2 YEARS OLD!!

My baby turned 2 last month. I can't believe how time flies when you're getting old. We had an extended family birthday party for all 5 November birthdays, but Zach was the only one there so it was a special treat for him. He got his birthday money from Grandpa Great and had so much fun playing with his cousins. Boy does he love that Cuzzy Sage!! We had yummy food and dessert and Zach even ate frosting with cake crumbs that Aunt Jilby gave him. We were all very impressed.

The next weekend we had David's family and my parents over to our house for another party. We had so much fun and Zach got a lot of neat gifts. He wasn't a big fan of opening presents and had to fight his cousins for rights to play with his own toys, but he definitely had a good time. He got a pirate ship ride on toy, a tall rampway to drive his cars down, a musical animal train (this is by far his favorite toy...it plays several songs, but he will only let it play one of the songs and it is going all day long...thanks grandma and grandpa!), a CAT truck, Zig the Big Rig to hold all his Little Wheelies cars, new Toy Story bedding set, some boring clothes from mom and dad, and a crib rail to convert his bed to a big boy bed. We changed it over the next night and so far so good. He climbs out to get mom in the morning, and sometimes will fall asleep on his floor or sitting up against the wall, but mostly stays in his bed all night. A couple days later he also got a Tonka Helicopter from Rory and Darci.

On his birthday mom and Zach went on a date to the aquarium which he still seems to enjoy walking around and seeing all the fish and the penguins. I got a few cute pictures and we left with a penguin stuffed animal. Unfortunately, mom had to work that night so we couldn't have a fun family date, but I'm sure he didn't even notice. The next day we had fun celebrating Thanksgiving with our families and he was so happy when Aunt Jilby gave him olives all night long. She sure knows the good stuff. (No, he didn't actually eat them...too bad!)

What we love about Zachary at 2:

-He still isn't saying very many words but the ones he does know he uses consistently. "ball" "mom" "dad" "what's that" "who's that" "buzz" "uh-oh" "hey" (yells this when he needs our attention) "hi" "see-ya" "star" "uh-uh" (as in no, says it even when I'm asking his dad a question that the answer is no to) "woof-woof" (means dog)"yay" "bubbles" "okay" He's had some in the past that he's lost, but I'm sure we'll see them back again one day. He stills loves to jargon and will even sometimes talk back to us. I just wish I knew what he was saying.

-Is learning more and more signs in order to communicate what he wants. He usually picks up on them after a day or two of me using them consistently. He's learning them faster than I am. Signs he knows: "more" "drink" "open" (his own invention) "please" "thank you" "potty" "treat" "shoes" "all done" "bird"

-Finally walking and running all over the place. Can walk up and down stairs with help. Going to Gymboree class to learn how to climb better and loves to walk up and down the slides. Tries to jump but usually only gets one foot off the ground.

-Still not eating well and continues to vomit frequently (okay I guess this shouldn't be included under things we LOVE). After his 2 year appointment and weight check, if we get referred to a G-tube surgeon, we plan to discuss our options on how we might surgically manage his vomiting and reflux in hopes to stop cleaning up vomit and make eating a more pleasurable experience.

-Has a fabulous memory about where he's put toys either hours or days before. He realizes it's something we're looking for or he realizes it's missing and he wants to play with it and can usually find it without any difficulty. Also has sonic ears and radar eyes. He can spot or hear a dog, airplane, helicopter, or the trax train long before mom and dad ever even realize there's one near. Maybe we've just learned to tune out those sounds.

-Loves lotion!

-Is starting to teach himself to use the potty. A month or so ago he started taking off his diaper and peeing on the floor. I decided it was time to buy a potty simply for the sake of teaching him the proper place to go. He loves to sit on the potty and pee, dump it in the toilet, and flush the toilet. Sometimes he will do this 10-20 times in a row, and has a meltdown when mom makes him stop and put on a diaper. Just this last week he learned the sign for potty and will now ask us to go use the potty. It's definitely not something we're pushing since he has to go so much and so often, but he's doing really well so far.

Zach is such a handsome boy and he is so much fun to be around. He makes us laugh everyday with things he does or says. Even though he has his tantrums, they usually don't last long before we're loving on him again. He gives the best kisses and hugs and offers them up all day every day. We love our little man!