This one goes to eleven

Well, Zach's birthday came and went faster than Lindsay Lohan's prison stay and the time just keeps on flying by. He had a great first birthday...we assume. I'm sure someday he will look back at the massive amount of people who showed up, and/or wished him a "Happy Birthday," got him a fun present, told him he was the cutest and wished the whole family well, and he will remember none of it. That's ok though. At least we had fun, and we learned a valuable lesson: don't have huge parties for a one-year-old.

Zach and his friends.....what? 1-year-olds can't have friends 30 times their age?

Zach, family and an obliterated cupcake....I mean he mutilated that thing...it spun in....there were no survivors.

Speaking of gifts, Zach brought home the mother-load...(technically, I brought home the mother-load while Zach slept in the back of the car and spilled raisins all over the back seat) but either way, they are his presents and he is having a blast with them! He loved everything he got (even the clothes) and he's been using all of his stuff a lot more lately. It makes us feel a little more validated when we see the mountains of toys in the living room actually being used finally. Most of that is due to his mobility. He's walking around now like Arthur Bach on a bender, but he's getting better. Amazingly, whereas just a few weeks ago on his birthday he was just barely taking a few steps, he's now walking around the entire house with only a few falls here and there. It's a good thing we splurge on his extra padded diapers.

Here's a picture of him playing with his Dino-walker toy that he got from Nonie and Papa:

Excuse me ladies, I didn't find the time to put on any pants.

And here's a video of him walking. (Mind you, this was taken last week, so in baby time a week is like a thousand years of improvement....as I write this, he's taking Token on a walk around the neighborhood)

He's been doing a lot of other cool stuff over the last several weeks. He's talking a lot more and making a little more sense. The ratio of sounds coming out of his mouth to words is widening, but I feel like that will begin to shrink eventually. He makes the Tiger sound "Grrrr" and he is very good and pointing things out when we ask "where is the fan?, where is the light?, where is the ceiling, where is the sky"....see the pattern? He can also point out the Red Balloon in Goodnight Moon (ironically enough, he can't quite find the actual moon yet) and he knows several household items by name such as "Dog, ball, blankie, book, stairs" along with all the other aforementioned items, and some others that I probably am not remembering right now.

Here's a quickie of him showing love to his most valuable item on Earth:

Zach is definitely going through a lot of growth (mentally) right now. It seems like he's learning more and more each day. For instance: it's extremely funny to watch Mama's terrifyingly shocked reaction when he reaches up to turn on the burner to the stove. Kelly is off this month (and going back to work next week and none to excited about having to leave Zach again) but they did a ton of fun stuff: multiple trips to the beach, visits to the grandparents and great-grandparents, music class, and a ton of swim-time. So I think Zach has had a pretty good 12th month...in fact, I think he's had a pretty good first year. Let's bring on number two! Speaking of number two..........(I'm talking about Zach, not me...you're gross)

Since I'm in the video mood today, here's ONE more of him playing catch with Token...I swear most of the force in his throw comes from him, not me......*cough

Fun Facts:

• Zach now pinches as a sign of what we imagine is love when we pick him up...it's great.
• He picks out his own bed-time book....Suuuper cuuuuuutteee!
• He's getting more independent in his walking and what-not, but interestingly, also getting a lot more of the separation anxiety when we start to walk away.

-pf