18 months!!

And that means NURSERY!!! Hooray!! But seriously, I can't believe that my little Zachary is already 18 months. He has been the best little boy a mommy could have, and while his first 12 months of life were marked by angelic behavior, the next 6 months have been marked by his true, wilder personality. But as my Dad would say, "Heaven forbid he came with a personality." Here are some examples:

*He LOVES to play with other kids. When we pull up to the park or a friend's house he is literally SHAKING with excitement. He loves it! But best of all he really adores Lucy. She is his best friend, and they love to play together-- whether it's jumping on the bed, or coloring, or watching a movie together, they really get along well, which I count my blessings about. (Only exception: nursery. Hates it!)

*He is not a very good sleeper, although we're working on it. He started crawling out of his crib at about 15 months, and we could NOT keep him in his room. At about 3 a.m. he'd come crying into our bedroom, or I'd hear him playing with toys, etc. and he wouldn't go back to sleep. If it's wasn't 3 a.m., it was 4 or 5 or 6, and he would be exhausted by 9 a.m. and fall asleep anytime we'd go somewhere in the car. SO frustrating! This past week I changed his crib into a bed (I figured maybe he was telling me he was ready for a big-boy bed), and bought one of those child lock things that go over the door knob. The first night he woke up at 3 a.m. as usual but couldn't get out and SCREAMED bloody murder for about an hour-- I thought he'd kick the door down and his room was a total DISASTER, but he finally fell asleep until 7:15 a.m. (the latest he's EVER slept in). So it's working! He's still woken up every night since then, but cried less and less each time. I'll break him!!:)

*He is totally enamored with his Buzz Lightyear shoes!! He would wear them to bed if we let him. He cries and cries when it's time to take them off, and whenever we say "cool shoes Zachy!" he does a little dance to make the LED lights start flashing. He doesn't really talk yet, but he does know how to ask for his "shoes."


*He LOVES breakfast!! His favorite is pancakes or Nutella on toast with strawberries. He kind of tanks up on breakfast and then won't eat anything the rest of the day besides cookies of course (his favorite), so we've just kind of learned to live with it. If he doesn't like what's on his tray, he makes a HUGE mess and throws it on the ground. Drives me crazy!!


* He is OBSESSED with the vacuum cleaner! No matter what he's doing when I start vacuuming he runs over and immediately tries to pry the handle from my fingers. I usually give up and let him vacuum for awhile, hoping he'll get bored but he never does. This is when I thought I'd outsmart him and vaccum while he was in the tub, but there he is, dripping wet and totally nekkid, vacuuming away.

*He is definitely the class clown of the family. He is always doing silly things (growling is one of his favorites) to make us all laugh. He especially loves when he makes Lucy laugh.
* Despite his wild and rowdy boy exterior, he is still a total cuddle bug!! He loves to be held, and when he wakes up in the morning he holds my hand and pulls me over to the couch, gets his blanket and makes me cuddle with him for a good long time. is He loves hugs and kisses, and when Jon gets home he runs to him for hugs, then feels bad and runs to me, and back and forth and back and forth, until we finally sandwich hug him.
* He is definitely a daddy's boy. Whenever Jon is around he definitely prefers him to me, which is just fine with me because he has to be around us girls all the time, and besides, I have my own little shadow.:)
WE LOVE ZACHARY!!