Six months and almost mobile!

Well, our little guy is 6 months old, and boy, is he changing! He still sleeps through the night, but he had definitely found his voice: he "talks" all the time. He's added new letters to his vocabulary. He can say his m's, d's, g's, and many more that we haven't quite figured out yet! He has rolled over from his belly to his back a few times, but he can definitely get up on all fours. He just doesn't know what to do once he gets there! At our last doctor's appointment, he weighed 24 pounds and was 28 inches long. He's already outgrown most of his clothes (and I didn't think that was possible as full as his closet was!) and is wearing 12+ month sizes! Still the always happy baby, we are so lucky.


He also had his first date a few weeks ago. My friend, Brooke, from work brought her daughter, Ava (born 2 months after Zach), to a friend's baby shower. We managed to get one good picture: Zach is already the charmer at 6 months, kissing her hand!! I guess he takes after his daddy!

Zach is 5 months old!!

I just can't believe that our little guy is 5 months old already! We've started putting him in the highchair to feed him cereal....he loves it!! We also fed him carrots this week, and he loved those too!! We are so blessed to have such a good baby!!

Another new year...

Well, with the Jewish new year freshly behind us, we are ready to start anew!

We took Zach to the synagogue for Yom Kippur, and he was so well behaved! He was also the star of the night: everyone stopped to see the adorable baby in the yarmulke! True to form, Zach was full of smiles for everyone.

He is 4 1/2 months old now, and as of our last doctor's appointment, he was 26.5 inches long and 20 pounds!! He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and even some 12 month. I think he's going to be a big boy! The doctor suggested we start working on just cereal and maybe some other foods, like carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. That is going to be an adventure, I am sure.

Every moment that passes with him is incredible. He is still such a good baby: laughing and smiling all the time....and sleeping all night long!! We are so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful child.

You have to do what?!?!?

Boy has it been a crazy week here! I was planning to use this last week to get things together to return to work, and BOOM! I end up in the hospital! I woke up early Monday morning (3am) with terrible abdominal pains, and finally around 7 when I could take it no more, I woke Michael up and we grabbed Zach and went to the ER. Four hours, lots of blood samples, and a long ultrasound later, I was told that I had gall stones and that my gallbladder must be taken out!

I was put on a very strict liquid diet for all of Monday. The surgeon came to see me and tell me that after midnight I could have nothing at all. My surgery was scheduled for 4pm! So, after not really eating on Monday, I was happy when the nurse came for me much earlier than 4 - it was more like 11am. Once the surgery was complete, I had to remain on a liquid diet...putting me at not eating any real food since Sunday.

But I was released today, and now I am home, sore and tired. I won't be returning to work next week as planned, and I can't even pick Zach up for a week! But my mother has been here to help Michael and me; what a relief! Also a major relief? Pain meds. The four little incisions on my belly are causing lots of pain. But I can handle it, right? I mean, I made it through labor and delivery with no real problems!!

Will post more pix later when I am feeling more up to it.

Into the wild blue yonder...

Zachary turned three months old last week, and he celebrated by taking his first airplane ride! We went to Connecticut to see Michael's family. Zach did wonderfully: he slept on all flights and never fussed once! We had a great time visiting with relatives and going to Mystic Village. One of the best things about our trip was the weather: it was 80 degrees and NO humidity!! It really made coming home to triple digits hard!!

But all good things must come to an end, so we are back at home, in the sweltering heat, praising the invention of air conditioning! I return to work on August 27, so we are trying to keep Zach on a reasonable facsimile of a schedule. Although I must admit, he has been sleeping rather well: when he goes down for the night, he tends to sleep at least 6-7 hours before waking up for a bottle then going back to sleep. Let's just hope Daddy can handle it all when I'm not around!!

He's at it again....

Well, it seems that Zach's constant growth has inspired Michael to do a little more graphic work...our poor little guy!



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Zachary is 2 months old!

Our little guy turned two months old yesterday, and I just cannot get over the changes in him! He's really starting to laugh and "talk." We don't know for sure, but he seems to like watching television....even when Baby Einstein isn't on! He's around 14 pounds now, and 23.5 inches long. I think we're going to have a big boy on our hands! I've already started a bag of clothes that no longer fit...some he never wore! The doctor said that we can start putting a little cereal in his formula, and even with that, he's still hungry every three hours!! UGH! Good thing for teachers' summers off!

Is it gas???

Just had to share this picture...Zach has started smiling! At first I thought it was gas, but no, it's a smile!!! He's also started sticking his tongue out and babbling to the shadows on the walls. Every day brings something new!

29 and holding....

Well, not really. I actually don't mind turning 35 this year: I've got a lot to celebrate! I spent a wonderful day with Michael and Zach, and my mother came up with the twins. We had a fun day feeding turtles and eating birthday cake. Michael, Zach, and I had a nice dinner later. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but who really needs all that anyway??? I have a wonderful family, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!!

This was taken at my parents' house. We were celebrating the girls' 4th birthday....but today is another reason to celebrate: my brother was awarded full custody of the girls!!! Zach will have his cousins, Hope and Faith, close by!

Adding a picture...

Well, if you know my dear husband at all, you know that Michael is an artist...with paints, charcoal, and yes, even graphics. He turned bath time into a trip around the world! And no, I can't imagine letting him take any like that of me!

Funny how time flies...

Today, Zach is one month old! I can't believe that the first month is already over. Although it seems like I've had this little guy in my life forever. Every day brings something new. He is much more attentive now, focusing more and more on everything. He is also much bigger...close to 12 pounds!! We are still trying to figure out a schedule, of course, but he is pretty consistent with his eating habits: every three - four hours. Michael and I are also trying to figure out a system, but that is taking some time. Good thing I have the whole summer off: I can't remember the last time I slept more than two consecutive hours in my own bed! But it's all worth it.

On the bandwagon...

Everyone else is doing it, so I figured why not??

This seems to be a much easier way to keep up with all of the exciting events in our lives!

To date, the only really exciting news is that Zachary is growing like crazy. Daddy is constantly taking pictures and singing to our son. Now, if I could only get him to change the dirty diapers all by himself...

Being a mom is truly wonderful. I won't offer all of the cliches about motherhood that people say, but I will say that they are all true! While we knew that having a child would change our lives in a multitude of ways, I never dreamed the impact that this little guy would have! It's not just the 45 minutes it takes to get a diaper bag ready to go to the grocery or the many wipes used for one little person, no, it's so much more than that. It's knowing that despite the insanity and the chaos in this world, there is some divine goodness. Something awe inspiring that Michael and I created together.

I will do my very best to keep pictures and family news updated, but being a new mom, I can't promise perfection! I hope you enjoy the pictures of Zachary.