Zachary at 18 1/2 months

Zachary is full steam ahead practically all the time. He can climb onto the kitchen table and bathroom counter and has figured out how to push a chair around so that he can access anything he wants on the counter. He also has figured out how to get cabinets that have the child locks in them. We don't have anything dangerous in them, but I really don't like him unrolling toilet paper, putting on lipstick, spraying non-toxic cleaners or pumping out soap or lotion... So our "child proofed" house is really no longer "Zachary proofed". He is going through a clingy phase right now - I guess the positive side is that we are close by and can prevent most messes.

Here is a nice mess that we didn't prevent. He took out every puzzle, flash card, block, etc. It took the other 3 of us a while to get everything back together!

He still loves tractors, jets, trains... pretty much any type of transportation. He recent favorite is to climb from the back seat to the drivers seat and "drive" the car (obviously when it is parked & running!) And yes, he has found the horn. Our neighbors are well aware : )

"Driving" G-dad's Jeep - much cooler than the minivan!

His vocabulary is getting more specific now. He recognizes and names Elmo, Ernie, Zoe, Big Bird, Pooh and Spiderman. When he wants something he tells us "hand" and once we hold his hand he will take us to it. Yesterday after saying hand, he took me to my shoes. Once I put them on he said "walk" and took me to the door! We went walking!

Z loves the phone... "ello?"

He calls Alicia "de-da" "de-sha" or "sis". There is A LOT of sibling rivalry going on. While Zachary is not a whiner, he is a hitter & pusher (not good!!). He gets a lot of time outs for his aggression! But he's usually great at saying "I'm sorry" and giving hugs.

He uses the terms up, down, on, off, & out - but mixes up the meanings sometime. He will now hold his arms up and say "Mol-me" for hold me. He loves the "pu-ter", the "peek-tures" that we look at on it, and of course banging on the keyboard.

He is quite affectionate. He loves to take care of Alicia's baby dolls - gives great hugs and kisses! This past weekend we were at a restaurant and he heard a baby crying at the table next to us - he kept saying "hug" because he wanted to hug the baby! He was so concerned - sweet! Here is Z holding baby Isaac.

He still is Daddy crazy - often he will cry uncontrollably for Trey - as soon as Daddy holds him he stops crying. When Trey is at work I let him call him to hear his voice - that usually helps. It is sweet in one sense, but Z cries anytime Trey is around the house and not with him. Poor Trey can't get much accomplished! Z has an unusual attachment to G-dad too. When G-dad is around, Trey can actually get a break ; )

He knows the shape star and says circle and triangle, but I can't figure out if he always calls them by the correct names. He also names colors, but doesn't grasp the concept of what they mean quite yet.

Zachary's favorite's: Doctor's kit, blocks, stacking cups, Mr. Potato head (he builds some crazy looking creations!), "tickle missles", wrestling, swinging in the big boy swing, puppies, dirt, all forms of transportation, peek-a-boo, hiding under blankets, PACI ("babby")

Food - he feeds himself everything these days. He rarely will let me feed him anything, sometimes we both have a spoon... Surprisingly, he is quite coordinated.

Favorite foods - cheese, strawberries, scrambled eggs, cookies, fruit snacks, cheese crackers, yogurt, applesauce (he dumps his food in the applesauce - the pasta with chicken tomatoes & spinach in applesauce about did me in... when he won't eat his dinner I give him applesauce and he mixes and eats!)