My Toddling Toddler

Is he officially a toddler when he starts walking or is it when he hits a certain age?  Anyway here is a really bad video that I took on my phone of Zack walking...

and to explain...
I don't know what happened to the sound.
Zack was upset because I made him do this several times and teased him because once he got to me he figured he could play with the phone. 
Sorry about the shaking...I was watching him and not the camera.

Z Man in the Snow

For some reason I didn't sleep well on Sunday night, and Zack woke up at 6:00 am.  I really wanted to take him outside, I went back and forth and finally decided it would be much better to stay inside in my pajamas where it's nice and warm.  As soon as I made that decision I knew it was wrong.  I just knew if I didn't at least get a picture of him in the snow I might kick myself later.  So I raced to get dressed (because the snow was almost gone) and threw athletic pants over Zack's Pj's and bundled him up (which made him extremely happy as you can guess).
As soon as I put him down in the snow this is what happened:

He really liked it!

 

I think he liked the cold

 

Guess what he did with that snow on his mitten...

He ate it...I wish I got a shot of the suprised look on his face.  I don't think he has ever tasted anything so cold.  He must have liked it because he took a second lick.

 

Christmas Eve

Adam and I wanted to start a new tradition as a family of 3...until now we had just taken part in our childhood traditions which was fun but having 4 Christmas's was pretty exhausting.  Last year we were in Australia on the beach and unfortunately that option wasn't on the table for this year. 
We began the day with breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Cafe (EXCELLENT...this will defiantly be continued next year.

Then we came home, packed and got ready for a gathering at our friends house.

We all went to Church together.

After church we came home I made appetizers,

Adam poured the wine,

and Zachary examined the gifts.

"FOR ME???"

After our snack we opened gifts...this was a very exciting Christmas for me...I finally came up with a gift for Adam that he wouldn't expect and that he would LOVE, and it was my little man's first Christmas.  I really didn't expect much out of him, but his excitement was awesome.  He was crazy crawling this way and that way opening gifts, playing with new toys, eating bows and smiling and laughing all night. 

We took turns helping him open gifts

yes, he is chewing on wrapping paper...but this is the coolest toy ever for babies who love i-phones.  You can put your phone in here download the Fisher Price App's and your baby can play with your phone without damaging it.  It has a drool guard and a cover for the power button.

he was so overwhelmed that he fell and rolled 3 times over his clothes.

Adam's gift was a Keurig coffee maker (which he opened last)...he began by opening coffee and a thing of creamer that he thought was to bring to work...

but no...it was for his very own machine!

I am super excited because Adam got me a ravioli making attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. 

basically we officially have a tripped out kitchen.
Of course we had to play with all our new "toys".  My camera strap looks perfect on my camera.  Adam made his first cup of coffee...oh and...

Adam let Z play with his i-phone

Adam blew up the ball pit

I took a turn...they really should have included a pump

This was the most still he was all night

guess who LOVED the blocks...

yep...I was asked to hold Zack back so he could build it really tall

We settled little man down with a bath and a bottle,

We had dinner (baked ziti...perfect make ahead dinner)

and desert...gilato and a canoli (had to keep it Italian...next year I am thinking Mexican).

We hung our stockings on the baby gate hoping Santa would visit!

Zack's first REAL crawl...

Zack started crawling backwards at the end of his 6th month.  I thought he would never crawl forwards and I was so hoping he would figure it out.  A lot of people say "Don't get too excited about them crawling because then they get into everything."  He was so frustrated that it wasn't working that I hated that he was frustrated.  He made several moves forward but never forward enough to get to where he wanted.  I decided to wait to count it as a full on crawl until he gets to what he wants without stopping to make a big reach and he did it again if I move the toy he was going for.  Well it wasn't a toy he wanted, it was my little pink camera...

This was taken right after he got a flu shot...which he was super brave for...no crying!

Zack’s First Plane Ride

Zachary took his first airplane trip!  We wanted to take a test trip before the big one we will take in August.  I know Z will be fine but I needed this test trip for myself.  He slept the whole way to the airport and was happy and playful once we got checked in…I think he knew and was excited about riding in an airplane.  He was bouncing on my legs until take off.  I fed him (to make it so his ears didn’t pop) during takeoff and he fell asleep for some of the trip. The way back went equally as smooth.  We really had a successful trip.  Now if only I had faith that this one hour trip on a plane could be a window to the experience we will have on our 20 + hours of travel we will have in August.