Pre-Birthday Birthday

We were in CT this past week for a visit with the fam. As much as we miss R on weeks when he is out of town it allows Z and me to travel and visit our loved ones. Considering how far we live away from everyone we are blessed to be able to see both families quite a bit. I am very lucky to be able to be a stay at home mom...it allows us tons of flexibility. We celebrated Z's first birthday on Friday night. Grammy made him an applesauce cake with whipped cream frosting. He had a candle and we sang happy birthday. He was not sure quite what to think of all the singing but he knew exactly what to do with the cake when he got his hands on it! We let him eat his fill and he had a serious sugar high after. It was SO cute. Z had a great time playing with his Auntie, Uncle Dan and Grammy & Gramps. His favorite game was taking D's hat off. Grampa's favorite game was Z's laughing Elmo. We would be trying to put Z to bed upstairs when we would hear Elmo laughing downstairs...that would be Grampa!

Little Social Butterfly

Z is a very outgoing little guy. I'm not sure where he gets it from since both R and i are pretty shy. Every time we go out somewhere Z likes to talk to everyone he sees. We were at Lowes the other day and i was talking to the employee asking him some questions when we here this loud "HAAAAA, HAAAA". Apparently Z was miffed that the guy wasn't talking to HIM. Then as we proceeded through checkout Z is saying "HAAAA" to everyone within hearing distance. He definintely likes people paying attention to him. He apparently has a southern accent since his greeting comes out as "Ha" instead of "Hi." He is too cute. On another note we had a nice visit with Gramma and Grampa Sustar. Z is also close to walking. He pulls up on everything now and will walk about 4-5 feet before barreling into me. Can't seem to stop himself yet!

Crawling....finally!

Zach started crawling last weekend! He doesn't much like it, just uses it to get where he wants to go and then wants to stand and walk. He is so close to walking on his own, probably in the next few weeks. Watch out!

Z's First Christmas

Christmas was in CT this year with the fam and it was great. Although Christmas is not the same without a little snow, i do have to say that i will pass on the snow any other time. Our trip up to CT was horrible. Canceled flights, sleepless night in a hotel room, lost luggage that showed up 2 days later. Once we got there all was well. My fam really enjoyed having Z around. Auntie didn't have to work so she was with us almost every day. We got the decorate Grammy's Christmas tree, make pieroges, bake and enjoy good home cooked meals. I think Z had a good time, he was not that into opening his presents but he loved his new mini rocking chair that Uncle Dan re-finished for him, loved ripping tissue paper into little bits which kept him busy for a while and last but not least LOVED the slot machine my parents have. All the lights and sounds and dropping coins! He would walk us over to it and then turn into your legs, meaning "pick me up" and then would watch and help us play. Z still loves to be "walked" around, hasn't gotten his balance yet and wants no part in crawling. Also as my mom remarked over Christmas he seems happiest when he's eating! Z is definitely my boy :)

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.