Zach's 7 months old

I'm getting better about holding my head up now!

I still love my Rocky.


My big sister loves me and refers to me as her "baby".

Zach is 7 months old now! Where has the time gone? He is doing wonderfully. He did get some quality time with family this month, and some great many miles under his belt. In his last month of life he has traveled to Oklahoma to Grandma and Grandpa's new house and been out in the boat/on the lake for the first time. The following weekend we all travelled to Omaha and attended Skip's great aunt's funeral. We were sad for that visit. The next weekend we headed out to Colorado to visit Skip's sister. While in Colorado, we had all of Skip's family present and had a great time. Zachary has endured these many miles with a smile on his face and an occasional nap here and there. He has been moving more and more and won't really stay on a blanket when laid down. Zach is playing with toys now and his siblings love this, always willing to bring him "just one more" toy. We met with the Infant/Toddler program to evaluate Zachary. They thought he looked ok to them. One lady did mention that he was her first question kids, not obviously needing OT or PT, but not 100% not needing either. We are just going to continue to watch him and hope that his neck muscles continue to develop over the next few weeks/months. He is getting stronger each day, which we love to see!

This month we have Zachary's surgery, Aug. 25, and then an MRI on Aug. 31. Busy month for our little Z man. I also got a little nervous right before we left for Colorado. Zach's soft spot seemed to be protruding, and he had been arching his back/neck significantly. We made a quick trip to see Dr. Mike to check head circumference. Mike assured us that all seemed fine with our little Z man. He did double check with the neurosurgeon at Children's Mercy to confirm we didn't need a CT. So all is better in our world. It did kind of frighten me, that was the first non-well visit we have had. We did get a weight check at that appointment and he is up to 13 lb 3 oz (with clothes on). Getting pretty big now!!

Love those little munchkins

My sweet Calvin. He can be so sweet and so rotten, all within minutes of each other!

Emerald insisted on wearing this hat while mowing with daddy the other day. Sweet!

Check out that sweet smile from my littlest angel.

Zach enjoys playing with his toys now. He's growing up so fast.

Hanging out at the lake

Grandma keeping Zach warm

The kids loved playing with Jake, who is 7

Poor Zach got a bug bit right in the middle of his head.

Emerald patiently waiting her turn on the jet ski on Grandpa's boat.

Riding the jet ski

The kids had a great time going out on the jet ski with daddy. They thought they were pretty special getting to "drive" on the water. We didn't leave the little cove with them, and this is a no wake cove. They basically just idled around, but it was a good time had by all.

4th of July fun

We finally got to see the house my parents built. We went down to Oklahoma for the weekend and had a fun time at the lake. I actually got some pictures of all the kids looking at the camera! It was a fun 4th, although we didn't even keep them up to see the fireworks. They had all missed afternoon naps, and were exhausted by the evening. We figure we have years ahead of us to watch fireworks with them.

Summertime fun

This is Emerald posing like a flamingo before swim lessons

I just wanted to post some cute shots of the kids. I love these little angels so much! They are so much fun (well, most of the time). I am amazed at how well they play together, too. We are in the middle of summer. Right now we just got back from the lake, visiting my parents and aunt/uncle for the 4th. We are heading to Lawrence to visit a former student and her mom, who is doing a college tour. We only hope she ends up close to us!

Next we are heading to Omaha to go to a funeral for Skip's aunt Dolly. We will miss her very much. She was such a caring, sweet woman and was always so generous to all of us. May God welcome her into heaven with a smile!

Emerald finishes up swim lessons this week. She has had a great time. Calvin loved walking with mommy around the track. They have numbers painted on the track, and he referred to himself as a "number monster" as he "ate" up the numbers when we walked by. The location of the lessons was across the street from Garmin, so the entire time we were walking around the track he would wave and call out to daddy. Daddy, hope you could hear his happy squeals.

One year ago........

Zach likes to show off his tongue these days

Isn't it amazing how much can change in a year? One year ago today we found out that we would be adding another miracle to our family. One year ago we were amazed to discover that we were pregnant!! One year ago I shocked the heck out of my husband! In one year we have been through a pregnancy and half of Zachary's first year of life. We didn't know he was a boy one year ago, and now we can't imagine our life without him. He has been through a lot in the last year, too. He has proved that he is a fighter, a trooper, such an easy-going baby!! We love our little Z-man and thank God for allowing us to add him to our family. I don't think your siblings could imagine life w/o you either. Happy anniversary little one!

More BBQ pics

This is the clan, dancing away

My neighbor, Jamie, holding Zachary. She just found out she is pregnant!!!!

2 of our neighbor friends.

Calvin taking a break from all the dancing.

Our BBQ

E just loved holding Zachary

Skip enjoyed the desserts, as always.

N liked playing with the tools

E & Emerald dancing to the music.

We celebrated the National American Backyard Campout a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, we didn't put up the tent b/c of the rain. Sad, I know. It was pretty hot so most of the time was spent indoors. We had a good turnout of friends and neighbors. I know the kids had a fun time. I think the most fun was had when our neighbor played "Dance Around" on his phone. The kids were going crazy in our living room.