Happy 18 Months!

Zander turned 18 months today - Woo Hoo!  We celebrated with a BBQ dinner with Nana Pat, who made a delicious homemade pumpkin pie - Zander loved it and kept asking for more!  He continues to learn and develop seemingly every day.  He is doing well running, jumping, balancing, and riding a few of his larger toys.  His language comprehension continues to grow, he is picking up new signs, and now has a vocabulary of about ten words:  mama, uh-oh, apple, mow, bus, bubble, up, wow, moon, and his latest (and least obvious): doctor.  Being able to communicate a little better every day is so much fun for all three of us.

The weekend started out on the rough side - another painful haircut - but fortunately things picked up from there.  Here is Zander's new 'do' - the sticker on his shirt is a testament to his bravery:

Zander helped Daddy close out the vegetable garden on Saturday, and had a lot of fun playing with Kim and Dave when they stopped by to visit.  We suspect that the they helped lay the groundwork for the recent "doctor" vocabulary word - the last time they were over, Zander practiced on them extensively with his doctor kit:

 Zander always has a great time playing with Dave:

On Saturday, Zander took a field trip to St. Paul to meet some new friends for an evening that included lots of time enjoying a big sandbox, a tasty Korean meal, and playtime with four other kids!  On Sunday he enjoyed hosting his friend Clara (who just turned one - Happy Birthday Clara!) and her family for brunch.  Here is Clara playing with the lawnmower:

 So cute - Zander peeking in on Clara in the playhut:

Earlier this fall, Zander had a great time visiting  a couple of different orchards - this is where he picked up the word 'apple.'  Here he is earlier in the season, climbing through a fun log:

Playing in a wagon with Mommy:

Very excited about the hay stack:

Those chickens are funny!:

Driving the train:

Our second orchard outing was with more of the family.  Here we are on a fun hay ride - Zander, Daddy, Great-Auntie KK, Nana Pat, Brady, Aunt Heather, Luke, and Uncle Bob:

Zander laughing with KK:

Sisters - KK and Nana Pat:

Zander, Brady and Luke checking out the pumpkins:

Cousins: ~18 months, ~34 months, and ~4 1/2 years:

Zander visited a different orchard when his friend Cole was in town - highlights were another (bumpy!) hay ride, eating apple donuts, and tasting the newest apple variety - Sweet Tango.  So yummy!