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 Playing tag with Naomi at Az's second birthday party. He found a few other boys to join in on the chase. Chasing games have become one of Z's main ways of interacting with new kids. It's been a tool he's been eager to take out of his pocket for many years but up until now he has had trouble with not being too handsy/ being gentle with the actual tagging part of the game. Now that he is better able to gauge what an appropriate level of pressure when tagging is, I've been able to let him experiment with this new way of playing. Tag is a great game for a kid like him as long as everything stays gently because it's a pretty universally fun thing in the eyes of most kids and it doesn't take a whole lot of conversational skills to partake. Of course, most boys in junior high like to think that they're too cool for such games so it might not help him a whole lot with interacting with boys his age. Really though, who wants to interact with someone who is too cool for tag?!

When I walked into the room I found the two of them like this. Z is usually forbidden from sitting in the pack 'n play because I'm afraid he's going to tear the bottom but since the pack 'n play is going to be retired soon I decided to let them both stay. It sometimes feels like I spend so much time saying "no" to him about everything, there needs to be things I let him "get away with." Considering the alternatives letting him read in the playpen with his sister doesn't seem that bad.

Getting gourmet cupcakes for his sister's birthday. I'm not exactly crazy about the way I look in this photo; I was getting impatient for Miguel to take the picture, but I love the way that Z looks. I can see a little peek into the man Z will be soon enough.

Children's Fairyland in Oakland for Az's birthday. Az was dressed as Snow White so I joked to Z that I was going to make him wear a crown and be his sister's Prince Charming. He just shrugged and said, "Okay." I love that at eleven-and-a-half he isn't too cool to do things like that. I could only find a crown that was a little too elaborate for not-the-birthday-kid, otherwise my selection was paper crowns that made the Burger King ones look like true jewels so I let him off the hook.