Zaiden is walking

Zaiden has been on the move for a while, but he took his time walking on his own. He has been standing for several months and walking with push toys, but he liked crawling. He was a very fast crawler which was nicknamed "speed crawl" in our house. You could always tell when Zaiden was on a mission with his crawl (following his brother, trying to get his brother's toys, or going to the stairs). He has finally decided it is time to walk and he now is able to walk most places. He can walk across the floor and has walked down the street with us. He is still working on his balance, but is getting pretty good. It has been exciting to watch his latest milestone achievement!

Happy Birthday, Zaiden!

We celebrated Zaiden's first birthday over this past Memorial Day weekend. We had a big party planned to celebrate his amazing year. He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse (by having a big brother who loves it too!) and we had a Mickey themed party. We were fortunate to host his godparents and their children over the weekend to celebrate with us. We started the weekend with a trip to the beach (just playing  and having a picnic by the lake due to a cloudy/windy day) followed by a party at our place. We had several other children to play with and to help him open presents. Grandma and Grandpa as well as 2 of his aunts also joined the celebration. He was certainly the star of the show when it was his turn to smash his cake. He only needed one lick with a little help from mom to figure out what was happening and realized how much fun (and how yummy the frosting is) when digging in to your own cake!

Our happy, Mickey loving 1 year old 

getting ready for his cake

Zander was excited to "help" blow out the candle

not too sure at first 

He loved it! 

Time to clean up!

Beautiful Boy! 

Zaiden 12 months

Wow! Zaiden is 1 year old! He is a curious, funny, energetic and adorable little boy. It has been so much fun for us to watch him grow! He shows us a lot of his personality and loves to be silly and loves to be inn on the action with the big boys. It is so much fun to see him grow and to watch him and his brother play and actually are beginning to act like brothers (laugh, play, fight, etc). We really though Zaiden would be walking by 12 months, but he has decided he really enjoys crawling and has an amazing speed crawl and has decided walking is too slow for him. He moves around really well, walks with toys, and can walk holding onto someone's hand (often with only one finger for support). He is also able to crawl up stairs....which also allows us to see his mischievous side as he will often sneak over to the stairs then alert us when he has made it up a few and greet us with a proud smile! He still likes to throw and bang toys (making noise is one of his favorite things to do), but he is now starting to play with toys (nesting cups, ring stack and putting cars on the race track). Although we really have not decided if he truly has used an "official" first word, he has several word approximations he uses consistently such as "dog" "bubble" "all done" and "hi." He will inconsistently wave "hi" and "bye" and is now blowing kisses. Putting his hands up for "so big" is also a favorite (which can be viewed in some of the pictures below). He is also getting his 2 top teeth (he already has his 2 bottom) and is eating a lot more foods. It is nice to have him eat dinner with us without having to plan any baby food. He has also been drinking from a straw cup more in preparation for his birthday and NO MORE bottles!!!! He also enjoys going to the playground now that it is nice and can crawl, cruise around the equipment and likes going down slides with a little help. His new favorite is the water table for summer.... he LOVES to splash! He is a fun little guy and of course can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Zaiden 11 months

We can't even believe that Zaiden is 11 months old already and am in shock we are preparing for his first birthday! He has made a lot of gains over this past month. He is standing by himself without holding on and is taking some steps and walking with push toys, although he is in no hurry to walk as he has found he can keep up with his brother and all the other kids by crawling (he has a speed crawl that is pretty great!). He likes to bang and throw toys, but is starting to hand you something when you ask and is starting to put toys in containers....or his favorite, to put a car on a race track. He remembers where his favorite toys are and for sure remembers where the things are that he is not supposed to have (chords, the dog food). He is beginning to wave and is doing more imitating ("so big" and clapping are his favorites). He has said "dog" a few times, but we are not so sure how purposeful, so are still hesitating saying it is his first true word. He has 2 bottom front teeth, which is helping him to eat more foods and some of his favorites so far have been pasta and french fries. The biggest accomplishment for this month, and the one we have been waiting for is.....sleeping through the night!!!! He is a sweet little boy who loves to laugh. Can't wait for next month and celebrating his birthday!

So handsome! Checking out the fountains at the zoo

Big brother, Zander is his favorite, and knows how to get the big smiles and laughs 

Zaiden 10 month

I am a little late getting to this post as Zaiden turned 10 months old last weekend over the Easter holiday weekend. 10 months brings a lot of activity for Zaiden. He is on the move and pulls to stand and cruises around furniture. He will stand for a few seconds on his own without holding on sometimes! He now knows where the things are that he is not supposed to have (chords, the dog bowl, etc) and as soon as someone is not looking will crawl at super speed to get there and then look very innocent when told "no." He is getting good at feeding himself and is starting to try more foods. He babbles a lot and has a few new sounds, but still not "mama," he is sticking with his "dada." He will sign more (by clapping his hands) for more food at dinner and raises his arms for "so big." He will sometimes wave bye if someone helps him first. He still loves to have the attention of his brother as well as from our dog, Parker. He is still having some challenges with sleep and has slept through the night a few (very magical and wonderful!) nights, but still wakes up frequently..... oh, well. This month brought a big change as he started a new daycare so he could continue to go to the same place as big brother, Zander who started in a pre-school. He is in the baby room and it is a bit of a change as he will not be with Zander (he was very sad on his first day when I left him there all alone....but only for a few minutes), but he also loves it as he now is around several other little babies his age. The teachers report he really likes "baby school" and loves to clap his hands during music and circle time! We are looking forward to having nicer weather so we can spend more time outside. We have had a few chances to take an afternoon wagon ride or spend time in the swing, which he LOVES!

Family Vacation 2016

We took a long weekend getaway a few weekends ago to warm, sunny Arizona. This year, Zeb became a Cubs season ticket holder and is really excited to begin the season. We had talked about taking a trip to Spring Training for many years and decided this would be the year. This was Zaiden's 1st trip on an airplane and a long family vacation and he did really well. Both boys did great on both plane rides. We left Thursday night around bed time and arrived to Arizona very late, but we made it to the hotel and got a little sleep. On Friday, we spent the afternoon at the ball park to catch a spring training game and even met up with Aunt Maggie who makes the trip every year for some sunshine and baseball. We even had a little time to spend in the pool as well as made a few trips to some local parks to play. On Saturday, we returned to the ballpark and had a great afternoon in the warm sun watching the game from our picnic blanket on the lawn - this was a lot of fun for both boys to be outside. On Sunday we made a trip to the zoo where Zander and Zeb watched a 3D movie, we took a train ride and got to ride the carousel. We ended our trip on Monday before our flight back to Chicago with a visit to a train park. It was a great first vacation as a family of 4!

Zander is 3 years old!

How is this spunky, smart, sensitive, adorable little boy 3 years old already!? Zander is such a grown up little boy. This year has been amazing to watch how much he has grown. He is a tall and skinny little guy, but is a really good eater. He loves eating his fruits and vegetables....but also has a good appreciation for donuts and cupcakes! He is now able to run and jump and is getting really good at catching a ball. He likes to color and draw and loves to practice using his scissors. He can dress himself with just a little bit of help and is a big boy and can take himself to the bathroom. He talks.....a lot! We call him a chatterbox and he loves to tell stories and will often say, "can I tell you about....." and will tell a long story about something that happened at daycare or often his favorite topic....our recent trip to the water park. I also often hear "Mom, can I tell you something" and then he will have to stop and think about something he wants to say because he really just wants to talk. He is also able to sing several songs and likes to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" to his little brother. He is also SO smart and is super excited to start pre-school later this month. He not only sings his ABCs, but can identify all the letters. He counts to 20 (usually skips 16, but who needs 16 anyway!). He knows all of his colors and shapes (his favorite is still the octagon). He seems like he is going to be a great reader. He is really good at pointing out symbols "Look mom, there is a Target truck or the gym sign - YMCA" He knows the lines of many of his favorite books (favorites are Mr. Brown can moo and the Ear book). He can also be funny and of course as a little boy, loves to talk about poop and farts!  We can't wait to see what this next year brings!

Our Birthday weekend celebration started with a trip to the Brookfield zoo with Grandma and Grandpa

Zander was so excited to get a new tricycle for his big day
 and so happy to have the warm weather to be able to enjoy riding it! 

We celebrated his Birthday with a small party at our place with family and a few friends
He picked a Paw Patrol Birthday theme