18 Months

Time needs to slow down a bit.  I am shocked that this kid has been around for more than 18 months already.

Here are some pictures from his 18 month photo shoot.

This kid is a crack up.  He is talking up a storm, most things you can't understand, but he is getting better at communicating what he wants.  He knows all kinds of animal noises and I guess yesterday started saying "Grandma" and just happened to be talking to Grandma H (obviously she was in heaven being called Grandma by her only grandchild).  His new favorite word is currently "No"....awesome..I don't really know if he means no every time he says it, but I decided I would let him figure it out.  If he tells me no, I will respect it, it he didn't really mean it, he will soon figure it out. Now we need to work on "Yes". 

He had a HUGE growth spurt over the last 6 months.  He has been in about the 50th percentile for height since he was born, but as of his 18 month check up he is now in the 92nd percentile for height (makes perfect sense to me...his pants did suddenly all get too small).  He is a hefty 28 lbs. (sturdy) and is 34.5 inches tall.

He is still an incredibly crappy eater.  He won't eat fruits or vegetables.  He will try them by opening his mouth putting the item slightly in his mouth (mind you the object doesn't touch anything in his mouth) will shake his head and hand it back to you.  Also, don't even think about trying to feed him something, if he can't eat it on his own, he doesn't want it.  He loves chicken, crescent rolls, crackers, waffles, and fruit snacks.  He also likes to "dip" things, because that's what mom and dad does.  He will dip most anything in ketchup and then suck off the ketchup for the first few dips and then eat it, including just his fingers (disgusting).  I guess if I need to start giving him veggies with ketchup he will at least be eating them right?

Zac has been working on teething still, which has been absolutely no fun for us.  Seems like every few weeks we get a molar coming in.  Currently we are working on the top 2 canines.  Ugh!   No likey.  Why do teeth need to come in slowly over a 2 year period.  I would prefer a couple weeks of pure hell and have them all come at once rather than drag it out over a 2 year period.

Well over the next few months we will need to start working in some changes.  1) the bottle and binki need to go.  He only gets them at bed and nap time, but it's time.  2) He is going to have to switch to a big boy bed and a new room.  I am not buying another crib and the room he is in is the smallest room in the house, perfect for a baby.  I think they will be hard transitions and it may be another couple of hard weeks until he gets used to it, but the little girl is coming so it's gotta happen.

So I have done several posts in the last few days...I think I am good for about a month now!  Yay!

Zac's Boo-boo and Ozzy's Surprise!

 
So it finally happened...face met pavement and the pavement won.  Frankly I am surprised it hasn't happened sooner considering this kid runs everywhere (including down our slanted driveway).  Last week was a crazy week, the sitter was sick so I was scrambling to take care of kiddo and work.  Thursday was just too busy so I sent Zac with a friend for the morning...and this is what I got back  He was fine, other than the scrapped up face...honestly I feel the worst for my poor friend that had to bring him back looking like this, I am sure she felt terrible (I jokingly let her know she broke my kid), but really how can you get mad when he did it just being Zac and it was bound to happen eventually.  I know I did much worse when I was a kid and my face healed just fine.

So when Zac wakes up he likes to see Ozzy and have him stand up against the crib and give him a kiss.  Well one afternoon Ozzy and I went in to get Zac from his nap.  Zac was pounding on the side of his crib to get Ozzy to stand up and I was encouraging Ozzy also to stand up.  It was very odd...Ozzy kept hesitating and wouldn't just stand up, so we both just kept calling him and tapping on the crib.  Then...next thing I know there is this flash of black and white in mid air next to me...Ozzy completely clears the crib railing and is in bed with Zac.

At first both Zac and I were a little shocked at what had just happened.  But when the shock wore off, we were both laughing and Zac was in heaven having Ozzy in the bed with him.  It was all fun and games until I realized that Ozzy was scared to jump back out.  There was no way I could lift him out (even not pregnant) so he was in there for a good 10-15 minutes while I tried to figure out what to do.  Jer wasn't going to be home from work for a while and I didn't want to leave Ozzy in there.  I ended up just tipping the crib over until Ozzy had to jump out.  Fun day.

Bragging Rights

 I think I have a very handsome family.  Sorry to brag.

Hey look...I am pregnant!  29 weeks...11 more to go!

Christmas Presents

So, I didn't do a Christmas post.  Mostly because Christmas came and every single camera device we had either needed to be charged or was out of file space on the data card.  Oh well.  It was pretty low key.  We got Zac a few things: some foam blocks (considered wood but then realized my son likes to throw things and felt foam would be safer), a table, a bubble blower for the bath tub (which come to find out terrifies the kid and has only been used a few times).  He also got a few things from grandparents and friends.

The table has been a big hit!  He loves it.  It took him a little while to get used to the chairs (by took him a while I mean he fell out of them a lot...and still does from time to time), but he uses it all the time.  Good purchase I would say.

After Christmas we purchased a few large items.  We got a book shelf for the play room so all of Zac's books could be within his reach and a shelving unit (see background of bottom right picture) to store his toys in to keep the room looking tidier.

We also ended up purchasing new couches for our living room.  The biggest downfall of the play room was that there wasn't anywhere for adults to sit, so you were hanging out on the floor with Zac.  Well, I got to thinking that come April, I am going to have a little baby to be holding and nursing, etc. while also trying to keep track of this kid.  I would prefer to do this in the play room so he is entertained...so we moved the old couches upstairs (the babysitter is not going to complain).

We Like Books

Zac LOVES books!  We only have one shelf full of books, but for now that is plenty.  We will start supplementing with library soon enough.  Zac doesn't care, he is happy with what he has.  I think we spend a few hours a day just looking at books pointing at things and learning what they are.  It is crazy how fast kids learn.

He knows a lot his books by name and if you ask him to get a specific book he will grab it for you.  He can actually call "Hop on Pop" by name (if you know what he is saying), and he knows the story to "The Little Blue Truck" so when you get to the point where the dump truck honks he will honk loud and when the little blue truck goes into the mud to help the dump, Zac will bounce up and down and say "bump, bump, bump" with you.  It is very cute.  Also, if there is something on the page that he really likes, he will love it (see bottom right picture).

Too Funny and Too Cute

So, one day I was talking with Zac, and I asked him what a puppy dog says...and he gave me the sound.  I was so shocked.  Come to find out Ames and our Nanny/Babysitter have been working on the animal sounds for a little while now and I didn't know it.  Anyways I think this is pretty funny...I love it when he does the elephant