Holiday Fun!

Here are just a few photo's from the holiday's that we have had so far this year (except Easter-I'll post more about that later). I try to do a little something special for each holiday-I want Zach to have memories about how special everything was when he gets older :)

Valentine's 2012

Giving his Valentine kisses xoxo

Zach got the Cat in the Hat (with the hat) and Play Doh! He loves the Play Doh

St. Patty's 2012

He loved the green cupcakes I made him!

Easter Bunny 2012
Zach was so excited to see the Easter Bunny this year he couldn't wait to snuggle!

And, of course, his infamous smile!

XOXO,

Tiff

Adventures with Zach!

We have been so busy around here that I haven't had the time to blog in forever-not that that's a surprise or anything. Since going back to work I have been trying to plan exciting things to do with Zach on my days off. He is at such a fun stage, he is constantly investigating everything in his world and making connections. He picks up on EVERYTHING so there are a lot of behaviors that mommy and daddy are working on changing :)

There is a children's museum in Irvine called Pretend City. It is truly the coolest place I had been to for children. It has a bunch of sections that are pretend for kids to play in. There is a grocery store, a library, a restaurant, a garden, a police station, fire station and the list goes on. It was a lot of fun but will be much more fun when Zach gets a little older and really understands pretend play. Here are a few photos from our adventure:

Zach was filling up the gas tank
Zach's favorite area was the garden section. He lived raking, digging and planting vegetables

In the art studio-future Picasso :)

The first weekend of March Zach and I were able to get out to Las Vegas for a couple days so I could see my best friend Carly for her big 30 and have a few days away. On our way into town we stopped by the Circus Circus to check out my dad's latest project, The Chuck Jones Experience. Zach had a blast running around and looking at all the Loony Toons art and having the entire exhibit to himself. We also met up with Carly and Aiden at the Las Vegas Zoo which was a lot of fun. Zach mostly loved the zoo-except when the ostrich bit his finger!

Papa showing Zach how to color pictures on the computer screen

My little monster next to Taz and Daffy

Zach and his great grandpa going out to feed the chickens

Zach feeding the goats with Nana and Papa

Contemplating life next to the peacock

Another place we took Zach for the first time was Chuck E Cheese. Anyone who knows me knows that that place has scared the hell out of me since I found out I was pregnant because I knew that at some point we would have to go. We went for a first birthday party and it wasn't as scary as I thought and Zach had a blast! And they serve beer! The only "issue" we had was they have these crazy tunnels all along the ceiling and a "helpful" dad helped Zach get up into them so for about 45 minutes we couldn't get him down. When it was time to get down Zach was a little afraid to come down the slide so he had a line of about 15 kids behind him trying to get him to go :)

My monkey having a blast-and notice that his hair is all gone :(

So another new place we discovered recently is Frogg's Bounce House. Oh My God does Zach LOVE this place! There are 6 different bouncy houses with slides and mazes and it is basically toddler boy heaven. I couldn't really get any good photos of him because he was all over the place but here's a video of him coming down one of the slides:

We got a month pass and have been back twice already. I hope everyone is having as much fun as we are!

XOXO,

Tiff

2 Year Well Check

Turning 2 means that Zach had his 2-year baby well check appointment with the pediatrician. Last week we went in to see Dr. Goodin for his well check along with a follow up from the week prior when I took Zach in and found out he had an ear infection. The poor little guy got sick a few days after his birthday and when he was still sick a week later I took him in and we found out he had an ear infection in both ears-I felt so horrible for not catching it sooner! This was his first ear infection and his first time on antibiotics so at least we had 2 really healthy years :)

Anyway the 2 year check up is so much different than anyone we have had before. When we went back Zach got weighed and measured on a typical, standing scale with height ruler like adults use only it was smaller. After that he had to sit and have his blood pressure taken. It was so cute to see him sitting like a little man having his check up.

After the nurse got all the numbers the doctor came in for Zach's exam. Zach is 30 pounds and 35 1/2 inches which puts him in the 75th percentile for his age-I knew my boy was big! Everything else with Zach looked great! He has hit all his milestones and is exactly where he should be for his age. This was the first time at the doctor's office where Zach didn't scream or freak out when the doctor touched him so he was able to get a much better idea of Zach's speech and everything.

The best news that we have gotten recently is about Zach's speech. At his 18 month appointment Dr. Goodin was concerned with Zach's speech development. At 18 months Zach only said a couple words-'this' and 'mama' so we took him to a speech therapist, Fabi Moy. We were given a thick packet of forms, surveys and questions to fill out about his speech and other developmental milestones. When we went in for the evaluation Fabi spent about an hour with us and Zach watching him play, watching out interactions and asking questions. At the end of the evaluation she explained to us that Zach did have a speech delay but he did have language-meaning that he was communicating with us in the ways he knew how.

Long story short the recommendation was to have Zach go to speech therapy 2 days a week for 30 minutes each time. Matt and I decided that we would try it and see what happened. BEST DECISION EVER! We got the great news a couple weeks after Zach's second birthday that he has surpassed where he should be for his age for speech!! Our boy is talking up a storm and it still amazes me every time we are able to talk to each other.

We are so lucky to have a healthy, beautiful 2 year old boy. These two years have had so many ups and downs but I would have traded any moment of it!

XOXO,

Tiffany

Zachery is 2...wait? Already?

A couple weeks ago the craziest thing happend, my son turned 2. I am still in shock. I mean, I knew it would happen but I swear that I was just in the hospital holding my sweet newborn for the first time. Anyway, we celebrated by having a party for him at My Gym, the kids gym Zach has been going to since he was an infant. We kept it small with just a few friends who have kids and Zach's grandparents. The party was, of course, Toy Story themed.

Zach in his fancy birthday shirt

When we got there we had a great surprise, the 2 gym teachers had dressed up in Toy Story costumes! We had Jessie and Buzz at the party and it really was so sweet of them to do. When we got there the kids ran wild for a little while before we sat down for circle time.

Zach, Sammy, Meg and Kaiden

Everyone sits down to warm up, sing and dance during circle time

Zach isn't much for sitting for that long :)

The kids loved playing with all the animal puppets

That's my boy covered in pink frosting :) Remember at his 1st birhtday when he wouldn't touch his smash cake because of the frosting? My how much things change in 1 year!

The party ended with a bubble storm-Zach was in heaven!

The birthday party was so great! The organized games, puppet shows, songs and activities that were perfect for a group of 2 year olds. If anyone is looking for a place to have a kids (toddler especially) birthday party I cannot say enough good things about My Gym. The best part? I showed up with the food and that was it! It took us about 15 minutes to set up and then clean up-so much nicer than doing it at home :)

After the birthday party we had both sets of grandparents back to our house to open presents after nap time. Zach was so spoiled! Needless to say my son now ownes EVERY Toy Story toy on the planet. We are so lucky to have such great family and friends who love and care for our son and it really meant a lot to us that people came to celebrate Zach's birthday, we had so much fun!

Our happy little family!

Zach getting help from Pop, Papa and Daddy-seriously what a luckly little boy to have all these men who love him so much?

XOXO,

Tiffany

18 months!

I can hardly believe that my little man is already a year and a half! It has been 18 months of love, challenge, firsts and growth. Everyday I feel like Zach grows and changes everyday and I am so fortunate to be able to work from home so I don't miss a single moment of his life.

Zach had his 18 month check up and he is a healthy, happy little man. He is 33 inches and 26 pounds 3 ounces which puts him in the 50%-75% in size. He is still not much of a talker but he is so active it's almost like he doesn't have time to talk! The only time he will sit still is to read or watch Toy Story. We must spend an hour or two a day reading books, which I LOVE. He has recently become obsessed with Toy Story and I swear we watch one of them every day! I am thinking of making him a Woody costume for Halloween but we'll see.

Here are some other things Zach is into these days:

*He still loves animals. He plays with Abby all the time and loves to chase any other dog or cat that will give him the attention.
*Zach is getting really into building things. He loves to stack his block, nesting cups and anything else he can.
*He loves to play with cars, trucks, trains, etc. He is so cute, he pushes his cars and trucks around and says "vrrrrrrrmmm" and makes "choo choo" noises when he's playing with his train.
*He knows and can point to all of his body parts, clothes and family members. Matt is really good at working on his ABC's and Zach can identify about 30% of his letters when asked.
*His favorite thing to do is hide. He will hide behind anything and wait for you to come find him and he just laughs when he jumps out and "surprises" you.
*Macaroni and Cheese is by far his favorite thing to eat. He won't eat any vegetables but won't turn down any type of fruit.
*Zach is really smart (and I know I'm biased because I'm his mother but still!). If he sees you do something once he remembers. This isn't always great though because he can get into everything now!
*He is very affectionate and loves to give kisses and snuggles. He also likes to do knuckles instead of high fives which is really cute :)
*Zach is doing great with swimming. He now floats alone, holds his breath for a short distance under water, knows how to roll to his back when he's pulled face-first into the pool and he is starting to actually swim. His instructor said that soon we'll be ready to start real swimming not just safety lessons.
*We still go to My Gym every week and he loves it. It's a great way for him get rid of some of his never ending energy!
*Zach is teething is 2-year molars right now which is not fun :( He has been getting pretty cranky and chewing and drooling again. I can't wait for them to just get in!
*He has learned how to blow and loves to blow bubbles by himself or blow out candles for me.

Zach is doing so much more that I just can't remember it all but it is fun to watch him grow and learn these new things!

17 months!

Yikes! When did my baby get so old? Zach can do so many things, it's kind of sad that there really aren't many physical milestones left for him to do. He runs all over the place and climbs everything! He is such a little dare devil that I am constantly afraid we're going to end up in the ER soon. He loves to climb onto the couch and stand up and walk across it, mostly because I tell him not to. A couple weeks ago he wrapped his legs and arms around the armrest on our arm chair and rolled off of it and landed on the dog bed. He was inches from hitting his head on the window sill and I almost had a heart attack but he was fine. I'm trying to let go a little because I know he needs to test and learn what he can and cannot do on his own but it sure is frightening! Whenever he figures out a new trick he gets so proud of himself and that is my favorite part, the giant grin when he accomplishes something and the boost of self confidence he gets.

The biggest milestones these days are verbal. Zachery is a little slower than his peers when it comes to talking but he's getting there. Knowing his father I figured that he would excel at this, haha. For months the only things he has said with any regularity are 'mama' and 'this' and he does use this in the right context. I feel like a damn parrot because all day I am naming whatever 'this' he is pointing to but I know he is understanding. He has 2 different sea horse toys in his bath toys so when I name one of them he will search for the other one because he knows they are the same name. It is really amazing to watch because when I ask him to bring me something he knows exactly what it is, he just won't say it. I figure one day he is going to look at me and say something like 'nice weather today, huh mommy?' and I'll just fall over in shock :). Zach has probably said about 20-25 different words but none of them have been consistent until very recent. We have now added 'bye' (pronounced as BEE along with a wave) and 'cookie' (pronounced by Zach as COOK). We had our most interesting verbal experience last week. Whenever he is on the changing table after his bath or when changing his diaper he points to different body parts and asks 'this?' so I name them for him. Well, he is a boy so one of his favorite things to grab is his penis so when he asks we tell him it's his penis. Last week I was changing his diaper and naming body parts when I named his penis. He looked up at me and repeated 'my penis?' (pronounced as MY PEIS) and it was all I could do not to burst out laughing. It was so cute and of course that was his first 2 word phrase. I can't wait until he has his own children one day so I can remind him of this-priceless!

I have started looking into potty training methods after a little issue we had a couple weeks ago. When your baby shows you that he can take off his own diaper you really shouldn't put him to bed anymore without pants...I went in one afternoon to get him from his nap and he had taken off his diaper...and he had pooped...and he had it EVERYWHERE. This was by far the most disgusting thing I have had to deal with since becoming a mom. I stripped his shirt off him, turned on the tub and scrubbed that little body until it was pink. I must have used 3 different washcloths and half a bottle of baby wash. I threw everything in the washer in the hottest water he had to soak and took bleach and water and scrubbed his crib down. We had to leave the house because it was so unpleasant...not fun. After that I bought a potty and a kids book and we have been trying to get him on board but it hasn't happened yet. Yesterday I came across this article http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-in-three-days-or-less_10310078.bc which talks about a method where you potty train your baby in about 3 days. I showed it to Matt and we are going to try it the first weekend in August-it's the next weekend where we have NOTHING going on and can commit to being home all weekend to do this. I know it's kind of early to some people but if I can get him potty trained at a year and a half I will be one happy momma! If he doesn't take to it we'll try again in a few months but you never know until you try :)

The most exciting thing we've done in the last month was take Zach on his first trip to Disneyland. We went on Father's Day (Matt is such a trooper!) and it was great. I got a season pass so I plan to take him a couple times a month, it is a fun thing to keep us busy and out of the house! Here are a few pictures from the last month:

Zach and his friend Sammy at the zoo. Zach said 'goat'!

My funny boy playing at Chip n Dale's Treehouse at Disneyland

Although he doesn't look happy, the Jungle Cruise was his favorite ride :)

Playing in Toon Town!

The only family shot I got of us at Disneyland-such a fun family day!

Maycations Part 2

So part 2 of our May travels takes us first to Omaha(ish), Nebraska to visit my family and celebrate my cousin Daniel's graduation. We flew out there at 6:45am the day after we returned from San Diego. The take off went well, I fed him his bottle and he did great. Soon after that he crashed and slept until we were getting off at our layover in Salt Lake City. The take off from SLC did not go as well-he screamed and cried and layed on the ground and had a tantrum. Finally we were able to get Matt's Ipad going to one of his videos and he calmed down. We got to a very cold Omaha and my Uncle Eddie picked us up and took us to their house which is in a very small town called Kennard. We just hung out at the house and relaxed all day with family. My parents and brother were there as well as my Uncle and Aunt and my 3 cousins (it was their house we stayed at) and my Grandpa Lenaeus. The next day, Sunday was Daniel's graduation from high school. It was so surreal to watch him graduate because I remember when he was born, I remember playing with him and holding him and thinking he was the most amazing little thing ever and now I have my own amazing little man. I can't fathom the day when I have to watch my boy walk across the stage and get his high school diploma; I am so glad that we were able to make the trip out there. Another reason that it was so important to me to get out there was that my grandfather was going to be there. He lives in Florida so I don't get to see him often and I wanted to make sure he got to see my son-the first great grandchild on the Lenaeus side. We stayed in Nebraska a couple days after the graduation and spent a lot of time together. Zach really had fun watching my cousin Jake, who just finished the 5th grade and is very athletic. Zachery is really starting to get interested in sports and playing with balls (hehe) so he loved watching Jake play basketball at the party with his buddies. On our last night we got to see one of Jake's baseball games (where he did awesome-I can't wait to watch Zach play baseball!!) and Zachery actually watched a couple innings which is remarkable for how active he is-he never sits down! We had such a great time visiting my family and I am so grateful that they had us out there!

Here are my parents, brother, Matt, Zach and me with Daniel

Here are all the Lenaeus':Me, Zach, Uncle Eddie, Jake, Daniel, Grandpa, Rob, Rachael

My favorite picture I took of my little man playing in the yard

Zachery giving me kissed through the storm door

My happy boy after his cupcake at the graduation party

Eating katsup at lunch with the men

Zach LOVED the giant lawn at my Aunt and Uncle's house

Zach playing with Jake before his baseball game

The last trip of the month was to Las Vegas for my family reunion. This was for the Thrush family, my mom's dad's family (if you are able to follow that!). We have the reunion every other year and in the past it was always held at a park in Overton (about and hour outside of Vegas) but this year my parents hosted the reunion at their house in Vegas. Now there were a whole lot of people there that I didn't know and really didn't have any chance to get to know since I was chasing a 16 month old around the house. Zach did really well considering all of the new faces and the fact that he feels like that is his house and all these people invaded it. He played in the pool a little bit and tried to even play with some of the other babies towards the end. Later that night we went to dinner with my best friend Carly, her husband Kevin and their little guy, Aiden. Zach was not at his best during dinner. It is really getting to be too difficult to go to a restaurant with him, he wants to run around everywhere and he is so picky with his food I never know if he's going to eat what we get him! The trip to Vegas was short and busy but it was nice to visit with my family and see my bestest :)

After all of these trips I have decided that I am not flying with Zach again until he's at least 2 and when we do he is getting his own seat! I started having a panic attack because he was so upset on the flights home (which is understandable since our first flight out of Omaha was cancelled and we spent about 10 hours in an airport or on an airplane that day) and I'm just not looking forward to ever experiencing that again, lol. I feel like I need a vacation from all of these vacations but we had the best times and are always reminded of how lucky we are to have the family and friends we do!