ALL ABOUT ZAYDEN...

This week Zayden has been doing a lot of different things, saying new things too--just wanted to share and this is also for mommy's memory recall assistance in the future :)

• opens the fridge for his own "snack"
• snacks he loves right now are--grapes, hawaiian bread, cheese, yogurt raisins
• he likes to say "I don't"--another NO!, "i did??", "mama i faaarrrrted", "itch itchy", "get me up", "lemme sleep all by you", "let's go lolo house", "i want daaaaadddddy"
• he still loves dinosaurs, wow wow wubzy, and now watercolor painting and fingerpainting
• he likes to garden with daddy and helped him shovel a bunch of soil for the backyard
• last but not least BUBBLES!! "bubbles for your troubles" like daddy says

♥Zayden, mommy loves you, and on nights like this I love the quiet when you sleep so I can think of what a great day we had, and the bad days definitely fade away and make it all worth it to raise you and love you, and watch you grow--and dream of your future! I love you--your mama ♥

I never really got to blog about Zayden's festivities for his 2nd birthday but I was able to put a few photos in our picasa albums to share! Just click on the album cover to see the photo slideshow!

Zayden's 2nd birthday, day at the academy

Zayden turns 2, some clips at Fentons

Just a sneak peek of how he spent the day of and the day after...he's such a great little boy and I love to call him my son :) Here are some of his funnies (likes and dislikes) lately:

• he likes to say "wait a minute" and "be careful mama"
  
• he likes to sit on the potty with his pants and diapers on, but no potty yet..still learning, but loves to flush for mommy!
• he likes to cook with mommy but not stir the ingredients if needed
• he like to play pool with daddy
• he likes to play golf on Wii sports and he will say "oh that's a hard one" on the tough shots
• he does not like to have sticky hands, no syrup, must clean it off!
• he does not like a lot of marker markings on his hands, just a few, then must clean it off!

I hope we aren't raising a neat freak here! Hee hee...that would be a first, a clean toddler, definitely an oxymoron.

Our baby is no longer a baby, he is big boy 2 today!!! Well technically he won't be 2 until 1136 PM tonight. We will be taking him to the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for his birthday treat. I know he will love it! I noticed just the past couple of days he has been having a vocabulary explosion, he is putting full sentences more together, and singing the songs more completely--before he would just sing the last few words of each line, now he knows almost the whole song for some! His favorite is definitely Old Mac Donald right now.

I will post more photos from our day probably tomorrow after I get them all uploaded when we come back!

My baby Zayden will definitely no longer be a baby soon. But I will always call him that. He turned 23 months today, mommy worked--his favorite saying while I am away--"mama work" sniff sniff! But when we got home we had fun with Daddy and Lola around the house, since it was way too cold to go out!

Here are photos in honor of our lil man--I don't have stats on him just yet...his appointment with his Dr is not until next year...but last we weighed him he was about 29 pounds and 35 1/2 inches tall.

I haven't been able to actually blog lately on Zayden's recent antics but now I have a moment while he is watching his Little Einsteins DVD! Zayden will be 23 months on December 6, its coming up! I am getting a little sad about him growing up but I am very excited to see him grow and thrive in our family. He is so funny lately, singing songs and his mannerisms are a crack up. You know when people tell you their child is "magical", I used to think, yeah right. But really-- I see it now. Ans its just one of those things you won't or can't understand until you are in the moment as a mother or father.

So for my toddler Tuesday I'll list some things he is doing lately for your entertainment...

• going up to me and saying "shoe off" he knows where in the house he can wear and not wear shoes--he is funny and he told lola, "yaya shoe off!" when going upstairs!
• he counts his toes--on a good day he will count to 13, which is awesome--but on his off days he will usually skip numbers, like this morning he says "one, two, four, seven, ten, yay!"
• he loves to sing songs with me now, before he would say "no mama" and tell me to stop--i know the nerve of him!--but now he loves to sing wubzy songs, and if you're happy and you know it--clap your hands!
• he loves to do his animal puzzles and playing with his elephant
  
• he also loves to read books and point out all the objects he knows and tell you what they are
• he loves all his flashcards
• he loves to go outside on his trike and with daddy in the garage to work
• he loves to repeat, repeat, repeat: mama says--zayden you want me to open that for you? zayden says--for you?, mama says--zayden you want your vitamin now?, zayden says--min now?---LOL, its like a broken record sometimes in the house.

I can't wait for this Christmas and his birthday, he is going to have such fun this year. I am working on getting more videos of him too now that he is more active and talkative, I'll try to post one soon.

Zayden turned 20 months while mommy was away, but he had a great day with Lola;) I can't believe how big he is getting and how close he is to both Zywx and I. It is really great to have a mommy bond with him, but yet see how much he loves his daddy too. Hard to explain, but parenthood is definitely one of the most rewarding things we have done so far! It definitely has its challenges and especially as Zayden is such a tenacious toddler! I have seen other moms but this creed in their blog--I am borrowing this from Carter's mom :) It definitely explains it all!

TODDLER CREED

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I am building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with it and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours. (No, the pieces are probably still mine.)


Hilarious, isn't it? But so true. sigh.

Today--and most of yesterday too!--Zayden has been full of new words. He repeats a lot of what we are saying now which is cute, and for the most part he does understand what we need and want from him. But now, vice versa, is not always the truth :( Mommy and daddy have to figure out what he wants a lot of the time and he gets frustrated which is normal for a toddler his age--Daddy can't wait for him to "use his words" as he always says. Here are some new words/phrases he has said to us lately:

1. Mama eat!, Mama snack!
2. ewwwww!
3. Daddy garage?
4. Buddy sit!
5. pow pow? (for pancakes in the morning)
6. box? (for the wii)
7. Lolo house?
8. Amen (after his goodnight prayers)
9. Omama (for BARACK OBAMA---yeah!) he recognizes him already
10. more peez? (more please--of whatever he wants to eat usually!)

Today Zayden is 18 months old--my little baby is growing each day into a big boy! We cherish everyday and mommy and daddy are so glad that God has blessed us with him, and blessed him with good health as each month passes.

18 things he can/likes to do as an 18 month old:

1. sit in his big boy booster chair
2. drink from a big boy cup
3. eat with a big boy fork and spoon
4. work in the backyard with daddy in the DIRT
5. sing little einsteins theme
6. flashcards
   
7. animal sounds
8. brush mommy's hair
9. brush his teeth
10. take a bath with all his toys
11. take off his shoes
12. eat string cheese
13. take walks with mommy and lola in his stroller or wagon
14. color and eat his crayons
15. pick out chocolate chips in his organic trail mix
16. play in the WATER outside since its so hot
    
17. get the mail with daddy
18. vacuum the house with mommy

Here he is eating his bread and eggs in the morning, its a new adventure each time we eat, he is very independent when he shouldn't be! oh well!