Christmas Memories

We had a wonderful Christmas. This is just a brief summary of our two weeks of fun!

A couple days after Christmas we had a family outing to the Henry Ford Museum to see the Lego Castle Exhibit.

Enjoying the slide with Uncle Brian.

A photo opportunity near the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. Zackary was a little unsure but cooperated very well.

He received a train table from Inny & Pop-Pop, he was thrilled!! Uncle Brian and Pop-Pop carried it down from upstairs, so when you ask him who gave him the train table, he says "Pop-Pop and Uncle Brian"!!

A look of determination!

Another favorite gift.

He loves books and received several great ones from Grandma Mary and Grandpa Will. I've read "How Many Bugs in a Box?" several times over the past week.

Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve. Santa brought him cars, which he had asked him for. We talked to Santa this year but he wouldn't sit on his lap. I didn't force it because it just wasn't worth the picture!!

Enjoying popcorn with Daddy a few days before Christmas.

Christmas with the Bedell family. Lauren helped Zackary open his gift. He got the fire engine from the Cars movie and he was excited (of course).

Enjoying a candy cane. Obviously he takes after Daddy because Mommy can't stand mint of any kind.

We've had a wonderful time celebrating this year. Each year adds more excitment as we see things through Zackary's eyes. Last night as I carried him into his room to get a bath, I said "you're mommy's cuddlebug" and he said "no, I'm not a bug"!! He makes us a laugh a lot and says so many cute things. We wish everyone a Happy New Year!!

Cousins

We were able to see cousin Luke last weekend (and his mommy and daddy too)!! The boys are only about 6 weeks apart in age (Zackary is older). Luke recently moved from California to North Carolina, so hopefully we'll get to see him more often.

Zackary got a truck that plays "Funky town" and he was dancing!!

Getting a good picture was a bit challenging!!

They share a love for cars and Luke was great about sharing his cars with Zackary.

Halloween (a little late)

Zackary and I went with Inny and Pop Pop to visit Auntie & Uncle Brian in October. We were there the weekend before Halloween, so we went to get pumpkins. Auntie helped me get some great pictures!

Since they live in State College (PA) we had to stop by the Nittany Lion for a picture. I have a lot of pictures with him looking totally annoyed . . . and then a bus went by!! He still loves buses!

Uncle Brian and Auntie were brave and let him fingerpaint his pumpkin . . . he LOVED it! I was a bit nervous getting him from the kitchen to the bathtub, but we made it without paint on the walls.

This was taken just after Zackary was covering Auntie's face with a pillow . . . he had so much fun with both of them.

Zackary was Thomas Who Who for Halloween . . . that's what he calls Thomas the Tank Engine. We went to Inny & Pop Pop's and then to church for trunk or treat. He did pretty well and quickly got the hang of it. Everytime some said "here comes Thomas", he would say "no, I'm Zack".

Daddy did a great job of carving the pumpkin. Zackary wanted nothing to do with cleaning it out . . . that was Mommy's job.

So Much Fun

Zackary loves to color and he is becoming pretty good at it (for a 2 year old). This morning he needed a little help getting all 24 crayons together, but then he had so much fun coloring with them all at one time. He does this at Inny & Pop-Pop's house but I think they only have a box of 8 crayons!! Note: Inny is the name he came up with for my mom about 3 months ago -- we're not sure where it came from but she loves it!!

Cuddling with Daddy!

The flowers looked a lot better until I stopped watering them a few weeks ago! Zackary decided to entertain himself while we carried stuff into the house from camp.

I bought this little statue a long time before I had a little boy . . . and he likes it because it has a doggy.

A Month In Review

So I'm not sure what my deal has been lately, but I haven't been motivated to keep up our blog. It's not that I haven't been taking pictures (I downloaded 175 tonight), it just seems like I never get around to it. Part of the issue is that Zackary takes 2-3 hours naps a lot of days, which pushes his bedtime later. This isn't a bad thing because we get to spend more time with him, but it cuts down on the usual activities I do after he has gone to bed (like updating the blog).

Today we went to a local Petting Farm. There were many different animals but the bunnies were the only ones Zackary would actually "pet". I think their size made them more appealing, plus he got to open up the doors to their cages and reach inside! What more could a two year old ask for.

We also went to the park. We're enjoying this park because it has a play set for 2-5 year old children. Zackary usually tells me to "sit" (on the bench) since he's comfortable playing on his own because everything is the right size for him! Works for me.

I hope to have this blog printed into a book (eventually) because since I'm already almost two years behind with Zack's scrapbook, I want this blog to capture the memories that I know I'll forget. So I took a few pictures of his favorite activity lately. He loves little cars and trucks. To the point where when we were leaving the house on Saturday he packed his basket (with cars) to take them along. It was really hard to convince him to only take four! I had put all the cars in a basket as a way to keep some order to my life. Now he uses it to carry them from the main floor to the family room (in the basement). It's the funniest thing to see him do this ritual. Along with playing with them, he spends a lot of time lining them up (as you'll see below). We don't mess with them when they are arranged like this. The day we had to open the front door and disturb the "parking lot" there was crying involved!

He is such a sweet little boy!

Paul got sick about two weeks ago and just started feeling completely better this weekend.

Zackary and I got sick as well. This was taken last Saturday morning when we were lying around in our pajamas.

A couple weeks ago he was dressed and ready for church in this cute outfit that he got for his birthday. He was fascinated with his reflection in the door, so he kept looking to the side.

The yellow band aid is Curious George and was put there to cover the minor imperfection on his ankle -- not really a boo-boo! Sometimes it is just easier than trying to explain!

Where has July Gone?

We've had a great month and we've spent the past three weekends at the trailer (which is part of the reason I haven't posted lately). During the 4th of July weekend we went sailing and Zackary really enjoyed it and he also had fun "steering" the boat.

The weekend after his birthday, Uncle Brian & Auntie came into town to celebrate. The theme was Firetrucks . . . Zackary still loves emergency vehicles. He did well at blowing out the candles and we had to re-light them several times (I've already forgotten how many).

He insisted on wearing his hat this way . . . I realize it makes sense to him because most hats with a bill go in the front.



I'll try to post more pictures soon!

Two Years Old

To celebrate Zackary's birthday, we went to Red Robin for dinner (he had a free meal). The waiter was really cool, he tied two balloons to his high chair, asked him how old he was and of course brought an ice cream sundae and sang. He was okay with the singing until about half way through, I think he was intimidated by the attention.

After dinner we went home and gave him a present. It's a Playhut with tunnels and an area to put a bunch of balls. He loves it!! We bought it mainly for the backyard, but since it has been so hot this week, we set it up in the basement for now.

He is such a sweet little guy! We'll be celebrating more this weekend when Auntie and Uncle Brian are in town, so I'm sure I'll have more pictures!

Sailing

Last weekend Paul put the sailboat in the lake at Somerset Beach Campground. It was a beautiful weekend and we were able to go sailing for the first time this year. This is our inflatable boat that we use to get out to the sailboat. Zackary was a little apprehensive at first but once we got going, he did great. He didn't mind the life jacket at all which really surprised me. The only distraction was that he can see the playground from the lake, so I told him I'd take him to the slide when we were done. He LOVES the slide. Since I wasn't sure how the first adventure would go, I didn't take the camera on the boat but maybe next time!

Other items of interest:

• Zackary experienced sidewalk chalk for the first time this week and liked it. He kept walking over the pictures he made!
• His vocabulary is quickly increasing -- my favorite for this week is lawn mower! He says it so cute!
• He knows the colors red, blue, green & yellow very well.
• He continues to love books. Thank goodness for the library, so we get some variety!
• When we're at the trailer he has so much fun. He loves digging in the dirt and taking walks. He also enjoys being able to visit Grammy & Pap-Pap whenever he wants to! This past weekend he got to ride the tractor with Pap-Pap which made his day!

Fun Times

I couldn't believe it yesterday when I realized that I hadn't updated the blog in a month! We've been having a lot of fun enjoying the warmer weather. We bought him a toddler t-ball set, so he asks for his "bat" when he wants to go outside.

Two weekends ago we went to camp and opened the trailer for the season. When we arrived it was raining but luckily the sun came out and it turned out to be a nice day.

He looked so cute in his fireman jacket & boots.

Playing at the park during Memorial day weekend. He loves the slide but doesn't care too much for swings.

Helping Daddy fill the water. He is a good little helper.

We also went on a paddle boat ride, went to the petting farm, had a campfire, played soccer with

Cody & Brady, played in the dirt & sand and went on a lot of walks! Camping this year is SO much easier and he really seems to enjoy it!!

Ducklings!

Here are the pictures from our latest storybook:

http://www.zackarylarue.photoherald.com/

The ducklings were real!

A Day Out With Thomas the Train

Today we went to Greenfield Village for A Day Out With Thomas the Train. Our friends, the Tomlin Family, joined us and we had so much fun.

We were waiting at the entrance to get in. Our tickets were for 10 o'clock and they wouldn't let us in until 9:30A.

I think this was the last time he wore his hat!

We were walking to the train station when we saw Thomas for the first time. Zackary's face was adorable. I think he was trying to figure it all out.

We were on the train ready to go for a ride!

Thomas the Tank Engine

There were all kinds of other activities -- little cars, hula hoops, bubbles . . . we all had fun!

Our last stop was a ride on the carousel and to get ice cream. This was taken while we were waiting in line for the carousel, Zackary was getting tired. It was all I could do to keep him awake on our 10 minute drive home.