Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is the last day our pool is open for the summer, so we had to take Zachary for one last cruise in the crab! We had a nice relaxing day just chillin' and enjoying one another...

The water was a little cooler than usual (about 76 degrees), but Zachary didn't seem to mind at all!

The Critter also really liked swimming with Daddy out of the crab...

And splashing the water!

Len even put Zachary all the way under the water to see how he'd react... we're not sure he was a fan, but he did ok. Maybe he'll like it more next year!

After swimming, we just hung out and played for a bit before saying bye-bye to the pool for this year!

Later that evening, Zachary tried his brand new highchair (a gift from Mom-Mom... thanks!) for the first time, and REALLY liked it! We just loved seeing him so happy and comfortable, looking like such a big boy. He even tried an apple flavored Wagon Wheel, too... what a day!!

We miss the Olympics...

This year was a Summer Olympics year, and boy did we enjoy watching it as often and as much as we could! The opening ceremony was absolutely amazing (and I just loved how it started on 08/08/08), and it really captured our attention! Every night was something new and exciting to watch. I have to say I think our favorite events were in the swimming "Cube", including the heart pounding races with Michael Phelps (our local champion)... but we also really loved the beach volleyball, gymnastics, track and field, diving, men's and women's volleyball, and so much more!

Now that it's all over, our evening TV watching seems somehow less exciting (but I have to say we are definitely getting much more sleep again)... even Zachary finds himself dozing off soon after getting home for a quick nap before dinner. With the weather gradually cooling off in the evenings, maybe we'll start going for late summer evening strolls and reminisce about watching the 2008 Summer Olympics broadcast from Beijing, China!

Zachary goes to the Maryland State Fair!

What a fun Saturday afternoon we had this beautiful Labor Day weekend!! Mom-Mom and Hailey came down to Bel Air so we could all go to the Maryland State Fair together... Zachary's first time going to the fair! We all had a wonderful time taking it all in... crazy people watching, rides and music all around us, games to play and win prizes, just about anything fried you can imagine (including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - which I actually tried and decided it wasn't that bad!), and tons of farm animals! We saw it all, and Zachary seemed to love taking it all in.

One of the first things we did after crossing the entrance was take a ride on the ferris wheel. That's one of Mom-Mom's favorite things to do with her grandchildren! So, we bought our tickets and waited in a short line for our turn to board. Hailey, Mom-Mom, Zachary and I all rode together, since it was the kind with a bucket for multiple people vs. a two-seater. Len stayed on the ground and watched the stroller while taking some pictures. Zachary's first carnival ride was soooo much fun for all of us... I wasn't sure how he'd react, but I think he really liked it. No squeals of delight, but lots of smiles while he squinted his eyes in the breeze as we rotated around. There were two ferris wheels, so we tried the smaller one first and saved the BIG one for later in the afternoon. (You can see them both in this picture that Len took.)

After our ride, we ventured around the grounds to check everything out and decide what we all wanted to eat. Hailey also picked a game to play to try and win some prizes... it turns out she's quite the dart thrower. She won prizes for Zach, CJ and herself! Thanks, Hailey - Zachary loves his frog!!

The animals were quite a hoot! Zachary definitely loved that part... I think the cows were his favorite... gee, I wonder why!

After the animals, we all took another food break, including Zachary. We found a nice tent with fans to sit under (it was pretty hot and humid). Mom-Mom, Len and Hailey enjoyed some fried mushrooms and Zachary had squash and a few swigs from his sippy cup!

We all had so much fun, time really seemed to fly by. We were there much longer than we thought we'd be, so we didn't get back home until after 8:00 that night. We ended up leaving in the nick of time to miss a total down-pour, but it didn't make for great driving conditions. Given the time and the weather, Mom-Mom and Hailey decided to spend the night (they came prepared just in case)... YEAH! Of course, we gave Hailey her choice of what room to sleep in, and I'm sure you can guess which one she picked! Yep... she chose to sleep in the bed set up right next to the crib in the nursery. So, the two cousins who had such a blast spending the day at the fair together, got to spend the whole night with one another... a first for both of them. It was quite a sleep-over! Notice Hailey let Zachary cuddle with her beloved Teddy... as long as she could cuddle with Zach, he could hold Teddy - it was so precious!

Hailey couldn't wait for Zach to wake up in the morning, so she could resume playing with him!!

What a wonderful way to celebrate Zachary's first Labor Day weekend!

Editor's Note... it's about time!!

Oh my goodness... I finally finished and posted the Outerbanks vacation entry! I have spent so much time working on it... it's taken me at least 8 hours (or more probably) to finish this up!

Please scroll below the "8 is Great" entry to take a look at our wonderful summer vacation highlights. Since I started writing this entry soon after we got back, the posting date falls back in July.

Scroll down and enjoy!

Soooo Big!

Zachary has a new trick, as of tonight! We've been doing "How big is Zachary?" for a while now, and I would always hold his hands over his head and say "Sooooo Big" at the same time. Well, tonight I asked, "How big is Zachary?" while he was having some dinner, and much to my surprise, he put his hands over his head all by himself. I was so excited and he was just so proud of himself, as I exclaimed, "Soooooo Big!" He did it again right after that to show Daddy, so I ran to get the camera to capture the moment. It took about another 10 tries before he'd do it for the camera, but we finally caught it! My little angel is truly getting soooo big!!

Here are some of the shots I took trying to coax him to do it one more time for the camera... so cute!

Note: I know his bib says Sunday, even though it's actually Thursday. This is very unlike me with my attention to detail (hee hee), but it was clean and nearby at feeding time, so I just went with it. : )