Escaping the Heat

Truth be told, it's been a very mild summer, with very few days in the 'intolerable' category. However, by about the 2nd week of triple digit temps in July, I took Zach and escaped to cooler climates -- up to Monterey.

We hung out with my parents, Keri, Tanner, Andrew, Isaac, Shel, Sam & Meghan for two whole weeks where the temp never got above 70 (and rarely above 65).

Chad came up with us for the first weekend and we took Zach to check out the Monterey Aquarium. He was sporting his terribly cute golf hat and got quite a few comments





Chad left us on Monday and we spent the rest of our trip just hanging out with the family..

We went to the playground with other kids from Michelle's ward and Zach got his first chance to play on the swings (which he loved)



We went up to Apple and had lunch with Uncle Sam



Tanner went with us over to the Elkhorn Slough where we had a lovely little walk and saw some pretty cool birds





Mostly, though we just hung out with the cousins.

Zach & Tanner:



Zach & Issac:

The Perfect Shot

Sometime around June, I had this crazy idea that I wanted to enter Zach into the Babytalk cute baby contest. Not really becuase I thought he was the cutest baby in the world (although I might actually think that), but because all the semi-finalists got a free trip to NYC.. and I thought I might have a shot at one of those spots.. and when have I ever passed up the idea of a free trip??

However, I also knew that I couldn't submit just any old shot.. it had to be the cutest one I could get which had to include a huge smile and those big blue eyes. So.. I spent the next month taking pictures at least every other day in hopes of getting that one perfect shot. Which, I finally did, exactly 2 days before the entry deadline.. When I finally went back and looked at all of them, I decided that, if nothing else, I got a lot of terribly cute pictures. Here are some of the 'losers':



And the winner:



As for the contest.. the semi-finalists were supposedly notified by August 13th.. and, unelss my notice got lost in the mail or on my answering machine, it looks like we didn't make it. Better luck next time, eh?

4th of July

We had family in town over the 4th of July weekend for my nephew, Jared's blessing. Of course, true to form, I took no pictures of Jared or the visiting family, but here is one of Zach in his 4th of July finest:



We had everyone over for a 4th of July swim party on Saturday and, being in a fairly festive mood, I had a Martha Stewart moment and decided to create a flag cake for dessert..



It was just as tasty as it looked! :-)

Summer Days

Whew!! Summer is over? Didn't it just begin??

Sorry for the dirth of blog entries over the past couple of months.. apparently we've been a bit busy around here... so the next few posts are my semi-lame attempt to catch up...

Water Baby

When we saw this little baby inner tube we knew immediately that we needed it. Afterall, we figured that it's never to early to start getting Zach used to the water. We came home and finally looked at the age on the package -- 9 - 24 months. Um.. well.. we decided as long as we were with him that there was no harm in at least trying it out. It turns out that not only does he fit -- he survived and he loved it! :-)

Happy Father's Day!!

I know this post is a tad late, but I wanted to wish a Happy Father's Day to the best dad on the planet -- pictured here with his adorable son (in their matching Father's Day ties):



Seriously though, I am truly blessed to have Chad in my life. He has been an amazing dad to Zach thus far and I know it's only going to get better from here.

Happy Father's Day hon!! :-)

Four Months

I can't believe that Zach is already four months old!! I also can't believe that it's already July.. My oh my how time flies when you're having fun! :-)

And fun we have been having. Zach is growing into a very happy, smiley little guy. He loves to play in his little baby gym and is reaching for and grasping toys..




Which, end up going directly into his mouth



He's just starting to play in his Baby Einstein Jumper



And while he hasn't quite figured out what he's supposed to be doing in there, he certainly seems to enjoy it



He's been rolling over from front to back for a few weeks.. and is just now figuring out hot to roll from back to front. (I don't actually have a picture of that, so here is one on his tummy where he was contemplating his big move)



Mostly, though he just hangs out and smiles at just about anyone who happens by :-)