In October Karen and I went to MD to go to our good friend Hans and Courtney Hergenroeder’s wedding.  Near the end of the trip we were gifted a photo shoot from our good friend and professional photographer Erin Shaklee Fiddler.  The location for the photo shoot was Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis.  The results were fantastic.  Thank you so much Erin!

I have been slacking on keeping ZJ’s blog up to date. I hope to get Karen up and running soon to help me with adding content. Since my last post was in May I thought I would start catching up by taking this post to capture some of our favorite summer memories with ZJ. Enjoy!

Our little man is 18 Months old and still growing strong.  During a doctor visit April 18th he weighed in at 25 lbs flat.  He is just like me,  skinny with a big belly

Fun ZJ facts:

1.  ZJ is still the biggest flirt in the world.  He loves people and just the sight of other children puts a smile on his face ear to ear.

2.  ZJ is a little troublemaker.  He plays my air intake vent like a music instrument and/or throws toys and then slowly looks at you to see how you will react.  He also stands up on chairs to get a reaction.  I have no idea why he desires so much attention.  He surely didn’t get that from me

3.  ZJ has a funny habit now where he throws his hands up in a “Pick me up” motion.  He does it to EVERYBODY.  Even the cashier at Walmart!  We have to keep an eye on him.

4.  I believe ZJ is starting to recognize pictures of himself.  He sure likes to watch video’s of himself.  I showed him the video below and he started cracking up.

5.  ZJ is a drummer.  We are going to have to buy him a set soon.  He loves music and loves to dance.  We still play guitar together but he is losing interest fast.  I guess it is time for me to learn some new songs.

ZJ’s Vocabulary:

Mama, Dada (sometimes he says Daddy Doo too), Nana, RoRo (Our Daycare has a Nanny named Rosa who the kids call RoRo), Bye Bye, Ba Ba, Kitty Cat, Tay Tay, MMMMMmmmmmMMMMMmmmmm (as in Yummy!) and most recently… Elmo!  He is starting to imitate our words at an escalated rate so it is time to retire the naughty words.

It’s Showtime!

If your watching this at work you may want to turn your speakers down.  Music = Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House”

Zippy Loves the Swing! Mom Flip! Air Dry Mom Makes Waves Dad's Turn Wet Hair Plumbers Crack Best Mom Ever! Love this smile :) How does this cup work? Water Fun :) Thinking Man First time with a hose Sit Down ZJ! Happy ZJ ZJ's Flirt Face Pick Me Up Not Always Happy

ZJ is sixteen months into the game of life and we are loving every moment of it

Here are a few fun video’s of ZJ being wonderful!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do

ZJ Loves Mommy’s Yummy Food

ZJ has something to say

Mama Loves to Tickle ZJ

ZJ Gives you High Five!

Thanks to everyone who made last week special for my little man! And thank you to everyone who has made this first year of parenthood so special

For those of you not on Facebook enjoy this little video I made with Picasa using 1600 tagged pictures. I hope it doesn’t give you a seizure!

Here is a video of ZJ tasting his first birthday cake. It took longer then expected for him to really dig in. Thank you Nancy for making a great Elmo cake!

Finally, thank you to my beautiful wife.  You are the most loving woman I have ever met and you are an amazing mother.  You are the reason ZJ always has a smile on his face

Time to party!

I thought it would be fun to post a clip from our home video of ZJ at one day old.  We thought we lost this tape when we were robbed but I had one unmarked tape in my collection that I prayed was it.  Last week I found a guy on craigslist who converted Tape to DVD for $20.  You should have seen the look on my face when he put it in his VCR and hit play!

It is amazing to look back and see how much of his personality is still the same.

• Still quiet and well behaved
• Still smiles all the time with his little dimples
• Still wiggles when you pick him up
• Still has bright Red hair
• Still looks like Mommy (although a few have claimed he is getting daddy traits)
• Still makes my day

Uncle LP convinced us to submit ZJ to Ralph Lauren Employee Family Model contest.  He is already a winner in my book!

ZJ is starting to stand up all the time and can’t be more then a week or two away from walking.  Keeping the camera close by!

Coming up in September:

• ZJ will be staying with the Hagins while Karen and I visit Grand Junction CO for Kevin & McKenzi’s wedding,  This will be Kron’s longest period away from him and will miss him dearly.
• Trip to Maryland for Karen’s 10 Year and Shauna and Jason’s wedding in MD.

To be continued

(I will get Karen to post more soon enough!)

Karen, ZJ and I just completed a 9 hour car trip from Maryland to Charleston.  It was much better driving back from then driving to Maryland as ZJ was not sick.  I would rather have a cranky ZJ then a sick ZJ any day of the week!

After unloading the car I booted my computer to find this WONDERFUL SURPRISE waiting for us online!  Melissa Barrick’s blog post of our photo shoot with her Friday June 11th

I said it before and I will say it again.  Melissa is all pro!  If you have an upcoming wedding or just want to catch the moment before or after pregnancy or an engagement Melissa should definitely be considered for the job.  Every shot she takes is frameable!

Thank you so much Melissa!

It has been a while since I last posted and I do apologize to ZJ’s adoring fans!  Multiple weddings going on + house hunting has kept my calendar filled.  One thing I shared via Facebook but never posted here definitely deserves view.   If you haven’t seen this yet you are in for a treat!  Karen is playing with ZJ while I held him and filmed.  Other then the occasional focus issues due to a dirty lens this video is an instant classic.  Finally ZJ’s full laugh captured on film, snorting and all!  Enjoy!

ZJ was Born 6 Months ago today