Eight months have passed since Zach arrived. He's now crawling on all fours and climbing all over your lap and off the couch! He sleeps through the night most of the time. He has found his voice, and we won't be surprised if he's talking non-stop sooner rather than later. He babbles constantly! We couldn't have asked for a happier baby. He truly has stayed very mild-mannered. We just wonder how long will it last? We think he's just storing up so when he goes wild as a 2 year old we can say, "Remember when he was such a mellow baby!"







We started taking classes at Gymboree on Saturdays. Today was our first day and we all had a blast! Mom, Dad and Zach played games and sang songs together (don't tell Matt I wrote that)! Zach looked like he was having a good time. He spit up a few times, but what's new! He was the youngest one by a month, but he hung in there with the other kids and played right beside them. We took home lots of ideas for new games to play.

Zach turned 7 months old today! Time has flown by! He's 18 pounds now and is busier than ever. He puts everything into his mouth and drools like crazy. He has started to crawl a little over the past few days. He is still trying to figure out how to use the arms AND the knees! He inches forward a few times and then crashes on his belly. Zach is a very easy going little guy. He smiles all the time and, for the most part, is in a good mood. He sleeps through the night and puts himself to sleep around 7:00 p.m.

We are staying in Texas for Christmas this year. We will go over to Tom and Rita's on Christmas day. We are very busy with work and Zach, but we are enjoying parenthood immensely! We took Zach to see Santa at the mall last Sunday. He did great and took a very nice picture. Zach has learned so much over the last month that I can't imagine what I will be typing about next month!

First Halloween

Zach is 5 months old now. He weighs 18 pounds and is solid as a rock. The pediatrician says he's a baby hulk! He puts anything and everything in his mouth. For the most part he is sleeping through the night!

We went to New Orleans at the end of October for our friend Jen's wedding. Zach stayed with Aunt Becky and Uncle John. It was a nice weekend for us to get away and we are truly grateful John and Becky said they'd watch him. They had their hands full with 4 kids over the weekend!

So, October 31st rolls around and Beth can't wait to take Zach trick-or-treating! She put him in his costume and gave him a bottle. Big mistake! He ended up sleeping through the whole thing! The one night he decided to go to bed at 6:00 pm and it's Halloween! Anyhow, we did get some good pictures of him as a sleeping dinosaur.

4 months old

Today marks 4 months since Zach was born. We can barely remember our lives without him. He's on his third day of rice cereal. He's actually doing quite well. When you put him on his belly now he tries to pull his knees underneath him. We think he's trying to get on the move. We're not sure if we're ready for that yet though!

3 months old

So, Zach is 3 months old already. He weighs just over 14 lbs. and is 25 inches long. He smiles all the time and is such an easy baby! He can stand up solid as rock just holding your pinkies. He's an incredibly strong little boy. Zach sleeps anywhere from 6 to 9 hours at night now. He's eating 6 ounces and we're getting ready to bump him up to 7 ounces.

Grandpa and Grandma Trout came to Dallas to stay with Matt while Beth went to Michigan for her cousin, Shawn's, wedding. Grandpa Terry had to head back to Illinois, but Grandma Cindy was able to stay another whole week. Zach and Grandma spent everyday together. They read books, watched Sesame Street, and talked. Zach found his voice while Grandma was in town. It's been fun to listen to his screeches and screams.

Brad & Sara's wedding

So, Beth headed back to work and Zach is off to daycare. Both were only back for a few weeks then it was off to Michigan to attend Uncle Brad's wedding. Zach's first trip on a plane went well. He didn't utter a peep on the way up and we only heard a few little cries on the way back. We were even delayed an hour in Detroit and sat on the plane for an hour and half once we got back to Dallas.

Brad and Sara had a beautiful wedding. Riley was a beautiful flower girl and did a wonderful job. Zach went to the wedding and was asleep during the ceremony thanks to his great-aunt Kay. We hardly saw Zach once we got to the wedding. He went from person to person and was quiet the whole time. Once we droppped Zach off with the babysitter, we made it our mission to have a good time ourselves. Mission accomplished!!!

Zach is 2 months old now. He weighed 11 lbs. 11 oz. and was 22 1/2 inches long at his 2 month check-up. He's smiling a lot more now. The best time to catch him is first thing in the morning. He's all smiles when he wakes up. We haven't seen him roll over in awhile though. He's grabbing rattles and holding them in his hand. He changes more each day and it's amazing to watch him grow!

Our trip to Illinois 6/27-7/3

The family took it's first road trip to see Grandpa and Grandma Trout in Illinois. Zach was a very good traveling partner! He slept most of the way. While we were up north Zach met his great-grandpa and both great-grandma's, his Aunt Erin, and even his great-great grandma! The picture is of five generations (Great-grandma Cherry, Mam-Maw, Grandpa Terry, Matt and Zach).

Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Terry took Zach overnight while Matt and Beth went out in Evansville with Aunt Erin. We are very thankful for the night out on the town. Matt was able to sing kakaoke and we danced until 3 am!

Zach rolled over for the first time while we were there. Aunt Erin, Grandma Cindy and mom all were witnesses. He then rolled over again that afternoon. We are anxiously awaiting for Dad to see Zach's new skill!