Side Saddle

We have discovered a Zoeistic behavior worthy of note of sharing. Now that our young lady has been successfully pulling herself up and trying to climb on everything in site, she has also began to established her preferred sitting arrangement when positioning herself in your arms or against your body.

Zoe likes to sit side saddle with you. Preferably on your arm or your leg, but where she can then put her arm over your shoulder and face the same direction as you. It's an "us" position to put it another way and it makes her very happy. It also doesn't matter if we are in the pool, laying in bed, sitting on the floor, or standing - that's how we get comfortable.

She definitely is a social girl and a born networker. With this type "involved seating" arrangement, she has also begun to mimic the act of talking. Given that she doesn't undersatnd a word anyone is saying, it doesn't appear important to her that we understand her either. But she can make the noises as we do.

The Face of Joy

Father's Day

My son filled out the following questionnaire at day care and gave this to me for Father's Day:

My Daddy is 37 years old.
He weighs 500 lbs, and is 8 ft tall.
His hair is blond and his eyes are green.
My Dad loves to relax by laying down in the basement and likes to wear his grey shirt and green hat.
His favorite household chore is washing dishes and watching TV.
His favorite show is basketball. and his favorite song is Rock Band Song.
Daddy always tells me listen to teachers at school.
It makes him happy when I have green days.
When my Dad shops he likes to buy kinds of food like some sausage.
If he could go on a trip he would go to Hawaii and he would take Mom.
I really love it when my Dad buys me transformer toys.

He's the best!!!! I love you Dad!!
By: Jackson June, 2008

Now I love my son, and this was a joy to get. I would however, like to post a loving response to a few things:

I am 37, I do have green eyes. Though I am overweight, I am no where near 500 lbs. Also I am only 6ft 2in (but I look 8ft).

I do wash dishes a lot - to my wife's frustration many times. I actually prefer that to the machine - weird, I know. And the TV watching is done in the kitchen while I am washing dishes, not in addition too.

I do like to do experimental cooking from time to time, which takes me to the store. I also do use that as an excuse to keep us stocked with summer sausage and cheese. Jackson and I have been known to snack together sometimes.

Jackson took this survey during the NBA finals - the only time I watch NBA Basketball. Now Illini basketball; any time, any place...Oskee-Wow-Wow.

Rock Band Song is any rock song on the radio Jackson likes to dance too.

Hawaii? Yeah...., I don't know where that came from? But I would take Michelle.

Finally, its funny how the listening to the teachers and the green days at school kind of go hand in hand.

Jazzoo

Michelle and I attended Jazzoo on Friday, June 6th. Jazzoo is the annual fundraiser for the Kansas City Zoo. As you can see from the photo, the dress code is called black tie creative. Probably the only time I will get to wear a tuxedo with khaki shorts.

Jazzoo is also "the event" for foodie's in the city. Almost every restaurant in the city has a tasting booth and there are open bars about every 50 yards. As Michelle describes it, "Jazoo is a who's-who in KC letting their hair down and having a lot of fun." It is definitely an evening of excess on the food and drink front, and I had some of the best margarita's I have had in a long, long time.

We attended as guests of the Henry Block foundation. The foundation's president, David Miles, is pictured next to us with his wife.

Thank you Henry!

Zoe's first boyfriend

Michelle and I had received word from Le Petite that Zoe had a boyfriend and treated it with the usual grace that you give when you hear anything sweet about your children. Then her teachers realling started making a point of mentioning it. Having given them a disposable camera to take pictures of her during the day, we challenged them to show us what they were so excited about on film.

What we had been told was that Zoe and Jacob really enjoyed playing with each other, would comfort each other when the other cried, had a habit of sharing "binkies,"and had just recently begun kissing oneanother.

Well, the pictures didn't dispute what they said. I didn't load all 30 of them onto the site, but I found these as some that would tell the story. I told them this morning that this was actually really great, because now I know what to look for in a few years.

Sadly, Jacob's last day at Le Petite was last Friday. His Mother's work schedule will afford her to be at home over the summer and they are moving. Zoe's teachers were a little worried she would be sad about the whole thing, but she appears to be handling it fine. I can testify that upon seeing the pictures herself, she got very excited and happy.

Another page has turned

I have no photos for this but I found it worth mentioning.

Jackson had a milestone in his life this weekend. He swam unassisted and without a life jacket for the first time in his life. In his support we spent more time at the pool this weekend than we otherwise might have done and he made the most of it. His biggest success was swimming stairway to stairway in the pool - this is corner to cross-corner along the far length of the pool.

Not to be outdone, Zoe fully embraced pool life as well. She discovered the joy of putting her face in the water, has taken to sailing in her baby boat, and finds splashing to be very exciting. With now 4 upper teeth, she also developed the habit of chewing pieces off of pool toys, but we are working on that one.

Alpha & Omega on the Field of Dreams

Congratulations go out to Michelle and her Softball Team for winning the gold medal in the KC Corporate Challenge Coed tournament held this past weekend at Mid-America sports complex near our home in Shawnee. This tournament is the culmination of year long preparation and league participation to prepare for "Corporate Challenge." The Block team won out in 6 straight games of this double elimination tournament and never trailed a team in any game. Rock solid defense and 5 very talented women all playing infield positions created the recipe for the perfect tournament. Go blockheads!

Above they are showing why they really play the game. Its all about the after party.

This is my son's first hit in a real game, which was going on at the same time Mommy was winning her tournament. As you can tell from the location of the ball in the shot, Jackson is one of the top hitters on his tee ball team and regularly pushes the ball into the outfield at practice. As you can tell from his stance, his batting coach has been very successful in getting Jackson to keep his back foot planted and step into the pitch. Not bad for 5 years old. (He doesn't even need the tee.)

Jackson is very proud of his Spiderman wrist band and like wearing it to play. He also likes his team name, "Orange Crush," a purely accidental and delightful name for his Illini fanatic father.