Mr. Man

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day 2010. Celebrated by a mother of TWO!!!! I never imagined that I would have two babies to cuddle with and love on! I must have done something mighty right because I have two of the best kids in the world. And a pretty good hubby too.

It was a wonderful day spent with the people I love the most!

Month 4

The months seem to fly by! With the blink of an eye, we are on to another one! Month number for was a busy one for all of us, despite being house bound for much of it. We celebrated Zachary’s baptism on April 25. We took our first trip to my hometown for cousin Benjamin’s birthday where he got to meet more relatives. We celebrated Mother’s Day and Zachary’s first picnic.
Zachary continues to be a sweet little guy. His sleeping has been pretty consistent at 7-9 hours a night. He is a quiet old soul for the most part. He is somewhat reserved regarding his laughs and chatter. When he decides to let loose, he totally lets loose! He will let you know when he’s mad, happy, frustrated or excited by his sheer volume.
Zachary is such a busy little guy. He never lays or sits still. He is always moving and rolling and kicking. You put him on the floor and he does not stay on his back. He rolls over and over and over. He is like a hot dog rolling in a 7-11. Zachary is doing is own version of crawling now. He will bring his leg up and try to launch himself forward. He makes some progress, much to my dismay.
All this activity keeps little man very lean! Now for his stats:

25 3/4 inches long (79%)
13.6 lb (19%)
16.5 inches around his noggin (40%)

Zachary is fascinated by his big sister and looks up to her already. I think she is a big part of the reason he is so active. He wants to be just like her. She can settle him down just by walking into the room where he is crying. She loves to read to him and play with him. He loves every second of it!

Slow down little man. There’s no need to grow up too quickly!

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Emily

My daughter. Growing up way too fast. You are already three and a half years old. It seems just like yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital. Just yesterday we were celebrating your first birthday. And in the blink of an eye, you grew. You are growing into an amazing, beautiful young girl. You never cease to amaze me. The things you come up with, quite the imagination! The things you say! You have an amazing vocabulary and can talk up a storm. Nonstop from the time you wake up to the moment your eyes finally close for naps and bedtime.
You are beautiful. On the outside and inside. You are so full of love. Love for your friends and family. You opened up your heart immediately and let your little brother in. The love between the two of you already amazes me. You loved him the moment you met him. You have been an amazing big sister so far. I hope it continues as you both grow. You are quite the helper as well. Most things I ask you to do, you do without complaint. You have been especially helpful since my foot has been broken. Sure, you are still a three year old and behave as such but you also behave above your age at times.
Sometimes I forget that you are only 3. I can hold long conversations with you and enjoy them. You are the size of a small five year old. I have a hard time knowing what would be normal for a child your age. You amaze me every day. I have to tell myself that you are still a little girl. Try not to expect too much from you. You exceed many of my expectations but I want to be sure that I don’t set unrealistic expectations.
This afternoon, you came into my bedroom during your nap. You laid on my bed, curled up and started sucking your thumb while I rubbed your leg. Despite all of your advancements in my eyes, you are still a lIttle girl. You will always be my little girl.

Pic-a-nic

Grandma came over and took us for a picnic! It was a Cinco de Mayo picnic! We went through the drive through at Taco Bell (oh so fancy!) and then headed to the park by our house. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, just a tad windy. It was Zachary’s first picnic. He didn’t eat though, he just watched.

After we got done eating, Zachary and I hung out at the little pavilion while Emily and Grandma went to play. Slides, swings, swings and slides. Everyone had such a good time. Even Zachary! The fresh air was so good for him that he decided it was time for a nap!

Little-est loves of my life!

A slideshow by Smilebox

Busy boy!

Oodles of cousins celebrating

My nephew Ben turned 2 at the end of April! We went to his party to celebrate. It was Zachary’s first trip to my hometown and his first time meeting more family. He did pretty well on the hour and a half car ride. He even managed to nap for a bit. Emily did great as well. We were able to drive straight through and not stop for a bathroom break!
Before the party, we went to my sister’s so we could feed the babies. Emily and her cousin Chloe were having a blast playing together before we had to leave.
It was really good seeing more of my family. I know Zachary charmed them all, even though he was asleep in Papa’s arms most of the time! I hope Benjamin had a wonderful birthday because he is very loved!

Little piggies belonging to Zach and Cole!

3 cousins and their 3 babies

Meet the newest Christian

My sweet Zachary was baptised on April 25. He was surrounded by many of his aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, cousins, sister, grandparents, friends and parents. More importantly, he was surrounded by love!
The ceremony was really nice. Poor Zachary was so tired! He was awake during most of the mass prior to his baptism so he really needed a nap. Complete contrast to Emily’s baptism. Granted she was 6 weeks when she was baptised and he was almost 15 weeks. She slept almost the entire day. Zachary fussed a lot. But, he didn’t cry when Father Ryan poured the water over his head. I held my breath because Zachary usually freaks when I rinse his hair during bathtime. Zachary did great though. The baptism was nice and went on without a hitch.
Unfortunately, the weather decided not to cooperate. As we had a week or two of beautiful weather, Sunday turned out to be a big soaking dud! It was a bummer too because we were going to have the reception at the park too. The kids would have had a blast burning off some steam! Luckily, we had a backup plan so we weren’t stranded. We just moved the party to Stephen’s parents since there is no way we could have held everyone at our house nor could I clean it all with my foot. It turned out to be a very nice get together and I am very grateful to my inlaws for hosting it for us. I am sure I have said it before, but I’ll say it again…I have the BEST set of inlaws.

So very proud..

I am very proud of my husband. He started a new job at the end of April. He wasn’t even in search mode. This job pretty much came to him. It reminds me of the parable of the man stuck in a flood.

A man is on top of a roof during a great flood. A man comes by in a boat and says “get in, get in!” The religous man replies, “No I have faith in God, he will grant me a miracle.”

Later the water is up to his waist and another boat comes by and the guy tells him to get in again. He responds that he has faith in God and God will give him a miracle. With the water at about chest high, another boat comes to rescue him, but he turns down the offer again because “God will grant him a miracle.”

With the water at chin high, a helicopter throws down a ladder and they tell him to get in. Mumbling with the water in his mouth, he again turns down the request for help. So he drowns.

He arrives at the gates of heaven and says to Peter, “What happened? I put my faith in God and He let me drown!” St. Peter responds, “We sent you three boats and a helicopter, what more did you want?”

Stephen had seen this job posting several times and never acted upon. Only after he was contacted by a recruiter did he seriously consider the position. I truly believe the position was meant to be his. He had a job offer within 5 minutes of his second interview. This is where he is supposed to be right now. The recruiter was his helicopter.

It’s been two full weeks at his new company and Stephen really seems to be enjoying his work now. It’s not as much of a chore to go in. The best part is it is what he is wanting to do right now. He beat potential outsourcing at his previous company and made some improvements in other personal areas as well. One of many is a flexible work schedule and the ability to work from home as needed. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a help that will be!

I do know this transition was stressful for him though. I broke my foot and had surgery his last week at the previous employer. But we made it through. I am very proud of him. He made a huge leap and landed on his feet. It’s wonderful in more ways than one.

Congratulations Stephen! I am so proud of you and immensely happy for you!

Xoxox