Just some pics!

Zack's FAVORITE boots! He wears them everywhere.

Zack was playing with my earrings!

The latest and greatest!

Zack is constantly doing new things I can't even keep track anymore! So here's a condensed version... and not such a great one at that!!
Zack's last weigh in, he weighed 21 pounds. Not on the charts yet, but we are gradually making progess on getting closer and closer. Height... he made it to the 1% on the chart! YAY!!! I'm not sure how tall he was, but hey, we made it on a chart by the age of 2, so who cares about that right now?!

In other updates, Zack is really taking off on the whole talking thing. He is really jumping into the two to three words together at one time now, so it makes for some fun times, as well as listening very closely to understand what he's asking/talking about.
Some of his favorites right now are: diggers/construction trucks, trains, watching "Mo-gee" (The Jungle Book) and "Max" (A Goofy Movie), singing "Lover, Lover", playing in the dirt/rocks, and plenty more...
He is seriously getting to be such a fun little guy. I'm sure I have said that so many times, but it really does get more fun all the time!
He was showing us his teeth while eating his donut!

Ready for church!

He LOVES corn on the cob!

Happy 2nd Birthday Zack!

On June 25th we had a Toy Story birthday party for Zack. He has loved Woody and Buzz lately! We had a pizza party (We pretended it was Pizza Planet!), went swimming, and had the cake and ice cream. Lots of fun... and Zack came through for us by even throwing up (as usual).


Then on July 1st, he turned 2 years old! Seriously?! Anyway, we gave him a few presents and he was in heaven!! It was even garbage day, which he loves too (Every Thursday morning he hears it coming and he has me open the back door so he can sit and watch it go down the driveway area.).
Later that night when Jared got home from work, we took him to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner/games. OK, we could have skipped everything else and just have done this and he would have never been happier! To say he loved it is an understatement. It was SO worth the $20 to eat pizza and play games/rides.

What a guy!

Zack's latest little things are pretty funny, especially to him. Such as, whenever he sticks his finger in his nose, we say "Don't pick your nose!" To which he laughs and either puts his finger back in, or pulls it out only to stick it right back!

Also, I have been trying to teach him what time-out means if he's doing something he shouldn't, and yesterday I was telling him not to get into something and said, "Don't do that unless you want to go to time-out" and he looked at me and walked right to time-out and sat down... smiling of course!! He thought he was being so good!

Finally, his other thing that he thinks is a game, is that he likes to stick his hand down his pants. Everyone says it's just a boy thing, but seriously, how do you get this to stop?! Today, for instance, he had a messy diaper and when I went to change him (Luckily I had taken his pj's off not too long before, so he was just in his diaper!), I looked at him and thought he had blown out a little... oh no! He had stuck his hands in his diaper and gotten poop all over his back and FACE! Yep, how much do you want to bet he tried it too?? Ugh... I didn't think it was appropriate to take a picture of this one!

Another crazy month!

What a mess! Zack has been having so many random things going on this past month I almost don't know where to start. First, we decided to start working on his sleeping schedule/habits. We had this tackled and beat it a while ago, but with all the ear infections (and a few others) last year, the sleeping habits were out of wack!! So, it only took about a day to get Zack to cry it out in his crib to realize he could just lay down and go to sleep. So YAY for all of us on this now, because he is sleeping so much better now!

He fell asleep playing with his toys!

However, the downside to the month has been that he has been throwing up almost every day... and most days more than once per day. We have been to three doctors (One of which told me he was just doing it to get attention... um, no thanks! Do you just throw up to get attention? Yeah, only if I am bulimic!), and finally on the third doctor, he explained things so we understood and felt comfortable with what we needed to try. We are 'treating' him with acid reflux meds to start with and see if that "fixes" everything, and we also had a blood test to see if he has Celiac... Anyway, we're hoping for the easiest route here so he doesn't keep throwing up everyday!
In the meantime, he hasn't been gaining weight (shocker!), so we're adding more calories to his milk to help with that. He weighs 18 pounds 9 ounces... and when both of his cousins weigh more than he does (They are age 11 months and 8 months... Zack is 20 months!), then we need to show up!!

19 months old

Zack is now over a year and a half old! Who would have thought this time would go by so fast?? Definitely not me! We went in for his usual check-up last week and here is where he stands:

WEIGHT - 18 pounds 8 ounces (not even close to getting on the charts yet)
HEIGHT - 29 3/4 inches (almost on the charts!)

The dr. said he needs to start gaining weight faster (obviously!) so we are now adding the Carnation instant breakfast to his milk for added calories. But other than that, Zack seems to be right on track with his development.
Zack is getting to be more fun everyday. He is literally running around the house now. If he wants something, he yells "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" until I understand what he wants. He'll even call Jared "Mommy" now :> He is also becoming quite the little helper around the house too! I think his favorites are throwing things in the garbage (better be careful on this one!) and doing laundry.
He also went to nursery for the first time yesterday! Although Jared took him to the older nursery, he still seemed to do just fine. We hope he will love it next week when he's with kids his own age. Yay for Zack this month!!!

Much better!

What a difference those tubes have made for Zack!! He ended up having an ear infection right after the surgery (which we thought the drainage was normal since the dr. said there would be some). So we gave him some ear drops, which we think was making him throw up everyday, and that seemed to clear it right up. However, we were beginning to wonder if the tubes were a waste because we didn't see the difference in Zack like we were told.

Anyway now that some time has passed, he seems SO much happier now than ever! He acts silly all the time (OK, not all the time)! He likes to give hugs, he is trying to talk more (which there isn't much of anything we understand), he is starting to point to his eyes/nose/etc. when we ask where they are, he has about 6 teeth now, and the latest is when I ask him what a cow says, he goes "mmmm". I'll take it!!

Zack turned 18 months old on New Year's day. We visit the dr. at the end of this month for his weight/height update. So we'll see if the tubes made a difference in his weight gain. Previous to the tubes, he hadn't gained weight in 3 months. So we'll hope for the best on that!

Surgery #3

Today Zack had his third surgery. He had his tubes put in his ears for all of the infections he has had. I don't care how "simple" a procedure is supposed to be, it brings tears to my eyes every time when the doctor has to come in the room and take him away from me. Talk about a sick feeling in your stomach... trying to be upbeat to your baby, knowing what is coming for them, and sending them away to have it done. Ugh...
Anyway, the surgery went very well and he was done very fast. When he woke up he was very disoriented and cranky, but at least it was outpatient and we were on our way home in no time. The rest of the day has consisted of longer naps, more crankiness, and yet also a lot of "unsure" of what he wants to do kind of behavior! He is acting super silly one minute, screaming the next, then crying to be held (then when we picked him up, even more crying to be put down). Here's hoping tomorrow is better!!

This is OBVIOUSLY not today! This was taken yesterday... pre-surgery!

Just more ear infections.

Just when I think we are done, we aren't! I really have so little to complain about when it comes to Zack's health, but lately, it seems like we are spending more time at the doctor's office than we did when he was first born!!
On Sunday Zack started having a low fever. Monday that low fever turned into a temp of 103 degrees. By Tuesday, it was up to 104 degrees (Oh, and with no other symptoms). I took him to the dr. and he said both of his ears were infected AGAIN (Keep in mind his latest ear infections were just at the beginning of October AND the end of October!)! He also said that he wasn't so sure the high fevers weren't coming from something else too, but started treating him with an antibiotic shot anyway.
Overnight Zack started throwing up, so we took him back to the dr. again today and got another shot and some blood work done, but nothing really was out of the ordinary there. UGH! I don't want it to be anything, but I want it to be something so we know how to fix it (make sense?!)!!
Anyway, we are just watching him at this point to see what happens. But in 2 weeks we go back to the dr. for his second flu/swine flu shots, then the day after that for his tube surgery. By this point, you'd think we would have a personalized room just for us wherever we went... but no!

Tubes

Well, we visited the ENT doctor yesterday and Zack will be getting tubes put in his ears. He's had about 5 ear infections in the past 7 months or so, and the dr. said he only needed 3 in 6 months to possibly qualify. So we have scheduled December 2nd to have the surgery to put the tubes in... and guess where we will have the surgery... St. Mark's Hospital! We're going back. Although, this time we are so happy that it will be less than a day.

He's walking... sort of!

On November 6th, Zack starting taking his first steps!! We practiced all day and he was doing so great, then Jared came home and he didn't want to take more than about 2 steps!
I think he likes to walk because I get so excited... and then he gets excited and tries to walk so fast (practically running) that he falls forward!

Zack, Talon, and Lucas

It is so fun to have little cousins Zack's age... or maybe not exact age, but size!! We found these cute little outfits for BYU and had to get a picture with them in it. Lucas is only a few months old, but is so cute. And then Talon! What to say about him except that his smile cracks me up! Such a cheese. And we were just lucky to have Zack stay still long enough to be in the picture. SO FUNNY!

Ear Infections

So Zack has run into a case of ear infections! In the past 7 months he's had 4-5 infections (some of which have never gone away), so we will be heading to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist in 2 weeks to see if Zack will be going in for surgery to get tubes put in his ears.
It makes me sad to see Zack uncomfortable with this, so hopefully we will have an end in sight... whether it's for surgery or not.

What a kid!

I have been trying lately to get some cute pictures of Zack, and do you think he will cooperate? NO! He won't sit still, he won't look at the camera, and most of all, he won't smile!!! On occasion I sneak one in that I like, but that's only if my finger is on the button to snap right away. Does anyone else ever have this problem?! Oh, and his little nose scrunchy thing, he does that ALL the time right now! Weirdo!!!

One year ago today

It was a year ago today that Zack was able to come home from the hospital! That could have been the weirdest day of our lives!!! So many happy and sad feelings at one time. Being able to leave our house for the "last time" just the two of us, getting into the car and not knowing how to use the carseat, making sure we weren't being too loud when we got home (we were probably whispering all day!), watching the clock continuously to make sure we were on the NICU schedule :D, and just having the freedom to play with Zack all we wanted without the rules and restrictions! WHEW!
This past year has gone by so fast, but we have had so much fun and like everyone says, we'd never go back to being just the two of us. And as I sit here, Zack is trying to tickle me and get my attention to go play with him, all I have to say is that I just love him so much, and I am so happy he is home!!

Zack is so funny! He gets in his high chair and likes to show me his feet!!

New toy

This is a toy Zack got when he was born! Needless to say, he was too small for it then, but look at him now... he LOVES this 4-wheeler!! This is the look on his face when he first got on it, and every day since then, it's the look on his face when he still gets on it!!

Updates again!

So it's been awhile since I have posted anything about Zack! He is just so mobile now, my time that I used to spend blogging, I spend picking up after him again and again!!
Zack is crawling faster and faster everyday. He walks all around the furniture, gets into any cabinet he can, and our new favorite, he will find a toy (or really anything "small enough") and he puts it in his mouth before he starts crawling so he can bring it with him! It's like a 3rd hand he just discovered!!
He is 14 months old today and he weighs about 16 pounds and is still in 3-6 month size clothes. I know I need to be grateful for really getting the use out of these sizes, but I am anxious for newer clothes now!
Zack also is starting to say more things... still is the baby talk mostly, but when he sees us making his bottles, he starts saying "ba ba" and every now and then he'll say "mom" (he's been saying "da da" for so long now, I don't even count that anymore!). He's really becomes more and more fun everyday.
When did he start getting so grown up though?!

This picture was taken by our very talented neighbor! If you can't tell, he's a professional!

What would we do without these?

Zack's favorite snack are the little flavored puffs that look like Cheerios!! If I even shake the container of them, he gets the biggest smile on his face. Cutest thing. They have saved us pretty much every week at church (I now understand the concept of bringing Cheerios to church to please your child!), many times while out to a store, and my favorite, while trying to get anything done around the house! Just put Zack in the highchair with a handful of these puffs, and we are good to go!

Something new!

What a week and a half for Zack!! On the 18th he officially crawled. He's been scooting around and all, but now, it's full force ahead for that little guy!! His favorite thing to do is scope out anywhere where I don't want him to go, and head there as fast as he can! He also really loves to stand himself up on everything, which turned into a bump/cut on his lip yesterday. But other than that, he's "movin" along now!!

Yesterday was even better for something new... his first tooth!! I scared him when I felt it because I screamed "YAY" and he had no idea what the big fuss was, but I am so excited! Just one more thing that shows he's getting to be a big boy now... I'll get a picture as soon as I can on this one!

Silly guy!

We finally had to lower Zack's crib down one notch!! He's been getting stronger everyday, and is starting to pull himself up on more things, scoot/crawl around, so we are really trying to keep a closer eye on him now. Here are some pics of him playing in his crib, instead of taking his nap (which isn't going so well now that he knows how to stand up!). As mad as I wanted to be that he wouldn't go to sleep, I couldn't help but take pictures and laugh at him!!!