8 Birthday Candles

So, my Zachary is 8 years old today.


0 Candles

The best moment of my life was the moment they put Zach in my arms! After 2 years and 3 miscarriages I had given up on that moment ever happening for me. Yet, there it was. I made it a point early to expose him to something new each day. I remember laying on a blanket outside telling him "that is called a tree" and describing it. Doing that for everything. I also remember looking down at that angelic face for diaper changes. My life has never been the same. It's only gotten better.

Day Born

8 Months Old

1 Candle

Could it have been a year already? So big yet still so little. This is the year he was potty trained. I encouraged all of his explorations. That's how he learned about the world. That curiosity has served him well!!! At this age, he loved going through my cloths. Nothing is more fun then emptying Mommy's shirt drawer. He also had his first haircut. That's the profile picture for this blog. His first haircut. Note that he's exploring the comb.

First Birthday

Day After Christmas 2010

2 Candles

This is the year he started Preschool. I still remember his first day of school ever!!!!! WOW that was a hard day emotionally!!!! This is also the year of his first vacation ever!!!!!! I remember in October of this year there was a big snow storm. Lots of power lines had fallen. We went to his gym class at the Y just for normalcy. While waiting, he started lining up chairs. When I asked he said "down power lines". Grandpa S would have gotten an extra laugh. He was a manhole guy for Verizon most of his career.

2nd Birthday

July 2011

3 Candles

He lost his first tooth this year. He started teething at 2 months so it was actually when expected. He was so good at making friends the school director started calling him their "social director". He would introduce himself to new kids and then introduce them to the other kids. Some of his habits of today were established back then.

 

3rd Birthday

Show at School December 2012

4 Candles

Last year in Preschool. You can find his preschool Graduation post on here. It's a popular one named "FBI Special Agent.....Zach". But, the post that really captures that day was "The Night Time Stood Still" from October 2016. He did a summer camp here in town. This is where he met some of his future friends (baseball teammates and school). He knew this was his parent's town. He knew he lives here. This is when he began to understand.

February 2017 (He wanted to make his own lunch)



March 2014

 

5 Candles

This is the year he started Kindergarten. This is the year this town became his town! He was scared but has thrived!!! He is still friends with the friends he made this year. We also started going to the town pool again this year. We had gone when he was 1. But, he never let me cool off in the adult pool. So we stopped for a couple of years. This is the year he learned to swim.

January 2015

April 2015

6 Candles

First grade. First year of all day school. Thanks to tutoring he made great strides in learning to read. Gifted in math, those engineering genes started to show. It's the year he started baseball. I'm glad I encouraged without pushing it. Now, he is getting into it more then ever!!!!! Every once in a while I do a blog post on "Watching Zach" and the path to a moment mentioned in that post. It turns out, that moment might be next season. Next year they pitch AND might play on that same field!!! That journey started here.

March 2016 (fav meal Breaded Chicken)

April 2016

7 Candles

He really likes 2nd grade. He spent the year coming home with his best friend. He made significant improvements in baseball too!!! His interests started to become that of an older kid. But, that's what's supposed to happen. The points system for reward/punishment has worked. He does so much he never used to be able to do!!! I get more and more proud of him each day!!!

August 2016
 

8 Candles

Today he is 8. The story of this year hasn't been written yet. He's working on riding his bike with two wheels. Will he accomplish that this year? All I know, He still has me tightly wrapped around ALL of his fingers!!! My heart melts when he smiles at me. This day, 8 years ago, from 5:09 PM on I just KNEW my life would be full of blessings!!!

 

 

I knew the baseball thing was coming from that day 8 years ago. It was an 8 hour labor. They saw contractions in my 38 week ultrasound. When I arrived at the hospital I joked "I bet he's here in time for the Yankee game" Scheduled for 7:05pm. It was against the Rays and rained out. But, we won the make-up game. It's also the last year the Yankees won the world series. He was watching with us :).