1 year, 37 weeks

Zack thought Halloween was pretty cool. Rob carved a jack-o-lantern for him, and we decorated a bit with some lights and gourds and a ceramic jack-o-lantern that was given to me when I was a little girl. He did a little trick or treating and was fascinated by the kids coming to our house. He got so excited whenever the doorbell rang! And somehow, even though we haven't really given him candy, he definitely knew what was in the bowl of candy and wanted some! We had to hide it because he got a little too into it. I brought the carved pumpkin in the house so that we could enjoy it more. Now it's very important to Zack that Rob and I appropriately Oooooh and Aaaaaaah over it and the ceramic one.

He was chasing his tail--really.

Dogs get hungry, too.

Over all, it was all a big hit. I really can't wait until Christmas now--he's just going to be blown away! He was looking at a catalog with me yesterday and was already getting excited at pictures of ornaments to put on the tree. Lights and balls and stars! What more could a little boy want!

Speaking of which, he's learned his first shape--a star. He picks them out everywhere--in books, on toys, on front doors. I can't help but wonder why stars? Why not circles or squares or rhombuses (rhombii?)? I'm sure those shapes will have their turn, but right now, stars are where it's at.

He had his first swimming lesson last Saturday. The instructor was pretty impressed with how comfortable he was in the water. He had a blast and took a VERY good nap that afternoon.

It seems like he's learning new words every day. "Truck-trucks" are big now and he points them out as we drive. This term seems to apply mostly to trucks and busses, but cars and vans also fall into this category at times. He knows "cookie", which means anything from graham crackers to Halloween candy. He loves to sit on the couch and look through his books, picking out things that he knows--bananas, ducks, trucks, apples, dogs, cats, rabbits, stars, monkeys. He's also taken to getting up on the bed, lying on his back and looking at books that way--pretty darned cute! He likes to say the word "apple," but is more interested in throwing them on the floor than actually eating them.

We started filling the bird feeder (though only on the weekend because the birds are PIGS. But that's another story) which is right outside our dining room table. Zack has been so excited to watch the birds and squirrels. Now if only he could figure out that banging on the window is not, in fact, a welcoming gesture to the birds.

In the scatological department: he's started asking for a new diaper, especially early in the morning; he sits on his potty and says "pee-pee"; he's said "poo-poo" after passing gas (ok, so we've got to work on the nuances, but he's got the right idea!).

He continues to be his charming self. It's so hard to capture this in pictures and in words. He has lots of funny little expressions and noises and starts walking in these goofy ways that just crack us up and make our hearts melt. Like last Sunday we went for a walk, even though it was raining. Zack was snug as a bug with the rain cover on his stroller. For nearly the entire walk, he sat in there eating Cheerios and singing. Yesterday we went for a walk around the block after getting home. A new phone book had been delivered on the front walk, which he decided needed to go along with us. So he dragged it along behind him. And was then perplexed when the book fell out of the plastic bag that had been worn through from being dragged. He pulls the container of spices out of the cabinet, carries it all the way over to the couch, and then sorts them and is thoroughly amused by the jar full of "balls" (more commonly known as peppercorns).