we participated in this winter. Daddy was our teacher at the start of the program but Zach still managed to have fun when daddy changed jobs and wasn't there anymore. Once again Zach amazed me with what is important to him in life...each week I would say that 
we were going to the gym to play with balls and the parachute etc. and all he'd talk about is the tiny little sticker he would get at the end!
In February, Zach (and mommy and daddy) went to our first kid birthday party. The party was geared for much older children so I thought Zach looked especially little sitting at the table next to all the big kids. His favorite part by far was the cake and was momentarily disappointed when it didn't come with ice cream! (When we told him we were going to a birthday party he immediately said, "cake...ice cream"?)
Just thought I'd share this cute little moment with you all...Zach pulled 'baby' and a book into his lap and he proceeded to "read" to baby from the book. You might be able to tell in one of the pictures that baby is pointing to pictures and asking, "what's zis?". Zach was wonderful about answering all of his questions!
This past week it snowed!!! We received an entire inch that stayed on the ground for almost 24 hours before melting. I thought it would be a great afternoon activity for Zach and I to go and explore in our backyard... once we were all bundled up and outside a very sad little boy reluctantly came out with me for our fun adventure! Things looked bleak initially but I persevered and Zach finally decided that he wanted to swing. (No snowmen, snowballs or making footsteps through the snow.) 
Once on the swing things improved but he kept asking for his glasses. (He never wears sunglasses but I have them in the car and attempt to protect his eyes during the summer months.) Well he asked for them and I said that we weren't getting his glasses, assuming he was just trying out a new request that struck his fancy. Then he asked again, and again, and again! Finally I got the message!! Zach wanted his sunglasses! (I know brilliant, right?!?) 
So into the house I went to get the keys, back out to the car to get the glasses, and back to swing to give them to Zach--he then swung very happily in full snowgear and sunglasses for some time before we returned to the less dramatic indoors.
Our male bonding began the other morning when Zach was left alone, for mere moments, with a small container of yogurt... we came back to find the yogurt covering the table and Zach's face. He innocently looked up at us and started rubbing his yogurty face and said, "shave". 
"Other manly things" refers to new body parts Zach likes to identify. Thankfully, right now, this is taking place in the privacy of our home during bath time. But I just know one day soon this new found knowledge will be blurted out in the middle of church or in line at the grocery store. yippee.
It is very difficult to make the day after Christmas special for a little two-year-old boy! (Which is why we really celebrate in June) However, I am unable to completely ignore the fact that it is his birthday. With so much involved in getting ready for Christmas I didn't think of making Zach a cake until the morning of his birthday! We were scheduled to go celebrate Christmas at my grandmother's house for brunch and the afternoon, so at 9am I decided to make a applesauce spice cake for the big day! Unfortunately I rushed to release the cake from the bundt pan so when I turned it out onto the cooling rack the entire thing crumbled. In an attempt to rescue the messy but delicious cake I dumped the 'crumbles' onto a pie plate and covered it in brown butter frosting...only there wasn't enough frosting. The result to my last minute effort was very pathetic, a ugly ex-bundt applesauce spice cake with frosting (please enjoy the photo)
, Zach thought it was wonderful! 
We have had a busy month preparing for Christmas. With Christmas comes Zach's official birthday and we are in the full throes of being two-years-old. 
I'm exhausted more from Zach's growing independence than all the shopping, wrapping, decorating and baking combined! Most days I can count on Zach not wanting to put his coat on, not wanting to take his coat off, refusing to eat, being hungry to eat, not wanting his shoes on and being traumatized when mama has the audacity to take them off. 
Aside from the challenging bits, Zach has been a delight to watch develop. He is repeating everything he hears ('oh be careful little mouth what you say') and he is playing more and more pretend. He frequently has a 'hot cup of tea' at his table or he brings you lovely green wooden cookies on a plate. He has also started to pretend to play the piano. Every flat surface in our home has been turned into a piano. Zach 'plays' the wall, bed, stool and table and accompanies himself with loud singing-it is a delightful sight to behold!
Our first Christmas at home started early and concluded quickly as Zach's favorite part was unwrapping the presents. He didn't appear to be concerned with what was in the boxes as much as ripping the paper and bows off. Each bow he removed he labeled as a flower and then tossed into the pile. While opening one of my gifts I said, "great!" upon seeing the present inside. From that point on, as soon as the wrapping paper was gone and the lid to the box opened Zach would say, "great!" for each present.
Zach's Christmas consisted of all his favorite things; trucks, trains, pretend food, Kipper and books, however, the one item that won his heart immediately is the one we didn't buy...a friend's hand-me-down electric keyboard piano! I think I will miss the pretend one.
The milking barn is a great place to explore and half the fun is that your dressed in barn clothes so it doesn't matter how big of a mess you get into. (Zach figured this part out quickly with the surrounding mud puddles.) There were tons of cats and kittens running around, 2 dogs, 2 baby calves tied up and lots of 'big cows' moving through the milking parlor. In my mind Zach would be running after the older Nelson boys and petting the calves, however, when the moment arrived, Zach was very intimated by the 'big cow' and would not leave my arms...oh well. 
Perhaps next visit he will enjoy the opportunity to explore a little more. The cows still made a big impression in Zach's little mind because he has talked repeatedly about the 'big cow' ever since he laid eyes on one. (Oh, and yes! that man's back that you see milking the cows is my farmer husband!)
(For those of you that are unenlightened by the pictures....)Zach was a monkey this year for Halloween! I hadn't planned on the day being quite as involved as it turned out to be.... 
(Zach and I signed up for 5 weeks of playing instruments, singing and dancing once a week. It has been another highlight to our week-although he starts off the class very nervous he quickly warms up to the singing! I have loved watching his receptive language develop in this class and am often amazed with the directions he follows-hiding hands behind back, banging the sticks together, jumping, dancing and putting the instrument back in the bag.) 
All of the children came dressed up but I know you will all be surprised to hear that Zach was hands down the cutest! His costume had a little curly tail on the back and it was amusing to see it dance around the room.
The next trick-or-treat stop was Papa's (my father) work. We hadn't been there in a while and I think Papa enjoyed showing Zach-the-monkey around the office. Zach loves to see Papa (and frequently asks for him) but he was not all together thrilled with having unknown spectators look at and talk to him! (we're still developing social skills) One women brought him some animal crackers and I think that improved his outlook on the whole experience.
After a nap, we went to my grandparents' house and to see Yia yia. I hadn't actually planned on going to our neighbors but one of them had asked earlier in the week so we swung home before dinner with family to do a little more trick-or-treating. I'm so glad we did!
Our four closest neighbors had each bought him a little something special. It was quite a busy and profitable day for our-little-monkey!
When you're a not-quite-two year old every little excursion can be a big adventure! It is wonderful to see all these mundane activities as exciting through Zach's eyes. Our fall is plodding along at a leisurely pace-that's not to say that each day isn't a scramble to get meals made, laundry done, diapers changed and little boys to bed but it is more that the flow of the routine is somehow leisurely. Here are a few October highlights...
And today we took a trip to see Daddy at work. The weather had promised to be terrible so I thought it would be fun to explore the big gym and catch a few glimpses of Steve working. It was the perfect set up for Zach--the gym had huge safe spaces for Zach to be able to run unchecked and plenty of kid equipment to play with. 
There were even a few other kids around that Zach chased as they played sports. Steve has been looking forward to Zach participating in the 
3 year old sport programs next winter and today for the first time I got a glimpse of how much fun that will be!
book he pointed to a picture, said "wat-zis?" and then proceeded to answer his own question. He flipped through the entire book pointing, asking and answering at each picture. Steve and I have no idea what prompted this new question (it is not an expression that we have used with him) but it has quickly become a central part of our day. 
Zach walks around pointing at things saying, "wat-zis, wat-zis" and then waits just long enough to see if you attempt a response before he points to something different. Mostly he seems to just be enjoying asking the question and watching me fumble for an answer, but occasionally he seems to genuinely want to know. For example, at dinner recently as Zach was finishing a bowl of spaghetti he looked at me, pointed to his bowl and said, "wat-zis?". 
I gave him the word and sign-- the quizzical expression left his face and he finished eating, apparently satisfied. I'm sure there is a lot of learning going on in his little mind with all these questions I'm just not sure if he is increasing his vocabulary or learning how powerful he is as his mother jumps through yet another hoop!
This past week we had our little jungle in the backyard removed by professionals--it was actually a 20 year overgrown hedge that was completely dead underneath but covered in wisteria. The vines had aggressively wrapped themselves throughout two trees and were threating to take over the neighborhood. The crew brought in a tractor/excavator and then a skid steer plus chain saws and a dump truck-and the wisteria still gave them quite a challenge! (It is laughable that Steve and I had actually entertained the idea of tackling it ourselves.) The big equipment in our yard this week provided Zach with hours of entertainment as he watched the "dumper" and "ss-seer" work. I missed taking a photo of him eating his lunch while standing at the window-but trust me it was precious! 
