Two New Teeth!

So I haven't written in awhile because I have been wanting to blog things in the order they have happened. I have Zach's birthday party and snow day pictures still to upload and write about but tonight was very exciting and I have to share. I was at home with Zachary today and it has been a wonderful day! He is so much fun to be around. I was putting him in his pajamas tonight and I noticed both his front top teeth have cut through together at the same time. He now has four teeth!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY ZACHARY!!!!

On February 27th, our little guy turned one! Ryan and I can hardly believe the tiny little baby we brought home from the hospital is now a toddler. This is a bittersweet time for me. I am sad that my baby is no longer a baby as he becomes more of a little boy each day. However, I LOVE this stage he is at now. He is so much fun! He has perfected pulling up in his crib and each morning when I come in, there he is standing and waiting for me. Before he is ready for us to come get him, he has gotten in the habit of emptying his crib of everything. He throws all his pacifiers and blankets out into the middle of the room. When I come into get him I have to pass through a paci land mine to reach him. I am not sure quite why he does this but it affords Ryan and I an extra 15 minutes of sleep on the weekends, so I am not complaining! Georgia continues to be his favorite and he smiles every time she comes into the room. The most exciting thing is that on his birthday weekend, he began walking!!!!! He has been getting pretty close for a couple of weeks now. It is the cutest walk. To remain balanced he has to leave his arms out, so he walks a bit like Frankenstein at this point. He still uses the scoot for times he wants to get somewhere quickly, but I am sure it is just a matter of time until the scoot is gone for good. He is such a sweet and happy baby and Ryan and I can't believe how lucky we are. He continues to test us in a variety of ways, usually with throwing food, and we continue to try to be consistent. In fact, I have begun saying "no" so often that he often goes around shaking his head back and forth in imitation of me. We had a huge party for him this past weekend which I will write about and post pictures from later.

Solid Food

We finally did it! We have moved Zach to solid foods. I have been so worried to introduce him to table food for fear of him choking. When we went to Atlanta to visit my family, my dad took over and began feeding Zach table food at every meal. Zach loved it! You could tell he was wondering what took us so long. He has wanted nothing to do with baby food since. His favorites are chicken and pancakes - although not together of course. Georgia is also excited about this new development. Zach and Georgia are even closer now that they have food to bond over. She likes the scraps and he loves to lean over the high chair and watch her eat the food he drops. I have included pictures from one of his first eating experiences.

10 Months!

Zachary turned 10 months old a few days after Christmas. He has changed so much. He doesn't seem like our little baby anymore. He is now a constantly moving and babbling toddler. He is pulling up on everything all the time. This pulling up began when we went to visit my family in Atlanta, but since we have come home - he has perfected it and does it nonstop. He learned how to pull up in the crib so we had to move the mattress down. It is very cute to walk in his room and see little eyes peeking at me over the crib rail. He now has 2 teeth! He is just like his mom and loves to have his teeth brushed. He talks non stop, also like his mommy! He says "Georgia" a lot, which is the name of our dog. He adores Georgia and she is equally interested in him, especially since he has proven to be a pretty reliable source of food. The cats on the other hand are not enjoying Zachary since he has become mobile. We often find him scooting along behind a cat who is trying to find a safe place to nap. Zoe has begun to stand her ground and is letting Zachary know who is boss with a few swats and nips in his direction. Ryan and I are learning that Zach runs our household and that we need to start setting limits and addressing behavior issues. That hasn't been going as well since Zach finds the word "no" entertaining and often a reason to continue with whatever behavior we are trying to stop. Consistency is our biggest weakness at this point and something we are working on. However, 10 months is proving to be a fun age and we continue to love him more and more each day!

ER Zach

It is the beginning of our winter break and it has not started off too well. On Friday, we found out Zachary has RSV. I contacted every young mother I knew and pumped them for information about what it was like when their child had RSV. Everyone was pretty comforting and I felt good that we would just be in for a week of coughing and fever. Unfortantly, things didn't go that way. Friday night Zach was breathing rapidly and heavily so we called the after hours number for his doctor. After trying several things and none of them working, we were told to take him to the ER. We were under the impression we would breeze in and get a quick breathing treatment and be on our way home. That was not what happened at all! When we got to the back, he was evaluated. He had a very high fever and was found to have an ear infection on top of RSV. The doctor wanted chest x rays to make sure it was just RSV. Poor Zach - he was put in this terrible contraption to get a clear x ray. After that he was subjected to a shot for the ear infection and a breathing treatment. Ryan and I felt terrible for everything he had to go through. After all that, he was hooked up to a montior so we could keep an eye on his heart rate and oxygen levels. His heart rate was elevated but we were told this was due to his fever. His oxygen levels weren't too good but they sent us home with a variety of medicines to help with the ear infection and breathing. It has been an extremely stressful weekend for us all. My poor father has had to deal with constant phone calls and questions. However it has been really nice to have an expert a phone call away for all my many questions and concerns. The only slightly amusing thing is that being typical first parents, Ryan and I documented the visit with pictures. I guess it is true what they say about first time parents taking pictures of everything! Zach is doing well and I am hoping we will be done with this soon. We are amazed at how well he is taking this all. We were told he would be cranky and he has been a joy to be with. He smiles and laughs and plays like nothing is wrong. Ryan and I feel so blessed to have such a good natured child.

Santa!

We took Zach to see Santa for the first time this weekend. Zachary did not enjoy the visit whatsoever. We waited in line for awhile and Zach was in a great mood the entire time. Even as we got closer, he seemed fine, just a little curious. But then it was our turn and the hand off took place. The minute Zach left Ryan's arms into Santa's, he lost it. I managed to get a couple pictures before Santa was done and ready to be rid of the screaming baby. Zachary recovered fairly quickly once he was returned to us. I guess there is always one year with Santa where your child cries and screams in fear. As my father would say, it is all part of the experience.

New tricks and teeth!

Zach turned 9 months old on Thanksgiving and this month is proving to be an exciting one for us. He is learning so much each day and I am in complete awe of how fast he picks things up. He now gestures to things quite often by extending his arm and fist, saying "ah da", and then looking to us to see what we say. He wants to know what everything is, using gestures and "ah da" all the time.
His other new trick is "Where's Zachary?" I have only played "Where's Mommy?" and "Where's Zachary?" with him and a blanket a handful of times. He caught onto "Where's Mommy?" right away, pulling the blanket from my face and giggling each time. I moved onto "Where's Zachary?" The other night he was fussing in the car so I climbed into the back and tried distracting him for the rest of the trip. One approach I used was this game. We played a few times and then I put the blanket down for a break. Before I know it, he grabs the blanket, covers his face, and begins to giggle. I realize he has learned how to lead the game and is waiting for me to ask him "Where's Zachary?" Sure enough, the minute I ask, he throws the blanket off his face laughing wildly. He did it again and again. I can't believe he picked the game up that quickly. To see if he really understands the game, I handed him a blanket the next day and asked "Where's Zachary?" He giggled and covered his face right away. Again, I am in total awe to see him learn and apply these new things.
In other exciting news, his first tooth made it through his gums and is now showing! After months of drooling and chewing constantly, we finally have something to show for it!

Thanksgiving

I am a little behind posting our Thanksgiving. We had a very good time. We went to Ryan's side this year. Zach got to see family he doesn't get to see very often. He showed off his scoot to everyone. He even ate turkey and sweet potato baby food in honor of the holiday!

Zach scoots!

Zach is now mobile in his own little way. We thought everyone would like to see the scoot in action. Enjoy!

5 Years!

This weekend Ryan and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! When we first got married, we would talk about where we wanted to be in 5 years. We have reached the 5 year mark having reached the goals we set back then. We wanted to be in a house. We are now in our second house since getting married. We also wanted to start a family in the first five years of marriage. Having Zachary just 9 short months ago, we have also reached that goal. We have spent the weekend being extremely thankful for all we have and all we have shared. We are very lucky and we hope our future years will provide us with as much happiness as we currently have.

Adventures in Mobility

So Zach has perfected his scoot (I have never seen an individual so determined NOT to crawl) and is officially mobile. He has found every dust bunny and electrical cord in the house. Ryan and I now understand why everyone warned us about babies being mobile. Usually Ryan puts Zach in his carrier or the high chair in the mornings while he packs everything up for work and daycare. The other day Ryan decided to let Zach play on the floor while he packed up. Zachary scooted around for awhile and when reaching for a toy tipped forward onto his stomach. Horrified at being in the semi crawling position, he started crying right away. Being on his stomach and getting so upset caused him to spit up all over himself. So Ryan stopped what he was doing to go over and sit Zach back up and clean up his outfit. Now running slightly behind schedule, Ryan goes back to packing things up. Zach scoots over to our (extremely lightweight) water bowl for the dog and proceeds to pour the entire thing all over himself! Surprised and delighted by the experience Zach starts patting the water and moving around in it, leaving trails of water behind him. Ryan has to stop again and clean all the water off our floor, take Zach upstairs, and put new clothes and diaper on him for daycare, now running way behind schedule. Needless to say Zach has been relegated back to his carrier while Ryan packs up in the mornings!

Swinging away sickness

Ryan, Zach, and I have all been pretty sick this last week. Ryan and I are finally starting to feel a little better today which is of course about the time Zach starts running a fever. We were so sick we missed Halloween which we were pretty disappointed about. By 7:15, we were all in bed. Today all we have done is lay around. Zach has slept almost the entire day. We opened all the windows because it is such a warm beautiful day outside and in hopes of getting our sick germs out of this house. By afternoon Ryan and I began to get stir crazy. I was beginning to feel like I will never leave this house or my pjs. Ryan decided he was going to water the plants and go to Lowes. However after watering plants, he was so exhausted he came back inside to the couch - too much to soon I guess. After awhile we decided we were tired of being tired, tired of being sick, and tired of being in this house. Since it is so warm outside we decided a small slow walk to the playground would be good for all of us. We walked to the playground and I decided to sit Zach on my lap and swing gently. This was really his first experience with swings, other than his infant swing he abandoned long ago. He loved it! He has been fussy all day, but when he was on the swing he was smiling and laughing. It was such a nice change for us all. Even though I was holding him, he insisted on holding onto one of the swing chains. He would take a deep breath in when we would go a little faster. Then he would smile and let out a little giggle. It was so cute and enjoyable. Now we are back at home and of course Ryan and I are laying on the couch and Zach is back asleep in the crib. Even if it did wear us out, it was completely worth it.

8 Months Old!

Zach turns 8 months old tomorrow! I can hardly believe it. He is a lot of fun right now. He is always in a good mood and only fusses if he is tired or hungry. Unfortunately he spends much of his time sick. He keeps picking up things from daycare. His hair has come back in so he no longer has random patches of hair. He isn't crawling although he has figured out how to move by sliding around on his bottom. He hates being in the crawling position and it looks like he will skip that step altogether. He is interested in pulling up and moving. He just hasn't figured out a very effective way of doing it. He has the greatest little personality and we are completely in love with him.

Pumpkin Family

Ryan and I bought a pumpkin for each member of our family and decided to carve them this weekend. Zach joined us on our back porch for the first part. It held his interest for a couple of minutes but then he decided a bottle and nap was all he wanted to be a part of. Ryan and I finished carving them. In honor of Zach trying to cut his first tooth, we carved the baby pumpkin with one tooth on the bottom.

Zach's First Haircut!

Those of you that have seen Zach lately know how interesting his hair situation is. He started out with a head full of hair at birth. It started falling out a few months ago, only not evenly and in patches. The hair that was left was clustered around the front top of his head and sides. It grew out in curls, but we didn't cut it because we figured it would fall out soon. After being mistaken for a girl a couple of times, we decided it was time cut the remaining patches of hair. I have included before, during, and after pictures of our trip to get his first haircut. He did great and looks so cute!

Settling In

We are beginning to put our own touches on our house. Our first major purchase was patio furniture for our back porch. It is very relaxing back there now. We grill out in the evenings and watch all the pond life while we eat. We have hung up bird feeders and now there is hummingbird that visits regularly. On weekend mornings we bring out Zach's excersaucer. He plays in that while we read the paper and drink our coffee. We don't know what we are going to do when the weather gets cold and we can't spend our time back there.

Unpacking

I have been unpacking for the past couple of days. As you can see, Zach has been helping out!

We Moved!

We have finally made it to our house! After moving in 100 degree heat, we are all moved in! Now all we have to do is unpack. We had a lot of help from friends and family so the move was much easier. There is a lot we want to do to the house, but it is such a relief just to begin getting settled. This sure beats the apartment! Georgia is still trying to get used to the house. She wants to be with us constantly. We think she thinks we are just visiting and doesn't want to be left behind. Zach is oblivious to our move. As long as the bottles keep coming, he is happy anywhere! Ryan and I are enjoying the new home and looking forward to make it our own.

Boys And Their Toys

Those of you that know Ryan know how he loves his electronic toys. He must have the new and best TV, DVD player, gaming system, etc. Well it looks like Zach is his father's son! Every time Zach spots a remote he must have it. To save our remotes, Ryan found an old one we don't use and gave it to him. It is now one of Zach' s favorite toys.

5 Months Old!

Zach is now five months old! He has changed so much in these five months. It is hard to believe he is the same baby we brought home from the hospital! He definitely has his own little personality. He is sweet and loving and very stubborn. He refuses to spend any time on his stomach and pitches a major fit every time we put him on his tummy. He can roll from his stomach to back and can roll side to side, but has yet to roll from back to stomach. I think this is due to his lack of desire to be on his stomach. I have tried tempting him with toys but nothing works. He is beginning to become afraid of everyone but Ryan and I. I know this is just a phase so I hope it doesn't last long. His favorite things are his exersaucer and Georgia, our beagle. He lights up every time she comes in the room and she seems just as fond of him. She greets him every time we come home, usually with a big kiss which I try to discourage. Hard to believe it has been five months already!