Family Road Trip to Vermont!

Zach was an amazing trooper on our 10+ hour road trip to Vermont. He did some good sleeping, and even when he wasn't, he was pretty amiable to be in the car!

Zach sleeping
(very briefly)
on the drive up

We stayed at a supposed 3 star hotel in Albany, but it was a 2 star at best and felt more like a 1.5 star. Yikes. Luckily, there were lots of other families, and everyone was quiet, so it worked out okay. Zach loved exploring, and he charmed people at breakfast.

Zach at breakfast
at the Best
Western in Albany

We stopped in Burlington on our final leg and had a fun lunch. Zach charmed more people. He got some crayons, which he mostly threw on the floor. We were at the bar, and he loved watching the bar tenders shake martinis!

Zach and Frank at
the Farmhouse Tap
& Grill in Burlington

Frank and I got out skiing on Monday & Tuesday at Craftsbury! Yay! They had great food: wholesome scones, muffins, granola bars, and a kale salad. The facilities were incredibly nice for $10pp. 

Frank and Susan at
Craftsbury

Smugglers' is super-family friendly, and we were just up the hill from the indoor pool, so we went three nights in a row. 

Frank and Zach at Smugglers' pool's slide

On Tuesday, coming back from Craftsbury, it was only 10 miles out of the way to Stowe, VT, so we went into town for lunch. Despite visiting two breweries, Brewster River Pub and Idletyme, we had not found any beers that we liked enough to fill our growler, so we stopped in at Black Cap Coffee and made a local sampler, 4 Vermont beers, 1 beer/cider from VT, and 1 from Maine. The highlights are captured!

A really good,
strong
brown ale

A Russian
Imperial Stout

It snowed on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and amazingly Smugglers' wasn't prepared! We were plowed in at 9am, and three cars and a shuttle had gone in a ditch! Apparently, they hadn't re-sanded. So, we couldn't get Zach to daycare. We spent the day together; in the snow in the morning, and then more time outside in the afternoon. 

Frank, Susan, Zach in the snow at Smugglers'

Frank & Zach

Frank and Zach played around the unit and outside, and I took a second ski lesson. Downhill is scary! Frank got out after I got back from my lesson. The powder of the day's snow had blown off leaving an ice slick for skiing. He fell and had to go to the local hospital for stitches!

The outlier from
Maine, but
pretty local too!

On our final day, we headed back to Craftsbury for a final cross country ski. Though the conditions weren't ideal for them, we enjoyed some new trails that hadn't been open and did Ruthie's Run in the opposite direction from the Monday and Tuesday skis. We ate a delicious lunch at their cafe: a wholesome chicken soup, chicken salad sandwich, homemade granola bar, and a chocolate chip cookie! We got back in time for showers, a hot tub soak, and a nap before picking up Zach.

We headed home on Saturday, and once again, Zach was a great road tripper. We pushed him harder this time with only one short stop near Albany, but he did play a lot in the morning before we left at 1:30pm! Temps were frigid at Smuggs and persisted throughout our drive. We even hit snow storms and a white out (briefly) on I-88 around 6pm. Yikes. Frank was incredible and drove us all the way home. I used Mountain Lion as a pillow and got some sleep with Zach.

Check out all our pics here.  

Winter Updates (even when it wasn't so wintry)

Zach

• Practicing going up and down the stairs
• Still climbing, lately it's been on the coffee table and the upholstered chair
• Still working on his diaper rash, so we've been giving him "air time." See both below!

• Saying "bye, bye" and "Dada" for Frank, but "Mama," seems to mean food. He says that loudly and insistently while he's eating meals, no matter who is feeding him!
• Hugging us (and taking refuge by hugging our legs), and sitting in our laps. So cute!

• Zach is still shutting doors for us: the bathroom door, the fridge door. All doors. Watch those fingers!
• It's amazing what Zach can understand. As I mentioned in last month's blog post, I'll tell him, "Let's go have a bath," and he'll start climbing the stairs.
• Speaking of baths, when I wash his hair, he now closes his eyes tightly as I get to "3" in my "1, 2, 3" count down to dousing him!
• Loves watching the girls from several doors down. They all play on some Saturdays at the playground
• First ride in an elevator at his 15 month doctor's appointment. It surprised him!

Family

• Walks all around Reston and to Lake Anne Coffee House on Saturdays
• Warm weather! I took Zach for a nice, really long walk after work on a Thursday. (It reminded me of our early morning walks in early November.) :)
• The zoo! Zach got to see elephants, zebras, meerkats, seals, etc.

On the merry-go-round at
the National Zoo

Fun

• Date night dinner out at Red's Table and Cherish the Ladies concert
• Brunch at Red's Table and a run with Kathleen. (Thanks to Gamma, Daddy Bob, and Auntie Em for babysitting)
• Meeting Auntie Em at the Lake Anne Coffee House on several Saturdays
• Happy hour with Katie at Lake Anne (How much do we love Lake Anne?)
• Chinese dinner with Michael and Leah and family

Food

• Made very simple bread from scratch! No yeast, mother, kneeding, rising; just mix and bake for 40 minutes. Easy!

Work

• Virtual conference. Great sessions. Huge success. Terrific numbers: 570 unique visitors, a little over 1000 registered. Great conversion since 30% conversion is considered good, and we were at over 50%. Average time in event was high at 3 hours 40 minutes. Almost 1500 documents downloaded. A huge number. Over 1700 views of documents and an average of 7 downloads per person.
• My featured video blog with d'Vinci is here. 

"Nevertheless she persisted."

The Last Month+

Zach

• He walked to the swings by himself, and he's now going down the slide by himself!
• Zach loves watching his animals fly down from the shelves and bubbles!

Mesmerized by bubbles!

• Zach’s first words: 1.) ball 2.) car 3.) cow (or maybe it’s a variation of “car.” He also does lots of “Mamamama” and “Dadadadada,” but not sure we can go with “Mama” and “Dada” yet.
• He also understands so much now. We can say, “Go get Dear Zoo," or your ball or your car, and he does!

Playing peek-a-boo
with his food cape

• He stands in front of his high chair to let us know he’s hungry, and he wears a food cape now (aka a bandana)
• He took his first swim lesson at Goldfish Swim School!

Frank, Zach, & Susan at the pool

• Zach loves watching people and especially older kids.
• He pulls out his blanket that matches his room decor, and we all sit on it together on the upstairs landing. So cute.
• I loved reading the latest chapters of Winnie the Pooh, especially "issue" for sneezing.
• He's begun climbing up and balancing on the Huggies box, step stool, etc. He's a good climber.
• He has a man purse that he carries around. One night it had a ball and his toothbrush. 
• He's continued to have terrible diaper rash; we cut out citrus, but it persists! So, he takes baking soda baths. We use lots of baking soda!

Notable Events

• Emily's surgery – not easy, but all went well with Auntie Em. She was a textbook case and was able to leave the hospital early even!
• ½ date day with Frank (a run + Enyate) + Date Night the next day! Lake Anne Wine Bar and appetizer, Robbie Schaefer show at Jammin’ Java for Syrian refugees, and a really good dinner at Caboose Brewing.
• Cross country skiing at Whitegrass for the first time since 2015. Thank you Gamma and Daddy Bob for babysitting Zach. I'm sorry I gave you my (Zach's) stomach bug. :( and to Frank days later….

Whitegrass View

Fun Food

• Chicken with garam masala sauce – DELICIOUS!
• Cocktails from Zach’s leftover fruit syrup
• Finished up Jim and Terri's Christmas bacon on top of mac & cheese, pinto beans, and greens. My favorite soul food meal.
• A shout out from Morgan! Morgan went to the Bluebird Bistro/Cafe in KC at my recommendation!
• China Chilcano in DC for Restaurant Week and seeing Callie again for the first time since 2013

Good Work Stuff

• A work trip to Harrisburg (JPL Creative and d’Vinci) and the Eastern PA District Meeting. I was interviewed for JPL's video blog series, visited Lancaster Brewing Company with Jenny, Angeline, and Susan. Such a kindred spirit feeling!

Susan's video blog interview

• I listened to Susan Cain’s Quiet going to and from PA. Lots of good insight.
• I'm continuing my pursuit of expertise: a virtcon LinkedIn post and continued social media postings. Very proud of our efforts!

Super Fun January

Second Christmas went well with Heidi, Sam, and Jeff, though Heidi threw us a curve ball at Great Falls. She fell and ended up being taken by ambulance to Reston Hospital! Luckily, she was fine, and her stay in Reston meant we had a nice lunch with everyone on January 1 at our house. I made beer cheese soup, and it was hit!

Susan and Zach
Zach is a great present!

Christmas in Chevy Chase was a fun affair, and Penni and Tommy hosted us for a lovely lunch after presents. 

Reston's Chinese Lantern Festival

Zach and Mommy at
the Chinese Lantern Festival

In the new year, the Fordams have had so much fun. We went with Auntie Em to the Chinese Lantern Festival and headed out to Woodstock for a cold weekend with Gamma and Daddy Bob. 

Sleepy boy

Zach has been so happy and delighted by so much: walking around everywhere, especially Great Falls and around Reston; the "ssss" of his Noah's ark snake; his name as pronounced by Muslima (Zach-a-ree) and Mamoona (My Zachy). We've continued to have great hide and seek and peek-a-boo games. On the way to Baltimore, we started reading Winnie the Pooh stories in the car, and they were a huge hit for everyone. Rabbit offered Pooh bread with honey or condensed milk. What?! 

The most adorable picture of Zach!

Thanks to Kate for hosting us in Baltimore. It was wonderful to see everyone and visit old B'more haunts (Golden West and Carma's) and try out a brewery, Union Craft Brewing, with a growler of their Bock 1000. 

The Holidays!

Since Zach's first birthday...

We've gotten in some good walks on the weekends and patronized the new local coffee shop. We also got the cutest video of Zach giggling while on the swings! 

We had an overnight visit from Mary Kay, Stephen, and Hance. We divvyed up the cooking and had some time to catch up after the boys went to bed!

Zach and a favorite
toy, the new plunger!

Due to holidays, daycare offered some Saturday hours, so Frank and I got out for lunch at Enyate, and I took advantage of the extra time to do some extravagant cooking. I made Juliana's Bolognese sauce! 

Along the festive lines, we also took Zach to the Wolf Trap sing-along, where the crowd did a nice rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and that continued at home as we sang along with the holiday book. On 12/18, we got a tree! 

Zach and his elf hat!

Zach has been enjoying the newest take on Dear Zoo, where he opens the flaps and gets quite a reaction from me! I also got to take Zach to a sign language class, so we've been working on some signs too! He's gotten a fifth tooth, and his sleep has been somewhat disrupted about one night a week for the last month. :( But really, not bad at all!

Frank and I had a fun date night to see Manchester by the Sea and stopped in at Dogfish Head for an early dinner!

Our local winery/brewery patronage continues. We met Sam, Julia, Zahra, and Sam's mom at Blenheim winery in Charlottesville after Thanksgiving, visited Bull Run winery with Kathleen, and rollerbladed + lunched at Monk's BBQ in Purcellville. Yesterday, we walked nearly 8 miles around the Mall, went to the Stuart Davis exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, and tried a new Ethiopian restaurant, Addis. They had artisanal tej!

Zach's cute hat

I had the chance to meet up with Sofia at Zaytinya in DC. We shared excellent food and got to catch up in person! (I also bought Zach a super-cute hat!) See picture above!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Forts and Kovatchitch's. We took Zach's Pack-n-Play to Auntie Em's, so he got naps, AND we got in a lot of good time to hang out, which included viewing a fun Billy Joel concert DVD. 

Zach's First Birthday and More

I've been pretty excited about a lot of new recipes and other yummy food experiences this month. Of note: 

• Chia seed pudding with maple syrup and coconut milk (add nuts, strawberries, bananas - Yum!)
• Carrot cake made with apple sauce and maple syrup - Zach's birthday cake!
• Quesadillas of sweet potatoes, broccoli, hummus, and Gouda
• Hot apple cider float - Frank and I shared on his birthday
• Homemade chocolate sauce for Frank's birthday ice cream

Frank double-fisting
it on his birthday!

Zach and I have had the best time this month going for walks! The time change threw poor Zach for a loop - still has - but it's also given us time to go out after breakfast. Until mid-November, the weather was very mild, so it was never too cold. I love getting in a little Zach time and plenty of fresh air for both of us early in the day!

Of course, the results of the election of 11/8/16 were a real blow to the Fordams. It felt like a kick in the stomach. We focused on Zach on Wednesday night and had some Thai food to comfort ourselves. :(

Zach, tuckered out
from his first ear
infection

He's getting very close to walking, though a new interim step has been walking on his knees! He started taking multiple steps together around 11/20, and so he got his first shoes too! 

Climbing the stairs
and new shoes

I've recently started chasing him around his crib on a seat cushion, and he laughs and laughs, especially when we add in a game of peek-a-boo. We chose some of his wall decals and decorated his room together!

At home on the stair landing

Zach having so much fun at daycare!

And of course, his first birthday on Thanksgiving Day (11/24)! He enjoyed cake, presents, and multiple "Happy Birthday" serenades! Plus the entire country celebrated with gatherings! 

With presents

And cake

Vacation 2016 - Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina

Our first week+ adventure as a family of three. We got to see and spend time with lots of family along the way. THANK YOU!

See all of our pictures here and some below.

We aimed to stop every 2-3 hours for Zach, so our drives included wineries and breweries. With cool and blustery weather, we kicked off the week!

Zach having fun at Rockbridge Vineyard

As we drove in to Tennessee, we were treated to beautiful leaf color. The peak color continued into North Carolina!

Frank, Zach, and his apple at Sky Top Orchard

The weather turned unseasonably warm by Saturday. With temps 20 degrees above normal, it felt like a return to summer.

Frank, Zach, Susan at Sky Top Orchard

Because of the heat, we had cider slushies at the orchard, and two milkshakes from Quotations Cafe in Brevad. Yum.

Fall views, near Brevard, NC

After a run along the Davidson River, we took Zach for a Halloween hike. It was too hot for his costume!

Frank & Zach hiking

After stops at Sierra Nevada's facility in Fletcher, NC, and Blanahassett Park in Marshall, NC, to see my friend, Michelle, and her family, we made it back to Johnson City. Marney came to the house for dinner, and Zach enterained us all chowing down on Terri's gumbo!

Zach free standing (!) and Frank at Jim & Terri's

After fun watching Game 7 of the World Series, delicious tacos from the White Duck Taco Shop, and a visit to Parkway Brewing, we rounded out the vacation in Woodstock for Thursday - Saturday. Gamma and Daddy Bob babysat so that Frank and I got out for a hike.

Fall colors on the Little Stony Creek
Trail, Shenandoah County, VA

Notable Highlights

Notable Highlights Part 2

We met Mary Kay and Hance down on the Mall in late August, and Zach loved people watching!

Zach & Frank at the
Air & Space Museum

We all went to visit Gamma and Daddy Bob in Woodstock over Labor Day weekend and had a great time! Frank and I got out for a fun hike to Tibbett Knob in the George Washington National Forest. It was a beautiful day and a lovely view.

View from
Tibbett Knob

Got sick after Labor Day. We think Zach was sick and got us sick, but once again, we had it far worse! Gamma and Daddy Bob had to come and get him for an overnight because Frank and I were in such a bad way. It was so weird for him not to be with us when we were home! 

Terrible Mom &
Zach selfie

In September and October, we've had so many good walks to Lake Anne and the Lake Anne Brewery. We've gotten there as a family of three. I took Mom and Dad, and we met Emily, and we shared the adventure with Aliana, Evera, and Nathan. In those visits, I tried their coffee on nitro and delightful wares from a crepe food truck. We took Greer and Shane to Lake Anne and had the most lovely day for a walk and ate outside at the Thai restaurant. 

Lots of excursions to Leesburg and wine country: Vanish - just Frank and me; Bluemont with Mom and Dad and Frank and Zach; Breaux with Kathleen, Frank, and Zach; and the Winery at Lost Creek with Jeff, Frank, and Zach.

Emily and I had a great time celebrating her birthday at Le Diplomate in DC. It felt very indulgent!

Over Columbus Day weekend, we made our way to West Virginia. Though it was cloudy on Friday and rainy on Saturday, we had sunny days on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was really windy and in the 40s! The peak color did not disappoint.

Kathleen, Kate, Zach, Tristan, Frank,
& Susan and Canaan Valley

Susan, Zach, Frank
Cabin Mtn

Zach & Frank

Cabin Mountain hiking view

Met Jeff at the Vineyard at Lost Creek, and we all had a picnic lunch. It was a treat to feed Zach outside. There was no mess to clean up. We tried a hike a White's Ford Park. Zach got back in the hiking backpack. The breeze was lovely off the Potomac. The park, not very expansive.

Some good movies: Wildlike, The Wave, Blind Date. We enjoyed Stranger Things on Netflix and many other good series. 

Notable Highlights - Susan: I've enjoyed a bit of cooking, courtesy of the 100 Days of Real Food cookbook. I've made the granola and zucchini bread. Thanks, Yvette.