16 Months

Stats (at 15 months!)
Weight: 22 Pounds
Height: 31 inches
You are in the 20% now baby!!!

Zane,

Well at least I kept up with the monthly letters for your first year! My goal was to do these every other month after your first birthday, so let's just start here and hope that happens. Give me a bit of a break, I'm trying to keep up with you!

I am not even sure where to start. Since you turned one it's like all of these things just clicked and you change each and every day. On Mommy's birthday dinner night it clicked that you could walk for more than a few steps. You walked up and down Grandma and Grandpa's hallway and were clapping the whole time you were so excited! You took a few weeks of a break and went back to crawling but came back to the whole walking thing. Now nothing stops you. You can back down steps, although you do start the backing down process far away from the step, you walk over most things, although you have your Mommy's tendency to bump and/or trip over things, and you can turn your walk into a sprint.

We took you to the pet store for the first time. You laughed and laughed at the dogs jumping around. You could not believe how many birds were in one place and your mouth was open while you starred at all of them. You thought the hamsters were cool too, but the deal is none of those in our house! Sorry they smell! The fish were pretty exciting too and Daddy ran by the snakes and Mommy ran by the tarantula...yes your parents are wimps!

Your use of words seems to come and go. We were reading to you one night and you pointed to a cow and said Cow! Of course you wouldn't repeat it but you for sure said it. Since then you've said dog, teddy and seem to whisper thank you sometimes. I want down is another favorite that you choose to use once and awhile. I keep waiting for you to just start blurting out things but I know you're taking your time. You are picking up new signs weekly and seem to enjoy the process of learning a new sign. Your favorite is dog and bird right now...imagine that! Oh and of course eat, which I think you would say all day long if it resulted in yogurt or milk given to you each time you asked!


Mommy and Daddy's bed has always been fun for you but now it is your adventure land. You no longer need our help to get up on the bed and generally can make it off the bed pretty safely. You love playing with our alarm clock which has messed us up a couple of times in the mornings! Truman is always laying on our bed and you just climb right on up and start petting him. We're hoping once you move into a big boy bed that he'll decide to sleep with you so we have some space!

You have discovered a love for music and we are so proud! You dance to all music and love to turn up your stereo in your room. As I type this your Daddy and you are out in the family room jamming to some Michael Jackson...Billy Jean! We'll tell you later, but Michael used to be normal. Oh we have so much to teach you!


Another first for you was going to your first art museum. We did this for Mommy's birthday and you were in awe. You starred at each painting, pointed a ton and smiled at everyone who passed by. We took you out of your stroller and you crawled around the museum in the modern art section. At first I wondered what people would think as you crawled around and then I thought, he's not touching any art, who cares! You had an absolute blast! Hopefully it's just the beginning of an appreciation for art!

You do seem to appreciate Daddy's paint brushes. You always come into the office while Mommy's editing photos and point to Daddy's paint brushes. Once you're given one you light up and pretend to paint the floors. You're even so interested in the paints that you pick them up and try to drink them. Thank heavens for the caps on them but I'm thinking we need to move them up soon before you figure out how to take those off!

We had one freak out moment around Easter. Grandma and I were on her computer looking at something and you were right there on the floor playing. You were playing with one of those plastic Easter eggs and pulling it apart and putting it back together. No big deal, right? Not until you decided to stick it in your mouth and suck in. I heard you cough and turned around to see you turning bright red. We jumped right next to you and could see the egg suctioned to the back of your throat. I was able to pull it out but boy did it ever scare you, along with us!!! No more eggs till next year, hopefully you'll not be putting things in your mouth as much then!

We started swim lessons to get you used to being in the water with Grandma and Grandpa C's pool and Grandpa and Grandma L's lake house. You seem to like it but the timing of the lessons hasn't been the greatest. It's right at the beginning of your normal nap time so you really like to snuggle and be cuddly instead of kick like the other kids. That's okay...I figure you'll be more alert this summer when it's not nap time!


You just recently have started to tantrum at a new level than before. You know how to tell us NO and like to test us when we say NO. We're slowly learning how to deal with and to put a stop to it at the beginning but boy some days are pretty challenging. On Mother's Day you decided to have one of your worst days and half the time your Daddy and I couldn't stop laughing because it was so ridiculous! You test us sometimes and then hours later will snuggle up to me and it seems to wash away. We'll remind you of all of this of course when you have children! You still like to bite too and I still seem to be the victim most of the time. You completely understand the idea of a timeout and as we count before you get to that you choose to listen most of the time. The rest of the time I think you're just seeing if we mean business or if we're just testing you.


You have turned into a boy within the last several weeks. Cars and trucks make you gasp and you say "OH WOW!" as they pass us on the road. As the planes flew over to the track on Race Day we would run you out to see them and as they circled several times you would run to us in the house and beg to be picked up so we could run you outside to see them fly over. We would then stand outside and you'd point and gasp in complete awe. It's so fun to point dump trucks out to you as we drive and to run you outside as the mail woman and the trash truck come by our house.

You still are in love with your Teddy. Teddy now sits on the kitchen table as you eat, lays on the ground next to you as you look through your books and is in your mouth just hanging as you run around the house. It's the cutest thing but we're just praying Teddy doesn't get lost because I can't seem to find another just like him.


We have had so many times recently when Daddy and I have watched you as you get completely soaked and dirty sitting in the mud right beside a creek throwing rocks, playing with a sprinkler for the first time or throwing sand out of Grandma's sandbox. You LOVE being outside and when it rains you stand at the back door just looking out wondering when you can go play. We do play in the rain a lot but just not when it's lightening, which has been a lot recently! You are out to discover the world and no one's going to stop you! We don't really stop you from trying to eat leaves or dirt, it's good for your system! I guess we should pay attention to which ones are poisonous though!


The past few months have been particularly busy as Mommy has adjusted to a new job and pursuing photography. You have been so flexible and amazingly willing to go with the flow. I've been stressed, Daddy's been stressed and you have been at times too. But yet we've had moments of pure joy that show us there's an end to the madness and that we're headed in the right direction, it's just going to take time. I love the days I have off with you and love the fact that I can be more flexible now.

We had a friend lose their baby this past month. It rocked us to the core of how lucky we are to have you, tantrums in all. The night after the funeral I came home to just be with you, and you didn't want anything to do with me! It made me laugh that you had no clue what was going on and just wanted to be the baby boy you are and just play instead of cuddle. And that was okay, I was in tears as I watched you play with Truman. We are so blessed to have you growing into a healthy toddler who can't keep his hands off anything!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

See more 16 month photos here.

12 months

Weight: 20 pounds

Height: 30 inches

Zane,

One year ago you entered our world and changed our lives forever. Cliche to say, but oh so true. Watching you grow and take in the scenery surrounding our lives has taught your Dad and I to relish in the everyday things. Who knew we would get as excited as you to see a fan spinning or the flicker of a light turning on?


You stepped right into your first birthday, literally. Your first few steps were at Grandma's and you saved it for Mommy and Daddy to see. Since then you've taken lots of steps but you still would rather crawl there. Fastest means necessary I guess. You seem to walk more when we're not "looking" than when we try to encourage you. Guess that's a bit of Mommy and Daddy in you were you'd like to figure things out on your own. You did grab onto Daddy's pants the other day and just started walking with him. It was SO cute and Daddy couldn't have been prouder of you.

We are not in a huge rush to have you walking as crawling everywhere, at lightning speed, keeps us busy enough. As I used the restroom the other day you played in our bedroom. Not a big deal until I walk out and see that you have unplugged our phone charger and are chewing on the plug. Lovely! At least you unplugged it first!

When we say no to such activities you have several reactions. Sometimes you just go about your business like nothing happened and other times you make this noise that really does seem like your way of cussing at us to tell us how you feel about being told no. Recently you have become Mr. Drama and react by throwing your head back and letting out one of the most annoying sounds ever. I thought this didn't start till two? Who lied to us?

Your relationship with Truman got you into a bit of trouble this month. While at Grandma's you threw a piece of food on the ground for him. In the excitement of a sliver of food Truman rounded the chair to get it which sent the chair tipping. Somehow you landed your head into the dog bowl nearby instead of on the brick floor. Grandma said you cried a bit but then were fine. She however is still stressed about it and was in tears as she told me about it. We reassured her that everything was fine and that you are a trooper. There was just a small bruise that lasted a few days. Yet you continue to feed Truman and in fact laugh hysterically as you do this sometimes. You must think Truman licking your hand is funny or you're laughing at us trying to stop you.

This set of bruises was just the beginning of all your falling and tipping of things onto your head. That head of yours takes a real beating! I wonder as I take you through a store if people think bad things about my parenting. I want to put a sign on you that says "We have all wood floors and socks + wood floors = head into wall, floor, table, etc." I think you have inherited your mom's gene for the ability to fall. Sorry about that one!

The past couple of weeks you've decided you don't have enough bruises so you follow your shadow along the wall as you crawl. You stop in mid crawl and look at the wall and ponder the shadow and then all of sudden BANG your head on the wall over and over. I don't know if you're trying to catch the shadow or what you are doing but you repeat and then eventually crawl more to see where the shadow went. It looks like it hurts but really all we can do is laugh because it is hilarious!


Truman's toys have become your toys. Poor Truman because we tell him no to playing with your toys but we basically gave up telling you no to his squeaky bones and fun toys. We hope that saying that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's is true because somehow the toy always ends up in your mouth. You do share though and Truman is eating up having someone who will play with him besides us boring adults. If you could figure out how to throw the ball farther he will be even happier.


You have a new love for teddy bears that laugh. We have three now and you grab them, smile from ear to ear and cuddle with them. I'm not sure what it is about the little kid laugh they have when you squeeze them but you can't get enough. Your Great Aunt Beth sent you one for your birthday and you have been attached to him from then on. It freaks Daddy and I out at night when we hear a laughing child through the monitor. You must roll over onto it when you're asleep. Or you're up playing, who knows!

You also love brushing your teeth or maybe I should say biting the toothbrush. You sit still and let me attempt to brush and hold your chin up just right. It cracks me up that you seem to know what to do with this and you're a huge fan of the strawberry toothpaste.

Another love you have is to watch Daddy and I give each other a kiss. You smile and sometimes clap. If we're holding you and kiss sometimes we'll get you to lean in and kiss one of us with a big open mouth sloppy baby kiss. I can't wait for more of those! And I do realize there will be a day when you're grossed out by Daddy and I kissing...but sorry we'll still kiss!

You haven't said a word yet but boy are you close! Dog is almost there but you just have to figure out the G a bit more. You understand what the word means and point to Truman and pictures of dogs and say DO. Lights is Ligh and Bir came out yesterday when I was showing you pictures of birds. So we're close! I was a bit worried about no clear words yet and then as walked outside from the doctor's office the other day I said brrrr and you repeated it right after me. Of course I couldn't get you to do it again but it was as if you were saying, "I'm all good Mommy."


You went to your first sporting event thanks to your Uncle Brian. Your Uncle works for the Blue Jackets so we had the backstage tour. You just looked at everything and watched as people zoomed by in preparation for the game. At the game itself you watched the players skate around and loved all of the lights and things to watch. I was a bit worried about you being antsy but you were so good and just wanted to switch who was holding you every now and then. And of course you flirted with the women sitting around us!

You are officially onto whole milk and eating our food. It's nice to not have to buy formula anymore and to be done with making baby food. Some days you eat like a champ and other days you don't feel like anything except bread. You prefer to have items off of our plates because that is so much better than the same item that has been placed on your tray! Daddy and I are still getting used to this and are learning the amount of food we need to make so that we get a meal too.

This is just one of the many major changes that seem to be happening before our eyes. One moment we were carefully holding your tiny head in place and now we're preventing you from slamming your head on something when you tantrum. Your cries are different, you look so big in your bed now, your react to us and copy us but yet we're still amazed every time you do something. The little swirl your hair makes is more defined and your baby look is slowly fading into toddlerness. It makes us stop our busy selves and watch you take in your world and learn new things.


Zane you have no idea how you have changed us. You have made us better people and continue to challenge us to look how we can help others and be an example to you. All this with just being able to utter do, ligh and bir. I can't wait for more!!!

Love you sweetpea,
Mommy & Daddy

Check out more 12 month photos here.

Birthday Celebrations

Zane,

For your first birthday you had two celebrations! You are one lucky kid. On your birthday we woke you up in the morning to say happy birthday. You were not happy about this and whined. That's my boy...sleep in!!!

You played at Grandma's all day with the balloons she taped all over the house for you. Your other grandparents came down that evening for a dinner with you and some gifts. You had your first sugar cookie and had no clue what to with it. The icing was a little too slimy for you maybe. You have this thing with texture! You ate about half of it but then were done.

You got a huge set of blocks and some other fun toys too. You were most interested, or scared of, a music card Grandma got you. We think you might have been scared of Shrek on the card because he is a bit funny looking. You kept close to me as you opened and closed the card to hear the song again. It provided great entertainment for all of us! You loved every minute of the balloons we had you play with. Whether it was in Grandma's studio, your crib or your pack n' play, you ate up the fact that you could crawl around with balloons. You didn't want to get out of the balloon filled crib and complained a bit about us removing you! I think we'll make a tradition of having tons of balloons around for your birthdays.

That weekend we had both families to our home for a dinner of some of your favorite foods. The menu included pulled chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes. We put you at the head of the table where all these people who love you so much could see you! You knew the attention was on you and seemed to be eating every bit of it up! It was so nice to sit at the table and see your family surrounding you. They have been so supportive in your first year and it's amazing to see how their love for you is so strong. It was a the perfect, intimate way to celebrate your birthday.

In our excitement to give you a cupcake covered in icing we forgot to light a candle and sing to you. I was in tears later about this and we did a brief singing of the birthday song later. Sorry about that one...I guess we'll for sure not forget that again!

The cupcake...let's talk about how daintily you touched the icing at first. You'd place the tip of your finger into the icing and put what little bit you had into your mouth and then repeat. Great Grandpa must have realized how long we'd be sitting here watching this because he showed you how to get into the cake part of the cupcake. Once you realized this there was tons of slamming and smashing which resulted in your hands covered in icing and cake. You are not a fan of stuff being on your hands and instead of eating the sweet goodness on your tray you fixated on the mess on your hands. You opened and closed your hands over and over trying to get the mess off. Only you!!! I think you'll start to realize soon to not care about the mess and just eat the sweet treat!

We all laughed and you looked at us like we were crazy. You probably would've screamed "someone get this mess off of me!" if you could. After some wiping of the hands you enjoyed more of the cupcake.

After more presents and some loving from your family we placed you into bed. It was so hard to believe that your first birthday came and went that quickly. We hope that we can make all of your birthdays as a memorable celebration of all you've accomplished in the past year and of how much you are touching those you surround.

Here's to you Zane and a very happy first birthday you had!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Check out birthday photos here and the birthday party photos here.

one year is here

Zane,

You are one year old today. Your formal 12 month letter is soon to come. I want to be able to recap your birthday festivities over the weekend. I am betting you touch the icing of the cupcake and throw it all on the floor for Truman to have! Because icing will be a texture you will not know and what happens with things like that...to the floor they go!

One year ago you showed up in a snow storm. I don't need to go into details as you can read all of that in the story of your arrival. The day, or should I say the middle of the night when you were born, was so unlike I had it planned all out in my head. I thought it'd be just like the videos we saw and that your dad and I would get to hold you the second you came out. That I'd get to hold you moments after your arrival into the world.

Instead the room was filled with NICU people and you were swooped away to their care to make sure your heart was strong. You showed them your stuff and proved that it was just fine but I sometimes wonder what it would have felt like to hold you that second after you were born. And then I realize that your Daddy got to hold you within minutes of you being born and I feel relieved. Someone who loved you before you entered the world got to finally put their hands on you and kiss you. It took a bit longer for me to get a hold of you as they fixed me up but I eventually got to cuddle in with you and look your Daddy in the eyes in awe of what God had brought to us. Had trusted us, two weirdo artsy people, to raise you.

Maybe that brief moment that I didn't get my hands on you is the cause of my needing that extra kiss each night or craving that moment when your head rests on my shoulder. Or maybe that's all normal Mommy stuff but I don't seem to know what normal is anymore. As your Daddy and I discussed last night whether we should refer to a grilled cheese as a grilled cheese or a cheese toasty and which was the "normal" way and which was the "different," I realized you are doomed! Doomed to hear us say to step out and be different. And then I think am I different? Are we doing things to teach you to step out like that? I'm trying and honestly am struggling with that right now but you have challenged us both to do this and take it on full force.

Your swirly calic in your hair, your love for all things related to coasters, your fascination with dogs and lights, the need to touch Daddy's paints and knock them down, the joy you have to sit on my lap as I type and work on photos as you try to bang the keyboard and the confusion and joy your face holds when Daddy and I kiss and you try to kiss us are all things that already have you standing out to be different. While these may seem like typical baby things to others, to us they are different, new and joyous. Welcome to your first year and the world of different that is to come!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

11M

Zane,

Are we really one month away from you being a year? Well much less than a month since I'm pretty late with this letter! This time last year I was praying you'd come out sooner than later and was pretty miserable and HUGE! The holidays this year were much more enjoyable because you were here instead of helping my feet swell and my energy drop!

And what fun you were for Christmas! At Grandma and Grandpa L's you played with a spatula while Daddy and I opened your gifts. You were very fond of the Tonka truck push/ride toy they got you and you figured out right away how to walk behind it. We had our first Christmas Eve at our home as a family. We took you to the late service at church which went well when everyone was singing but the second they got quiet you started singing back to them really loud with "BABABABA" so you and I hung out in the lobby watching the message on the TV. Oh well! At least you were happy and not screaming.
Daddy and I woke you up that morning with the video camera in your face and you looked at us like we were crazy. You were showered with more gifts at Grandma and Grandpa C's and loved the toy that Grandpa made for you. I think you could play with this all day long. I would love to know what you're thinking as you move each wooden piece along.
You left the Christmas tree alone at everyone's house until after Christmas. Then the ball you'd be playing with would accidentally go under the tree and what do you know there's an ornament! At least we didn't have to deal with it all month long!

You were given several items that were either hammers or something that could be used similar to one. You figured out in one day how to hammer the balls into the box that you have. It was amazing to see your mind work that fast and figure it out. However the hammering has gotten out of control. Play with the toy and we're good but hammering us, the coffee table, the dog and yourself hasn't been so good. We don't have expensive furniture so I'm not worried about that but the noise was SOOOO loud! And hammering us? Daddy and I both will tell you no over and over and almost always you get it taken away. Same goes with the dog and then when you hit yourself with it you freak out. So for now we have a hammer graveyard on top of some furniture that we choose to put items you use as hammers when we're sick of saying no or hearing the banging.

You also like to throw everything. Every toy gets thrown somehow. You can't stand for your new magnets to stay on the fridge and only once have I actually caught you putting them back on the fridge. I asked your Grandma the other day if little girls were this destructive and she said a little but that boys were worse. At least I know it's somewhat normal because I was beginning to worry!

You still have an obsession with door stops but have now turned to opening and closing the doors. You close it just far enough to be able to pry your fingers back around the door to open it and see if we're still there. Several times you've closed the door all the way and start crying immediately like we're now gone forever. It's so hard to open the door because you're standing right there holding yourself up on the door.
Standing up on things is old news to you. You now sprint around the coffee table usually in the direction of controller. You stand up on walls, doors and the fridge like you've been doing this all your life. Sometimes your moves are too fast for your body and they catch you. The coffee table has been the cause of a couple of bumps but that's part of being a baby!

Grandma and Grandpa's is like a playground to you. You crawl in laps from the hall to the kitchen to the dining area and then back again. Grandma has a pillow landing spot for you at their step to the living room and you sit and fall into the pillows, crawl back up and do it again over and over.
You also discovered the toilet paper. You watched me place a new roll on and then saw what it did - spins!!! You gave me this look like I had been holding out on you! Like I had a full bottle of milk up my sleeve for hours and never let you see it. Spinning anything can keep you occupied for hours. So now you know it's there and we have to keep you from it so that we don't have toilet paper all over the floor.

Our bed has become your gym to jump and laugh. I might have started this by playing monkeys jumping on the bed with you but I don't care, it's so much fun. Until you're big enough to break the bed that is. We jump and sing and then I'll throw you into the pillows and you laugh so hard. Then we do it again and again and again until Mommy can't jump anymore. At that time you crawl all over our bed trying to get us to chase you. I sometimes make a tent for you and I to hide under and Truman barks at us. You weren't so sure about this the first time and started to whine until you noticed I was under the sheet with you.
I'm excited to see what you weigh at your year appointment as it seems that you have grown through all your clothes this past month. One day it fits, the next day no chance! Your new favorite foods seem to be cheesy crackers, cheese itself, blueberries, chicken and bread of course! Daddy made pancakes one morning and we gave you some. You ate an entire pancake! They were small but still...we were shocked! So you and Daddy will have to work together on the breakfast food so you can bring it to Mommy!

You've got the crawl completely under your belt so you have invented the hunchback crawl in order to still hold a toy in your hand at the same time that you're headed someplace. Daddy likes to call you Egor when you do this. You have a toy in one hand, just one knee down and you move with your other foot out. Somehow you're pretty fast in this posture!

We're working on you not crawling all over Truman. While Truman doesn't seem to mind other dogs do and we don't want you to get hurt. When we tell you no you'll sit next to him and just touch his paw. It makes us just melt. Other times you'll try to move Truman out of your way. You'll take one hand and push him in which he does not budge at all. He just looks at you like "yeah right kid!"

You have a new face and action to show us when you're upset or being bashful. You put your hands behind your head and just give us this look. I sometimes look away in fear that you have a special power and are going to melt me into pieces. It's that killer of a look!
You have officially said mama. Let's chat about this shall we? Mamamama comes out when you're crying and Dadadada comes out when you're happy and playing! Should I remind you that you grew in MY belly and took over MY body for 9 months to get here! I could use some props with the Mama when you're happy! Come on!

We are having a blast with you and even though we might say no every two seconds some days, it's still fun. We can't wait for more!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Check out Christmas photos here (yes I am THAT late!) and more 11 month photos here.

10 months

Zane,

Here we are approaching your first Christmas. I remember being rather LARGE last year at this time and dreaming about what this year would be like for our family and the addition of you. Your Daddy and I would talk about how you'd be after the tree and presents wouldn't last long under the tree. Little did we know you'd have an obsession for the finer things, such as door stops, and our worries would be other places, such as two front teeth that are making you a mad baby!

Let's start with a discussion on those teeth of yours! The month started out with the bottom two coming through your gums. You seemed to have picked up my genes and these two teeth are shaped like a V. Nice and crooked! We're hoping when the others come in they'll push those into proper place. The end of this month has been the top two teeth coming through. These suckers literally came through the gums in two days. One day we kind of saw them and the next day they were there! They're still pushing on through and boy is it resulting in lots of side effects this time around. Some we won't discuss in case one day your fellow high school friends do a search on you and up comes detail on your diaper rash! So that's all we'll mention but lots of that, plus absolute need for Mommy at all times! Throw up has been involved (this might have been from something else too) and signs of that 2-year old stage are showing up. We feel so bad for you and feel a bit helpless.

You are very mobile now. Crawling has become sprint crawling once you see the object you desire. You can pull yourself confidently up on everything and fall a lot because what you choose to pull yourself up on isn't always the sturdiest of choices. You also now stand up in your crib and will stand and cry and give us real tears when you know you should be napping. I think you're playing the cute and how sad I look factor with us.


You also like to crawl underneath things. Several times now your Daddy and I have been doing something and turn around to not see you. We usually find you underneath the kitchen table standing up in between all the chairs. You get stuck underneath chairs and crawl into the coffee table and slam your head really hard as you try to break through instead of just crawling out.


Eating is sometimes easy for you and other times you shake your head to everything that comes near your mouth. One day you love bananas and almost eat the whole thing, the next day you won't even let one stay on your tray. There's a concept - food staying on your tray! You like to swipe your hand across the whole tray to free the space of all food substance. You are Mr. Sneaky with Truman. We will turn around and look back to see you with your eyes right on us but leaning with a snack in your hand to share with your dog. You let him lick it for a bit and then loosen your grip so he can have it. The other day when I caught you I said no and you threw your hands up in the air while smiling at me. And then you leaned your hand behind you and let go of the cracker for Truman to have. Glad you two have worked this out!


Truman has come in handy when you decide to throw your cup on the floor. You won't take from a sippy cup and prefer the ones that pour out more and of course the lids don't stay on as well. Truman has helped clean up apple juice, pear juice and water that's spilled all over the floor from this! We can't seem to figure out why you can't just leave it on your tray once you're finished! Very tidy you are.

You have also developed a new bond with what we affectionately call Teddy. We have several teddies so you don't get attached to just one. You carry one around the house, chew on him, bury your head in him and cry and cling to him in your sleep. If you're tired we'll grab Teddy and place him on our shoulder. You immediately drop your head to Teddy and just snuggle in. It's so precious.

Diaper changing is still a disaster area. Daddy has coined your fight back technique as the alligator grip. You'll wrap both of your legs around our hand and arm and turn so it hurts to hold onto the diaper. Most of the time the only thing that will calm you down is singing.

What do we sing? Your favorite all time song is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. You've smiled at the singing of this song since you were very little. Only my child would pick the one thing that I dislike the most. I add onto the end of the song that the spider stayed outside. We'll keep it this way! No spiders as pets! You don't mind Old MacDonald as well. If your parents could just remember what sounds animals make I'm sure we could come up with more than cow, dog, pig and cat!

Some other favorites include DOOR STOPS! You swing open doors just to get to the door stop and play with it. You purposely push a toy down the hall in order for it to land right by the door stop and you "accidentally" start to play with it. We say no the most to this. You'll sometimes listen and other times act as if we're not there and continue. When we go to other homes it's like you have a honing device and find their door stops right away.

You have recently come up with a new love for chasing balls. You'll push them and chase, push again and chase. You are learning how to throw too which is so cute, until you do it while eating. Blueberries and peas then become a ball to play with.


Your first Thanksgiving went well. You were a very popular little man with your cousins. The three of them couldn't get enough of you! I know, you are hard to resist with that charm.


You also experienced your first snow. Well technically it's not your first snow as you were born in a snow storm and two weeks later we were snowed in again, but this is the first time you could play in it. Grandma C was determined to put on your snowsuit and get you out in the snow. You had other plans and had a meltdown in the snow. Poor Grandma, but she did get some classic photos of your meltdown!


For some reason the new favorite view of the world for you is upside down. You like to lay on our legs and then place your head past our knees to view the world this way. It's pretty funny when you want to do it over and over again.

We have been signing to you for several months now but all of a sudden you are a sponge and are picking up on this. Except that you're picking up on the signs that aren't exactly the things we'd like you to communicate right now. You sign lights, duck and fan and sometimes please. However you haven't picked up on more, all done or anything related to eating. I guess it is so easy to sign lights right now with Christmas lights everywhere. Grandma and Grandpa's hallway is lined with lights and the other night we walked in the hallway and you couldn't contain your excitement and just held your hand up and "said" lights over and over while smiling.


Last year I could picture you, but it still didn't seem real. I could picture you interested in those lights but seeing you tell us how excited you are about them is beyond fulfilling. Your personality begins to shine more and more each day.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

To see a TON more 10 months photos click here. To see Zane's first Thanksgiving visit here.