In my constant attempt to keep Zach busy after school I thought about the stamps that I have been carrying around since I was about 10. I remember loving these when I was little, I loved how precise they were and hated when the colors ran across the stamp pad. I definitely was Type A even then.

At Gymboree and music class they get stamps at the end of class and all the kids love it. I thought that maybe Zach would like to stamp on paper with my little stamps. He figured out the process and liked to call out the “dog”, “cat”, “moo” and “horse”,  but mainly wanted to put those stamp on his legs and feet. We ended up putting his hands and foot prints on the paper too.

Most people know that Autumn is in the air because Walgreen’s has been taken over by orange, the weather has a hint of non-miserable to it and school buses are all around. Here in the Wall household, we know it is Fall when we make our first trip to the ER.

Yes, last week Zach and I (to be met by Alex) scooted on up to Texas Children’s Hospital because Zach was having trouble breathing. It turned out to be a bad case of croup, but it was terrifying.

When I got him from school he seemed fine, a little tired but nothing abnormal. As we were hanging out and playing he started having this cough that sounded like he could not clear the phlegm out of his throat and started to breathe rapidly. I tried giving him his inhaler from the spring with no change. He got a steamy bath but when I laid him down to put his clothes on, it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe, which is when I started to freak out.

I threw some clothes on my crying baby – stopping only to comb his hair – and into the car we went. Given that it was 6pm there was some traffic and I almost hopped up on the median but contained myself. Turns out, when you fly into the ER, throwing your keys to the valet and announce that you baby can not breathe, they take you pretty seriously.

The doctor and nurses were awesome, they listened to me and were great with Zach. When the doctor first saw Zach she said, “Oh sweetie, you look like you don’t feel good. But your hair looks great!” He was  not quite as amused as Alex and I were.

Zach has figured out how to wear “Daddy shoes”, though he can’t really maneuver super well in them. No matter, that does not stop the exclamation of “Daddy shoes! Daddy shoes!” whenever he seems them.

When I saw this picture of my new niece getting her first bath I could only think how angelic she looked and very unlike her cousin looked during his first bath. 

As mentioned, Zach loves to wear everyone’s shoes and mine are the easiest to fit into. He also enjoys his pajamas with shoes (aka the footed pajamas) like the ones he is wearing in the video below. These have monkey faces and are then stuffed into my turquoise flats. All in all it was a lovely outfit choice by Zachary.

Here are some photos I found on my phone of Zach at Dave and Tami’s wedding:

Zach was very helpful pushing the cart when we were leaving the hotel. This was really foreshadowing to him wanting to be helpful all the time now. At home he helps with all sorts of chores. He loves to push around the Swifter Sweeper so I just put a pad on the bottom and he goes to down. He runs into many things but does get up some of the pesky dirt. Same with laundry, he is excellent at putting items into the washer and from the washer to the dryer. You hear a lot of “HEAVY” calls when he is holding wet “daddy shirt” headed for the dryer.

I love these guys in the pic below. They are Zach’s cousins, the Morris kiddos: Pat, Danny, Abby, Jack and Emilie. They are just some of the best kids (I guess adults now) I know and I want Zach to be just like them. From my first Thanksgiving with the Walls they have just taken me in as one of them – even when I refuse to play soccer. They are genuine and fun, sweet and kind plus they love my baby. How could I not love them!?

Here they were walking all over the hotel with Zach while I was eating breakfast and generally hiding from my child (yes, yes a common theme in my life). I would like them to come back to Texas tonight. Please.