Happy Birthday Zachary Michael Counts

Not too many people (other than Germans) get to say they celebrated their 1st birthday in Germany, but lucky Zach does. It was a very busy day for him. It started in the morning with Mom and Dad both going into Zach’s room to get him out of bed, singing to him in English, then Dutch. He was SO happy to be sung to, and looked like a little dolphin flopping around in his crib. Then off to breakfast in his decorated highchair (a Counts tradition that you get your chair decorated on your birthday). He was of course enamored with the balloons on the wall and light. Z got his birthday hat and noisemaker and was ready to start the day. He did not get any presents in the morning, b/c we were saving that for when his Nana arrived later that morning. Art went off to work and Zach and I went to the airport to collect Nana. Zach got to show off his new walking skills. It was naptime when we returned from the airport, so his party had to wait. Art came home once Zach woke from his nap and we all had lunch together. He opened some of his presents and cards during lunch, saving the rest for after dinner. He played with his new stuff until nap time. Then dinner, and the big party. He got to have “cake” for the first time; more like a cheesecake that is mine and Art’s favorite dessert from our local market (Nah & Frisch). Zach wasn’t thrilled with it at first, and was willing to take bites from the spoon. Then he preferred to smash it all over his tray, until he tasted his fingers and realized that it is SUPER LEKKER (or lecker for you Dutchies, and good for you Americans). Then he proceeded to scrape it all off his tray and into his mouth…which of course was VERY CLEAN!  Then Zach got a special treat of riding on his new “fire truck” all the way to the Nah & Frisch to share some chocolate chip cake w/ the workers at the N&F, since they are so integral in his life. Mohammed ran off and came back w/ a present for Zach (small stuffed dog), and a present for us (a hand carved jewelry box from his home in Iran). He also received some baby shampoo from another worker (brother of Mohammed), and of course his obligatory banana-gratis (free). Zach was enthralled with the grapefruits that evening, and Mohammed put him in the empty produce section to play w/ them. After his outing to the market, we went back home for more present opening until he lost interest and wanted his new stuff only. We had to extend the party to June 1st for him to get through everything. It was a very happy day for all of us. So hard to believe that little Zachary is a year old…we survived a year as parents. We will take his picture of him in a Holland football (soccer) jersey tomorrow. This will be the first of what we hope will be a yearly tradition, tracking his growth on his birthday using a football jersey. (laugh if you must, but I saw this in a magazine and thought it was so neat – of course the daughter in the article was looking pretty irritated on her 13-16th birthdays, but happy in all the others, up to 18).

Zach's New Transportation

Zach has recently acquired new transportation here in Düsseldorf. First, he has finally gotten too big for the snugglie. It is a shame, because it is such an easy thing to pack and to have “just in case”. Alas, we purchased a backpack for Zach, which will not be so easy to use spur of the moment.

A couple from church has a daughter that is about 4 months younger than Zach. We were complaining about how “walking” with Zach hurts your back, b/c of all the leaning over. So they nicely let us use their IKEA baby walker (push toy) until their daughter is ready for it. Now Zach is able to zoom himself all over the apartment.

Last weekend we went to a baby thrift market. They have one twice a month where people set up booths and tables selling their wares. We saw this exact same “fire truck” for 11 euro, then 8 euro, then we finally got one for 4 euro. Beat up and ugly, but Zach still adores it. When he gets a little bigger, we can tie a rope to the front and pull him.

Dexter loves his Daddy

Dexter is definitely a "man" cat, meaning he seems to have a lot more love for males than females. Even while Liz and Jerod were here, Dexter would get cuddly with Jerod. So here are some picts of Dexter loving on Art, which is a daily occurance. I also get some loving, but not quite as forceful.

Zach's Silly Ways

This blog entry is mainly to capture many of the silly/fun things that Zach does right now, so that we won’t forget them.

Slanty Eyes: Zach has recently been squinting at us when trying to decide what emotion to show. Sometimes the slanty eye proceeds a scream, sometimes a smile. He seems to be contemplating the situation before committing to an action. We think it is very funny!

Head Shaking: Z now appears to be copying Mom. He has discovered that he can shake his head “No”, which Mom does a LOT to him. So now he does it back. At first it was for everything, just practicing, but it now appears he gets that it means “no” and will use it when he is done eating, or he does not want to take a nap.

Dad’s home: Zach is a BIG FAN of his Dad. When Art gets home, Z hears the door close and immediately stops what he is doing (even if it is playing w/ mom), and crawls his little heart out to meet Art. Then, he is very possessive of Dad. If I try to give a group hug, he pushes me away. If I try to get too close to Art, he pushes me away. It is very silly. Luckily I don’t mind, b/c I get PLENTY of Zach preference time. He gets over his “daddy fix” after 10-20 minutes and is equal opportunity again.

Paci addiction: As many of you know, Zach has attached himself to his pacifier as his “lovey” (security item). He loves it and must know where it is at all times. Yes, we do realize that he may be TOO attached to it, but it is not a battle we are willing to fight yet. So, we have started putting 2 spare pacifiers in his crib at night, in case he loses his, he can find another w/out us having to get up and help him. And he loves them all. One morning I walked in to get him out of bed and he had one paci in his mouth and one in each hand, in 7th heaven! So silly! Though, as the picture shows, he IS willing to share.

Paci quick suck: Another silly thing with his pacifier just started. In the morning only, with breakfast, Zach likes to have his paci nearby while he is eating. He will periodically put it in his mouth for a quick suck between bites of banana or yogurt. Sometimes he just sticks it in for a moment, and does not even suck it before he is ready for more food. So odd. Art loves this, and insists we keep the paci nearby for this purpose.

Swallowing: Another food related trait Zach has is shoveling food. We have to monitor how much we put on his tray to feed himself, b/c he likes to put all the pieces in his mouth at once, with out swallowing first. So he ends up with a mouth full that he is struggling to chew. Then, for some odd reason, he will try to swallow the entire lot at once, before it is properly chewed, while making a very pained expression. He just can’t wait for the next round of food, so he swallows to quickly. You would think the pain would teach him not to, but alas, he has not learned. He is a food wolfer.

Stairs: You would think that Zachary has been watching old documentaries of German military w/ their odd marching (w/ the legs going out straight in front of them), for that is how Z walks up stairs. He walks (with the assistance of mom or dad) up to the step, then, from too far back, sticks his let straight out in front of him, getting it on the step, then straight-legged, pulling himself up on the step. It is very fun to watch. He will be in for a big surprise if he tries that alone.

Mr. Potato Head: One of Z’s favorite toys right now is the nose from Mr. Potato Head (thanks to Stephanie Hampton for getting that for Art’s birthday back in 1997). He carries it around with him everywhere. Most of his toys he will give to you if you ask nicely for them, but he is reluctant to give up that red nose.

5.1 May Day

Thanks to the socialist labor laws, May 1st is “May Day” here in Germany. It is a paid holiday, much like our own Labor Day, to honor the workers. Unlike holidays in America, here, on a holiday, it is like a Sunday where all the shops are closed and only restaurants are open.

So for the day off, Team Counts Düsseldorf (minus poor Dexi) took the train to Aachen, Germany. One of Art’s coworkers and his wife live there. They have been to our apartment twice, so we decided to go visit them and let them show us around Aachen. It is a very cute little down. It has these cool gates to the city from way back when it needed protection. We had lunch outside at a place that had ENGLISH MENUS, which is exciting for me. Art got a typical German meal, and took a picture of it. Aachen has many fountains all throughout the city; they even have fountains in the sidewalks for the dogs to drink from. We stopped and looked at a few of them, including one that was like a whirlpool that showed all aspects of the exchange of money (including corruption). Then there was another one, which had all moving parts that you could mess with, with water coming out of many of them. They also have some famous mineral water area where you can soak, but also have the water coming out of fountains for you to drink. It smelled awful, but we gave it a try. I thought it tasted like egg whites. Art was too grossed out to know what it tasted like. He was not expecting it to be warm either. Still, it’s not the best to drink warm water that tastes like eggs. Then we visited an old cathedral, which is pretty famous for Germany. Christof told us the legend behind it. Short version is that the townspeople were building it and ran out of $, so the devil said he would give them the money if he could have the soul of the first one to enter the church after it was done. Unfortunately for the Devil, a wolf was the first one to enter, and the Devil was so angry he ripped the heart out of the wolf, leaving a hole. Then I started to zone out a bit and missed some of the legend, but there is a statue in the foyer of a wolf w/ a hole in the middle where the heart & soul were taken. There is another legend involving the Devil explaining why Aachen has a large, random hill on the outskirts. Short story, the Devil, being angry about the wolf thing, got a huge pile of sand and was going to bury Aachen. He asked a poor woman outside the city how much farther to Aachen, and she, sensing he was the Devil, told him that her old battered shoes were new that morning when she left Aachen, that’s how far she had traveled. The Devil, being frustrated dumped the sand and left it there, and the old woman saved the city. Anyway the cathedral is pretty famous for it’s history –Charlemagne not only built it, but is buried there, and all the German kings had their corronations there, not just the odd legends. Then we went off to have ice creams at an ice cream café. They were wonderful of course, as most exotic ice creams are. By then it was around 4pm, and we were beat, so the three of us hopped the train back home in time for dinner. It was a nice holiday. I felt I needed a vacation from Art’s vacation day!