We take Zander for a walk around the neighborhood every night after dinner....part of the wind down process to get ready for bed. This picture is of him looking up at the trees on a recent walk. I've also included a short video clip of him gearing up to walk around the block.
It's drool, but I figured "Y Not" post it? I'm not sure many kids can drool in the form of the letter "Y" - as in mom, why are you making me do tummy time and lift my head so high up? Such talent!
You can tell it's spring here in Florida since Zander has a baseball outfit on and a bunny rabbit in tow. He started on avocados recently and loved them. Soon we'll be moving onto something new, but I haven't decided exactly what yet. So far I've been making the baby food we are feeding him. It's quite easy and not so expensive either. We have a vegetable place up the street where I can get three pounds of sweet potatoes for $.99. Five potatoes make about 15 days worth of food for him. I freeze them in these little silicone square ice cube trays we have - just take out a cube in the morning and it's ready by dinner time when we feed him solids.
Zander loves nature. When we take him for walks, he loves to look up at the big trees in our neighborhood. I could watch him do that all day. The splendor of a child exploring everything for the first time. Evan takes him out back on a regular basis and reads him a book and just hangs out. He just looks around with wonder at all God has created. Good Stuff.
This morning, Good Friday, I woke up and decided to enjoy the quiet of nature with Zander. I think often times our kids, and us for that matter are in front of too many noisy toys, the television, radio, facebook, etc., that we lose the ability to be still. Today seemed like a good day for me to remember how to be still and to start helping Zander understand the importance of the same. Zander loves to look outside at the trees from the french doors in our kitchen. Sometimes he is so lost in the beauty of God's creation, that he loses interest in everything else - I love that. On my first day staying home with him yesterday, we got up and went for a walk and then I trimmed back a few shrubs in the front yard, while he sat in his stroller and enjoyed the nice breeze and birds chirping. The weather was perfect. This morning as we were both gazing outside, a cardinal perched on the hammock. The red bird reminded me of what today signifies, the day that Jesus, the Son of God, went to the cross as a sacrifice for all of us who have failed to uphold the law of the Ten Commandments (by lying, stealing, wanting what our neighbor has, using the Lord's name in vain and then some). It's a good day for those who believe in Jesus and have allowed him to pay the fine for our sins. Sunday, Easter, signifies the day Jesus rose from the dead (the Resurrection) as a symbol of new life for those who believe. Today at noon, we are planning to go to the Good Friday service at our church, www.summitconnect.org. 
Zander gazes outside after eating some rice cereal. Roxie hangs out in the background wondering when he will start dropping nuggets on the ground that she can clean up.
I gave my notice at work about three and a half weeks ago, when I knew for sure God was calling me to be a stay at home mom to Zander after several months of seeking direction. "Matthew quit his job to follow Jesus" were the words that called out to me from Zander's bible as I was reading to him. I have no reservations because I know that if I want my purpose in life to be fulfilled, I must be obedient to what God is calling me to. So as of Thursday, April 9th, I will be enjoying this little boy that has been entrusted to Evan and I in ways I haven't been able to while working. I'm looking forward to watching him grow with each day. God willing, I expect to be able to update the blog at least once a week. Lots has happened since I last posted. My dad came to visit Zander, we started him on cereal last Monday and he has some new toys, I'm sure you'll see in future pictures.
