Pink Pink Pink

They were all so cute I couldn't decide so I put them all up. Her smiles are just too irresistible.

A Working Man

Today, Jed is a working man, with his wallet, helmet (stocking cap), tools (pick-up sticks) and "barfcase" (5 gallon food storage bucket.)

Zozy

For most of my pregnancy, Jed emphatically declared that the baby would be a sister. When I was 7 or 8 months along, one evening we sat at lunch. Jed, tired before an imminent nap time, crumpled his face and started to cry. I asked him what was wrong.

"Mom," he said, "I need my Zozy."

"What do you mean, Jed?"

"I need my Zozy, I need my baby sister."

Funny, because we always, always referred to the baby as "Baby Z." But he knew all along it was his Zozy.

Unbearable Cuteness

What could be more dull than a Mormon Mommy blog with nothing but posts of smiling children and raves about their cuteness? I don't know, but this is it.

And she is SOOOOOOO CUTE! *squeal!*







Pictures from the last post were taken two weeks ago. These are from last night. Michael complains that the first and last photos look the same, but I say he misses the subtle shades of perfection exemplified by Zoe's cheeks.

Smiling

Baby Z Stats

7 Weeks

Weight: 11 lbs 3 oz (43rd percentile)
Length: 24 inches (87th percentile)
Cuteness: Infinite

For comparison, at birth she was in the 9th percentile for weight and the 33rd for length.

Yup, she's got her momma's appetite!

Feeling Better

Poor Michael still suffers, but Jed and I are bouncing back. Roseola'a gone and an antibiotic has worked wonders for his mood. Best part is that after a week of hardly eating and dropping to 26 pounds, now his appetite has returned and he's working on covering those ribs back up.

Evidence:

Yesterday for breakfast he ate 7 bowls of cereal and a plate of sausage.

The day before, 13 silver dollar whole wheat pancakes.

Today, 2 eggs, a piece of heavily buttered whole wheat toast, a cup of spinach-apple smoothie, a cup of half and half, a bowl of applesauce, handful of prunes, and a whole banana.

And a snack two hours later.

Lightning

Over the years I have attempted many times to take pictures of lightning, and failed every time. Until last night, when we had a real proper lightning storm. Probably one of the more violent storms electrically we have experienced here in Indiana.







This one made me jump out of my skin.


Our kitchen @ midnight.

Daddy's Shoulder

We've all found Daddy our pillar of strength and comfort this week.


Remember this?

I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing my babies on my good man's shoulder.

Just One Week

1 tired kid
1 fever almost 103
1 allergy-ridden momma
1 cranky toddler
1 neglected, wailing infant
1 unidentifiable rash
1 strangely swollen gum
1 momma with a bad cold
1 case of roseola
1 screaming, flailing trip to the dentist
1 overdose on ibuprofen
1 call to poison control
1 blessing, caring, cheering husband
1 dinner from a dear friend
1 jar of nyquil
1 tired family looking forward to the long weekend

Year Four: Romance

Baby's eyes squeezed shut tight in slumber, Jed quietly zoomed cars around on the couch, and Michael and I giggled as we sneaked into the bedroom for an anniversary moment. Nothing like some good old fashioned smooching on a warm sunny bed.

Just as things started getting good, a head popped up at the base of the bed. "Whatcha doin' Dad?" We ignored the head.

A few moments later, we passionately kissed as a two-and-a-half year old screeched about three inches from our faces "STOP THAT, GUYS! STOP THAT!" The mantra continued as we studiously focused on our osculatory practice. Soon a flop onto my back and moist hands prying our faces apart. "Stop! Stop that, guys! Stop it!" A wail came up as Michael shoved Jed off my back. We broke apart and sighed.

Then grinned. We grabbed the kid and started kissing him.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Since our anniversary weekend ended up a spectacular blur of church obligations, Michael and I declared this to be our "Birthday and Anniversary Celebratory Weekend!" Michael took Friday off, and for our anniversary we packed up the kidlets and took a family vacation to Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Armed with plenty of snacks and pbj sandwiches for lunch, we drove the 45 miles through misty green fields nestled between billowing forested hills.

The Memorial commemorates the 14 years when young Abraham Lincoln lived here in Indiana. In the early 1940s, the CCC built a gorgeous visitor's center building, with giant stone carvings depicting key events in Lincoln's life.Here we are in the Memorial. Jed loved running around the big empty rooms and grassy front lawn. Must have run a hundred miles that day. And I might add that he did NOT fall asleep on the way home. Sheesh. That kid is impossible to wear out.
Oh we are cute.
Mommy and baby nursing in the corner.
After seeing a short film, we went to see the living history farm, where costumed characters live, farm, cook, and grow their food just as the Lincoln family did back in the 1820s.

We walked through the corn fields, all plowed by horses and sown by hand.
Jed loved all the wooden tools, animal pelts, and the chicken coop in the background. But the bigger livestock, not so much. Sheeps and cows and pigs are all well and good in the abstract, but in real life, he didn't want to get too close. I finally wheedled him over to feed the sheep, which worked well until a big woolly head shoved through the split rail fence and tore the weeds from my hand. Jed shot straight into the air and wailing insisted "WE SEE CHICKENS NOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
My favorite moment occurred as we stood watching the cows and sheep, cicadas buzzing in the hot sweaty air. In the background, we heard a rumbling. A truck pulling a doublewide drove past the back side of the feedlot. We smiled. That's life in Indiana--hot hot hot with cows and a doublewide.

As we started herding Jed towards home, we heard a sweet-toned whistle. "Whooooo!" Then again. A train! Jed's ears perked up and we started to run towards the track. A real train! Right here beside us! We saw a little red engine break through the trees. As we came close, it slowed down... and stopped right there at the end of the little road. A hairy little man hopped down and shouted towards us "Would your little boy like to see the train?" My jaw dropped. We laughed yes and ran up to the train.

As Jed got to the stairs, the bearded man leaned over to lift him up. Ummm, yeah, unfortunately Jed doesn't do hairy men so well. His eyes widened and he flailed toward me, wailing. And he wailed the entire time on the train. Oh well, Dad and I thought it was cool. And Jed did too, once we were far, far away and the hairy man had faded from memory. The best part: the train's name was THOMAS. Here we are, on an old fashioned farm, with Thomas the Train. Could this day get any better?
We bid goodbye to Thomas and had a picnic lunch there in shady trees next to the track. What a lovely, perfect day!