Zack is 2

Two years ago we were in Hong Kong, which is hard enough to believe ..now we have a two year old son!  Having an almost 3 month old I can't even believe half of the things Adam and I had to do with Zack his first few days of life.  It was an amazing time.
My little five and a half pounder is now 30 lb's!

 He is always up to something...and always coming up with new crazy ideas.

 He is a runner...which he has been since the day he could walk.  It certainly isn't as much fun running away from mommy now that she isn't pregnant.

 He think's he is one of the big kids.  He goes on the tall slides he climbs the big ladders.  He sees big kids and assumes he is automatically part of their game.  He chases them and does what they do (which keeps me on my toes).

 He always has fun...seriously...time out is fun for this kid...no matter how mean I make my face look.

 He sets his mind to something and comes up with a plan

 Basically the only way to change his mind is to get him to focus on something more fun.

Poor Hunter is stuck in the stroller a lot because it isn't as easy to chase and capture his brother with him in the Baby Bjorn.

 In the end he usually meets his goal somehow.

 We have so much fun with him.  For the most part he is well behaved and polite...but his best quality is his sweetness.

Zack and Hunter first 2.5 months

People ask if Hunter and Zack look alike.  Zack takes after me while Hunter looks more like Adam but they defiantly look like brothers.

Zack's Speech

So basically I understand 90% of what he says...which is great for an almost 2 year old...Adam understands 60% and everyone else might pick up a word or two (and I would say he has over 100 words).  We met with a speech therapist for an evaluation and the conclusion was he needed speech therapy...shocker!
Here are his words (off the top of my head)

Ba (short a) - mommy, grandma, grandpa
Da - daddy
be be - baby
oh ah - Hunter, robot, apple
gar (rollong r) - car
baw - ball
ackkkkk - snack...fruit snacks
ruckkkkk - truck
baw bis - basket ball
oh oh - woo who (when he makes a basket)
uh oh (raspy) - uh oh
bu - milk
doose - juice
bock bock - chicken
tese - please
tay tay - thank you
tay ti - blanket
bock - block
daw - dog
tea ta - clean up
ti - tigger
riii - frog
bo - book
be boo - peek-a-boo
ba - bath
tey - key
doo - door
oush - ouch, house
tea - tree
wa - water
dough - no
ba - banana
poo - spoon
daw daw - Mickey Mouse (because of the hot dog song)
yo ho - Jake and the Neverland Pirates
bi - big
boe - lolly pop
dou - phone
pa - pants
ockkkkk - sock
doo - shoe
ice - light
wa - help
be - Penelope (his girlfriend...he also calls her mother and sister be)
duh - all other friends
baw - pumpkin
ig - pig
bir - bird
dow - down
bu - blue
bak - black
He can name some other colors but can't pick them out.
He names most animals with their sound
He names a fish with the fish face
He can identify some letters (we know W, and Y...we think he knows more but with his issues they don't sound any different)
do do do - counting (does he know different numbers...no clue)
he asks where by holding up his hands


He is very independent and is able to communicate non verbally really well.  Even if people don't understand his words it's easy to understand what he wants.  He points he nudges he demonstrates etc...  Most kids with speech issues (especially toddlers) get frustrated because others can't understand him, Zack doesn't get frustrated at all.

Visiting Grammy and Grandpa

So I have become really good at taking pictures of Zack everywhere we go...and really bad at taking pictures of everyone else.
Today was an amazing day of eating, playing and catching up...with plenty of Hunter snuggles.  Zack sure knows how to get grown adults to do everything he wants them to do...I love that he gets to be spoiled by Grandparents!  On that note I am looking forward to being a grandparent that spoils!

I love his little toddler hand

 All of a sudden he sat quietly and folded his hands...as if he was praying.

 Then Grandpa drove him around in the wagon

down the hill

up the hill

 He did that several times before getting distracted with a ball...which he threw off the deck

"Uh Oh"   (will he ever learn that it isn't uh oh if you do it on purpose?) 

And somehow got Grandpa to help him carry the wagon onto the deck...which turned out to be the perfect stepping stool onto the table.

 And we can't forget the slide...

I promise I will have a small photo shoot with Hunter one day this week during Zack's nap.  And yes I know he has chocolate on his chin...I could have cleaned it but I think it's cute.

Our House: Making Progress

OK...so I know no one will think this is as exciting as Adam and I, but this is our family memory "book".  We bought the house (well reserved it I guess) in the beginning of February with an estimated closing date of the end of March.  Until this past week there has been little progress (that I could tell) and a major setback (nothing serious just annoying...waiting for an inspector).  Finally we have dry wall...this is a big turning point because it means next comes cabinets, flooring, paint etc...all the things that make it feel like a real house.

The dining room

The guest room

Kitchen

Family Room

Breakfast nook

Playroom

Hunter's bedroom

Zack's bedroom

Master

Attic/Man cave

Garage and parking area

I love all the windows and the fact that we have to rec. areas.  Adam gets the attic, the kids get the loft...the rest of the house is MINE!

Special Visitors

I get to see my Aunt Ellen maybe once a year.  She has never met the boys so when she visited Grandma they along with my parents came up to visit.  We hung out, I showed them our house to be and we went to the park.  I was excited to have some outside time to take pictures...when it's just me and the boys I have to make sure Hunter is happy and Zack doesn't jump off something.
I really enjoyed watching my dad do whatever Z wanted and I love how much Z loves his grandpa...

first time on a real swing without falling off the back. 

the baby swing is much more fun

because you can go super high without worrying about falling out. 

although the pusher may fall

the grandma's watched Hunter

thanks dad for teaching Zack how to climb the rock wall. 

I love rear end shots.

and an even bigger thanks for teaching him to go down the fire pole...I spend 50% of playground time trying to get him to NOT jump off the top. 

and some more Hunter watching

Super cute