where have i been?

for the past few weeks i have been spending all of my extra time on a new project.

it all started when the principal of our school said there was going to be a little contest. apparently my competitive side isn't limited to mario kart.

for three weeks i poured my all into this project and i guarantee i wouldn't have done it if a contest hadn't been hanging over my head. it was hard.

i'm estimating i spent at least 65 hours on it. joe would probably estimate even more.

but it turned out great and... i won! so are you anxious to see what all this fuss is about? check it out here.

blogging is so much easier. i am happy to be back!

from the vlog archives

in july of 2008 joe took me on a surprise birthday trip. i had no idea where we were going or what we would be doing. he planned every little detail AND managed to keep it a secret! i don't think i could have done that.

when i was searching for a video of zachary to put on his belated birthday post i came across some vlogs (video logs) of our trip. i spent about 45 minutes watching them again and again. at one point i was laughing so hard joe came into our room from the living room and told me to quiet down--warning me that i was going to wake the kids up. ha!

pretty soon he was by my side laughing with me. and in case you are wondering, neither one of us woke the kids up.

i'm not sure you will enjoy these the same way we do, but i'm confident they are good for at least a little laugh.

joe's favorite:


my favorite:


bonus video:


so let's take a little vote. did i make it or not?

september 30th

on september 30, 2004 my sweet zachy bob was born at 2:23 pm, just 14 hours after my water started leaking and exactly one week before his official due date. i think anyone who has been nine months pregnant at the end of summer would agree--even after not sleeping all night this is like christmas!



we didn't know if zachary was going to be a boy or a girl. we thought it would be fun to be surprised. 



and it was!

zachary was a sweetheart right from the start. newborn taylor cried all the time, so this was another pleasant surprise. zachary was such a model baby that my post partum nurse asked if she could borrow him as she trained a new nurse on some new baby procedures. i took laps around the nurses station, watching... listening... waiting for a peep from my newest son. but he was nothing short of cooperative and well mannered.



zachary grew to be a pretty easy going (although active!) toddler, as well. he had a love for all things wiggles, which lasted through kindergarten and part of the first grade. i guarantee that everyone who knew zachary during this phase of his life can picture him with his shirt tucked into his pants and talking about the "widdles!"



that should have been a video of zachy singing a wiggle song, but who can resist a magit pid?





seven year old zachary is not a die-hard wiggle fan anymore, but he's not quite ready to part with his wiggle treasures yet. he likes mario, pokemon, and anything taylor is interested in. he still sings and dances, but it's to the tune of katy perry or the black eyed peas.

and zachary is still sweet. he loves hugs and kisses and snuggles more than any of the other kids. he loves helping out with natalie, cooking, and helping in his teacher's classroom after school. he is also silly, athletic, sensitive, and can be short tempered (especially with brothers).



we love you, sweet zatary parter. we hope seven brings you more happiness than that tomato you thought was an apple!!