16 months old

Zackary is 16 months old tomorrow...wow. He looks like a little man to me. Figured I would update you all with his likes and dislikes. This is his favorite book My Very Own Name. He loves reading it and has about 4 favorite pages where he enjoys staring at all the animals and flowers. I think he likes hearing his name too throughout the book....which leads me to his next favorite thing to do which is hugging everything. He puts his face up to the animals in this book to hug them. Tonight he bent down and put his head gently against Bentley...so adorable. He'll hug anything...toys, flowers, food, and if I lay him on my chest he'll hug me...over and over as I say, "more more." He even hugged a big rock he was playing with today...too funny.

He likes to play with all of our things more than his own toys like the camera case, water bottles, my mascaras, wallet, anything in the kitchen, and anything he can't have! We have been taking him down the street to a grassy area and he loves to chase the pigeons, and be chased. He's so much better at walking, which takes a little stress off of me during our park adventures. Ben and I spend a lot of time taking him to parks and just going on walks. He got scared going down a big boy slide with Dad so now he stays away from them.

He has a fascination with flowers. Great Grandma was pruning her roses the other day and we were out on a walk. He saw one rose laying on the ground and after mom checked it for thorns it became his best friend for the entire day. He carried it around, smelling it every so often, and showing it to others. He carries Camellias around too that we have in our back yard.

He's smelling the rose here...I once heard him actually sniffing the flower!!!

Dad and him build things with his blocks, he mostly tears them down but they have fun together. He's wearing his cute robe here that we put on him after bath time just to keep him warm before bed.

Some other things he likes:
His baths-water goes everywhere.
Eating-he enjoys all his veges, fruits, meats, breads, beans, lentils, oat cereal, yogurt and his whole milk is getting easier too. Some new veges are lima beans and kale.
Puzzles-specially a dinosaur one.
Being tickled
His music we play every morning and night. In the morning it's a CD we got from a music class we took...he loves it and the evening CD is lullabies. In the car we have an Elvis Priestly lullabies CD which if I put it on he becomes so quiet I forget he's back there.
Crawling up the stairs
American Flags
Vacuum Cleaner
Grandma, Jedo and Baba, Grandma and Grandpa Alford (via skype)
Riding on the carousel
Visiting the koi fish
Fountains-water (like Bentley's water bowl)
Escalator-going up and down, up and down!!!
He's got a good throw

Things he doesn't enjoy at this moment:
Loud noises-children screaming and dogs barking
His face being wiped
Changing his diaper
Being told "no"
Taking his naps
If he gets mad, he throws things.

We are having some issues with his naps. We try having him just take one, but he doesn't sleep for long, and neither does he with two, if at all...he's in a transition I think. He also has been waking up super early and he's wet a lot too from so much pee in his diaper. I guess it's a work in progress.
It's so fun at this age. I love you little man.

Christmas Time!!!

So Christmas at 15.5 months is really still more exciting for mom and dad than baby! He liked our Christmas tree we got at the beginning of the month but pretty much stayed away from it. He was great about not touching any of the presents and ripping them open unless they had fun bows on them. So here starts our Christmas 2009 adventure. First our bath to get ready for the festivities Christmas Eve Eve!!! Yes he gets his baths in the sink as our bathtub leaks into the downstairs. He doesn't care though, he loves bath time!

Christmas Eve day was spent at my mom's house. Since Zackary goes to bed early we headed over to her house after his morning nap and stayed until late afternoon. We had a nice lunch and Zackary had fun opening his presents. I thought he would try and wander away and get bored, nope, he stayed right by me and Dad and watched us all. I could see the wonder, excitement, and intense attention he was feeling while looking into his eyes. I love the picture above because Ben and him are laying the same.

It takes him awhile to completely investigate and figure out each toy and each of those moments, watching him, are precious to me. It reminds me to take a step back and pay closer attention to everything around me.

He's like okay what now! Lately he's had this funny way of walking where he puts his arms in front of him, turns his head to one side and walks around looking bored and like he's thinking, okay...now what! It's hysterical.

Christmas Eve is concluded with Santa coming and dropping off some toys and we were lucky enough to take a picture of the scene shortly after Santa had left.

Banana or Orange...he got to pick which one he wanted for Christmas morning...he had both!

When we brought him in the front room after breakfast he walked right over to Winnie the Pooh and gave him a hug. Present after present he opened while Dad was busy assembling them and he was patiently waiting.

Hugs! We all give Winnie a hug in this household. He makes you feel better. Zackary passes his Mickey Mouse around too for hugs...even to Bentley. If only I knew how good it felt to give a hug to a stuffed animal...I would have bought myself a lifesize Winnie many years ago!

Christmas Day came to an end at my Aunt's house. He had a long day, no second nap and at this point was nearing his boiling point of shear exhaustion. Dad was able to play a little peak a boo with him and Baba and Jedo were able to play ball so Dad could eat before taking him home for the night. He was in a cute Christmas outfit but we didn't get any pictures ( I just realized) because he was very upset when we first arrived and we immediately fed him and tried anything to calm him down. All my relatives wanted to say hello to him but he wasn't having any of it. Once he had food in him and others weren't paying as much attention to him he settled and started enjoying himself for a short time.

Merry Christmas little man. You were the light of my holiday, and I can't wait for next Christmas to come.

More

Back when Zackary was 6 months (March 2009) old we started signing with him. We practiced more, milk, all done, bath, change diapers, book, food, car, juice, and gentle. He has been signing milk for probably 4 months but two nights ago while we were reading our books before bed he signed more. We were so excited. It was surreal seeing his two hands come together and us knowing that he understood what it meant. At his recent 15 month doctor appointment she was concerned that he wasn't saying words yet. But he's starting to sign and that is a word...and it's exciting.
Wonder which word he'll sign next.

Christmas Tree Moments

Zackary is slowly warming up to our Christmas Tree. It's super cute how he just walks over to the tree but doesn't pull on the branches or mess with too many ornaments. He does like a tambourine and ball ornament we have...but for the most part he leaves everything alone.
Next to the tree is a small Santa Claus that plays Hawaiian music and hula dances, and he wants us to play that over and over.

Our annual city walk

Our town had their annual walk where vendors from each store come out and offer free things, and bands play at every corner. There is a beer garden, and free santa pics. We took Zackary in his car and as soon as he got a balloon, he didn't stop smiling. He watched everyone...mostly at his level...so the dogs and kids. Letting the balloon go and then bringing it back into his lap...smart boy!

Off to see the carolers

It was my Baba's (grandma on my father's side) birthday yesterday so on Sunday the family met at a local golf club for brunch. Zackary had so much fun. He not only got to eat his lunch but he ate off of my plate and Dad's! I can't believe how much he packed in...but it kept him quiet. Some carolers came by our table for awhile and he LOVED them. He intensely kept his eye on them (picture above) as they circled the room coming back to us as they enjoyed his reaction.

I was actually able to dress him in his Thanksgiving outfit here because it was cold enough. On Thanksgiving it was so hot outside...he was in short sleeves and this outfit sat in the drawer.

He has perfected walking. All day he walks from one room to the other and checks out whatever is in sight. He begs to go upstairs, which we do a couple of times a day, and he has his favorite things to look at up there too. He's fallen for Winnie and Mickey...so cute...and has started head butting me gentley as his form of a hug/kiss. Melts my heart.

Zackary's Second MOM-Grandma

So cute huh...as you can see they have formed a wonderful bond. Ben and I are lucky enough to have my mom babysitting two days a week while we both work. When she shows up he used to ignore her, but not now, he reaches out for her and is so excited. I love it...it's so adorable. I know what warmth my mom is capable of because as a child I reached out to her a lot and didn't want to let her go. Now it's my babies turn.