Big Brother

I am so excited about adding a member to our little family. I think we all are. Zack is really getting into it. He loves the idea of a baby. Aaron has been showing him how to wrap his "baby Stitch" with a blanket, like we will his baby sister. One of my favorite things to ask Zack right now is "What's your baby sister's name?" His response is, "Baby Lexi in Mommy's tummy be snow!" (The be snow is because we told him that she will come out of Mom's tummy when there's snow outside.) I've tried to shorten this with just Baby Lexi, but to no avail. He loves this extra long name for his sister.
There are some things we don't really need to prepare him for. He is going to be so good at helping to take care of her. He is a very empathetic little guy! He doesn't like to see anyone hurt, and will do everything he can to make them feel better. There have been a number of times when he has insisted on putting his boo-boo Thomas on my various "scratches". A couple month's ago I rolled my ankle. I couldn't help but cry a little as I sat and nursed it. Zack was very concerned and asked me what was wrong. I told him that I had hurt my foot. He went running for the first aid kit telling me he was getting a band-aid for me. I told him I didn't need one, it wasn't that kind of boo-boo. After this he wouldn't let me just say no to boo-boo Thomas. I had to go get it out of the freezer for him so he could nurse my hurt ankle. He's helped me put band-aids on Aaron, and loves to help wrap anything with a bandage! He is such a little helper, and I am really excited to see him put this to use with her.
Another thing he loves to do is lift up my shirt to expose my bulging belly and say hi to the baby and give her "kisses". These are the raspberry kind of kisses, and very sloppy. It has been difficult to explain to him that this is a practice he can only do at home. He tries to lift up my shirt in public a lot so he can say hi to the baby. The other day while he was saying hi he decided to sing her a song. He then went into a very sweet rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" followed by a not so sweet "Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat" from Alice in Wonderland.
It's been so much fun to see him learn to interact with my belly, and I can't wait to see him do this with Alexis when she's born!

Boo At The Zoo

We have had a great time this year at the zoo. It has been totally worth getting a membership to the zoo considering how often Zack loves to go. We aren't quite sure if it's the animals that he loves or just the fact that every time we go we ride on the train. Anyone who knows Zack would lean toward the latter.
This year we decided that it would be really fun to take Zack to Boo At The Zoo. We thought it would be a great for him to take another go at the zoo this year before it gets too cold. Not to mention yet another excuse for him to wear his costume... he's Batman! Well it turns out that several thousand other people thought the same thing. This was a record breaking day for zoo attendance. The place was packed. Seriously...there were parts that even Aaron felt the his personal bubble was being invaded. Amanda had a rough go at it, being 9 months pregnant and all. There were lines for every stop to get little treats from sponsors for the day. Even though it was uncomfortable, Zack was very well behaved and he had a great time.

We ended the afternoon by going to a quiet lunch at the Olive Garden. This was exactly what we needed to unwind from our very hectic morning. This also gave Zack the opportunity to place his first ever order at a restaurant. We knew what he wanted so when our sever came to take our orders he asked us what we wanted and as it came time to ask what Zack wanted, he interjected with this: "Excuse me sir... I want Mac & Cheese... PLEASE!" We were very taken back not to mention very proud that not only did he used his manners, but that he has grown up to a point where he can place his own order. He is growing up so fast.

Oktoberfest

This time of year holds a lot of traditions for Aaron. It first starts out with the State Fair which we have already posted. Usually the next event is Oktoberfest. Aaron's dad served a LDS mission in Germany and has brought a great love of the food home with him. Every year Snow Bird hosts an annual Oktoberfest celebration. Most of the crowd is there for the beer; which Oktoberfest is most famous for, even here in Utah. It also has a menu of German food. We don't go for either, I'll explain. It is a beautiful time of year up Little Cottonwood Canyon, with the leaves changing and the fun German atmosphere. This is why we have been going. Aaron says that the food selection used to be better but they changed caterers. So now Aaron's parents cook their own German dinner. This is something of an undertaking, but well worth the wait every year. We went up the canyon on Saturday and then had dinner with his family on Sunday. After dinner they clean up and then draw names for Christmas. This has been a tradition that Aaron has said he's enjoyed for many years. I hope it is one that we can continue to enjoy throughout the years as well.