Six Months Together!

Yesterday was a memorable day... we endured the 5th largest snowstorm on record in the Twin Cities with over 17 inches of snow, and it marked six months that Zander has been part of our family!  We cannot imagine life without his giggles, smiles, smooches and hugs.

In the morning, Zander performs his chores (smile).  Today was sweeping:

This is Zander's "extreme smile" that we now get whenever we ask him to smile... or perhaps he is simply trying to express his continued love for Cheerios...:

We were able to make it over to Cousins Luke and Brady's house for an action-packed playdate as well as a delicious dinner that Daddy made.  Zander loves playing with his cousins, and their vehicles!  There were three drivers that participated in the loop course - total race time was nearly an hour.

Let's review the drivers - first was Zander, driving the Fisher-Price airplane:

 Second was Brady, driving the Fisher-Price school bus:

 And third was Luke, driving the big CAT truck.

 Here they are at the start line, and they are off!

 Driving the other direction:

 There were some tight turns on the course - the most experienced driver Luke helped out Zander the rookie:

During a pit stop, Zander upgraded to the unattended CAT truck as Brady voiced some concerns:

Testing out the new wheels:

Pointing to Luke in the tunnel as he considers whether or not his truck will fit through (it didn't!).

After dinner, the boys played a fun "Butterfly Catching" game - the greenish elephant trunk blows out butterflies that float back down to the ground.  Each cousin had their own net - here is Zander with his:

Luke in action pursuing a butterfly:

Everyone had a great time!

Mommy also captured two fun videos of Zander on this special day:

In the first (~2.5 minutes), Zander finishes his lunch during the snowstorm.  He says his newest word "snow" which he picked up this weekend, says "cheese", and shares the few animal noises he knows at this point. And, as always, he expresses his love for "Daddy"!  (no longer just "Da-da").

In the second (~2 minutes), Zander demonstrates his determination to eat some Cheerios, his ability to smile for the camera, and his technique in blowing kisses:

A third video (~1.5 minutes) that makes us laugh is another highchair clip that was actually captured on Halloween.  Zander is fighting off sleep while finishing up his lunch:

Zander, we love you so much and are so lucky that you are part of our family!