Just being cute...

Zachary takes on Bloomingdales... Look mom, one hand!

I am SO cool! Trying on some new summer clothes...

Video

Here is a video of Zach being silly. It also shows off his walking skills. It is short and sweet. Since I am new at posting videos, this is just a test run. More to follow...

The Worst Blogger Ever!

I have come to face the fact that I am the worst blogger ever. I enjoy reading other people's blogs but for some reason, I am not motivated enough to update my own. Not good. I will try harder.

Things with Zachary are great. He is a happy one year old boy who does not sit still for long. Zachary does very well keeping himself busy which I think is a great skill to have! It's not that I don't like paying attention to him, it's just that I cannot do it all day, every day. It is also a skill that will serve him well as he gets older. As a preschool teacher, I have been with many children who cannot entertain themselves at all and need constant attention from an adult. It's exhausting. Zachary finds ways to keep busy on his own. He plays with remote controls, phones, tupperware, socks and sometimes underwear. Who needs toys?

Zachary also interacts well with other children, which I LOVE! I take care of a family with a four year old, a two year old and a 9 month old. Zachary interacts well with all of them. The four year old likes to 'read' to him, play games with him, sing with him and she even dresses him up a little. Today, he wore his first crown. It was quite adorable and he thought it was funny. The two year old likes to chase him, hug him and crawl around on the floor next to him. The 9 month old just sort of hangs out while Zachary pokes him in the nose, cheeks and eyes all while trying to grab his binky! It's fun for me to see how he interacts so well with all ages.

What else? Zachary is walking almost all the time now. He is getting a bunch of teeth on top. He sleeps through the night like a champ. He continues to love Baby Einstein DVD's. He plays with Sophie and Reba and gives them kisses. Zachary also points to their noses when asked where they are. He dances when he hears a good tune. He does "SO BIG" by throwing his arms up in the air when asked: "How big is Zachary?" A new trick he learned from his great grandmother! He responds to the question: "Where is Zachary?" by putting his hands on his cheeks. He claps, opens cabinets, waves, drinks from a straw, gives five, blows kisses, climbs the stairs and usually makes a lot of noise. He loves singing songs, especially "the itsy bitsy spider." He usually eats well, although lately he has been spitting a lot of his food out. He takes good naps, most of the time. He is talking in his crib as I write this. He has woken up from a three hour nap. I love those naps!

Sharing puffs with Sophie...

Checking email on Dadda's Blackberry...Looking cute...Mimi bought this sweater..."Here I am!"

THEN and NOW!!!

Just Hangin'

I don't really have much to report lately. We have been hanging out these past couple of weeks. I am supposed to be taking care of kids four mornings a week but with sicknesses and vacations, it hasn't happened in almost three weeks. I think Zachary is getting sick of me :) He enjoys hanging out with other kids. There's only so much I can do to keep him busy! We do things like take walks, play in the snow, go to the store, play with water and play with his many toys. Yesterday while I was on the computer, I realized that I had not heard from him for a while. He is good at keeping himself busy but he's not usually so quiet. When I fould him, he was in the kitchen with a tootsie pop in his mouth. He had pulled out a drawer and found a bag of them. He thought he was so cool. I, of course, ran to get the camera.

We also take a Gymboree class once a week and he loves that. The babies are all around the same age so it's great for Zachary to interact with them. There's a lot of "Dadda, Mama, Baba" talk going on. It really is quite adorable.

Zachary is into playing ball lately. If you ask him to get his ball and give it to Mama, he'll do it. He's also walking most of the time now. He is still trying to figure out how to get from sitting/crawling to standing without using something for help. He'll stand up (using a wall, my leg or whatever) and walk around for a while until he falls. Then, he'll crawl to something that can help him stand and do it all over again. Such a big boy!

We are heading to NY this weekend for Zach's great grandmother's 80th birthday celebration. It should be a fun time. A lot of Zach's family will be there. His grandparents, aunt and uncle, great aunts and uncles, second cousins and of course his great grandmother and great grandfather. They haven't seen him since he was about 8 months old. He was a baby then. He's becoming more of a big boy each day. I'm happy they will get to see him!