"Better in Time"...

I have found the perfect song to go with what I am feeling at this moment. I have been listening to this song over and over, and even though it is talking about leaving a guy, and that is NOT what I'm going through at this moment the words in the song really fit.

Leona Lewis Better In Time
Songwriters: Martin, Andrea; Rotem, Jonathan

** Scroll down to the bottom and click the pause button to stop the music from playing, or you will get conflicts and will not be able to hear it. Then click the Play button below to start the video and song **

Our trip to the NC Zoo...

Saturday Aug. 9 we took a trip to the NC Zoo. We thought that with Zak being a little older than the last time we went (back in April 2008) that he would enjoy it much more, and boy were we right. He had so much fun, and so did we. Here are just a few pictures from our trip.....

I have not finished editing the pictures from the zoo, so there will be more to come later (hopefully tomorrow).

18 months old...

Wow it is so hard to believe that Zak is 18 months old. I cannot believe how fast my baby is growing up. He is starting to get a little Independence and it is breaking my heart, but I'm happy all in the same. Everyone told me how fast the time would fly by, but I never imagined it would fly by this fast.

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~ unknown.

What Zak is doing at 18 months old:
Clothes that he is wearing: He is wearing 18 month (and some 12 month) shorts, however some of them still seem to fall off of him.

Shoes that he is wearing: Size 5 - Nike's (that look just like daddy's) and brown sandals.

Sleep: Zak goes to bed at about 8:30 or 9pm and gets woke up at 6:15am (during the week Mon. - Fri.) to get ready for day care. On the weekends things are a little different, and he knows it. He goes to bed around 9 or 9:30pm and wakes up about 7:30 or 8am (sometimes later). His naps usually last about 2 hours, goes down any where from 11:45am or 12pm.

Eating: Zak loves just about everything right now. He is obsessed with Mac n' Cheese and Cheese Puffs. He loves to eat veggies (which surprises me), and loves some fruits - not all.

Favorite Toy (at the moment): His dinosaurs and ride on 4-wheeler

Favorite Show on TV: At the moment he loves to watch Gerald McBoing Boing

Words:
Here are words that Zak is saying on a regular basis (due to him having such a wide vocabulary I may leave out some): mama, dada, papa, nana, hey, bye, love you, please, thank you, nasty, meow, moo, ball, NO, juice, quack quack, more, eyes, nose, mouth, baseball, football (but in his words buttball), plane, coco (that is what he calls our dog Dakota), mine, me, milk, copter (as in helicopter), raffe (giraffe), saceros (rhinoceros), roar, and much much more...

Here are words that Zak has said once or just a few times: rabbit, I don't know, milk, ear, head, doggie, Joey, Adam, lion, bear, (I'm sure I'm leaving a few out)

Zak understands these words and meaning, but may not have said them yet: blanket, outside, ride, duck, kitchen, food, cookie, puffs, hug, kiss, all done, night night, bed, bedtime, hungry, foot/feet, airplane, look, up, down....(I'm sure that I may be leaving some out, because he is getting to where he understands so much)

What he is doing at this stage:
* runs * trying to jump * has 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom, and is cutting 4 more * waves hey and bye * calls the animals * will motion for you to "come on" * shakes head in answer of yes or no on what he wants (but will say no when he shakes his head no) * plays peek a boo * dances, like a "dance machine" * lets you know when he is ready for a nap or bed * lets you know when he is done with something * is getting more independent by the day * will lay down on his tummy to take a poop * obessed with airplanes when outside, if he hears one he is searching in the sky for it and will point it out every time he is outside * lovesthe outdoors, and hates to come inside when it is time * loves riding the 4-wheeler (the big boy 4-wheeler, with daddy of course) * and much more

** His doctor puts stickers on him because it makes it easier for her to check him out. He
gets to playing with them and forgets about what she is doing. **

** Here he is trying to take the stickers off. **

** Zak telling me to come on. **

Post-op Eye Visit...

So yesterday was our post-op eye visit. Turns out the surgery went well, and the results are great. THANK GOODNESS!!!

The doctor also did an eye exam while we were there to check the alignment of his left eye. When Zak looks at a distance it looks like it has straightened up a little (but not much), and when he looks close at something it is still going inward and has not straightened up much at all.

He said he is not ready to do surgery at this point but wants to see him back in 5 weeks. We go back for another eye exam in Sept.

Next appointment will be tomorrow...18 month checkup...can't wait to see how big he is getting!!!

Here are just a few pictures that I was able to get of Zak while at our eye doctor visit yesterday.

Post-op Ear Visit...

Yesterday we went in for our 2 week post-op ear visit, and we received good news!!!!

The doctor came in and checked Zak's ears and said the tubes look great and the placement is just like it should be. He then sent him for a hearing test. The results were great!!! He is just where he needs to be in his hearing, heck he could even hear pitches that I could not hear. The doctor even made the comment that Zak acts 100% better than what he had been, and that he thinks he feels better than when he did not have ear infections...doc I think you are correct on that statement!

I'm hoping that this is going to be the end of the chronic ear infections, and a move to getting better.

Wednesday is another post-op visit, with the eye doctor. I am praying that we will get good news at that visit as we did yesterday with the ear doctor. Then Friday is Zak's 18 month checkup, and I can't wait to see how much he has grown.

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

He has me wrapped...

My little baby has me wrapped and he knows it.

Last night (around 8pm) we were putting sheets on the bed and Zak was helping us. When we were done he wanted to get on the bed. I put him up on the bed and he just laid down and looked at me, covered up and laughed. I asked him if he was ready to go to bed, he looked at me with those big eyes of his and said "No". Then when I asked him if he was ready to go back in the den, he said "No". So what is one to do.....just let him play on the bed till he was ready to go back in the den, which was all of 5 minutes.

I just love him so much, and he has a way of melting my heart.

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." ~ Stacia Tauscher