Edition number 11 for Zach's first year newsletter

Zach is now 11 months and up to no good! :)

He is crawling and then some now. He tends to crawl without using his knees - makes him look like a 4 legged spider. He does this rather quickly I tell you. He can go up the stairs at pretty much lightening speed, but still has to figure out how to negotiate his way down.

Big news for this time period is that Zach is standing on his own, unassisted, and without pulling up on anything. It is so fun to go to the park, put him on the ground, watch him crawl around, and in the middle of nowhere, he just stands up with his hands outstretched like a surfer riding a wave. So cute - and do you think I can capture a picture of this? Of course not.

He is eating everything now, pasta, rice, meatballs, pulled pork (loved it), veggies and fruits. Nothing he hates - although I have noticed a tendency to go for the sweets. (Dear sister always seemed to like the salty...)

Zach still has Steven's hairline - but Steve tends to think that with his genetics, it's probably good that he doesn't get too attached to the hair he will get.

He says Dada, Mama and tickle and a lot of gibberish that sounds like he is trying to take part in our conversations. It can be very amusing. When he hears sister Sophie start a rant (which she happens to do often....) he puts on his own little show and it sounds like a the McLaughlin Group guest starring Pat Buchanan has come to the Morphet household. I look forward to the spirited conversations that will one day take place...

We managed a trip to Massachusetts and the kids did great. We snuck in a trip to the a contemporary art musuem called Mass MoCA (http://www.massmoca.org/) always a good time. One of everybody's favorite pieces? "7 melting snowflakes" "A "white" drawing documenting the almost imperceptible traces of melting snowflakes". Imperceptible YUP.

Tanglewood was another story. We rushed to get there and grabbed dinner there - Mom noted it was a bit on the pricey side for the fare we received. After a large bottle on a rather warm evening, Zach decided to hurl on Grandma Boulware just minutes before the start of the concert. Did I mention he did this at least 3 times and had her covered from the shoulders on down. YUCK! Off Steve ran to the gift shop to buy an overpriced T-shirt in an effort to ward off the funk. As Mom freshened up a bit (in a public restroom), Steve announced to the rest of us: "Dinner at the park: $45, T-shirt at the gift shop: $22, watching Babcia getting hurled on - PRICELESS." We cracked up.

Our trip to the NY State Fair was a lot more tame - Zach and Sophie loved it!

We are asking for your prayers that we quickly sell our current home, especially now that we have closed on our new house just yesterday. (HURRAY!!!)

That's it for now - next month is the big 1 year. We are planning a party Sunday October 7 - further details to come. We would love for you all to join us in our new house! (Even if we haven't moved in yet...)

Zach is 10 months and Sophie is 3!

Hi everybody:

Just a little update on our family.

Zach turned 10 months and is now crawling. HURRAY! He is also standing on his own, and wanting to walk with assistance everywhere. (It's tough being tall sometimes - my back is killing me.)

He is eating like a champ - loves baby food of all sorts, yogurt, pasta, blueberries, DILL PICKLES and SAUERKRAUT (?!?!). I am thinking he definitely is showing his Polish genes. He is taking a bottle real well now (finally) and holds it by himself for the most part.

He is saying dada, and mama, and baba, and this, but I think he is only getting the Mama part for now.

Don't ask about the sleeping - it aint been pretty.

As for Ms. Sophie - she is 3 and officially potty trained. We aren't at 100% yet - but we are getting there. Unfortunately, Sophie was running a 104.5 degree temperature on her actual birthday so we had to cancel her official kid party - but alas we were able to share her Uncle Robby's party and her Babcia Morphet was able to attend all the way up from N. Carolina. As for what she is up to: She knows her letters pretty well, can spell STOP and SOPHIA 50% of the time, and is a total musician - great pitch and interest. She's been counting for awhile and recognizes numbers 1-11. She knows her numbers in Spanish too. (Thank you Dora) She loves Elmo, Dora, Nemo, Veggie Tales (especially Larry Boy). We are getting into some Leap Frog products right now and she really enjoys them.

So if you are wondering why this email is so late - well, Zach and Sophie have both been ill recently (3 solid weeks of high temps and nausea). And we are about to put our home on the market (for sale by owner - I know, I know - are we nuts - but check out the website http://infotube.net/180909) and the good news - we are moving in September! We purchased a house out in Camillus and should be closing in early September. YEAH! Housewarming party/ Zach's first birthday party is expected to be at the new residence October 7 - so mark it on your calendars.

Zach has been so sick that I have few pictures to share. I'll attach a few and lets hope I can get him feeling better and back to his old smiley self.

Zach is nine months~!

Hi All!

Welcome to the latest edition of Zach's first year where we are officially done with 75% of it!

Yup he turned 9 months.

Zach is able to sit up on his own now. However, he is STILL not crawling. Doctor said that all appears well - his reflexes and muscle tone are fine, and he is interactive, and mobile in other ways - so they are not at all concerned. It DID make our vacation easier not having to watch him like a hawk.

And vacation was a week out at Sylvan Beach with Aunt Cathy and Uncle Mark and cousins Natalie and Ben. (woo hoo - we really know how to live it up!) We had a visit from Aunt Melanie and cousin Megan too. Zach loved the water when it was calm - but on windy days when those waves started coming - he was a little less thrilled. But nothing can beat squishing your toes in that sand so he had a blast even on windy days.

He is officially up to 5 teeth with that sixth tooth giving him a heck of a time (and thus Zach giving us a heck of a time.) He is eating lots of finger foods, pastas, cheese, bagels, blueberries, and PICKLES! Yes - he loves dill pickles which we found out on vacation.

He says Mama, Dada, baba, that, and hisses like a goose when you get too close.

He is weighing 19 pounds 7 ounces, and meaures 28.5 inches long. That puts him in the 50% height, 25% weight, and 80% head circumference. Gotta love the Morphet melon.

We are in the process of possibly getting a new house - so wish us luck!

Keeping faith

Had a great day today. Took the kids (Sophie - 2.75 yrs old, and Zach out to dinner up at Marshall St. near the SU campus.) It was beautiful weather and Sophie did a great job eating French fries, carrot juice and milk for her dinner. I know, I know. The kid is incredibly hard to feed.

Zach is eating his fruits like a champ, and we are sneaking his veggies in between bites of his fruit. Doing the cheerios pretty well. Just gotta get him a little more dexterity so he can grab the suckers himself. Self feeding - another step towards independence.

He is sitting by himself, usually only for a minute or two and then falling over. Very cute though. Crawling - not even close. I have a sneaky suspicion the kids is going to walk before crawl. YIKES.

Steven and I ran the 'Komen Race for the Cure' 5K. Just started getting back to the running recently. I was able to squeeze in 2 5-milers this week and the 5K all on new sneakers. Not in love with them, but they aren't terrbile. That's the most I have been able to run in like 18 months. 7 more pounds to go until I am back to pre-pregnancy weight. uugghh

So I found out Thursday that I may be losing my job - how perfect since it will be my 10 year anniversary on June 9th. Never quite knew what something like this would feel like. I have been working since I was 16 years old - I don't recall ever being let go before. WHOA. 21 years of working. Maybe it is time for a break.

I am not necessarily terribly upset about getting laid off. However, I am very nervous about what my future holds. I am trying to just let the big guy in the sky guide me. I just pray that what I am supposed to do next will be clear- I mean extremely obvious because sometimes I can be clueless.

Peace.

7 months for Zach today

Hi All:

Zach is officially 7 months today.

He has yet to pop anymore teeth, but he has figured out how to chomp on Cheerios nonetheless. He is eating 3 square meals a day now and then some. He still seems awfully skinny to me - probably because big sis always seemed like a linebacker!

He is not quite sitting up totally unassisted yet - probably within the next few weeks, He rolls both ways very well. He can scoot and rotate on his tummy and roll - so he is mobile. I love setting up toys around him and watch him go for them. He sleeps on his tummy now which makes me nervous - but better than Sophie and her insistence on sleeping with the covers over her head.

He loves to stand, and does so very well with good balance and longevity. I do hope we can keep him from walking until his first birthday!

He has a great grip and very accurate reach. I am hoping we can start the self-feed finger foods soon.

He is still our happy little boy and gives lots of smiles. (Except at 3 in the morning... yeah - we will one day get sleep again.)

All in all - we are all doing well and enjoying our little family.

We look forward to the summer!

Gotta run - someone is crying....

6 months for Zach!

Hi all!

Zach has officially hit the 1/2 year mark. Can time get any faster?

Well, back to work I went. It's been 3 weeks now. He screamed the first week at the sitter's, but seemed to adjust the

second week and, yes, he finally decided to take a bottle. WHHOOOEEE!!! He is eating like a champ - peas, sweet potatoes,

carrots, applesauce, pears, bananas, and mashed potatoes. And as of yesterday - he has 1 tooth! I discovered this while

nursing. OUCH!

He hates tummy time. He has started to roll over from his tummy to his back, although he doesn't do it consistently,

but that's OK.

Sleep is going OK. We have a 50% chance of getting him through the night right now. He hates to nap during the day.

Sophie on the other hand will take a 2 1/2 hour nap sometimes!

Zach managed to keep Buddy yelping for a solid 30 seconds as I attempted to unlatch one hand

from one ear, he would speedily grab the other ear with his other hand. Quite a grip dear old son has.

He loves his jolly jumper - which is great when trying to get things done in the kitchen. He is a happy little guy and

his favorite person is Sophie. He just looks at her and laughs - we all do!

Getting ready for the Easter bunny. Easter egg hunt tomorrow with some friends.

And Monday is the 6 month checkup - with shots. :(

Happy Easter to all!

5 months for Zach!

Hi everybody!

Greetings from cold and blustery central New York.

Zach hit 5 months today. He is my happy baby! No teeth, no rolling over, no sitting up - but he sure does laugh and smile a lot!

We have started eating solids and he tends to show a preference to his carrots and peas over his bananas and applesauce. And this is a kid who just doesn't like his rice cereal. I'll have to pick up some oatmeal next.

He just LOVES his sister Sophie. Every time he sees her he smiles and when she says ANYTHING to him he laughs.

He had some playdates this past week - and loved the other babies. Little Kyler (3 weeks his elder) and him actually had a conversation and smiled at each other. It was quite a riot - and totally unexpected.

We managed a trip to North Carolina to visit Babcia Morphet. What has usually taken us 11 hours, took us quite a bit longer due to Pennsylvania being totally clueless on how to handle snow (hopefully no offense). (Route 81 in PA was closed for 4 days in a row !) I now have all the confidence in the world about parenting after enduring a 14.5 hour car ride with a very active 2.5 year old, a 4 month old who refuses a bottle, and a dog (by far the best travelling companion). Did I mention that route 81 was closed in PA, and so was route 80, and all traffic was diverted to the PA turnpike, also known, on this occasion, as the PA parking lot? Oh yeah -Cracker Barrel has barred us from ever entering the place again. :)

It was a good trip nonetheless because we were able to spend time with Babcia and was nice to see some sunshine and warmer weather.

I start back to work in two weeks. We'll see how that goes... Wish me luck (and I will always take your prayers!)

Going to try something different for the pictures this time and let you all link into them at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/boulygirl/ZachAt5MonthsMarch52007

Anyone having difficulties with the site, feel free to let me know and I can send along the pics via email.

Take care!