In Palm Springs!

We are currently on vacation in Palm Springs, California and are LOVING the sunshine! We are wearing t-shirts and flip-flops everyday. Tomorrow we are planning a lazy day by the pool--ultimate ahhhhh!

Our friends, Emily and Justin, live down here. I am taking lots of fun pictures that I will post after we get back home.

Two Birthdays

Let's start with Zion's:

Today he is eight months old! He now scoots around on the floor so well. It works really well in his jammies since he is so slip-slip-slippery on our wood floors. He also licks it as he moves along. So I guess I have to clean the floors more often now!

Here he is trying to crawl. He looks like a dying buy with his bum up in the air. He'll probably be crawling really soon and then my life will get more hectic with a roving baby.

He is now fitting into his nine month clothing. This little jacket is so cute! We just had his check up this week and he is fifteen pounds (10th percentile) and 27" long (75th percentile). Who know Heath and I could have a tall, skinny baby!

Here he is helping me with the laundry. Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks and pinch that belly?!

We went for a walk this morning because the sun was so beautiful! Here he is all bundled up. Those baby blues are just going to kill the girls someday!

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And now Quarter Pint:

Yesterday I had a check up for baby #2. It is growing like a little weed! Today I am 11 weeks along (hence, a quarter finished. . .). She wasn't exactly sure of the age of it the first time I went in so yesterday she brought the ultrasound machine back in for another peek. Seems like we are on track now at exactly 11 weeks today. She moved the due date up a bit too, but we'll just stick with the August 10th due date. Here is the little rascal:

Here is a shot of the whole body. The ultrasound says "hi dad" in it because I didn't think we would be getting another peek at the baby so Heath did not come to the appointment. So when she wheeled in the machine I told her that Heath was going to be upset he didn't get to see the baby again. So she wrote a little note on it for him.

Profile shot. Don't you think it looks like a girl??? I guess we'll know in a couple more months!

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In other news:

Rachel's baby, Mackenzie, is now two months old!

Here she is just a few days old with her dad, Jake. Isn't she a doll!

Here she is at about six weeks old. Zion was so curious about her.

We continue to feel so blessed to be entrusted with Zion. He is such a little treasure from the Lord. We just love being his parents and are excited about #2!

Christmas

Christmas was not what we expected this year due to the blast of wintery weather. In an effort to join Sam and his family in Bend, we tried to drive to my folks' house to ride with them over the pass. Well, eight hours later, we were back home. Yep, we had made it as far as Wilsonville in seven hours and finally gave up and drove home. Thankfully, that only took one hour!

So I have yet to see my niece and nephews on Christmas day in three years. Sad, I know.

Here are some pics:

We celebrated Christmas early with just the three of us.

Heath gave Zion three books for Christmas. They were so cute. It was sweet the way that Heath read these little board books to Zion; what a pair they make!

Who doesn't love a good nakey baby picture! :) I just love his little body--it's so kissable!

I gave him some shoes. He'll be needing those soon!

Christmas morning and Zion in his Santa suit.

My parents drove up Christmas Eve and stayed the night. It was fun having a small Christmas, but we would have loved a larger one! Oh, well, next year!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Time

Lots has happened since I last posted. Like. . .

1. Zion's surgery is over and a month behind us now.

This is one day post-op. Giving Zion up to the group of surgeons the morning of November 19th was the most heart-breaking thing we have ever gone through. We are so thankful everything worked out just fine and that is behind us now. Here is a picture of him today with his perfectly rounded forehead (he turned seven months on the 16th of this month):

He is so happy and such a good baby. We were afraid the surgery would hamper his spirit but he is just fine! All his scabs are gone now too! His scar looks just great (you can't even see it in this picture!). We are so thrilled about our baby boy!

2. We moved into our new house! We closed at the beginning of November and feel really settled now.

Here is our kitchen. It is my favorite part of the house!

This is the rest of our first floor--dining room and living rooom all in one. Then you go up the stairs to the bedrooms.

Our bedroom. Our nook is fun. And here is the view out the window of our nook:

3. I got a new haircut:

I really like it and have not had short hair forever! Plus, it is nice because Zion was constantly pulling and chewing on my hair. Problem sovled!

4. Our last bit of news has to do with our family. . .and the expansion of it. That's right! We're adding another little one to our clan in August. You may think we are crazy but we are excited about it. Here we go again! :)

Merry Christmas!

What a Whirlwind!

Well, it's been a while. Just thought I would update everyone on our life. We have been SO busy the past few weeks and here is why:

*We bought a house! We closed two Fridays ago. From the moment we closed a 5 o'clock, we started the whirlwind to get moved in and semi-settled before Zion's surgery. We LOVE our house! It is perfect and a true gift from the Lord. We are thankful for it.

*Both of us have successfully lost some weight. So we are also thankful for that. Heath is at his goal but I still have a ways to go. I'll get there, though!

*Zion's surgery was last Wednesday. We really felt all the prayers and although the time leading up to the event was SOOOOO sad, we were at peace while they were actually performing the surgery. Totally an answer to prayer! He was in the ICU for a day and night and then we moved to the regular infant/toddler unit. We got to come home yesterday (Saturday). He is looking so much better each day and today he really started acting like Zion again. Again, another thing to give thanks for next Thursday.

*My birthday was on the 21st. We did get to go out to dinner while Grandpa Frank and Grandma Nora stayed with Zion in the hospital. It was the first date we had had without Zion! He was in good hands, though! :)

*Rachel, my good friend, had a baby girl on the 15th! She highly recommends the epidural. :) Mackenzie Isabell is so perfect and has a full head of brown hair with Rach's cute chin.

*Tonight I actually got out a couple Thanksgiving decorations. I have not really felt like doing any extra decorating stuff in the midst of all the moving and Zion stuff. I am anxious to get back to normal--whatever that means!

Well, happy Thanksgiving and thanks to all of you who have been praying for us these past few weeks! I'll post pictures of a new Zion soon.

Scary Things. . .

. . .and I am not talking about it being Halloween.

First, though, let's have the good news:

*WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! Isn't that music to the ol' ears! We close on it next Friday (Nov. 7th). Truly, I did not think there was one out there for us. I used to think house shopping looked easy--and then I actually tried it! We really feel like the Lord blessed us in finding this one. Perfect location (three miles from Heath's work, right next to a huge park, and on a great street lined with newly renovated old houses); perfect price (our realtor told us that we shot for the moon and got it); and perfect cosmetic touches that we wanted (it is a brand new house with a gem of a kitchen). All in all, we are so happy to have it! It will be so nice to land after these past two plus years of living out of our suitcases.

*Today we bought a new dining room fixture from School House Electric Co. It is SO cute! We got to design the whole thing so it has lots of character. The one currently in the house is lacking any sort of soul so it had to go. We looked all over the place for one that we liked and I finally remembered seeing this store on MLK years ago. I actually saw it when doing the Race for the Cure for my friend Karen Sisler and thought to myself that if I ever had a house I wanted a light from there. Guess what. . .I am getting both! What a fun time this is! I love nesting!

Now, the scary news:

*Also today, we had to go have Zion's CAT scan and blood drawn. His surgery is in about three weeks so we are preparing for it. The scan was pain free but it was SOOOO scary putting him on the bed and watching them wrap him so he was immobilized from head to toe. Heath stayed in there with him while he was being scanned but I had to wait outside. I was a mess and opted to not watch it. He did great and they only had to take one reading which is a blessing. They say the dosage of radiation is low, but still, it IS radiation. The doctors just needed a picture of his skull bones so they could see what they would be working with in the actual surgery. Then we had to all be blood typed so we could find out which one of us could give him our blood. He will have to have a transfusion in the surgery. Again, more crying on all our parts. The look that he gave me while his blood was being drawn was one of confusion and "why aren't you stopping this pain?". It was horrible! I guess we were just being toughened up for the actual surgery. But really, though, we will be a mess come November 19th.

*His surgery will be at 7:30 am that morning. We have to be to the hospital (Legacy Emanual) by 6:00 am and he is not to have eaten for four hours pre-op. He will not be a happy camper by the time we arrive. So sad!

*We would love visitors but please give us the first day to be with Zion and support him through the surgery.

That's all for now. I'll post pictures of the house after I get some!

Pictures

We went to Sauvie Island a couple weeks ago with our friends from Japan. Here Zion is enjoying a new view.


Zion's five month picutres--one in jammies and one after getting dressed.
He is really starting to roll all over the place now. He also giggles like crazy and gets mad when he can't reach a toy. They grow so fast, don't they?!