First Christmas

Guess what I got for Christmas?  I don't know either.  My parents say that it is a plastic bowl set, for when I start eating solid foods.  I don't know about you, but mashed up yams doesn't sound so appetizing.  I think I'll stick with milk for now.

I gave my parents a really special gift for Christmas -- me!  Surprise!  And they had thought they were going to get a blender.

New Impressionism

Zdot: A refreshing look at post-modern Impressionism

Picasso has nothing on me.

Van gogh?  Matisse?  Amateurs.

Cezanne?  A Fruit Basket.

Monet?  OK, I like the irises, purple being my favorite color, but I can certainly do better.   I will teach him true Impressionism.

Being an artiste is the good life.  I can be a short, fat bald guy who slobbers all over everything, and people will still go ga-ga over my work.  I developed my first masterpiece today.  I left it unsigned to create a little stir in the art world when I become famous -- is this really an original Zdot? It definitely reflects his early style.

Actually, the truth is, I don't know how to zpell my own name yet.  Don't tell anyone.

Pay no attention to my assistant's hand in the picture.  I am simply training one of my adoring underlings in the finer arts of expression and style.

Dancing Pandas

I just started to learn yoga.  Apparently, I'm pretty good at it.  Here I am doing a move that I like to call 'Dancing Panda'.

Axel

Apparently there is a new man in town - my new cousin, Axel.

Tova, Erica and Wayne are excited to see him.

New Baby Tricks

Apparently, this is what all the kids are doing at school.  I came home and showed my parents what I learned.

Photo Shoot

A couple pics of me from my portfolio

Pictures From Daycare

I am going to Daycare now.
It is pretty nice.  The people are friendly and I spend my day with lots of girls.
I am the only boy in my Infant Room right now, so I am what you call a "hot commodity".
The teachers are nice and let me play with toys and roll around on the floor.  They even have a bubble show on Wednedays.

It's never too early

It's never to early to start learning about computers.

I new I could

I rolled for the first time all by myself.  I knew I could do it if I focused my mind on it.

Roll Practice

A couple of the other kids in my PEPS group can roll, so it's about time I learn how.  I discovered that it is tougher than it looks.  Cross the legs, throw the arms up, then turn your head, or was it throw the legs, turn your arms and cross your head?  So many options..

Orienteering

I did my first orienteering event this morning, at Island Crest Park on Mercer Island.  I think I swept the under 6 month-old category.  Blue ribbon!  I don't quite understand the whole navigation thing.  Why do they call this a thumb compass when it is as big as your hand?  And why is this grassy area marked in orange? I like to look at the little squiggles on the map, though.  Luckily the maps are printed on drool-proof paper, so they stay shiny and clean after a long day of map-reading.  Time for a nap.

Nanny

This is Elise, my nanny.   She has been very good to me.

Halloween

 I celebrated Halloween with all of my PEPS friends.  I am the super-scary skeleton.  Those are not my real bones, though. 

My parents also dressed me up as a Dalmatian, but I liked being a skeleton better.

Annual Traditions

 We have an annual tradition of going to the pumpkin patch in October to look at pumpkins and wander through a corn maze (spoiler: if you always take a right turn in the maze, you get to the exit).  I even got my picture taken as a scaredy-crow.  This was our first annual visit, but we are planning on coming back every year.  We may even bring a pumpkin home with us next time.

Mr. GQ and his dad.

Seabrook

We traveled out to the coast to visit some of mommy's friends.  They live in a cute little community called Seabrook where they have cute little houses and cottages and beach houses.  It is a Subarubia in the middle of the forest where everyone comes out of their beach houses in the evening and walks around, then roasts marshmallows in the communal firepit and plays horseshoes and Bocce Ball with each other.  Mommy is a champ at Bocce, although daddy calls it "beginner's luck".

Jungle Gym Training Schedule

What a day.  Five minutes of leg kicks, ten minutes on the rings, followed by five more minutes of caterpillar-fighting.
Now I am pooped!  (heh heh, I said "pooped").

Plane Ride to the Bay Area

I'm hanging out with Fred and Elly

 I got to fly down to the Bay Area for my cousin Annie's wedding reception party.  She got married a couple weeks ago, but they decided to have another party for all their friends.  I guess it runs in the extended family.  Anyways, I got to meet my aunt Elly and Uncle Fred, who provided some tasty food for select friends and family on Saturday evening.  I also got to meet my Uncle Wayne.  I bet he never thought he'd be an uncle.  In any case, it was great fun.  I even got to meet my cousin Annie and Brendan.  I don't have any pics right now of them as I got too involved in a spirited game of frog racing and forgot to take any.  They're pretty good looking, though; you'll just have to take my word for it.

Wayne, for those of us who can't read.

Directors Cut

Cut!  Cut!  Come on people, we're trying to make a movie here!  How many times do I have to tell you that the horsies need to be smiling when they do that dance number?  Who wants to see frowny-faced horsies?  OK, do it again from the top.  And we need a little more cow bell.

More Grandparents

 It's grandparent time in the Zachary household.  No more flying around the continent to go visiting.  This time, I can languish in granparents' arms just seconds from my toy-filled play area.  Daddy is going to work next week and things are going to be quieter around here pretty soon, but right now I'll keep enjoying the endless comfort and attention of grammy Karen and grandpa Warren, and mommy and daddy as well.

Green Steel

I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.

SLC

I got to go on my first plane ride, or so I hear.  I got tired and fell asleep, and when I woke up, we were in this new place called "Salt Lick City".  I got to meet all my mommy's relatives.  There sure are a lot of them.  By the time I counted up to two, I had lost count, there were so many, and then some.  My grandma and I hit it off really well.  She really likes me, I can tell. 

I also visited a fancy dancy garden that had lots of flowers and plants and things.  It was a long hike, so mommy carried me a little ways.

PEPS

I joined a PEPS group (Program for Early Parenting Support).  I go hang out with all of my buddies for an evening each week.  Our parents come along as well.  Our parents usually don't need much support - they seem to do pretty well without our supervision, but we make sure to keep an eye on them anyways.  Otherwise, we spend our time talking about the latest onesies fashion trends and bragging about how much baby fat we've gained in the past week.   I like to wear my muscle shirt, too.

Camping in Mazama

Camping is pretty great. It's cold outside, so I like to stay bundled up in my bouncy chair and watch my dad cook breakfast.

First Camping

 I am an experienced camper.  My first camping trip was for a whole hour in our back yard, before we decided to go back in the house and sleep.  Then the next day we stayed in the back yard for the whole night.  I got to sleep between mommy and daddy on my own sleeping pad that time.   Then we went to Salmon La Sac.  It was really cold there, and I decided to hibernate most of the night.  Mommy and daddy kept poking me to see if I was alive.  Can't anyone get a decent sleep around here?   The next day, we went for my first hike, up along Cooper River.  We hiked for almost an hour.  Then I got hungry.  This whole camping/hiking thing really builds up the appetite.

Point and Shoot

How does this camera work?  I am trying to take pictures of the little birdies outside, but I can barely see through the camera lens.  And every time I push the button, I get blinded.  What gives?

I want to be like daddy

I want to be like daddy.  I watch him all the time so that I can learn all the right moves.  Sometimes mommy won't let me copy his daddy-style, like the time I tried to wear my onesie on backwards.  Recently, however, I've discovered a new activity that he and I like to share together.  Am I doing this correctly?  Watch and learn, Zachary, watch and learn.

I am a pirate

Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be?  I am a pirate after all.   En garde!  Daddy took my cutlass away after I sliced up the furniture (no hand/eye coordination yet), so you'll just have to imagine that part.  Oh, and the eye patch.  And the Jack Sparrow Deluxe Pirate Hat with Beaded Braids which I so wanted for my birthday (which comes every Sunday).  Unfortunately, my last birthday came and went, and all I got was a new onesie.

Question: Why are pirates pirates?
Answer: Because they arrrrrrrrrr.

Critter

My friend Kathleen made me this critter.  I'm not sure exactly what he is, but he's definitely my new pal.  He likes to horse around, so maybe I'll call him a "horse".  That has a nice ring to it.
Sometimes he teases my about my skinny legs.  I'd better bulk up.

Life is a Beach

Life is a beach, or so I'm told.  I think that daddy told me that.  I got to go to my first beach party today, at Alki Point.  Several older kids were there, all showing off by walking around and stuff.  I don't need to walk around, though.  I brought my own MommyWalker (tm) with me.  I just cry the command, and MommyWalker picks me up and carries me whereever I need to go.  I have a DaddyWalker too, but he's a slightly older model and not as smooth of a ride.  Plus, he doesn't come with on-board drink service.

Yoga Slacker

Much to learn, I still have

 I can contort into crazy positions.  Apparently, that is what "yoga" means.  I think I will be good at this new found skill.  Yoga also means that I get to sleep all the time.  They call that part "meditation" or something, but even with the big long words, I know a good thing when I see it.

Daddy, aka "Diaper Sensei", "Dadzilla"

Mommy, aka "The Momster", "Mama Goddess"

Marianne

In the lap of luxury

My aunt Marianne came to visit us and snuggled me for my first two weeks.  I missed her when she left, and so did my parents.

Tag

I learned a new game - it's called tag.  You're it.  Hah, hah, isn't this a fun game!  You're it again!  I love this game.  Now it's your turn.  Try to get me!

Day 1

Hi, my name is Zachary Harold Ohlrich.  Harold is my mother's father's name, and Zachary is my name.  I weigh eight pounds, and I've just turned five.  Five whole minutes! 

I met mommy today, and she looks even better from the outside than she does from the inside.  I'm really psyched.  Life is pretty great.  I've already learned to blink and to grunt.  I have the world in the palm of my hand.  In my hand! (OK, that's not my hand, it's daddy's.  He helps me out sometimes with the heavy lifting).