The Jungle

AKA the Zoo

Nathan definitely has his way of doing and saying things.  Since we went to the zoo in June, he's been wanting to go to the jungle again.  I guess all the green trees, bushes, etc. make him think this? In any case, there was a special of buy one ticket, get one free, so we decided this was perfect for us!

 touching a kangaroo

 with a tortoise 

The flamingos were beautiful!

 with the new baby giraffe

 Zachary was so impressed! :)

The only lion we could find!

Nathan was excited to see the zebras this time, but unfortunately, the elephants were nowhere to be seen.  He was very disappointed about this (and talks about it even now - a month later) and I'm sure we'll have to remedy this!  Want to join us for a jungle excursion?!

Fun Times

Over the days we were together, we had some fun times:

Nathan feeling bold and sitting on the horse for the FIRST time! 

He will often touch it but never sit on it.

Swimming at the wading pool with Brianna 

(and Aunt Chelle)

Nathan climbing in the dog's cage

Zach hanging out with Bentley and Aunt Chelle

Mr. Paw Patrol (Chase) with his t-shirt and action figure

Our Cousin

When Nathan was born, Aunt Michelle came for a week and helped care for him and us.  This time, since it was the summer, Aunt Michelle and Brianna came for the week.  We are excited to have them both this week!

The rest of family will come at the weekend and we just plan to hang out.

Here's a flashback and a picture from the present:

 Brianna with Nathan, 2/2012

Brianna with Zach, 7/2015

My Boys in Blue

Sunday the boys dressed in blue and we decided to take some pictures.

What a handsome crew!

Some dance moves to show off the monkey!

Mighty Cute

We are excitedly (well, maybe in Zach's case, just mildly interested) awaiting the arrival of Aunt Michelle and Brianna -- oh, and the doggy!  Nathan has been asking all day when they'll arrive.

In the mean time, someone has to eat and eat and eat and look mighty cute!

Always Sleeping?

Just a couple of the sleeping poses that I've recently snapped.  We are still struggling to get him to sleep well at night.  He is definitely a night owl and that is a struggle for us since the morning comes early.  We've been taking turns sleeping with him on our chest since that seems to be most comforting.  We even got a battery-operated toy that simulates a heartbeat as something to help him sleep better.  It doesn't appear to be working very well!

We've got some more time to get this figured out, right?!  He is such a cutey when he sleeps!

Photo Shoot

We did a little photo shoot tonight with this handsome peanut.  I was trying to do the whole black & white body parts to do a framed piece like Melissa did for us of Nathan, but I wasn't very successful.  The one I did like was something that the photographer at J.C. Penney did and I really think it's cool.

With Buddy

Evidently Zach was looking for someone soft to nap on!

We have been working with Zach to take some medicine to help him with his reflux and help him gain weight.  Poor thing is slowly gaining, but losing a lot still with spitting up.  We've had to go back to the doctor for weight checks and it's getting there, but he's still not back to birth weight.  We just keep praying that it'll stick and that he'll be gaining more and more.

Making a Tent

We've had a resurgence of the need for a tent (or as Nathan says tay-ent) and of course Zach needed to be there with the other boys.  Nate has been saying "Daddy, Nathan, and Zach are boys" and wanting the three of them to be together.

Here's a fun picture of Nathan and Bullseye.  We have been searching for Bullseye for quite a while and were super glad to find him.  Now Woody has someone to play with!

My Birthday

What a surprise to have a floral delivery! My coworkers sent me flowers (and a balloon) for my birthday.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We're planning on dinner with Lora tonight.

 Couldn't leave you without pictures of the boys...

Comparison

Zach, 1 1/2 weeks old (2015)

Nathan, almost 1 week old (2012)

I wish we had a picture of Barry when he was this young, but 46 years ago it wasn't that common to take snapshots. Many people say that the boys take after Barry, but I'd have to say the noses are different and Zach is more fair. Plus, Nate has a more round face and Zach is more oval.  Guess we'll see -- we know they're ours though!

Playing in the Water

Nathan and Daddy had a grand time playing with the doggy sprinkler.  Nathan would try and get Daddy and then run away screaming as Daddy would get him.  It was hilarious!

Zach wanted to be part of it, but he was wiped out!

Swinging

My department was good to us and gave us some Visa cards to help with things we needed for Zach so we got this awesome swing for him.  The selling feature is that it is able to fold up into a fairly small size for storing or traveling,

Zach has done well to rest in it especially at dinner time so that we can all eat.

Mine

Since Nathan has called his pacifier Mine, of course that's what Zachary should call his!

Now, Zach doesn't have the same desire for it as Nathan does, but he will suck on it on occasion.

First Bath (at home)

The umbilical cord is about off, so now's the time for the first bath, right?!  Boy, were we delinquent! :(

He enjoyed it as well as we expected him to!

Calm and collected.  Whew!  What a workout! (Sorry the picture is sideways!)

My View

It's amazing to be in this place again where I have a little one laying on me!  What a miracle! We chose the name Zachary because it means "remembered by God" and we truly feel that this is the case.  God remembered us and chose to give us another blessing - far more than we deserved.  We know that it isn't easy to raise a child and yet this was our earnest desire.

Oh, and Alan was chosen to honor my dad who has this as his middle name.  We honored the firstborn son with Kenneth as the middle name which was the case for 3 generations in Barry's family and now we have the chance to honor my family.

We're three days into being at home and boy am I glad to be able to nap during the day and have the help of my friend Lora who has come every day to help out wherever she can.

First Doctor's Appointment

Since Zach had higher levels of jaundice, we had to go to the doctor on Monday to see what course of treatment needed to be done.

 Dr. Orr and his intern checking out Zach

Poor baby had to have his blood taken so they could check his levels.

The doctor called us that evening to let us know that he felt that with putting Zach in the sun and having more poopy diapers, it was not necessary to do light therapy with him. Phew!

But, poor thing is struggling with gaining weight so we had to schedule more times to have his weight checked to make sure he's growing okay.

Brothers

We had no idea what to expect from Nathan as he would begin to interact with Zachary.  We had talked about a baby and that he would be born and be someone Nate could play with, but we just didn't know how he'd react.  Here they are the first day home hanging out together:

Then, we had to show off Zach at daycare so we got up and went with Daddy and Nathan in the morning.

Nana & Papa

What a blessing it was to have Nana and Papa to come and help during the time of Zach's arrival! Zach is grandchild number 9 and they have lots of experience with grandchildren :)

We were so glad to have them!

More from the Hospital

 Our first "official" family picture

Like we did with Nathan, we picked a stuffed animal for the monthly picture to track Zach's growth.  Here he is with the monkey!

Headed home!