12 Months

Zachary is ONE!

Man that year flew by fast!

He has 5 teeth and 1 about to poke through.  He weighs 21lbs and is 29" long.

His favorite foods are bananas, noodles, and blueberries. 

He can say "mama", "dada", "dog", "pepper", "hi" and "bye". 

He likes to mimic you and play games with you.  One game he likes to play is putting a hat on your head and then putting it on himself. He also likes to put an object in the hat and shake it until it jumps out.  He's starting to dance and wiggle some when music is turned on. He received a basketball goal for his birthday and love its;  he tried to climb on it the other day though.  He also got a little walker/bike.  He was so excited about his new found freedom he had using it to walk around the house. 

He's so much more aware of his surroundings and understands patterns.  For example, every day when I pick him up from daycare he starts saying "Dehdah" (pepper) over and over again.  When we get home, we open the back down and he leans out, saying her name and waving.  We watch Pepper run around the hard and Zachary gets a big kick out of watching her.

Intently watching Pepper eat an ice cube.

He is transitioning from the infant room to the toddler room at daycare and will be in the toddler room full time sometime soon.  So far, he's handling the transition well.  It's been a little toucgh some days because his little friend from the infant room is a month younger and is not transitioning at the same time. So, Zach is learning how to play, interact, and make friends with the bigger kids and sometimes the big kids don't understand how to play nice.  We are also haveing to transition to a different nap schedule and eating big kid table food while at daycare.  Yeah…lots of changes, but he's handling them well.  I on the other hand, wish I could be with him all day long to fully understand what his day is like.

Zach and I have also reached our  goal of breastfeeding for one year.  Yeah for us!  We are still nursing when we are together, and I really have no idea when we will stop.  

11 months one week late

We were on vacation when Zach turned 11 months old and then he was  a very tired baby in the evenings during the week, so we took these picutres a few days late and I finally have a moment to post them

Mister Zachary is one seriously mobile baby.  He crawls everywhere and can go quite fast if he's excited about something.  He is getting very good at walking while holding onto things as well.  He can go all the way around the coffee table and transfer from that to the couch with ease.  He can also go all around the kitchen while holding onto the cabinet doors.  This new found ability to 'walk' has also made him realize that the kitchen cabinet doors are really fun to open and close.  He likes playing with the tupperware and pantry (pasta, crackers, potatoes) cabinets.  I don't mind that he gets into those becuase it's not breakable stuff.  However, now a majority of the cabinets have been temporarily baby proofed with rubber bands. It was getting a bit stressful trying to start dinner and also keep an eye on him or keep a door shut with my foot!

I'm glad I finally got a picture of Zach sitting like this.  I think it's so cute. 

In other exciting news, Zachary is cutting 4 teeth at once!  One bottom front tooth and one top 'vampire' tooth are poking through.  The other two of the same description are on the cusp of breaking through as well.  He's not really drooling and doesn't seem to be in much pain from it so that's good.  We have broken out the orajel a few times, but it gets on his lips more than his gums so I don't think it did much good anyway. 

Zachary has also learned to wave.  Never on command though :) It's way cute seeing him wave hi to Lanita (the daycare worker) and wave bye to his friends when I pick him up. Speaking of friends, he has a buddy named Will at daycare.  I've been told that they are best buds!  They follow eachother around everyone and are always in front of their classroom door causing trouble.  The director had to make a "Caution: babies crawling" sign on the door so that whenver someone opened it, they would do so carefully so as not to hit one of them. 

I think I said a few months ago that Zach didn't mind having his diaper changed or clothes changed and he was super calm about it every time.  Well, that is no longer the case.  Every time he is laid down to be changed he fusses and tries to roll over.  Then you have to grab his arm to keep him from rolling over and try to put a diaper on the same time all the while he is letting you know that he does not appreciate it at all!  Needless to say, I'm always asking for help to change him. I have no idea how they manage diaper changes at daycare…maybe it's a two person job there as well.

Zachary went on his first plane ride to Tucson this month as well.  He did great!  He was awake and happy on the way there and slept on both flights on the way home.  I have the perfect child!

We can't wait to see what you learn this month and are looking forward to celebrating your first birthday in just a few short weeks. Man, that really does go by fast!

10 Months

This child of mine is now mobile.  It happened literally over the weekend when he was 9.5 months old.  One day he was up on his knees, the next day he crawled just a few paces and then the following day he was full on cruising everywhere.

I think babies are wired to crawl and get into everything they are not supposed to.  Of all the cabinet doors in the kitchen he could get into (the one with all the tupperware would be great for him to play with), Zach chooses to go straight to under the sink…every. single. time.  He also prefers to play with my hair dryer and iron cords whether they are plugged in or not.  I'm going to have to find another solution for that.  He also likes to play with the doggie door.  He hasn't crawled throught it yet, but he could very easily put two hands on it and come crashing down. He's also discovered Pepper's water bowl, as I found him playing in it multiple times today.

This month he also has learned to pull up and stand with ease and will do this with anything within reach.  He also learned to clap.  One night at dinner, he just did it out of nowhere and got a huge kick out of himself.

Zachary will still eat pureed baby food for the most part, but has also really mastered putting small bits of food into his mouth like a champ.  He'll start to get fussy at dinner, but you give him some "real" food and he's good again.

He's a sweet kid and we are starting to see his personality emerge.  He has a great sense of humor, loves to grin and flirt, and can really voice some strong opinions.

Two months to go until you're ONE!  I love watching you grow up and discover new things and venture out on your own, but please don't forget that your Mommy loves to hold you, stroke your hair, and hold your hand, so please remember to turn around and come back to me so I can cuddle you for a little while.

Well..he's up from his nap.  Gotta Go!

Nine Months

Happy 9 months Zachary!

At his nine month appointment Zachary's stats are:

Weight: 19lbs 10oz (36%)

Height: 28 1/2 inches (60%)

Head: 46" (71%)

He is starting to get more and more mobile.  He doesn't offically crawl, but he will rock on his knees and sort of scoot himself forward or backward.   If he really wants to, he can definately roll and scoot himself around an entire room.  I'm counting my blessing though that I don't have a mobile child just yet.   This means he's still my little baby!

We are trying out new foods here and there aside from the pureed baby food. He likes the prune/apple variety, who would have thought! He's had pancakes, couscous (which he was quite perplexed by because it just got everywhere and stuck to his hands and he couldn't figure out how to eat it), strawberries, black beans, rice, scrambled egg, and tonight he may have had a few bites of cupcake and icing!  We still have no teeth, so even though he's pretty good about squishing the food around in his mouth, baby food is just the easiet route right now.

We are fairly certain Zach can say "Mama".  I take that back..we are positive that he can.  He's a serious mama's boy.  It's really sweet though, at night when Stephen is getting him ready for bed,  and holding him until I'm ready to take over, Zach will lean over and reach out with his arms and just say "mama" over and over again.  Sorry Stephen, you just don't have the goods like I do!

He's really like standing up and pulling himself up.  This picture was staged, I stood him up there.  However he can easiely pull himself up to his knees by the chair or coffee table.

We love you Zachy boy!

Eight Months

 We have offically entered the stage where these pictures are getting a little bit harder to take because he messes with the chalkboard!

Zachary is now eight months old and weighs about 20 lbs.  We are quickly outgrowing clothes! He loves rolling over, especially at changing time.  He's discovered his feet and loves to grab them and try to suck on his toes. He laughs when you tickle him or make a funny noise or tell him 'no' when he grabs for his glasses or your own. He'll also laugh when Pepper licks his face.

He can't crawl yet, but can scoot backwards and in a circle really well.  He loves to stand and bang on the coffee table.  Maybe he just wants to skip the crawling stage…we shall see. 

As you can see, he got glasses this month.  I think he's rediscovering the world all over again becuase he can see it now!

July 4th 2015

We went to our first Edmond Liberty Fest parade as a family today to celebrate the 4th of July. We dressed up in our best holiday gear (plus OSU chairs) and found a shady spot on a grassy knoll overlooking the parade route.

Zachary and Stephen await the festivities.

Megan got inspired this week and completed a successful art project with Zachary. We placed his blue-paint handprint on a white t-shirt, and added red stripes to complete the patriotic theme. Rounding out the ensemble are some new blue shorts (on the cheap from a consignment store, of course).

Megan shows of "hand"-made American Flag shirt, modeled by our first born.

The parade opened with George Washington carrying the original 13-star American Flag followed by the Army National Guard band and a giant flag carried along by hundreds of local Boy Scouts. The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Disabled American Veterans, and Blue Star Mothers of America are next in line and all receive standing ovations. They open this way every year, but it still chokes you up to see them all pass by and receive just a small bit of the full amount of praise they deserve.

Family photo op.

Zachary almost made it to the end, but couldn't quite fall asleep with the humidity and the fire engine horns. So we called it quits and got naps. It was a great day with the family. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Plus Pepper.

That hat is so cool.

Red, white and cute.

Fathers Day 2015

We didn't do anything too crazy for Fathers Day.  I'm not one to make a big hoopla out of these holidays, so we just got a few chores done and then spent some time together as a family (with grandparents) at the pool.

We went to church and the guys were just too handsome looking to not take their picture.

Being a father suits Stephen really well.  He loves getting Zach to smile and laugh and is patiently waiting for him to get bigger so he can run around, wrestle with, and generally do boy things together. 

Zach and I really appreciate everything that you do for us. Thank you for helping me to walk and sit, and pretty much do anything, that first week after giving birth.  Even though I did it naturally, my body was wiped out and useless.  Thanks for taking care of me and changing all the diapers that first week, and for helping us learn how to nurse and being a great encourager through all of it, even now.  Thank you for taking on the duty of washing the bottles and getting the milk ready for the next day of 'school'. It's a huge help while I'm calming a fussy baby. Thank you for putting the diaper bag, milk bottles, and pump bag in the car every morning on your way out the door.  It's a small gesture, but a huge weight off my shoulders.  Thank you for being the best supporter during this breastfeeding journey. It's an easy thing to do, yet so hard at the same time. Thank you for wanting to stay awake in the middle of the night with me while I nurse Zach so I'm not alone or the only one tired the next day.

Zachary loves you and I love you.  You're the best Dad we could have asked for!

 And a happy Fathers day to my Dad, too!  He's such a great baby whipserer right when you need him to be.  He's also a great help with  Pepper, taking her on walks, etc. 

Zachary loves to splash around in the bath, and I thought the pool would get the same reaction out of him.  Not so much.  Of the two times we've got he kind of just chills out and doesn't move or give any expression at all.  That's okay, it's still fun!

That one time there was a copperhead snake in the road and Stephen made me stand next to it for a picture.

 

Beard Evolution

Stephen will probably hate me for putting this on the interweb..but who cares.

A few weeks ago, Stephen's job had a week of fundraising to raise money for the local food bank.  It was big deal and every department was competing to raise the most money.  I get a call one day that he wants to raise $250 to shave his beard into weird styles.  I was hesistant to give the okay because I had really grown accustomed to it and would also now have to wait for it to grow back so we could do family photos.

As you can see…is department raised the money.  Which I still don't think was enough to warrant putting Stephen through this torture, but it was funny and fun nonetheless! I also gave in because he assured me it would grow back in like two weeks so we could do pictures.  He was right. 

Friendly Mutton Chops

The Winnfield

Fu Man Chu

The Magician

Copstache

Sausage

About a month ago, we made a very impromptu trip up to Nebraska to make sausage for the upcoming family reunion.  This was Zachary's second long road trip and he did a great job!

My aunt Mary Alice and Uncle Dave hosted us for the weekend.  We had some delicious french croissants for breakfast one day.  They were so buttery and awesome!

The boys and MAL made 60lbs of mild and hot italian sausage.  The best part of the whole thing was taste testing it along the way!

We also stopped over to see my Grandparents and aunt Debbie.  We had Grandma's meatloaf for dinner…which I don't think I had ever had before.  It was quite good.

Everyone doted on the little man and commented how smart of a baby he was.  It was cute and we were glad we were able to stop by and say hello.

Great Grandpa's beard really fascinated Zach.

Seven Months

Finally! I was able to take these pictures last friday…so if we want to get technical, he was 7 months and 1 week old. Lol.

I've got to make this quick though since Zachary is currently napping and  I  fear he might wake up soon because he's been asleep almost 2 hours which NEVER happens.

- Zachary can now sit on his own with ease and I don't have to worry about him toppling over.  It still happens occasionally though, so we put a pillow behind him to catch his fall.  Falling back onto a hard wood floor is no bueno!

- He moved up to size 3 diapers and weighs probably about 18 lbs.

- I just learned from the daycare teachers that Zach feeds himself is own bottle now! They lay him on the boppy pillow and he grabs it from them and just goes to town. I should ask for a picture of it sometime.

- Zach constantly rolls from his back to tummy and just hangs out there.  He can scoot himself around, too so I wonder when he'll start going backwards or start crawling.  I better get in the habit of keeping my floors clean now.

- He loves to give himself kisses in the mirror and also reaches out for me to hold him.  It's so cute.

- He's a big fan of eating purees and loves peaches.  He's had sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, pears, applesauce, peaches, and carrots. He's also had the tiniest piece of a donut and chocolate chip cookie and seriously vocalized that he wanted more…not yet buddy!

- He's been to the pool once and seemed to enjoy it.  He just sat all chill and relaxed in his floaty.

- He's becoming more and more aware of Pepper and will reach out to pet her on occasion…but mostly just gets licked by her.

- He loves to stand up as well and jump around in his amazon exersaucer.

 

Zach currently takes two, sometimes three, naps a day and goes to bed between 730 and 8.  I am still pumping breastmilk for him during the day and nursing him when we are together.  I plan on continuing this until he's a year old or maybe even a year and half  if it's still working out for us.

This little boy is growing up fast and we are loving seeing his personality emerge