New chapter, new blog

The new camera and an old friend have inspired me to do a blog right -- helping others, reaching out, sharing stories and just putting myself out there.

Think of it as BabyZ2B version 2.0. Bigger, better, more photos and many more posts!

Please continue sharing our fun with Baby Z here.

Mommy snuggles

Since I'm working a later shift today to cover a school board meeting for work, the Dude and I have pretty much just been hanging out most of the day.

We just spent a while on the floor, practicing our rolling and belly time and then we made funny faces at the camera. My mouth is numb from all the raspberries, too. :-)

Lazy Sunday

Another great day at the Z household today.

We went to church, where Zack was, as always, a hit with our congregation members. He fell asleep in my arms about halfway through, possibly with the help of the Children's Story song "Jesus Loves Me," also the song from one of his favorite teddy bears that seems to comfort him when everything else fails.

After a feeding, the Zooks piled into the Hy-un-Die(!) for a trip to get groceries. Daddy pushed the cart and Mommy pushed the baby stroller. We were stopped at least four times with comments on the Dude's mohawk.

When we got home, we all had something to eat before every one of us, animals included, took a nap. Zack and Mommy were snuggling on one couch and Daddy was on another and it was absolute beauty to wake up first and listen to the sounds of both of my guys breathing rhythmically.

We've been watching some football most of the evening and it's just about bath and bedtime for the Little Man.

It's been a great, relaxing, joyful weekend that has brought such peace to my heart.

Hope the trend continues this week. Another visit by the physical therapist and a new haircut for Mommy are on the schedule, plus a visit this weekend from our Baltimore-area friends!

May all your shirts be horizontally-striped and may your hair stand straight up into the air. :-)

Leaves and giggles

We had a great day today.

Zack woke up around 7 a.m. today and since Mommy worked late last night, Daddy took care of the morning feeding and let Mommy go back to sleep for a bit. How great! I didn't really get a lot of sleep, but it was so nice just to relax under the covers for a while.



We decided to take advantage of another beautiful day and a happy baby. Daddy started some more leaf-collecting work with his cool new leaf vacuum gadget while Mommy and Zack went for another walk. We bumped into a few of our neighbors again and then enjoyed the sunshine and each other's company. Well, for a few minutes until Zack fell asleep and Mommy kept stopping to test out the new camera again.



When we got back to the house, Zack was still sleeping, so Mommy and Daddy did some raking together while Zack snoozed under the shade on our tennis court.

We went inside and got ready for some visitors! Reva and Bret and their handsome boy Owen, born two days after Zack, came out tonight. The boys laid in the pack 'n' play for a little bit before sitting on their mom's laps and -- so serious here -- babbling and laughing to one another. Owen, who has the BEST laugh, would get a HUGE smile on his face, babble a few words and then pause. Then, a second later, Zack would babble a sound or two and then get a huge grin on his face. This continued for several minutes. I swear it was as though they were having a conversation with one another.




It is so great having another couple to compare notes with and share stories with, and we're very lucky that we have several couples to do that with. I can't help but watch anxiously what Owen does and how it compares with Zack's accomplishments so far, and although Zack is holding his own at this point more or less, I realize I have to keep myself from focusing on that too much.

What is important is that Zack does the best that HE can do.

It was a day full of treasures -- falling leaves, fresh air, the new camera, good friends and lots of giggles.

Indian Summer Stroll

Zack and I took advantage of my late shift working today, the beautiful weather and his awesome, happy temperament by taking a walk around our booming village.




The Little Man did great as Mommy experimented with her new camera's settings. While Mommy fiddled around, Baby Z blew raspberries (his new favorite thing to do) and played with his right foot.









We enjoyed the mooing cows, the quacking ducks (yes, Momma did mimic all their sounds for her son) as well as a greeting from a couple of our neighbors. Zack fell asleep just a few minutes from returning home and is currently still dreaming sweetly in his car seat.


I hope Zack always appreciates the beautiful area he's growing up in... the farmers working hard year-round, the friendly people we meet and greet and the fresh smells (except on manure-spreading days) of country livin'.


I'm already looking forward to the spring and summer months so that we can enjoy more precious moments like this together.

Say CHEESE!

Momma got a new camera!

Daddy Claus and I got the camera Momma has been drooling over for probably about a year now. It just got pulled out of the box and I can't WAIT to experiment with it in greater details in the days to come and to really be able to capture all of life's great moments and memories.

You better believe there will be many, many more photos of the Zooks.

And be on the lookout for a happy Momma, camera in tow. I've been looking forward to this for a long, long time.

Say Cheese!

Three Months

Zachary is three months old.
Stop.
Pause.
THREE MONTHS?!

Yes, my little baby boy was born three months ago on a hot summer day in the middle of the afternoon. Now it's cold and breezy, Fall flying by without a second glance.

Zack has just made the jump into size 6 Months for his clothes. That's our second closet re-organization already!

The Little Man weighs at least 14 pounds, up five pounds since birth. His belly is starting to get rounder after spending several weeks just being all legs.

The mohawk is probably two inches higher at this point, and some days, it's getting so heavy that it's starting to fall down onto one side. He has a bald spot in the center of the back of his head and a mullet-looking 'do in the back. His hair seems to be more of a strawberry blond color at this point, with those red highlights really starting to shine through in the right light.

Zack is starting to lose interest in his bouncy chair and his swing. He prefers laying on the ground, the couch or your lap, kicking his legs and letting his hands explore the world around him. He just started putting his thumb into his mouth and also started holding his nose the other day. Every now and then, he grabs a piece of his hair and yanks, causing this shocked look to come on his face.

Z-Man can roll from his back to his side, usually his right side. He doesn't mind lying on his side and has been practicing lifting his head while on his tummy.

We've started early intervention and are being visited weekly by Kathleen and Sheri, our physical therapist and special instructor. He's progressing on track pretty well so far.

Zack traveled to his fifth state last week, although it was for a funeral. He was able to lift up a lot of hearts on a difficult day in New York state, despite a messed-up schedule and change in location.

He also was visited by several people, including his Great Uncle Joe and his Uncle Shamus, his Aunt Shelby and his cousins Angelina and Dominick.

Our First Halloween came and went, and it wasn't too much of a hit yet, despite two very cool costumes -- a pea in the pod and a dragon.


He sleeps through the night, although a growth spurt and Daylight Savings Time has got him a little confused these past few days. For the most part, he goes to sleep by 8:15 at night and wakes up for a quick "snack" when Daddy gets ready for work around 5:30 a.m. Then it's back to bed for a couple of hours.

His best and most active times are in the mid-morning and late afternoon parts of the day.

My favorite thing about this month? The smiles and giggles. They're happening more and more frequently, and perhaps best of all, sometimes happen just when I walk into his room in the morning singing our "Good Morning" song or when I come into his sight when he's with someone else. That's true love right there.

Hello again!

I haven't posted in a while, and I really apologize for that.
We're still on a rollercoaster -- of emotions, of responsibilities and of the crazy life ride in general.

And then, there's this little guy who brightens my world every day. I'm slowly beginning to be more comfortable with peeling myself away from that joy a little more each day and promise to share Zack's milestones, charms and of course lots of photos, with you all much more now.

I was thinking about starting some weekly traditions for the blog to really get me on here more often... whether it's a photo every Wednesday or other things on other days. I've seen a lot of neat things on other Mommy blogs but want to hear from my adoring fans.

Cricket, cricket...
... Hello? Adoring fans?




Well, for now, I'll leave you with photos of the handsome dude.
We had a lot of good quality time hanging out on the floor today while Mommy prepared for Election Day coverage tonight. At one point, Zack grabbed a hold of his one puppy toy, turned his head and started making sounds at it, smiling every now and then. I think he and Puppy might have been having a sneaky conversation about Momma!

Go out and vote and make the world better for Zack! :-)

Feel-good story

I found this story online and it made me so happy! There are some other similar Down Syndrome videos, too, showcasing how easy it is to "beat" this diagnosis and all the potential Zack has for his future.

(I also blogged about it on www.mirrormoms.com)

Two Months

Two months ago I felt my last contraction.
Two months ago today the date on the wall calendar really mattered.
Two months ago came the end of one countdown.
Two months ago I felt the biggest butterflies I ever felt.
Two months ago today I had my first major surgery.
Two months ago I met my son.

Two months ago, my life finally truly mattered.

Today is Zachary's two month "birthday."

He's grown to at least 12 pounds and 23 inches (according to his appointment two weeks ago).
His mohawk has grown too. I swear it gets taller and wider by the day! And no, we don't style it at all. It's all natural. Including the bald strip on the left side of his head, too. :-)

In this past month, Momma has gone back to work and Grandma Zook has begun baby-sitting duties. Zack and Grandma are handling the transition wonderfully. Momma still has difficult moments but is getting better slowly but surely.

Zack drinks about 4 to 6 ounces on average each bottle feeding and hangs out at Momma's chest area for 20 to 30 minutes most breastfeeding times.

He's begun drinking a little bit of water, per the pediatrician's orders, which comes most in handy when he gets the hiccups (about once a day).

Z-Man sleeps from 8:30 p.m. until about 5 a.m. and then back until 8:30 a.m. (I know how lucky we are and I know how soon that could change...)

Zack is currently wearing size 3 months and has been for several weeks now, although some of those shirts are starting to get a little tight. It might be time for another size switch-a-roo soon.

The Zack-Attack loves playing on his Rainforest play mat. He looks at the lights lately but mostly enjoys the music and loves looking at that baby in the hanging mirror to the side. He also really enjoys sitting in his bouncer chair, checking out the sunlight coming in from the windows or watching whatever is on TV.

His favorite spot might be his swing, a present from PopPop in Jersey that was only barely used by his older cousin. When we put him in there, he sometimes just chills and watches everything going on intently. But, eventually, whether it's five minutes later or 45 minutes later, the eyes slowly close and then that boy is OUT.

We've had some fun visitors this month... our friends Amy and Josh, Erin and Nick, Jeannine and Jeff and "Choch" Aunt Alice and Uncle Paul just to name a few.

The dude is increasing his vocabulary little by little, with cool sounds like "Goo" "Gee" "Ah-goo" "Huh" and some more. He's most talkative early in the morning when he first gets up and is in his best mood.

Our greatest accomplishment is the first bits of what could be a very gorgeous smile. We're still waiting for the "real" ones to start and for them to happen all the time, but these little glimpses of a grin make his Momma's heart soar.

We'll keep on smilin' our way through Month Three. You do the same.
(And be sure to check out my other blog here.)