Zachary's First Cob

We put a pile of corn on Zach's plate for dinner last night, while the rest of us ate our corn-on-the-cob. Instead of plowing through his corn, as he usually does, he became very interested in what we had. So, we gave him his own cob. HE LOVED IT!

Baby Shower

My friend Heather hosted a perfect baby shower to honor Allie Marie. The food was fantastic and it was so fun to celebrate a little girl!

Mimi, Mommy & Grammy

Measuring Mommy's waist - 40 inches (whoa!)

SUPER cute girlie jeans!!

My fabulous sistas - Aunt Shell & Aunt Jen

Cultivating Self-Expression?

The other day, Zachary decided that his "hat for the day" would be a clean pair of his big-boy undies. Now, clearly, Todd & I have never modeled this particular behavior, and neither of us can recall having ever taught him how to do this. So, we're attributing it to his creativity and self-expression! He wandered around all morning in his PJs and his "hat," eating breakfast and everything. The only way I was able to get him to take them off his head (so that we could go out in public!) was a tricky maneuver while changing his clothes and distracting him with Raccoon.

Never a dull moment - I love this kid!!

Growing up

Zachary is really such a big boy now...Todd & I are always talking about how quickly he's grown. Every minute is so precious. These pictures really show how grown up he is. The 2nd picture is so funny - he's like, "Mom, seriously, no more pictures!"

Toddler Talk

So, Zachary is talking surprisingly well and actually uses a lot of simple sentences. He refers to himself as "Zachy" (which is so cute!). Often, he'll repeat the same sentence over & over (think Dustin Hoffman in "Rainman") until one of us starts a new conversation with him. Today, in the waiting room at the doctor's office, this was the sentence:

"Zachy's potty is pee-yew...Wac-coon's potty is pee-yew."
(and he included the pinching of the nose gesture with "pee-yew")

After 3 progressively louder repeats, I was giggling too hard to think of a diversion conversation. Thankfully, most people laughed (probably all moms!). I'm sure this is the first of many slightly embarrassing toddler-talk moments.

"Schno!"

Yes, we actually got "schno" (snow, in Zacharese) today! We've lived here for almost 8 years and haven't seen "schno." Zachary loved it (even after a fall that resulted in a complete face-in-the-snow landing...). He kept saying "schno" over & over ...& over!

We couldn't get his thumb correctly in place in the mittens...resulting in poor dexterity. We also bundled him up with too many layers...resulting in poor flexibility. Poor Zachary - When will Mommy & Daddy get it together?!

Seen...

Walking around the house this week, I've been seeing some funny reminders that we have a curious toddler living here. All of these pictures are the handiwork of Zachary himself (yes, even the TV plug-ins...!).

Little Friends

Zachary has started collecting his "little friends" and carrying them around with him everywhere. 'Mean old mommy' won't let him add anything to the nightly routine, so he's resorted to...

cuddling...

dancing...

and singing with them during awake time only. Of course, during one of Mommy's weak moments, Zachary conned her into bringing Raccoon to meals. While I'm pleased to see Zach's imagination flourishing as he helps "wac-oon eat," Raccoon is beginning to look (and smell!) really grubby.

Lickin' & Stickin'

My father-in-law (AKA: Grandad) always quotes his mother about children, as she would say, "They are discovering this world." I can't think of a better statement regarding these two pictures:

Why boys don't wear dresses

Here's how it started: Towards the end of the day, after 3 meals (and other messy ordeals), sometimes I will let Zach run around in his diaper. After all, we've gone through several outfits at that point, and bath time is near. Well, last week when the temperature was below 35, I wrapped him in this warm fleece blanket (with fringe along the edge!).

Of course, this was very inhibiting for a playful toddler. He kept fussing that his arms were trapped.

So I wrapped it around him (like a bath towel...not necessarily a dress). At first, he loved it!

He walked around (taking dainty steps, of course)...

But as he tried to maneuver himself with some of his toys, he started to get frustrated. No one was forcing him to keep the "blanket" on, he just really liked it...and wanted it to work (this is a familiar frustration for most dress-wearers).

I think the last straw was the bike-riding. And as all dress-wearers know, this is a difficult task.

Eventually, the warm fleece blanket came off. He was too frustrated to continue playing while wearing it. Todd was relieved that his son chose a free-moving playtime over a warm (fringe-decorated) blanket-dress.

"Zachary, we don't dance to Charles Schwab."

Wise words of wisdom from Daddy when Zachary was grooving & jiving to a half-time commercial jingle.

Congratulations!!

Uncle Jason & Meredith are engaged!! We are super excited to have Meredith joining the family!

Allie Marie

This picture is not as clear as the 20-week ultrasound for 1 reason. She's much bigger and therefore all crammed inside, making it more difficult to see the details. However, we are excited to see her little face! She's facing out (towards you) and her head/face is on the right side of the photo. You can see her closed eyes and her nose...but the cutest part is the little chubby cheek!! The doctor said she's almost 4 pounds already, to which she said is "a bit on the large side" for her gestational age...and we are measuring a full 1.5 weeks further along. We are still looking at the beginning of March for the due date. So far, everything is looking great!! Praise God. And yes, her name is Allie Marie!

Zach in the hat

Zachary likes to wear hats (and anything that can go on his head qualifies as a hat). He's finally grown into this St. Louis Cardinals hat that Todd loves. I had to post this picture - he just looks so darn cute!