Fly Boy Photos

My friend Connie did Zachary's 18-month photos. They turned out great! Click here to view the pictures (then click "View Slideshow" - top right). He is super cute!

Preschool Party

Zachary had his first preschool party this weekend. It was a costume party at a Jump Zone. The jumping in the inflatable things was a bit of a challenge for most of the children, but the costumes (and balloons!) were a big hit!

What a STUD!

Notice this "Princess-themed" inflatable. Grandad and Grandpa will be glad to know that once Zachary got up to the entrance, he turned around and wanted Daddy to take him down! Ha!

Zachary, the astronaut, doing some moon-walking! This was the most activity he enjoyed inside the inflatables. Once the older kids got in and started jumping around, he was ready to get out.

Todd took him down this slide twice and both times, it was hilarious (and mildly scary!).

Anxiously awaiting the balloon!

The best part of the day!

Daddy, the artist

Todd was showing Zachary how to use this new toy, and drew this picture for him. It's titled, "Our Family" - and pictured (left to right) Zachary, Mommy and Daddy. I love it!

Alone time

I love spying on Zach when he's playing by himself. He's so creative and just plain cute. The other day, he took all his stuffed animals out of their basket and climbed inside the basket with a few books. I guess that's a comfy place for some pleasure reading!

Mr. Giraffe

Zachary's newest thing is Mr. Giraffe. ("daffe" in Zacharese). It's bigger than him, but super soft. Zach will just roll all over the playroom with him. My favorite thing about "daffe" is that Zach has started pretending to share his drink with him. This is so cute and it's a little glimpse into the next stage of childhood imaginative play!

The Birds

So, last weekend, Grammy & Grandpa set up 2 bird feeders on our deck just outside the kitchen. After a few days, we began seeing quite a few birds. Here are some pictures of Zachary enjoying the first few birds that visited. His expressions are priceless! A couple of side notes - 1)There aren't any pictures of birds, because that's not as interesting as seeing Zachary's face watching the birds. 2) He's sitting in his high chair because when he stands at the door, he bangs it too loud and scares the birds. (plus, it was lunch time anyway!)

First Hair Cut

Some of you may be thinking, What? FIRST haircut? Yes, like his mother, Zachary has no hair. Every week, Todd asks me if Zachary has some kind of hair-growth disease. Anyway, we agreed that it was time for some hair-shaping (with secret hopes that this might make his hair actually look thicker!). Since there were very few hairs that actually got cut, we just completed the trim in the bathtub...and Zachary handled it very well!!

Grammy did the cutting - and she was awesome with all the slipping & sliding Zachary did! (Side note...how many of you knew that she is actually a licensed cosmetologist?!!)

Zachary even enjoyed some refreshments during the trim. (Is it bad that sometimes we let him drink his tepid bath water?)

This is the haircut half-way point. Notice the left side is looking shaggy now that the right side is trimmed? In the end, the haircut was a complete success, and yes, it actually looks like he has more hair now. He also looks older - which makes me sad!

Fall Fun

It's that time of year!! To celebrate, we headed to a pumpkin farm. Zachary got to pet a bunch of farm animals, play in the pumpkins, ride a cow train and a hay ride!! We also celebrated Grammy and Aunt Jen's birthdays. Zachary started calling some family members by their names (well, in Zacharese of course!).
Grandpa="paw-paw"
Grammy= "mimi-dah" (we can not figure out the literal translation of this one!!)
Aunt Shell="ahn-kul"
Aunt Jen="den"

Brushing his teeth while mommy put his new socks on!!

Favorite color

Zachary's favorite color is YELLOW! (pronounced "yelyow" in Zacharese) All of his coloring books have only yellow coloring in them. If you give him a choice of all the crayon colors, he always (seriously, every time) chooses "yelyow."

And, if you take the yellow crayon out of the stack, he says, "all gone?" and makes this gesture. But only if the yellow one is missing! Oh, and, coloring time is over if the yellow crayon is gone.

Happy Birthday Grammy!!

Today is Grammy's birthday! We hope you have a great day!

Animals (in Zacharese)

Zachary loves animals. He has learned a lot of them and their sounds. For some of them, he will say the sound they make instead of their name! Here's the list as of now:

"...g" = dog
"mew" or "ke-kat" = cat or kitty cat
"mous" = mouse
"mous" = panda bear (he thinks they are mice!)
"raarrr" = lion
"raarrr" = tiger
"awl-gay" = alligator
"ow-pant" = elephant
"daffe" = giraffe
"baaa" = sheep
"ee-ppo" = hippo (my favorite)
"dino" = dinosaur
"ibbit" = frog
"kak-kak" = duck
"mmmmm" = cow
"deer" = deer
"sssss" = snake
"zzzeba" = zebra
"oowl" = owl
"pfish" = fish
"onk onk" = pig
"bak bak" = chicken
"oo-oo-ah-ah" = monkey
"bzzzz" = bumble bee
"raarr" = bear

Being silly with Uncle Jas

Uncle Jas (pronounced "jayce") stopped by for a short visit. Zachary had the best time being silly with him!

Covert Operations

Zachary's one of those kids who's always making noise. I can be in one room while he's across the house and know that he's alright because I can hear all his noises. If it gets quiet, I know he's doing something mischievous. He's started what we're calling "covert operations." He'll hide somewhere (usually under a table or something like that) and the house gets really quiet. I'll walk around looking for him and he'll just sit in his hiding spot, patiently waiting to surprise me. Once I find him (and pretend to be absolutely shocked, of course!), he laughs and laughs. I love it!

Little Prayers

Zachary has started saying his prayers at meals. His preschool teacher made that one of the goals for her class, and she is so consistent that he has already made it a habit. It's so sweet...even when Todd & I forget, Zachary will sit there with his hands folded.