HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ZACH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY BOY!

just days old...

Oh precious Zach you are 1 today! Where do I start? You are so full of joy! You have been an absolute pleasure to parent Zach! Let's go back about a year or so...And what a year it has been! Let's start with Mommy's pregnancy...it was wonderful!...well for the 1st few months then it was horrible! And by horrible I mean...HORRIBLE! Mommy was so sick...trouble breathing...well trouble with everything. I had enough fluid for you and 2 other babies...polyhydramneosis...when the Dr. broke my water it was like I was normal again...I could breath and my heart no longer skipped beats...my blood pressure went from 149 over 90 to 119 over 70 almost immediately! I was induced week 37 and could not wait for that moment! My sweet boy I tell you all of this because I want you to know how much I love you...and I would DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN FOR YOU! You are so precious and wonderful...I really didn't know my life was missing anything until you were born...and now I have realized YOU were the missing piece! I now feel complete...although I didn't know I wasn't complete before...weird huh?. God gives you what you need when you need it I guess! You were quit the colic(y) baby...and by colic I mean COLIC! You screamed your head off for hours...and hours! But even then you were oh so cute. We took you to the chiropractor out of desperation and it was almost an instant transformation! From that moment on you were/are the happiest baby boy! We are so thankful to Dr. Tarr! You have had quit the busy year...You went from a diet of just breastmilk to now eating everything in sight! You love your food! Especially cheese & fruit (just like Mommy!)! You are so lighthearted and funny (just like Daddy!)! You laugh at almost anything and have the cutest smile and laugh (just like Makenzie!)! And you love being outside (just like Daddy, Mommy & Makenzie!)! You have been on a few trips this year on an airplane & by car...You love to fly but are not the biggest fan of your carseat! You are all boy...you climb everything in sight! And you love to cuddle! You sleep through the night! Mommy & Daddy THANK YOU for that ZACH! Your smile lights up a room and we are so thankful for you little one...
Happy Birthday!


Here are pics from his party Saturday and dinner tonight to celebrate our baby boy!

1 year later...

His train cake that I made him for his party! Daddy and Maki helped too!

His 1st experience with cake was wonderful!

opening presents with bis sisters!

His pal Brendan and him trying to break out from the party! ;)

Our dinner tonight!

They were just a little excited about the cake! Maki has been sick so it was wonderful to see a smile on her precious face!

The after party! Lively group, huh?! Look at Jaj sleeping! Both kids took a 3 hour nap as well! Nina (on the left) came with Shayna for the party! She is such a delight! :)

Cozy with Daddy!

Can't start brushing too soon, right?!

Action shot!

cozy!

Where's Zach?!

OVERWHELMED!

I am so overwhelmed...overwhelmed with gratitude! Today, well yesterday because it is now 1:20AM as I sit here and type...we dedicated Zach. We stood before the congregation of the Church we attend...the Church we love, and committed to raise Zach to know Jesus...not just meet Jesus, but to KNOW Jesus. It is 120am...why am I awake?...we even went to bed early! I'm awake because a little past midnight Zach stirred in his bed and I looked at the monitor (LOVE video monitors!) and saw him cuddle back up with his blanket and go back to sleep...in that very moment my heart was flooded with emotion! Mostly gratitude and a little disbelief...I know it may sound crazy but at times I really wonder if my life is just a dream and I'm going to wake up and realize it. I FEEL LIKE I DESERVE NOTHING THAT I HAVE! Mostly, a God who loves and wants to know me! Jesus is my bestfriend...not because I have been that great of a friend because I haven't. There are days when He calls and I don't answer, there are times when He has asked me to do something for Him and I don't...but yet HE still loves me! My gratitude does not stop there...God has blessed me with 2 of the most amazing little children. Makenzie with her sweet kind spirit and Zach with his constant smile and joy for life...why has He given me so much?! And of course my hubby who loves me unconditionally and is exactly what I need/want!...so wonderful that my need is exactly how God aligned my want.

I truly know that my life and Zach's commitment to Him are in His hands and for that I am grateful! If they were in mine I know I would surely mess it up! Please pray for Zach to come to know and honor God all of his days...and to live a life close to the Lord. I know life can be so hard...I just don't know how people could go through it without the strength from God...I surely could not.

Ok, I really should go back to bed...Zach will be calling me early! Nothing beats the sweet call of "ma-MA!"...although it is a little sweeter after 7am! ;)

*I will post dedication pics later this week and hopefully a video of the dedication for family and friends who couldn't make it!

Gotta laugh...or cry! ;)

What does your baby do when they are left for 30 seconds in reach of an in & out milkshake?! Here is what ours does...
Thankfully he is such a cutie!

I didn't have time to take a shot of Makenzie waxing our floors with water and an eraser from her chalkboard while I was putting Zach down for a nap! Serves me right for not putting a show on for her when she asked! LOL! :)

***We got home from San Diego last night and I will try to post pics tonight! So much fun with all Gary's family! Love you guys!

update on my cuties!

Hi Hi Hi!!! Where to start!? I have not been as faithful on my blog as I would like to be! I guess the business of summer fun has been a bigger priority! One of the purposes of my blog- besides staying connected to friends and family-near and far, is for our kids to look back years from now to catch a glimpse of those memories! I also just started photo books for every year...basically I'm going to make a photo book for every year and in it will be a short summary of what we did, like travel or whatever was going on. Then when they are older I am going to give it to both of them. And of course keep a copy for us! We have so many pics (I'm addicted to my camera, as you all know!) and I want us to remember and have words with the pics...we'll see how it goes! :)

A little update on my cuties:

Zach-Wow where to start with this little guy! 9 months old last week! I CAN NOT believe how fast time goes! He is scooting and spinning everywhere! And he loves to stand, so much so that he locks his knees when you put him down and almost lays flat on his back before bending them because he just wants to stand! He is a babbler! Mama, mmmmm (means: food!) & daaaa-da are his most popular and most coherent words! He is such a happy boy still smiling at everyone and everything! And yes, sleeping great! THANKFULLY! 12-13 hours now..which is crazy compared to the 1st few months of life! I guess God knew I could only handle that for a bit! LOL! ;) He is in love with Makenzie and laughs at just about anything she does- even take toys out of his hand! Let's hope it stays that way! And this boy can eat! It still shocks me at how much he intakes at a meal...just this AM for breakfast: rice cereal and pears, 1 whole banana, yogurt and pancake! I'm thinking he has Gary's metabolism! Can't wait for the grocery bill when he is in High School! I still feel bad for Gary's Mom and all that he ate when he was in High School! Sorry Nonnie Pat! Looks like Zach is paying us back for you! ;)

Zach bundled last night in San Fran! The weather was beautiful! It felt like Fall was here! :)



Precious Makenzie Lee...she is loving her gymnastics class! They actually moved her up into an older age class and I was a bit nervous because she can get distracted (as all 3 year olds can) but she has so impressed me with her attention span with the coach and all the other kids. She loves helping and loves wearing her ballerina outfit to the class! I will have to post some pics next week...hopefully! :) She is really into singing all the time now...it is really cute when we are driving somewhere she sings to Zach-"makes him happy!" she says. So cute! She is such a helper and loves anything we ask her to do! How do we continue this into high school!?LOL! And she is a chatter box! Some times so much that Gary and I can't get a word in...I know, crazy! LOL! She loves to dance and is constantly giving us dancing lessons! Her specialty right now is ballet. But her new favorite thing to do is go to the grocery store where they have little shopping carts for kids. She gets to push her own cart and fill it with things from our list! She usually doesn't get away with putting other random stuff in it because I catch her and ask her to put it back. But last week she snuck ice cream cones in! I found them when we got home! I was actually really happy they got through! :) It is so much her favorite thing to do that she asks almost daily to go! It is so much easier for me now because I can put Zach in the cart and push him around versus carrying him in the carrier on my chest.
Maki with her new panda! She loves her new little guy!

Lights, camera, ACTION!

Or should I say Lights, camera, no action!
Zach started baby food and he LOVES it! When I say LOVE, I mean LOVE! He had no funny faces for us! I was so bummed! I know I'm lame but those adorable horrible faces babies make when they taste their 1st foods is absolutely adorable to me! Makenzie's 1st funny faces are still deeply embedded in my mind! But not with Zach he was literally smiling! And could not get enough! I was so bummed...I guess I should be excited, maybe he won't be a picky eater but we had our camera out and video camera rolling to capture those silly faces...oh well! Maybe prunes next week won't be a hit!
So here are the boring pics of my son actually enjoying his 1st meal! He is such a good eater! He obviously loves food like his Daddy and Mommy! :)
The one funny picture! After his 1st taste of water...I guess he was expecting something else :)

hmmm...

YUMMY!

look at those adorable hands!

So much to blog about! So little time!

Zach is 12 weeks old! He is such a happy little guy! He is such a talker and is all smiles when he is awake! He even smiles when he is sleeping now! And last night the cutest thing happen...when he woke up for his 330am feeding he was cooing and even squealed with delight! So cute! :) Things were not always this rosy...Now that we have lived through it I can talk about it...lol! Weeks 4-8 were the hardest weeks of my life! Gary disagrees but this is my blog so I get to say what I want! LOL! :) Zach had colic...I don't like the term colic at all...it just basically means the Dr. doesn't know how to help you console your poor baby. Most nights from week 4-8 he cried off and on from about 4 in the afternoon until 2 or so in the AM...it was CRAZY! So, Gary and I switched off (so grateful he was SUCH a help!), he took him from about 7pm until about 11pm or so and I would take him from 11pm until he finally fell asleep...it was the 1st time in our marriage that we slept apart being in the same house...weird feeling. Usually around 2am Zach would finally fall asleep in the car seat in the living room while I rocked him and I never wanted to move him once I got him to sleep so I would just sleep on the couch beside him. When Makenzie was born we had a rule that nothing that was said counted from 10pm-6am for the 1st 3 months...since Zach was born we extended the hours from 8pm-8am! I highly recommend it for any parents with babies! ! Exhaustion can cause crankiness! Especially in me! So a couple of weeks ago I hit my wall (not literally of course!) I just could not believe he was just supposed to cry and cry and there was nothing we could do...so we took him to our chiropractor...I know what you are thinking a chiropractor on a newborn! I thought it was crazy too but I was desperate! And it was the best decision we could of made! The Chiropractor did some traction on his lower back and he literally melted in his arms...if I didn't see it with my own eyes I would not of believed it! It was truly unbelievable! And it was and instant transformation! He is now the happiest baby! Dave, my brother joked while he was here that they didn't even know there was a baby in the house! I do think it was a combination of the Chiropractor and his reflux meds helping him feel better. He is such a cute baby! I could not be more thankful to be on the other side of that rough patch. I was reminded this last week in a quiet moment, that when the going gets tough in life and things seem really hard or out of control or just plain painful, Gary and I always pull together and our relationship is always stronger for it! For that reminder, I am so grateful! And I can not write a post without mentioning my little Makenzie...she is so wonderful! And such a HUGE helper! She is so sweet and loving with Zach and he is all smiles when he hears her! Hopefully it will always be like that! I know, I'm dreaming! Enjoying some pics...
I walked in the kitchen the other day and Makenzie was singing to her baby...she went and got the stool out of the bathroom to rest her feet on! She is such a good Mommy to her dolls! :) And yes, she still only does silly smiles when the camera comes out! She is so funny and silly!

I think he looks so much like Gary here....I have a baby picture of Gary and he looks just like this...Mom/Nonnie Pat what do you think?

more good news!

More good news about Zach! We went and met with his Dr. this afternoon...wow a detailed woman! As you all know I can be such the question asker (Gary says some times I ask questions like a machine gun!) and she answered every question no hesitation! She was with us for almost an hour...our insurance must pay her well! :) Basically we have nothing to worry about with his breathing at this point...he most likely has a condition called esophageal malaysia...the flaps on his esophagus are still soft and over time (a few months or so) they will harden and be normal and cause no further issue. THANK GOD! The other options were not at all good ones...so needless to say we are so THANKFUL! The Dr. examined him again today and she actually thought she saw an improvement from last week too! And he gained another 10oz! Okay enough computer for 1 day for me...off to clean my kitchen and hang out with my hubby! :)

Zach! YEAH FOR NORMAL! :)

First of all thank you so much for your prayers for Zach! Today was a LONG, HARD day...waiting for the results...thankfully all is ok!
Zach's chest xray was at 8am and we had planned to have Gary go in with him and me stay out with Mak...but when we saw the situation we decided I should stay with him so I could nurse him immediately to comfort him. I won't go in to too many details about the chest xray and what they had to put our poor baby through. It is NOTHING like an adult chest xray...it was probably the longest 3 mins of my life...it felt like an eternity. And I found myself for a moment getting so angry with the technician that things were taking so long in between xrays because Zach had to stay confined. I realized at the end that it really wasn't her fault, she was trying to go as fast as she could but I just felt so helpless not being able to help Zach...and what did I do, of course get angry at the innocent person only trying to help us figure out what is going on...she didn't know I was upset with her for a brief moment, THANKFULLY! So much more growth to come for me...

The results: heart-NORMAL! lungs-NORMAL! bone structure-NORMAL! some word that I have no idea what it meant-NORMAL! YEAH FOR NORMAL!

So the Dr. is pretty sure that the issue is his esophagus flap is loose...which apparently is not a big deal. We are meeting with his Dr. on Thursday to find out more about the whole thing...
Thanks again for the calls and emails! REALLY encouraging! :)

8 week update

Zach is 8 weeks today! Wow where does the time go?! Just last night Gary said "8 weeks, no way! it feels like 2!" maybe that is because we have only gotten 2 weeks of sleep in the last 8 weeks! LOL! :) Please pray for our precious baby boy...he has reflux and we are trying to figure out the meds and his doses. We weren't sure at 1st that it was reflux. Makenzie had reflux and she used to projectile vomit...thank God she is fine now! She out grew it at 9 months or so...Zach on the other hand is NOT projectile vomiting at all, but has a few other symptoms of reflux. We are hoping the meds will kick in soon! Today?! He is such a cutie and I hate seeing him in pain...please pray for him! I will update more later when I have a few more mins and can download some pics!

** He has started to smile when he sees one of us! Melts my heart!!! :)

Zach is already 1 month old!

Wow, our precious baby is already 1 month old! He is doing great and so are we! We took him for his 1 month check-up on Friday and he is now 11 lbs 15 oz and 23 inches! 97th percentile for both weight and height! We are really enjoying getting to know our little boy and Makenzie is adjusting really well! She helps with changing him and bathing him and whenever he makes a peep she yells "Mommy, Daddy, Zach is crying! Pick him up!" So cute! She is such a big helper! Here are some pics of the last couple weeks...Enjoy!

He is looking very reflective here...

Stanford Law beanie! ;)

He loves laying on Daddy!

I had to put this pic in...he is even cute when he is crying!

So cozy!

Big sis relaxing in the playroom!