Thanksgiving in Chicago

This year instead of making the usual trek to Franklin to be with Dane's parents, we headed downtown Chicago to celebrate with 2 of Dane's siblings and their spouses. We hosted Gavin and Esther at our house for the long weekend. Zachary had a blast bonding with his aunt and uncle.


Thursday morning it snowed for the first time, which made Stacey very happy! (Unfortunately it didn't accumulate.) In the afternoon we all headed to John and Krista's where Krista had an unbelievable meal waiting for us!

Turkey, gravy, corn bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, sweet potato casserole, salad, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, pumpkin pie, and Dane's favorite - strawberry rhubarb pie! All I can say is yum. Thank you Krista!!

Esther's sister and friend were able to join us as well as another couple who knew Krista. With all those people and their full bellies what could we do but sit around and play games?? Well, at least the less competitive people were able to stay in their seats. :) Zachary loved being in the middle of all the action.

I Got Elmo!

Which Sesame Street Character Are You?
	You are Elmo. You are lovable and ticklish, and always inquisitive. Sometimes, though, your excitement about the world can make you seem childish, naive, and occasionally irritating to others.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Unexpected visit to Tennessee

About a week ago I realized that while Dane was going to CA for a theological conference for an entire week I was going to be home alone with Zachary. So... I made some last minute phone calls and Zachary and I hopped on a plane to visit Mayme and Bapa for the week.

There is a kiddie park across the street from their house with a slide for children under 5. Zachary had so much fun exploring the park with Mayme.

And then . . . Zachary discovered the big kids slide for ages 5 - 12! Mommy even thought the slide was a bit big and fast for adults. The first time Zachary got to the top of the slide he let go himself and LOVED it! Then he climbed back up to the slide again and went down again - all by himself!! Here's a peek at the second ride.

Zachary is famous!!

This picture was taken by a famous TN photographer who had his work displayed in the mall. Mom Ortlund and I were walking by and saw this one of Zachary and his cousins.

15 Months Today

Zachary had a big 15 month birthday today.

11:30 am We drove Dane to O'Hare airport so that he could fly to San Diego to attend a theological conference until Saturday

1:30 pm Zachary had his 15 month check up

Weight - 22 lbs. 8 oz. (22nd percentile - where's the chubby little boy I used to know?)
Height - 31 1/2 inches (64th percentile - this means he grew 1 1/2 inches in the last 2 months!)

3:30 pm We drove to Midway airport for Stacey and Zachary to catch a flight of their own

5:55 pm Fly to Nashville to visit Mayme and Bapa for the week while Daddy's gone

7:15 pm Arrive in Nashville with sanity intact

It was quite a day!

Zachary has a whole bag of new tricks these days:
- He signs for please
- He signs for thank you
- He blows kisses
- He points to the ground and says "dow" to tell you he's ready to get down
- He eats pretty much only table food at this point
- He loves to do the hand motions to the choo choo song and baby shark song
- He has his front 8 teeth, 3 molars and one on the way, as well as 2 eyeteeth starting to pop

- He has what Dane calls a mullet because I haven't been able to bring myself to cut his hair yet
- He climbs onto chairs and consequently tables
- He wipes his own mouth with a napkin
- He pretty much only walks these days unless his feet are too tired
- He can go up and down stairs with the best of them
- He has discovered his will and does not like it being crossed!
- He is constantly trying to get us to laugh
- His favorite game is hide-and-go-seek

Well, those a just a few things that came easily to mind. We love our little guy SO much! He is at such a fun stage and it just keeps getting better!!

Please visit this link to see more pictures of Zachary from this month.

Growing Up Too Fast

Mommy, I just need help with the pedals

I'm ready for school!

Traveling to New Heights