Early Works Museum, Kid's Kingdom, and A Valentine's Day Party

We have had a very, very fun past couple of weeks! The weekend of January 29th, we went to the Early Works Museum in downtown Huntsville, and had an AWESOME time! Dawson loved the entire museum, but his favorite area was called Biscuit's Backyard which was just for kids his age. It is themed around a dog named Biscuit. It was adorable...there was a play store, post office, tree house, barn, garden, house with front porch, and much more! There was also an area with running water, plastic fish, and nets where children could catch the fish. When we got there Dawson just ran from thing to thing; he was so excited! After spending over an hour in Biscuit's Backyard we decided to see the rest of the museum, and Dawson loved it as well. There was a kids construction area that had giant tinker toys. John built a fort to put Dawson in, and Dawson thought it was hilarious! Dawson was even interested in the educational areas for older kids. I had packed a lunch for our family because the museum has an indoor picnic area. Dawson had fun picnicking inside, and after lunch he was ready to explore more of the museum. I thought we would have to leave to come home around noon since he usually naps at 12, but he was having so much fun he didn't even realize he was tired. We stayed for several hours, and then we came home where he took a great nap! We will definitely be going back to Early Works in the future since we ALL had a good time. I love taking Dawson to new and different places like this because it's so fun to watch how excited he gets! I tried to take a lot of pictures, but he was constantly on the move. I have included some below, though.

The next day, Sunday, was a beautiful day. It was sunny and it was around 70-72 degrees outside! So after church and Dawson's nap, we took him to Kid's Kingdom (the outdoor playground at Dublin Park) to play. John had never gotten to go before since we usually go when John is working, and he loved getting to see Dawson be a "big kid" and run, play, and slide on the playground.

This past weekend we were invited to a friends Super Bowl party. We took homemade pretzels (like you can get from Auntie Ann's in the mall) which was my newest experiment with bread making! The Waterbury's who hosted the party had TONS of yummy snacks and food to munch on during the game. Dawson had a great time at the party too! He got to play with his friends Hayden, Ethan, Austin, and Connor during the game.

We have had a couple of play dates recently with one or two other children at a time, but I decided that Dawson needed to have a Valentine's Day Party and invite all of his friends! So we did. It was today. His friends Jude (2), Ethan (2), Austin (2), Hayden (2), and Matthew (20 months) were all able to come! All 6 boys did great playing together with only a couple of tears here and there. I am always impressed at how well this group does together. We played in the playroom for a while and then we had Valentine's snacks. We had sugar cookies, cupcakes, grapes, and gold fish crackers. The kids loved the snacks. After finishing off all the sugar they "exchanged" Valentine's. It was cute, but after a couple of minutes they lost interest! :) We were very thankful to all of our friends for coming, despite the ice and snow that we got last night that is still around. A couple of people were not able to make it because of the roads, so we hope to get together with them for a play date soon! I love watching Dawson interact with his friends, and I took plenty of photos!

Speaking of the weather, last night we got a little over two inches of snow causing the roads to be covered with ice. When John left work to come home about 2:30 this morning his normal 20 minute drive took him almost an hour due to the ice since they don't treat the roads for winter weather here. Thankfully he made it home safely!! It has been a beautiful, sunny day and so now the ice has melted off the roads. We are very ready for warmer weather!

The only other "new" thing going on with us is that I have been learning to sew! Yes, I am 25, and I have never used a sewing machine. I never took home ec. in high school because I never thought I would want/like/care/need to know how to sew. A while back I used my birthday money from the Zorio's (thanks!) to get a basic Singer sewing machine on Black Friday because I had been wanting to learn how to sew little things for Dawson and the house for a while. As much as I wanted to, I didn't allow myself to take it out of the box until after I finished working because I knew I would want to get started sewing rather than work. Two weeks ago, I figured it was the perfect time. In the past two weeks I have taught myself to use the sewing machine, and it's so much fun! I decided I would start by making a basic apron for myself. I enjoyed it, and it went so well that I decided to make a different apron for John's Mom's birthday (yesterday). I am pretty excited with my new found hobby, and I have a few things on my list that I want to make. I honestly never thought I would enjoy sewing, but it's fun making things for myself, others, and the house!

That wraps it up for the Zorio Family right now, but be sure to check back soon because Dawson will be 21 months on Monday/Valentine's Day and I will post an update!

For now, enjoy the pictures below, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Above: All of the mom's at the party decided it would be easiest for

the kids to eat on the kitchen floor (trust me, I didn't force my

guests to eat on the floor-haha!). I thought it was so cute how

they all just sat down with their plates. This is Dawson

and his friend Matthew eating treats!

Above: Look how big all these boys look having snacks on

the floor. All of the kids are pictured here except Hayden.

Above: Dawson and Hayden playing with the Weebles
Tree House.

Above: I was trying to take a picture of all the

kids playing, but Dawson jumped in front of the

camera and made this face. You can barely

see his new tooth (his top right canine) poking

through the gumso I decided to share this picture anyway.

Above: Dawson and Ethan playing trains.

Above: Dawson and Jude talking about the trains.

Above: Dawson and Jude with the trains.

Above: A few of the cupcakes.

Above: Some of the cookies and cupcakes I made for

the Valentine's Party.

Above: A few more sugar cookies I made for the party.

Above: The Valentine's banner.

(Sorry, the lighting was not good. I think it was too bright.)

Above: The snacks and some of the decorations for the party.

Plus, you can see some of the snow out the window in our

backyard.

Above: The newest addition to our home...

these doorknob covers that prevent Dawson from

opening doors. We put the on the doorknob inside

his room to keep him from roaming the house at night

and the door to the garage because he loves to go out

there (weird). This was taken right after I put them on

the doors, and, as you can see, he's not crazy about them!

Above: This is the first apron I made. I love the fabric,

and I have been wearing it when I cook a lot!

Above: I decided to add three buttons on the top waist band

at each side to go with the circles.

Above: This is the apron I made for John's

Mom's birthday.

Above: Dawson and I painted some Valentine's

crafts.

Above: Dawson sliding at the park!

Above: Dawson running through the castle

at Kid's Kingdom!

Above: A quick picture of Dawson and Mommy

before leaving Early Works. He was exhausted!

Above: John building a giant tinker toy fort

around Dawson.

Above: More tinker toy construction.

Above: Dawson checking out the education area

of the museum for older children.

Above: There was a vacuum at Early Works

so Dawson was in heaven!

Above: Dawson and Daddy playing post office

at Early Works.

Above: Dawson and Daddy climbing through

the tree house at Early Works.

Above: Trying to catch fish at Early Works.

Above: Then Daddy put on a puppet show for

Dawson at Early Works. (I'm sure John will

love this photo.)

Above: Dawson had to pick up everything

at Early Works and show us and try it out!

He was so excited with EVERYTHING!

Above: Dawson picking potatoes and gardening

at Early Works. He will be ready to help me in the

garden this spring and summer!

Above: Most of the pictures from Early Works

came out like this because he wouldn't stop moving...

too much to see...too much to do... busy boy!

A Little of This & A Little of That

I just had to start out this blog with the picture

above of Dawson. I took this tonight during bathtime. I

thought it just looked sweet and innocent.

So, I'm sure you're wondering what those Zorio's have been up to lately since it's been a little while since the last blog update. Well, the answer is a little of this and a little of that. This will be a fairly random post updating you on all things Zorio. :)

Let's see, where to begin...well, Dawson has still been doing WONDERFULLY in his toddler bed. He is such a big boy, and we're continuing to be amazed at how many new words he learns each day and how much he understands. The other night while John was at work, Dawson picked up the cell phone and said, "Da-ddy, Da-ddy, Da-ddy...come back, come back!" Then he looked at the phone and waved before putting it down. He is such a sweet boy.

The past two weeks at toddler storytime at the library they have had puppets tell the story, and Dawson LOVES this! He sits quietly and listens and claps while the puppets are performing. I was talking to one of the librarians after storytime last week, and they are planning to continue with the puppets every Wednesday for a while. I was excited about this since Dawson loves it so much.

We had a playgroup at our house last Thursday, and several of Dawson's friends got to come! Ethan (2 yrs), Austin (2yrs), Jude (2yrs), Jasper (6 months), and Georgia (still in her Mommy's tummy a few days after her due date, but she's since arrived!), and, of course, their moms, Sara, Blakeley, and Julie. Dawson loves the playgroups now more than ever. For a while, at playgroups he was still really clingy with me, but he is a lot better about this now and having even more fun!

Last Friday, Dawson's friend, Connor, came over to play while his mom had a meeting. Dawson had a ball playing with Connor. He was here during dinner time so the two boys got to sit side by side and eat dinner, and Dawson thought this was fabulous!

Also last Friday, my family came down for the weekend. They brought Dawson's train table that they had given him at Christmas and we had left in Tennessee because it would not fit in the Jeep on the way home. Dawson saw the train table and remembered it immediately. He kept pointing and saying, "mine? mine? mine!" We had a good visit with family, and Dawson enjoyed getting to see his Lolly, Pop, and Uncle Logan. Dawson has been having SO much fun with his train table this week!

Monday night was John's work's Year End Party. They don't have a Christmas party because it is such a busy time of year for them, so they have the Year End Party in January after things have slowed down. This year they reserved the Privee Area at Monacco Theater where we had delicious food and then got to watch a movie. We saw Dilemma which was good. We had a great time (even though we couldn't :( take Dawson). It was fun to have an evening out.

Speaking of work, one thing that most of you do not know is that I have been working...outside of the home. To make a long story somewhat short, the company I used to work for contacted me back in September to see if I was interested in coming back to fill my old position which was open. It felt good that they thought of me, but I am nowhere near ready to leave my baby and work again! So I told them no, but they were in an interesting spot and really needed someone in the position that knew what to do. I decided to pitch an idea to them which I thought they would decline. I offered to work approximately 20-24 hours a week, 8 of those hours in the office, and the rest from home for about 3 months. During which time I would take care of everything that needed taking care of, then help hire and train someone to take the position. Well, this offer I made them which I thought would be declined because it seemed too good to be true for my end of the deal, they accepted. So, this had been keeping me EXTRA busy since October since I was doing the majority of my "at home" hours after Dawson went to bed since John was working and not home. I managed to squeeze in my 8 hours in the office during times John was at home before he went into work. Well, I finished up last Thursday, so I'm back where I belong as a full-time stay-at-home-mom, and I couldn't be happier. I like the company I worked for, the people I worked with, and the job I did, but none of it compares to taking care of Dawson!

As far as John's work, he has continued to stay busy, but thankfully not as busy as during Christmas season. When John's at work Dawson misses his Daddy. Randomly during the afternoon and evening Dawson will ask about Daddy. I think it's so sweet. With John's schedule, he has to sleep during the daytime for a few hours and Dawson cannot wait until it's time to wake Daddy. When I tell him it's time he runs to the bedroom door and knocks. Then he runs in and jumps on John. I love that Dawson gets so excited to see John.

That does it for the Zorio Family update! Now that I'm back home full-time, I hope to keep the blog update about once a week like before rather than twice a month. Expect more pictures soon because we're headed to Early Works tomorrow and it's supposed to be a nice weekend so maybe even a visit to the park!

Enjoy the pictures below...

Dawson coloring with both hands at the library
after the puppet show.

Now that I'm back to having more time at home,

I finally got to make bread which I had been wanting

to do for sometime. This was my first loaf. It is whole

wheat and yummy!

Dawson and his friends, Ethan and Austin,

during the playdate we had at our house last week.

Dawson and Ethan moved all the toys out of this corner and sat down.

They look like they're in trouble, but they were actually happy,

I promise!

Dawson helping his friend, Jude, with the car.

It looks like both boys are yelling. Maybe "No more pictures!"

I think they were just having fun!

We've had snow a couple more times since "the

big snow" two weeks ago. This was about a week ago we

got a little over one inch (it was still snowing when I

took this).

Just a picture to show what a ham Dawson can be.

This was first thing in the morning, so he's still

in his pajamas.

Dawson figured out his Sit and Spin and loves it!

Then he came up with another use for it...

a chair!

Dawson and Connor playing with the fire truck.

Dawson and Connor eating dinner side by side last Friday night.

Also, check out our new kitchen chairs!! I am beyond pleased

and excited to have the perfect chairs for our kitchen table.

Dawson and Uncle Logan.

Dawson and Pop.

Our family before leaving for church on

Sunday morning.

Dawson with Lolly before they left to go back

to Tennessee.

Dawson playing with his train table!

Dawson realizing that he can tunnel under

the train table.

I don't know who is more jealous of their Daddy's attention,

Dawson or Bentley!

(This was first thing Monday morning).

Check out that hat made of bubbles!

20 Months & A Toddler Bed!

On Friday, January 14th Dawson turn 20 months old! I know I say this every month, but I still cannot believe my baby is 20 months!! Someone recently asked me how old Dawson was and when I responded in months, they laughed and asked at what age parents stop counting age in months....I think 48 months (4 years) or 156 months (13 years) or, better yet, 216 months (18 years)! I am only kidding, but Dawson still feels like our baby, so it's easy to talk about him being 20 months rather than 1 1/2.
Who knew that the 20 month milestone would be such a big one?! In the week leading up to Dawson turning 20 months, he did several things to show us just how big he is. The first of which caused us to sadly pack the highchair away to the attic. Over couple of months we have been allowing Dawson to eat at a booster seat at the table with us, and he likes to sit at the table with us. So for the past few weeks he wants nothing to do with his highchair if we want him to sit there to eat. If I ask him where he wants to eat, he always runs to his booster. Other than putting him in his highchair when we played with dirt last weekend, we have not used it in a few weeks. We decided it was time to take it to the attic since he has outgrown it.
On Wednesday morning something happened that I knew would happen eventually, I just did not expect it to happen so soon! As you know, Dawson loves loves LOVES to climb, and I have known it would be only a matter of time before he climbed out of his crib. Well, Wednesday morning he decided the time was right, and he went up and over the edge of his crib and was free! He was thrilled at his escape and didn't get hurt at all. John and I were not so happy with our little Houdini. Now that Dawson knew how to get out, there would be nothing stopping him, and I was very worried about him getting hurt while climbing out more so than what he would do after he got out. So Wednesday night before bedtime I converted his crib to a toddler bed with Dawson's "help." He thought it was hilarious when I took the front side off of the crib, and he continued to climb in and out of his bed while I took the front pieces off and attached the pieces for the toddler conversion. At one point he even ran to the playroom, got a book, and brought it back to read in his bed!
I was very concerned that Dawson would not sleep at all knowing that he could get out of bed on his own. This concerned me even more since it was a night that John was working until not just 2am but 4am! I was wondering what I would do if Dawson wouldn't stay in his bed all night and it was just me to fight this battle with him. Thankfully, I should not have worried at all. My sweet little boy did GREAT! I put him in his bed and closed his door. He got out, yelled "Mom" and knocked at the door for a few minutes. I went in and put him back in bed and he went to sleep. Now he has been staying in and not getting out at all until he wakes up in the morning. When he does wake up in the morning, he stays in his room and knocks on the door until we let him out. With all of the sleep issues (ie not sleeping through the night until he was 13 months) we have had with Dawson, I was beyond surprised at how well this went. I love how excited he still is about his bed and that he loves to take books to his bed to read.
At 20 months (we know from his recent trip to the ER) that Dawson weighs right at 28 pounds and is still tall for his age. In fact, he is the same height as some of his friends who are 7 and 5 months older than him. It seems that Dawson is at an age where he is learning a new word a day, at least. His favorite word now is "octopus" which he pronounces "oct-pee." In his A-Z Alphabet books for "O" it says "Octopus with Oars," and this is where he learned the word. Speaking of books, Dawson still LOVES reading which makes me very happy.
One of his new favorite things is dinosaurs. He likes his pjs and shirts that have "dinos" on them, and he likes to talk about dinos saying "roar." The PBS show "Dinosaur Train" can keep his attention for about 5 minutes which is longer than anything else. We got him a Borris the Dinosaur from Target which is a character from the show and it roars and talks. He can also say Borris, but it sounds like "bo-re."
Dawson has warmed up to his Power Wheels that we got him for Christmas, and when it's not too cold we back the cars out of the garage and let him ride it in there. We also let him ride it in the house (crazy, I know, but he loves it!). So he's had time to get used to riding it, and is not afraid to push the button and ride for a minute or two.
I love to quiz Dawson at this age, and usually he likes to play along. We do quizzes about what sounds animals make (snake, dino, dog, cat, bear, bird, sheep, donkey, and many more) and about where various body parts are (nose, eyes, ears, hair, smile, teeth, mouth, tongue, belly button, arms, hands, fingers, arm pit, diaper, bottom, knees, legs, feet, toes, etc). Dawson still LOVES music and LOVES to dance. His favorite cd (other than GT and the Halo Express and Veggie Tales) is one of my old Jimmy Buffett cds which we listen to on repeat all the time since he enjoys it so much.
20 months is such a great age because Dawson understands A LOT of what we are saying and we can explain things to him like what we are doing or why he has to be patient. He is also very affectionate and loves giving kisses, hugs, and blowing kisses. His personality is starting to show more and more each day, and he has a sense of humor. He will do silly things and then look at John or me to see if we are going to laugh. When we laugh, he loves it! Sometimes John and I will be laughing about something, and he will just join in the laughter; he is such a happy boy!
I could go on and on about Dawson at 20 months, but I'll get to the good stuff...I've posted a few pictures below of Dawson with his toddler bed. Enjoy!!

Above: My sweet boy in his toddler bed!

Above: I removed the front of the bed to convert it, and Dawson

hopped right in and was very excited to find a pacifier!

Above: On his own, he ran to his books and picked
this one out (it's the one with the octopus) and brought
it to his bed to read while I was still working on assembling it.

Above: Dawson waking up with a smile the first morning after

sleeping in his toddler bed!

I love how he wakes up so happy!

Above: Still waking up a little after the first

night sleeping like a big boy!

Above: Amazingly he hasn't fallen out! He mostly
sleeps along the back side like this.

Above: Life is good: Just got out of toddler

bed after the first night of sleeping there, two

pacifiers, and one bedtime bunny to swing

by it's ears. Happiness is...

Above: Dawson and I went to a playgroup and his friend, Jude's

house last week. Jude is pictured in the red shirt with his back

turned. He got to play with Jude (25 months), Connor (27 months), Hayden

(26 months), and Jasper (5 months).This was the only picture I took,

so I wanted to share it. Dawson is becoming more and more interactive

with his friends, and I LOVE to see these boys playing together!

They do really well together, until snack time when they rush to see

who can eat each other's snacks the fastest it seems. At least they

were fighting over healthy options-granny smith apple, oranges, and

granola bars. :)

Greetings from Snowy Alabama!

Greetings from snowy Alabama!! That's right, we have had quiet the snow storm here this week! On Friday they started calling for snow that would begin on Sunday night. As usual, I was skeptic and figured that we would end up with rain instead. After all the hype though, I did decide that maybe we should invest in a pair of snow boots for Dawson. Friday night Dawson and I went shopping in search of the perfect boot, however we didn't find any. Saturday morning we all three went shopping and found some adorable rain boots at Old Navy that fit perfectly. They are the traditional yellow boots with blue soles and trim and oh-so cute! I love them. You better believe that every time it rains a drop he will be wearing them (and I, of course, will have on my bright pink rain boots I always wear too).
So sure enough, on Sunday night a little after eight it started snowing hard! By Monday morning when we woke up there was between nine and ten inches in our yard! We could not believe it! Alabama has pretty much shut down (and is still shut down-and it's Tuesday afternoon) from all of the snow. I guess that Alabama just counts on not getting snow because we do not salt the roads and I don't we own a salt truck or snow plow across Madison County. Keeping in mind that we do live in the county...yesterday afternoon someone drove through our neighborhood on their Massey-Ferguson farm tractor that still had a field plow on it and scraped some of the snow loose, just for fun I guess?! Dawson loved seeing the tractor. It was only topped by our neighbor getting out his 4-wheeler to ride around the neighborhood. Every time he went out of view from the playroom window Dawson would shout "come back! come back! come back!!!"
Of course since Dawson had boots we were going outside to enjoy this snow! So Monday morning immediately after breakfast we bundled up and headed outside. Now when I say we bundled up, imagine the kid from A Christmas Story whose mother bundles him up for the cold--I think Dawson could move around less in all of his layers than that kid! He wasn't too happy when we were in the snow because he didn't like wearing his hat or mittens. We played for a little while and he learned the word "snow." After coming inside and Dawson napping we bundled back up for round two! This time went much better. Dawson was happy to wear his hat and mittens and we played outside for a long time and walked around our neighborhood a little. Bentley got to play with our neighbor's dogs and had a ball! Bentley may have enjoyed the snow more than anyone else! John and I decided we should shovel the driveway since he knew he would have to go to work today (Tuesday) and wouldn't be able to get out if we didn't shovel. John shoved 80% of the driveway. I took care of the last 20%, and I think I've complained more about being sore from shoveling today than him! We had a great time playing outside in the snow though!
It ended up being a good thing we shoveled our driveway because last night we had an impromptu party at our house to watch the National Championship game. Our friends the Burns from our small group live in our neighborhood and so they came and brought their two year old, Connor. Our friends the Houghs who also live very close came over. Dawson had fun playing with his friend and we had fun seeing our friends too.
Today everything here is still shut down-except where John works they have not closed so John's at work and Dawson and I are going to enjoy the snow from inside this afternoon. The snow is so beautiful. As much as I hate the cold weather, if it would snow it wouldn't be hardly as miserable! Although Dawson has LOVED playing in the snow, I have to say that I think he much prefers the beach just like Mommy and Daddy! :)
If you're wondering what else we've been up to lately since I haven't posted since Christmas...
We did absolutely nothing for New Year's. It was on a Friday so John had to work that night, I was sick with a horrible sinus infection, and Dawson went to bed at 8:00pm. It was quiet possibly the most uneventful New Year's Eve ever, but I was not feeling well so I didn't mind at all!
Then on Sunday, January 2 we heard Dawson gasping for air after he had been in bed about 45 minutes for the night. We were very scared since he had not been sick at all. After realizing that he wasn't choking or having an allergic reaction which were my first two thoughts we decided to take him to the ER. When we got in the car Dawson started laughing, so we re-evaluated our decision and came back inside. At midnight when this had been going on for about 3 hours where he would be fine and then suddenly start gasping for air, we decided he needed to go on to Huntsville Hospital's Pediatric ER. We were very impressed with the pediatric er, we were only in the waiting room for less than 10 minutes and all of the nurses and doctors were very nice and seemed knowledgeable. They did his oxygen absorption level and said it was at 100%, so even though he sounded like he wasn't getting air, he was! I was so relieved after hearing this. They diagnosed him with the virus croup! While we were at the hospital he spiked a fever. After about two and a half to three hours we were discharged and told to watch him, give him the prescription of steroids, and Tylenol or ibuprofen. We spent the majority of the rest of the night listening to Dawson breathe while he slept because we were so nervous.
Thankfully after a few days Dawson started doing much better! This was definitely the sickest Dawson has ever been. For a child who doesn't get sick often, when he does he really outdoes himself! We are so, so thankful for him to be doing better, and I have also, thankfully recovered from my horrible sinus infection. The rest of 2011 will hopefully be healthier than the first week of the new year. :)
Dawson and I have also been working on learning new words, new signs, and several arts and crafts projects which I plan to post more on sometime soon!
For now, enjoy the photos below!

Above: Our kind neighbor, Kari, came out in the snow to

take a family picture for us!

Above: Dawson bundled up on our freshly

shoveled driveway. (Check out those boots!)

Above: Bentley loved the snow. It was so deep
though, this is about all you could see of her!

Above: Dawson starting to shovel the driveway!

Above: Dawson and Mommy in the snow!

Above: Dawson and Daddy in the snow.

(This was during the battle of the hat and mittens-

obviously, since he has on no mittens!)

Above: This is what the backyard looked like after it had

been snowing about an hour and a half on Sunday night!

Above: On of our recent projects-planting seeds in

three pots. Dawson wasn't too sure about the dirt

since he doesn't like to get dirty, but after I encouraged

him to make a little mess he thought it was fun!

Above: "Really, mom?? You want me to play in dirt?

Inside??"

Above: "Gross! Dirt"

Above: Dawson's hospital bracelet from the ER. While we

were at the hospital, I actually said to John that I wish we had the

camera for a picture of Dawson's first (and hopefully only)

ER visit. I, of course, only said this after we realized he was okay.

We unfortunately didn't have the camera, so this picture of his

bracelet that he managed to pull off while we were there is about

as good as it gets!