Thanksgiving 2007

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Florida, so we were able to enjoy warm weather!

Todd's always been a humble guy (seriously). When he told me he caught a fish, I said, "How big was it?" He said, "I could have put it in my pocket."

Zachary enjoyed the sand & "Unky" Dan's seashells.

On behalf of Mommy & baby Zacharina, Zachary was able to participate in the annual family football game. So cute!

Even though Grandpa threw out his back in the family football game, Zach was still begging to go for a piggy back ride - "Back...back..." he'd say...and Grandpa can't say no.

I had to include this funny picture of Zach eating Peanut Butter & Jelly. So funny.

Thanksgiving Fun

I'll have some Thanksgiving pictures on our blog soon, but Aunt Jen already has some good ones on hers. Check them out!

Mommy's view

...The best view in the house! Zachary has started sitting in a booster seat at the table with us and I love it! What's better than a yummy dinner with my two favorite people? I am very blessed!

Another transition

Number 2 on our list of things to do before Zacharina's arrival involves transitioning Zachary to a big boy bed (plus, he's 36 inches tall now and can climb out of his crib). So for the past month, we've had his mattress on the floor inside his bed frame (the poor man's toddler bed!). This has worked fantastically! He can climb in & out very easily and loves the autonomy. Sometimes he'll just walk around his room and fall asleep on the floor. (Don't worry grandparents - we put him back in his bed!) As usual, Zachary has handled this change very well. (Mommy, on the other hand...is kinda sad he's growing up so quickly!)

Handsome

Zachary was super handsome for church today. I had to chase him around to get a few pictures, but here are two (very lucky shots - even though I think his eyes are actually closed in the second one!).

"...is you pregnant?"

Most of you know that I work a few mornings every week as a counselor at an alternative high school. I love my job and especially love the kids. Today, one of my boys walked up to me and said, "Woman...is you pregnant?"
Now, I try to look for teachable moments with these kids while still respecting their uniqueness...and I quickly responded, "Did you just call me 'woman'?" To which he corrected himself and said, "Uh...oh yeah, Miss E., why you din't tell me you was pregnant?" And of course I apologetically told him that I guess I forgot to include him on my list of people to tell - can he ever forgive me? He got a good laugh out of my response and he quickly (and graciously - ha!) forgave me.
Anyway, I've recently had 3 long-distance friend/family requests for a mid-pregnancy picture of me (and all my round-bellied glory!). Much to my dismay, I'm posting this one. This picture is at 23 weeks - Zacharina is much smaller than Zachary was at this point. And I've been blessed with another mild pregnancy. Thank God.

Redneck Sandbox

We don't have a nice clean sandbox just yet, but who needs a classy sandbox when an old non-growing potted plant will suffice! Zachary had such a good time with this flower pot of dirt on the back porch. (And don't tell Grammy that mommy didn't realize he was wearing one of his new outfits during the mayhem! Since everything stayed dry, the clean up was easy.)

And, he did a fantastic job cleaning up his mess afterwards! (Some of the dirt he threw landed in the kitchen doorway.)

Just another bird

We have 2 small bird feeders on our deck, to attract birds for Zachary to watch. We've seen many neat birds - including cardinals, finches, chick-a-dees, blue birds and sparrows (you know, normal yard birds). Today, we've got a giant hawk. You can imagine our shock when we walked into the kitchen and saw this out the window! Todd said, "I don't know how I feel about having a giant hawk on our deck." I think I agree!

Dish Duty

Zachary has taken on a few more little chores as part of his routine. He has been very helpful with washing and drying the dishes and helps put things in the trash. It is so cute, because we can see that he truly takes pride in helping us!

New Snack Idea

Zachary has become quite creative with his snacks. This one made me laugh!

Finally!

On our list of things to do before baby Zacharina's arrival is to get Zachary going down the steps. Ever since he learned to go up the steps, he has refused to go down on his hands & knees (like most babies would), so it has been quite a challenge to teach him the "grown up" way to go downstairs. Anyway, this week, he has finally accomplished this goal!!

While painstakingly slow (mostly due to curiosity and frequent pit stops), he is very competent. Here he is getting a half-time pep talk from Daddy.

Notice the intensity in his face. I don't know where he gets that. Ha!

Halloween

Zachary had a good time this year for Halloween. We went to our church Fall Family Night, where he got to ride a pony!

He started off a little crooked...!

Look, only 1 hand on the saddle!

This was a good-sized inflatable for little ones...and Emma jumped with Zachary.

We took him to trick-or-treat at 1 house on our street. He walked right up...but I think it was more about seeing the dogs than getting the candy!

It's a Girl!!

Well, it's official! Zachary has a little sister! We are thrilled!! This very moment, Todd's upstairs giving Zachary a bath and I can hear him singing (perhaps subconsciously?) "Butterfly Kisses." I love it!! And at dinner, we talked with Zachary...who is now saying, "zister." Here are some pictures of our sweet girl. (Labeled for Grandpa, of course)