Lucky Number 8

Zander has been learning to count and we have found he loves the number 8! It comes out at least 3 times when he is counting to 10 (even after several weeks of practice).  He also likes to find the 8 and stand on it on the hopscotch board at the school playground!

Haircut

It was finally time to get Zander's first hair cut. His curls were very cute and we held onto them for as long as we could. With the change in the weather and the introduction of hats again, his hair had been getting out of control....it was time. He was very nervous when we walked into the local kid cuts salon. By the time it was his turn to get in the chair, he had a meltdown. The cut was completed with Zander sitting in mom's lap. He screamed and fought it the best he could, but in the end the hair cut was completed (a little crooked in spots) and he looks like a very handsome, grown up little boy!

He survived and got a sucker as a reward (maybe to bribe him for the next  time!)

Halloween 2014

Happy Halloween! We celebrated the holiday with a festival in Roscoe Village (our old neighborhood) with friends as well as Zander's first time to go Trick or Treat (we only went for a little while due to coldy/windy/snowy weather, ) followed by handing out candy at our house (I think this is what Zander had the most fun doing). He dressed up as a monkey this year. We had a hard time deciding on a costume as most costumes require a hat and he has been rejecting hats for the most part, although on Halloween night he had no problem wearing the hat once he realized how cold it was and how much attention he got while wearing it!  He was a pretty cute little Monkey!

Zander with his buddy, Kai at the Halloween festival

He was not happy about the monkey hat the first time!! (but loved the balloon)

Parker thought he would get away with not dressing up......haha!

Z with his pumpkins!

Daycare has been doing "pre-school" activities with the kids....he was very excited to show me this one!

Trick or Treat at aunt Nellie's

Fall Fun

We have all adjusted back to a normal routine now that school has started and Jazzie is back at work full time. Even with a busy schedule, we have managed to enjoy many beautiful fall days. Zander is at a very fun age where he likes to be busy and learn new things. He picks up on a lot of new things and knows a lot of animals and the sounds they make. He is starting to count and know some numbers. He also is starting to learn his letters (although most letters he calls "e" or "d"). He also continues to be in love with anything that goes and loves to watch the trains go by every day and can spot a car, truck, bus, airplane or garbage  truck just about everywhere we go! Here are a few pictures from some of our fun fall activities.

We took Zander on the "L" that he loves to watch everyday and he had fun riding on the train and waving to the conductor as the train pulled into the station

Zander had fun painting pumpkins in our backyard. He is very proud of the crafts he makes

Zander had a day off day care and we spent a morning in a park watching the trains go by


Visiting the Farm: We spent a weekend in Wisconsin hanging out with family (Zander had a very fun day with his 2nd cousins while we went to a Badger game) and we ended the weekend with a trip to great grandpa Kruser's farm and Zander loved everything about it!

He is such as cute little guy!!

We spent this past weekend with Aunt Maggie at a pumpkin farm and petting zoo including  a train ride and some time in a bounce house (which he then refused to leave and mom had to climb in after him!)

 We ended the weekend with a visit to All Aboard Diner near Maggie's house where the food was delivered by trains and there were lots of trains to watch and ride......perfect for the little boy who said "choo choo" as his first word!

Wedding Weekend

We spent this past weekend celebrating in Galena, IL for Jazzie's sister, Nellie's wedding. We made the trip to Galena on Friday to help get things set-up and have a pre-wedding celebration with family and friends. Saturday we celebrated the big day as Nellie and Chris got married. It was a beautiful wedding at a beautiful location and we are so happy for them both. Zander was a trooper throughout the whole weekend and thought he was pretty cool wearing his little tuxedo (thanks to the Bunch family for letting us borrow it!!). It was a very busy weekend and Zander is a very busy guy these days, so I did not get as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few:

 

More summer fun

After a busy and fun filled Labor Day weekend, we realized our summer has come to an end. Jazzie is back to work at the schools and Zander will be going back to daycare next week -our daycare has been closed for vacation the past 2 weeks so Zander had some babysitters as well as a few days with Grandma Lynne and Zeb. We had a ton of fun this summer and it is amazing to see how much Zander has grown over the past few months. He is now a really good walker and is really good at climbing and even starting to run......uh oh!! He is also very vocal and says many words and will point out of lot of things he sees (airplane, bus, truck) and ask for things (shoes, outside, etc). It is also fun to see him problem solve things and is very smart and sometimes creative (example.....I told him I was going to put the peppers that we just picked away so he picked them up and tried to hang them back on the plant!! good thinking!!)

We had a fun day with his best buds again including a hike (of course playing with bugs and worms...gross)
followed by a trip to the park and out for ice cream

Zander attempted his first "Race" with a half mile this Labor Day weekend although he decided he was not having
fun and only walked a small part of it and wanted to be carried the rest of the way......maybe next time!



We love spending time playing outside in our backyard and Zander loves to help water and
pick vegetables from our "garden"

We have been enjoying many areas of the city including the many parks, pools and fountains
and even found some time for a beach day!

Summer Fun

It is now August and we have not posted in a while, so I wanted to give one big update about all the things the Gilliam family has been up to this summer. Zander is enjoying having more "mommy time" over the summer as Jazzie is only working 2-3 days a week (summer break from the schools). Most of those days include a trip to the park (we have over 20 parks/playgrounds within a 2 mile jog!),  library and a few other fun outings.  Zeb has been able to join us on a few afternoons and of course spending family time over he weekends. We have also had some friends visit us over the summer and have done some traveling ourselves to see family and friends. So far it has been a very busy and fun summer that is going by way to fast!

Zander loves cars and trucks so he loved the 4th of July parade in Shullsbury

 

Zander with his cousin Brynn

Jazzie's Grandpa Kruser with a whole bunch of grand kids and great-grandkids

Zander loved the bouncy toys with his cousins at the 4th of July festival

 

 

A few fun photos playing in the dirt (right before he ate a handful!) at Grandma and Grandpa's house

 

Pool day! It took him some time to get used to the cold water, but had fun after

Hanging out at our church festival

Some of the parks have fountains and splash pads that he loves to explore

Waterpark day with some of his buddies

Lake front run followed by a trip to the Lincoln Park zoo for mommy's birthday!

 

We also made a trip to the Milwaukee zoo this summer

 

Cubs game (he did enjoy the game, just not sitting still for the picture)