Watching soccer games. Zach sure lives to play.

Please check out my photo. Check out this application: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.roidapp.photogrid Sent from my Android.

Leaving Facebook

I left and for now will re join blogger now that it has an app.

Update

Wow, it’s been a really long time. I have noticed, as I read through my past posts, that a lot has changed since I have started this blog. The beginning is terribly depressing and pessimistic. I didn’t post much about what’s going on in our lives and what I care about, but rather vented on things that bothered me. Well I think three major things have changed that.

1.       I made the best job move I could have ever imagined. I got out of the call center. That place was a fun sucker. A death eater. It was like taking a piggy back ride on Scrooge. I brought my attitude home after work and it sucked.

2.       I graduated! Whoop. CAN NOT put into words what a stress reliever this is. Especially while in my last semester I was student teaching, working, being a wife, not having my best friend home, and being pregnant. I DO not want to be in that state of mind again. Sheesh.

3.       We welcomed the greatest blessing in the world into our lives.

Trying to put into words how different both Brian and I are now with Zach in our lives is quite the challenge. It’s as if all those idiotic, stupid importance’s in our lives aren’t there anymore. I don’t stress as much about the little things and can try to just be a better person. I love watching him accept new challenges.

Well Eric is a good ole missionary now. Left in April, and to what is seems like, is adapting better than anyone could have imagined. You see, Max was born to be a missionary. It fit him. He struggled, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind, except maybe his, that he would exceed and finish to the end. Eric though. That poor kid. He has been through hell and back numerous times in the past five years. He had to choose between what was popular, wrong and his friends and what he knew was right. He has had to do this so many times, I thought for sure it would break him. But in his own, quite, private way, it made him the strongest person out there. He never lost his testimony. In the battle of what is right and what is popular, he chose what was right. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Then there was that time he almost died and didn’t know who anyone in his family was. Yeah, that week was the worst week of my life. Period. WORST WEEK EVER. What a wakeup call for him. After that, he had one year to prep for a mission. Eric is the kind of kid who will stand by you forever. He is a true friend. If he counts you as one of his friends, cherish it. It takes a lot to get into that circle. With all that has happened, he is private and protective. Love that kid.

Brian is now going through work and school. Full time at both. Finished his generals and is excited not to be in some of his computer science classes. He has started his new job on base working as a computer technician and loves that. He is so good at seeing a problem and figuring out how to fix it. It’s great to have a job where he can apply what he learns at work and see it at school and vice versa.  Lately his new hobby is shooting some of his new toys. He sold his beloved drum set in order to purchase one. Boys and their toys. Pricy. Ha

Zach has two teeth; army crawls, holds his own bottle, has separation anxiety sometimes and sleeps through the night like a champ. We went in for his 6 month apt and I quote the dr, “you have the perfect child. I wish I could keep him for other parents to see.” She was impressed with how calm Brian and I are as first time parents. I am sure she says this a lot, but it helped increase my self-esteem for those rougher days. He loves to play with his grandparents and aunts and uncles. Fake coughing and blowing raspberries are the new cool thing to do for him. He also is doing this thing where he will bend to the side and just stare at you there. He is pretty perfect. Love him.

 Love this picture of him. So happy. All of the time.

 Eric's mission farewell. Looking cute.

 So ....innocent????

 Boys went surfing....this is....weird.

 Getting ready for a barrel role.

 Hold on tight.

 Action shot....hubby!!!

 Seriously. He is the best dad ever.

 And bubbles.

 So much hair.

He LOVES LOVES LOVES baths. Gets one everytime we go to grandmas.










PS. I HATE THE NEW FORMAT.

Little Z

There’s this crazy emotion I thought I knew. Till it changed. Till it evolved. No I am not sure. The written word has so many adjectives, yet I can’t find the right one.  I look at Brian, and I love him! More than I can express. He is my eternal companion. My best friend. My second half. The father of the best gift I have ever been given. He provides and only looks for better ways to help our family succeed. Often times, his accomplishments and efforts go unnoticed. Humble, handsome and helpful. I love him. Can’t imagine my life without him. That’s the best I can do to put it in words, but now there is another male in my life, and I haven’t quite figured how to syntactically put my emotions on paper. I look at him and I am in awe. Complete and utter awe. He is ours. It’s a completely different   form of the emotion. I knew I loved my parents differently than my siblings, and that’s different than the love I feel for Brian, yet none is more over powering than the other. Just a completely different, word boggling mess.  I haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t know that I ever will, all I know is when I look at his perfect face, tiny fingers and toes, and his remarkable smile, I fall in love all over again. They say a mothers love is like no other, and I guess it’s true, but I had no idea the level it was on. Only another mom knows. Its outstanding. No on to the fun part.

UPDATE!!!!

Zach is four months old now and literally the strongest boy in the world. Probably because in his blessing, his dad blessed him to be strong three times. He stands all by himself, except for the help of balance. He is working on doing a sit up by lifting his upper half all by himself. All this attention to strength has minimized his focus on the ever impending, rolling. He is getting close, but not quite there, which I am ok with. The more mobile he gets, the more real it becomes I have a baby boy. At his four month apt, he weighed 13.12 lbs, was 25 inches long and was in the 15% for head circumference. So 55% weight, 30% height. Tall and skinny. Unheard of from the George side.  He can reach for things, knows when he drops them and has discovered his fingers toes and thumb sucking. Zach sleeps 11-12 hours a night and doesn’t wake till he has someone wake him up. It’s absolutely glorious. When mom is doing house work, he is 100% content to jump up and down in his jumper. Often times, he falls asleep in there because he loves it so much. Zach has started cereal and loves it a little too much. He is going to bite my fingers off one of these days with his chomping ambition.  He is still in a size one diaper during the days and size two while he sleeps. He knows his mom, dad, grandparents and aunts and uncles. His smile will melt your heart away, and he has started to giggle. Zach is not an excellent napper, but I wouldn’t trade that for anything. He sleeps at night, which I love. He isn’t a big cuddler, and would rather just put himself to sleep for naps and bed time.  We visit grandparents often and he loves to play with them. He is such a handsome boy and always the cutest thing on the block.

Only time he really cuddled was when he was a new born.

One of my favorite pictures

He discovered his fist. Not quite the thumb yet though.

....and found it!

Kenny and Zach are best buds.

Love it.

Grabbing toys and sticking them in
 his mouth all while jumping. Multitasker!

Seriously, How did we get so lucky?

Who loves BATH TIME!?

Hey mom, get that thing out of my face.

Getting ready for bed and lovin' it.

Weirdo.

Ernie and Zach just practicing jumping.

...and sleeping.

Look mom, I am tired of this. Get me off my stomach.

Euphoria

Breath shortened. Heart racing. Mind spinning. My grip tightens around the words. Confusion, excitement and wonder. These are just a few of the emotions and physical aspects that consume my body as I read an enjoyable book. Euphoria through the written word. It’s appreciated by few. I am one of them. It’s similar to the masons. We are elite. There is a secret understanding and appreciation of what we go through when we are so involved in a novel, the characters become family. We cry at their trials, we strive with them through their accomplishments, we admire their integrity and we hate them with an unabated vengeance for their betrayals. Reading is a joy like none other. You can continue to be a child as you read a book. The unreal happens. The unimaginable escapes into reality. It’s consuming and becomes an addictive drug. You can’t sleep till you finish, food has no claim on your stomach, and all communication with the world is lost while you are in another. I love reading. I love sharing my excitement with anyone with a willing ear. Reading and discussing, then wanting to read that same discussed book because someone picked up on something you missed. It’s like a puzzle. Can you put all the pieces together?

Ten things I have learned about Zach in 6 weeks

Ten Things I have learned about Zach in 6 weeks
1.       His toots are extremely stinky
2.       When he eats, he gorges himself with the first few sucks.
3.       His little lower lip quivers before he begins to cry.
4.       Having someone hold him under the armpits and bounce him up and down is his favorite thing….ever.
5.       He makes noises in his sleep, just like his daddy.
6.       He can’t take his eyes off of bright lights.
7.       He stops crying when daddy makes insanely loud and obnoxious noises at him.
8.       Zach loves his swing.
9.       He snorts like a pig.
10.   He cries and cries, but eventually can put himself to sleep. Whoop!

Labor

Dear Zach,

So you have been here for just over a week and we couldn’t be happier. You are a joy, and one handsome fella. You gave me the easiest pregnancy in the world, and I was hoping for an as easy labor or better. You gave me the latter. Your two awesome uncles, Max and Eric slept over on a Sunday night. We played games, hung out and giggled lots. This lasted way into the early hours of Monday morning.  Around one in the morning, I decided it was time you and I got some sleep, though that comes rare…however I don’t blame you too much. ;) Well one thirty comes, and I head to the bathroom. No surprise. Then 2 rolls around…same thing. Two thirty….three…three thirty…same story. This is unusual. Over and over I have to head to the bathroom, compared to the normal, few times a night. I didn’t think much of it and I don’t think anyone else in the house even noticed. Then the sharp pains were coming and going. Again, I didn’t think of it much. They weren’t regular and I wasn’t hunched over in pain or in a dead sweat like you will see in the movies. Well seven in the morning rolls around and your sleepy uncle Eric had to get up and get to school. So like the responsible sister I am, I checked if he was awake….of course he wasn’t, so I got him up and he headed off to school….probably without brushing his teeth. After he left, I headed back to bed. I try to get as much sleep as possible, but with you taking up all the room and comfort, it’s all in vain. Eight a.m. comes and Daddy and I decide we better start our day. We have a Dr. Apt at nine thirty, which means we get to see you on the ultra sound machine. That’s my favorite part of the day. It’s not very exciting any more though because you love to hide your head way in my pelvis, so the best shots we get now are of your femur. It’s an exciting and cute femur , so we will take it. Max had class at nine thirty also and rather than going early in the morning with Eric, he opted to sleep in and catch a ride with us conveniently. The time came, we took Max to school, and we headed to the Dr. Office. Wesley Davis is a wonderful Dr. Zach and always takes good care of you. He asked how things were and if we had any concerns before he checked how you were and did your ultrasound. I just mentioned being up all night, being a little wet each time and the sharp pains that weren’t far apart but not exactly consistent either.  He isn’t one to jump to conclusions or to cause alarm quickly so he just said, well let’s take a look and see how far you are and if that water is broken.

We were at 90% effaced 3 cm. He took a test to check our water, which he stated he was 90% sure it was broken. Then the ultra sound. He saw plenty of pockets of fluid but still said my story was an excellent one so sent your Daddy and me on an excursion to the hospital to do a more accurate, water breaking test.  Well finding labor and delivery was the hardest part of the day. Who knew you actually had to go through the doors that said, “Labor and delivery.” After about 30 minutes of looking, and asking various people, whom were clueless and unhelpful, where we needed to go to have this test taken, we found a nice lady that escorted us straight to the test site. Mommy got all dressed in the beautiful hospital gown and socks and was placed on a bed. The nice nurse started doing all sorts of things to you and me. I was put on an IV for fluids….and she asked if I wanted some numbing stuff for the IV! Mommy just thought that was the silliest thing she had ever heard. Mommy is tough; she didn’t need silly numbing for the little needle. Then a round machine was attached to my belly and…whala! Daddy and I could hear your fast little heartbeat. Well about half an hour in, our nurse decided that we were going to have you today. So she prepped us and took us to a delivery room. By this time, mommy was having pretty annoying contractions that were about every three minutes. Daddy figured; we are going to have a baby today so he sent out the word.
You had lots of people anxious to meet you. And you didn’t keep them waiting.  Guess what Zach! We really lucked out these entire ten long months.  But the last day was the best of them all. We were in the delivery room; Daddy was making calls and what not, while you and I were enjoying watching Friends and having “grin and bear it” contractions. Then our nurse asked us a question about an hour after we had been laying there. “Are you ready for an epidural?” At this time, we were at a four so Mommy wasn’t sure if she should wait or not because those icky contractions weren’t bringing tears to her eyes, but they weren’t something I enjoyed particularly well. Well the nurse informed me that the anesthesiologist was going to be out of commission for my use for about three hours if I didn’t have it now, so that made my decision easy. We had the shot an hour after we arrived, Daddy didn’t pass out and Mommy was feeling much better. Uncles Max and Eric came by to drop off some things, like Daddy’s laptop and Mommy’s pink brush, and then headed home to wait. Our good friend Heather Stephenson was in the building and dropped by to say hello. Also Grandma Wiser, or Nana, brought Daddy some food and he ate it in front of me while I enjoyed a red sucker. Our nice nurse came in to check how we were doing and decided that since I was progressing well enough on my own, she didn’t think we needed this yucky stuff called Pitocin. We did awesome, and only had it for about an hour before she made the call to stop it. Zach, from there you decided you couldn’t wait much longer to meet your anxious mom and dad so you went from a 4 to a 10 in about three hours and only needed 15 minutes of pushing from mom. The nice nurse had us push a few times, then the Dr. came in, we pushed one round of 3, and then on the last round, he had to use this cool tool that helped you out because your cord was slightly wrapped around your neck. Daddy thought you looked pretty scary with a cone head though. That’s all he could talk about for a long time. At 4:17 that afternoon, you took your first breath, Daddy cut your umbilical cord and you were sent to be cleaned. You came back weighing in at 6lbs and 12 oz and measuring 19.5 inches long. You were beautiful, (you still are) and Grandma G didn’t think you looked like a newborn because you weren’t swollen much and didn’t have that “squished” look.
After you were born, we went to our room and visited with Mommy and Daddy’s brothers and sisters and mom and dad. Everyone took turns holding you and smiling at your beautiful face. We didn’t do much in the hospital except play and have visitors. You had lots of people come see you. But by Wednesday, Mom and Dad were ready to get you home so we packed up our bags and your loaded bag and headed home early. You didn’t like getting in the car seat at first, but once you were snug and tight, you didn’t make a sound all the way home.
Zach you made things pretty easy on me, and although I complained a lot, because my darn jeans didn’t fit, we will work on that together. You were worth everything and more. It’s so great to have you in our lives. You don’t know how much you are loved and by how many people. I will put it simply. It’s a lot. You have only been in our home for a week now, but here are some fun things we already notice about you.
1.       You HATE getting your diaper changed.  You do well getting undressed for it, but once we start taking it off, out comes the screams. And wow, you are a strong little guy. As soon as we get that diaper on and set, you stop crying. Just a modest boy I guess.
2.       Burping is a skill you are not void of. You get that from your Dad. We will feed you, and as soon as we go to burp you, you belch like a champ.
3.       You absolutely love belly time. Rather than laying on your back, which you do great at, you would much rather be lying on mommy’s boobs on your belly. You curl your feet way up close to you and snug your tiny hands underneath your head and can be asleep in a few minutes like that.
4.       When we tickle your lips, you pucker them up to give us a big kiss.
5.       You go through a million and a half diapers every day.
6.       Often times, you hold your pee till mommy takes off your diaper and then in spite of having your diaper changed, you will pee on me instead of in the diaper.
7.       You LOVE your daddy very much.
8.       You only fuss when it’s time for a diaper change, or at your 1 in the morning feeding.