The Birthday Boy!

Zachary had a wonderful day today... Len and I both took the day off from work to spend with the birthday boy and we had a great time! We played this morning, then went and had his 1-year portrait taken this afternoon... I'll be able to publish the link to the pictures in about 10 days so you can all see them, but I think they came out nice!

When we got home, Zachary was zonked-out and asleep so Len and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. When he finally woke up, we continued the festivities with cake and presents! He wore his special 1st Birthday bib (thanks Mom-Mom), but wouldn't really have any part of the hat... it was so adorable!

He really seemed to love the cupcake... it was vanilla cake with vanilla icing. He especially liked the sprinkles as he picked up and ate them one at a time. It took forever for him to finish eating his first major sweet treat! I have to say, he was a relatively neat eater for a one-year old (even when he leaned down and tried to just lick the icing right off of the cupcake on his highchair tray)!! So cute!!

After a quick wardrobe change since he got some cake crumbs on his pj's, we moved on to presents! Zachary definitely loved his present, but I also think he loved the bow just as much!

It was just an awesome day and a memorable first birthday (at least for Len and I)!! I'm so glad we were all able to spend it together celebrating!! AND, we can't wait for the big birthday party in a week and a half... we're really looking forward to sharing in the fun and festivities with our family and friends in NJ!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, ZACHARY!

It's amazing what a difference a year makes! Here is baby Zachary about 3 hours before he came out of Mommy's belly and joined us all in the outside world! On December 3, 2007 at exactly 7:31 am, Zachary Leonard Goodman was born... hallelujah! The world will never be the same and is an amazingly better place having our little critter be a part of it all!

This past year is unprecedented in terms of the love and happiness that fills my heart... I think Len and I are just about the luckiest parents on the face of the earth! Zachary is such an amazing gift and I can't even remember life without him. He makes me a better person, too! I think I even feel things more intensely since our baby boy blessed us.... I love more deeply and unconditionally, I laugh from the inside out so often, I cry more tears of happiness than sadness, and I live life to the fullest every day recognizing each sunrise and sunset as a gift! I'm simply dumbfounded at how another human being can bring such joy and fulfillment to me!!

Every month on the anniversary of his birth I share all of the milestones Zachary recently achieved and every month I continue to be amazed at how much he accomplishes. November is no different... in fact, I think it's his most dynamic month yet! Our little boy officially started walking!! I think that is the biggest news to share. He took his first unassisted steps back in mid-October (October 12th to be exact) and has been working very hard since then to perfect his stride. Though he will often revert to crawling for the sake of speed and confidence, many times he will take the opportunity to show off his "Frankenstein" walk (as I often refer to it). He holds his arms straight out in front of him and with stiff legs, will walk from person to person eagerly throwing himself into the open arms of whomever is coaxing him to walk toward them. It's just about the most adorable thing I've ever seen! And, Zachary is just so proud of himself every time he shows off his new skill!

Also, one of my other favorite Zachary-achievements was hearing him speak is second official word. (Da-Da or Daddy was his first real word spoken with purpose and meaning). His second (which just melts my heart) was "Kitty" or "Ditt-teee" as he pronounces it. This is especially meaningful for me given we very recently lost our beloved cat. Though Zachary hasn't said it for a couple of days now, I know when he did say it, he was very purposefully and meaningfully calling out to his bro, Kitty. In fact, the evening Kitty died, Zachary pointed to a stuffed animal I have that totally looks like Kitty and said "Dittee" with a big smile on his face. What an amazing little child... he is my comfort and peace!

Zachary is getting to be such a big boy, though we won't know his official stats until Friday when he has his 1-year well-visit with the doc. I can't wait to see how much he's grown. He's still a little peanut, but I can tell he's made great progress! As you can see in this picture of Zachary with his Daddy's little rocking chair from when he was a baby, we do need to roll up the bottom of his pants so he doesn't trip on them. (And we've been looking for suspenders to hold up his pants, too... size 12 month is still a tad roomy, but he's finally growing out of his size 6-9 month clothes! Believe it or not, he still can wear some of his size 9-month pieces but not for much longer... we're sure getting our money's worth out of his clothes!)

This past year has definitely been one of my favorite years that I've lived... I suspect they will probably only get better, too! Here are some of my most recent favorite things and moments with the little guy:

- his two little teeth that shine bright with every adorable smile he sports! (which is very often, by the way)

- watching him crawl around with the knob of a wooden puzzle piece in his mouth!

- when I'm getting him dressed and putting on his shirt, watching him find the armhole on his own and pushing his hands through the sleeve... he's just so cute and impressed with himself!

- when he's sitting in the car seat or just lounging somewhere, he bends his knees slightly and crosses his feet... he looks so comfortable!

- when he takes his pacifier out of his mouth and hands it to me as I lay him on the pillow to feed him (sometimes I'll put it in his mouth just so he'll take it out and hand it to me)... I crack up every time!

- when we're reading books, watching his eyes intently scan every inch of the page!

- when he lays his warm cheek on mine while he snuggles on my belly!

- his hearty full-belly laugh when Mommy and Daddy are being silly!

- PICKING HIM UP FROM DAYCARE and seeing his expression when he lays his eyes on me when I arrive!!

My baby Zachary is such a blessing... I am so grateful for him, and for every moment we have together! One year has passed, and we have lifetime ahead of us to anticipate and look forward to!! I love you, critter... thank you for being the light of my life!! HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, ZACHARY!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Zachary has finally experienced the last of his first major holidays... what a year! It's hard to believe that in just a few days, he'll be ONE YEAR OLD! We have so much to be thankful for this year, with the critter at the top of the list, of course!! The weekend was action-packed, which is usual for our roadtrips to good 'ole Jersey... we divided our time between Mom-Mom's and Grandma & Poppie's houses. It was so nice to just chill with family and enjoy one another after such a sad and difficult week. Not to mention all of the incredible meals we had in just a couple of days... I probably gained a pound or two back, but it was all well worth it!!

We spent a night at Mom-Mom's and a night at Grandma and Poppie's... here are some of the really cool pictures we took to help us remember the good times!

At Mom-Mom's...

At Grandma & Poppie's...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

My precious Kitty

This evening, November 25, 2008, at approximately 6:10 pm, my precious Kitty passed away. He was my most faithful and loving companion for more than 16 years... together, we've lived in 4 states and 5 different homes... because of him, I never actually lived alone. It's amazing when I reflect and think about everything we've been through together. I am so grateful to have had as much time as we've had... 16 years is a long time!

His passing was quiet and peaceful... we were at the vet when it happened. I picked him up from the hospital early Monday afternoon and had him home with us overnight. He seemed so much happier and definitely more relaxed once we got him home and comfortable. That was the best decision I could've made... bring him home so we could all spend time together, rest comfortably, and say good-bye (and "until we meet again"). It's interesting... his mother, Kitsu (my dear friend Megan's cat) passed away not too long ago herself... maybe they're together again.

Kitty was just the best pet anyone could ask for... he was loving (to me, anyway), adorable, cuddly and playful; he talked to me (and sometimes even yelled/barked at me) and he even hugged me in the past several years when I would pick him up and take him outside (he'd wrap his paws around my neck and bury his face in my neck and shoulder - I guess he didn't like the outdoors in his old age). I always used to say he was a dog trapped in a cat's body - he played fetch with Q-tips (believe it or not!), his way of telling us it's time to feed him sometimes sounded more like a bark than a meow, and of course, as most of you know, he was about the size of a small dog (I always said he was "big boned")! It's going to be so difficult the times I come home to an empty house... that hasn't happened in almost 2 decades. I miss him soooo very much, but will always look back and smile when I think about him and the time we had together. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised at how deeply it hurts right now... I've been thinking he's getting up there in age and wondering if his time to leave us was near. Now that it's actually happened, it's like there is a little empty place inside me and it just aches. I guess I shouldn't be surprised... after all, he was a member of our family!

Look how adorable he was when I first brought him home to my college townhouse in NJ in 1992...

Zachary loved Kitty, too! (I've mentioned that in previous blog entries.) They were Bro's as I've often referred to them. Zachary's second recognizable word after "Da Da" was "Dit-tee." He would point to him or speed crawl after him saying, "Dittee"... and when he would catch up to Kitty, he'd pucker up, gently lay his lips on Kitty's fur and plant a kissy on him, MWAH sound-effect and all! I wish Zachary was going to remember Kitty, but I know that won't be the case... I have tons of pictures of them together, so I'll always share with Zachary how precious his very first pet was and how much I could tell they loved one another.

I'll never forget how special you were, Bandit "Kitty" Ashmen Goodman... rest in peace, buddy!

Zachary surpasses Kitty...

So, I've been waiting to be able to announce that Zachary's weight finally surpassed Kitty's... I was going to consider that a milestone to celebrate. Unfortunately, this weekend we learned that it actually has already happened, and it's not exactly worthy of celebration. You see, Kitty, my loyal and loving companion for the past 16+ years is very, very sick. His weight is down to about 15 pounds (a weight he hasn't seen in probably more than 10 years) and he is in the hospital.

On Saturday morning, I just didn't have a good feeling about how he was acting... very slow moving around and no appetite at all (and for those of you who know Kitty, you know that no appetite is unheard of). I called his Vet Saturday morning and shared his symptoms and they advised me to bring him to the animal emergency room immediately. Well, he was admitted to the hospital and has been there ever since. We've gone to visit, even tried to get him to eat tuna (which he NEVER refuses) and no luck. They will run more bloodwork around 5am Monday morning to see if there is any improvement from all of the different treatments they are administering to try and improve his liver function, but it's looking a bit grave at this point. Please keep him in your thoughts... all I want for my precious Kitty is a peaceful, painless remainder of his life, however long that may be.

Cutie Petutie!

I just had to share this picture of our little cutie petutie! It's one of my favorites lately... I keep it in my planner at work and everytime I look at it (which is probably every hour on the hour!) I see his smiling face looking out at me. It just melts my heart and reminds me what I have waiting at the other end of my commute home!

My first bank account!

Today, Mommy and Daddy took me to the bank (old-school branch style vs. banking online) so I could open my very first savings account in my OWN name! I got so excited, I actually had to take a nap while we were waiting for the nice lady to help us. Anyway, I woke up just in time for her to hand me my receipt from my very first deposit... how exciting!!

Happy Birthday Hailey!

Zachary would like to wish his favorite female first cousin, Hailey, a very HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY!! We all hope you have a wonderful birthday, sweetheart!