Happy Holidays! This week, I attended two HP parties. I also went to a mom’s group cookie and ornament exchange. From a development standpoint, Zachary is learning how items are being used – a few days ago he tried to feed me his green beans baby food with a spoon. He dips it in the bowl and then tries to feed me. And this morning, he grabbed by husband’s electric razor and tried to shave his face. So helpful, eh? Zachary has 2 teeth now. He has been congested – I’m not sure if it’s teething or if he has a cold. Hopefully it’s just teething.

For Christmas eve, we opened a few presents. I received a Canon S60 digital camera, 2 baby books (Baby Signs and The Mother of All Toddler Books), 2 bottles of bubble bath, 2 ornaments, and a snack package (the kind that has cheese, crackers, summer sausage.) Zachary so far has a board book, a Sesame Street toy that makes sounds when he hits buttons, and an outfit. James chose not to open any gifts yet.

Last, but not least, my life as a stay-at-home mom is over. I went into work today to get my PC account and voicemail set up. My husband is starting his 3 months off!

Another fun week. We went to a book signing party – someone from my mom’s group has a friend who just published her first book ‘Ciao Bambino’, and we went to support her by purchasing a copy!

This weekend, I went to my sisters’ holiday party. We decorated cookies, ate lots of appetizers, and participated in a white elephant gift exchange. We brought junk and made out with some pretty nice stuff … almost worth the 6.5 hour round trip drive.

I got to see my Sophie’s new place and meet an online friend too. Last, but not least, Zachary can walk! Well, he has to hold on to his walker toy, but his record so far is 24 steps.

This week, our family went to Megan’s 2nd birthday party at Chuck E Cheese – it was so much fun. Lots of structures to climb and plenty of kiddie rides.

I also took Zach to the playground at the local mall. It was a bit chilly, so he had some Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. (Kidding!!!)

We went to our mom’s group, where the host was selling Usbourne children’s books. We won a cloth book in a raffle! This weekend, James and I went to a Christmas party. No children, so one of the moms in my group babysat for us.

Now the best story for last. After debating for a few weeks, I decided I wanted to get Zachary’s picture taken with Santa. A 5×7 for $12 is a terrible deal, but it is his first Christmas. On Friday, I dressed Zachary up in holiday attire, we went to the mall, and got into the long line. Halfway through the line, I smelled … poo. Since lum7777 wasn’t around, I decided it had to be Zachary. Major diarrhea poo all down the leg of his overalls. I used a ton of wipes and the guy in line next to me, emptied out his Sears shopping bag so that I could carry home the soiled clothes. Obviously, we had to go home. I washed the outfit over the weekend and on Monday, we tried again. Got in line. A hour later, we could see Santa … our turn was coming up soon. As soon as Zachary saw Santa, he got angry. He started breathing harder, like a dragon. He then took his toy (a hard plastic Little People doll) and hurled it at Santa. It did not hit Santa’s face, but rolled past his boots. Finally it was our turn…

Zachary sat on Santa’s lap and looked him over. He seemed to think about it for a while. Then he grabbed Santa’s beard and pulled. Santa jumped back and yelped. Zachary started to cry. No professional pictures were taken - we just left.

Oh – and I almost forgot! Zachary has a tooth! Interestingly, it’s not the typical lower bottom tooth, but it’s a side top one.

HAPPY 8 MONTHS to ZACHARY! He turned 8 months on December 6th. I haven’t been posting lately because I’ve been sick. Well, it’s the cough I get every year that lasts 2 months. I’m not sure I am really sick because no one else ever gets it … maybe I just need to buy a humidifier.

We’ve been playing at Toys ‘R Us. They have a train table ($200) and cars ($299) that are ridiculously expensive and would not fit in our house. I figure … why buy the toys when I can just drive over and play with them there? (This is similar to going to the book store, reading travel books, and taking notes on a pad of paper.You know who you are.)

My mom taught Zachary how to hand people items. Now he is constantly giving me things … tissues, paper, blocks. Stuff I don’t want. But I can’t reject them, because he is very persistent and will insist that I hold it. He will also snatch something out of my hand, and then hand it back to me. Arggg. Thanks, Mom…. (That last picture of Zachary reminds me of my dad telling a story – usually with some embellishments and exaggerations.)