Random News

1. Now Zane has two front teeth, but not THE two front teeth. He has his front left and the one next to it to the side. His other front one is almost in, but it's pretty funny right now.

2. The other day, I found a completely smashed pea INSIDE of Zane's bellybutton.

3. He drinks out of a straw cup now and knows how to chug some major milk.

4. He blew bubbles in the pool today, if you count sticking your tongue in the water and moving it around.

New "tricks"

Both of these video of are little things Zane does now just from watching and learning on his own. We never tried to teach him to blow when his food was hot, but he certainly copied it when mom did it and we never thought he would know how to snap, but one day he just mimicked it almost perfectly (except no sound). He's also learned how to use different tones of voice, like when he's asking a question, it's the same word, but sounds exactly like a question. It's amazing how sometimes babies can pick up on things so easily!!

The 3 Boys (and their moms)

Yesterday, I got to have my three teaching friends over for lunch. Two of my friends (Kim and Katy) have little boys who are just a bit younger than Zane. Luke is in the middle and he's almost 6 months old and Charlie is on the right and he's 4 months old. Denise, my other friend put up with some crying, some pooping, and a few toys getting thrown at her (by Zane), but I think she had a good time. I loved seeing my friends and Zane definitely enjoyed hanging out with his little buddies.I took a million pictures and never caught them all looking at me, but this one is pretty cute.
We were completely entertained watching the babies just sitting on the couch, especially when they started tipping into each other. Zane was laughing and waving his arms, Luke was grabbing Zane's arm, and Charlie was tipping over uncontrollably behind Luke. Hilarious.

Coloring

A couple of days ago at a restaurant, Zane colored for the first time. Usually, he rips up the coloring page, eats some of it, and then eats the crayons. But this day, he scribbled and even saw (and liked) what he had accomplished. What a big boy!

Words and Sign Language

Words that Zane knows:
Mama
Dada
ball
uh oh
ouch
out
banana (nana)
up (bup)
down (da)
bottle (ba ba)
baby (ba bee)
bath
Bobby and Bob
Nell
Jord
Grandpa (sort of)
Grandma (sort of)
shoes
socks
cheese
no
bye bye
book
ok
dog (uff uff)
monkey (ah ah ah)
snake (sssss)
sheep (ba ba)
horse and pig (snorting sound)

Sign Language he knows:
please
more
eat
all done
phone
pointing

Zane's Bookshelf

Yesterday, we decided to give Zane his own bookshelf on the bottom shelf of ours because he has SO many books already. He loves books and so since we put them on the shelf, he's been "reading" them constantly (actually more like holding, throwing, opening, and stepping on them). He actually brings us a book now when he wants it read to him.
When he's looking at a book, he's usually babbling, looking at it, and turning the pages as if he's really reading it. Wow, I guess we have an early reader on our hands. :)
We have a bunch of "touchy-feely" books that he can spend tons of time on and now he likes to feel the textures with his hands AND his feet. Even with his PJs on, he uses his feet to feel.

Too Sleepy to Eat

Zane has only fallen asleep eating 2-3 times ever and yesterday was one of those times. He was literally right in the middle of taking a bite when he just dozed off. His fingers were still in the position to grab the next veggie. Then when we were unstrapping him, he woke up for a second and grabbed another carrot to put into this mouth, but before he could get it in, he zonked out again. I guess that's what happens when you refuse to take your morning nap!

Like Daddy Part 2

One of the best gifts ever came from Aunt Sarah on Zane's first birthday - Daddy's favorite Bernstein Bears dolls that he played with as a little guy! Opening them up even made Daddy cry for a second.

Here's a couple of pics of the little man enjoying his new toys!

Like Daddy

Grandpa Ed is from Pittsburgh, and thus made Zack wear Pirates hat as a kid (just as Zack does with Padres hats on Zane).

Daddy couldn't resist buying this hat like the one he had as a kid when he saw it today - and Zane loves it too!

Shoes

Here is a short video of Zane talking about his shoes and trying to put them on his feet and onto my feet. He also likes to put our shoes on his feet and tries to walk around in them. Sometimes he tries to put his feet into other things too, like his bus, but he usually realizes that doesn't work when his feet get stuck or the object starts rolling away with his foot in it. He's gotten so good at saying "shoes" and enjoys putting them on and taking them off.

Down for the count

The other day, Zane was in the middle of playing with his toys, when all of a sudden I looked over and he was "falling" over but in slow motion. He ended up on his back and then just layed there like he couldn't get up. I don't know if he was just tired, worn out, or if he just didn't want to go to all the trouble of getting up. It cracked me up! The shirt he's wearing is his New Orleans shirt that the whole group wore on our trip last week. He got a matching one.

Scrunchy Face

During the past month or so, Zane has been making this funny scrunched nose face all the time. He does it when he's happy, sad, showing us where his nose is, crying, laughing, whatever. He also does it when we ask him to smell or sniff something. It's so goofy, but so darn cute. He's a quirky little guy.

Big Bouncy Ball

Zane owns probably about 20 different balls...in every size! He absolutely loves playing with them. If we ever go somewhere and need to pack toys, I always make sure that I have at least one ball. While he's playing, he yells the word ball over and over and over. He got this big ball for his birthday and he enjoys carrying it around the room. The bad thing is that it is so big that Zane usually can't see past it so he runs into things and then bounces right back off. Depending on how fast he's going in the first place, he can really get hurt flying backwards. As long as he doesn't get too hurt, this could entertain him (and us) for hours!

Skateboarding

ZM loves loves loves skateboards! He loves to sit on them, try to stand on them, roll them on the ground, spin the wheels, basically anything he can think of. The best part is anytime he sees a skateboard OR anyone who skateboards (most commonly a few specific high school boys) he makes the sound that the skateboard wheels makes when they're rolling. It sounds like a mix between a lion growling and him clearing his throat.

Now, with most people, he has something that he associates with them. For some, he says their actual name, but for others he may clap, dance, or say "ball" if that person played ball with him, etc. The skateboarding sound is one of those associations.

News Update

Zane's top three news items today:

1. One new tooth popped through his gums yesterday and its the one to the left of this front left tooth. Hopefully his two front teeth will follow soon so he's not too much of a "snaggle tooth."

2. When he sees himself in the mirror now he giggles and says, "baby" (which actually sounds like bah bee). Today he even stuck out his tongue at himself and pointed to the mirror.

3. If I give Zane a wet wipe while I'm changing his diaper, he helps me wipe!! :)

Happy in New Car Seat

We've been in New Orleans for a few days now. We're here with a group of about 95 people, mostly high schoolers. Zane is having the best time ever with all his high school friends! He has people to play with all day and has an audience to laugh at all his weird quirks and gestures. He moved into his "big boy" car seat a few days before we got here and he loves it. I think he likes facing forward and feels like one of the big kids. :) Here is a video of us driving from the airport to our hotel in a van full of people...Zane couldn't be happier.

I also put some pictures on of him on one of the first few times in his new seat. The only downfall is that now he can see us up front and so he feels like he's missing out on fun and we're leaving him out sometimes.

Pots are fun!

I never knew pots could be so much fun. All night tonight, Zane was determined to balance the pot on his head. He did manage it a few times, and then walked around looking proud of himself. He just got a bunch of new toys for his birthday, but they all failed in comparison.

Kiss Kiss

Zane is the best at giving huge, slobbery kisses and while we were in Italy, he learned how to greet people with kisses on both cheeks like they do there. Sometimes, he just gets carried away. The video is on our ten hour flight home from Italy (only the first of two flights). He's starting to give hugs now too...we love it!!!

Hiding places for food

Zane has decided that just putting food into his mouth is way too boring, so he only eats about every other bite. The rest goes under his leg, on the floor, or mostly into his hair. So at the end of every meal, his hair is matted down with noodles, hot dog pieces, veggies, and whatever else he can manage to balance on his head. (At least he has hair now for the food to stick onto!!) Maybe he just wants to save some for later.

Zane's 1st Birthday

On the 4th of July, we celebrated Zane's 1'st birthday! He got to eat cake, open presents, and swim in the pool with friends. I c an't believe our little guy is already one year old! That night we had family over for dinner. It was a great day.