Zack turns ONE!!!

(Postdated - I want to keep posts in order, but in reality, I've been a bad mommy and I'm 2 months late posting about Zack's First Birthday!)

Waking up as a 1-year-old, and very confused as to why I was flashing a camera in his eyes first-thing in the morning!

Breeley insisted on being in the pictures before daycare... and tormenting her poor brother!

All is well again. Teething has made him a bit attached to the paci. Also, I've been lenient because at least if the paci is in his mouth I know he doesn't have one of Breeley's hair ties or Reesey's dog food in his mouth. Having older kids makes it even more impossible to have a completely baby-proof house!

I took cupcakes to his class and he was once again a big fan!

I'd worked extra hours earlier in the week, so I left work early to join the birthday festivities at daycare, then took the kids home early to enjoy the nice weather.

We played with Zack's birthday gift outside. For some reason, Breeley decided to pile a bunch of toys on top of him. (They've added a removeable floor board to the Little Tikes car so younger kids--and toys--don't fall through the bottom.) He was a good sport and indulged his sister, as long as we didn't take the spoon out of his hand! (No fat kid jokes; he's big, but he's actually not a great eater!) He LOVES carrying around things like that.

 

There's my sweet, smiling boy! Check out all those teeth!

Zack's birthday fell in the middle of about a month straight of ear infections and other sickness. I think the doctor missed a RSV diagnosis, although he was on breathing treatments for wheezing for a while. He was also teething very badly and got about 8 new teeth, including 4 molars, in just a couple months. Needless to say, he was not himself during this time, so it was hard to write about his personality at 12 months. He's really opened up since then, so stay tuned for an update about our sweet 14-month-old, or 16-months at the pace I end up posting!

Happy 1st birthday, Zack! We love you!!

Zack's 1st Bday Take 1

Ma and Pappy (Brian's parents) came down the weekend before Zack's birthday to see the kids and help us kick off the week of Zack's First Birthday!

I usually try to plan some fun activity when grandparents are in town, but we just had a relaxing day at home. We did go on a riveting outing to Sportsman's Warehouse in the morning, which apparently wore everyone completely out!

While the entire house napped, I enjoyed some rare quiet time and made Zack a birthday cake and cupcakes. It was nothing fancy; I was pretty sure he'd destroy it anyway... and I was right!

He nose-dived into the cake at least 5 times!

It was by far the FUNNIEST baby-eating-first-birthday-cake I've EVER seen!
 

I think he liked it!

Amy and Andrew came over to celebrate and witness the cake demolition, then enjoyed some playtime after Zack's much-needed bath!

Joy knows we already have plenty of junk educational toys, so she and Pappy gave Zack a swimsuit and money for his college fund. (You can get away with practical gifts requested by Mommy when they're too young to give you dirty looks.)

Breeley and Zack loved having Ma and Pappy here to celebrate with us!

Bass Master

I've mentioned several times that Brian is getting way into bass fishing. Growing up in VA, he was always more into hunting, although he also liked fishing for smallmouth bass on the New River. Now his #1 hobby is largemouth bass fishing on the lake.

I used to think fishing was just fishing. You cast and reel and end up with fish. Most of us like the kind of fishing where you pretty much catch something every 5 or 10 minutes. (I actually prefer the kind where I lay on the boat and read a book or magazine while Brian fishes.)

This is not the case with bass fishing. There are days where you don't catch anything, although those are rare now that Brian has learned more and is getting better. Bass fishing is very strategic and there is a lot of knowledge and experience involved. He scours the Internet, reads magazines, and watches shows to learn more about fishing conditions and patterns, baits, techniques, and strategies. You have to know where to find the fish (based on weather conditions, time of year, spawning patterns, etc.), what baits to use for each condition, and how to work the baits. There's a lot more involved than just casting and reeling.  

For fun and to learn more, Brian entered the Bassmaster Weekend Series, which provides weekend anglers (those with other jobs) a professionally-operated tour with a chance to progress to a national tournament. He entered as a co-angler, which means he fishes from someone else's boat and competes against other co-anglers. The first tournament was January 29, and Brian placed SECOND out of 59 co-anglers!! 

Brian brought in three fish (the max limit) totaling 9.78 lbs. One was 3.79 lbs, which is a nice size. He was in first place for a while but then the person who beat him brought in a 6.31-pound beast/lunker/pig (I'm learning the lingo), which is huge and was the biggest fish caught all day by a co-angler or boater. Here's an article about the tournament (Brian's info and quote is at the bottom of the second picture): American Bass Anglers Article.  

Brian with his two biggest fish. By the way, the fish have to be alive and they release all of them.

Getting his plaque and check! (My favorite part! haha)

The kids and I headed to Dreher Island State Park for the weigh-in. It was a beautiful day and we were happy to get out on one of the warmest days of the month!

Breeley checking out his bag of fish. Notice her fishing pole. Whenever I say anything about Daddy fishing it's the first thing she asks for. She's actually pretty good at casting and Brian is excited to take her bream fishing (the kind you catch with every cast) this summer! I love this picture.

Brian was one of the first to weigh in so we ended up being there for a while. I kept the kids entertained by feeding them a bunch of unhealthy snacks. Luckily, they dropped about half of them in the parking lot.

This picture cracks me up. She looks like she was getting an attitude, but she wasn't. I just caught her mid-sentence and mid-movement. Pretty easy to do considering she's a busy 2.5-year-old and constantly talking and moving!

We're so proud of Brian and I'm excited to see where the tournament series leads us!

Vday Hearts and Necklaces

At this point, Valentine's Day is another one of those "holidays" that would pass like any other day if we didn't have kids. "Hallmark Holidays" annoy me. Love is something that should be shown every day, and there are plenty of other special days where we can go out of our way to display our love, such as birthdays and anniversaries. However, kids make these holidays a lot more fun and worthwhile. I like doing crafts with Breeley and making special treats, so I guess it gives me an excuse to do that. (Plus, I knew from previous holidays, that certain moms of Breeley's daycare classmates go "all out," which makes the rest of us look bad if we show up with just the traditional cards with names on them.)

I found directions for cute foam heart necklaces and thought they would be fun and something Breeley could help me make. I cut 1" pieces of drinking straws, and hole-punched a circle in different size foam hearts. Breeley helped string the hearts, straws, and beads on a pieces of yarn. They turned out so cute!

Here are my sweet Valentines modeling the necklaces. Breeley is holding a bucket with traditional Valentine cards, which I tied to some Vday drinking straws that I purchased after Vday last year.


I also made Rice Krispy treats that were apparently a hit. When I picked her up, the first thing Breeley told me was, "I ate my heart. Yeah, I ate a pink heart!"


One thing I do love about Valentine's Day and other holidays is the after-holiday sales. Often, much of the items have no mention of the holiday, so it's a great time to get craft and goody-bag items, and solid color party supplies. That's when I got my heart-shaped cookie cutters, which I use for more than just Vday. The straws for the necklaces were $0.25 for 200 red/white/blue straws after July 4th. This year I found an adorable pink tutu for $2 that Breeley can use in her dance class. Some things do follow the theme so I just use them the next year, like the Vday-themed drinking straws I gave Breeley's classmates that I got for $0.25/5 straws. Pretty much, Valentine's Day cost me less than $5, so take that Hallmark!

Okay, confession: I didn't buy Brian a card (he didn't buy me one either), but for fun, I bought him two scratch-off Bass Pro lotto tickets. We ended up $40 ahead! (FYI... we are NOT frequent or excessive lotto players, but I will say that sometimes $5 is worth dreaming about what we'd do if we won... more than $40 of course, although that paid for a dinner out!)

Anyway, for the record, I'm in love with my special Valentines on Valentine's Day and EVERY day!!

FEAR

My last dentist appointment was quite traumatic - not the appointment itself, but getting there. I normally take both kids to daycare when I have a dentist, doctor, hair, etc. appointment because it is impossible to "control" them while I'm being worked on myself (you know, like when I'm laying on my back with my mouth gaping open while someone sticks metal instruments in it). However, I took Breeley with me for a preview since she'll soon have her first dentist appointment.

On the way there, Breeley complained of her belly hurting--she's been saying this pretty frequently for the last month, not sure from gas, constipation, diet, attention, or what, but her doctor doesn't seem concerned. As we passed over a bridge with no shoulder, she opened her mouth and started pointing inside, without talking or breathing for what seemed like forever! I frantically called back to her while trying to make it to the end of the bridge where I could pull over.

Fear is not an emotion I've felt often. In fact, I can only think of a few times I've felt real FEAR (vs a thrill or being scared of an amusement park ride or scary movie). But this episode invoked real FEAR and panic. I didn't know if she had choked, couldn't breath, or what, and I felt helpless because there were cars around me and I couldn't stop or pull over. I've often thought that God has special protection for mothers and kids in cars--you see very few minivans in wrecks, even though we are among the most distracted drivers--and I honestly have no other explanation for how I made it to the end of the bridge, since I barely looked at the road as I frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with her and why she wouldn't answer me.

She finally threw up. I've never been happy to see vomit, but I was so relieved that she was breathing! So, I pulled over and got to clean vomit from the car, her carseat, and her clothes, then call the dentist and say I was going to be 20 minutes late. I also called the doctor, but the appointment people convinced me that it wasn't necessary to bring her in. That's a whole separate issue entirely--as we have not been thrilled with our pediatrician's office--but she seemed fine after that.

The day did get better from there. No, not at the dentist, which is not one of my favorite appointments. Afterwards, we spent a couple hours in Publix practicing our couponing and ended up paying $40 for our $95 bill (savings=$55)! I try to use ads and coupons when I have time to organize it all and actually do the shopping, and Breeley was a champ, even though she had to use the bathroom THREE times while we were there! I definitely prefer the euphoria caused by saving money over fear of something terrible happening to my child!

Andrew and Amy Get Married

My sister, Amy, got married to Andrew Carroll on Friday, December 17, in the LDS Temple in Columbia, SC. They had one reception in Columbia on Saturday, December 18, and another in Blacksburg, VA, on Saturday, January 8.  

Zack was my date for the Columbia reception.

Breeley woke up with some type of stomach bug so she and Brian had to stay home. (I was ready to take her, but after the second time throwing up, she looked at me and said, "Momma, I no feel good," I figured she'd be better off at home. Thankfully, it didn't turn into anything more serious and she was completely fine later in the day.)

Happy newlyweds

Despite nasty weather that put a damper on several people's travel plans, Amy's best friend, Erin, was able to make it from Kentucky. I went to college before they even met, so I mostly know Erin through Facebook and Amy, but my parents always say Erin is their third daughter. I love this girl!

Everyone laughs at my cheesiness--including picture ideas--but I think this one is pretty cute!

Andrew's family did an amazing job planning and preparing the food. Amy isn't a big cake fan, so my favorite touch was that they fed each other these adorable wedding cookies instead of cake! Such a unique idea, and they looked awesome and tasted delicious!

One of the best parts of the weekend was getting to see my Uncle Jim and Aunt Madeleine (my mom's aunt and uncle/Pappy's brother). They live half the year in Florida and half the year in France (she's French, they met during WWII), and we haven't seen them in several/too many years. They drove up with some of their friends and it was a great visit.

One night we played bi-lingual Catch Phrase with my brother, Brian, making up part of the French team via cell phone. He teaches French/English/theatre at a high school in Utah and he and his wife, Tina, were not able to make the trip. If you've never played Catch Phrase with anyone over 80, do it right away! It is hilarious! To add to the fun (and confusion!), add one team of non-English speakers, and throw in two people who live 2000 miles away!

Andrew and Amy included a ring ceremony at the reception in Blacksburg, VA, on January 8. It was a short ceremony officiated by Bishop Jack McKinley from the Radford Ward of the LDS church.

Clearly my dreams of cute pictures of my kids were thwarted by the fact that the reception started at 2 pm, otherwise known as naptime. Zack, especially, seemed thrilled by the picture taking!

Thanks to awesome friends in the Radford Ward, the food at this reception was wonderful as well! The chocolate fountain was especially popular! (I personally loved the little ham sandwiches.) They went with tradition for this reception, and Sister Hendricks, who was Amy's (and my!) Adventurer Hike Leader for Girls' Camp, made a beautiful cake!

When you have two receptions, I guess this would be the Second Dance.

It was awesome to have so much family come down from Pennsylvania.

My cousin, Michelle, might have gotten the day's only smile out of a tired Zack!

My parents' family keeps growing...

Love this picture of the handsome men in the family!

KSBDA-B :(

I spent many hours putting together this slideshow of photos, but it has not been seen in its final form. My mom and Andrew's mom provided some childhood pictures, and I stole the recent ones from Facebook. Enjoy getting to know Andrew and Amy better....

Congrats to you both, and welcome to the family, Andrew!

Barnum's Funundrum

Apparently the third time's the charm. We took Breeley to the circus and she actually liked it this year! It was nice that she sat and watched rather than climbing all over us and messing with the people in front of us. (There was still a little of that during the boring parts, like the tigers.)

Partly I think she liked having a special date with Mommy and Daddy. We learned our lesson from when she was younger and asked Amy and Andrew to watch Zack.

As soon as we walked out the door, Breeley said she wanted to sit in Zack's carseat. What? Um, okay. She's never asked that before, and I have no idea what the allure was, but I guess she wanted a different view. His carseat is pretty much the same as hers (it's the newer model of hers), and they are adjusted nearly the same, so I didn't see any harm.

As we walked to the arena from the parking lot, I told her we were near my work. She is always very interested in where everyone is, so this led to her saying, "Zack's at home." Brian then asked if she wanted us to go get him, and she IMMEDIATELY said "No!" It was funny, but it also reminded me how important it is to spend quality time with each child without siblings around.

Some of our favorite acts:

How do they get SEVEN bikes in there?!

They had some crazy acrobatic acts including jumping and flipping on poles and stilts. They also had the trapeze, which I always love. We couldn't see that one or the tightrope very well though.

Breeley liked all the action but had a hard time following some of the acrobatics. She of course liked the animals. They had elephants, ponies, llamas, and donkeys, but most of those were out together so it was only two acts. She didn't like the tigers at all, which is also my least favorite. It moves slowly and all they do is jump on stands and growl, so it just seems unnecessary.

Overall, very entertaining and you get your money's worth. It's over 2 hours long, which sometimes even seems too long for young kids. Thankfully, they keep up the pace and there's a ton of action. (I should say, you get your money's worth as long as you resist all the overpriced food and souvenirs! It's a huge test of wills and indulgence.)

It was fun having a special date with Breeley!

(Thanks Andrew and Amy for watching Zack! I'm glad you could spend some quality time with him, because he's fun too!)