Everyday Moments: January 2012

January 31st

My dad used to joke that when I was little they would feed me spaghetti for entertainment. I always ended up with sauce in my hair, eyebrows, and ears. Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree on that one!

January 28th

Thank you to everyone who made Zach's 3rd birthday party so special! Click HERE to see my favorite pics from the day.

January 26th

We had a WONDERFUL day celebrating Zach's 3rd birthday.

We started off the morning opening presents and eating a special breakfast.

Next we had pictures taken, ate at McDonald's (every 3 year olds favorite!), and went to Monkey Joe's to play.

On our way home, we stopped at Blank Children's Hospital to drop a tray of cookies and a thank you note off at Dr.Irish's office (Zach's surgeon) and at the NICU. We got to see a few of our favorite nurses and show off our BIG boy. They were so thrilled we stopped and could share a happy moment with us. I truly feel like our family owes them everything. Without Dr.Irish and these amazing women, January 26th would be a very difficult day for us.

We ended the action packed day with bowling at Uncle Buck's in Bass Pro. I am embarassed to say Zach beat a few of us.

Happy 3rd birthday Zachary Tate Palmer! You are a dream come true, and I feel so blessed to be your Mommy!

January 25th

Tonight Zach brought home presents from Karen's house. He was SO excited to start opening them! Happy Birthday Eve baby boy!

January 22nd

Today officially kicked off Zach's birthday week. When you are 3 (or 31), one day isn't enough to hold the excitement of your birthday so we party for a whole week.

The Lil Clone Club celebrated January birthdays at Sunday's ISU Women's Basketball game. We got to eat cupcakes with Cy and Zach got a special button and his name on the scoreboard. By pure coincidence they handed out signs with a 3 on it as a promotion, so it was like everyone was celebrating Zach's 3rd birthday! It was so much fun and a great way to start the birthday celebrations!

January 21st

The boys decided to make homemade pizza tonight. Zach made his own all by himself and did great! He is definitely my son when he loaded up the cheese!

Chris met my parents' new dog Gracie tonight as well. She is a 1 year old chocolate Labradoodle, and it was love at first lick. Our whole family has fallen head-over-heels in love with this dog. She LOVES to cuddle and play fetch with Zach and she doesn't bark! I love this picture of her. She almost looks human and if she is smiling.

January 20th

Tonight we had a low-key evening in. To spice up bath time, I bought some glow sticks from Dollar Tree and threw them into Zach's bath water and let him take a bath in the dark. He LOVED it, but it was really hard to take pictures of!

January 19th

This is the face of trouble. Trouble with a capital Z!

January 17th

We just got word Zach was accepted into the preschool program and location we wanted! There were over 100 kids on the waiting list last year, so we weren't sure he would get in. In less than 10 months my baby boy will have to be dropped off at an elementary school 3 times a week. Good thing I have some time to prepare myself.

This morning when Chris whispered to a still sleeping Zach that it had snowed while we were sleeping, Zach opened his eyes, jumped out of bed and proclaimed that he was going to scoop the snow. He made it half-way down the hallway before I convinced him that he better get dressed first. I would have to agree though, there is something magical about the first few snowfalls of winter!

January 16th

Despite the crying, the spills, the tantrums, the yelling, the middle-of-the-night I need a drinks, the time-outs, the begging, the diapers, the sippies, the messy rooms, the naughty words, the piles of laundry, the dirty faces, the "I wants" and the "No's", the toy throwing, the couch jumping, and the nose wiping...I love every minute of this.

Thank you Zachary Tate for making me a Mommy. You are the constant sunshine in my sometimes darkened days. I love you more than I ever thought possible, and watching you grow and learn every single day is pure joy.

January 15th

Sunday was a nice relaxing day at home. Tony worked 2 separate shifts, and Zach was so excited when he came home right before bedtime. These pictures are really grainy since I took them with my cell phone in low light, but their strong bond comes shining through!

January 14th

This morning Chris & Zach met Craig, Randy, & Noah at the John Deere Expo by Van Wall at the fairgrounds. This picture of Zach and Noah going to check out some equipment all decked out in their John Deere apparel makes me smile!

I think all of the boys, both big and small, had fun.

Before heading to the farm to celebrate my grandma's 83rd birthday, Zach, Papa, & Couper had a picnic in the living room!

January 12th

I am sure glad Batman & Joker get along at our house!

January 11th

Tonight was a BIG night at our house! (Stop reading if you don't like hearing about bathroom habits) Zach has been wearing underwear when we get home from Karens lately. Tonight he told us he had to use the potty, and went both number 1 & 2 on the little potty! It was so exciting, haha! I was so proud I gave him the Joker mask I had bought him for his birthday. He is pretty Joker obsessed at the moment. Hopefully we are turning a corner with this potty training thing!