Zachary is Walking!

The Saturday after Zach's birthday, he took his tentative first step at Grandma Bills' house toward her sitting in her chair. And it was all flat-footed from there! He'd test distances out, taking no more than two or three steps between things, but yesterday I'd turn my head and he was walking from the couch to the dining table or from the piano to the cedar chest at mom's house! And he walked (with my help) all the way out to the car yesterday. Hooray! No more carrying him! (or at least not as much :) He was getting so heavy!

Here he goes!

Jabberwocky!

As Lewis Carroll puts it in his poem,

"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."

It reminds me uncannily of Zachary's endearing speech. He talks in sentences and with voice inflections, using his hands to emphasize certain points, but it's in his his own little language. And I absolutely LOVE it!
AND...
Success!! After many trials and errors, we were able to victoriously record Zach's jargon. Every time we would try before, he'd be in the middle of jabbering and as soon as he'd see the camera, he'd stop, which always drove me nuts because it's so stinkin' adorable! But hoodalalee and hooray, we got it.

DOG!!

Here is the dog we got Zachary for his birthday. He LOVES it! From the minute he saw it in the store, to the day we gave it to him (aka yesterday) he giggled every time he saw it and his face would just light up. The dog is super soft and about four times as big as he is but Zach loves to tackle it and then snuggle. It makes a good friend for the little guy.

Zach's First Birthday Party!!

Yesterday we had Zach's birthday party even though he doesn't turn one officially until October 10th. It was a combined birthday party with Zach's cousins whose birthdays are really close to his and it was so much fun. It was a Halloween Costume Dress Up Party so all the kids (and the older kids too-ahem, like Duane and me) got dressed up. First I did Halloween pictures of all the kids in their costumes, and we played pin-the-face-on-the-pumpkin and spoon tag where the kids had to make it to the other end of the room without spilling the candy pumpkins in their spoons, and we decorated cupcakes. Then it was time for cake and candles. We placed Zach and his cousin Skyler (both turning one) in their high chairs and gave them their cupcakes with a candle in them and immediately Zachary reached out and touched the flame...and we all know what happened next. It scared him, and he began to cry. But we lit it again and this time he smiled and liked the flickering flame. We helped him blow it out and then he dug in. After cupcakes, they opened presents. It was a super fun party!








What a fearsome little lion!!

Okay, okay, adorable
is more like it!

Zach decided Skyler wasn't eating his cupcake fast enough!

Zach in his cute new hat with the gloves still pinned on.