Zachary

These pictures are now old, but still so sweet I'll still post them. 

First swing ride

Brothers:  Isaiah loves to see Zachary doing new things and is often the one calling for us to come look at what Zach is trying to do.  He is currently on a quest to get Zachary to sit by himself.

Brothers: Nathan and Zachary also have a special bond.  Nate is the one that will spend long periods of time with Zachary, talking to him, singing to him and making baby sounds that only Zachary can understand  and that often sound like Zachary's jabber.  The picture above was taken after these two had been "talking" for awhile in Zach's crib. 

Teeth, at 7 1/2 months (he's younger on this picture -I think it was taking in July) Zachary as 2 teeth and 2 just about to pop through.  

Can you feel it?

Here is comes!

Ahhcooo!

So much better!
(4 months)

Blogging, facebook style

I love facebook.  I strongly dislike facebook.  I'll keep my reasons to myself.  I often think of posting something, but then I figure it would only be interesting to my mom and 3 friends so I decide not to bother the rest of my "friends" with it.  However, this is my blog and I can do what I want.  So, here is a running list of things I could post on facebook, but decided not to.

-Should children be allowed to say hate?  Or should they say "strongly dislike"?

-Isaiah and Nate started swimming lessons yesterday.  Isaiah had a hard time yesterday, but today was much better.  God's does answer prayers!

-Me: "Callie, where did you learn that?" C: From my friend online.  Isaiah: Probably on pinterest.  Me: dumbfounded

-Callie loves watching "baking movies" (full episodes of cooking shows) on foodnetwork.com Proof that she probably watches to many:  While eating a lollipop, "This lollipop gives me texture in my mouth", while choosing which show to watch, "Not the man man one"  I finally figured out that she meant not GUY Fieri.  Guy, man, get it?  The Pioneer Woman is one of her favorites.  Callie calls her "The Pineapple Woman".

-Zachary had his 4 month check up on Friday.  He weighs 17.6 lbs.  We call him chubs. :)

-Why do kids decide they want to learn AFTER school is finished for the year?

-We are finished with school for the year! We were a few days short of the 180 we'll have to have when we start recording days, but we finished the goals I had so I am pleased.  We did a lot of reading.  I figured we read somewhere over 2800 pages and that didn't include any extra books we read that were not related to school.

-My house needs cleaned.  I might go on strike until summer is over.

-I found $20 in a pair of pants that I hadn't worn for awhile.  I of course was very delighted.  Jeremy just shook his head.  I figure we're up $20.  He doesn't understand how I didn't realize we were down $20.  Now to decide if it was grocery money or "my" piano money.

-Quote from somewhere "Organized people are too lazy to look for things"

-Jeremy does not have a lazy wife. See previous post.

-Is it possible to organize and back up digital pictures and still have a sound mind?

-twentytwowords.com is a very interesting web site. They have all kinds of useless information that I find very interesting.  I'm not sure what that says about me.

-I'm very sad to not have a bigger garden this year.  A walnut tree on our neighbors property (bad for tomatoes I'm told) and ground hogs are the reason.

-We just found out that one of our neighbors is FEEDING the groundhogs. :(

-Isaiah is missing his two front teeth.  Someone mentioned that he looks older.  I think he looks younger and I secretly love it.  Sometimes he is way too serious for a 7 year old.  Seeing him with no front teeth helps me to remember that he is just a kid.

-Zachary is one of the most kissed on and loved babies in the world I'm sure.  He brings us so much joy.  He "talks" so much.

I love using " "'s

-Nathan: "Being a lifeguard would be boring.  Not many people drown.  It would be really sweaty".  ?

-And since this is facebook style blogging I end with "What a day!  I'm off to bed".

-Here is a great recipe for bran muffins.  (because no one should ever go to bed without first checking pinterest)

Life

Life just keeps rolling along.  I try to constantly remind myself to hold on to each day, but often I forget.  Pictures are one of the best ways to slap myself in the face and remember to enjoy each moment, craziness and all.  So in celebration of life being lived here in our little house here are some favorites from the last few weeks. Or maybe months, I've lost track

I wonder if there has ever been a baby loved more than this little guy.  I am constantly reminding the kids not to wake him up when he's sleeping.  When he is awake they try to give him toys and play with him and make him laugh.  He loves being held and having people talk to him.  As of Tuesday the 2nd he's two months old!

Painting Easter eggs.

We tried a new recipe this year.  Mix food coloring with 1 T. oil and 1 T. vinegar than fill the cup with enough water to cover the egg.  This gives a lovely marbled look to the egg. 

This month we're celebrating Jeremy's good health.  I'm so thankful to be laughing and enjoying life with him.  One year ago this week we met with the doctor that said "80% chance it's cancer".  Several weeks ago Jeremy spoke with the surgeon from Johns Hopkins about a follow up CT scan he had done.  All is completely clear.  

Isaiah hard at work.  Or something like that.  He's an excellent reader even though he doesn't enjoy phonics.  He loves math, history, geography and history.  

Always a princess.  I was folding laundry the other day and realized Callie's pile of folded laundry was very small.  It's because she lives in her dress up cloths.  She's always pretending something or other.  Often she's getting ready for a wedding, or taking care of "her kids" or talking about "her husband".  I love watching and listening to her.

These beads have provided Callie with hours of fun.  Here they are smoothies and strawberries I think.  She's also been playing a lot with dried beans.  They make a mess to clean up, but it's worth it for the entertainment it gives her.  She also LOVES to play at the sink washing dishes.  So far I've been fairly successful at keeping the beans and water separate.  Sprouting beans all over the house is just what I need! 

Just to prove that he has a mother. :)

Nate's fort.  This is the second fort built.  The first one had the pillows directly on top of Zach's face.  I didn't respond real well when I found it. :(  Nate was very proud of himself for finding a way to build a fort that kept Zach's face free to breath.  I felt a little sorry for Zachary, but I had to take a picture.  I wish I had a picture of all the ways this baby's siblings love on him.  The pretzel up the nose was another moments I didn't respond real well to. :(  On this picture Zachary looks so much like Isaiah did as a baby.

"Look Mom, he's sleeping in his fort!"

Love this face

He loves his daddy and he loves to snuggle. 

We fought through a week of sickness a few weeks ago.  I was about at my wits end by the end of the week.  The kids were feeling better, but weren't well enough to go anywhere and it was too cold to force them outside to play.  I did force them onto the porch for a few minutes though.  Believe me, those smiles were not in place when I sent them out.  For the record, Isaiah is wearing pj's and my crocs.  Nate is wearing his church loafers without socks (I find him at church like this sometimes.  I always feel like I should look to make sure his shirt is fully buttoned and he's not wearing a gold necklace.  sorry) 

Matt and Heather and their girls came to meet Zachary a few weeks ago.  Sadly, most of my pictures weren't very good. :(  However, this one did turn out.  Chloe knitted this hat for Zachary!  I was so impressed.  She does NOT  get her knitting skills from her aunt!  Thank you Chloe!

P.S. Mom, the Easter pictures will be posted soon. :)

5 Weeks

Zachary was 5 weeks on Saturday.  He continues to be a very sweet lovable, liked-by-all kind of baby. His smiles are starting to become more frequent.  He melts my heart.  As long as he doesn't need to eat, burp or poop he's a pretty happy baby.  Getting him settled at night is a struggle at times, but once he's sleeping he's usually only up once during the night. Usually. ;) 

Mom's visit

We were thrilled to find out last fall that my mom would be able to fly here soon after Zachary's birth to help out for a few weeks.  We decided picking her up at the airport would be a fun activity for us to do as a family.  I have fond memories from my childhood of picking up grandparents/relatives at the airport.  

I don't think it really hit us how "big" our family looks now until we were walking through Dullas International Airport with four kids.  We felt slightly out of place among all the hip business people on their cell phones pulling carry-on suitcases.  We were holding kids hands, diaper bags and a baby car seat.  It made us smile. We're just find being a little odd.  Speaking of odd, as we were getting out of the van at the airport we realized that the boys had brought along everything they thought they might need for their great airport adventure.  Items in their pockets included, binoculars, flashlights and pocket knives. Thankfully we discovered the knives before we entered the airport. 

We were in the airport about 10 minutes when mom called to say she was delayed in Toronto and wouldn't make it to Washington for another 5 hours.  We knew staying in the airport for that long was not going to work.  So we spent the afternoon at the Air and Space Museum that is very close to the airport.  It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.  The museum was very quiet with only a few people there.  Zachary and I spent a lot of time just sitting and relaxing.  

Space Shuttle Discovery 

Astronaut Roger Crouch 

She's finally here!

 I worked mom hard while she was here. :)  Sadly, I didn't take near as many pictures as I should have.  While she was here Jeremy flew to Phoenix for a pastor's conference.  I'm not sure I would have survived the week without Mom here to help.  Thank you Mom!  You're the best!

Mom and Callie spent a lot time together.  Here's just part of the batch of  granola they made.

Lovin' on Zachary 

I should have kept track of how many hours they spent playing with this doll house.  Callie absolutely loved all the attention Mom gave her.  She even got to go shopping with Grandma.  She came home with this new princess hat and gloves.  A true princess indeed. 

Now that's a talented and much loved grandma. :)  

Zachary David

Today our little Zachary is 1 month old.  I guess it's time to update the blog.  What a sweet gift God has given us.  Zachary is a very typical newborn.  He sleeps a lot, poops a lot, and yes some days he cries a lot.  We love him so much.  Here are few things I want to remember from the pregnancy and his birth.

Pregnancy: 

-40 weeks, 3 days (Even though I thought I would be early this time.  Why do I do that to myself?!)

-Cravings: Snickers bars and gum.  These two things got me through the yucky sickness of the first 12-13 weeks.

-2 ultrasounds.  One at 20 weeks (it's a boy!) and one at 35 weeks because I was measuring about 2 weeks ahead of where I should have been.  This was pretty consistent through the whole pregnancy.  

-I gained 27 lbs. 

Labor

-born Saturday, February 2, 2012

-9+ hours of labor.  After Callie's 5 hour "easy" delivery I was hoping for a short labor.  Nope.

-Contractions started around 8:30 on Saturday morning.  Zachary was born at 6:27 PM

Zachary David

I'll never forgot April 26, 2012 sitting in the little waiting room when the doctor came and told us Jeremy's tumor was benign.  I'm not one to see visions, but I felt like Gods arms opened up and a flood of hopes and dreams that I had laid down or had tried not to think about came pouring out.  The first being the hope for more children.   On April 1, 2012 I marked this verse in my Bible:

"I am still confident of this: 

I will see the goodness of the LORD 

in the land of the living;

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27: 13-14

I've loved the name Zachary for a long time.  I think it's been on our name list since before Isaiah was born, but we never used it.  When we found out we were having a boy I started looking for names.  The meaning of a name has always been important to us when naming our children.  When I saw that Zachary meant "God has remembered"  it seemed fitting for a little guy.  Even in the midst of hard times God does not forget His promises to His children.  David means "Beloved" and is Jeremy's middle name.   

Daddy and Zachary bonding.  One of the sweetest moments in the hospital  happened when I was holding Zachary and Jeremy called his name.  Zachary turned his head toward Jeremy at the sound.  Jeremy talked to our kids a lot while they were in the womb.  I'm sure Zachary recognized Jeremy voice.  

My aunt and uncle brought the kids into see Zachary soon after he was born.   We're realizing more and more what a blessing siblings are to each other.  While Jeremy and I are Zachary's parents, I have a feeling we could just move aside and let these kids raise him.  They love him so much.  They were all anxiously awaiting his arrival, but Isaiah was the most tuned in and got the biggest smile when we told him we were leaving for the hospital.  We talked often during the pregnancy about Jeremy calling and telling Isaiah when Callie was born (Nate was too young to remember much).  It was very important to Isaiah that this be repeated with this baby.   When they came to the hospital Isaiah and Nathan were very interested in Zachary.  Callie was interested in him, but was more interested in what I was wearing and my arm bands.  She and Nate were very impressed with the tray of food delivered to my room while they were there.  Nate (always my little helper) offered to hand me whatever I wanted to eat off the try.   

Our big "little" guy.  My midwife mentioned several times during my pregnancy that this could be a big baby. The first thing she said when he was born was "that's a big baby".  Zachary is my biggest baby by 1 pound weighing at 9 lbs 3 oz.. I like this picture of him because it shows his chubby legs.  Needless to say the NB size sleepers are no longer being used.  :)  

So much more to share about Zachary and life as a family of 6.  I'll probably blog again in about a month or a year. :(