Monday, October 29, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZANE!!!


(Here he is in his Halloween costume! He is a birthday candle! I made the costume by sewing the stripes on his clothes and I made the felt flame for his head! He actually kept the flame on for his WHOLE birthday party!!)

Well, today is officially the big day! We had a big birthday bash over the weekend and Zane had so much fun and was spoiled by so much love from family and friends. Soon the party photos will follow but I wanted to use this day and this time to post a look at the last year. IT HAS GONE SO FAST!! Paul and I just can not believe it was a year ago today that we were all snuggled in our bed gazing at our new baby boy! We remember that time with such comfort of happy beginnings, supportive family, new baby smell (oh, I miss it!) and learning how to be confident parents. We have been having so much fun! We have no idea what we did with our time or what possibly could have made us happy before this little man entered our lives! He is such a treasure and we try and recognize that each and every day.

Day 1:
Welcome to the world little baby Zane!
Month 1:
Month 2:

Month 3:
Month 4:
Month 5:
Month 6:
Month 7:


Month 8:
Month 9:
Month 10:
Month 11:
Month 12:

Happy Birthday my little-man! We love you so much!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Pumpkin Times

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch (really just a church selling pumpkins but it was set up really cute!) and met Beth, Brian & Dexter there. Zane actually wore his pumpkin cap the whole time. This is very unusual for him. Normally I have a hard time keeping his sun hat on but it stays on for a little while because it has a strap on the bottom!

Zane helped pick out some pumpkins and gourds for decoration for his party!







I LOVE this picture of Dexter!




Zane with all his loot!

"What do you see??"

Zane is into pointing right now and it is so fun to know more of what he is looking at! He points at everything that catches his eye and he also will now point at things when you ask him where they are! "Zane, where is the doggy?? (cat, Mommy, Daddy, horse, cow, frog, chicken, Mimi, Papa, Daddy's nose, your toes, the shoes?). He is learning so fast!



Cocoa Beach & More

It has taken me too long to get these pictures up of such a fun weekend we had in Cocoa Beach with Beth & Dexter (Oct. 12-14th). We went there to go to a Le Leche Conference and had such a blast. We can't say we attended much of the conference but how could we when we went to such a FUN hotel? Who would have thought that a Holiday Inn could be so much fun? They had a pool there just for the kids (only a foot or so of water) with a couple giant pirate ships and animals for them to climb on. Zane didn't do too much exploring in that pool but Dexter sure did! They also had a giant regular pool which Zane enjoyed floating around in. We also hung out a little bit on the beach and and dined pool side. The boys even slept well because of the roaring air conditioning in our room! I think that constant noise helped.

On the drive there the kids got a little antsy so we of course stopped to feed them some lovely junk food!

Pool side...


One of the things that was so incredible was the conference had a guys come in and lead drum circles for the kids. They were so much fun and it was amazing to see his set up. He literally had a drum for every kid! And not some cheap crappy drum but a real drum! It was almost overwhelming for Zane and Dexter but they were so stunned and just watched the whole scene so intently. They had a couple during the day and one that night (video below).




One of my favorite fried foods... fried pickles! Yum!

The little ones passed out...
Everything we did would just wipe them out so much that they both took incredible naps during the day!


Why did we travel so far when bath time could have been enough entertainment for them?

Dexter as "Bucket Head!"

AND MORE!
A little video of last week when we went out to dinner with Mimi, Papa & Grandad. Zane was laughing so hard at Mimi that the rest of us were just laughing our pants off too!
Recently Zane and I did a little shopping with Grandad and Mimi. We went to a local second hand shop in Bonita called Ditto Kiddo. Grandad put Zane up in this rig and he enjoyed it quite a bit! He loved pulling on those handles!
Zane is just all about books right now! We are reading all the time because he just goes to his basket of books and brings them to anyone who is willing...
Even in the bath tub!

Zane and his token apple on co-op day!








Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Big Easy



On October 3rd - 7th we traveled to Louisiana where we used to live before returning to Florida. Our good friends, Mike & Holly, were married and we got to use the time to catch up with so many friends. It was fun being able to introduce Zane to so many of them. Zane and I flew and met up with our friend Mary and we hung out for a couple days with her. Paul drove and met us briefly of Thursday before heading off to the bachelor party that night. We then both met up in New Orleans where we stayed through the weekend.

Zane & Mary


Zane & Amber


Mary's VERY sweet doggy, Talullah.


Some of the pictures from the bachelor party that are ok to share! It wasn't quite your average "last hurrah" party. They went out into the woods (someone's house) and made lots of noise and drank way too much. They played and wrestled till dawn and then ate greasy food. (All this and I wasn't invited! I STILL don't get it!)



New Orleans: Cafe Du Monde
We took Zane to eat his first beignet. He seemed to enjoy it. He actually just wanted to walk around with it and rub it on everything which normally wouldn't have been too big of a deal except for the fact that we were in New Orleans. It is not what you would describe as "clean."




Then we FINALLY got to meet our friend Ben's daughter Lilly. She is about 5 weeks older than Zane and SOOOOO cute and very sweet. We were so happy to finally give her kisses!


Zane and Lamar


Ben and Lilly at the wedding ceremony.



Paul & Zane at the wedding ceremony.




Mike & Holly doin' the dance. It was a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens in City Park.


The pollution in Louisiana makes for some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Paul and I always commented on them when we lived there. Such bitter sweet beauty. This is a photo looking out our hotel room window of the sunrise the day we were leaving.


A very cute, tired boy.


Ben, Lilly, Ashley & Zane.