Zach Turned 2... (ehhem, last month)...

That's right, our "baby" has joined the rank of "toddler!" How that happened, I'm not so sure, but I have to say, we are pretty proud parents! Zachary is such a light and joy to our family. There is no way to be unhappy around this little guy. You can already see that he is a clown and has a little sense of humor. Here is a snapshot of our little brudder...
*Zach LOVES his brudder! He is constantly saying "Come on Ike-ah-boy." In Ike's words "Zachy is my BFF!" We often find them hugging and kissing each other to the ground, locked in brotherly embrace. Finally Zachy has learned to hold his own:) They go everywhere and love everything the other loves!
*Zach loves playing make-believe- These two boys are always SOMETHING ELSE (another common phrase from Z)! Firefighters "spraying the fire, or smoke," Divers in the ocean (i.e. my bathroom shower, Astronauts in my closet (always headed to Jupiter, their favorite planet), construction "work guys," Chefs baking "shlock-ette chips" (another of Z's favorite words), and on and on... Never a boring moment!
*Zach also loves the afforementioned "shlock-ette chips" Everything in his world somehow relates back to chocolate, dan-o's (donuts- he calls them dan-o's even though he is perfectly capable of saying donuts), pie (especially one they have made up called "crusty pie"), cake, cupcakes, ice cream, candy, etc. If it's sweet, it's a guaranteed winner in Zach's book

Birthday Breakfast tradition of Waffles and Ice Cream and Happiness:)

*Zach's sense of humor has made it's own way already! For instance, when he went to meet his pediatric dentist the other day (Dr. Ostler), he went right up to him and said "Hey shlock-ette chips Ostler!" He had called him Dr. Ostler all morning, but just felt the need to tease him immediately! He also called Daddy, "Aunt Ben" today:) LOVES a good healthy teasing. I don't see this easing up in the future... do you?
*Zach's favorite colors are Pink and Orange (depending on the day). He knows all of his colors, but since blue was already taken by his brother, and Pink never is, he decided on the latter:)

Birthday Party at the Splash Pad

Swimming party *almost* in his bday suit!

*Zach is also counting and knows some letters. He THINKS he can read, and count and write, but I think we're still learning:) He loves books and art and exploring. Pretty much anything brother can do, he wants to do too (typical?!)
*In case you haven't noticed, Zach has an extensive understandable vocabulary. He is easily able to tell you all about it! He isn't afraid to make his needs known (thus the reason he was whining "mommy, go poopy right now!" during Stake Conference today! True story... he was letting us know HE (not me!) needed to go right then, no waiting! Also, he had to get his blood tested for lead poisoning (routine checkup, and he passed!) Anyway, when they went to take his blood, the needle poked him and he starting saying "Ouchy ouchy, hurts momma, in my aaaarrrmmm!" Over and over. The nurse was almost in tears b/c she said usually at that age they just cry, but he was so vocal and breaking our hearts!
* Zach knows what he wants and isn't easily swayed. He often is not too interested in eating exactly when we're eating, or on the color of plate Ike has set for him, or the color of fork, or the color of the milk carton from which I poured his milk... It is a battle of the wills *most* of the time (and I ALWAYS win.. mwhaahaha!) Well, ok, i give in on some things that don't really matter. I'm proud of his exertion of independence and am not afraid to let him walk around with his skeleton shirt on and plaid shorts 9 months after halloween. weirdo.
*Zach is WALKING and climbing and thinks he is "running!" He has made leaps and bounds this year. Although he still is working on it, his improvement has been amazing and I am thankful and proud everyday to see his skill. I know it's not a huge challenge, but to us and to this little guy it was a GREAT BIG FEAT!

Happy Birthday Budda Belly!

*Zach insists on "rock-a-baby" before going to sleep at night. Bedtime routine is: read scriptures, say family prayers, do family cheer, brush teeth, then rock-a-baby... If I try to skip this last (of a gillion) steps, we get the whiny cry "mmaaammmaaa roooocckkk-aaaa-bbbbaaaabbbbyyyyy" Breaks your heart (and mine too!) So, I rock him in the wooden rocking chair in their room that my parents so prophetically bought me right before Ike was born, and we sing. and he sings too! He LOVES singing! Just like big brother! His top 10 right now 1.Popcorn Popping 2.Turtle Song 3. Monkey Song 4.Donut Song (you aren't surprised, are you?) 5. Rock a bye Baby 6. Puppy Song 7. Book of Mormon Stories 8. I am a Child of God 9. Daddy Song 10. "Peanie butter and Jelly" or our new rendition, bacon and eggs
*Zach loves the water! As you can imagine, we swim A LOT and play in the water the rest of the time in Arizona, so this boy is quite used to the water. I decided to skip swimming lessons for him this year while he focused on his walking skills. So, now he THINKS he cans swim and is always telling me "Let go Momma!" in the pool. He loves to get splashed and dump water on his head and he loves to do it to his brother too. He is getting a little tan being outside so much and LOVES his "simming trunks" In fact, I'll be honest, he pretty much lives in them! 
*Zach is working on potty training himself. Thus the reason for the outburst at church today mentioned earlier:) He wears a diaper, but often during the day will tell me he wants to sit on the potty and get a "jammie bean" (just one, don't judge!). If I learned anything from Ike, it was to embrace what they are willing to do, and not sweat it. So, I'm not. He's perfectly coming along and we'll be ok with that!
*Zach is in great shape, loves to eat everything (just on his time table, or in order to get the sweets!) He weighs about 23lbs. (5th percentile) and is in the 70th percentile for height. Typical Pieper boy for us.
We love this little monster! I really can't imagine life without these boys. I know with all my heart that he was sent here to our family straight from our Heavenly Father. He is a blessing to us and a gift. I know we are the parents he needs too. Thanks for bearing with me while I dote on this little guy. I sure love him!