zach at 18 months

My baby is already one and a half!  We recently had his 18 month check-up and found that he is in the 90th percentile for height and about 60th for weight.  His head, though... it is off the charts.  Where did he get such a head?  Some of his "new for him" clothes don't even fit him because we can't get them over his head.  He's a pretty good sport about it though.

Zach is officially weaned now.  There was no cutting back with this kid.  He liked his mommy almost too much, so finally about a month ago, we shut down the dairy bar.  It's made us all a lot happier.  He loves to eat though so that wasn't a problem.  =)

Zach's also starting to talk more.  He's really got the "b" sound down so everything that starts with a "b" is called "Ba" - whether it be a bus, ball, book, block, etc.  Everything sounds pretty much the same.  He loves to play a talking game with me where I say "Zach, Zach" then he says "Ma Ma" back and forth.  It's super fun.  He's also infatuated with firetrucks.  He calls them "Who-wa-wa" which I think is his version of it's siren.

He also LOVES to read books.  We could spend a good hour sitting on our bean bag chair.  He loves to run and get me a new book every time we finish one.  He also loves to look at the back of the books and find books that match the other books in the series.  I also find our reading time often interrupted as every time Zach sees a star in a book, he has to hum the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  So cute!

Zach really enjoys his belly button.  He's always rubbing it, and it really bothers him at times when it can't be found (like under zip-up pjs or a onsie).  It's definitely his "lovey" although he really loves his dinosaur puppets as well.  He likes to give them kisses and have the puppets kiss one another.

We've got almost all our baby teeth now.  We are just waiting on the two bottom canines, but the teething for those has begun.  I am so looking forward to when he's not so miserable all the time.  It's difficult to watch my almost always happy child get so frustrated when he can't tell you what is wrong.

Another favorite toy is his Widgets.  He can play with these forever, and it is always a good distraction.  He loves putting them together AND knocking them down in a big crash.

We love you so much Zach!  You are such an important part of our lives.  Happy one and a half!!!

good times

Last weekend (ok, has it really been a week and a half already?!), we had our dear friend, Lem, come up and visit us.  We had seen him briefly on our California trip at Christmas, but as that was a whirlwind of a vacation, we didn't get a good chance to catch up.  It was great to have him come up to Seattle to visit us.

Of course, the first thing we had to do was go to Vivace, our favorite coffee shop in Capitol Hill.  Unfortunately, the "little" boys were too squirmy to stay in where it was nice and warm, so our coffee was "To Go".  We walked over to Volunteer Park where we climbed the water tower, enjoyed the views, and played on the playground.  I didn't get very many pictures though as my point-and-shoot was embarrassed to show it's face next to Lem's amazing SLR.  So, I apologize to my readers (hi Mom and Dad) over at my other blog that you will be seeing the same pictures twice.  To see better pictures, go to Lem's flickr page!

Zach in front of the gates leading up to the water tower.

Lem thinks my children look funny - especially when they have snotty noses!  =D

That afternoon we hung out at home, and then had Grinders sandwiches for dinner.  Once the kids were in bed, we played Armagetron and the "big" boys watched Tron.  (I was sooo tired!)

Sunday was church, and we spent a fair bit of time at home.  Noah was excited to see Lem's computer, and loved writing his name on it.  As you can see, he learned another new word...

In the afternoon we went to Hamlin Park really near our home.  The park has some awesome trails, and it also had some historical cannons that was fun to take pictures at.  Lem took some great family photos that I'm super excited about!

That evening we played even more games, and the guys watched another movie.  It almost felt like hanging out at college all over again.

Monday was our last fun day.  We headed out to another one of our favorite coffee shops, Zoka.  (After all, this is Seattle!  You have to get your coffee in!)  We attempted to walk around UW, but it was freezing cold and the boys would have none of it.  We came home and played more games while the boys slept.  In the afternoon we went over to the park next to our house to check out the ponds and look for the ducks.

The weekend was quite an accomplishment for our young family.  Three parks, two coffee shops, two movies, and four games.  Whew!  No wonder we had such a great time.  Thanks for coming, Lem!

christmas in california and beyond - week three

Our final week of Christmas begins on New Years Day.  Phil and I celebrated our SIX YEAR anniversary on December 31st, but we didn't get our date until the next day.  Grandma and Papa very kindly watched our kids, and we got away to the beach to have some yummy seafood at the Oceanside Harbor.  It was really nice and relaxing.  

The next day was Sunday, and we made the trek back up to Orange County so we could go to our old church and see some more friends.  We got together with even more of Phil's college accountability group which was fun.  (Apparently, I stopped taking so many pictures at this point in our trip!)

Monday, we returned our rental car, and then we went to go see my grandparents.  I hadn't been over to their house in a long while and it was nice to spend some quality time with them.

Tuesday, we said our good-byes to my parents and flew back to Seattle.  It was a pretty uneventful trip which is always the way you want it!

On Wednesday, we got see another college buddy that was in the Pacific NW for Christmas.  It was great to see Luke, and get caught up on his exciting life.

The next day, the kids and I took him back to his ferry and decided to make the roundtrip on the boat with him.  The boys had so much fun being on a boat!

After the ferry ride, we found a beautiful park near the ferry dock that we explored for a bit.  It was nestled between the Sound and a train track and there was some construction going on near it too.  Boats, trains, and tractors - what more can a boy want?

On Friday, we were able to spend time with Phil's parents who are beginning their furlough.  Phil had to work both Thursday and Friday, so we waited to do our Christmastime with them until Saturday.  We did let Noah open his birthday present from them though.  He was (and still is) enthralled by his duplo fire station!

Saturday we did get to do our Christmastime with Grandma and Papa ("the Hagelberg ones" as Noah says).  We enjoyed being spoiled by gifts and good times.

And in conclusion, Phil left for a business trip on Sunday.  He gets back tomorrow!  Slowly life is getting back to normal.  Maybe we can take down our Christmas lights and tree this weekend?  We'll see!  ;-)

our morning

In a quick break from our Christmas antics, I bring you the first snow of 2011!

christmas in california - week two

 Week two in California started out with Christmas Day!  We began the morning with cinnamon rolls before settling down to listen to the Christmas story.  After letting the kids open their presents, we did a "White Elephant"-type gift exchange with our large family of 16, but instead we did two nice gifts each.  It was an interesting twist on a classic.

Zach's Ready!

Opening Stockings

Javier can't wait for presents!

After gifts, we had a wonderful music time.  Our family is gifted with "Very Fine Musicians."  Here are a few of them:

We enjoyed a fantastic Christmas feast, and just enjoyed being together for the rest of the afternoon.

Of course, no Broach reunion is complete without at least one round of "Can You Pass Your Shoe."

On Sunday, we all went to church in the morning and just spent the day hanging around the house.  The boys discovered the joys of rock climbing in the front yard which afforded a nice photo op.

On Monday, we went to a local park where we were able to meet up with one of Alisha's high school friends and her two kids.  They enjoyed the rocket balloons we gave them.  The park was also a whole lot of fun!

That afternoon, we also went back to the beach to walk along the harbor.  We made sure to stay out of the water this time, but discovered the sand was just as fun.

My Dad looking so GQ

Phil wrote Noah's name in the sand

Throwing sand with a stick

A rare family photo - can you tell why?

On Tuesday, most of the Broach gang went to San Diego for the day.  Phil had to work and the boys needed naps, so we stayed home.  We were able to have our friends from the park come over for a while which was a lot of fun, and we were thankful for a little downtime.  (I never realized before this trip just how introverted Noah is.  He really just wanted to play up in his room most of the time, preferably with daddy.)

I didn't get any pictures on Wednesday.  It was another work day for Phil, and it was rainy.  It was also the last day that the Broach gang was going to be at the house so a lot of people were packing.

Thursday was similar to Wednesday.  People left in the morning, and we just tried to get back into the swing of things before our trip to the Biola area the following day.

Friday was New Years Eve.  We drove up to visit with my cousin's family.  We had a nice time just chatting and watching the kids play.  I didn't get any pictures of them, but I did manage to get this cute one of Zach asleep on Aubrey's bed.

That evening we went to Elijah's house again to hang out with some of our Biola friends.  We managed to see four of the guys from Phil's old accountability group.  However, when we took the following pictures one had already left and another hadn't come yet.

Noah really enjoyed playing with Elijah, and we even got to meet a new friend, Henrik!

It was a busy day, but a lot of fun.  Thanks Dustin and Katie for hosting!