Zach is 1! We're goin' to Disneyland!

The phrase "time flies when you're having fun" doesn't begin to describe this past year. Zach is a lot of fun, and this year has literallly escaped me. He's also a lot of work. Unlike his more cautious sister, Zach will attempt whatever looks fun and worry about the consequences when he's crying. I'm continually amazed at how he is attracted to "boy" things despite what some say about society forcing gender roles on children. He points to trucks and planes in awe, roars like a bear (even though cat, sheep and other animal noises have all been presented to him), and loves to throw the football with his dad and make baskets in my laundry basket when I'm folding clothes. I was laughing with a friend the other day as we remembered how Faith used to walk around with dresses on hangers when she was around 18 months and say "oohhhh!!" The child would still wear dresses every day if I let her! The Lord definitely designed them differently!
So Ryan wanted to fit in another Disney trip before #3 comes along and I told him it was wise he did because I will not do Disney again until we have all walkers. Zach is not quite there yet and he would get irate after too much time being held or in the stroller. As clean as Disney is, I didn't think it a great idea to let him crawl all over the park. We decided to celebrate Zach's birthday while we were there and you can see he thoroughly enjoyed the cake he got to "decorate".
Ryan's folks braved the trip with us and got a taste of what a full week with the grandkids feels like:) They were very gracious in taking the kid(s) so we could spend time one-on-one with one or the other or just go out alone.
I had to include this photo since it reminded me of one taken at a hotel in Arkansas when we visited Hot Springs (see the November posting)and Zach wasn't able to defend himself. Though he is still at a disadvantage size and mobility-wise, he no longer takes it lying down!

I had sewn the kids Mickey/Minnie head shirts to do pictures at some point and this is literally the only one where someone isn't blurry/turned the wrong way/scowling. This was the morning we did a character breakfast and Zach managed to ruin his completely despite the fact he wore a bib (the breakfast WAS amazing in his defense). We also discovered he is very shy around pretty girls as he would look out the corner of his eye at Mulan and quickly look away when she fussed about him. When we started laughing, he cried. Can they be embarassed at 1?!? Whenever we go to Disneyland, we take our picture in front of this wall mural. Ryan and I have one of just the 2 of us, one with Faith and now one with both kiddos (well I guess all 3 really). Looking at it reminds me of the Lord's amazing grace in my life. And with the Lord as my savior, I can claim this quote with confidence!