9 Month Check-up

Z had his 9 month Dr. appt on monday. The little man or should i say big man weighed 21 lbs 6 oz and was 30 3/4 inches long! He has slimmed out some but is off the growth chart in height. I wonder where he gets all that height from?
I think we will be going to see Santa today at the mall. Should be interesting to see how Z likes it. Then we are off to CT this weekend. They are calling for snow so i hope we make it there ok. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!

Snow Baby

As you can see Z saw and touched and ate his first snow during our trip to Cleveland for Thanksgiving. He definitely loved eating it and the feel of it. R and Auntie Laurie made this beautiful snowman for him! We had a great time visiting everyone and i know Gramma and Grampa enjoyed seeing and playing with Z. I'm not so sure about G&G's dogs though...they sat under his chair at dinner time to snap up any treats thrown over the side, but other than that they ran the other way when they saw him coming :) Z loves to be on his feet and i think may skip the whole crawling thing. He loves to be "walked" around the house so he can explore everything. His two favorite things are Bristol, our butler, gift from Aunt Carol, and the Christmas tree. I put all of the safe ornaments near the bottom to he can check them out. Usually pulls them off, looks at them and then discards. So every night i have to re-decorate the bottom of the tree. He also loves to look at the lights.
Weather here has been great, in the high sixties this week with a bit of rain. But at least we are not confined indoors. A week from tomorrow we are off to CT for Christmas for two weeks. I am SO excited to see my fam and Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Should be interesting to see how Z does with all the presents.

Fall Fun

So i can't believe we will be traveling to Cleveland in a week for Thanksgiving! That means Christmas is just around the corner and i haven't done any shopping! I am excited about traveling and seeing our families though. Our trip to Florida was wonderful. Just seeing Zach smiling and laughing with his great grandparents made Rob and I so happy.
Well fall has definitely arrived in SC. The weather is getting chillier and the leaves are pretty much off the trees now. I raked a pile of leaves together this past week for Z to play in. Unfortunately he ended up just wanting to eat them all. I really can't wait for the time when that urge to put EVERYTHING in his mouth is over. I have to watch him like a hawk otherwise he has leaves, rocks, grass etc in his mouth before i even know he's picked it up! We've been spending alot of time at the park. Z loves the baby swing, i think he could sit in it all day long.

Update

As i sit at the computer writing this update, z is sitting as he is in the above photo, in the red recliner. He alternates between tossing his toys over the side (which has become his favorite pass time) to clapping his hands and smiling and then trying to pull his socks off and babbling away in his own little language. His favorite right now is "bababababababa". He is becoming quite the little character. We went to the zoo with friends last week and had a good time. Addison and Z aren't quite that aware of each other but are starting to notice. This month has gone by fast! Rob and i celebrated our 6th anniversary. We didn't get to go out by ourselves but we got each other bikes. Once z gets a little bigger we can't wait to take him on the back with us. We are in for alot of traveling now that the holidays are coming up, starting with Florida this weekend to visit z's great grandparents, they have yet to meet the little man. Hopefully the weather is warmer there than it has been here lately!

Holy Smokes...7 Months!!!

Wow, i can't believe Z is 7 months old! The time has really flown by and he has changed so much. We saw Meg's newborn, Emerson, this past weekend and even though i know Z was that small, i can't remember. As you can see from the pic Z loves my cell phone. He beeps everyone who calls, i tell them he is love beeping them. We spent last week in CT visiting my fam since Rob was out of town. We had a wonderful time and spents lots of it with Grammie, Auntie, Uncle Dan and Gramps. Z went to work with Grammie and Gramps and met everyone at both places. We saw Auntie's new apartment in Hartford which is awesome. Z learned how to pic up a Kix and put it in his mouth. He doesn't get it every time but the hand eye coordination is getting better. He still loves scooting around in his walker and being on the go. Once he starts walking i am really going to have my hands full. We also took the little guy to his first football game over the weekend...UNC vs UConn. He did not last very long so we were out by half time. Grammie and Auntie saw Z and Rob on TV though so that was cool! This week we are working on Z's sleep again. He really needs to learn how to take a nap in his crib so we shall see how that goes. The teething really messes everything up. It only takes a day or two for him to forget how to put himself to sleep and then we are back at square one. Oh well, it will get better again!

More Teeth!!!!

So the little man has had a rough week! I knew something was up when he didn't sleep well over the weekend. (woke up with a fever on Saturday) Maybe he was getting more teeth? He then had his 6 month Dr. Appt yesterday. Zach weighed in at 18 lbs 13 oz and was 28 1/4 inches long. He is still growing well, although his weight dropped down into the 76th percentile. He also had shots. Which then brings me to yesterday afternoon when we got home he just was not a happy camper. As usual i was walking him trying to get him to sleep and i hear this weird grinding sound coming from his mouth. What the heck is he chewing on? Well turns out he cut one of his front teeth and I'm sure the other is soon to follow. Needless to say this is now Zach's new trick...grinding his teeth together! I hope the other tooth cuts soon because he was up all night last night. Its the least sleep i think i've gotten since the first couple of weeks he was born. He seemed to be doing better this evening so we're hoping he sleeps well tonight. Other than that not much news. Its finally cooling off here a bit so thats a welcome change.

Labor Day

We had an awesome visit with my fam over Labor Day! Went and had cheesy fries and sweet tea at Rockaways to commemorate last year's visit, took the boat out on Sunday, and had family badminton tournament. Boat was great, everyone had fun tubing and my dad even got up on water skis! I was very impressed. Zach was in heaven with all of the company and attention. So wish some of the fam lived closer. As you can see Zach is getting so big. He will be six months on saturday. How the time has flown. He is doing great on solid foods and even learning to drink from his sippy cup. Of course he spits most of it out but thats ok. He is getting better and better at sitting up on his own. He topples after a minute or so or if he gets off balance. Rolling over is getting easier and easier but he's still a bit lazy when its comes to that, maybe because of all that cute pudge! He is really scooting around in his walker these days, chasing the football, me and tipping over the trash. He's gotten a hold of the table cloth as well, we'll see how long it take for him to pull that off the table when i'm not looking. Rob and i are both doing well. I am playing in a church softball league which is tons of fun and Rob is keeping busy with work, the yard and little Z. Zach and i are going to the zoo tomorrow with the neighbors. If Zach even has half the amount of energy those two little girls have, Rob and i are in big trouble!!!!

Friends & Cleveland

I know its been a while so lets see if i can catch everyone up...a couple weeks ago we had our first friends over to play! My friends from Enterprise and I met at Chili's for lunch where we overwhelmed the staff with 4 babies, 1 child and 4 adults, they were not happy to see us to say the least. Then we all came back to our house for play and dessert. Zach was pretty ambivalent to all the other kids but we had a good time. Then it was off to Cleveland to visit Rob's fam. Zach did great on all of the plane rides as we had connections this time. We had a crazy busy visit which included seeing Great Gramma Candy, my JoAnn's friends, Rob's alumni soccer game, a family picnic and finally a trip to the Farm Park with cousins. We had a wonderful time though. Now back at home, we went to the zoo with our neighbors last week and visited friends in Charleston yesterday. Our next big thing to look forward to is my family's visit over Labor Day. We can't wait!

Such a Big Boy!

Our little boy is getting so big! He had his 4 month appointment last week (he's was actually 4.5 months) and he was 17 lbs 5oz and 27 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for height. He got more shots which were not fun but no ill effects. Since he had not been sleeping great at night the Dr. recommended some tips which we tried starting Saturday night, and miraculously he is back sleeping through the night. Yay for me! I think the trouble was i was nursing him to sleep instead of letting him fall asleep on his own. So now he is learning to do that and is sleeping much better. As you can see we took Zach out on the boat last weekend. He went swimming with his life vest and had a ball. We also started him on solid foods. He is starting on rice cereal and then will move to veggies in about a month. He loves it though, sucks it right down. Other big news that i found out today is that Zach's first tooth is coming in! He put my finger in his mouth like he does with anything he can get his hands on and bit down. Ouch! I felt a sharp edge on his gum. Maybe this explains some of his fussiness. He is going to look so cute with a tooth! Well today i went out and bought a baby pool. Its so darn hot down here and i like to get him outdoors so i figured this would be a good idea. We got him in it tonight and he was splashing around! Little Z loves the water. Next week we are off to Cleveland to meet the Sustar Clan. Can't wait...will update probably after that...

A lot of Firsts...

We just got back from CT this past Wednesday. It was a wonderful two week vacation. As the title of this post indicates there were a lot of firsts for Zach. He had his first airplane ride which went great on the way up and not so great on the way back as he caught his first cold in CT and was not feeling well. Grammie had a party for the 4th and Zach got to meet A LOT of people including his Great Gramma, his Uncles Pat and Dan, and my friend Sarah and her husband Matt! He also got to spend some great time with his Auntie and Grammie and Grampa. Auntie was a wiz at putting the little guy to sleep so i started calling her the "Zach Whisperer." We miss them already!

The weather was kinda cool which Rob and i appreciated after the heat down here. We had a few nice days and took Zach for his first swim.
He seems to really like the water. Let's see some other firsts...he rolled over from back to tummy for real for the first time...and how could i forget his first real belly laugh! Grammie had the family up for dinner and we were giving Zach a bath after one of his many explosions and i turned on the water to rinse him off and every time i dripped water on his head he would burst out in uncontrollable laughter! It was so awesome to hear but unfortunately he has not repeated it since. In time i know it will come more often and i'm glad everyone got to hear it. As you can see from the photos the little man is getting big. He has his 4 month appointment next week so we will see what he weighs and how tall. We were at the Dr. briefly this week to check out his cold and he weighed in at 17 lbs and something! Luckily his cold is just that, his lungs, ears and temp are all fine. I will update next week when i have all the exact measurements. I know i am probably missing some things that happened in CT and will have to record them later.

Playing...

Now that Zach is getting older he is definitely getting more interactive. He loves to lay on the floor and play with mom, dad and his toys. He is very adept at rolling onto his side but has not quite made it all the way over from his back. He has rolled from his tummy to his back though! We tried out the walker as you can see and the legs are a wee bit too short yet, but he'll be tooling around before we know it. Another little tid bit i wanted to add was that we have a clever boy as he seems to figure mommy out very quickly. See our Zach does not like to nap during the day. So every time i figure out a new way to put him to sleep, it works for about 1-2 days and after that he's onto me! Then he fights my methods tooth and nail :) My mom welcomed me to the world of motherhood and advised i will need to stay one step ahead for the rest of my life! Haha. Let's hope i can keep out smarting the little guy...

Auntie's Visit

So my sister's visit was wonderful. Broken arm and all she enjoyed spending time with Zach. We had to come up with some creative ways for her to hold him though! He was fascinated by her pink cast and loved playing with his Auntie. We had our first trip to the zoo most of which was lost on him but we adults had a great time. Each day brings more changes in the little man. He loves to be pulled into an sitting position and then he uses his chubby little legs to stand up! He rolled onto his side a few times but hasn't made it completely over. He was sitting on our bed the other day and i let go to see if he could sit by himself. He stayed up for about 2 seconds before TIMBER he fell over. Of course he loved that. We are going to our first program at the library tomorrow so that should be fun...

Long Overdue

I can't believe its been almost two months since my last post! I am so sorry...things have been busy to say the least. Being a parent is definitely a full time 24 hour a day job :) I love it! Well i resigned today from Enterprise so i am officially a stay at home mom now which is very exciting. Since my last post we have had visits from Grammie & Gramps (my parents) and spent the past two weeks in Hilton Head with Rob's Fam. Zach got to meet his Aunts Laurie & Julie and his Uncle Tommy. We had a blast. The little guy did not like the beach yet but he did well at the pool. He went out to dinner or lunch almost every day and he went on a Catamaran cruise one night. Of course he slept the whole time. Zach is getting to be a big boy, he had grown so much in the past couple months. At his 2 month appt he weighed 13 lbs 10 oz and was 24 inches long. He is at the top end of the growth chart right now. He has started to babble now and carried on some great conversation with his Grampa S. He loves to be in a sitting position and even pulls up onto his feet! I can't wait until he starts to laugh. Zach is not a very good day sleeper but he has been doing great at night. He goes to bed around 9:00 pm and sleeps usually until about 5:30 am. After I feed him he goes back to sleep until around 7:00 am. Well i think that about summarizes things for now. Will hopefully be better in the future about updating...

Growing Like a Weed!

Zach had his 1 month birthday this week! We can't believe it, the time has flown by. Our little man is getting SO big. We put him on the scale with Rob today and he came in at 11 lbs! I have a feeling he is going to be a tank :) He definitely is eating well. We have experienced a bit of what i am guessing is colic. He is fussy at night probably from 9-11, but them ends up sleeping well. So i guess i am thankful he's not up all night. He is only getting up once now around 4:30 a.m. Not much up for this weekend. Meg is coming for a visit tomorrow and Grammie and Gramps (my parents) have booked a flight for the end of the month! We can't wait!

Easter & First Bath

So we had our 2 week check up on Wednesday of last week and our little man was 8 lbs 14oz and 22 1/4 inches long! He has gained a pound and grown an inch in just 2 weeks! crazy! His umbilical cord also fell off at the Dr. office. SO that led to his first bath today! He has not been liking his sponges baths but as soon as i put him in the water this morning he perked right up and ended up loving it. We also had Rob's parents visiting for Easter. The other photo here is with Zach's first Easter basket goodies. We celebrated yesterday as Rob's dad drove home today. I still can't believe how fast the time is going by and how big he is getting. Now all i have to do is learn how to get him to sleep in his bassinet...

Week 2

Here we are week 2! i can't believe Zach is almost 2 weeks old! We go for our two week Dr. appt tomorrow so we will see how much out little guy weighs. Rob and i are having so much fun being parents. it still takes two of us to change the really messy diapers and he is not a big fan of his sponge baths, but we are getting the hang of it. I had my first night just the two of us last night which went better than i thought it would. Zach christened me with his first water spout, apparently i was not quick enough with the diaper :) Rob's mom and dad are coming back down on thursday for Easter and his mom will stay the week. Zach (and I) already misses his Grammie who left on Sunday, but she will be back soon!

Week 1

Here is our precious little one! He is such a joy and Rob and I are SO enjoying being parents!

Our Miracle!

Here are the photos as promised. I apologize for not posting them last night. Were a bit tired! Zach is doing awesome! He is such a good baby! Will post more pics soon.

March 6th Baby!!!

So we went to the Dr. today and found out we will be induced tomorrow! We tried for Friday but they were booked and the Dr. did not want to wait until Monday. This is the moment we have been waiting for and we are so excited, also a bit nervous. We go in tomorrow morning at 5:30 am so hopefully before this time tomorrow our little one will make their appearance. Rob's parents have already left to come down and I am waiting to hear when my mom's flight will be. That's the nice thing about having a definite date, our parents will probably make it here for the birth. We will go out tonight and celebrate our last night before our lives change forever :) For the better of course. We will email everyone or post something as soon as possible tomorrow!!! Yay!!!

5 Days Late and Counting...

No, we have not had this baby yet...I think I need to start thinking of my due date as March 12, that way we won't be as anxious as we are right now. Dr. told me they would not let me go over 2 weeks late...please let me not make it that long! My next appointment is Wednesday morning so I will probably get an inducement date at that point if nothing happens. Will update everyone on Wednesday or sooner if the baby decides to make an appearance.

Still Waiting...

Just thought I would let everyone know that we are still waiting! Apparently first babies are an average of a week late. I never thought ours would be! I'm going to be a walking machine this weekend. We went for a walk last night and again this morning. Hopefully that will move things along but it seems we have a stubborn baby (takes after Rob...haha). We are off to run some errands and see a movie today. It'll help to keep our minds off the waiting...

Still Hanging in There...

So our baby is officially late today! We did have a Dr. appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was a little high. They sent me to the monitoring unit in the hospital for blood tests etc and monitored my blood pressure for an hour or so. Of course when I got there everything was completely normal. So they sent me home advising me to make another appointment for next week or come back if contractions start. SO thats where we are as of now. I'm hoping the Mexican I had for lunch will get this labor started!

One More Week...

So hopefully this is the last photo of pregnant me that I will be posting on the blog. This photo was taken today at 39 weeks. From here on out it'll be all BABY! We're getting down to the wire here, my due date is next Wednesday the 27th. I had a Dr. Appointment yesterday and I was 3 cm dilated. Dr. said everything looks good so all we need are some contractions to start. Could be any day now or could be in two weeks...who knows? I don't want to be induced so we will just let the baby come on its own. I'm still working full time and feeling pretty good, just anxious and excited for the baby to be here. Rob is doing great as well, he is SO excited. As of right now he thinks we will have a girl and I think we will have boy so we really have no clue! Healthy and happy is all we're praying for. We will keep everyone posted when the day comes. Rob will be able to email on his phone from the hospital as soon as the baby is born so stay tuned...

The Count Down Begins...

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted! We've been pretty busy and to tell you the truth I have been lazy! This is the most recent photo I have, it was taken about a week ago, I was about 35 weeks. So this week marks 36 weeks along and the last month! Yay! At this point I'm still feeling really good. I don't feel monstrously huge yet but I'm getting bigger and I have not felt any contractions yet. I'm think I will probably go full term if not be late, but we shall see...
Baby is doing great and moving around ALOT! Obviously room is getting scarce in there so I can feel every little thing...I love it! Rob and the baby are too funny at night, Rob puts his arm around me and the baby can feel the pressure and so kicks at him. I think of it as their pre-birth bonding time. Well that's about it! Will keep everyone updated as we get closer...