Smiles?

So, I never would have thought that catching Zach smiling on camera would be so difficult.  All this little guy does is smile!  Well I now know better.  The instant Zach spots the camera his face is wiped clean of all expression.  He stares in wonder with mouth hanging wide open allowing a few choice drops of drool to roll out (which is adorable but you can only have so many pictures of that!). I've tried hiding the camera and popping up at that smiley moment, having someone else take the picture while I attempt to get him to smile, waited several minutes to try and familiarize him with the camera... nothing works.  I don't think I have a really good smiley picture of this little mister.  Maybe one day the stars will align and Zach will get over his fascination with the camera. Until then I thought I'd try and find the best smiley pictures we have over the past 5 months, these are my favorite...

May

June

July

July

July

August

September

September

October

October

October

And the most recent...November

November

I Can Move!!!

So, Zach hasn't really been much of an on the floor kind of mover.  He isn't really interested in rolling over and  hasn't always liked being on his tummy or his back...well until  he found his toes.  He has always liked walking around or hopping a lot more.  This week he has branched out and decided he likes the floor.  He isn't exactly crawling but he sure is trying.  He is more of a diver or he may be trying his hand at some yoga we aren't sure yet, but it has been a lot of fun to watch him move all over the living room.  Here is a glimpse into the dare devil ways of mister Zach! (Don't mind Jesse in the background.  He is studying for his exam tomorrow, wish him luck!!! If you get the question right you earn 10 brownie points or 10 brownies which ever you prefer.)

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!! We were so excited to celebrate our second big holiday. This year we got to carve pumpkins with friends, and get together with some other adorable babies and have a photo shoot. They were all so cute and seemed to have fun in their costumes. We have an adorable Ballerina, one cute Frankenstein, and our own mister Zach as a happy jack-o-lantern. Now I get to start listening to Christmas songs and watching Christmas movies...don't tell Jesse!!

Bananas, Mush, and Peas

Zachie is now 4 months old!!! We went in just a week ago for a shot and he was weighed at 15 pounds 12 ounces and 25 inches long!
What a wonderful weekend we are in store for.  It is time for general conference again and we are so excited to share it with Zachie. We already have our traditions to introduce him to.  We love going to Donut Land, yes land not king, and buy a dozen donuts to enjoy with Great Gramma all weekend long.  We try to make conference the only time all year that we consume such large amounts of sugar and dough. I'm happy to report that we've done quite well this year, and haven't had any since last conference.
  Speaking of food, Zach has been such a enthusiastic eater...I think he gets that from his dad.  He loves rice cereal, unless it is cold then he gives you the most disgusted look and makes you wonder why you would ever eat anything but milk.  We gave him squash as his first veggie, it was a success but not as well liked as our second veggie...PEAS!! This boy loves peas.  He yells at you if you are too slow getting it into his mouth.  Once the bowl is empty he then proceeds to lick the tray clean.  Oh my goodness he has made us laugh.

I don't know what daddy did but Zach didn't like it.

We have also been delightfully surprised by Zach's newest skill.  He can now roll over.  For a while we would walk in when he would wake up and find him on his back.  Of course we would then get excited, clap and exclaim how good he did and he would look at us and just smile that big contagious smile.  Eventually he started rolling over in front of us.  I think he may have needed to get his confidence up before he decided to show us his new skill. He can only roll from front to back and only over his left side.  When he is on his back he loves to arch up and scoot himself over.  At night I frequently find him squished up against me even though he started out on the other side of the bed.    Going along with new skills Zach has found his giggle.  It is such a sweet sound, that takes some effort to get out.  He blesses us with his little giggle daily but to get that true belly jiggling laugh you have to put in a little work.  If you get that perfect spot on his belly you can hear one of the loudest and most joyous sounds.

  Just a few more highlights from the month.  Austin has been called to serve a mission in the Kentucky Louisville mission.  He leaves in a just a few days to serve the Lord for two years.  We are so proud of his decision and his worthiness to serve.  We were able to take a tiny road trip down the Seaside to hear his farewell talk. He is one of Zach's favorite people to snuggle with.  We were excited that we were able to spend this weekend with Austin before he leaves.
  Since it is the end of the month this may have more photos than are necessary but I hope they are enjoyed.

Ohh The bouncing!

What fun we have been having in the Smith home this month.  Tracie Day brought over the amazing jumperoo.  It took a few tries but Zach has embraced the swinging, jumping, dancing and circular walking he can perform once inside.  The funniest thing is when it is time to get out, he seems to think he is still in it and tries to hop everywhere instead of his usual walking self.  He likes to pick his feet up when he is in it and just swing for a minute and he tries this when we're playing on the floor too. Overall, new favorite toy.  However, we cannot forget the incredibly entertaining Exersaucer.  We don't let him get in this one as often for a few reasons. Mostly because he had some kind of disagreement with the teeter tautering pandas... yes the same pandas I once raved about... and he is showing signs of dislike toward the bird too!  We think this is because he just can't seem to yank them off of the Exersaucer and fully immerse them in his mouth. So, last night we were at Target and found the Giraffe that he so lovingly gnaws on free from the Exersaucer.  He loves it; it looks just like the one on the Exersaucer but is a nice free rattle that he can get a really good grip on.

 
 Unfortunately, Zach had a small cold again.  I don't know what happens to this kid but his nose just gets attacked.  Then he has a mucus fest to rival anyone with allergies.   He is good now but his sleeping patterns are all off, arrgh!  He got used to sleeping on me and won't sleep for even five minutes on his own.  I am trying to slowly wean him off of this but it isn't always successful.  However, he is sleeping quite soundly on his back in his crib right now... yeah SHOCKER I know.  It is like 5:00 in the morning though so this could be the cause of the blissful sleep.

 

  So last weekend we got to go to the Andaluz potluck.  It was so much fun and there were like a billion babies!!
Zach's reaction when a baby is close to him is to get really excited, jump up and down and flap his arms, in turn whacking the adjacent baby.  That should be interesting in the months to come. We saw Tracy, Dana, Jessica, and Amber which was wonderful.  They are so amazing, it was nice to see them again. We didn't get a picture of Tracy or Dana but this is Jessica and Amber, who are the apprentices we had during pregnancy.  They are both done with their apprenticeship and are leaving to set out on their own.  It will be sad not to see them anymore but we're happy for them.  The potluck was held at Hoyt Arboretum.  We had never been here and thus walked all over the park before we discovered we had parked right around the corner to the picnic area and had thus ensured a wonderful sheen of sweat covered our faces before we arrived.  There was some wonderfully tasty food!  Jesse missed the salmon because he had to use the restroom, by the time we came back it was gone!  I've got to make salmon for the poor guy. They also had this great band that was a lot of bongos and giant xylophones.  Zach danced and jumped around and was really just entranced by the music.  It set such a  friendly mellow mood it was really nice.

   Well those are our fun adventures for the past few weeks.  We are starting the food adventure today, woo hoo!!! Zach has been eyeing our food and making lip smacking noises for a few weeks now, so it is time that we try some rice cereal, yum!

As us grown ups like to watch
movies when we are sick...so
does mister Zachary.

Happy National Grandparents Day!!

We wanted to wish all the grammas, grampas, papas, and greats a happy day.  This is your day to enjoy those little chubby faces that laugh at you and deposit the occasional drool on the shoulder.  We love you and all you do!

Our First Year

Happy Anniversary!

The Handsome Boys

Wow, it has already been a  year of marriage.  It has gone so fast.  That could be because we were so distracted with the pregnancy and now a sweet baby boy.  We have grown so much together this past year.  We are so grateful for the comfort we feel each day.  We live in a cozy apartment, have made some wonderful friends, and have always had enough.  As long as we live the commandments we know that we can prosper.  That knowledge is so reassuring, and has been proven over and over this past year.

    Our plan is and has always been to return to the temple each year on our anniversary.  However, that wasn't possible this year at least for another month or so.  Instead, we were able to go to a bed and breakfast for the night with Zachie.  We had so much fun.  The B&B was in historic Camas Washington.  We went for a long walk, weaving through the streets while Zach slept in his daddy's arms.  There was a yummy breakfast in the morning and just some good old fashion relaxation.  It was just fun to go somewhere, even if it was only for a night. We were also sweetly surprised by our wedding cake top and some of those delicious cookies from our wedding, thanks to Gramma Moore. Oh Banana Cake how we missed you!!!

Yes, it is smudged on top...Jesse.

Mommy and Zach hanging out on the cozy bed

Daddy and Zach having some fun

Daddy trying to mail you..wierdo!

Going for a walk

Around 4 in the morning when Zach decided to wake up