Zach's special day

This past Saturday Zach was baptized a member of our church. It was such an awesome day! We were so lucky to have our friends and family there with us. He was also able to share this day with his best friend who was also baptized. I hope it's a day they both will always remember. I know that I will. :)

5 months...

I am as always late on posting 5 month stats. I am just happy I get them done before she turns 6 months. :) This little sweetheart is such a joy in my life. She puts a smile on my face and in my heart. I often wonder how I can slow down time as it seems to constantly be on fast-forward. It has only been 5+ months since Ashlyn as joined our family but it is already hard to remember what life was like without her.

* I don't know how much she weighs this month but she is heavy! She's got the cutest chunky thighs I have ever seen.

*Is wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes. I think she will be out of all 3-6 month clothes soon.

*Naps in her bed. I can lay her down and turn on the lullaby cd and she will go to sleep. Sometimes she fusses and sometimes she doesn't. I am still half swaddling her. She usually kicks her feet out. She likes to sleep with her hands above her head still.

*When on her her back, she almost immediately flips over onto her tummy. She isn't quite sure yet, what she should do once on her tummy.

*Hands are always in her mouth and always wet from being in her mouth.

*Isn't a big crier (never really has been) but is great at complaining when she is unhappy.

*Still doesn't sleep all night long every night.

*She has been waking up really early in the morning. Like around 6:15-6:30. Luckily the last couple days she has slept in a little bit. Mark has been really sweet and takes her so I can get a few extra minutes of sleep.

*Grabs at anything within her reach. Grabs hair, glasses, toys, anything she can get. She always really wants it and then wants to test it out by putting it in her mouth. She also liks to grab our faces. Hannah thinks she is trying to poke her eyes. :)

*I think she is really smart as she is so aware of her surroundings. She is so curious and has to look around to check everything out. She is arching her back and putting her head back if she is trying to see something.

*Has started saying a "G" consonant sound.

*Loves to smile. She will most always greet anyone who talks to her with a big smile. Once the camera comes out though, the smile is gone. I think she is fascinated by the camera and is concentrating very hard to figure out what it is.

*Loves my water bottle and likes getting a drink from it. I bought her a sippy cup and she likes trying to get water out of it. The funny thing is, she wants the water so bad but doesn't know what to do with it once it's in her mouth. It usually ends up all down her shirt.

*Had her first bottle(of mommy milk) from her daddy this month.

*Really likes going outside. Got mad one time when I walked over by the door and didn't go out.

*Stares at us while we are eating. I am curious what she will do next month when she actually get some food.

*Likes it when momma wears her in the mei tai.

*Likes playing in the exersaucer.

*Gets really excited and flaps her arms and kicks her legs.

I know there is more but that's all I can think of for now.

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Happy Birthday to our sweet millenium baby. It is hard to believe that 8 years ago I was getting ready to have our 2nd child. I remember being scared and worried. Hannah was only 2-1/2 and I loved her so much. How in the world would I be able to share the love that I had for her with another baby? I feel silly for even thinking that. As soon as my sweet boy was placed in my arms, I was in love with him. My heart was filled with love for both of my children. He was and is such a blessing to us.

A little bit about the day that I had Zach. I woke up in the morning with contractions for a couple of hours. It was 2 weeks before he was due, so I just chalked it up to false labor. Well, all day long I was leaking something. Finally about 4:00 in the afternoon I called my dr. and he told me to come in. I called my friend Rita, who was going to watch Hannah and she advised me to bring a bag with me. When I got to the dr. he confirmed that I was leaking amniotic fluid and to go next door and check myself in the hospital. I started pitocin(b/c I had been leaking fluid for over 12 hours and no active labor) around 8:00 p.m. and had Zach the next day at 1:21 a.m.

Zach's birthday is special all in it's own b/c of him, but he also shares his birthday with another special person in my life. He was born on my Grandma's birthday. I have been thinking a lot about her lately. I so wish that my kids could've known her. Zach was only 2 when she died. She was so awesome. I am going to do another blog post soon, just about her.

A few fun things about Zach:

*He has the best smile, and right now it is really cute b/c he is missing his top tooth.
*Is always willing to help
*Gives to others without being told or asked to by his parents
*Loves to play tetherball
*Loves anything electronic...video games, computer games, you name it he loves it!
*Is good at math and reading
*Great at drawing
*Likes all sports
*Is good at sharing a room with Ethan(this is no easy task)
*Has lots of good friends
*Likes to chew gum :)
*Is good at putting things together(especially if a screwdriver is involved)
*Can make his baby sister laugh...he loves her so much!
*Likes music and listening to his MP3 player

We love you Zachy! We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Taggie blanket

Just wanted to show this little taggie blanket I made for Ashlyn. It's not really a blanket that she can be covered up in, just one she can hold and suck on. It is 11x11 inches. One side is cotton fabric and the other minkee. I pulled all the ribbon out of my scrapbook stash. I also got to use my new walking foot! It was fabulous for sewing with the minkee. I maybe spent $2-3 for supplies on this. I saw them being sold for $15-20 on Etsy. I want to make her another one that will be bigger than can be used as a blanket if she wants. :)

A chewdy kiss and other funny things...

A chewy kiss is what Ethan told me he wanted from Ashlyn the other day. When Ashlyn kisses us, she is basically sucking on our faces and it is quite slobbery. Ethan thinks it is funny of her.

I have been trying to focus on the funny things that Ethan says and does. On Saturday he wanted to go upstairs and get dressed. He won't go up or down the stairs without someone with him. So, the rest of the family was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast and all the sudden we hear Ethan yelling to us," WILL SOMEBODY COME UPSTAIRS WITH ME. HEY, WILL SOMEBODY COME UPSTAIRS WITH ME?.....HE-LLOOOO? I think you had to be there to hear his Hello, but it was the funniest thing and gave us all a good laugh.

Okay, he said something else funny that same day and now I can't remember it. I will come back and update this post. He is such a sweet boy and is always good at entertaining me.

A trend I would rather not follow.....

nor do I want anyone else in my family too. The other night I got a phone call after just barely leaving the house letting me know that an accident had occured at our house. Zach slipped and fell while getting out of the shower and hit his mouth on the side of the tub. His top two teeth were lose and we had been trying all week to get one of them out. Well, hitting his mouth on the tub did the trick. It did such a good job of knocking out the tooth, that it is nowhere to be found. We are guessing it went down the drain. Zach didn't even know it was gone until Mark told him so. He also got a very fat bloody lip with it. Poor kid. Zach did leave a note for the tooth fairy asking her to still give him money even though the tooth was gone. He also asked for extra money since it got knocked out from falling. I think she obliged him. ;) He was so brave and doesn't seem to be affected by it! I thought maybe it would be hard to eat or he would be embarrassed by his fat lip, but he wasn't. His gums are bruised as is his lip.
Later that night when I was going to bed, I found my Hannah girl still awake and very sad. It seems that Zach's accident was a little too much of a reminder of what had happened to her almost a year ago. The sweet thing is, she was worried about how sad her accident had made her momma. She told me she could still see my sad face when I walked into the nurses office. What a thoughtful girl!
I sure hope that no one else in my family follows this trend of hitting their mouth and knocking out their teeth. :) I am truly grateful though that neither of my kids were hurt worse than they were.

Then and Now

This little guy just cracks us up. As a baby he always had his tongue sticking out of his mouth. And now 4 years later, he still sticks it out when he is really concentrating on something. What a funny boy!
p.s. LOOK at those eyelashes!! They are amazingly long!