The Little Reader

Dancing Machine

Sunny Weekend

It's been nothing but sunny and warm here in the mountains. A few showers sprinkled here and there but overall it's been lovely.

And things have been lovely with the family as well. Zahra continues to amaze us with her ability to learn things (she's signing using two signs consecutively to make her first sentences) her happy out going personality (this kid is just so darn friendly) and her lust for life (music makes her dance non stop).

I will indulge you all with video in the next few posts so sit back and watch our little toddler be cute.

This one has Z reading to her buddy, Che. I'm glad Che is so chill. Z LOVES dogs and I think it helps to have a calm one that lets kids do anything they want with him.

Superhero Saturday

For those of you who really know me, I'm a major geek. So is my wife. It's another one of the many reasons we love each other so much. Naturally, this will make Zahra an übergeek (or a super anti geek which could pose major problems down the road).

Sowhen I heard about a comic convention hitting Asheville, I knew we had to hit it. It was called Fanaticon and it was the best convention Asheville's had in the sci fi/comic realm. Men and women walking around in costumes of their favorite pop culture fantasy personas, tons of awesome merch and people having fun made for a nice Saturday adventure. We posed with Spidey and some other great costumed folk. I didn't buy anything (which was probably a good thing) but man was there stuff to buy. Three levels of toys, comics and gaming. A dream come true for any real fan boy. Zahra just got introduced to the magical world of fantasy!

Strawberries

Have I mentioned strawberries lately?

I just can't get over how many strawberries we have growing in our patch. It's incredible. Everyday we get to enjoy 100% all natural berries right from our own front yard. And what's better, is that as the season slowly moves on, they are getting bigger and better! Today we hauled in another record crop. The Seijezzali clan is ripe with fruit and we couldn't be happier!

Mother's Day

And who can forget Mother's Day? We had a nice one. After letting Shannon sleep for a nice long bit, we surprised her with a pancake breakfast, some fresh flowers and a card. Then we gave mama what she really wanted: some time alone in the garden! Shannon created a new flower bed from bed posts, rocks, an old sink and a bunch of colorful annuals. The day was stunning so we spent some time outside, hanging out. We made our way to the Floriani residence and helped them out with some yard work while the girls checked out the neighbor's chickens. We were going to finish off the evening with some dinner at the Floriani home but Zahra had other ideas. I had to put her down early as she fussed. We then enjoyed a nice quiet evening in front of the tube. Nothing like a quiet and peaceful Sunday spending time with the ones you love most.

LEAF

That's Lake Eden Arts Festival. We hit that Saturday and spent a wonderful time there. I was able to get the family in since I had students performing there. My fifth grade girls were part of a dance routine a colleague of mine put together. We arrived there early morning and spent all afternoon.

LEAF is one of the best family festivals around. Great tunes, lots of feel good stuff to check out like yoga tents, massage clinics, and all sorts of growing clinics (the food kind). There is delicious food, tons of local art, contra dancing (kinda like square dancing), poetry slams and probably the best kid area for a festival I have ever seen. It's set at a boys camp, the same one we got married at, so you are surrounded by mountains and a lake and trails. Have I gushed enough about this place?

Zahra had a blast. She walked all over the place, was thrilled by a puppet show (and scared out of her mind, too), danced, ate and played. We ran into lots of friends so she got to hang with them as well. We managed to leave at the perfect time as she dozed off in the car and went right to bed when we unpacked for the evening. Even I was pooped, I passed out before she did! Enjoy the pictures and video.

Zahra and Friends

Some more pictures, this time of Zahra and her latest adventures to the botanical gardens, Health Adventure and our place. Oh, and did I mention we just got a new retaining wall built in the backyard? An old Ultimate friend named Seth did an outstanding job back there. Here is a photo of today's work, tomorrow it is complete.

Garden Flowers

Just wanted to show off more of Shan's garden of eden.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

It's absolutely gorgeous up here in Asheville right now! After some rainy days, we are in full out bloom. Everyone's flower gardens are colorful and their food gardens are starting to sprout up yummy treats.

That brings us to Shannon and her mega garden. She has worked so hard to get this thing going. It's been a treat so see her grow as a person by adding farming to her life. It's been her passion and after spending every waking moment with Z with little adult contact, she is ready for some thing other than parenthood to keep her going. Shan has developed the green thumb and food is popping up everywhere. Our strawberry patch has hundreds of berries coming in. The veggies are starting to show themselves. The potatoes are exploding. I think this is the year we get to have a huge crop. Year five in the garden world is looking like the best one yet.

As for Zahra, she is enjoying life. She has increased her speed on foot. Shan keeps teaching her all this cool stuff. She has expanded her animal knowledge and even gives Eskimo kisses! We brought her to Latino Night at my school last night and she had the best time running around with the kids and devouring enchiladas. She's been a real sweetheart. Her nap schedule has recovered from the Miami trip and she is going down nice and easy at night.

This coming weekend, we are taking her to LEAF. I think it's the best family festival in the area by far. Great atmosphere and music and food. I'll have some pictures of that by the end of the week. And of course, Mother's Day will be here Sunday. Can't believe it's Shannon's second one already! This time, we'll see if we can give Mom a nice surprise.