Zander's first 5K

We spend every Labor day weekend in the Quad Cities to run a memorial 5K race and this year was no exception. We began the weekend in Milwaukee helping aunt Abbie and uncle Garrett move into their new house then made the trip to Iowa on Sunday morning. We were able to see family and friends who were all surprised at how much Zander has grown and how grown up he is looking. Grandma had fun feeding him as Zander is now very interested in food (although he seems more interested in what we are eating then the paste like substance he gets). On Monday morning, I ran the 5 mile race while Zeb took Zander for his first run in the jogging stroller and they completed a 5K - Zander slept through the whole thing and woke up just after the finish!

Hanging out after the race

He had his running buddy gear on for the race

Crossing the finish line with Zeb

He got to hang out with his girlfriend, Lydia again and they had a lot of fun snuggling, rolling, grabbing and smiling at each other

He had fun at Jeff and Jen's house playing with their kids toys including their old infant swing. This was Zander's first time in a swing and he loved it!

Baptism

We had a fun family weekend starting Saturday with a nice patio lunch with extended family, then Nellie's party for the Retro on Roscoe festival. On Sunday, we had Zander baptized at St. Benedict church in Chicago. We were joined by Jazzie's family and our close friends Katie and Phillip and their boys. Zander did well and had the hiccups during the ceremony and thought getting water poured on him was pretty funny. 

 

 

 Katie and Phillip are Zander's godparents and their two boys, Charlie and Henry gave Zander lots of attention during the mass. I think they are looking forward to the days he can play with them!!

 Zander's aunts (Nellie, Abbie and Maggie) and future uncle, Garrett joined the celebration

 Posing with the proud grandparents

 We got some good smiles for some family photos after the mass (I think he loved rocking a bow tie again!)

5 months

It's hard to believe Zander is 5 months old already! He seems to grow overnight sometimes. He now weighs 14# 6 oz and keeps getting taller. He is now very active and beginning to move around. He can scoot himself around on the floor and off his play mat so we have to keep an eye on him....sometimes we think he is already trying to chase Parker.  He really likes to play with his feet and can roll onto his side, but isn't getting all the way over yet. When he is on his tummy, he can sometimes roll himself to his back (other times to gets stuck and just flails his arms and grunts) He is sitting really well with just a little bit of support and doesn't want to lay back and is always try to sit himself up. He also really likes to stand and thinks he is pretty cool when he does this. He likes a lot of his toys and can grasp a lot of different objects and tries to put everything in his mouth....no teeth coming through yet, but we think soon. It is so much fun to watch him grow and he is at a really fun, playful age! 

 

We had a lot of cute pictures from our 5 month photo shoot

 

 As he gets bigger, so does the drama! He can sure pull out a pouty lip when he wants to!

 2 of his favorite things to do: standing and looking at himself in the mirror

He is a very busy guy...he can't just play with his toys he has to grab them all, look in the mirror, and play with his feet......good thing Zeb and I are runners because we think this little man is going to keep us on our toes!

 

 We tried to give him rice cereal for the first time last weekend as he seemed really interested in food, but he hated it and it was quite a disaster......maybe next time! (again, the drama - there's even real tears in this one!)



Our Family

We've been pretty busy lately and have been getting into the routine of work and daycare and just spending as much time together as a family as we can. We did get the pictures back from our family photo shoot in June and were happy with the results and wanted to share some of them.  We got some good family pictures and Grandpa's farm was a perfect setting. - Thanks to Karly Walker photography - she did a good job and we would love to use her again.

Teamwork

Zeb and I both really enjoyed our time at home with Zander over the last few months, but our leave has come to an end. I didn't have a traditional maternity leave (unfortunately with adoption I didn't have the same benefits and would have had to take a lot of unpaid time), so Zeb and I both took time at home with Zander over the past 12 weeks while the other was at work. My mom also came down a few days to hang out with Zander while we both worked. We were able to find a small in home daycare that is only about 10 minutes from our condo and is near a train station so Zeb can help (we only have 1 car in the city). Zander did a few short trial days last week and this was his first full week.  He seems to like it there and does well with the 2 ladies who run it and really likes being around the other kids. His new friends are 2 little girls 6 months old and 3 little boys ages 2-3 years. They all love Zander at the daycare and he has not shortage of love and attention while he is there. We are happy we found a good place with good people to care for him while we are at work, but we definitely miss our time with him.


Grandma Lynne was more than happy to make the trip to Chicago a few times to babysit Zander

 

Getting ready for his first day of daycare

 

He survived his first day and gives us both huge smiles when we pick him up

 





He was wiped out by the end of the week from all the action and excitement

Holiday Weekend

This is my favorite time of the year and have always looked forward to the 4th of July and my birthday that follows. It may have taken me a little too long growing up to realize the 4th of July celebration was not just a big birthday party for me....but I still look forward to it every year. We have been traveling so much lately, we did not make it back to Shullsburg to celebrate with family, but had a great day at Ravinia and Zander enjoyed his first outdoor concert (Goo Goo Dolls and Machbox 20). He had a lot of fun hanging out under the shade trees and getting spoiled by friends and his aunts and people watching (and there was some good people watching). The fun continued over the weekend when we met up with my family for lunch then some wedding dress shopping with my sister. Sunday was my birthday and after spending some quiet time at home in the morning, we went to a Cubs game with my sister, Maggie and a friend. We had great seats Zeb and I had won in a raffle at a charity bags tournament in the fall that we luckily were able to claim for this weekend's game.

 Waking up from his nap - he didn't mind the headphones and was able to sleep with them on....he thought he was really cool with them on!

 

 Maggie, Nellie, Zander and I having fun at the concert

Hanging with some of his favorite ladies....Lisa and Kirby

 

Spending time with grandma and grandpa before dress shopping

 

 Some of his favorite things to do...standing up, people watching and hanging out with his aunts

Jazzie's friend Val joined us for the game; she thinks Zander is the cutest little guy ever!



4 Months

It's hard to believe Zander is already 4 months old! He is getting more personality and is a very interactive and social little guy. He is very curious and loves to people watch and now really likes to watch Parker. His personality is coming out and he has a dramatic side (see pouty face photo) and is very determined (he will sit and focus on playing with a toy for 30+ minutes). He is grasping toys and likes to lay on his play mat and look at himself in the mirror and now will grab the toys and kick them. He also has a few favorite toys he likes to sit and play with. He is sitting really well with support and he likes to push up through his legs and stand with support. He is at a really fun stage where you can sit and play with him or have him sit on your lap and read a book. We're enjoying it while it lasts, because he is getting more active and he is ready to move.....watch out!

 4 Month Photo Shoot

With his favorite toy....he likes to put it in his mouth and will focus on it for almost an hour...grabbing it and kicking it

 The baseball is his other favorite toy and the one he started to hold onto first

He does really well sitting in his bumbo seat and his head control is getting a lot better now that he can sit in it...it can be a little touch because he is so tall and skinny so we have to add padding so he can stay in it better

 

The drama...he can pull out this pouty lip on cue! Then he will smile and think he is funny then go back sticking his lip out