11 Months

The Gilliam family is surviving one of the coldest and very snowy winters! The good thing is I had a few extra days to be at home with Zander. It can be a challenge to chase him around all day, but it is also fun to watch him do new things every day. He is a very busy boy and continues to explore his mischievous side.....he is frequently getting my attention as he is about to do something naughty and when I catch him he will give me a big smile and sprint (belly crawl like a mad man) towards whatever it is he is not supposed to have. He is also now pulling himself to stand and cruising around furniture, but still needs help sometimes when he can't get a good grip. He is also taking some steps with his play walker and holding onto our hands. One of his other favorite new skills is throwing and a light up and a bouncy ball are some of his favorite toys. He also loves to throw food to Parker, so they are becoming better friends especially now that Zander is eating a lot more "people food." Another fun activity Zander has been enjoying over the last month are our trips to the pool. Zander likes to splash in the water and play with the water toys. We are now starting to get ready for his first birthday! it's hard to believe it is just a few weeks away!

11 Month Photo Shoot

 

 

OK, so I did get a couple of good pictures of our little angel........but this is the way the rest of the photo shoot went. Zander really wanted to see (eat) the cool sticker on his shirt and got really mad at his mean mommy who was trying to distract him from pulling it off and kept trying to put it back on his shirt. Needless to say, it ended a little early

10 Months

Zander turned 10 months old on New Years Day. We have enjoyed having some extra time to spend with him over the holidays and he has been keeping us busy. Zander is on the move and we now spend a lot of our time chasing after him....and he keeps chasing the dog! He loves to explore the house and tends to find the few things you are trying to keep him away from (heating vents, outlets, cords, Parker's dog food, etc.), but has also enjoyed playing with some of his new Christmas toys. He is also on his way to becoming a climber....he likes to climb over things on the floor and when he is standing he tries to climb on what he is standing by (his play table or the couch). He continues to be a good eater and is exploring a lot of new tastes and prefers to finger feed himself as much as he can. His personality also continues to come through and he likes to be silly...bobbing his head, clapping for himself, dancing to music, and making new sounds. He's lots of fun and keeps us entertained.....and on our toes!

Hanging out with his girlfriend, Lydia, over Christmas (we're having fun watching them grow up together)

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



Thankful

Thanksgiving was extra special this year as we were able to celebrate the holiday with Zander. We enjoyed having extra time off work to spend with family; we were both home with Zander on Wednesday then traveled to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with Jazzie's family. Zander of course got lots of attention and was spoiled by his grandparents and aunts. He was able to put his new tooth to work with his Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and sweet potatoes. Zander also joined us for our annual sister Black Friday shopping spree and he scored a new rocking chair for his room, lots of new clothes as he is growing so fast, and we found a few Christmas presents he will get to enjoy soon. We are now back in Chicago and will be spending the rest of the weekend relaxing and getting our new home decorated for the Christmas holiday!!  So much to be thankful for this year!

 

Having fun at grandma and grandpa's

 

 He wasn't too sure at first about some of the food

 Our Thanksgiving feast

 We didn't join the family this year for the Wisconsin game, but had our Badger gear on anyway - Zander was too tired and fell asleep before we could take pictures.....it was a busy weekend

 

 

Having some fun during our Holiday card photo shoot