Last Day!

This morning was Zach's last swimming lesson. He passed with flying colors. ; ) We both had so much fun. Now we are ready to hit the pool and lake, but it's still April! Oh, well.

I am so proud of him.

He loves to go underwater and smiles as he comes up. It's too cute.

Blowing bubbles

He's been practicing in the bathtub. ; )

After he jumps in the pool, I always pick him right up out of the water. The instructor kept telling me to count, "One one-thousand." At his age, he is able to hold his breath for two seconds. I tried, but it's hard to wait!


"I'm ready for the swim team, Mom!"

(Or maybe just to go home and take a nap). ; )

It Takes So Little...

to entertain my wild little man.

He discovered the sprinklers this week.

"Here I come! This looks likes fun!"

"Cool! Why is water shooting out of the ground!?"

A rare calm moment...I guess he is just taking it all in. He has always been observant. ; )

Zach loved placing the cup in front of the sprinkler just to make the water shoot out in all different directions. Mmm...I wonder who taught him this. Maybe his Daddy?

Riley also enjoyed herself staying FAR away from Zach and the water. ; )

Don't you wish life could always be this simple?

The Name Game

Our baby girl has a name! It's Reese Catherine.

This has always been our favorite girl name, but when we found out we were having a baby girl, I suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. Jason immediately began telling people this was her name, so I didn't think I had much hope of changing it. Not that I really wanted to, but naming a child is such a big deal to me. I just wanted to make sure it was the perfect one. After many talks and suggesting other names to Jason which he did not like AT ALL (he would always say, "For a boy?"), I just knew she was our Reese.

I love this name! Her middle name is after her great-grandmother and me. I love the old fashioned spelling with a "C," too. Her first name came from a list of favorite girl names that I have had for years and years since junior high. Don't all girls have a list of favorite baby girl and boy names?! Ha! Out of my entire list of names, this was the only one Jason liked, so Reese she is.

I looked up her name's meaning and found several definitions for Reese. Here are a few I found:

*Runner (which is great because Jason and I both enjoy running)

*Vivacious

*Energetic

*Enthusiastic

*Ardent, Fiery

I wish I had stopped before this last one. When I looked up the definition for ardent, it said, "characterized by intense emotion." Are we SURE about this name? Ha!

Catherine means "pure."

Maybe the purity in her name will calm her down a bit. As happy as I want Reese to be, I was hoping she would be calm and quiet and gentle since I already have a very loud, rambunctious, rough and tumble (and very sweet) little boy. ; ) We'll see!

Speaking of running, CONGRATS DAD!!! He ran the Boston Marathon on Monday and did an amazing job! He has run over thirty marathons, and I am so proud of him.

Yesterday I did a lot of rearranging and decorating in my house. When Z saw this picture, he immediately began saying, "Ooooh, ahhhh," and started pointing at everyone in the picture. This picture was taken on our wedding day before all the grandkids started coming. I loved seeing that Zach recognized part of his family!

I keep finding him doing the cutest things! Yesterday I caught him "reading" a little book in his chair.

He loves to open a book and go through all the pages to close it. Then he says, "Bye-bye!"

He also loves to dance and entertain anyone who comes over. It's so cute. I am LOVING his three and four hour naps. It's pure heaven. I am enjoying it while I can. ; )

His swimming lessons are going well. Today he tried to jump into the water without me!

I took this pic before we left this morning. He was busy trying to put his tray on his portable chair (they are the greatest things!)

I really can't wait to see him with Reese. She better like balls because they are all over our house. ; )

Jennifer, I would love to answer your question about the skincare and costmetics I use...I just don't want to bore everyone else. Ha! Please give me your email address, and I'll let you know.

Kimberly, I would love to send you the bread recipe. Please let me know your email address, too.

Weekend at Home

This was our first weekend at home in our new house. It was wonderful! I am feeling more and more at home and settled every day. I still have a long to-do list to work on, though!

I have to admit something. I'm addicted to homemade bread. Especially my Mom's. I have been craving homemade bread for months, and yesterday I finally made some. I told Jason today that's it is truly the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. He just laughed at me. ; ) I think I feel this way because it takes at least half a day to make, so maybe I just savor every bite more.

Is your mouth watering yet!?

This weekend has been a big cooking weekend for me. I also made chicken pot pie, poppyseed chicken, chocolate chip cookies, sausage and egg cassarole, and a frozen fruit salad. I don't think I ever left the kitchen. ; )

On another fun note, Jason and I had a date night Friday night. Yea for date nights! We met some friends for dinner. Our church does the GREATEST thing EVER. Every Friday night, they offer FREE childcare. Hello!?! Seriously. I mean, who does this? It's amazing. The only "catch" is that you have to go to small group the Sunday before (which we always do if we are in town because we are already a part of one). Easy!

Jason also felt the baby move for the first time yesterday. It was so awesome! She moves around quite a bit, and her movements are becoming stronger and stronger. I'm already more than half-way through my pregnancy. It's hard to believe!

Our sweet and silly Zach was stung by a wasp tonight, so if you think about him please pray that he'll be ok when he wakes up in the morning. Thanks! Bless his heart!

Prepare to Get Soaked

This was the advice Shannon gave me when I told her Zach was starting swimming lessons this week. ; ) These pics were before his first lesson. He was unsure during the first day (maybe it was because we were both freezing!), but by his second lesson he was swimming like a fish. Or at least splashing around like one!

I am so impressed with everything he has already learned how to do. I'm excited about this summer because we will be at the pool or lake every week, and I want him to be comfortable, safe, and love the water.

A little smile

One week of lessons down, two more to go!

He is Risen!

I love being a Christian and celebrating holidays surrounding Jesus. I am alive because He lives! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend filled with the hope that Jesus gives.

Our weekend was filled with friends and family. I love this picture because it shows perfectly where Jenny and I are in life right now. Jenny is one of my BFs, and our boys are four months apart. We just smiled as Benjamin and Zach wiggle and fuss and try to do their own thing. You have to laugh instead of cry sometimes! Motherhood does that to you, I guess. ; )

Zach loved the Easter egg hunt at Todd and Jenny's church. One thing I love about our son is that he is a very passionate and intense little boy (as you can see from this pic). He picked up some eggs, threw some eggs, stole eggs from other kids' baskets (which I quickly returned), and also placed eggs in other kids's baskets. Thanks for all your hard work, Todd!

Abby (one of my nieces) sweetly walking around. She is trying to dodge Zach's eggs I'm sure.

"Can I eat some chocolate now, Mom?"

This is another one of those great pictures that I'll always remember trying to get together. Here we are...Sarah (another one of my dearest friends) with her three adorable kids, Zach and me, Jenny and Benjamin. I don't know what the other kids were doing because Zach was throwing a fit. I was trying to bribe him with sweettarts, but this didn't work very well. Always an adventure!

Can we say spoiled? ; ) In a good way, of course! I know the balloons are random, BUT they are easy and light (which is perfect since Zach LOVES any kind of ball and throws EVERYTHING in sight). Zach's Easter bucket is one of my favorite things. Jennifer told me about where to order one. I love it! Thanks, Jennifer!

Our little fam

I've already thought about how next year I need to coordinate Zach and his little sister's Easter outfits. I better get working on this. ; )

G-Daddy and Gran with Z

Papa and Gigi with Z

Zach, me, Dad, Mom, Mandy, and Abby at church

My little sweetie

I have no idea how he got this big. Is he handsome or what!?

Makes Me Laugh

Zach has created a little playground in our house. Too bad it won't last for long! He loves to crawl up and down up and down the rug, and yesterday I found him crawling behind this mirror.

Football, Mom?

Zach has a toy tool set, so I put the drill in the back of his pants to make him look like a handyman. He thought this was funny and just played along with me. Always the entertainer. ; )

Off to do some more work!

Easter Eggs and Little Cabin in the Woods

Last week we had our 4th annual Easter egg dying night at Shannon's house. She made these yummy brownies. So cute!

Abby, Shannon, me, Stacy, Jennifer, Lindsey, and Jill

There were only five eggs in our fridge, so this is what I had to work with! It was still fun! My eggs turned out very dark, but I like them.

This past weekend I went on a retreat with my Bible study. Loved every second (even though I was feeling really queasy)! We talked, stayed up late, played games, ate lots of goodies, shopped in a nearby town, relaxed, and spent some time together with the LORD.

Back row - Steffanie, Elli, Ashley, Sheri, K.C

Front row - me, Kari, Brenda, Melanie

Riding in the car...don't worry, we rode like this for only a second so we could get a good parking place.

K.C our driver and also our Bible study leader

Me in the front...they always let me ride in the front so I wouldn't get sick!

Taking a break from shopping

Isaiah 65:24 was on a mirror in the cabin. It says,
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isn't this wonderful!?

I stepped out in faith last summer by joining this Bible study. I only knew one woman, and we all go to different churches. They have been such a huge blessing to me this past year. I'm so glad I jumped out there and took a risk! It was worth it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!