Growing, growing!

Zach is of course already growing! We had his two week check up today and he is finally back up to his birth weight! He is otherwise a super healthy baby...eats and sleeps like an angel!

Sweet Zachary!

Zachary James arrived on Wednesday, September 16 at 9:29am. He was 20in long and 9lb 13oz. It was a super speedy quick delivery! My contractions started at 5am. At 6:30 I informed John he should think about getting ready to go to the hospital. He walked the kids over to the neighbor's house around 7:30 and we arrived at the birthing center at 8:30. When we arrived and I got settled in, I was already 8cm dilated. At 9:15 my water broke and it was rush rush from there! The nurses rushed in, the doctor wasn't there yet and I was ready to go! There was no time for an IV or epidural(which I didn't want anyway). The little, I mean big guy came out face up which created a nice bruise on his forehead. Poor buddy! He is a very content baby and sleeps like a champion!

The Wingnuts

That would be the name of the local baseball team...The Wichita Wingnuts. Apparently they chant "Go Nuts" during the game. I stayed home with Maddie last week while John took JJ to the game. They stayed the whole game and then watched the fireworks afterwards. JJ ran the bases in between innings and got a game ball!

Almost There!

John and I went on a double date with our good friends, Wally and Dagny. The guys decided to pose as JC Penney catalog models while us girls posed like normal people. I have just about two weeks left until my due date. I didn't realize how big my belly was until I uploaded these pictures. This little guy can come any day now! And I think we have finally come to an agreement on a name, but you'll have to wait for that to be announced after we meet him!

Doesn't it look like I am a leaning tree? It was best of the worst I suppose. John had his eyes closed in the first three!

Paint....Oops! I almost forgot.

While John was gone and my niece was here for three weeks, I enlisted her help in painting the living. John and I had this disagreement on whether or not a decorative rug can go on carpet. I figured it was the easiest cheapest way to add some pizzazz to the living room. And we already have the rug I wanted to lay down. He insisted you do not put rugs on carpet soooo he said he would rather have paint. Which is exactly what I did!

Grandma

Grandma Harriet went to be with the Lord today. She was such a wonderful lady and I looked up to her in so many ways! Here are some of my favorite memories with her:

Visiting the John Ball Zoo and having a picnic before we entered the zoo

Baking cookies

Making caramel corn (my absolute favorite snack)

Sleep overs when my sister and I were little

Pigs in a blanket

The pool table

Brushing each other's hair

Living with her for 3 months before I got married

Back rubs and arm scratches

Playing dress up with her many, many shoes and costume jewelry

Unbaked blueberry pie

Grandma, you will be greatly missed!!!!

He Made it Home!!!

My Little Book Worm

I am finally catching up on some blogging....here is the first one!

When I checked on Maddie last night before I went to bed, this is how I found her! She LOVES to read books. Two nights ago I checked on her an hour and a half after I layed her down and she was still awake reading!

Belly Photo 32 weeks

Water Park

Every year Rock River Rapids gives military one free day to enjoy the water park. We took John's niece with us and it was a blast! Worth every free minute we had there!

The Zoo

John's niece, Kaitie, is in town helping me out until this Saturday and we decided to take her to the zoo last week. It turned out to be a beautiful day!My cutie pie!

The bats hanging around in the Jungle...JJ actually petting the sheep.
Maddie was not so sure of the petting zoo.

Michigan Slideshow

Home

Feels soooo good. We made it in last night after a Loooooong day of travel and mishaps. I'll post some Michigan pics soon!

Bows!

Here are some bows I made today for my darling daughter. I ran out of ribbon for a second hot pink with polka dots so off to the store tomorrow I go. It is my favorite one! They look better in person and on her head. The camera does them no justice!

Summer Fun!

This is JJ thinking about what kind of neat trick he might do next coming down the slide. He always taps his chin when he is "thinking."

Maddie got smart and sat in the shaded garage drinking her cool drink. She detests wet bathings suits so it came off shortly after getting in the pool! It reached 94 degrees here today! Wednesday's forecast is 102.

Calla Lilies

These are about one of my absolute favorite flowers! My neighbor brought me these tonight from her garden! I love them!

Flower Arranging

Apparently the base library holds free classes for different things throughout the year. A friend called last night and invited me to what I thought was a gardening class...at least that is how it was described to me. I arrived to find it a flower arranging class. I kind of groaned at first because I would much prefer to dig in the dirt than play with cut flowers. Much to my surprise, it was a lot of fun and educational! Here is my beautiful bouquet:

What did I learn, you ask? Always start with the greenery and then add your flowers. If you receive a bouquet of roses or any flower for that matter, you aren't suppose to use all of the little packet that comes with it. Use only a third to a half. You should change the water 3 times in 2 weeks and if you have roses they should last that long. And always trim the stems at each water change.

Sooooo Sweeeet!!!!!

Derby Days Parade

A friend and I took the kids to the parade last night for something to do.  It was 88 and sunny  - hot.  The kids have never seen a parade so I was trying to explain to them what one might be.  We bought hot dogs, chips and drinks from a church fund raiser and found a shady spot to enjoy the show.  

Maddie was soooo tired as she put it that she had to lay in the grass during part of the parade.

As you can see in the second to last picture Josh was being sneaky and taking cheetos out of Maddie's bag behind her while she wasn't paying attention.

And you see sweet Maddie in this last picture, but this is not what I was actually taking a picture of.  In the background you will see a person wearing a police office reflective vest sitting on a motorized scooter/wheelchair type vehicle to the right of the road block.  We were just wondering how in the world this police officer would be able to, say break up a fight or do crowd control....hmmm, interesting. 

JJ's Summer 'do and Maddie's New Sleeping Position

I finally was able to get JJ a summer hair cut so he won't get so sweaty.  This is a good thing since it will be in the 90's this weekend.

Maddie is starting to defy her naps and this is what happens at the dinner table....