What's old is new again

That's right, it's party time. Out with 2005 and in with 2006. From what I've observed so far about the whole concept of a year, it seems the beginning is for looking forward with eager anticipation and the end is for looking back with reflection. Apparently, there's also a choice involved when looking back. Some choose thankfulness, others choose regret and most people mix a little of each.

I, for one, can say it's been a great year. Granted I don't have any other years to compare it to. But hey, my parents have managed to keep me in one piece and my diaper's clean, so I can't complain. Not to mention that Christmas was very fruitful. Yes, that smile you see is sincere. I am one happy guy.

As you look back at 2005, I hope you get a big smile, too. Hopefully the New Year holds much health and happiness.

And if nothing else, a clean diaper for all.

Zaya's Holiday Top 10

Things I love about Christmas time:

1. Our house looks way cooler at this time of year.

2. Napping off all that holiday stress.

3. Showing off my winter attire.

4. Clowning around at fancy church dinners.

5. All the trees get dressed up.

6. Loungin' around the house in my Santa hat.

7. Pretty paper. You get to tear it up! And there's cool stuff inside!!

8. That fun and festive feeling...it almost makes you feel like singing.

9. Family fun-time.

10. All those holiday parties, oh yeah.
(Don't panic ladies...there's plenty of Zaya to go around)

The thrill of victory

My team may have lost, but my cuteness remains triumphant!

Turkey and stuffing and legs...oh my!

First things first...let's have a moment of silence for Bob the pumpkin. Here I thought Mom had just put him away somewhere safe until next Halloween. He was, in fact, "disposed of." I don't really know what that means, but it just sounds ominous. Mom tried explaining to me that I'll get to go back to the pumpkin patch next year and pick out a new pumpkin, but I wasn't hearing it. There will never be another Bob. Maybe a Joe, or possibly a Bill, but Bob was one-of-a-kind.

Now, onto the next holiday report. I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. While this was technically my second Thanksgiving, I basically slept right through my first, so this year had a lot of new experiences for me. Auntie Rachel slept over at our place and fed me my morning cereal. This was a very relaxed and pleasant dining experience. Let's just say Mom sometimes moves faster than my mouth can keep up.

After breakfast, Dad, Mom, Auntie and I sprawled out across the living room to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Why didn't someone tell me about this before? All that music and dancing, not to mention those amazing balloons. It was like a party for my senses. And then, I saw them...like a dream, they came to me. The Radio City Rockettes. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV. Wow. That's just about all I can say. WOW.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Nana & Papa's house for the big meal. Up to this point, a big meal for me has consisted of two jars of mush instead of just one. But on Thanksgiving, I got to eat it all...turkey and stuffing, peas and smashed tatoes. It was great. It was a meal fit for a king (or a charming prince, like me).

And I don't know what they put in that food, but pretty soon I started to get really sleepy and had to take a nap. Dad said it had something to do with "trip-toe-fan," whatever that means. I didn't see anyone trip over anything, and why would that make me tired? Sometimes I'm not too sure about those parents of mine.

Anyhow, it was a great way to kick off the holiday season and I'm starting to understand why people get so excited about this time of year. It's cold outside, but warm feelings are all around. There's a lot of color and good food, family and friends. We have so much to be thankful for. And I have a feeling each year will be more amazing than the last.

Especially with those Rockettes. WOW.

Ready for my close-up

This is my good friend Christie. She happens to know her way around behind a camera. Which is great for me because, as you already know, I have some expertise in front of the camera. So we make a great pair.

Christie invited Mom, Dad and I to come down to her studio in Marina Del Rey. So a few weeks ago, the three of us went for a drive and ended up at a place called Bikini Islands. I thought for sure the folks were lost until we saw Christie and she told us the studio was upstairs. It was really cool. She's got a neat space right near the beach with windows all around.

We got there around my usual nap time, so I wasn't quite as playful as I could've been. But I think Christie managed to get some good shots anyway. I'll let you judge for yourself.

Don't be alarmed

I'm here folks, alive and well. Not that you could tell from my almost MONTH-LONG hiatus from blogging. Apparently, Mom would have you believe that nothing much is happening on Planet Zaya, but that's definitely not the case. Since she doesn't seem to have the time for a full report, let me sum it up with the following:

1. I got a new hat.
2. I've taken about 3 steps on my own (I can actually handle more, but I don't want to overwhelm the folks).
3. My favorite thing to say these days is DaDa.
4. I have seven teeth.
5. With those teeth, I've tried lots of yummy new things like ravioli and strawberries (not together, of course).
6. I sleep all night, thanks to my tranquil waterfall, cool mist humidifier and floor heater.
7. Mom and Dad stay up all night worrying about the electric bill.
8. I've become good friends with Dublin, the big black beast in the backyard.
9. I can turn the lights on and off in every room of the house.
10. I love talking on speakerphone...give me a call sometime!

That brings you up-to-date, sorta. To fill in the blanks, just imagine lots of my cute smiles, giggles and an occasional scream (maybe two.)

Gobble, gobble.

Last post in the fish costume, I swear

Well, I made it home in one piece. And I have to say this whole Halloween thing was a lot of fun. Tonight Grandma Aida and Auntie Rachel came over to go trick-or-treating with me. Thankfully Auntie wore a costume too, so she collected candy for both of us. Yes, I am aware that I don't eat candy, but that's beside the point where trick-or-treating is concerned. You all know as well as I do that it's a competition. At the end of the night, the one with the most candy wins, and I'm not about to sit this one out.

We started off paying a visit to our neighbors, then headed over to Old Town Torrance. For those of you devoted readers of Planet Zaya, you'll remember we took a walking tour down Old Post Road not long ago. These houses there were decorated with ghosts, skeletons, orange and purple lights and yes, jack-o-lanterns. I have to give these folks a nod for their carving skills, but I think a moment of silence is in order for the poor pumpkins who gave their lives for the sake of holiday decor.

While going door-to-door, all of the people handing out candy were very nice. And apparently this Nemo guy is one popular fish because everyone was excited to see me. Even other kids were saying I was cute. And we saw lots of kids in some very interesting costumes. But from my first trick-or-treat experience, I believe there should be some standard regulations. So I've come up with my own list of Halloween do's and don'ts:
1. Have some respect for the little guy. Just because you CAN cut across the grass doesn't mean you SHOULD.
2. Wearing your pajamas is not a costume.
3. Wearing your work uniform is not a costume.
3a. In fact, if you're old enough to work, you're too old for trick-or-treating.
4. The buddy system is good, but if your trick-or-treat group is too big to fit on a porch, consider breaking up into smaller groups.
5. Take a hint: if the porch light is off and you've waited a few seconds after ringing the bell, move on. Handing out candy is a nice gesture, not a requirement.
6. If your bag is full, go home.

I think my rules would make for a very pleasant and efficient Halloween experience. I'll have to do a little marketing before next October.

Anyhow, after the hunt for candy, we took a drive over to visit Nana and Papa and then headed to what Mom called The Great Pumpkin. You drive into this refinery where they have a big tank painted to look like a real pumpkin. I have much respect for this idea because no pumpkins were harmed in the process. There's music playing and nice people in costumes throwing bags of caramel corn into your car. And it's free! Reading this back I realize this sounds very strange, but it's cool, trust me. Granted I can't eat caramel corn yet either, but I have to give credit for good effort.

I came home from a fruitful Halloween with candy in my bag and a smile on my face. But I do have a request for the parents.

Next year, no tights.

Pumpkin? What pumpkin?

I've just been informed that pumpkins are cut up and used to make PIES! Yes, like the kind people EAT!

There is no cause for alarm, however. I have taken the necessary precautions. Bob is hidden away someplace safe.

Now if I can just figure out what to do with all these dirty diapers.

Pumpkin Envy

This time of year is interesting because I'm picking up on all the things I missed out on while I was in the NICU. Take Halloween, for instance. Last year, one of the nice nurses at the hospital taped a happy little ghostie to my incubator and that was the extent of the festivities. See it up there in the corner? Nice gesture and all, but nothing to write home about.

Apparently there's much more to it. At this time of year, the weather is supposed to get cooler (hasn't happened yet), people decorate their homes with lots of brown leaves and scarecrows (not sure why) and on the big day, kids roam around neighborhoods dressed up as some strange character and beg for candy. Hence the fish costume. I'm still trying to figure out if this is all socially acceptable.

Anyhow, the unifying factor for the month of October is pumpkins. I'm sure you've seen them, they're these big round orange things for sale on every corner. I was totally confused by the pumpkin concept because when I was born, Mom used to stand over me every day in the NICU and call me her little punkin (note: "punkin" is some kind of cutesie-mommy slang for "pumpkin"). I had assumed this was a name she reserved just for me because I'm so special. That was my first lesson about assumptions.

Mom, Dad and I recently took a trip to the pumpkin patch. This was quite an experience. There were lots of families there with kids of all ages, some even about my size. And pumpkins as far as the eyes could see (and I've got good eyes). There were big ones, small ones, even white ones and some gray ones. Mom and Dad said that I could pick one out to take home. This was a lot of pressure considering my lack of experience with pumpkins.

We cruised around for awhile and stopped by to say hello to the sheep. They were cute, all cozy warm in their sweaters. I saw kids feeding them, but Mom said that I should just look from a distance. Something about filthy animal germs. So we made our way to the long lines of pumpkins and I began my search for the perfect one.

Now I imagine for some there is a scientific approach to choosing a pumpkin. I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-diaper kind of guy, so I was pretty casual about it. I just slapped them all until I found one that sounded about right. Don't get me wrong, this was no easy task. It took a lot of time and thought and good listening skills to find the pumpkin with just the right size and tone. But I was up for the job. And I was successful.

Everything was fine and dandy until I found out that many people bring their pumpkins home only to carve funny faces into them and dump out their insides. They even put candles inside to make them light up. From what I understand, they call these jack-o-lanterns. Not at my house, no siree! My pumpkin is staying a pumpkin. After all that hard work it took to find him, I'm not changing his name to jack-o-anything.

I think I'll call him Bob.

Preemies Unite

Last year around this time, I was hangin' out in the NICU, getting annoyed with all the wires hooked to my body and the tube in my nose. Thankfully, this year was way different. As official graduates of the NICU, Trenton and I were invited to attend their 27th Annual Reunion.

I have to admit I was excited when I first heard about this party. I knew it would be pretty neat to meet all the other super babies who started out so tiny and grew up big and strong. And yes, I MAY have wanted to show off a little. But my dreams faded a bit when Mom and Dad put me in a fish costume (against my will, I might add). I mean, sure he's a cute Disney fish, but still. I had to wear tights, I think that says it all.

When I had worked through my feelings of humiliation, Mom, Dad and I along with Trenton and his Mom headed to the party. As soon as we got close to Torrance Memorial, we saw tons of kids in costume on their way as well. When we got inside, there were lots of families and kids of all ages. It was pretty cool. We even ran into a new friend, Max, with his mom. Max and Trenton were both in super hero costumes, which brought back a little of my fish anxiety, but I got over it quickly. I make a darn cute fish, if I do say so myself.

We arrived just in time for a special trick show with Chloe the wonder dog. She's a therapy dog that visit the patients in the hospital to cheer them up. Chloe is a very smart dog. She even jumped through hoops...literally!

Right after Chloe's performance, we watched this guy blowing bubbles. Not your standard bubbles, big ones and small ones and others as tall as people. The guy was a little goofy, but the bubbles were kinda cool. But by this time I was getting tired of sitting in the stroller, so Mom and I went around the room to say hi to some of our nurse friends who I hadn't seen since last year.

When we heard the announcement for the crawling races, I knew I had this one in the bag. But when the lady in the Tigger costume yelled, "ready, set, go," I just froze. One might say that it was all those people standing around, making me nervous. But I prefer to say that it was just my gentlemanly nature, letting little Gigi win. And apparently the chivalry worked because just as she approached the finish line, Gigi turned right around and came back to say hi to me. She couldn't resist, and who could blame her. While the two of us were preoccupied, another little boy sped past and won the race.

I was a little bummed out after that loss and Trenton was getting tired, so we decided to head home. On the way out, we each got a new teddy bear and a video. I tell you, that NICU staff not only knows how to take good care of us preemies, they also throw a great party.

Next year, look out toddler race, cuz I'll be ready for you. Gigi or no Gigi.

Corrected age, my foot

I made it, I've crossed over. I can officially call myself a one year old now. I think the thing that makes me most happy is that I don't have to count my age in months anymore. That got old really fast.

The other great thing is that I get to ride in my car seat facing forward now. I don't know why it took Mom and Dad and year to figure this one out, but thank goodness they finally did. I was starting to get so confused, I didn't know which way was up...or back...or front.

Naturally, the day of my birth was really monumental. Not only did I make my entrance in a grand fashion, but October 15th is also a special day to remember other babies, like my sister, who were strong little fighters but didn't get to stay long. On my first birthday, I got to go to a service with other families of angel babies. Some people might think this is a sad thing to do on a birthday, but I look at it as a celebration of life, mine included.





The next day was my real shindig. Mom explained to me what a barbecue is, so now I understand a bit better. It's really all about the food. Of course I didn't get to eat any of it. I'm not sure how that works, it's your birthday but you don't get any of the food. I think everybody should have enjoyed their own tasty jar of Gerber's and washed it down with a bottle of formula. It seems only fair.

I'm not being completely truthful, I did get some cake. Cupcake, that is. Always trying to be different, my family decided to have cupcakes instead of a big fancy cake. The idea underwhelmed me at first, until I saw the spread. Great work, Nana. You win the prize for most creative use of gummy worms.

And I have to say I was totally wrong about the whole box thing. It actually was worthwhile to open all the boxes because there was neat stuff inside. I got a learning table that plays all kinds of music, two drums and some other instruments and a hippo that eats blocks. Mom says all this stuff will keep me busy, but for some reason she had a funny look on her face when I opened all the noisy toys. Maybe she was jealous. I guess I'll have to share my drum with her.

Now that I'm one, maybe I'll gain some credibility. Mom's always been so careful with me, watching every move I make. She doesn't understand that I'm an independent guy. But now I can just tell her "Hey, I'm a big kid. I'm one!"

Guess I'd better work on my verbal skills, or this won't be very effective.