#106 - ZJT or ZP

Today is my second son's Golden Birthday!  Today he is 11 on the 11th.

He came into this world, right on schedule, weighing in at 8 lbs. 16 oz.

And made Blake a big brother!

  I tell him that he is my "peanut butter" because he is smack dab in the middle of his two brothers.  Whenever he starts some "middle child" whining, I am quick to remind him that when you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, no one wants just the two pieces of bread on the ends without the good stuff in the middle.  I remind him that the peanut butter is the good stuff and it makes the two pieces of bread stick together for one delicious sandwich.  A little deep, but it always makes him smile.  He is the glue that holds his brothers together and it depends on what day of the week it is, as to which brother he gets along better with.

Zack is my most affectionate child.  He will hold my hand while we ride in the car.  He always wants to sleep with me when his dad is out of town.  He always consults his brothers before making a decision.  He loves all of his cousins and they love him.  He is wonderful with children and has a lot of patience.  He is very athletic and loves anything you can throw, hit, or run after.  He does well in school with lots of one on one time with his momma.  When I am trying to see the glass half full after a rough week of studying with ZP, I call our hours and hours together "quality time" that I would not get with him otherwise.  I love him all the time, but I love him the most during summer and holidays :)

Here are a few of the many things that make him special...

*  He takes care of everyone smaller than him.  This includes Seth, Brooke, Katie, Morgan, Noah, Joseph, Andrew, Alice, and baby Scott.  At the same time, he gets along Blake and most of his friends.

*  He is my quietest child and those of you who know Blake and Seth will know that this often makes him the favorite around our house.  (Just kidding B and S)

* He is a joy to watch play sports.  I think half of the reason, we love to watch him, is not because he is so good at playing, but because he is so happy to be playing them. 

*  He just got chosen to be in the Beta Club for school which I am even more proud of him for, than all of his sporting accomplishments, because I know how hard he has to work to keep his grades up.

Jeff and I are blessed to have three wonderful, healthy, unique boys who bring us joy every day of our lives.

  Zachary has made us laugh from the very beginning when he was delivered via C-section.  When Dr. D held him up to show us our new beautiful baby boy, Zack peed a long strong arc up in the air all over Dr. D, immediately getting himself the nickname, ZP.

Now, on to the pictures...  when I started looking, I realized something that I forgot to include in this post.  From the time that Zack was very little, he was most happy outside. 

I can remember swinging on our patio at 2 or 3 in the morning when he was really fussy.  This continued as he got older.  As long as he is outside, he has a smile on his face...Now that I think about it, maybe we should start studying outside...hmmmm

This was taken in Lake Arthur...right before Zack spray painted the side of PaPa Lynn's camp with red spray paint!

Taken at Ellendale...Note to Sarah - see stick???

Both of these were taken on our first ski trip.  Zack took to the slopes like he was born with skis on his feet.  1/2 day of ski school and he was like lightening without poles down the mountains.  His momma could not keep up with him, but his dada could.  Oh, except for the time he forgot how to stop and took out the ski school fence....

Some things never change...Above Zack around 5 and below...last night!

Check out the black front baby tooth.  It stayed this way for about a year before it fell out.  Injury sustained jumping out of Ms. Michelle's car after GDC while his feet were still in the car.  Did I mention that Zack always chooses to jump, run, or twist over walking???

If you are outside with Zack, chances are, he will ask you to throw something to him.  He loves baseball and we love watching him play!

Again, outside...no shoes...heaven!

  My grandma has a French word that she says when she is talking about this look on Z's face.  It is pronounced "con-eye", but I'm not really sure if it is a real word.  I tried to google it, but couldn't find anything.  (Help someone...Ma Ma Gladys?)  Anyway, the way I understand it, this picture could be right next to the definition.  Just kinda mischevious and the mind always thinking about getting away with something...  Speaking of...

I'm pretty sure, he spit this at me right after I took this picture.  See what I mean...Coni!

Zack has always been my "cool" dude.  Always wants to dress cool and usually pulls it off.  He invented the white undershirt with a shirt on top and now has passed it on to his younger brother and cousins.

Happy Birthday to my Peanut Butter! 

I love you!