Zachary's 2 Year Update

 

So, I have been beyond horrible about posting monthly updates with my little Zach Man. He's growing so fast, but life with two little ones has been keeping me so busy. I did want to be sure to post his 2 year stats and devote a post to all the wonderfulness that is my little guy.

"I'm two! And cute!"

We had Zachy's 2 year check-up with his pediatrician last week. Holy cow, my little guy is not so little!!! At 29 pounds, he is in the 75th percentile for weight, and his 36 inches put him in the 85th percentile for height. My big boy! The doctor was so happy with how he's growing and developing. (All this from a baby who was hospitalized for almost a week just shy of turning one-month old because of "failure to thrive." It still boggles my mind that this big boy is the same skinny little boy who couldn't gain weight after he was born!)

Silly boy didn't even wait for us to finish singing "Happy Birthday"
before he blew out his candles!

Over the past two weeks, Zach's verbal skills have rapidly developed. He was "parroting" us for quite some time, repeating whatever we'd say (given, not always in a way someone who wasn't his mommy would understand!). However, since mid-August, I have noticed him saying much more and even beginning to piece together 2-3 word sentences. This was a challenge for us because Abby was an early talker, and Zachy would often get frustrated when he knew what he wanted and couldn't clearly communicate with us. We're seeing far fewer temper tantrums now that his verbal skills are improving so rapidly. Now we're seeing tantrums because we're not really that into sharing our toys...

When you have a big sister, you want to play with her purses, too!

He really is such a sweet boy. He loves his sissy, daddy and mommy so much - he's definitely a hugger. (Yay!) He is always following Abby around, wanting to do whatever she is doing. Most of the time, Abby loves this and is so great at playing gently with Zach. There are times, however, when I think she wishes Zachy would give her a little bit of space. Once school starts next week - YIKES! - I'm sure she'll appreciate the space she gets while she's at kindergarten.

Resting for a minute during a birthday party at Pump It Up...

Zach continues to be an excellent eater. We go through the occasional bouts of pickiness, but most of the time, he will eat whatever we put in front of him happily. A few of his favorites: any type of fruit (berries are a big favorite right now), pretty much any kind of meat, rice and noodles, waffles/pancakes with syrup, Goldfish and other crackers, and Rice Krispies ('kippies'). He's just started drinking juice, so he'll get a small cup (75%-25% water and juice) with breakfast, but he loves drinking milk and water the rest of the day. We weaned him off his bottles back in July (which was not at all the struggle we thought it'd be - we were worried he wouldn't want to give up his bottle before bedtime, but he didn't really care). If he didn't have much milk with dinner, we'll give him a sippy cup with a bit of milk before bed, but he's fine without it, too, so we play it day by day. Our little guy is a thumb sucker, which I know from personal experience will be a challenge to stop, but we'll deal with that when the time comes.

Enjoying our final bottle! (We probably could have weaned him earlier,
but we had about 15 bottle liners left and figured we might as well use them up!)

Overall, Zachary is a very sweet, loving, energetic little boy who tuckers this mama out by the end of the day, but who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. He brings such joy to us every day, and even the challenges that come from having a growing boy don't compare with the amazing memories that we are making as a family. What a blessing this little man is to us!

 

Playing in the waiting room during Abby's dentist appointment.