Number One

As promised, here is the man...walking...running, even. It sounds almost ridiculous to say, but he even dribbles the soccer ball down the field quite competently, considering he has only walked for two weeks.

The other funny thing is that often when he walks, he holds his index finger high in the air. Dave thinks it means, "Wait for me!" but I think it means, "I'm number one!"

Happy Guy

Isn't he beautiful? (Thanks for the pic, Bill-o)

He's standing on his own and he's using sign language to say "milk."

The next time I post on here, it will be about him walking. So stay tuned...

One

One year ago today, we met Zach for the first time. Today, we have a year's worth of happy memories and a whole new year of milestones to anticipate.

Happy birthday, Zach! We love you.

Lucky 11

It's today, March 23*, Easter Sunday, that Zach turns 11 months old. No more little landmarks to check off until his first birthday.

Wait a minute - Birthday!!??? As in, no more infant? Where did the time go? Oh wait, it went pretty slowly. Much like Luke's first year, I was awake for most of it.

Zach's been doing funny interactive stuff that makes him seem like less of a helpless bundle and more of an actual person. Case in point: Today he was opening and closing the screen door and every time he opened it he would give me an open-mouth grin and say, "AAAAHHHHH!!"

He also wants to spend as much of his time crawling or standing as possible. Oh, and as little time napping. That said, he's given us a few good nights here and there (last night from 8 pm to 5 am - not going to win any baby sleep awards, but we've certainly heard of - and experienced - worse).

And he likes to sit in my lap and read books. AND - this one is my favorite - he loves to share things with me, like a water bottle (take a sip, hand it to mom, take it back again) or an apple (take a bite, hand it to mom, take it back again).

Just look at that face. Is this a kid who is ready to meet the world, or what?

*updated March 29 - So I was off by a month! Who's counting besides me? Thanks to Suzi for paying attention.

Nine Months

Here's Zach at nine months:

Twenty-one pounds, 14 ounces; six teeth; infectious laugh; crawls backwards; hasn't had a day without congestion since October. Goes by many aliases: Zacky Zoo (mom), Goo-goo (Luke), Zakkar Noir (dad), Baby Z 1000 (Luke's teacher Ashley), Zacker (Helena), Zacharach (Papa). Loves: pancakes, waffles, carrots, bananas, paper, fake sneezes, standing upright, throwing balls, swinging, long walks on the beach. Can't stand: bottles, naptime, medicine, the nose bulb, clothes changes, independent play. Has a mean right arm. Loves the ladies. All in all, a good three-quarters of a year. We love ya, big guy.