We are back!

     Its been a bit since I've posted last, but its been a super busy long weekend.  Daddy was home for a nice 4 day weekend and Uncle B was in town to meet Zach for the first time.  Friday night after shopping w/ Uncle B we went to the wedding rehersal dinner and it was super yummy!  Then we came back home and just relaxed.  Sat, Uncle B got to see Zach at his happiest, in the morning.  We had bunch w/ them.  My parents came to our house to watch Z and off to the wedding we went.
    The wedding was going to be out in the woods, but because of the rain it ended up needed to be in a barn.  It was so beautiful!  The bride looked fantastic and we couldn't be more happy for them!  It was nice being out with T without Zach.  And the reception was too much fun.  It was also in the barn, and the food was great!  We had pulled pork (from a hog the boys roasted)...  Which was 100% their style.  One of my favorite things about this wedding, they did what they wanted-hog roast, married in a barn, the boys wore jeans, and just a few ppl at the wedding, but then more at the reception.  The DJ was really good, plus with our friends its easy to keep them dancing, and we did dance.. and dance and dance!  Everyone seemed to have a great time! 
   So Congrats to S & M!  We love you guys so much and we are so thrilled that you are now married!!  The wedding was lovely!  I'm glad your day turned out to be such a wonderful day and I really think the rain was a blessing b/c the barn turned out to be so great!
   Ok, Sunday was a pretty laid back day, after church we went out to our friends house and spent pretty much the whole afternoon there.  We played some horseshoes, and other games.  That night we had a bonfire and had some smors...  Monday, the weather cleared up so we were able to go canoeing!  Again my parents got to babysit Z, and we went out.  It was so relaxing!  The weather was perfect, and the water felt so good.  Now summer has officially started!!  We got back, and played a little rock band at our house. 

    Today, I've been cuddling alot w/ my little man! 

College and cloth diaper

We have had a busy day today, but a really good one!  We started with a infant play date.  It was nice seeing other mommies and of course some cute babies!  Thanks M for letting us have it at your house!  While we were there, we were able to get some cloth diapers.  So we are now the proud owners of 6 bumgenis 3.0 all in ones and one pocket one w/ an insert.  I've been wanting to try cloth diaper, so I'm super excited to get them!  Then I went to the local college b/c I'm planning on going to start classes this fall.  I'm pretty excited about it after talking to the counselor, but also kinda nervous about being able to keep on top of the classes and homework.  I'm thinking about going into nursing, but time will tell.  First I'm going to finish my associates degree and go from there.

  Then we went to pick up my brother in law.  Uncle B was in town, and got to meet Zach for the first time!  I'm so glad he is here and able to see Zach!  Plus we always have a good time when he's in town.  Welp, we are going to watch a movie now, so I'll post more later. 

Wordless Wednesday

Chase cuddling with Zach toys (cuddling.. not eating.. so thats good)

Getting SOO big and strong!! 

Looking like a cool dude w/ this new shades...  I even got a smile

Camping...

Saturday Zach went camping for the first time!  It was a beautiful day out, the weather started great! (key word there was started!! )  We go the tent all set up, and C ( a friend of ours) got the fire going.  Chase got to run around and eat the grass..lol.  We walked down by the creek (Z was chillin in the stroller, which did great in the grass) then walked back up to our camping area.  For dinner we cooked some hotdogs and ate chips.  Then KL and KT came out and we had some yummy hobo pies.  The boys went catfishing (and didn't get any, sad..)  They got back around 12, and I put Zach down to sleep in our tent.  He slept in his mose basket with his seahorse.  Chase also wanted to go to bed then b/c he kept going over to the tent.. lol.  After we all got tired, we went to bed.  Tim, me, Zach, Chase, and KL (who is a pretty tall guy) all slept in our small dome tent (we didn't bring our bigger tent, b/c we just wanted something throw up pretty easy.. plus the boys were planning on sleeping under the starts.. but changed their minds)    This was about 1am.  I couldn't sleep for the life of me!  I was pretty worried about Z, so I checked on his  afew times, and the last time I checked his breathing (i know.. kinda crazy, but I was worried about SIDS, since he has been around camp fire smoke..)  was at 3:31am...  Since this was our back up tent, it was missing some stakes-there were 4.. enough for the tent.. but not for the rain flap.  That night there was only a 30% chance of rain (and 70% chance of fun, as Tim put it) .. well at 4:30 almost on the dot, I felt rain drops on my face and heard the rain coming.. then a few mins later it was raining. I woke up Tim, and KL.  Tim ran out of the tent to the truck.  I put my blanket and pillow over Z in his mose basket and ran to the truck with him.  By this time it was pouring!  Chase and KL stayed in the tent.  Chase wasn't moving into the awful rain until he had too.  All of the sudden KL came flying out of the tent.  So we are running around grabing the inportant stuff-stroller, pillows, phones, all baby stuff, and our chairs.  KL is putting his trailor back on his truck (it was there so the boys could sleep on it) C and KT are helping get our stuff together and getting their stuff.  Then we call Chase from the tent, and he finally comes out and jumps into the truck.  I was getting Z into his carseat when the boys were getting all the stuff put in our trucks.  Then we all headed out back home.. wet, cold, and super tired!!  Oh yea, and by the time we got home, it had stopped raining..lol.  We crawled in to bed, and passed out.  I fed Zach, since he was awake, then we slept until we got up for church at 9am.  We woke up and all got showered (and a quick wash for Zach) and headed out of the house by 9:20am.. pretty good! We were even a bit early to church, we went to church w/ our neighbor.  Sadly I didn't get very many pictures of the camping trip..since it was so short lived.  But I did get one of my two babies!  :)

Sunday we napped alot.. lol

Monday we also had an exciting day!  I just joined a meet up group and went to my first meet up.  It was at a local park.  It was nice hanging out with other mom's and meeting the other kids.  There were kids of all ages there, but we stuck w/ the babies around Z's age. 

Netflix....

is wonderful!  This whole week, I have been nursing about every 45-60 mins.  Everyday!  At night tho, we have sleeping for about 6-7 hours.  So that is really nice!  But since I've been spending a lot of time nursing, sitting with some down time.  I've been reading and watching netflix.  Z has been pretty clingy the last few days and while its been pretty exhausting, I've enjoyed the time cuddling with him and our day long nursing sessions.  I know he won't be like this for long, so I'm trying to enjoy all I can now, and get caught up on some tv shows via netflix!  lol. 
  Tonight, I'm hosting a game night and I'm pretty excited.  I havn't planned much since we had Z, and it will be fun to have people over tonight.  So here is hoping Zach will go down easy for bed (most the time he does great!)!
   Also we(I) lol am thinking about trying out cloth diapers.  I found a pretty cool deal where you can get some to try for 21 days (all different brands, and types) and then return them and just pay $10.00. You do have to pay upfront, which is why T isn't on board yet.  There is also a store around me that does classes and shows you the different types of CDing.  I will def keep everyone updated!

A big boy, sitting up in his bumbo chair

Exhausting

Hanging with mommy

Wordless Weds 3 months old

Family Time

     Over the weekend Zach met some of his family from his daddy's side!  Great Aunts and Great Uncles and some cousins.  It was a really good time, but he was pretty exhausted after.  To top it off we were just coming off a growth spurt so we were sleepy from that too.  But Z was a champ and stayed  in a pretty good mood!
      Sunday he got dedicated at church, so it was more family!  More cousins and grandparents.  As always we enjoyed having the Roberts and their gang hang out!  I really think I'd be lost with out my cousin/best friend La Rae.  I'm sad that we live so far away but b/c of internet and facebook we are able to stay in pretty close contact.  Their kids are so much fun, I meant to get a pic w/ all the kids, but forgot between setting up the movie, nursing, chasing down the kids and dog.. lol  But as always it was great seeing them!
    Z and his cousins are pretty close in age, so I'm looking forward to them growing up together.  Tim's side of the family don't really get together much, so I think I'm going to start planning events where we can all see each other more and so the kids can get to know each other.  I love planning parties, so I'm excited about it!  Growing up I saw my family a lot, and I want the same connection I have with some of my cousins for Zach to have with his.
     We didn't sleep very well last night.  I'm not sure what was going on.  Z was pretty gassy and wide awake until about 1, but on the plus side I was able to finish my book.  "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen.  She is one of my favorite authors and it was a really good book!!  I've really started to love reading and I love my kindle!  I read it out loud to Zach and that seemed to help relax him.  He finally fell asleep on my chest in the living room around 1 and I put him in his cradle and he was out for 6 hours.
  Well here are some pictures from the weekend!

Favorite things part 2

I thought it'd be fun to do a new favorite things.  Zachariah is 3 months now.. here are a few things we'd be lost without!  Really not in any order.. b/c all these things are wonderful!!

 

The mobile is wonderful!  We use it every night, Zach smiles and talks to his animals!  Plus the projection is a good night light! 

This is for 2 of my favorite things, one this book(a MUST for all BFing mammas!), second would be my Le Leche League group and mom's groups.  I'd be so lost without them!!

Along the same lines as my mommy groups, thebump is my forum!  As Z takes his morning nap, I normally jump on here and talk to my other online mom friends.  Without them, again, I'd be lost and much more stressed!  Its so nice having other people know and understand EXACTLY what you are going through, especially when it feels like not many do.

Ahh, the carseat toy bar!  Car rides aren't the best time for us, sometimes Z HATES THEM!   He sometimes falls asleep, but other times he screams the whole time. BUT now that I put this on his car seat it has been easier.  He plays with them, making them spin and he smiles at them!  If you push on the frog eyes a song plays and lights up, a Zach hasn't pushed them yet, but he will in no time!

My Mei Tie!  We love it!  We go for walks, go to church, clean the house, and even nurse in this baby!   Daddy even wears Z in it!  It will be great for going hiking and camping! 

We just got this soothing seahorse from my secret sister!  I think its great!  It plays soothing sounds and lights us.  It then slowly gets dimmer.  It helps with getting Z to sleep!

"Hi, My name is Zachariah and I have a problem, I'm addicted to the paci"  And I'm ok with it right now.  We weren't the first to give him one (he got it on day one in the nursery, against my birth plan.. but to be fair, the poor kid couldn't eat for 2 days, so he needed something)  And it started there...  Now, he loves it, so I do too...  But I'm already not looking forward to when we will wean off of it.. but we will fight it then, until then we will enjoy the lovely things this little item does for us!

We have very odd weather here.. Friday I had the AC on and Z was sporting one of these shorts onies, yesterday we were back in pants and long shelves and had the heat on.. but I do enjoy this little outfit type for warm weather!  My son stays cool, but is still dressed (instead of just being in a diaper or onies)

This is a cool littler timer!  I really got it because I was wondering how much Z was napping during the day.  It has 4 timers: how longs "ItZ been" since Last diaper change, since he ate last, he has been awake/asleep and the other one is whatever (meds or something)  There is a light and lock.  Also you can set an alarm.  It is pretty small, but I like it for night time feedings (so I can see how long he slept for without looking at the clock and doing math.. lol)  

Its...FRIDAY!

We have so much going on this weekend! A wedding, birthday party, boys night out (for daddy), Zachariah's dedication :) and a hotdog roast! Monday we will sleep ;) We are really excited about all we have going on!

This week my grandma (Z's greatgrandma) stayed at our house a few days. It was so nice having her hang out with Zach, making those memories, more importantly taking lots of pictures! My grandma has Alzheimer's so I'm glad she can get to know Z right now before things get harder for her. Those pictures will be more treasured than you know. Also the two of them took naps a the same time..lol  Zach talked, cooed, and played with her alot while she was here and I know she really enjoyed that!

Also, Zach has sleeping for 6-7 hours at night, for the most part!  Which means less naps during the day, prolly why my last post was Sunday!  He is talking so much!  And we get so many smiles and a few laughs!!

See?  So cute!  He is rolling over too!!  I can't believe how big he is getting!!  Its so much fun watching him play with his toys and hearing him mimic me!  He likes to stand up (with support) and look around, or sit up to see whats going on around him. 

Have a great weekend!

Happy Mother's Day

    Happy mom's day to all my mamma friends!  After sleeping for 7 straight hours (for the second night in a row!!) I woke up to Tim bringing me eggs, bacon, toast, and potatoes!  It was super yummy and nice!  Then we went to church.  After church we went to Peoria Zoo!  Turns out today, all mothers get in for FREE!  The African exhibit was really cool, there were rhinos, and zebras and 2 giraffes.  Also there was a lion and lioness.  I did feel bad for the giraffes, they were courted off on concrete without trees or grass and they were separated.  Also we are pretty sure one of the lizards on display was dead.  We were watching it to see if it was breathing.. and it wasn't.  Also on our way back to the front, we went back by it.. it hadn't moved at all!  Still looked exactly the same, not breathing..  Very sad!  But other than that, it was nice!  On our way out, we went by the gift shop and got a big lion stuff animal.  I am pretty sure that was Zach's favorite part of the Zoo.  ;)  But he did seem to sleep thru most of it.  We ate lunch there at the Zoo and I was super suprized that the prices weren't too high!  We both ate meals, got fries and drink and only spent $10!   
    After a great day at the Zoo (the weather was great!) we headed home.  We kinda just hung out at home, and played w/ Zach.  He is getting so fun lately!  He smiles, laughs and does much more now!  Then we went out to dinner here in town.  Best gift of the day?  Daddy changed the smelly poopy diaper! 
   This is my first Mother's Day, and it was a wonderful day!  I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did today!  I'm so happy and totally in love with my son and husband!

Moving bed time routine up...

Zach is asleepish in his cradle as we speak!  We moved his bedtime routine up so we will see how this goes.  So now instead of starting the bath/reading/etc at 10, we started it at 8.  I've noticed lately he has been sleepy around these times and takes a small nap.  This really means less sleep for me, b/c now 2 of his 5 hour stretch I've still awake for.. but I wanted to try it out.  It may switch back to the later time if it doesn't go well.  But I was able to clean the kitchen, put dinner away, finish laundry (if you can ever REALLY finish laundry) and clean up the living room.  Now I'm writing this, going to take a shower, and head to bed!  I will keep everyone updated on out night.

Its been a busy week full of baby holding and wearing!

       So I know I have posted since Friday.. but its b/c poor Zach has kept me busy!  Friday we went to dinner w/ some friends and enjoyed that!  It was nice chatting with them, but Zach was kinda grumpy so I feel like my whole attention was not with the dinner.  Saturday morning I went to Once Upon a Sling (www.onceuponasling.com) and learned more on how to use a wrap and also bought my Mai Tei.. Which I love!  My cousin went with me, so we had Zach and her baby Elise.  Zach slept thru it all!  Switching him from wrap to wrap, he was out cold!  lol  We have already used our Mai Tei so many times!  I've nursed in a few times and you can't even tell!  Its wonderful!!  Sunday, we walked to church, since it was so nice in the morning.  Sunday evening we went to a Chinese buffet expecting all you can eat crab legs, but they must have been out of them.. and their ice cream machine was broken.. So sad!  
     Monday, Zach was pretty grumpy!  He wanted to be held all day (thanks for the mai tei again!) and nurse most of the day too!  We had our La Leche League meeting that night.. we were going to be on time.. but then Zach cried for 20 mins in the car before we left (we spend those 20 mins trying to calm him down) and cried almost the whole way there!  But once we got there, the kid fell fast asleep!  Again out cold!  Which is better than being fussy!  Tuesday I learned why he was so grumpy!  He finally got rid of that oral vaccine they gave him on Friday.  Oh my goodness it was bad!  The poo was everywhere, and it smelt awful!  So Monday, he had a tummy ache I'm guessin...  So after a outfit change, and wipe bath.. he was a much happier little boy! 
   Today, his home nurse came and checked his stats.  He is the same length, and weighs 14lbs.  That puts him in the 75%, which is where he was last time, so she was happy with that.  Then we took a walk to Subway and the post office.  Zach has been so happy today, talking, smiling, etc.  Its been a nice change from grumpy Zach.. and I was able to clean the house!  And spend time on the computer blogging!  :) 

Daddy wearing Zach in the new Mai Tei!  I need to get a pic of me in it!