Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Well, I'm happy to report our wishes did come true... it snowed, finally! Though I wish it was more, we did get 6 1/2 inches where we live, while other areas near us in Maryland got over a foot!! It was a very cold, blustery day on Monday and the wind was really blowing the snow into drifts. It looked kind of funny in our yard... because it was so cold and such a light and dry snow, the wind blew the snow so much you could actually see the grass in some spots, while there were big piles in other spots. Nevertheless, it was just beautiful to finally see a significant amount of snow on the ground!

Another reason I am so excited about this snow is it obviously presents great photo opportunities to capture this moment in our lives. Earlier in the season, Len's Mom gave us a very precious gift... she had saved the first snowsuit worn my Len himself and had it cleaned and ready for us to try on Zachary. Our late-season snowstorm gave us the perfect backdrop and reason to bundle up our little critter in his very own vintage-wear!

Can you tell who's who?

(One hint... the adorable little boy in the picture at the left is not Zachary)

How precious...


Zachary was not as excited and comfortable on the snow tube outside in the snow as he was in our living room, but I think he had fun sliding on the cold, smooth surface (most of the time). He really didn't have much of a desire to walk in the snow and kick it around. When we set him down, he kind of just stood there, cried a little (sometimes), and reached out to be picked up. It was very chilly out with some bursts of wind, so I wonder if he was just cold. I can't imagine that, though, given the multiple layers I had on him under his Daddy's adorable snowsuit. We even put chapstick on his lips to be sure the wind didn't hurt them... he kept trying to eat it while I smeared the stick across his lips (are you surprised at that?? lol).

Here are more pictures I took to help is remember our fun afternoon...

I think it took us just as long to get all of Zachary's layers on, as we were actually out in the snow... what a project! LOL!



Slipping-and-a-sliding in the fluffy white snow...




I always remember as a kid loving the "after we play out in the snow" part, when we'd come inside and warm up with either hot chocolate or oatmeal (depending on the time of day). So to continue the tradition, the critter warmed up with a bottle of warm milk (no chocolate yet)... yummy!


I'm so glad we finally had a decent snowstorm... what a blast for all of us!!

FINALLY... a real snow storm (we hope)!

We've been waiting and waiting for a real wallop of a snow storm, basically since Zachary was born! It did snow while we were in the hospital over a year ago when he was born, so I was thinking that was a sign that he'd LOVE the snow (just like his Mommy and Daddy). Well, we haven't had the chance yet to see if it is really true... until tonight! Finally... we're expected to get 6-10 inches of snow here in Maryland, which is just enough to be able to bundle up and go out to play in it all. I can't wait!!! It's snowing as we speak, and we've got the snow tube all blown up, hoping the weather-people's predictions are proven correct. Just to be sure Zachary was not spooked by this big, pillow-like contraption, we gave it a dry run this evening in the living room. At first, he was not really into it, but after a minute of just examining this big tube and it's plastic handles, I plopped him right in the center of it and he LOVED bouncing around, climbing on and off and on and off and on and off about a hundred times... it was so fun to watch, and I can't wait to see him out in the snow doing the same thing! (Keep your fingers crossed!)

Woo hoo... look, no hands!

If I'm this good already on the tube, imagine me on a snowboard in a few years!!

Hmmmm, I think I'll pretend-eat some snow... yep, I think I'm really gonna like it, for sure!

Whew... all of this excitement sure has tired me out! I guess I should get some rest to be sure I'm ready for the big snow day! The anticipation alone is awesome!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

This year for Valentine's Day, we took an unexpected, unplanned road trip and found ourselves heading up to New Jersey late Friday night (Feb 13th) for the weekend. Before we hit the road, the fun began with Zachary charming all of his favorite teachers at daycare... he gave each of them a long-stem red rose with a pretty bow and a tag wishing them lots of love! It was definitely a crowd pleaser, but of course, that's to be expected from our little Prince Charming. Here's the little critter wearing his special "Ladies' Man" Valentine shirt for the celebration at school - -

Our little Picasso also gave his Mommy and Daddy this masterpiece of a Valentine, that he made himself at school (with a little help from his wonderful teachers, I'm sure)... the red hearts on the front are hand-painted (literally) by our very own little Zachary! It is my most favorite Valentine ever!!

We headed to NJ for an incredibly sad reason, though, as we lost a very, very dear family friend to cancer and attended her memorial service Saturday morning. I wish we had a happier occasion to be "on the road again," but it was so nice seeing our family and celebrating Valentine's Day together. I'll share more pictures from the weekend in a future post, as you can imagine, I took tons... I guess you could consider me fully back in the saddle again with my handy-dandy little camera!

In this post, we would simply like to take this moment to wish all of our very special family and friends a very Happy (and belated) Valentine's Day... we love you all SO VERY MUCH!!

S.W.A.K.!!!!

Where does the time go??? - A look back on January, 2009

Let me first start by saying we're all still here, finally well, and enjoying the winter so far! January was a tough (yet still very exciting) start of the year for the little Goodman family, and I think we're finally back on track (I hope I didn't just jinx us)!

I'll start by catching up with the rest of January...

If I had to sum up the month of January 2009 in one word, I think it would be...... VIRUS! That's right... January was a month of one illness after another throughout our entire household. If one of us was healthy (for however short of a period) the other two were sick, and it was a vicious cycle that never seemed as though it would end! At one point I turned to Len and desperately asked, "What more can we do to make this stop????" I think you'll chuckle at his response... "move!" he said! Well, I'm happy to report that short of a runny nose or two, we've turned a corner and find ourselves back on the healthy train! And believe it or not, I think Zachary was the "least" sick (if there is such a thing) of all of us, though he did experience a mild bout of RSV, which he was exposed to at day care. The doctor said that if indeed that was what he had (there's really no way to test for it), she was impressed with the fact that he was only exhibiting mild symptoms and his body was doing a great job of fighting it. Len and I were quite concerned at times (the cough and wheezing it causes can sound pretty bad), and her assessment of his overall health was very reassuring. Zachary was a real trooper throughout it all, and I think he really liked staying home several days with Mommy and Daddy, and getting extra-special loving attention as we spoiled him back to health! Thank goodness he didn't really get the severe stomach bug Len and I each had TWICE throughout the month (I can't even imagine what that would have been like for all of us)! I'll tell you, even if we had planned on heading up to NJ for a visit, I know that would not have actually happened, so maybe our moratorium on road trips was good timing!

So, here I sit writing only my third blog entry for the year (January and February were my worst months yet) and it feels just great to be back in the saddle again! Here are some of the limited photos I took (you know I had to be sick not to take endless pictures of my adorable little critter)!!

We emailed this self-portrait to Daddy to cheer him up when he was having a long day at work...

One of Zachary's favorite past times continues to be reading books, especially with Daddy...

And tubby-time is (almost) always a fun, splish-splash time for all!

(You'll notice the bandage on his left arm... as you may already know, part of the one year well-visit to the doctor includes an order for blood work... Zachary went for his test in January, and he was a real trooper. Let me tell you, for me, it was 10 times worse than the vaccines. Good thing Daddy isn't as queasy as Mommy!)

January closed with some exciting football for Baltimore fans... here is Zachary in his Ravens warm-up suit... he got a lot of proud wear out of it this season!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear Daddy,

I want to wish you a VERY Happy Birthday and tell you I think you're the best Daddy in the whole entire world! Mommy helped me find this passage, and I thought it was just the perfect way to say I love you on your special day...

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight.

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it... "DAD"

Thank you for always taking such good care of me, for playing with me all the time, for your hugs and kisses everyday, for all of the times you read me books, and for always making me feel safe and loved! I couldn't have asked for a better Daddy... I love you! Happy Birthday!!

Love and Kisses,
Zachary

Happy New Year - 2009!

There's just so much to celebrate from 2008, and so many more firsts and fantastic moments to look forward to in 2009. 2008 was an incredible year for the Goodmans... it was our first full year with our precious son, Zachary! What more could we ask for with just the most perfect little boy in the whole entire world?!? We are constantly counting our blessings and overflowing with love for this amazing little critter... to reflect back on the year and say it's the best year of my life so far would be pretty accurate! I have two amazing men to attribute such a large part of that sentiment to... my loving husband, Len, and the other love of my life, our amazing son Zachary.

We rung in the new year with style and tons of fun this year. Even though I came down with a nasty cold on New Year's Eve morning, that didn't hold us back. We started the day by accompanying Len to work (though we certainly didn't interfere with his productive time). It was so fun to reacquaint Zachary with Len's wonderful staff at the hotel... everyone is just so loving and affectionate with our little boy... of course, how could you help not being that way with such an adorable little guy?!? Zach and I kept ourselves occupied while Len got a lot accomplished... we walked around, ate, watched some tv, socialized with some other children hanging out in the lobby and even took a nap (not before I took some really cute pictures of the little man).

Once Len finished his list of "to-do's," we headed out for a late evening dinner at Macaroni Grill. The timing couldn't have been more perfect... Zachary slept through almost the entire dinner, so Len and I were able to enjoy a nice meal and actually have an adult conversation with one another! Zachary reminded us (and many others around our table) that he was part of our dinner party right about when our check came.

After dinner, we headed north to Baltimore, where we were spending the night. Len was able to arrange for us to have a BEAUTIFUL suite in one of the downtown hotels overlooking the harbor for our New Year's Eve celebration. Unfortunately, due to very high winds, the fireworks were postponed until the following evening, so we didn't get to see them from our room. It didn't matter, though, since we were all together and awake to toast the new year with one another right as the clock struck midnight. Since Zachary had taken such a long nap earlier, and he woke up as we were leaving dinner, it didn't take much for him to stay awake a little bit longer for the big moment. (If you recall, he slept through it last year at Jen's party.) I had stopped earlier that morning and picked up some party favors, including a little plastic champagne flute for the critter... he just LOVED having his own "glass" to toast with (even if it was empty)!

And here's the perfect shot of OUR little New Year baby! (I couldn't get him to keep the top hat on long enough to take the picture...)

We started off the new year just right the next morning, by ordering room service and eating in our robes. Zachary just loved his pancakes and we loved watching him eat them. All in all, it was another unforgettable New Year's celebration for the Goodmans!

After breakfast, Zachary took a little cat nap while Len and I packed up all of our bags to go home and chill... just one question - how many bags does it take to accommodate a family of three on a New Year's Eve overnight excursion? Sheesh!

Happy New Year, everyone... we wish you a prosperous year filled with hope, love, health and happiness!!