Working Weekend

Isn't this pictures hilarious? I took Z on a hike in the newly acquired (via Anderson family, thanks guys!) backpack and it went so well, she passed out! This little item will come in handy when we start the hiking season. Our first real hike will be March 13th, my birthday, for the 7th annual March birthday hike.

Wow, anyone who tells you Saturday school is a good idea should be slapped hard across the face and then punched in the gut for good measure. I spent half of my Saturday stuck in school. The girls didn't do much either. But once I got home, we took off for some adventures. We visited with Craig, Tania and Isabella. Z had fun cruising around with Isabella. After that, we headed home and before you knew it, the day was over.

Sunday has been no different. We hit the grocery store for a few hours and then came back home and had a babysitter watch Z while Shan and I worked in the yard. Zahra had lots of fun with Marisa. So now it's Sunday night and I feel like I've been away from work for barely a day.

Now that I've vented, let's get back to Z. She has recovered from her ear infection though we are still giving antibiotics and hope that there is no relapse. I know these things can be sticky so let's hope it's gone for good. Z continues to cruise around, she is an expert at wall crawling. Basically, she uses the walls to get around now as she has her hands pressed firmly against them while she walks. She still won't take that risk of walking across a large patch of ground. She has been getting really good at listening to things and repeating the, as well as identifying her farm animals. Let's hope she can continue to feel good and keep on rocking out.

Zahra Health Update

The ear infection seems to be losing it's grip on Z. It was pretty bad earlier in the week, then it seemed to abate. But it came roaring back. Her fever spiked and she was in lots of pain. We had to get her on antibiotics. We visit the doctor again next week to check it out further but until then, it's grin and bear it. Z has been miserable most of this week. She cries uncontrollably for several minutes at a time. She will get really upset and be inconsolable. It's even affected her eating and sleeping. She is taking longer naps but isn't eating much. She can't even play with stuff most of the time and needs one of us constantly by her side. Hopefully she will go down easy tonight and wake up fresh tomorrow. It looks like she is going to be OK. I guess we should be thankful that this is only the second time she has been under the weather.

Ear Infections:

Zahra has her first case of ear infection. Do you even say it like that? At any rate, she is not a happy camper. It's been like this for a few days now. Fortunately, it seems to be easing it's painful tentacles around her.

Grammy Lanie has been having a good time here with the Seijezzalis. The weather broke so we have finally had some sunshine. That made for pleasant days where we could actually go outside and enjoy ourselves. Shannon and I did a lot of work in the yard. Z did lots of walking and spent some time in the park.

Shannon made a significant purchase on Thursday that has changed Z's life. Well, maybe it's not that dramatic but Z now has her own kitchen to play in. The kitchen has always been one of Z's favorite places with all it's shiny utensils and loud machines and of course it being the home of food. Shan decided it would be neat to give Z a kitchen she could call her own. Zahra is the proud owner of a play kitchen! This thing is pretty awesome. It's got a stove and a fridge with doors that open and close (the refrigerator comes with a small plastic frame on it that can hold a 2 x 3 picture). It's got hooks for kitchen utensils and a sink with a detachable faucet. And best of all, Z loves it. She enjoys opening and closing the doors, turning the stove knobs that make kitchen sounds and making imaginary meals. Well, maybe she's not really imaging that yet, but she sure can toss those pans!

President's Day!

Uh, well, I meant to write last night but things got hectic.

This past week has been ridiculous. We continue to have an historic snowfall situation here in Asheville. I've barely worked at all and Saturday school is a sure thing after today's missed day of school (for no real reason reason since my employers mistakenly called off school without a single snowflake hitting our school). Fortunately, living in the moment has its perks. After knocking out some work, I headed home and met up with the lovely ladies in my life. We hung out downtown, did some walking and then relaxed at the crib.

Valentine's Day was nice. We helped some friends move and ate delicious cupcakes from our local cupcake shop, Short Street Cakes. We also got to babysit for our friends Marvin and Susan. Their son Braden was a great reminder of how precious little ones can be at five months. In fact, it got Shan and I to go back on the blog and check out Z when she was five months. Amazing how much she's changed.

Shannon and I had our romance Saturday when we went out for lunch and a stroll in downtown Asheville. We had a friend babysit Z.

Speaking of Z, that little stinker is beginning to perform some nasty little habits we need to eliminate. She has this thing about tossing her food and utensils when she is done eating. Funny the first time, not anymore. I've pulled some amazing ninja catches of falling objects that our daughter has flung off her high chair, but more often than not, she manages to splatter the floor with her projectiles. She is also getting these amazing tantrums. We know they usually are a sign that she is frustrated and can't properly communicate but man they can be awful. Shan and I do stay calm and ride them out though I think it stings Shan a bit more than me. Of course, when you have to listen to it all day, it can get tiresome. More teeth coming in is exacerbating the problem as she is in pain as well. Add to that her incredible ability to get into most anything that's not above three feet and you have a whole new array of issues to deal with. Don't worry, we are not going over the deep end. We still love you Zahra!

And let's not forget to mention Mommy's successful shoe store! Shan has been creating some neat shoes for Z with her mad sewing skills. Check out the latest designs.

Other than that, we have Grammy Lanie coming up in a few days and Wee Trade, the ultimate consignment event for kids, on the agenda this week. Let's hope for more smiley faces from our little angel.

Walking Footage

Sorry about the brief announcement to such an momentous occasion, but we were just so shocked when it happened. Of course we didn't film for a few days as Zahra but we finally got over the moment long enough to get some video this afternoon as it was snowing outside for the millionth time this year.

ZAHRA IS WALKING!!!

Nuff Said!

Guess Who's Standing

Major milestone alert!

Zahra stood today for the first time unassisted! Shannon and I were just playing around with her this evening. Shan jokingly told Zahra to stand as she released her and like magic, the child just stood there. We were thrilled! So then we took some pictures and got the video involved and as you can see, the big girl is getting ready to walk any time now.

Zahra has taken a few steps here and there, it's just never been captured on film. And those steps were usually her getting ready to tumble over. But with this new move, I can see the walking stage about to commence. Wow, we are proud parents right now!

Conversations with Zahra

Man, can this girl talk! I was supposed to have footage here but apparently I kept getting errors so we'll have to substitute the video for these.

In other news, more snow! This time it's an ugly mix of sleet and ice with rain. Kept us out of school again. We've missed so much work that the district is going to Saturday school in the coming weeks (yikes!). So I'll enjoy the moments with Z as best I can. We're off for some indoor mall time since we are going to go nuts if we are locked in here all day.

Saturday edition- More lousy weather. However, we did get out and about with Z today. We went to Toys R Us to pick up some treats that Z likes called Grammy Sammies. They are organic mini sandwiches loaded with yogurt or PBJ. We also played with all kinds of toys and strolled through the store. Then we hit the Westend Bakery and hat hot chocolate. We just got back from Earthfare where they were putting on a Super Bowl party. Basically selling items for tomorrow's big game. Z loves to hold mom and dad's hands and cruise around. She just awoke from a late nap and is chowing down.

Ice Ice Baby

With the piles of snow melting each day, ice becomes the major problem for motorists. This caused us to miss school altogether today so I got to check in on a Monday and see what happens with Z.

We did our usual wake up routine of breakfast and cloth changing. Z took her morning nap and then it was off to brave the freezing temperatures and mounds of ice and snow to head to story time at the library. Now I'd heard of story time from Shan for months now. Z is a big time lover of the event. It is a pretty cool deal for parents. It's free, it's fun and Z gets to interact with other little ones in her peer group. Zahra had fun ringing the bells during certain nursery rhymes and getting picked up to different little tunes. The lady who runs it is cheerful and bright without being cheesy and annoying. But the interaction piece is really something. Seeing Zahra with her peers is exciting. She tends to get frustrated pretty quickly if someone bumps her or whacks her on the head with a book or errant foot. She does like to scooch over to kids and start talking with them. Her buddy Eddie was there. It was so cute watching them say hi to one another.

For now, the Seijezzali family is chillin on ice. Our car is temporarily out of order. School delays and cancellations are looking plentiful as more bad weather reaches us tonight and then Friday. Looking towards next week, it looks like another bout of snow will hit us so who knows when I'll get back to work. I know, it sounds great but I'm having a hard time getting a groove going. The nice thing is that I have more Z time in my life.