10 Random Things about Zach

I should be blogging about our fun Christmas, but once again I have too many pictures to sort through. So when I noticed my list of funny Zach things was getting pretty long, I decided to commemorate 2010 with 10 random things about our soon to be four year old:

1. Zach uses the word "whatnot." Correctly.

2. His new favorite color is gold. When informing me of this change, he explained that he liked pink best before because he didn't know about gold.

3. Zach's routine when he wakes up is to plop on the couch with a cup of milk, a bowl of cereal (dry), his vitamins, and some high-quality tv like Pinky Dinky Doo. One morning he came down the stairs, saw the lights on across the street, and said "Mom, I wonder if Katie and Ellie do the same thing I do in the morning - watch tv and eat. [long pause] Why wouldn't they???

4. A few months ago Zach mastered going to the bathroom completely by himself, including the challenge of turning on our faucet, which is not easy for little hands. However, he still needs some help wiping after a #2. So the other day he was sitting on the toilet waiting for me to come and wipe him (in my defense, I was busy wiping someone else's butt). Eventually I heard "Mom - you're wasting my time!"

5. Zach still plays with his cars as much as ever. What has changed is what those cars are playing. This summer they cars were all about baseball; now they've moved on to football and occasionally basketball. They do still race like traditional cars do, but apparently they like to mix it up a little. And somehow or another, they also score fantasy points while they're playing.

6. Zach's idolation of his dad is never-ending. A couple months ago he informed me that the Gophers football team is terrible (we need to record how he says "terrible" - it sounds more like "TUHR-ible"). And that if they had Cliff Lee*, Kasey's dad*, and his dad, then they'd be good. I did my best to inject a dose of reality, but my explanation about the size of football players fell on deaf ears.

7. Zach's favorite number is 9099.

8. The kids at Zach's school made "what I'm grateful for" artwork for Thanksgiving. The art currently hanging on our fridge says Zach is grateful for eyes and steps. Yep - eyes and steps. When I asked him about it, the explanation was about what you'd expect - he was happy he could see and that we had steps so he could go upstairs and downstairs at our house. Now that he mentioned it, I'm grateful for those things too.

9. Unlike most kids, who might use "wow" or "cool", when Zach is excited about something, he yells out "Geez Nandy!" My parents were quite perplexed by this particular proclamation as he was opening his presents, so I had to explain: Scott's mom tells Zach lots of Uncle Mick stories - stories of all the funny things Scott's much younger brother said and/or did when he was little. One of Zach's favorites involves Mick's disappointed response to his sister (Mandy): Geez, Nandy, I thought I was going to get a REAL gator!

10. For the last year or so, Zach has refused to eat noodles. There are many things he won't eat, of course, but the noodle thing has particularly bothered me. He wouldn't even eat mac 'n' cheese!!! Then one day, as we sat reading Bread & Jam for Frances (again), he turned to me and said that spaghetti and meatballs is his favorite dish. I decided to call his bluff, and cooked some up a few days later. To my shock... he ate it!!! Now it's officially his second favorite non-treat food, and he's requested it several times. Yes! Thank you Frances!

*Cliff Lee is a pitcher for the Phillies; Kasey's dad is our friend Rosie.