of pictures obviously taken by Zack. Here's a tour of our house, starting with his feet.

Next we have the kitchen,




Dining room...




Emma




And, can we get a little privacy, please?

Ya, man! That was gnarly!
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Here's our intrepid almost-five-year-old sauntering back into line after successfully screaming down Mt. Bachelor in one of those rubber life-savers you see behind him.

And I mean screaming. He had to be going 40mph. The dark may be scary, but speed is a rush.

We just returned from five days in Sunriver with our great buddies The Vinsons. Dads attended a medical meeting part of the time. Kids and moms just played, mostly. Thanks again, Uncle Jay and Aunt Nancy, for sharing your beautiful house!

In addition to tubing there was an afternoon of skating, a swimming outing, a visit to the Children's Museum, and much time spent digging in the snow.

We played cards late into the night, and one evening our friend Steve from Bend watched all of the kids for a couple of hours while Vinsons and Littles had a grownup dinner out.

Yes, those are his real feet

Zack on Skis
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Here's Zack enjoying his first day on skis last weekend at Mt. Hood. He and Hugh went up with their dads. Zack obviously inherited his dad's genes, and took to the sport immediately.

Zack's feet are so big that after they fitted him for boots they discovered the boots were too large for the bindings as they sat on the kid-sized skis. I guess they had to ram his feet into boots that were a half-size too small, just to make it work. He didn't seem phased.

We're off to Sunriver tomorrow (thanks, Uncle Jay and Aunt Nancy!) and hope to do some skiing at Mt. Bachelor. More pictures to follow, I'm sure.

Where are all my pillows?!

Fortress of Solitude
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Every day we have a new fort in our house. When beds and couches are naked, we need not look far to find a pile of pillows, precariously balancing a bedspread roof. This particular model is a "termite mound," I think. It's fairly structurally sound, thanks to the glass-top table underneath. No diving on top of this one, though.

Spring is not far off, and I'm sure you're starting to think about your garden. Here's a hot tip from our littlest green thumb: Zack tells me that if you plant a sesame seed, you will grow a bagel. Worth trying once.

Big ideas

Go Speed Racer!
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

Most people who build with K'nex make cars they can push around. Zack insisted on making a car he could sit in. I helped a little -- mostly with structural integrity. The design is all his. Those are the booster rockets in back.

The other day Zack asked me what a "monthly payment" is. I think I'm letting him watch too much TV.

Today I went to Kindergarten Roundup at our designated elementary school. It was FABULOUS. Made me want to go back to kindergarten.

I came home inspired to do a purge. I filled two kitchen garbage bags with piles of outgrown clothes and toys Zack will not even miss. (Especially because the house looks no less messy and cluttered now than when I started!) Now I'm off to Goodwill to unload them. It's a good feeling.

Brothers from another mother?
Originally uploaded by littlekidd.

(As I write this, Zack is peppering me with Star Wars trivia questions, so I anticipate many typos and left-out words)

Here's a sample:
"Why is Vader Luke's father?"
"Why does Annkien turn in to Vader? because he's mad at Obi-Wan, his master in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones?"

(and now for a little conversational whiplash)

"I would like a little pet iguana, and when they get 6 or 10 feet long, we could either get a big cage, or a big room in your house and also, iguanas love to climb, right? So, they would need lots of sticks to climb on. Also, they are cold-blooded. That means that we need a light for them to bask in on the tree cliffs, and also we will need some food for it. Actually I don't want an iguana."

While I was at my knitting retreat, Zack and a bunch of his buddies went to the Zoo. Here he is doing a tryout for "American Simian Idol."

Here's yesterday's random thought:
Z: The eagle's skin is so thin, you can poke through it with a pencil.
Me: How terrible! Why would you ever think of poking an eagle with a pencil?
Z: No, Mom (the "DUH!" was strongly implied here, though his talent for cynicism is till underdeveloped.) the "Eagle" that Buzz Aldrin used to land on the moon.

This morning at breakfast, Zack informed me that a horse can give birth to a zebra. I am inclined to believe this is true.