Zander's First Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. It was so fun to celebrate with Zander this year. We traveled to Shullsburg on Christmas Eve day and made it home in time for mass. We then had our traditional celebration with the Ranum family on Christmas Eve. Zander was very spoiled by his grandparents, aunts and even us. I think he enjoyed the paper and the gift bags/tags just as much as any of the toys he got. We then spent a few more days in Wisconsin with family and friends. We then spent Friday and Saturday for a very busy few days in the Quad Cities where we saw more family and friends. We were very blessed this Holiday Season and we look forward to the New Year. Happy Holidays everyone, and thank you for making our Holidays special!!

 Our Family



Grandpa Paul gave Zander the rocking horse he had made for my sisters 34 years ago! He had a lot of fun playing with it!

 Zander was tired, but still had a lot of fun opening presents and playing with the paper....oh,  and he loved the new toys, books and clothes he got!

 His favorite "toy" was his very own spatula (he LOVES grandma's so she bought him his own!)

 Zander always has fun playing with great grandpa Kruser...here he is showing his favorite trick

 Even with Zander to entertain us, the puppies were not left out

 Thank you to all for the gifts!! He is one lucky little guy to have so many family and friends who love him

Getting close...

Winter Fun!

It looks like it will be a white Christmas this year and this weekend we took advantage and had a little fun in the snow. It has been really cold so we had not been outside very much, but Sunday was a little warmer so we decided to go outside and put Zander's sled to use. He thought being bundled up in his snow suit, looking like a marshmallow man was pretty funny. He thought being pulled in the sled was pretty cool and of course, thought it was hilarious to watch Parker run around in the snow. He didn't seem to be bothered by the cold and was trying to touch the snow.....maybe next year we'll find a hill!

 

9 months

Zander is now 9 months old and his personality is really shining through! He is a very curious little guy and likes to laugh and make us laugh. He is really smart and interactive when we play, he also has a good memory....especially when it comes to where we put our cellphones. He really loves his toys that make noise, especially his piano. He is also on the move and has figured out how to get where he wants to go (Parker's dog bed, under a table, into the dog toys, towards the only thing in the room he is not supposed to have, etc).  We might start calling his "Scooter" like Zeb as he rolls around, scoots himself with 1 leg and scoots himself backwards to get around. Zander also had another milestone this month and now has his first tooth! The addition of his tooth is perfect as prefers to eat food more than take a bottle. He is a really good eater (although we did find out what happens when he doesn't like something.......it wasn't pretty) and he is getting really good at feeding himself finger foods.

9 month photo shoot (it's harder to get photos now that he is always on the move!)

 

 Hanging out with his favorite friend, Parker

 He pulls himself to standing with a little help and loves to stand and play with his toys (well, usually not his toys, but the other things he really isn't supposed to have)

 He loves to figure out how to get himself to the places he isn't supposed to be

It's hard to see, but he's showing off his tooth