About 10 days ago, our amazing little boy turned 15 months old!! Time sure does fly by... this upcoming Monday marks the 1-year anniversary of my return to work (technically, I returned on the 17th, but it was a Monday last year). I was so very lucky to have the time home I had with Zachary... our parental leave policy at work is top-notch! Though my greatest wish would be to stay home with Zachary, I know the plan Len and I have in place is effective and working out nicely. So much has happened with Zachary lately, I'm not even sure where to begin... I'll try to categorize it...
Zachary's stats:
On March 6th, Zach went for his 15-month well-visit with the doctor. I was honestly dreading it, based on a recent sick-visit about 3 weeks prior. You see, our little critter is just that...
little. His weight has been a slight concern (he completely fell off the chart at the last visit, having lost a little bit due to being sick) and the doctor has been keeping a very close eye on it. She (the doctor) and I were planning on discussing a referral to a specialist in Baltimore to further investigate and be sure nothing more serious was happening, especially since he's a relatively good eater. Well, much to my complete delight, Zachary GAINED 6 ounces!! That may seem like a small amount to you, but to me, it might as well be 50 pounds. He's back on the chart... woo hoo!!! That said, we agreed that we'd wait and not put him through all of the testing that would likely come as a result of the referral.
(Whew... I have to say, the second time we had to have his blood drawn, I actually cried too because it was not as smooth of an experience as the first one). So, this visit, even though Len was not able to be there (he was out of town at his annual GM's conference) was soooo much better than I could've imagined. It was interesting to see how the doc's approach for examining him changes, too. Because Zachary now remembers things more and is so much more aware and afraid of things foreign to him, the entire exam happens while I hold him in my lap. When we first walked into the exam room, I think Zach remembered the room where his blood was drawn because he just clung to me and cried a little. Normally, he's just fine and loves to explore all of the cool things around him. Once he settled down a little, he was back to his exploratory little self. During the exam, he got to play with the stethoscope and was such a good little boy. And this time,
Mommy had to hold him for the vaccine (my Mom was with us to offer her assistance which was so very much appreciated, but I really needed to be the one to hold him so
I could get over this hump). Thank goodness he only got 2 this time! And, we both survived!! Now to the official stats:
Height: 31 inches (50th percentile!!)
Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz (5th percentile)
That's right... still not 20 lbs. We need him to hit this mark so we can finally switch his car set to the big-boy, forward facing one. Sheesh... hopefully not too much longer!!
On another note, we're up to a total of 8 teeth peeping through his cute little gums. Zachary tends to cut teeth symmetrically, two at a time. Basically, his two bottom teeth came up together, his two top front teeth came in together, then two on top on each side of the middle teeth cut through at the same time, as well as the two new ones on the bottom. I'm sure there's more to come soon, too!
Zachary at daycare:Zachary hit another daycare milestone this past week... he survived his first week in the Infant III (a.k.a. Young Toddlers) room! That's right... our little boy proudly graduated from Infant II. We're surely going to miss his Infant II teachers, but we're quite pleased with his new head teacher, Miss Courtney. It's interesting to hear how he's doing with the transition... they said that when he's playing with the babies in the Infant II room (where he's the oldest, but not biggest), he's gentle (for the most part) and docile. But, when they set him free in the Infant III room with all of his old buddies, he's a wild-man!! (There, he's the smallest, but not youngest.) I've already started to notice at home he's more of a maniac than usual... it's just adorable. He's growing up so fast!
I think the influence of the older kids is rubbing off on him in other ways, too! The critter has finally taken to drinking from a sippy cup! He has refused it quite adamantly until just recently... now, he just loves having a cup of juice or milk while hanging out. We still have to use bottles for some meals, to ensure he drinks it all, since when he has a sippy cup, I think he likes to play with it more than drink from it. I'm most concerned that he gets the calories and nutrition at this point, but love that he's willing to give up the bottle and try something new.
Zachary's tricks:Zachary is quite the little talker these days! Though most of what he says would not be recognizable to most, I think we're doing a great job of communicating with one another. I'm certain he understands much of what Len and I say to him, and we're progressing in our interpretation of his verbal cues. One of his favorite "words" is... uh oooo. He really drags out the "ooooo" part of it... I just love to hear him say it (for now... I'm sure I'll soon start to cringe at those very words). He does say it in context, too, so I'm sure he gets what it means. His words, though not plenty, are right on par with a child his age. They include Mommy, Daddy, Kitty, Poppie, stop, hi, up, baby (sort of), etc. We're working on please and thank you... I think he's getting thank you more quickly (though it sounds more like dee du, but I'll take it!). He just LOVES to talk on the phone, too! I love to watch him have a great little conversation with his Mom-Mom, Grandma and Poppie, and whoever else he talks on the phone with. Here he is after his tubby having a very serious conversation with his Daddy while he was in away in New Orleans at the Marriott conference:
(And I just had to include this adorable picture from the tubby... we sent this one to DaDa, too, so he could see how the critter was doing... he was missing his Daddy, but having fun with Mom-Mom and Mommy, too!)
Zachary is our little musical artist! He's getting quite good on his little toy piano and loves to hit the keys to hear the beautiful sounds they make. He sings along as he plays, too. Talk about singing, he's always humming or singing a song... the Itsy-Bitsy Spider seems to be his favorite (he does all of the gestures with it, too), with the Wheels on the Bus coming in a close second. And, of course, he gives himself and anyone else singing along with him a round of applause and a cheer at the end of every tune! Dancing almost inevitably accompanies music of most kinds. Whether it's a musical book, a musical toy, a good song on the stereo or even just a catchy commercial, if Zachary loves the tune, he lets us know by bobbing his head, shaking his little fanny and bouncing up and down to the beat!
He continues to be such an affectionate little cuddle bug! He's never short on kisses and flirts with just about anyone who'll pay him attention (which proudly I say is quite often)... in the restaurant, the grocery store, the mall, church, etc. I call him our little ambassador!
Zachary is quite the little monkey these days, too! His walk often turns into a bit of a run, he climbs on anything we'll let him (I think that comes from the new room at daycare)
and he loves to explore and crawl into small cracks and crevasses. And, in a matter of minutes, he can
tear up a nice neat basket of toys, or cabinet of Tupperware. Running around the kitchen island while playing peek-a-boo is such a blast, especially when he laughs and screams in excitement from the inside out!
All in all, I can't imagine two people on the face of this earth who are luckier than Len and I for the gift of this beautiful human being we were given... I count my blessings everyday!!
hairdo the critter would sport after a long, restless night. I would actually need to comb out knots in the back if he was particularly restless when sleeping or in the car seat. There was one specific bunch of hair right in the middle of the back of his head that was the most in need of a trim, but I have to say it was so cute... we called it his little curly tail. I could actually hear whispers from my Father in one ear (and loud and clear words from my Mother in the other... hee hee) imploring me to give that poor little guy a haircut. 
we did. I did it myself, and must say, I think I did a pretty good job. No weird strands of hair sicking out anywhere or bald spots where I cut too much off. If I do say so myself, he does look so amazingly handsome now, and even a bit older I think!
