Playground Fun (and concert, and dance)

We took a short trip to Upstate NY (a little town called Altamont near Albany) for an Irish music festival featuring two of our favorite bands - neither of the bands are Irish, per se... One is Carbon Leaf (from Richmond, VA) and the other is Great Big Sea (from the tropical island of Newfoundland). We all had a fantastic time, but since we were so busy enjoying ourselves (and keeping an eye on Zara, running and dancing around in a crowd of hundreds) we took very few pictures of the festival itself.

Highlights for Zara included a petting zoo (and she did not stick her hand in the donkey's mouth - she even told the donkey 'no donkey, don't bite my hand!), a little carnival style train ride, participating in a céilidh dance, and watching irish step dancing (soft and hard shoe). She had great fun sitting on our shoulders watching the bands, but was often happier dancing and jumping on the ground, where she couldn't see a thing. I think she's still not sure why we were so intent on looking at the stage and watching people play - music is still something she mostly listens to, I think. She sang along to many of the songs while on shoulders, and was really getting into clapping along and fist pumping a la Alan Doyle.

But what I actually did take pictures of was this little park we stopped to play in before we hit the road back to VA on Sunday morning. Here is Zara showing what a big kid she is on something that reminded me of the high ropes course (only very low) and a twisty balance beam.

It must be the jeans...

So last week Zara was napping in her room, and I was in the kitchen putting away dishes. I hear the telltale pitter patter (which is really more like loud thumps and stomps - sometimes I wonder if an elephant would be more subtle?) of little feet, check my watch and find Zara's only napped for an hour. This isn't so bad, 1.5 hours is more the norm these days (when she naps) but I'm about to go see her when I hear Wes talking to her... and she kinda whimpers and babbles incomprehensibly, and then Wes says something else, and then it's quiet - no one is talking. I peak out of the kitchen and look into the office, where I find Zara snuggled up to the Sunflower blanket, laying on the floor, back asleep. Wes said she wandered in, snuggled with him, and then decided to strike out on her own and claimed her floor spot. She proceeded to nap for another hour and a bit in the middle of the office floor.

This is especially funny as I often complain about what a bad sleeper she is. Wes and I have recently concluded that she's actually a fantastic sleeper... she's just bad at falling asleep. In particular she has a very hard time laying still and closing her eyes. It's no wonder since she is in constant motion! Once she's asleep she is really quite a champion sleeper, especially if one of us is nearby. So yes, I originally thought she maybe got passed over in the sleeping super power department, but it looks like as she gets older she may still be in the running....

Summer Buddies

Peggy tipped me off to these really cute shots they finally downloaded from Ezie and Zaza back in the beginning of August. So thanks to our guest photographers, once again.

In the top photo, Zara's helping Esme get a drink of water, but hasn't realized that not only can Esme not reach the button, she also can't reach to get a drink, either. Of little import when you are helping a friend!

In the next picture, Zara and Esme are showing just how cute sun hats, jumpers, crocs ad sticking out tongues can be.

Dentist!

Here's a shot from Zara's first visit to the dentist. Also a nice view of the top of Meredith's head. Before she became a pediatric dental hygienist, she was a nanny, a camp counselor, and several other kid-oriented jobs, so she was perfect in this role. Zara was completely comfortable with the cleaning, scraping, and the subsequent exam. No cavities, but instructions for where to spend special teeth brushing & flossing attention.

Face Paint!

Never one to pass up an opportunity for face painting, Zara apparently found a small set of paints in one of the stations in her new classroom. Jill and Eric (inspired by the awesomest preschool director ever, Ellen :) were quick on their toes to supply some mirrors for a more authentic face painting experience - and voila, Zara's a kitty!

This was taken on Thursday, and at pick up there was one other painted face in class, Z's pal Abby. At pick up on Friday the number of preschoolers sporting face paint was up to 5, or maybe even 6...? Can't wait for next week!