Zane, Emerson, and Smith

Catch Up Time

2012-01-15T08:58:00.007-07:00

Recent pics...

Smith is doing so well. Since he's been off his oxygen he's been the happiest little guy. He's been thriving and is now sleeping really well too.
He's starting to scream more when he's happy, dislike his carseat more, grab toys, hair, anything in front of him, roll to his side and rotate around, laugh super hard, and snuggle with his blanket.
Emmy loves sharing her toys with Smith.

Zane and Emerson love playing with Smith. They hang out with him all the time.
Judi, my aunt, took the kids to an indoor amusement park. As you can imagine they had an awesome time. Both kids wanted to try every ride. Zane spent a lot of his time analyzing how the rides worked - he's always thinking and trying to figure things out!

Silly girl

Random pics just hanging out

We got to go to the Museum of Nature and Science with my friend Katy and her boys. They got to do some hands on activities and also got to see some really cool stuff.
Zane was uncovering a fossil
We also got to meet Sue the T-Rex. They loved the dinosaurs and Emmy even asked if she could get into the are with the T-Rex to get closer. Sorry about the tiny pic.
Nancy, Zack's mom, got us this super hero shirt for Smith. It's so cute - Zane and Emmy called him Super Smith all day.
We celebrated Zane's half birthday at school since his July4th bday hits outside of school. He got to hold the earth and travel around the candle (which represented the sun) to show how many years old he is. He was also excited to hand out cupcakes to his friends.
I can't believe this is Zane's last semester of preschool. We just registered him for Kindergarten next year...CRAZY!
Emmy got to join the celebration. She LOVED being part of the group and getting a chance to play with the kids. She will be ready for preschool next year for sure!
Another picture of Smith with his buddy Miller. They're growing fast - already 3 months old.

Miff (Emmy's version of Smith)

2012-01-07T14:58:00.002-07:00

It's just getting easy to make Smith smile and laugh now. He's ticklish all over and is starting to respond with real belly laughs. He also smiles and talks back to all of us all the time - especially Zane!

This video is pretty long but I promise it get better starting about half way in. The last half has some smiles, talking, and laughs.

Just trying out some new sounds with his mouth, nothing too exciting, but cute.

Zoo Lights

2012-01-07T09:37:00.005-07:00

We love going to the Zoo Lights every year. This year we went on a pretty warm night and everyone was happy pretty much the whole time so it was a success.
The whole fam
(Here's a picture of the four of us without Smith last year).

They loved this spiderweb.
Their favorite part is usually the rainforest.

Brothers...
This girl likes to wink.

December/Christmas

2011-12-31T08:50:00.004-07:00

I decided to publish one huge post about the weeks leading up to Christmas, along with all of our Chrismtas pictures and videos. December was a whirlwind month and we tried to squeeze in as much as possible. The holidays are so much fun with kids!

Here's one of Zane's letters to Santa. He had so many ideas of what he wanted and he never asked him for the same thing twice.
We went as a family to TWO movies during the past few weeks! Once by ourselves, and once with my sisters and mom and Dave. This was the new Chipmunks movie, which they loved. Zane and Emmy are awesome sitting through movies and remembering to whisper. The only thing Emmy yelled out was, "Look! Brittany has blue eyes like me!!!" Smith slept the first half, ate for some of it, then just wanted to watch like his bro and sis. Later we went to the Muppets Movie with everyone and that was fun too.
We found a great tree this year and got a great deal on it since it was in our church's parking lot. Zane helped me with the lights and then we put up ornaments together. My aunt Judi gave me an ornament every year for my entire life and just recently stopped so we have a bunch of ornaments. My sisters also started giving my kids an ornament each year to keep the tradition. I think we only had 2 break this year while the kids helped put them up.
Some of our Christmas crafts - we also made a cool felt Christmas tree, a snowman and some other things...

We headed down to Colorado Springs to stay at my Mom's house for a few days surrounding Christmas and got there just in time for a big snow storm. So since Grandma was home to take care of Smith, the three of us got to go out sledding.

Smith is the sweetest guy! He is so happy and we love him more than we ever imagined we could.
Here's my little Smith lately...

About a week before Christmas, Smith came down with a cold and it got so much worse every single day and eventually he started wheezing and coughing a ton. He was having trouble breathing and we woke up Friday morning to blue toes and fingers. So of course I immediately took him to the doctor and it turned out that all the congestion had settled in his lungs and he had Bronchiolitis. We almost had to go to the hospital to put him on oxygen, but luckily the office had the equipment for us to test him there so we spent the whole day there to see how he did sleeping, awake, and eating with different levels of oxygen. Fortunately, we were able to take the oxygen home with us instead of spending Christmas in the hospital.

Here is was in the office getting a Nebulizer treatment
He completely lost his voice during his sickness - it was so sad (but cute too). He would be crying his hardest and no sound would come out so we had to keep him close while he slept so we could see him instead of going by sound.

Later that night, we went to my Dad's for our Christmas time with him and his family.
Here's uncle Ben with Smith and his new oxygen.

He really hasn't minded the oxygen on his face all that much.

The kids got some fun gifts. They both got new cameras which they love. Emerson also got some new jewelry and high heeled shoes. She was having trouble walking in them at first!

Grandma and Emmy baked homemade cinnamon rolls together. There were so many cute pics that I couldn't decide so put a bunch.

Silly boy
Can you find where Emmy is hiding? Her hair gives it away. :)
Good sleeper

My mom and Dave took the kids on a huge sledding hill when I was at the doctor all day with Smith. They had a big long toboggan that was super fast and all 4 of them could fit.

Zane could walk up the whole hill by himself!
Wrapping the rest of the presents on New Year's Eve
Zane wrapped his gift to Zack all by himself. It took him a whole hour and he took so much care with it.
On Christmas Eve Day, we visited Santa. Yes, we were those people who went during the busiest time and waited in a long line. Smith slept the whole time and the kids were good overall...just got impatient a few times. Luckily, my mom was there to help me since Zack had to work at our church services.

Emmy was wearing her new necklace and Sleeping Beauty costume in line.

Christmas Eve in their new PJ's!

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!
Two excited little people...
Opening Stockings...

Zane was showing me his new tattoos that he got in his stocking

Playing with new toys and books...

Everyone helping Emerson find hidden pictures and compare differences in Princess pictures.

Smith and me

Zack and the kids talking with his sister Becca and her kids on his phone.
The kids got a new Smurfs Dancing Wii game -

We ate our big Christmas pancake breakfast

Then, opened more presents...

One of their favorites was this robot that was controlled by a remote and shot little discs. Zane played with it all day, shooting everyone and cracking up. I love their faces in these pictures...laughing so hard.

Later that day, we all at a big dinner together.
Since Smith was sick, he got lot's of extra cuddling and love.
Here is with Grandpa Dave, checking out the ceiling fan.
I love Grandma and Pappy's faces when Smith was starting to fuss.

Girl Girl Girl

2011-12-28T21:20:00.004-07:00

For Christmas, Emerson got a new tutu skirt with leggings, high heels, a purse, necklace, bracelet, a Jesse (from Toy Story) shirt, and a headband - all from different people. She put a pretty sweet and sassy outfit together for herself.

I took so many pictures of her that I thought I'd do one post just about her before I attempt to post a huge Christmas one.

Here's the outfit with her Scooby PJ shirt, before she put on her Jesse shirt.
Drinking from her princess cup - just to add some extra pink to the picture. :)

Her headband kept squishing her face down.She wore herself out...

Our Friends...

2011-12-27T09:21:00.003-07:00

We got to have our best buddies over the other day right before Christmas. Tammy and her kids are so fun for us!

Here's Smith and Miller.

They were calling themselves the "Cool Crew."
Love this crew - Abhi, Ella, Miller, Zane, Emerson, and Smith.

Videos...

2011-12-27T07:49:00.002-07:00

So, like usual I've just been letting pictures and videos pile up. So I thought I would post some videos from the past month or so before I post all of my Christmas pictures.

Dancing - always my favorite.

Emmy telling some jokes.

Smith hanging out and talking. Warning: may be boring to anyone besides aunts, uncles, and grandparents. ;)

Zane and Emerson trying out Super Mario on Wii. It was way too hard for them, but it was awesome watching them trying to figure it out together. They actually passed a few levels. At one point, Emmy was yelling to Zane, "Push 2 Zane! Push 2! Come pop my bubble quick!!" It was cute listening to them use teamwork to accomplish something.

Silly bath video.

Emmy singing Blink 182.

When Smith was sick, the poor guy lost his voice. When he tried to cry or talk, no sound came out. I tried to video the little sounds coming out when he tried to make sounds.

Christmas Card and Other Pictures

2011-12-16T08:31:00.003-07:00

Here's our Christmas card this year
We got a few pictures taken a few weeks ago and I think the ones of the three individual kids turned out really cute. Smith looks a little grumpy in the one of the three of them - it makes me laugh. :)

Zane's preschool picture

It's Been a While...

2011-12-06T08:16:00.003-07:00

Time flies when you're having fun OR if you are super busy taking care of 3 little kids!! Having Smith in our family has brought us so much joy but has also made life a lot more busy.
Everytime I sit down to catch up on my blog I'm just too tired or have a million other things I need to do. I'm sure everyone knows exactly how that feels!

We've been doing well. Smith is 2 months old already. We took him to the doctor yesterday and he weighs 14 lbs 9 oz which means he's in the 96th%tile for weight and is also in the 95th %tile for height. Wow - such a big guy. He's smiling and laughing out loud a bunch now and is so chilled out most of the time. He loves when we change his diaper. He does know how to scream and cry when he's hungry or if we let him get too tired. But if we swaddle him and give him a pacifier, he usually just goes right to sleep. He's also only waking up once a night usually.

Zane and Emerson are still loving being a big brother and sister to Smith.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the last several weeks. Completely random and in weird order!

We visited my friend Tammy and her three little ones. She had a baby boy 20 days after Smith was born so we let them lay by each other. Our kids love their new brothers.
Smith and Miller
Just some random pictures off of my phone lately...

First time swimming - he never cried or got sad but he also didn't get super excited. He was wide awake the whole time and seemed to like the water. Zane and Emmy LOVED having him swimming with them and tried to talk me into bringing him with us on the huge slides.
Zane was showing me the belt he made for Emmy and taped onto her. He originally had added the sides to some 3-D glasses and then switched it into a belt instead. He even put her favorite colors on it for her.
Brothers...

Zane took this picture of Zack acting like a dog

Hanging out on the couch watching TV

The boys
A couple of Christmas projects that Zane and I came up with together.

Zack and his Mom Nancy ran the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning and Zane ran the kids' 1/2 mile race. It was an awesome, beautiful day and we all loved being outside. Zack and his mom both did great! Zack ran it in about 25 minutes. Wow.

During Zane's race, he fell down and scraped his hands and knees. Luckily, he was able to get up and keep going but when he first finished, he felt sad still. Once we explained that it was awesome that he didn't give up, he felt much happier and proud of himself.

THANKSGIVING!!!!
We were so lucky to have my in-laws, Nancy and Ed, come for Thanksgiving week to stay with us.We got to do so many fun things and loved having them here. Zane and Emerson ask about them almost everyday.

Here's Emerson having a tea party with her grandparents and uncle Ben.

Here's Dash finally slowing down for a minute to watch a show on the computer. He was talking and moving non-stop the entire day! His energy level rises to the fullest when people are over. We also got to have Jord and Ben, my Dad and Kris, Grandma Fran, and Ben's family.
Here's Emmy trying to watch with Zane and he was trying to hide it from her. I think he finally gave in.
I love when Z and E act loving toward each other. It's the best!

Smiffy (what Emmy calls him)

I love how he snuggled in with our friend Jackie.
Here's Smith with his buddy Miller a few weeks after those first pics were taken. He wasn't too much bigger than Miller at first but now he's huge compared to him.

Zane and Emerson always want to go out when it snows and I always let them, even though I know they're usually going to come back in within 5 minutes. This day was no exception. Here's their freezing faces.

We had a family Christmas party with some family members from out of town.
Zack and our little buddy.

My mom and Smith
Grandpa Dave and Emerson
Aunt Nell with Zane

Silly glasses

Smith is 6 weeks

2011-11-21T08:25:00.004-07:00

Smith is 6 weeks old today. When we took him to the doctor at 5 weeks, he weighed 12 lbs 8 oz so I'm sure he's even bigger now - probably close to 13 pounds. He's huge! He is the sweetest, coolest little dude. He goes along with whatever we're doing. He has started getting a little more fussy during that dreaded evening time. All of our babies did that and it's tough, but once he falls asleep for the night it's better. His night sleeping is still inconsistent, sometimes waking up every 3 hours still, but some nights he'll sleep 5 hours in between feedings.
He's starting to try to grab things and put them into his mouth and is liking toys more and more.

Here he is "talking" to us...

Emerson wanted to be sure he had some "friends" to play with and this is how I found him. I was glad she didn't bury his face.
He was sleeping with this arm straight up in the air.
When I give the kids I bath, I usually just lay him on his towel and he loves it for some reason. He usually just dozes off or lays there happily.

Time Together

2011-11-20T09:05:00.003-07:00

Zane and Emerson have really loved spending time together lately. They're friends most of the time, even though they do have their bad moments. They also LOVE being around Smith. (Sometimes too much :) He's pretty patient with them and is starting to smile a lot at his brother and sister. They've really been gentle and sweet overall and have helped me out a lot.

I love this video! Emmy likes to sing to Smith - she's singing Twinkle Twinke.

Emmy's really good at giving Smith his pacifier.

Snuggling time while reading before bed
Friends doing puzzles by each other - they worked this day for a really long time and helped each other

Z and E got to feed Smith a bottle by themselves

Laughing at each other

Family walk around the lake - I love how Emmy's looking at Zane in this picture

Costumes

2011-11-18T20:10:00.006-07:00

Have I mentioned that Zane and Emmy love to dress up? After Halloween we found a bunch of costumes for 50-70% off. They have entertained for hours.

Some examples:

Frankenstein

Army guyVampire

Dash, a fast superhero from The Incredibles

Wow, Dash is fast.

Super Girl

And...this guy (just random props from our costume box with a "tough guy" shirt from Aunt Becca) :) :)We also got a zombie costume that has scared a lot of people. For Emmy, we got Elmo, Minnie Mouse, and Sleeping Beauty. I need to get pics of those too.

A Few Kid Updates...

2011-11-14T10:55:00.005-07:00

Emerson Updates...

Here's how I know Emerson has a 4-year-old brother and also how I know she's a 2-year-old...
She says things like, "Never!" "This is not my day!" "It's not fair!" "You're not my friend anymore!" "I'm never playing with you again!"
I know this is our red flag to really get control of Zane's language, because she is copying everything!! Even though she has all these crazy responses that she uses, she's also doing a million cute things and saying a million cute things a day.
* She says, "Mommy, I have bad news for you - I don't like _____," and then she pauses and yells, "I love it!" Yes, another Zane copy but so cute coming from her!
* She is starting to recognize letters and numbers and is starting to ask about them a lot. She uses her finger to point to words and acts like she's sounding out words and reading them - just makes something up that makes sense.
* She does puzzles all day everyday. She can do 48-piece pieces and less all alone. For bigger ones, she needs some help but is amazing at them.
* She has never gotten out of her bed since we switched her to a big girl bed a few months ago - what a good girl! Well, Zane talked her into sneaking out once (we could hear him whispering) but usually if he gets out she tells him no. She also waits till the clock turns green (7:00) in the morning to get up, unless Zane talks her into it.
* She randomly tells all of us she loves us all day. Either just "I love you" or "I love you more than the whole world" or "You're the best Mommy" or others.
* When she wants to leave the table for something and come back to finish her meal, she very seriously says, "Don't eat my food. Leave it right there. I'll be right back!"
* When we can't understand something she says she tells us, "You're not listening to me!" and repeats it louder.
* She leaves the 's' off the beginning of words so "spin" is "pin" etc.
* Her imagination is awesome, I'm sure a big part because of Zane's influence. She pretend plays most of the day and is really coming up with creative ideas of what to play.
* She is pretty much fearless with anything and everything.
* She loves "girls days" with Mommy and is also loving Dad a bunch lately. She especially loves dancing with him.
* When Zane asks for a turn with a toy, she answers with "In a second" or "someday" or "no thanks."

Zane Updates:
* Zane is reading now. He can read Bob books, which mostly have 3 letters words and sight words. He can also write any 3 letter words and a lot of other words by sounding them out. He can decipher between beginning, ending, and middle sounds.
* He can do all sorts of math - for sure easy adding and subtracting, what comes before or after a number, counting by 10s, reading 2 and some 3 digit numbers, counting base-10 blocks (100's, 10's, and 1's together to make numbers), etc.
* He's really into making books where he write a story and illustrates each page.
* He is so funny - such a good sense of humor. I wish I could think of all the examples. He exchanges words in songs a lot, jokes around, etc.
* He told us the other day when he used a "figure of speech" and explained what that meant to Emmy
* He also still makes up stories a ton - he's into super heroes right now so is always in character as some made up super hero. He tells about what he's doing like it's totally true. Like, this morning he said, "I watched the news this morning and they said that Doc Oc is coming to town and wants to fight Super Zane, me. So I better get ready. But don't worry, I always win because I'm super strong and super fast..."
* He always has some game or story going on while he's playing. On the playground or play area, there's always some imaginary person who is chasing him or he's trying to find, or some mystery going on, or villains to fight. He always drags Emerson along for the ride too, which is fun.
* We're working on teaching him not to complain so much. He's going through a phase of finding the negative in things. ex. When he gets to have icecream for dessert, he'll complain that it's not the kind he wanted. So we're starting to take fun things away if he complains about the way they happen or what they are.
• He's also working on being patient and understanding that saying yes but later is different than saying no. We want him to be thankful for what he has instead of complaining about what he doesn't. Don't we all need that lesson?
* He loves school and loves his friends.

Halloween

2011-11-13T22:13:00.002-07:00

For Halloween this year, we dressed the crew in Winnie the Pooh characters - Zane's idea. When they were in their costumes, they pretty much stayed in character and called each other by the right names. We thought Smith's Pooh costume might be too big, but nope - it fit just right because he's such a big guy.

The Friday night before Halloween, our church has a big "Fall Fest" party that we went to. Pooh slept in my sling the whole time and Tigger and Piglet had a blast.

Here's the gang...
I love the bellies added on the costumes.

On Halloween, we had a bunch of family over and ate dinner together and then a huge group went out trick-or-treating.

Little guy fell asleep in the middle of our chaotic time of taking pictures and getting ready for trick or treating.

Jord and Nell dressed up like M&Ms - here they holding Smith.

Everyone ready to trick-or-treat

Emmy practicing their lines for trick-or-treating. Yes, they said the whole big thing for the first couple of houses and then just said the basics after that. They also said thank you and Happy Halloween after they got candy.

Zane and Emmy held hands most the night.

Chowing down some candy

Our Little Actor

2011-11-13T21:54:00.002-07:00

We signed Zane up for another acting class since he loved his last session. This boy still spends almost all of his time dressing up, pretending, acting, and making up stories, so this class is a perfect outlet for him.

Here he is introducing himself.

Then, they acted out the book "Are You My Mother?" and he decided to dress up as a zebra. They could pick any costume, even if it wasn't in the book.

Zack and Emerson got to help him with part of the acting too...

Snow Day!

2011-11-13T20:54:00.004-07:00

During our first snow of the season, the kids and I played outside off and on all day.
Here are some fun snow day pictures.

The lamest snowman ever made - they liked it though. :)

Emmy tackles Zane all the time when they're "wrestling" and they both crack up every time. Well, until she won't get off...

Photo Shoot with Three

2011-11-13T13:12:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago, I took a few shots of the three kids together. There were a few that turned out ok. At the end, there's a video of Smith falling asleep after being kept awake for so long to take pictures. He was worn out.

Tired boy...

Carving Pumpking and Jumping in Leaves

2011-11-12T14:16:00.001-07:00

The weekend before Halloween, we carved pumpkins.
Here's the "before picture"... Emerson stuck her hand in once and immediately yanked it back out and asked for a napkin. She wouldn't stick it back in. I guess she doesn't love getting messy like she used to. Zane loved digging in, which is interesting, because he doesn't usually love to get messy and dirty.

"After picture" - Zane was making a scary face like his pumpkin, Emmy was smiling, and we carved Smith's with a winking eye and open mouth. They both picked their faces on their own after we drew many drafts of choices for them to choose from.

We had a million leaves in our yard so we played on such a warm fall day.

So bright!

Here's what it looked like after we raked and put the leaves into bags...
Luckily we had a few neighbors to help us. It was huge job!

First Family Walk

2011-11-12T13:52:00.002-07:00

I'm starting to catch up on pictures, starting at about a month ago.
When Smith as about a week old, we went on a long bike ride to the park. Yes, Smith slept the entire time.

Little Smith Abram..

2011-11-12T07:57:00.005-07:00

Smith is already almost 5 weeks old already. He has been such a sweet addition to our family! His brother and sister LOVE him and are helping out a lot. They think he's funny, cute, and fun to have around - thank goodness. And I think so too.

He doesn't cry much, but mostly grunts and groans. He is growing like crazy and is still a great eater and pretty good sleeper. He loves to be swaddled and is almost instantly soothed with that and a pacifier. He even dozes off if we put him in a cozy spot when he's getting sleeper. Also, fter he wakes up to eat at night, he goes right back to sleep, so I think he's sort of figuring out what "night time" really means. He has been smiling and cooing a bunch at all of us. But he smiles the most at lights and ceiling fans.

So far, it hasn't been too hard to have him out at places because he usually sleeps the whole time. He is starting to wake up a little bit more so it may start getting more tricky soon.

I love this little guy sooo much and love having him around. I can't wait to watch him grow up. :)

I don't think I'm a mom that doesn't take as many pictures of their third child, so here are a bunch from the past weeks, and more to come in future posts!

He loves sleeping with his back against the back of the couch.

Oops, his hat kept going over his eyes - and notice his brown mittens. :)

He can sleep anywhere - I just plopped him down on a blanket while doing laundry and he zonked right out.

Baby Pic Look-a-Likes

2011-11-11T07:56:00.008-07:00

I have loved looking at baby pictures of all three kids and comparing. It's actually pretty amazing how much they all looked alike in some ways.

Smith
Zane
Smith
Zane

SmithZane (this one looks soooo much like Smith looks right now with chubby cheeks!)
Smith (By the way, this is MY Bronco's sweatsuit from when I was a baby)
Zane
Emmy

Can you guess who all the sleepers are?? (Look for the answer at the bottom)

Z, E, S, Z, S, E

First Week With 3

2011-10-17T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well, we survived our first week with 3 little kids. Am I really a mom of 3? It's finally sinking in that it's actually true.

This week has been tiring of course, but has really gone as well as it could have. Smith is the ultimate sleeper!! We never really experienced this with our other two and I have to say, I like having a sleeping baby. As long as he's wrapped tightly, he can pretty much fall asleep anywhere and anytime. So, at night, he still wakes up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours to eat, but then fortunately goes right back to sleep (almost all the time). I still have nightmares of spending hours awake at night with Zack just trying every trick to get Zane and Emerson back to sleep. Eventually, after 7 weeks, Zane turned out to be an amazing sleeper. Emerson, not so much. I realize this may not last, but I'm trying to feel thankful for now. Smith is also a good eater. He does want to eat often, so it's been a little tricky trying to sit and feed him and also manage all the other millions of needs of Z and E. They've been pretty patient, but they do want to kiss, hug, cuddle Smith and me while I'm feeding him which is hard too. It gets a little crowded!

Zane is super loving toward his brother. He wants to hold him all the time, caress his soft cheeks and hair, laughs at everything he does and gives him a million kisses a day. He shows love that way. Emerson, on the other hand, shows love by sharing her toys with Smith and by "helping" me get him when he cries and singing to him when he's sad. They both also always want to hold his hands in the car. When she holds him, she gets super stiff and stares straight ahead and after about 1 minute she says, "All done" and gives him back. So cute.

Zack has been absolutely amazing. I don't know how he's even getting through the days. When he gets woken up at night, it usually takes him a while to get back to sleep so he's up for a lot of the nights too. Then, on top of that, he's been cooking us dinners, helping around the house, playing with the kids, running errands, taking the kids to their activities, and still managing to keep up with his running schedule. He went back to work yesterday so I've been on my own. We are both exhausted but I think doing much better with the shock of everything than when we transitioned from one baby to two. But let's face it, Emerson was not exactly the easiest baby. ;)

Here are the pictures from our first week...

This picture is right when we got home from the hospital. My mom was holding Smith and Emmy just wanted to keep giving him toys to hold so my mom had a huge handful. Zane just wanted to stare at every part of him.

Zane can not get enough of Smith's rooting for food. He thinks it's hysterical when he opens his mouth and tries to "eat" whatever is next to his face. So Zane spent a lot of the first days putting his fingers and face up to Smith's mouth and cracking up when he tried to "bite" them. Emmy's gotten better about not poking him right in the face and eyes.

Our sweet Zane LOVES his brother!
This girl loves to be cozy and watch TV.
Here's our sweet guy snoozing...
Then, a rare wide awake moment!

Asleep again - I love how he's in an enormous outfit and laying so stiff. I guess he was too tired to move to get more comfortable and I just left him right there to sleep. :) Oh, and Zane picked out his Halloween socks. Nice.

Emmy was hanging out with her little brother - she was trying out his car seat. She feels and looks like a huge giant compared to baby Smith.
Emmy gave Smith Elmo to hold and got super excited everytime it looked like he was holding it.
Hanging with Dad.

Hiccups

This was our first car ride as a family. They all barely fit in the backseat. We did pretty good. We ran errands as a family of 5 two different days and I took the all 3 kids by myself to our rec center play place. I know that seems like no big deal, but trust me, it was a big accomplishment.
Smith slept the entire time on every car ride, except for a tiny bit of time when he was hungry and cried. Emerson plugged her ears the whole time he cried. Drama queen!
A couple days ago, we got out in the afternoon on a perfect fall day to rake our leaves. Well, Zack did all the work. Zane and Emerson tried to help too.

Then, right in the middle of raking, we found a huge caterpillar and it entertained us for a while.

Jumping in our pile!

More pictures of the little man.

First bath - he really didn't know what to do. It was on the verge of crying but never really did. Big brother and sister had the best time helping.

I love this picture because it's Emmy's little hands washing Smith's hair.

Zane and Smith

2011-10-16T14:59:00.005-06:00

Zane and his little brother Smith look so much alike!

Zane
Smith

Zane
Smith
Zane
Smith

Smith - Hospital Days

2011-10-13T18:20:00.010-06:00

We are so happy to share that our sweet baby brother finally decided to join the family. Smith Abram Weingartner was born on Monday, October 10th, at 3:29 am. His due date was October 1st, which means he came 9 days late (just like Zane). Right before he was born, the doctor felt my belly and guessed that he would weight about 7 1/2 - 7 3/4 lbs, just as my OB doc had predicted a few days before. They were way off! He weight 8 lbs, 14 oz. Wow! He was also 20 1/2 in tall. He is a big, strong, healthy boy.
I was scheduled to be induced on the 11th, but luckily I went into labor late Sunday. My contractions started around 5:00 or 6:00 Sunday and when we got to the hospital a few hours later, I was already 4 1/2 cm dilated. Considering I was only starting at one cm, that was moving pretty fast! Then, about 3 1/2 hours after arriving at the hospital, Smith was born. I was thankful that everything went smoothly and quickly - much easier than the last two.
From the first second we saw his little face we were in love. Right after they cleared his throat out, he cried for literally about 5 seconds and then for the next 20 minutes or so, he was completely calm and quiet. He laid on me and looked right at my face, and around the room, that entire time. This reminded us so much of what Zane did when he was born. Smith also looks EXACTLY like Zane did when he was born. I'll have to post comparison pics soon.
Since then, he's been doing great. He's been a fantastic sleeper and eater so far. He cries absolutely histerically every time we change his diaper, but other than that he doesn't cry very much at all. I'm hoping his relaxed personality sticks.
Emerson and Zane are adjusting pretty well I think. They've been helping me out a ton and when he starts crying, they immediately come to his rescue - with singing or offering him his pacifier or being silly. Emmy's accidentally bumped and banged him a few times already but I think she's genuinely been doing her very best to be gentle. Zane's gotten to hold him by himself a few times and is so sweet and gentle.
Today was tough, mostly because Zane and Emerson have been waking up consistently before 6:00 am. So after being up most of the night with Smith, and then being up that early with cranky, tired other kids is a little crazy. I know we'll all start adjusting soon though and it will be good.

So, here are a TON of pictures. I accidentally posted them backwards...starting from when were just about the leave the hospital down to the very first shots.

Zane and Emerson helped us pick out his "going home" outfit. We called his shirt a "Super Smith" shirt.
Zane and Emmy both wore this hat. I can't wait to find pictures of Zane in it to compare. They look so much alike, it's crazy. We also tried a pacifier right before we left and he loved it. Yes, we are those parents who used a pacifier before even leaving the hospital - don't judge. ;)
We had lot's of visitors, but my two favorite visitors were Zane and Emerson. I will post a video soon of them meeting their brother. Here's Zane trying to get Smith to grab his finger.

Grandma Fran talking to little Smith. She came to stay with the kids for us during the night while we went to the hospital. Thanks, Grandma!

Our 3 monkeys!!

The whole family...

Pappy and Smith
Grandma Shirley

Aunt Nell

After the first night in the hospital.

All of the rest of the pictures are from the delivery room...
First shampooing...
Sad face
Happier

My mom and Nell

Proud dad
Big boy

He was sucking his thumb right off the bat.
My dad
Aunt Jord
Smith was and is a rooting machine. He constantly has his mouth open searching for food.
Right after birth - calm and happy guy

Baby Brother

2011-10-12T20:42:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, we asked both Zane and Emerson about what they thought life would be like having a new baby brother.
I love these videos so much and later on I want to post new interviews with them about what life really is like. :)

Lot's of pictures and videos soon to come announcing our newest addition to our family!

Odds and Ends

2011-10-07T21:59:00.001-06:00

From the past week or so...

When we told Zane and Emmy to say cheese, Emmy just reached over and grabbed Zane and smiled...

Emmy took this pic
Zane took this one
A few pictures of Emerson...

Yesterday, we went to my 41 week prenatal doctors appointment and then to a pumpkin patch near our house on the way home. The bounce houses and other activities were all free. It was a perfect fall day and it felt to good to be outside!

That's Zane pushing Emerson down. They were cracking up.

My mom came for a few days each week for the past few weeks to help out. Her and Zane spent a LOT of time coloring. He was happy to have a coloring partner.
Emmy has a pretty fun playing partner too
She wears him out. He really zonked out and then she pretended to sleep with him.

Last weekend we went to Nell's art show nearby. It was burning hot and it was after lunch so the kids (and I) were worn down. Emmy almost fell asleep when Nell was holding her.
Popsicle time - it was so crazy that a day in October felt like a super hot summer day
All of us walking there

40 weeks!!

2011-09-29T15:42:00.002-06:00

Well, I made it to 40 weeks...the official date is Saturday. I'm really truly not in a hurry so I'm content with him being in there another week or so if he wants to be. :) Zane was 9 days late, so I think his little brother just wants to follow in his footsteps.
My best friend, Tammy, came to visit the other day. She's also due with a baby boy in October. It will be so fun to have babies so close together!

Jammin to ABC's

2011-09-29T15:38:00.001-06:00

Who knew the ABC's were such great dancing music?!?

Photo Shoot

2011-09-29T15:16:00.003-06:00

Just had to take a bunch of pictures this day, no reason why.

Love My Monkeys

2011-09-25T21:03:00.010-06:00

Well, I only have 5 more days until my due date and still no signs of labor coming any time soon. Maybe he wants to wait until Oct. 4th so he can fit in with Zane being on July 4th and Emmy on May 4th. I'll post some of my enormous belly pics soon!

I wanted to get all caught up on our recent pictures and videos since life may feel a little crazier soon!!

I feel so lucky that Zane and Emerson have wanted to play with each other more lately. Overall, they've been getting along so much better and I LOVE it. They crack each other up and actually take turns and share better too. Hopefully this will come in very handy when I need to give attention to our new little guy.

I love having my three mornings a week with just Emmy while Zane goes to school. She enjoys is so much too. She talks non-stop the entire time we're together since she doesn't have to compete with Zane. We went to the mall playplace this day that there no other kids there - she almost didn't know what to do with herself being the only kid. Here, she was coloring on the chalk table.

Silly family pictures that we took in the bathroom. Emmy got a little cut off but they're still cute.

Emerson and I get to go to a gym class for her once a week while Zane's in preschool. She basically isn't happier anywhere else. She wants to do most things by herself and is literally fearless when it comes to jumping off, climbing, balancing, hanging, etc. Luckily, my mom came with me the last two times to help me because it's hard to keep up with Emerson and all her fast energy!
She was jumping, arms straight out, into this foam pit from that mat (which is actually really high) and yelling, "Super Girl to the Rescue!!" She did it a few times without me catching her and then I decided I should get in an grab her - it was a little crazy for me. Getting out of there was so hard, especially being so pregnant. I'm sure people were just laughing at this huge pregnant lady trying to climb out of the pit.

The kids and I have spent so much time out front playing in the yard and writing with chalk. Here's Zane showing me his new belt...
Showing me their grumpy faces...

Chalk

Last week, the weather got cool enough to actually bundle a little bit - they were so excited to wear their vests. I wish it would have stayed cool.
My silly girl singing and playing the "drums"

This past weekend, I took the kids to their friends' pirate birthday party. All the kids dressed up like pirates and had so much fun playing on a big playground. Emmy was yelling, "Aarrrggg maties" in this picture.

Zane and Emmy gave themselves the names "Brown Beard" and "Pink Beard."
Here they are with the birthday boy and his little sister. Thanks for such a fun time, guys!
Here are just some silly, random pictures we took outside yesterday

Videos!!

2011-09-16T10:37:00.000-06:00

Zack sings all the time - and so does Zane. He sings this new Blink 182 song all the time and asks to listen to his "favorite song."

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

We ordered caterpillars a while ago and got to watch them turn into chrysalises and then butterflies. We only had two butterflies make it. We fed them fruit and sugar water and we loved having them around. We finally decided they would be better off outside so we let them go.

Zane's obsession with writing is contagious. Emerson has started asking me how to spell things too and "writes" each letter as I say it. (In the video, she's saying, "How do you spell...") She also tells me what she's drawing as she's drawing it and is very specific about it. They also love playing with chalk outside - we did this for an hour.

Here's Zane imitating characters from Winnie the Pooh. When he's Eyore, he's saying, "Thanks for noticing me." Then, he's quoting from other shows and books.

Pumpkin Cookies

2011-09-12T21:07:00.003-06:00

Here's our family pumpkin cookie recipe
Trust me - it's worth it - they are soooo good!!

wet ingredients:
3/4 c shortening/Crisco
1 1/2 c sugar
1 egg beaten
1 c pumpkin
1/4 c milk
1 c nuts (optional)

dry ingredients:
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves powder
1 tsp cinammon

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and pumpkin. Add dry ingredients. Add milk and then nuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min. I recommend closer to 10 for softer, less cooked goodness!

Frosting:
Mix together:
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c butter
1/2 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp milk or cream

Skatepark

2011-09-12T20:50:00.003-06:00

Friday night, we drove up to Greeley to visit "The Farm" an indoor skatepark for kids to skate for free. The reason it means so much to us is because Zack and his friend Jeff built this skatepark 10 years ago and worked there as a ministry to kids. It was pretty awesome to see that 10 years later, kids are still enjoying skating there and it's also cool that Zack and Jeff are still such good friends.

Zane and Emerson watching the skateboarders and loving each other...

RANDOM

2011-09-11T22:26:00.002-06:00

Have I mentioned that my kids love to dress up? The simplest props, accessories, etc can help entertain them for hours.
Here they are as Woody and Jesse or just a cowboy and cowgirl depending on their game at the moment. Notice their matching boots - Emmy's were a gift to Zane when he wore her size and his are a hand-me-down. Sweet!
During the first Charger's game of the season, we had to find a way to entertain ourselves while Zack stressed himself out on the couch. So, the three of us made pumpkin cookies. It took a while, but they were so patient and followed directions really well. It helped that they knew they would be allowed to lick the beaters at the end. They love dough - my great-grandma wouldn't have approved. ;)

Zane's obsession right now is art work. Basically he just wants to draw, write, or color all day long. Recently he's become a little OCD about coloring thing the correct color. For example, if he's coloring Captain America, he has to have a real picture of him in front of him so he colors each detail correctly. He takes his time and is so careful about getting every single part right. He also loves to try to draw characters or other things.

Not only does he want to create all the time, but has wanted to tape all his art work up everywhere. On walls, windows, etc. So we bought these cool wires from Ikea to clip some artwork up in the hallway. The kids love seeing their work hung up.

These pictures are randomly taped up in the kids' room.
Zane was telling Emerson to chase him and spray him. She didn't waste a second on that opportunity! They both got soaked.

37 weeks!!

2011-09-11T22:01:00.003-06:00

Is this baby really going to come sometime in the next three weeks? Where did the time go? I can actually say we're ready for our new little guy to join us, even though a few more weeks with Zane and Emerson (and sleep) sounds good too.
Emmy loves her new baby brother already and is getting excited to help me take care of him.

Kisses...

New Room and New Beds

2011-09-06T06:43:00.005-06:00

Emmy is now sleeping in a big girl bed!! I swore that I would keep her in a crib as long as possible, because when we switched Zane, we had a hard time keeping him in his bed. But she's definitely ready and I think she's going to do fine. Plus, we figured if we move her out of her room now, she'll have some time to adjust before the baby comes instead of right smack in the middle of the hard part.

This weekend, we got to bring the kids to my mom and Dave's house for a few days while we stayed home and organized our basement, moved and organized clothes and baby stuff, and switched rooms around. We also put together the new bunk beds that Zack's parents got for the kids. It felt so amazing to have time to prepare everything and also to relax and spend time together. I even finished reading a book that I've been reading for a while.

We surprised the kids yesterday with their new room and they loved it to say the least. Zane was going crazy, saying how much he loved it and that it was the "best room ever!"

They actually did pretty well for their first night in a room together. While in their beds, trying to get to sleep, they read books, wrote in their journals, told each other they loved each other lot's of times, snuck out of bed once (this was ZANE's idea and he told Emmy to be quiet and she told on him when they got busted), chanted in unison they were hungry and wanted a snack, chatted and laughed a bunch, and then Emerson tried to climb up her safety rail and hit her mouth and got a bloody lip. It was pretty eventful, but luckily they were both so tired that they fell asleep by 9:00. Not too bad.

Here's a video of them getting in their bed - they had already seen it by now so it wasn't a surprise at this point. When we went through clothes, we got out a few sets of fall pajamas, so they're both wearing really warm pj's.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Here's their room
They love playing Angry Birds on the ipad. LOL.

They got to spend some time writing in their notebooks before they fell asleep.

My big girl!
Zane reads for at least 15 minutes every night by himself before he falls asleep.

Here are some pictures of the new baby's room...

Recently...

2011-08-31T21:15:00.005-06:00

We ordered caterpillars so we could watch them go through their life cycle. Zane was checking out our new chrysalises. They transformed into their chrysalises while we were visiting my mom, so we had to drive back with them. Only one fell of the lid on the way home, luckily. Zane has asked about a million questions about them and I love having them around to entertain us and teach us.

We love, love, love the pool. We stayed at the pool for 3 hours the other day with our good buddies. This is Zane, Abhi, Emmy, and Ella (from oldest to youngest).

Emmy has been dancing all the time lately. If she accomplishes something she's proud of, if she hears any kind of music, or randomly, she breaks out in dance. I wish I would have video taped this one, but caught a few pictures. I also like that she's wearing Zane's old Elmo shirt with random shorts.

The other night, we walked over to McDonalds to get some ice cream after dinner. It was such good family time.

My sweet, grown up 4 year old is now going to preschool 3 days a week. He loves school and was excited to start a new year.

Nice faces

Love this face

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

I love how Zane comes up with so many fun ideas for our play times. Tonight he wanted to make a car out of Emmy's diaper box. We cut out windows, added headlights, straws for windshield wipers, a steering wheel, etc. All his ideas.

The best idea, I thought, was adding a license plate and bumper sticker. Zack and I both have Flatirons stickers on our cars, so he thought of adding one to our box car. He wrote "Fast Car" on the license plate himself. He and Emmy took turns pretending that one of them was driving to church and the other one was a police officer giving tickets for driving too fast. LOL.

Fishing Trip

2011-08-27T22:09:00.005-06:00

The kids and I headed down to Colorado Springs to spend a couple days with my mom and step dad and my sister and brother-in-law. We drove up to a lake on Pikes Peak to fish. Unfortunately, the weather did NOT cooperate. Basically, we were caught in thrunderstorms off and on the entire time. We all had to wait in the car a few times because of lightning. At least our TVs came in handy.

Zane was so excited to get into the canoe to fish. He was so patient while Dave and Ben got everything ready to get out on the water between storms.

Pushing out - he was holding on with both hands.
Silly girl fishing with Grandma...

Jord, borrowing Emmy's princess fishing pole.
The guys caught one fish in the first 15 minutes they were out. Soon after, the lightning got too close. Zane was sooo bummed to have to come back in.

Summer Time

2011-08-27T21:52:00.003-06:00

Last week, we spent an afternoon at a fun park. They got to wade around in a little pond and then run through fountains. They love being in water.
We forgot to take Emmy's diaper off at first and it got huge. When she got out of the water and tried to walk, she couldn't stop grabbing it with her hand.
When she got hurt, she ran to get picked up by Judi - and got her soaked.

Wedgie

Flying High

2011-08-27T21:24:00.003-06:00

I love these pictures. Mostly because when Zack throws the kids up in the air, sweet Zane is kind of all over the place - he's just a little bit more on the cautious side. Emmy, on the other hand is in perfect form, almost graceful, and smiling every time.

Another Summer Week...

2011-08-20T20:40:00.006-06:00

A few highlights of our past week or so...

The other day when I asked Zane if he wanted to go on a bike ride, he told me "Sorry, but I don't have time. I have too much homework." He is so funny and has been sitting for super long periods of time working on "projects." His imagination helps him think of a million different things to create and work on. I bought him this lined paper to help him start to form his letters better. And of course he's using a Spiderman pencil.
One thing he's worked really hard on lately is stringing buttons onto thread with a needle to make necklaces and bracelets for all his friends and family. He always has someone in mind when he's creating something and thoughtfully picks out certain buttons or other things for them that he thinks they'll like.
We got to have have park time with our Monument play group friends...
We haven't seen them in a while and we were all excited to play together again.

We also drove down to my friend Tammy's house to spend the day with her and her sweet girls, Abhi and Ella. We let them have dessert in their underwear in the backyard. They loved it.

More artwork -
It's amazing how just putting out some paint and different tools (sponges, brushes, cups, etc) can engage these two for so long. In this picture, Zane was painting a treasure map.
Zane's caterpillar and Emmy's creation - he's getting better at writing his name.
More stickers and art stuff. She was practicing her cutting.
Buddies...

Today, we went to another park near out house that they both like. They played together the whole time and got along great. Zane helped Emmy get up onto things when she was struggling, they slid down slides at the same time, he told her to go up the stairs when she was trying to climb something too hard, she asked him to hold her hat when it fell off, etc.

They were pretending that they were fishing with sticks.

Love this picture!!

VIDEOS

2011-08-20T20:17:00.002-06:00

Let's just say that the kids like going out for pizza...

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Emerson is starting to say words without an s on the front, like Spiderman, special, snake, smurf, etc. So smurf sounds like "muff" since her r's need a little work too. Anyways, the one time she cooperated with me to say the words, her mouth was packed full of cereal. Oh well, you'll get the idea. I just like how she mimics the s sound after me but then says the word she wants to right afterwards instead of blending the sounds.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Here's Zane's latest science project. He's been begging me to leave food out so that it can "decay." He loves checking out mold and other grossness.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

This day, Zane and Emmy were running around the circle in the house, then stopping and putting their arms around each other. Then, they'd go again. I think they were sort of posing for the camera this time, but it's pretty much the same as what they did every time.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

This video is funny because before I started recording, they were getting along soooo well doing this puzzle together. Zane was being super patient giving her lot's of turns and showing her where to put pieces and she was being patient with him telling her what to do. Then, he got a little more bossy and decided he would get to do almost everything. I just love watching them work together on something.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

The Past Week

2011-08-13T21:43:00.006-06:00

Last week, we went to a yogurt shop near our church that had it's grand opening. The employees at church get free frozen yogurt on Fridays, so we went together to eat a great snack. They had face painting. They both held as still as statues...I love Emmy's face in this picture. It's like she's holding on to her chair for dear life and looks a little stunned or nervous.

Zane went to a birthday party where he got to make his own pizza from scratch. They got to make the dough and everything. He loved it of course.

Then, later that day we had our good family friends and family over for the day. It was fun having a full house of people and Zane and Emmy were happy to have their buddy Jaden to hang out with.
Jaden and Zane playing
Jaden with Emmy and Zane with his Grandpa Dave
My mom and I took the kids to a spray park down in Colorado Springs one day while I got my car fixed. Emmy was Zane's shadow - it's good for both of them. He loves having someone follow him and she needs someone to lead her into the water.

Zane looks so old in this picture!
The got a lot of exercise running around and around. Even when Emerson stopped, Zane kept going for a while.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Our friends came over to play. Here's the whole crew in the sandbox....Emmy and the 6 boys.

Zack and the kids were wrestling. They LOVE anything to do with tackling, laying on each other, etc. Emmy doesn't hold back - she'll just jump on anyone and smiles while she's doing it.
My guys

Hanging out together

Yesterday, we went to the zoo. Zane wanted to be "Brainy Smurf" so that's why he's wearing those cool glasses.
Sassy thing...
Waiting in line for the train.

Lunch Order

2011-08-05T21:40:00.002-06:00

I asked the kids the other day what they wanted for lunch and they had such specific requests, I decided to record them. They're funny.

I like how when Emmy's telling me what she wants, she's keeping track of each part on her fingers. By the way, I don't give them cinnamon and sugar on bagels all the time, just a few times on special occasions. ;)

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Bowling

2011-08-05T21:12:00.003-06:00

Bowling for the first time was so much fun. We went with new friends in Broomfield and all the kids seemed to like it.

The ball was 9 pounds - I was pretty impressed that Emerson could carry it so well.
It was so cute how Zane and Emmy knew how to take turns but went up together and watched the ball together and cheered together.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Silly smiles and silly shoes
The gang

Writing

2011-08-02T21:16:00.004-06:00

Zane's been spending more time writing, drawing, and doing other art work lately. The most fun and newest thing is that he "writes" words and sentences and then reads them back to me.

Here are two videos. The first one is him writing his name and starting a letter to me and the second is him writing ideas for baby names. By the time I took the video, he was being silly with names, but when he first came up with the idea he was coming up with some pretty good names.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Some of his writing...

Sprinklers

2011-08-02T20:55:00.004-06:00

When I went to water the lawn, Zane and Emmy instantly wanted to strip down to underwear and diaper and run through. Emmy only ran through once or twice and then got too cold.

Children's Museum

2011-08-02T20:22:00.004-06:00

This past weekend, we met up with one of Zane's old classmates from his school in Castle Rock and her mom and brother. We spent the entire morning and early afternoon at the Denver Children's Museum. What a fun place! There were so many things to do and they were engaged the whole time. It was so good for Zane to get to spend time with his buddy, Cadence, too.

They were fishing in this fun play area.

The fire engine and gear were a big hit.

Emmy dressed up like a bunny and hopped around in this other climbing play area.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Bubbles!

Camping

2011-07-25T07:28:00.003-06:00

We went camping for 2 nights last weekend at Pinewood Lake, near Carter Lake just northwest of us. We went with my aunt and uncle, Judi and Bob, who are experienced campers, which helped a lot. We were a little bit apprehensive about camping with a 2 and 4 year old, but they were absolutely awesome! It was an adventure for sure and Zane and Emmy got to experience a bunch of "firsts."

Within the first 15 minutes, Emmy fell about four times and cried her poor little eyes out. It made us a little worried, but I think she just realized she needed to toughen up and she did.
Here's her fat lip.
Bruise on her temple
Holding ice on her face while we finished setting up our camp
It was fun watching the kids find ways to entertain themselves. Filling these buckets with rocks, sand, dirt, etc. was a big hit.
They were pumped to roast marshmallows and make S'mores so they brought their own "special" sticks from home. Yes, Emmy is on the ipad. We had to have at least one backup entertainment plan. ;)
Lounging around
Judi is a master roaster so she helped show us the technique. The fire was too hot, so pretty much all their marshmallows caught on fire.

Yum!
They couldn't have been more excited to sleep in their sleeping bags in the tent. Zack brought glow-sticks for them, we had a night light, and they both had a flash light. Yeah, we were a little bit prepared for the dark. They stayed up talking and telling each other jokes for a while each night, but eventually zonked out. The funny part was that our tent was on a hill, so they kept sliding down all night and we had to keep pulling them back up. They slept amazingly well. It was so much fun. After the second night, I decided that being 30 weeks pregnant and sleeping on the ground isn't a good match but oh well - it was worth it!
Glow sticks!
Hanging out with dad...
The second day, we got all ready for our big fishing venture. I'm pretty sure that their favorite part of it all (almost) were the worms. They played with our worms forever while we got ready to go.

We hiked down to the lake and went for it.

It was tricky making sure that the kids stayed safe from the hooks and helping them cast was hard too. Luckily, Bob did all the dirty work for us, like putting the worms on.
Here's Emmy, fishing with her Disney princess pole.

Zane couldn't wait to wear this hat. He wears it at home every time we pretend we're camping so he was so happy to get to wear it for real.
I caught the first fish with the princess pole. We were all yelling and screaming and so excited. They loved holding it.

Zane caught the second fish with his Spiderman pole. He was holding it and waiting patiently all by himself and all of a sudden he started telling me he felt a tug. He said he was sure he had a fish and I didn't really believe him, but told him to start reeling it in. Well, he was exactly right and caught it all by himself!! He couldn't have been more proud of himself and happy. It was a really memorable moment.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Brave little Emmy with no inhibitions, holding the fish and loving it.

My big fisherman!
Afterwards, he told us the big story...

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Zack and Bob gutted and cleaned it and we cooked it later that night.
Zane even tasted a bite and we all thought it was great!
That afternoon, we also got to swim in the lake. They kids had their life jackets and floaties and loved getting out in the water. Emmy spent most of the time playing in the sand.
Our last morning, we made a big pancake breakfast.

Sweet, happy monkeys...
We did get a chance to have a little down time. Zane was really good about sitting and working on his sticker books or coloring. Emmy actually napped perfectly in Judi and Bob's camper. It was so nice to be disconnected from life and just enjoy each other's company. I want to go again!!

Swimming

2011-07-23T21:19:00.002-06:00

Swimming with friends in the summer is the absolute best. We LOVE it!!!

This day, Zane just wanted to float all day long.
Emmy and Zane with their buddies Abhi and Charlie. Abhi's sister Ella and Charlie's brothers Nathan and Isaac were also there.
They tried out their new life jacket shirts.

Sunbathing after a full morning of swimming.

The Last Month or So...

2011-07-20T20:33:00.008-06:00

Here are some random pictures from the past 5 weeks...

Have I mentioned that our kids love having a backyard? I am so thankful for it everyday.

My buddy and me

I love how when Zane builds something with blocks now, he has an intricate story to go along with it. He told me all about this creation for about 20 minutes.
Zack did a wedding about a month ago for some friends of ours in Estes Park. It was beautiful and we got to spend a night and day together without kids. I was super proud of Zack - he's so great at that kind of thing!

Can you find Zack among the gorgeous scenery?
For Father's Day, I met my dad for lunch while Zack was working. Here he is with Zane boy.
My sister Janelle was there too.
We've had some fun playdates this summer with some good friends. This day, Zane and his friends Luke and Charlie were unusually quiet so I went to check on them and they were reading together in Zane's bed. So cute.
Lunch party at our house!

At our church, three characters (Bob, Bob, and Ann) create videos for the kids. Zane LOVES these videos and this day when we visited Zack at work, he got to meet Ann (on the way to her video shoot), which is exactly like one of us meeting a huge celebrity that we adore. We had to get a picture of the big moment.
He still really wants to meet one of the Bobs when he has been shrunk and becomes "Tiny Bob." Good luck on that one!
We went to my Grandma's house for a family dinner. We turned on a show for the kids and they kept trying to get comfortable. Poor Emmy, while trying to mimic Zane, couldn't quite get the pillow under her head.

Zane's been loving his sports camp. This day, he was practicing t-ball skills. Love the helmet.

Then, he was supposed to be using the milk carton to catch the ball, but he started putting it on his head instead. Then, the other kids started copying him.
Emmy and I were cheering Zane on.
We tried for two days to potty train Emerson. We thought she was completely ready and that it would go smoothly. Well, the first try was perfect. She liked her big girl underwear for about 5 minutes, went in the potty and I thought it was a go from there. She never went again, had a bunch of accidents, and then finally just asked me to put her diaper back on.
Zane asks me to give him "homework." I don't know where in the world he got that, but he enjoys doing "homework" almost every day. He has been loving working on writing, drawing, artistic projects, etc. lately. Here is is practicing his letters.
Once a week for the past several weeks, we've met friends at a fun park after a Bible Study that we're all involved in. It has sand and water - that the kids can play in for hours with no break. After basically ruining a few outfits, I finally got smart enough to bring their swimsuits to change into. Here they are sitting in the muddy water. They were literally covered from head to toe in sand and grossness. That's what baths are for, right?

Sweet pea

Zane got to help Grandpa Dave fix our broken car window recently. Dave it really good about actually letting him do some of the work. He knows "righty tighty and lefty loosy."

Zane was watering with the hose, and giving Emmy refills in her watering pot so she could keep watering with that. They were both busy working together but soaked by the end.

Dad reading before bed. Our kids love their books. We read several books every single night and they love it. Then, they both read themselves to sleep after we say goodnight. Right now, Zane's favorite book is "How I Became a Pirate." Emmy likes Dora books, Berenstain Bears, and counting or picture find books.

Zane's Birthday Party

2011-07-17T21:19:00.003-06:00

For Zane's birthday this year, we invited friends and family to a nearby park to celebrate. A huge thunderstorm passed right before the party, so we were hoping it would be warm and sunny during the party. That didn't exactly happen. The beginning of the party started off with perfect weather but then it rained almost the entire rest of the time. Oh well, it made it fun for the kids to slide in puddles and get super muddy.

We love our big guy so much more than we ever imagined we could. We're so proud of the special, sweet, amazing boy he's become!! Is he really four??

Zane, Emmy and a few of their friends got to go out on the lake on paddle boats. They were so excited to ride with Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa Dave taking them out to the boat

Zack got to go out for a little bit too.
Zane was getting a hug from his buddy Charlie
Singing Happy Birthday

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Eating their desserts - no cake - since we made one on his real birthday we went with ice cream for the party.

Emmy with her friend Addie.
Here's Zane, soaked and muddy from head to toe, as happy as can be, with a huge crawdad in his hand. Good ending to a fun party.

Boys at Hanging Lake

2011-07-17T20:35:00.003-06:00

Zack here...
Last weekend I got to take Zane on his first real hike to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon (3 and a half hours each way on I-70!). He was a champ!! My friends were in awe as he just busted his way up the mountain that had warning signs of being a "very difficult" and "treacherous" hike. He passed people, waved at them, and was a hit with everyone.

Most of all, it was just an awesome time for the boys to bond in nature, doing "guy stuff". I'll never forget the end of the ascent, where we walked up to the pristine, crystal clear water. My friends walked out on a log that spanned the middle of the lake, but Zane and I stayed back because I was afraid to have him fall in. He hung his head in sadness.

So, scared as I was I took him onto the log where I saw a joy on his face that I have only seen a few times, ever. It was just awesome and brought tears to my eyes. What an awesome kid!

The feeling faded as I carried him down half the hill in a driving rainstorm, but those tales shall be buried for the joyful ones!

Nicaragua

2011-07-16T14:51:00.013-06:00

Since coming home from our trip to Nicaragua, I feel a lot more grateful for what I have. I am thankful for hot showers. I am thankful for our house. I am thankful that I don't have to walk miles in the rain or hot sun with Zane and Emerson to get a pair of shoes or see our doctor. I am thankful that I can drink water anytime I want and not get sick. I am thankful for Tylenol. I am thankful that I can feed my kids and keep them safe and healthy. I am thankful we all have clean clothes and shoes that fit. I am thankful for snacks. I am thankful for the life God has given me.

Here's a summary of our trip copied from our thank you note to people who supported us...

After spending days ahead packing and getting everything ready for the kids to stay home with family, we traveled for one full day with my mom Jodi, stepdad Dave, and brother-in-law Ben. We arrived in Nicaragua Friday night and rode buses, along with about 115 other people, 2 hours to Madagalpa where we stayed in a huge Quinta. This was our base from where we sent teams to go work in villages nearby.

Saturday, we spent the day preparing for our “clinic days.” Everyone pitched in by getting the pharmacy ready, counting and bagging medicines. We also organized all the donated shoes and clothes, and prepared all other supplies.

Sunday was our first work day. Zack and I and our team rode a bus 2 hours to a remote village in the middle of the jungle. There were 4 guys driving the bus – one to drive, one to mashetti the trees on top of bus, one to put rocks under the wheels when we drove through a river, and another to help with other problems. It was a CRAZY ride, but it was awesome pulling up to so many anticipating and anxious people in need. Most people walked for hours to get there and waited in line all day to receive our help. We provided medical help for them, medication that they needed, dental, ear, eye, and foot care, prayer, and of course clothes and shoes. Seeing their thankful and happy expressions after receiving just one pair of used shoes was unbelievable.

Monday, we drove to a different village where we got to work in a church. This day, I got to measure peoples’ height and weight and Zack got to play with kids and help with the crowds of people. It was our hottest day, but still people came and waited and waited and waited for a turn with a doctor or to receive supplies.

Tuesday, we got to give away all the special school shoes that we’d been collecting money to purchase. In order for kids to attend their school, most have to wear a certain type of black dress shoe. We were able to bring 100s of pairs of shoes and fit them on kids. People sat in rows, washed kids’ feet, and then helped them pick a brand new pair. It was an surreal time of giving something so precious to them.

Wednesday and Thursday were the last two clinic days, where Zack and I got to help with the pharmacy, prayer, and all sorts of other things. The last day, the entire team of 120 people worked together to help about 500 people, and treat 1,000s overall with all the medication we gave out for families.

Here are some of our favorite pictures, but if you want to see all of them, you can view our Facebook albums at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2220592394995.277468.1253239063&l=1dff293cb1 and

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2220782079737.277478.1253239063&l=bded1090af

Here's the first day - getting prepared for all of our work

Driving through the forest
Over rivers - one guy put rocks in front of our tires and others were on top using a huge machete to chop down tree branches in the way of our bus

Praying
Measuring height and weight

After our second day working at a church site, the pastor gave us the most amazing blessing and thank you. Nelson, our leader, translated. Here's part of it.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Minutes before I got sick during our third day of work. I was sick to my stomach for two days, but then felt better and got to go back out.

Some of the school shoes that we got to give away to kids.
We washed their feet and then fitted each child for a new pair of shoes.

Zack and I with Tanya and Nelson, the leaders of Corner of Love. We got to go out to eat one night in town.
At dinner with Ben and Aidan.

We brought a Polaroid camera along and got to hand out pictures - they LOVED it (almost too much).

Our buses stopping at a village, ready to work.
Kids playing marbles in the mud
The kids liked to wear Zack's sunglasses.

Zack leading a devotional

The back porch of our Quinta - where we were lucky enough to stay
Visiting Madagalpa, a nearby city

MEANWHILE, the kids were at home, having the time of their life! We were so lucky to have family come to our house to take shifts with the kids. Zack's parents Nancy and Ed came the first few days and had a blast. All of these pictures are from them. Then, my sister Janelle and her husband Anthony came for 4 days, and finally my aunt and uncle Judi and Bob came for the end of the trip. Each person that came to take care of our monkeys was amazing and did sooo much.
When we came home, the lawn was mowed, flowers were planted, weeds were picked, our windshield wipers were replaced, a new slip n slide was in the backyard, the house was clean and clothes were clean, etc. etc. etc. We can't thank them all enough for all they did.
The kids got to go to parks, play in the backyard, do fun projects, go to the Butterfly Pavilion, play areas, and get tons of attention etc. etc. We got to email, and talk to them a few times. I sure did miss them by the last couple of days.

Sprinkers!

Hot at the park!

Finger painting outside

McDonalds with Papa

Holding hands
Watering our new plants outside
Popsicle time

Here's a video of Bob helping Zane on the Slip n Slide that Nellie and Ant got them.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Thanks for the other videos, too, Nell and Ant. I want to add some more later!