happy Valentine’s from our family to yours! today Zachary and I spent the afternoon with Aunt Amy, window shopping at the Promenade in Coconut Creek, playing with some Thomas trains at a toy store (baby boy cried because he didn’t want to leave!!), giving little Z his first taste of ice cream (he loved it!) and enjoying the cool weather.

we came home to hugs and kisses from daddy, Zachary’s favorites for dinner, play time with his books, toys, and his fun airplane which he loves to push around his room, and lots of laughs and sweet, funny faces for mommy. he is just a sweet, loving little boy and I am glad to have been able to spend the day with him.

tomorrow starts the work week again as Adrian and I prepare for the WPPI (wedding & portrait photographers international) trade show, the biggest tradeshow each year in the photography industry, where we have a booth for our studio management software, Táve. it is going to be a great time, but we are spread thin right now getting everything ready!

hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s… here is a little card to brighten your day!

Zachary is such a fun little kid to be around right now. He is running ALL over the place- quite a handful but oh so much fun. He is really a little person now and so much less of a baby. I am in love with this stage – there is so much learning and discovery and it’s so much fun now that he understands just about everything I’m saying (even though he doesn’t talk much yet).

He says just a few words still – mama, dada, dog and Maya (our dog) and now he is saying Tah! for Thomas the train. My mom is relentless trying to teach him to say grandma but he hasn’t caught on yet – LOL.

He is a very good listener even though he gets very upset when you tell him not to do something that he really wants to do (which of course Adrian and I think is kind of funny, we have to try not to laugh). He is very good at following directions, and I love asking him to find things and give them to me – like a shirt that fell on the floor, a toy, the ball, my iphone, a cup, even the dog’s toys he understands are the dog’s and will give them to the dog when prompted! it is very cool.

He likes his blocks (eating and stacking them) and anything with colors and shapes, and loves his Elmo shape sorter. He is starting to understand which shapes go where and how the colors match up. He knows which parts go to which toy. He is VERY inquisitive and likes to understand how things work. He loves buckles and tries to figure out how to unbuckle and re-buckle things (Thank you Aunt Amy for Bucky the buckle turtle toy!). He likes to try to take things apart and figure out how they work which is really amazing to see. He loves leaves and rocks and bricks and your typical little boy things. :) He adores his dog and his daddy and mommy and the TV remote.

The cutest things he’s done in the past few days are help me empty the dishwasher and use a paper towel to clean the table! I have been showing him how to clean the table when I spill something on it, and he’s figuring it out. it is soooo cute!

He also does this fake-out thing where he will offer you something like food or a toy and then right when you go for it, he takes it back and starts laughing. it is hilarious!! he just started that recently too. he is learning how to be funny. :)

I just took him for his 1 year appointment.. He is now 13 months and weighs 27lb 12oz and is 33 inches tall! A very tall and skinny little boy! He wears 18 month clothes but usually the 18 month pants fall off of him which can be a little frustrating for his mommy!

Every post is better with a picture, so here’s a sneak peak of Zachary’s official 1st year photo shoot (done at 13 months).

I have been a bad blogger! Sorry for not blogging, it’s been such a busy month, mainly because Zachary is WALKING ALL OVER! I have been spending all of my free time off the computer, chasing my little guy around the house. Just in the past week he has learned how to stand up without holding on to anything, so now he has become even MORE mobile! It’s amazing!

So…. this year was Zachary’s first “real” Thanksgiving since last year he pretty much just chilled out in his crib, seeing as he was only a couple of days old! We had Adrian’s mom, dad, and sister Lissa come visit for the holiday (sadly my brother-in-law had to stay home and work all weekend!!). It was fun having them come to celebrate Zachary’s birthday with us. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, thanks to my mom & dad’s amazing cooking (as always) and Zachary enjoyed the meal (and conked out after the turkey, which was adorable). It was a great family dinner and nice to have Adrian’s parents and sister there to celebrate our little boy, who we are especially thankful for each and every day!

We spent lots of time with Adrian’s mom, dad and sister, and on one of the days they were here, we went to have lunch at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor in Dania Beach Florida. It is an AWESOME vintage styled restaurant with license plates all over the walls. so much fun!!! I can’t believe I’d never gone here before since I’ve lived in South FL all my life. I’m glad at least Zachary has had the chance to enjoy some of their food at a young age. :) The portions were yummy and filling so we didn’t even stay for ice cream, but we had a great time.

Here are some photos, first from Jaxson’s:

What a fun place! I didn’t get to take any pics inside the restaurant (I should have) but I’m sure we’ll definitely be back some day so I will do it next time. :)

Now, here are some photos from Thanksgiving:

Zachary looks so happy to be with his 2 grandmas! :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

More posts coming soon :)

Here are some photos from Zachary’s special day.

We started the day off with a blueberry waffle for breakfast and a phone call from Aunt Amy, who called to wish Zachary a very happy birthday. Zachary loved hearing the birthday song!

After Zachary’s nap, Adrian changed the car seat to be facing forward. Zachary is tall, so his legs were starting to get a bit scrunched. We were really looking forward to making the switch at the 1 year mark. Zachary really loved having his legs dangle down, looking out at everything and playing peekaboo every time I looked back at him. He thought it was the funniest thing!

Then we went to Volunteer Park, a great park in Plantation. I do a lot of photo shoots here since there’s great light and the scenery is nice and the park equipment is in good condition. It was Zachary’s first time on the slide and only his 3rd time on the swings. The last time he was on the swings was when he was much younger, so he really enjoyed swinging now that he is big enough to appreciate it. I had so much fun pushing him in the swing and taking photos of him smiling and laughing and having a great time.

All in all we had a really wonderful day. I’m so glad we decided to go to the park for Zachary’s birthday. Even though it was hot outside (almost 90 degrees, yuck!), he had a WONDERFUL time and I felt like I was able to experience magic and happiness through his eyes. :)

I also have to say that I’m glad I was able to get some cute shots of Zachary wearing his adorable tie-dyed Converse. Those shoes are adorable but they were pretty pricey, so I was hoping I’d get a chance to take some nice photos of Zachary wearing them before he grows out of them. He still has some room left to grow, but who knows when his feet will have a growth spurt. Mommy will be very sad on the day that her baby is unable to wear those cute shoes anymore…. mainly because I know I won’t be able to drop another $50 on a new pair!! ;) LOL!

It’s November 21st and today was my baby boy’s birthday! Zachary had a very full day full of lots of fun – changing his carseat to face forward (he LOVED it!) going to the park (he adored the swings), the bookstore, and playing with Mommy, Daddy, and Maya… and finally heading off to bed. He didn’t want to go to sleep tonight. He’s teething – and he just wanted his mama to sit with him, so I did. I told him how I had such a nice day playing with him and that tomorrow we were going to have another fun day, since his Aunt Amy was going to come over to play with him, so he needed to lay down and go to sleep, so he’d be all rested up.

And my cute little boy did just that. He curled up on his tummy with his favorite dachshund stuffed animal (“Doxie”) and stuck his little tush in the air and looked over at me and reached for my hand. Holding my hand, I could see him smile in the light of his night light. I felt happy, but a little sad, too, because my baby boy would never be this little again. Every day he grows and matures SO much.

Soon the clock will turn over to the next day. One year ago, it was at about this time that I was finally settled into my hospital room after waking up after my c-section, and I finally got to hold my baby boy for the very first time, what an awesome experience. And what an awesome year it has been!

Pictures from our day coming soon. :)

well, in a mere hour or so, the clock will turn over to November 21st, and my baby boy will officially turn from a baby to a toddler.

nevermind that he has been a toddler for a while now, walking all over the house. he is such a big boy. it is amazing to see all the changes that he’s been going through lately.

He’s definitely getting so much more mature lately. He’s getting so good at listening to his mommy, and he loves to watch his favorite shows on Sprout network – when they come on he calms down and watches intently, laughing at all the right parts. He likes Elmo and The Wiggles. He is so much fun, and so funny, and has a great sense of humor. He is learning to brush his teeth at night, and he is learning to help dress himself when I put his shirt and pants on. He is a picky eater as far as what he actually likes to eat, but he is always willing to try a new food, which I definitely appreciate. He plays so nicely with Maya (though sometimes I think he thinks he is a puppy, too). He is a complete joy! Such a good little kid, and a very sweet baby. We are truly lucky.

Tomorrow, we’re planning to give the little guy breakfast and head over to a park to have some birthday playtime. it will be a low key family day playing with our favorite boy. I’ll be sure to take some photos and I’m sure we’ll take some video too. :)

I’m not sure how I’ll feel tomorrow on his actual birthday, bittersweet for sure. Right now I am remembering how I felt last year knowing that I was going to be waking up at 4am to head to the hospital. I had such a hard time sleeping and I remember tossing and turning in my bed unable to fall asleep. It was such a long day going through induction, pitocin, and finally the c-section, but I would do it all again, and my sweet little baby was 100% worth it of course.

well, that’s it for now.  tomorrow is our little boy’s first birthday.

Happy birthday, Zachary! Mommy & Daddy and Maya love you very much. :)