Zachary goes to church

Today was such a wonderful day! Zachary is just the happiest baby, and was such a delight to play with all afternoon! Nothing could upset our little man today (not even belly-time when he rolled over from his belly to his back!), and we enjoyed him sooooo much!

The day started out what we thought was quite smoothly, but then a few obstacles tested us this morning. We planned it to the minute - - what time to feed him, dress him, shower ourselves, feed ourselves, feed him again, pack him in the car seat, and leave for church for the first time as a family, leaving enough time to find just the perfect seats (in the back and on the aisle, just in case the little man decided to "pray" out-loud). Well, all the planning in the world doesn't guarantee smooth sailing, as we were reminded this morning. I actually thought we were going to be early (I can't imagine why!), as I burped the little man 15 minutes before we were to walk out the door.

Much to my surprise, I heard a bit of an explosion (2nd one that morning), and suddenly noticed what resembled a slow lava flow out of ... get this... the BOTTOM OF THE LEG OF HIS PANTS! How could that be?? I just couldn't imagine what was going on under his perfect church outfit to cause such a diaper breach! Now what? Abandon our plan to attend church for the first time as a family? Was this a test to see how committed we were to starting a new Sunday routine? Well, if it was a test, we passed! I hurriedly undressed Zachary, threw the soiled clothes in a basin of water to soak, washed him down, picked out another perfect church outfit (I liked the first one best, but this would have to work), diapered and dressed our little cherub. I then passed him off to Len to secure him in the car seat and load the car, as I pulled myself back together.

Believe it our not, we made it to the service with two minutes to spare. Unfortunately, though, we ended up in the third row from the FRONT! Oi! I was a bit nervous wondering if Zachary would test his choir lungs, but to our pleasure, he was an absolute angel (no pun intended) for the ENTIRE 90 minute service (he ended up snoozing for quite a bit of it). So many commented on what an adorable and well behaved baby we had, as we just felt so welcomed in this new community! Hopefully, next Sunday will be an easier preparation, and equally pleasurable service!

Here are a few shots of Zachary's first Sunday Church Service...

The Inverso's Visit!

Zachary was so happy this past Friday when Mommy came to pick him up from daycare, and surprised him by bringing his cousin Hailey, too! He was just so happy to see her, and show her his classroom, the toys he plays with, and his "crib away from home"! He also got to introduce his teacher, Miss Shauna, and was full of smiles and coo's as Hailey helped pack him up. He thought if Hailey is here at daycare with Mommy, the whole family is probably waiting for a visit, so we hurried home to greet them all!

Sure enough, the entire Inverso family stopped by for a visit on their way up 95 North, as they headed home from a quick Spring Break roadtrip to Baltimore! Here are some of the pictures... Zachary just LOVED seeing his cousins Hailey and CJ, as well as his Aunt Lynne and Uncle Chuck. What a wonderful Friday evening treat!

The Easter Bunny Came!

WOW! The Easter Bunny came to my house while I was in NJ, so I didn't open my presents until this morning. He even put some treats for Mommy and Daddy in my basket, too.
Look at me with all of my cool stuff!

My three-month portrait

A few weeks ago, Mommy and Daddy took me to have my 3-month portrait taken. It was a bit of a project, but all-in-all, I had a good time posing for the nice lady with the camera. Here are some of the pictures they took of me wearing my Easter outfit... All of that posing was hard work, so I took a quick cat nap... I had no idea they'd take pictures of me doing that!

If you'd like, you can access and download the photos directly by going to the following website: http://www.smilesbywire.com/

You'll need to enter the following information to view Zachary's pictures:

Customer Name: Susan Goodman

Access Code: LTP47902085027JCP

(Note: the photos will only be accessible until 6/7/2008)

Hoppy Easter!

(Sit back and get comfortable... this is a long entry!)

I can't believe it's already Easter! Even though it's a bit early this year, it still blows my mind... it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Zachary's first Christmas! What a weekend we had... starting with a Friday night visit to the Easter Bunny and then one of our famous road trips to New Jersey for lots of fun, food and family!

Zachary's first trip to visit the Easter Bunny was not at all what we expected (which isn't a bad thing). As soon as Len got home from work, we headed over to the local mall, anticipating a long line of excited, anxious children awaiting their turn to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap. Instead, we found no line at all (it had just emptied out a few minutes prior to our arrival, according to the cashier). They actually had to wait for us to get Zach out of his stroller and primped for his big debut with the great bunny himself! (Can you feel the excitement and anticipation?) Though we weren't sure exactly how Zachary would respond to a great-big-giant-stranger-bunny, much to our pleasure, he seemed mesmerized by the whole thing, and was so cute sitting and posing!

Our weekend adventure continued Saturday at the Goodman Grandparents house, where all of his maternal Great Aunts and Uncles came over for a celebration and to see just what a big boy Zachary is becoming. He was truly a charmer as he was passed from Aunt to Aunt, to Uncle, to Aunt, to Grandma, to Aunt, to Uncle, back to Grandma, to Uncle, to Poppie, to Aunt etc. (you get my point)! What a trooper... I think he just absolutely loved all of the attention (he's such a ham) and can really work a room! Len and I laughed as we changed his diaper right before everyone arrived... we said our good-byes to the little man, knowing full-well we wouldn't have our hands on him again until it was time for his next feeding (hee hee)! Everyone (but Len and I surprisingly enough) took so many pictures of the evening, so as soon as we receive electronic copies of them, I'll add a special entry dedicated just to the party!

Easter Sunday was spent both at Mom-Mom's and Aunt Lynne's houses. We first stopped by Mom-Mom's to play with cousins Hailey and CJ (who were anxiously awaiting our arrival) after church was over.

We then all retreated over to Aunt Lynne's for an afternoon of exchanging Easter baskets and eating, eating, eating! Zachary was pretty pooped at this point, as it had been a long couple of days with a very short night of sleep (for Mommy and Daddy, too). He did manage to wake up later in the afternoon to play with some of his presents, though!

We rounded off the day with a late night stop at Grandma and Poppie's on our way back home to Bel Air. Though it was exhausting, we had a WONDERFUL weekend celebrating Zachary's first Easter!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Zachary is sending a Happy St. Patty's Day to all of his friends and family! He celebrated over the weekend wearing one of his adorable green outfits, and as you'll see below, did it again today for all of his friends at daycare!

Today also marked my first day back to work... I'm so exhausted, I can barely think to create this entry, but wanted to share the pictures Len took this morning, because they are too precious! Len and I took the approach of divide and conquer as we both tried to get out of the house this morning. Beginning with the CLANG of the alarm at 5 am (after less than 4 hours of sleep), I got up to try and get myself ready as much as possible before the little man awakened for his morning feeding. I at least was able to shower and dress before that happened. After he was fed and happy again, I put him down for a quick nap with Len while I made myself presentable, prepared his bottles of thawed milk for the day, packed his bag and loaded the car with everything I needed for my first day back (laptop, briefcase, pump, cooler, etc.). I think I require more gear than the little man to make it through the day... oi! I gave them both a big kiss, and headed north as a tear or two trickled down my cheek.

That's where Len took over... he got himself ready, then dressed Zachary and dropped him off for the day. (I couldn't bear to say goodbye there.)

Len took pictures of their morning together, and sent them to me at work as a pick-me-up (which totally worked). I just couldn't resist sharing them here, as Zachary looks so darn cute in his green garb. (They loved it at daycare, too!) [The first picture is of Zach in the glider chair in his nursery after Daddy finished dressing him, the second is with Miss Ashley (one of his teachers at daycare) when dropping him off.]

I got to be the one to pick him up after work, and he was one happy little boy! He screached and smiled when he saw me walk in, which just melted my heart! The bottom line... I think we all survived a very long day! (Len and Zach are sound asleep in the living room, and I'm about to hit the sack for a couple of hours before the next feeding, after I wash and sterilize bottles and prepare everything for tomorrow, when we start all over again! Oh my!)

Thank you, also, to Grandma and Poppie for the beautiful flowers they sent me at work to brighten my day... it truly made a difficult day happier knowing we're all thought of so often and loved so much!

Just Chillin'

While Mommy and Daddy are busy doing their weekend chores, I'm just chillin' in my favorite place, the swing! I don't know why, but they keep stopping what they're doing to hang out and play with me (not that I mind!). At this rate, they'll never get it all done!

Yeah, He's Here!

Well, Daddy is finally home and I was so happy to see him! I went to the airport for the first time and greeted him at the security gate... Mommy carried me in the Baby Bjorn, so I could really look around, and I thought all of the lights were so cool. We got there about 40 minutes before Daddy's plane, so by the time he landed, I had fallen asleep since it was late in the evening and I had a long day. That's ok, though, because Daddy was so happy to see Mommy and me waiting for him inside the airport (he thought we were just picking him up curbside).

By the time we got home, I woke up to tons of hugs and kisses from Daddy (who really missed me, too) and just in time to open presents he got us from Disney!! I'm so happy I wore my special new bib I got just to show my Daddy how much I love him and missed him!

Daddy's Coming Home!

Daddy is finally coming home tonight, after his first trip away from Zachary! He has been in California since early Sunday, so the little guy and I have been keeping each other company this week. When I reminded Zach that Len would be here tonight, this is how he responded... I guess he missed his Daddy just as much as I did!

Look at me!

I took these pictures this morning of the little guy determined to stand up in the chair. (He really doesn't like bending at the waist, and much prefers standing vs. sitting.) He's completely supporting himself on his strong little (and chunky) legs, and holding my hand simply for balance... can you believe it? Before you know it, he'll be heading off to college... hee hee! I just can't believe how fast time goes with this precious little creature. It seems like only yesterday when we found out I was pregnant... it's hard to believe that he was conceived a YEAR ago this week!

My First Day of School!

Well, Monday was my very first day of school and I sure did enjoy myself! I think I did much better than Mommy did with the big day (she's probably still crying! hee hee). Though I don't start full-time until next week, we had a trial visit to see how I made out away from Mommy for so long. I spent time in the swing (it's different than mine, but I still liked it), slept in my very own crib set up just for me (it's only one over from the window, so I have a nice view), drank milk from a bottle (definitely not the same, but I survived), and talked and played with my new teachers. I have 5 other classmates, and I can't wait to learn more about each of them as we spend our days together. Overall, I think I'm going to like this new experience... now we just need to convince Mommy I'll be okay and happy everyday. I smiled sooo big when she came to pick me up, so hopefully she knew I had a great time even though I missed her, too.

Mom-Mom came to keep Mommy company (and distract her with an afternoon of shopping and lunch out), and I was so happy to have her here for a nice visit while Daddy was away in California at his conference. I know Mommy was as happy as I was to have her here!

Here are some more pictures of my big day...

Mommy was holding me so tight, I wasn't sure she'd actually let me go and drop me off, but as you can see me in my carseat, we eventually made it there.

Here I am in the swing I mentioned above...

See how happy I was when I saw Mommy walk in to pick me up later that afternoon!