Pumpkin patch

The month of October is never complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch! Emily LOVED the corn maze. She was tearing through there like she owned the place! We actually had to run to keep up with her and not lose her in there!

She was so excited to pick out a pumpkin.

Zach wasn't so sure about the wheelbarrow ride.

And neither of them would cooperate to take the traditional pumpkins on hay picture.

But we all had fun, and Emily keeps asking when we are going back to the corn maze!

Fun in the fall

Emmy has had a BLAST this week raking and playing in the leaves.

Happy Fall!

Making a list...and checking it twice!

The other day Emmy decided to make "Christmas lists" for everyone. It was hilarious! We were dying laughing. She would "write" what everyone wanted in her little notebook. And then she would check her "list" (another piece of paper) to make sure it was right. Here are a few highlights of what everyone's getting for Christmas this year!

Dad: a new car
Mom: a new van
Zach: a new highchair (because his is too small)
Grandma & Grandpa Shepherd: goggles
Grandma & Grandpa Lively: a swimming pool
Melissa: a TV and a football
Rivers: a turtleneck and a jacket
Olivia: a new house and some bunny blocks
Kyle & Derek: slippers
Britni: rocks (she must not have been very good this year! Ha!)
Nathan: a new Jessica
Uncle Paul: new couches and a new Daddy (is Granny getting married???)
Oliver: a new Rivers

I don't know where she came up with this stuff, but it was so funny!

Too darn cute

I can't help it. Zach is just too darn cute. It's a good thing so he can make up for the lack of sleep this boy causes me.

He is also getting into EVERYTHING! He has learned how to open cupboards and drawers and take everything out of them. And the other day I caught him doing this...

He got stuck though and didn't know how to get back down. I also found him like this one day...

He was pretty proud of himself for climbing up there.

You can always tell where Zach has been because there is a trail of stuff he has gotten into. Oh the joys of cleaning things multiple times only to have them strewn about again and again.

Presents and cake

We had a little family party for Zach last week. Just a casual dinner, presents and cake. Emily was so excited about Zach's party. She wanted so badly to help Zach open his presents and eat birthday cake. In fact, when everyone got here, she offered them some birthday cake! Ha!

Emmy had a grand ole time opening Zach's presents. Zach could have cared less about his gifts, but we are thankful for them! See if you can spot Zach in these present opening pictures...haha!

Zach got some much needed clothes and a new carseat. Thank you everyone!!!

To say that Zach loved his birthday cake would be an understatement. This boy seriously LOVED his cake. I've never seen a kid enjoy his cake so much. Zach just sat there taking little handfuls and putting them in his mouth contently as could be.

Over and over and over.

He may or may not have eaten 3 pieces of cake and was looking for more!

It seriously was the cutest thing I've ever seen. And now whenever he sees any sort of cake or cupcake or whatever, he starts panting and waving his arms until you give him a taste.

And Emmy finally got to have some of that birthday cake too!

One year old!

I cannot believe that my little Zach is ONE!!!! He is not old enough to be one. But like it or not, a whole year has passed since Zach joined our family. It has probably been the hardest year of my life, but I'm so glad to have Zach around.

I was so nervous about having a boy, and I'll be honest, it took me awhile to get used to the idea. And it took awhile for Zach to grow on me. But a couple of months ago, just after he got his haircut, I had dressed him in some jeans and a hoodie and he looked SO CUTE and I fell in love. Not like I didn't love him before, but at that point he seriously melted my heart and I love my boy!

Matt gave him his own piece of french toast the other day and Zach was beyond excited.

He picked it up and went right to work!

He's only got 2 teeth (both on bottom), so it took him awhile to bite off some pieces. (Actually now he has 3. He grew a vampire tooth! On the top right of his mouth. It's really weird. His top front teeth are not in yet, and I'm not sure why one clear over there is growing in! I'll ask the doc about it at his 1-year checkup.)

And he LOVED it! He ate almost that entire piece! This boy sure loves to eat. He has protested eating baby food and really only wants the real stuff. And a lot of it! I have finally weaned him completely. He still struggles sometimes with the cup, but for the most part does pretty well. I was just glad I never had to buy any formula...that stuff is expensive!

Anyway, at one year old, Zach still doesn't crawl. He is content to army scoot himself around everywhere. He does pull himself up onto his knees like on the furniture or my leg or whatever to see what's going on. He doesn't like to stand or put weight on his feet at all. When I try to get him to do it, he just lifts his feet up! He still is a rotten sleeper, and likes to wake up extremely early (5 a.m. this morning...uggh!) He has a long torso and short legs, so his shirts aren't long enough and his pants are too long! Ha!

He LOVED his birthday cake, and I will post about his party later, but seriously it was so cute. He is definitely a momma's boy and loves having his mommy around and has a hard time going to other people. He has also learned to open cupboards and drawers and take everything out of them. Oh joys! He loves to scoot over to the stairs and throw his toys down the stairs. He doesn't try to go get them, he just likes to play there at the edge of the stairs. Funny! And he loves to throw things on the hardwood floor in the kitchen to hear them make a noise. His favorite is a purple frisbee.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to my little Zach-man. We love having you in our family.

12-Month Checkup: Weight: 21.6 lbs, Height: 30.6 in. Head: 18.1 

Uncle Nathan is a dork!

My brother Nathan came over to our house last week for Zach's birthday party. He told Emmy and Rivers that he had a surprise for them. They got so excited, and he took them downstairs to unveil their surprise. We heard lots of laughing and running and a little bit of screaming down there and then they come up wearing these....

They hated them! Rivers would not even touch the Barney hat. Emily laughed for about 2 seconds and then was trying to get that hat off!

The little tail was ridiculous! Apparently Nathan had found these at a garage sale and actually paid $ for them. Ha!

Rivers wanted to get out of it as fast as possible!

Uncle Nathan sure is a silly!

Selfies

I was taking some pictures the other day and Emily wanted me to take some of all of us. So here are our lovely selfies!

And here's a cutie of Emmy playing with her dollhouse.

Scooting and screeching

Zach has gotten quite proficient at scooting himself around. He loves to bring things over to the kitchen floor and drop them on it so he can hear the noise it makes. He also loves to follow Emily around and throw things down the stairs!

This boy loves to screech! Especially in the bath. What a noisy little bugger.

Bathtime!

Because all kids need some bath pictures. :)