The Known Universe

I found this on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website for January 20, 2010, see http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100120.html if this video doesn't work.

We are really tiny.

Play with me!

Cookie Monster tried to get Zach's attention, but he was busy playing in the condensation on the inside of the windows (note the wet face).

This Cookie Monster toy makes all these little noises when its jaw opens. So you can shake him and the top of his head bounces up and down while he says funny things. One of the things he does is burps, then the next time you shake him he says "scuse me!"

We put the wrapped box he was in under the Christmas tree and he must have been sitting right at an angle where the jaw was on a hair trigger. Whenever you walked in the room, he would do his little Cookie Monster sounds from inside his gift box.

I give this toy the "Zacher's two thumbs up and put it in your mouth" seal of approval.

Comics Box

Here's a picture of my favorite gift this Christmas. I got Kyle a little Leatherman multitool/knife that came with a little flashlight.

I got a diaper box to wrap it in, which is huge. I taped the knife and flashlight inside the box to the side. Then I wrapped it with Sunday comics, which was fun.

Andrea thought that Kyle would be disappointed to have a box so large with such a tiny gift, but he liked it. He read the whole box first, and then he wasn't disappointed at what was inside because it was so cool.

I think, growing up in this family, he has to be ready to be messed with.

Christmas is Coming

Here's Zach in front of our Christmas tree at home. It looks like a lot of presents for his first Christmas.

It almost looks like someone asked him if he's been good and he's avoiding the question.

Which is ridiculous, because he's a baby, he's always good. Wait, I forgot about the way he chews on electric cords and throws his bottle on the ground and attacks the cats and ... Oh well, he's a baby, he gets a pass on all those things.

Fireplace Fixation

When we took Zach to Grandma & Grandpa's, he did the same thing he does at home, which is to hang out at the fireplace.

I think it's just that it's a nice child-sized ledge. It's not like he's making a fire or studying masonry. Well, he might be studying masonry, we can't tell what's going through his mind yet.

Baby's First Christmas

We went up to Des Moines early in order to get Christmas in with the Grandparents.

It was a hit, and Zach thoroughly enjoyed the tree, the Grandparents, and all the holiday cheer.

Elmo is a hit

Zach got a laughing Elmo for his first Christmas, which was a huge hit.

I'm not sure what Elmo is, exactly, beyond being fun. I'm thinking maybe the bear family.

Weightless Hawk

This Redtailed Hawk seems to weigh almost nothing, if you look at the branch he is perched on.

I have never understood how these big birds can be at the very top of a tree and not seem to weigh down the branches they perch on. I wonder if they can put a little bit of twist in the limb by the way they grip it that unbends the branch and reverses the effect of their weight.

Or maybe they are made of air.