The Height of a 3 Year Old

Before I start, I am anxiously awaiting pictures from my sister to update everyone on Zackary's 2 year old birthday party. She took incredible pictures and I want to share them. It was a blast...more later.

As the world follows, Zackary had his 2 year old pediatrician appointment. He usually handles the waiting room with caution and then upon entering the exam room with the same nurse each time he proceeds to start crying while we are doing all his measurements (easiest part of the exam-lol). He is 31 pounds (87%) 38 inches (+97%) and well his heads cute and small!!! All went well after with the doctor checking him all out. Ears clear, molar gums a little inflamed (which we knew due to him pointing to his teeth and crying out, not eating well, and the change of how long his naps are). He was negative for lead and Hg was normal. So I hate, hate, hate vaccine days. I am well aware they are for the good but we made a decision in the beginning to not give so many at once and go slower in the process. So he was due for 4. We gave HIB and Hep B. Ok...it went ok.

Well that night, he was limping on the HIB leg not wanting to walk, great, and when I heard the first cough in the middle of the night...I knew...he is sick now TOO. He must have been fighting something and the vaccines weakened his immune system-this is how I feel, my point of view-pretty much can't change it!!!
Needless to say, I was not to pleased. He's been sick now for 7 days. Leg was/is fine.

New things in Zackary's life:
A baby sister/brother on the way
2% milk now from Whole milk
Still a bit of a picky eater
Growls like a lion and neighs like a horse almost like the real thing
Loves:
Bees
Fountains-well water playing of any sorts
Great Grandma's tomato plants-takes a tomato off each morning and carries it around.
Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse club house
Beach time-finding the big holes others have dug for us!!!
Spider webs, snails, ants, bugs of any kinds
Peek a Boo
Opening the Fridge and eating Strawberry after Strawberry.
Chalking up the ground and house
Coloring, drawing, and climbing.
pears, turkey meatballs, muffins, breads I make, Popsicle, cheese crackers, cottage cheese, peanut butter, quesadillas with guacamole, icing on birthday cake, bananas (whole, not broken or mushed), applesauce and much more.
He still is in love with his pacifier and burp cloth
Loves to read and is pretty good with brushing his teeth.

We love you little man. Can't believe you are 2 already. Time's flying.

My 2nd Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACKARY!
Yaaa...here are my little boys two year old birthday party pictures. On the side yard we had the food set up with bubbles (above) and tons of chalk. One of his gifts were 3 Disney balls that my Dad kept throwing on top of the roof (once all the guests had left). Zackary thought it was so funny.

An hour must have passed while these two were completely focused on their ball throwing on the roof. We had to bring his dinner to him outside and feed him because we knew he wouldn't want to miss any action! It was more fun to watch then opening presents even!

Out front on the porch we had an easel set up for panting, finger panting and coloring. It was a big hit with the kids there.


When the party first started Zackary was busy with the chalk...coloring all over the bricks. Then he saw the fruit table and that was his new passion. He must have eaten a container of strawberries, some figs, grapes and from the look of half eaten cheese and crackers left all over the table, those too.


Then came cake time. Ben's mom helped me with the cakes. She pretty much homemade the banana cake and chocolate cake. He liked the frosting on the chocolate cake for a long time. Everyone that had a piece of it also had a fingerprint of Zackary's love too! He liked it and that was all that mattered.


I am in love with this picture. Zackary we love you so much. You melt our hearts everyday in new ways. We hope your second birthday party was so much fun. And we thank all those that came to support our son and helped us make it happen and helped clean up. I was exhausted for 2 days! HA!

A Small Glance into Zackary's Past Couple of Months!

Last week we took a trip to Illinois to visit Ben's family. Two days before we left Zackary came down with a cold (I was upset to say the least since the cold stuck with him for half of our trip). So our flight to IL wasn't the best, but on the way home he did much better. He actually sat in his own seat and as you can see here devoured a muffin as Ben and I sat back and laughed at the mess he was making. Well we did pay a lot to fly there!!! We figure it's okay!

I don't usually give him muffins but it was like magic and bought us a lot of time on the plane! I will have to remember this for the future. (Notice the short haircut!)

Here he is with his cousin. She has her pacifier and he has his as well as she has her Minnie and he has his best friend Mickey! To cute!

The first half of our trip we didn't do much because of his cold and it was very hot and humid. Secretly it was so nice to just only have two things to do...read and take care of Zackary. So when he finally felt better him and LO got to to play in the giraffe pool. He didn't want to sit...to funny, but he loved filling up the containers with water and watching the water come out...over and over!

One day as I was scouring the house looking for treasures I found a box with some marble domino's in it. Zackary and I had fun putting them up and knocking them down!

A few weeks ago we headed up north to visit my mom and JG. I had a baby shower to go to so we thought it would be fun for Zackary to come along and we could take him in the pool (didn't add any of those pics cause my prego belly would scare you). He played on the piano, loved the pool, and spent a lot of the time spinning anything he could find to spin. It's his new favorite past time. He can spin 3 things at a time and he's really quite good at it. And very proud of himself. He gets into my Grandma's cupboards here at home and spins lids and whatever he can find on her living room coffee table. (I miss his long hair)

About a month ago a dear friend EB and I took Zackary to Downtown Disney. Well we really wanted to take him to Disneyland but we couldn't find parking. The normal area was closed down so by the time we found where to park and waited in the line it wasn't worth it anymore. But he loved Downtown Disney. There were fountains, and lots of Mickey Mouse's, and Winnie the Pooh's in the Disney Store! This doggie backpack is such a big help when we are in crowds and he wants to walk but I want to have a hold on him. He did so well with it and had it on the whole time. We also used it in the airport for our IL trip.

Giving Mickey a hug.

I had to add this precious picture. Ben brought home flowers one day and I think Zackary thought they were for him. He LOVES flowers still and after these were put in the vase for several days I had to get them down so he could smell them, count them and check out the water in the bottom of the vase.

So in a nutshell that is what we have been up to since my last post. In IL he had his own watering canister to help water Grandma and Grandpa's back yard. So we found him one here and he loves it. He is saying more a lot, and he just doesn't say it he screams it very passionately...it's great. He laughs at everything, and if you ask him to make a funny face he closes his eyes real tight for 5 seconds...funny. His animal impressions are perfect and you should see him with Ben. He will hide in a certain spot and Ben will come and find him and they do this for an hour...with Zackary cracking up the whole time. He has a certain laugh with Ben too...those two are the comedians. Since IL his new thing is to grab our clothing if he wants something and take us to whatever it is. He's pretty good at it too. Today he made me hide with him when Ben and him were playing and he also took me to the Strawberries in front of the house (another favorite of his). I love seeing what each new day brings. He makes me laugh all the time. He's the sparkle in my life.

A Little Man Now

These pictures really tell you the whole story. My written additions don't do justice to the actions in the pictures. You can see what he enjoys, and how much happiness he brings to us every single moment...well we do get a bit frustrated with his lack of wanting to eat certain foods at this moment in time! He, as most children I am sure, reminds me of the little things in life that really if given the time are so much fun! Like chalk. And coloring. Watching him get lost in these little moments well I get lost too and I love it.

My mom says to Zackary, "how old is Zackary..." he lifts up his finger...ONE. Now I am teaching him TWO!

Have you ever tried just punching holes in the side of a cake with your finger? Try it....you get some good frosting on the side.

:)

So the candles did scare him a bit. We had been practicing blowing out candles for my up and coming birthday cake and well, I had to help him and real quick cause he was not having any of it!

I will congratulate Ben and I because we have actually been going out of our comfort zone and taking Zackary out to eat dinner more often. He does really well at certain restaurants and not so good at others! This evening was a tremendous success...and so fun watching him enjoy the experience.

He's not a little baby anymore...look, he's a little man! Love ya buddy!

Saving the Hummingbirds

Yesterday we saved a baby hummingbird. Zackary enjoyed watching the little baby bird chirp, drink it's sugar water I fed it and sleep underneath the lamp for warmth. Luckily I found an open rehabilitation facility and took it there. Subsequently I was also saved this weekend with Ben's mom visiting us and spending all of Zackary's awake time with him, playing, eating and laughing! I wasn't feeling all that great so it was wonderful to have her here taking care of all of us.

As I was driving the hummingbird to it's new home yesterday morning I realized how many times I have fallen out of my nest since having my little man almost 2 years ago and I am so thankful to all those that helped put me back in the nest, feed me, support me and enable my spirit to grow as a new parent.

I wish I had a picture of my symbolic moment, but of course my camera battery was in need of a recharge! Go figure!

Family Weekend

Last weekend had a lot of fun moments for us and I thought I would share them.
So apparently fruit is out unless it's berries or trader joe's applesauce. I did make applesauce for him to keep up with my tradition of making his baby food but he wasn't buying it anymore. He loves this applesauce that I give him now. He becomes quiet as he pursues finding, eating, and smearing every last drop.

On Friday we built his blocks up to be as high as we could. Now you ask, so why is this so meaningful...?" because he ALWAYS knocks them down. We lost track of time playing together and seeing how happy he was at the finished product, well I had to take a picture. When Daddy got home Zackary made sure to show him.

Saturday there was a swell so we headed to a favorite high surf spot and watched the action! Zackary did so well playing in the sand and kept asking for more sand castles from Dad.

I really want to take him to the beach more this summer. He is enjoying his beach toys more now that he's a bit older and watching all the other kids play in the sand and ocean.

After the beach we decided to stop for an early dinner at this Italian restaurant I have been wanting to try. It was okay, but Zackary did so well. We never took Zackary out to eat much because he wasn't seasoned yet but now he plays with the crayons and eats all the food and watches his surroundings. It's been fun, we loved being their with him watching his mind figure it all out.

This restaurant was so kid friendly. They had an etcha sketch for the kids...and coloring books. Love it!!!

The weekend ended Sunday with Zackary's new favorite past-time...watering the garden with Dad. He follows him all around and helps with the hose, water and making sure the dirt is wet enough. Gives Mom some free time and lets them bond together!

Me at 20 Months

I wanted to give you an update on what I am doing now that I am almost 2 years old. When I go on walks with mom and dad I bring my popper along and drag it with me the whole way while smelling flowers, pointing to flags, and watching the planes in the sky. Sometimes a dog comes along but I am only comfortable with Bentley so I ignore the others. I am so good at smelling flowers. Mom and Dad always smile and love it when I smell them so I keep doing it. They should do it more often too! When Dad waters the yard, I go with him and help him with the hose. It's so much fun to do. I can't wait to start camping and playing golf with Daddy.


I love playing hide and seek with Mom and Dad. I am good at it. They can never find me and they look all over. I love it. My favorite spot to hide is mom's closet. I try raising my head up as high as I can into Mom's clothes so they can't see me. Shhhh don't tell anyone my hiding spot.

Mom has all these bracelets that she lets me play with. They make a lot of noise. I also like taking mom's mascaras and banging them against things...they make funny noises. Mom likes to chase me with her makeup brush too, it tickles on my neck. She's so fun! Mom takes me to the local outdoor mall a lot too. It's great cause there are a lot of fountains, koi fish and even an escalator. I go up and down a lot...it's really cool to watch the escalator. I am still in my gym class once a week. At first I didn't really like it but now I love it. It's fun playing on all the pads, going down slides and through tunnels (by myself), swinging high in the sky, playing with bubbles, and going on the trampoline. The teachers are okay, fun but kind of weird but the other kids and moms are really nice.
I am still really into music and my favorite song now is "The Farmer in the Dell." Grandma and Mom sing to me a lot, they have nice voices. My favorite is when it's nap time. Mom sings to me and I try and play with her face. It makes us giggle. I have three stuffed animal friends that I sleep with too. Pluto, Mickey Mouse and Slush, my husky dog. They are really soft and keep me company when I take an hour to fall asleep. It's nice though to relax in my bed after playing so much.

I was really sick about a month ago. I could tell that Mom and Dad were very worried. They cuddled with me constantly and Mom even let me sleep on her, a lot. I decided though that fevers are no fun and I don't want to have another one, ever! When I started feeling better Mom was a little stressed because I changed my naps. It's getting better again now. I also am not as into some foods as I was. My new favorite foods are meatballs, lima beans, peas, sunflower seed butter (thanks for the idea Baba) on toast, and apricot preserves. I still love hummus, and my mom's yummy lentil soup. I am drinking on my own from a cup...it's fun to do. Sometimes I spill, but that's ok.

I love my Mom and Dad...thanks for everything.