taking care of baby

It took a few days for Jessi to feel brave enough to hold Zac, but now she can't get enough! It's so fun to have a baby in the house! Jessi says he has "squishy cheeks" Ethan says he has a "peach head". When Zac starts crying Meri says "mom, he's starting to anger!"

It's been a fun week with the kids on Spring Break and Shawn took the week off work. So it's been nice to be all together this week getting to know Zachary.

My mom is coming from Oregon tomorrow - hooray for Grandma coming!

Zachary

A few Zac favorites

Zac and his fans

We are so thankful for our children. So thankful.

Zac Attack!

Zachary Dennis arrived at 12:47am April 5th! He weighed 9lbs. 5oz. and 20 1/2 inches. We aren't sure what color his hair is. Could it possibly be...red? I've been reading a lot of Anne of Green Gables lately - maybe we'll call him "Carrots". He's been a calm baby so far and all the kids are crazy about him. He's getting way more than his share of lovins'. We're so glad he's here!

Scientists can be famous

You probably saw the post below about the science fair. Well, Brayton and Ethan's pictures made it into the local news. Check it. They were both very pleased with their performance - they actually were hoping to not get the top spot. That would require a trip to Bakersfield for the next level of science fair. No one else in the family seemed disappointed about missing that either. I think they both did a great job.

Valentines

Okay, I have one last post and then I probably won't post again for quite awhile. Phew! You must be worn out from reading all of our goings - on - if you have survived this far. :) So Valentines Day was spent with the kids sledding out back for most of the morning with Shawn. I was sad not to be a part of it. But it was fun to watch them. And Jessi loves making snowmans so here she is with her latest snowman. Later we made heart pizzas and jello for dinner for the kids and Shawn and I went out for dinner. It was so very nice to go out. I meant to post about our anniversary in December (12 years!), but didn't quite make it so I just have to say something nice about my sweetest-heart. He is my dearest friend and I can't say in words how thankful I am to be his wife. It's so easy to enjoy being married to him. He's such a great dad and he's so nice to me. He always makes me feel good about myself even and especially now that I'm in the depths of the hugeness of pregnancy. Notice the stategic placement of the roses - I'm having major issues about having my picture taken lately. But I just had to put one on of us together since I'm so happy to have him "be mine". Happy Valentines Day to all of you. We love you!

My Beehives

Okay, so I just can't stop blogging today. I had to put on a few pictures of my Beehive girls. We had a slumber party a couple weeks ago. We made pizzas together, went heart attacking, and stayed up really late (not me so much, the girls). Then the next day we went to Bakersfield for the YW basketball tournament. Lots of fun. The girls are so sweet to each other and although they are each very different, they really accept each other and get along well - we really bonded as a class. And I must say, I was so impressed with how well they helped clean up each mess we made. Really fun girls and they are a blessing to work with. Aren't they adorable?

Science Fair Winners!

Brayton and Ethan did really well at the science fair this week! Brayton got a 1st place ribbon for 5th grade and Ethan got a 1st place ribbon for 4th grade. And the most important thing is that they learned something, right? Brayton learned that your pinewood derby car will go faster if the weight is placed in the middle of the car - as opposed to the front or back - and Ethan learned that some fruits will make it so your jello will not set up - kiwi and fresh pineapple to name a couple. They really did most of the work with some help from Shawn and I. Thanks to Grandpa for the display cases.

Brayton turns 11

The day after Orion's baptism Brayton turned 11! He was lucky to still have a bunch of family here to celebrate with. He loved getting an MP3 player! He has grown up so much this year.

a few more

Here are a few more baptism pictures. Orion with his grandparents, Orion (trying not to be grumpy, but still looking grumpy) with his siblings, Meri holding our brand new nephew Asher - he was so fun to hold and so beautiful!, and Orion having sundaes with cousins after the baptism.

Our little guy is not so little anymore!

A few weeks ago Orion turned 8 years old. Sometimes it's just so hard to believe how big your kids are getting. He had a great time doing the pine wood derby this year with Brayton and Ethan. He planned out his car all himself and had several drawings of it lying around the house. It will be a night I will always remember - seeing our 3 boys racing their cars all wearing their cub scout shirts together. Last weekend Orion got baptized along with his 2 buddies Jack and Jake. A bunch of our family came which made it really special. Thank you so much to all who made such an effort to come. It really made it special for him. He loved having all his grandparents and a bunch of cousins and Aunts and Uncles around to be with him. Something I'll remember about his baptism is those silly water pipes groaning and the little kids (mainly Jessi) giggling during the baptisms. And right before the baptism started I tried taking pictures of our 5 kids together. Jessi accidentally stepped on Orion's foot right before the picture and so he stomped on hers much harder than she had on his. So her tears started and Orion's face remained grumpy. Here's the best picture we could get. Anyway, it was a day to remember.

Alcatraz

While we were in San Ramon we took a trip out to Alcatraz with Josh and Sarah. None of us had been there before except Shawn when he was in 1st grade. So it was quite an interesting experience. It was kind of a somber, creepy place to visit, but very interesting to see. The kids loved the ferry and I loved the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the island.

Uncle Max the dog trainer

The funniest thing about our New Years trip was 5 little girls playing doggies - Meri, Jessi, Mady, Andy, and Jaidyn. Uncle Max was the trainer. They ate out of a doggy bowl, they begged, and they rolled over, and they loved it!