And it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it!

Hi!!

Since a couple weeks ago, Zach has found a few cool new things:

1. His smile
2. His hands
3. His voice

You can see, from the picture above, that his smile is in top gear. We have a pretty happy baby. Of course, he's not always the happiest of people, but lately he's been smiling like it's going out of fashion. It mostly happens in the morning when he's rested. Later in the day, not so much, but when we smile and play with him, it's like his world couldn't get any better.

As for his hands, you may have noticed a little drool in some of his pictures lately. I use the word "little" lightly because really, if we stored it, there would be enough to fill about one pool per week. He sucks on his hands all the time. Even when his pacifier is in, sometimes he'll take it out and replace it with the hands. I guess he feels that fingers are more sophisticated than crude sucking toys.

As for his voice....

So here's what's been going on lately:

This is the scene before the Mommy, Zach and Token morning walk

Here is Zach and his friend Juliet...Zach was boring her so she fell asleep

He visited Katie at Dreamworks and got some inside info on Shrek 12 - The Revenge of Donkey. He didn't like the plot so he was crying (hence the red face and teary eyes) Also, this is the hat that Katie's mom (Marianne) made for Zach...CUUUuuuttte.

Mara, Sydney, and Ethan visited and each got a chance to hold Zachy

Then Zach visited Grandpa and wished him happy birthday

Auntie Beth held Zach but he was feeling a little fat in this picture

Uncle Michael and Aunt Patti got to pose with the tired boy

He loves when mommy dresses him up in super-cute outfits

We visited the Runyon's to watch Ohio State make the Rose Bowl and USC loose their chances

Blake got a chance to hold him...does Zach look scared?

Dad and Carlos gettin low in the Bjorn

Fun Facts:

• As mentioned, Zach is doing a lot more talking, spitting, gurgling, and other various bodily noises I won't go into here.
• Zach has been very interested in Token lately. He watches him walk around the house.
• He has now officially graduated to his crib. It was really hard for Kelly and I even got a little emotional when we realized he wasn't going to be right next to us anymore. That has taken some time for us all (Zach included) to get used to.
• We brought out his exersaucer for the first time and he seemed to like it...but not as much as the rest of the family who all had to touch the pretty lights and colors on it.
  

-pf

Bye bye!

Come get some...

Ah Autumn: the leaves are changing color, the weather is getting cooler, Christmas is getting closer, the Dodgers are going down in flames again, the Zach is drooling. It's a magical time of year. Let's start off with two classic fall traditions:

First, we took Zach to Lombardi Ranch which is close to us now that we live in flavor country. We went with Mary, Ryan, and Molly and Zach picked out the perfect pumpkin that dad said we shouldn't get because we weren't even going to be around on Halloween night.

Zach; amongst the pumpkins

Molly showing a little love to Zachary

He had a great time and he was especially excited that mom dressed him up in a shirt that was the same color as his surroundings. Zach really didn't want to go all out this year for Halloween night, as he knew he wouldn't really get a chance to go trick-or-treating, so he opted for an easy, but cool costume.

The dude could barely fit into his rash guard but we think he pulled off a pretty sweet surfer.

The day before Halloween, Zach and Kelly came by my office to visit and to see the other "Durkee kids" all dressed up. While he was there, he took some time to update his Facebook page:

Workin' for the weekend...

We have this chair called a "Bumbo." It's meant to be used once a baby can sit up without neck support and without falling to one side. It's a really cool idea. Unfortunately, I don't think they took baby's with Zach's girth into consideration during the design phase:

We know a remote farm in Lincolnshire, where Mrs. Buckley lives; every July, peas grow there...

Zach is officially three months old now. I've been keeping up on "what your baby should be doing by now" and apparently ours is a genius because not only can he speak (he said "yeah" very clearly the other day and just tonight he said "ohhhh" inquisitively) but he also understands and employs ironic endeavor in waiting until after I have gone all the way back downstairs and unpaused the DVR to start crying in his crib at night.

He's also doing some other cool little stuff that I want to remember for posterity:

Fun Facts (extended)

• He rolls over from stomach to back (for me, but not for Kelly)
• He is drooling a lot and soaking most of his shirts. I hear this is not due to teething, but him learning how to digest food
• He is yelling a lot in the late afternoon. In the morning, he is very happy but as the day goes on, he gets more cranky
• This week, he will most likely be making the transition to his crib for bed-time...as long as mom can let go
• The easiest way to make him smile or laugh is to clap his hands and perform cheer-leader-style actions with his arms...this doesn't mean he is going to be a cheer-leader...
• He is wearing clothes that are for 6, 9, and 12 month olds...keep in mind he is 3 months
• Zach is sucking on his hand when his pacifier falls out and it seems like eventually he's going to get the whole thing in there...we are hoping he will find his thumb soon
  

Well that's all for now. Here's some video of tummy-time with mom.

-pf