I do it, I do it!

Zachary do it! I hear this refrain many times a day. Having hit the independence stage, the little man must attempt it all himself. Whether it's putting on his clothes, zipping his coat, pulling toys out, "helping" with the cooking. It's neverending. I want him to be able to be self-sufficient, but it always takes longer (and is inevitably messier) for him to "do it self." I imagine this is how parenting is from here on out.

Big Boy Bed

The transition seems to be working! As excited as I am that it has not been a struggle, when I walked into the "nursery" I got a little nostalgic and weepy that my "baby" isn't there any more. I know there will be another little one in there soon enough but nothing will ever compare to bringing home my first little miracle.

Counting the cards

I am very excited about the Christmas cards I have made at shutterfly. They have these really great story cards that I have included both a Christmas letter with photos inside the card. I use lots of different photo sites, but really think shutterfly has the best selection this year of both photo cards and very nice qualoity stationary cards. Check them out here and here.

I also used shutterfly to make calendars to give as gifts for the grandmas. I had made a calendar for them last year, but this year's was so much easier using shutterfly. Not only is the selection of background patterns more diverse than many other sites, but shutterfly has some unique features beyond just the display of cute pictures. I especially liked the ability to put certain dates on the calendar such as birthdays. And I even got to put pictures on the date blocks. So, for example, I put a picture of Zachary in a party hat on December 6, 2011- his third birthday. I made a point to use pictures from the right month in 2010, so it is fun to compare what he looks like with his pictures from exactly a year before. Try it for yourself
here.

And you too can blog about your shutterfly Christmas card experience and get fifty free cards through this promotion.

Frustrations and progress

Food-throwing. Ugh. Every meal devolves into it. No matter what we try (taking away the food, giving only a little at a time, praising proper eating, etc.) Zachary still seems determined to throw food. Since when he eats is the only time I get to eat, it really makes it difficult to get a meal down.

But to end on a positive note, Zachary has successfully transitioned to taking naps in his big boy bed and we are going to attempt an all-nighter tomorrow night.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Last weekend, we had our first rather large snow. We are slated to get more this week. Looks like it's going to be a long winter. Sigh. (You can also see what the little man did to his nose by taking a dive on the playground at school- the day before Christmas pictures.)

Zachary's new favorite words

"Boogers" and "kleenex."