God’s Cod, Easter, and [assisted] Walking: February-March, 2016

We spent the majority of February and March enabling Zachary in his addiction to parent-assisted walking, which is probably why no-one has had the energy to post until now. We eventually bought him a miraculous rolling walker, of which he is extremely fond. But, being marginally conscientious parents, we don’t let him spend much time in it. (Somehow he still figured out how to get a running start and glide across the floor at top speed.) As of this writing, Zachary has finally condescended to crawl, which has actually made everyone’s lives a little easier!

As you can see from the photos below, we enjoyed some beautiful weather at the end of February, during which both boys made good use of the swing set (Zachary for the first time). Zachary’s love of swinging has forced Alexander to graduate to the “big boy” swing, and none too soon, as he can barely squeeze into the baby swing! We even had the opportunity to lie on a blanket in the backyard, which Alexander insisted on doing late into the evening.

In March, we attended a lenten fish fry, which is a St. Louis tradition, and it was surprisingly enjoyable — the food (“God’s cod,” as advertised) was very good, and the organizers had a great sense of humor. Alexander then participated in not one, but three Easter egg hunts; we are still making our way through the candy. We also took advantage of the nice weather by discovering a beautiful new park that Alexander has deemed “charming,” and driving through an elk reservation.

As usual, Alexander has had a lot to say and many stories to tell, which can’t be neatly summarized, except that they seemed to focus heavily on marine life. Here are some snippets from February and March:

“I love you Mommy, but I am already married to Grandma.”
“Wow, this is some situation!”
“My eyes widened when I tasted the sweet potato.”
“A bacterium made a hole in the tooth. It was one bacterium, and it made a very, very tiny hole.”
“I’m not mad with you, I’m just frustrated with you.” (You’re frustrated with me?!)
“I know you are not supposed to approach the horsies, but there is a bird approaching the horsies!!”
“I don’t like the ingredients!” (picky, picky!)
“I know what to do if the dog comes after you: smash him.” (We’ve got some very aggressive ones on our street…)
“Did you put the DustBuster back where it belongs, Dada?”
“A fish is an animal which has a tail like this [air-drawing of fish tail].”
“There’s a predator coming!”
“You know what, Mama? Everyone in the whole wide world has top teeth!”
“This is my version of…” [when drawing]
Excerpts from a very long story about Nemo, based on an audiobook:
“Nemo went to school and learned about the dangers of the ocean. Nemo swam away and Marlin panicked. He met a goofy gang of fish…and he spotted Dory swimming in circles. A net was dropped into the water and captured lots of fish, including Nemo, but Marlin knew exactly what to do.”