Zane 2.0

Happy Birthday, Zane!

Just like last year, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the days leading up to Zane's birth and what I was doing at the time. In looking back over the last year of posts it's fun to see what Zane has accomplished. This is what I predicted on his first birthday: "This next year will bring walking and talking and tantrums." Well that was accurate! Here are some accomplishments throughout the year: He started his second year at 18 lbs 12 oz, 29.5", began trips to the zoo, first non-name word "up", mid-Sept walking on own and "no", moved to one nap, second trip to Maine in December, started watching videos, in February began imaginative play, learned sense of self, learned colors, in April got his SCAR, began yelling in his sleep, in May terrible twos begin, fine motor control, lots of climbing, understanding pronouns, first pair of underwear, and beginning to learn shapes and counting.

And what do I look forward to next year? Well, I image he'll get pretty fluent with language and easier to understand, learn shapes and counting, jump, walk up and down stairs without hands, and generally get stronger and more nimble. What do I dream of? Potty training and sleeping in his own room!

Sunday we celebrated Zane's birthday a day early since we needed to go to daycare and work on Monday. One of our 3 year old neighbors, Josie, came over with her Mom. We had cake, but Zane wouldn't really eat any (he had it at dinner). Then we did presents, and that was a big success! Zane got an enormous cement mixer, a ball and hammer toy, little fire trucks, a yellow balance bike, and a new cup. There are some more presents from relatives that we saved for Monday. We started the day off with a bike ride to the Ballard Farmers' Market where we ate blueberries and pizza and listened to music. We finished the day off with a trip to the zoo! All in all a great day.

Monday we opened presents from G'amma and Aunt Vicki and got an amazing selection of books! We went to our last monthly baby support group, too! And then cupcakes to daycare for everyone to help Zane celebrate.

On a different note, Zane's latest obsession has been construction and building. Michael has been working on fixing our fence and Zane was inspired. He's always been interested in construction trucks, but now he loves to hammer, measure, mark up the fence with chalk, and carry a level around. I found a book with cardboard tool shapes that you can take out and use, and Zane immediately fell in love with the saw. He now has his own mini measuring tape and gets to use a tack hammer under supervision.

Here's to another great year of fun with Zane!