Oootah

So we took Zac to Utah to meet the rest of his Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles (less Steven and Em and all of his cousins...he has yet to meet any of them).  It was a fun trip.  He was completely spoiled by being held pretty much every second while he was there.

We tried out swimming again.  The water at the pool was warmer than the lake, however it wasn't warm enough for our little heat lover.  He made it for about 20 minutes in the pool.  We went to Grandpa's house hoping to swim in his warm pool, but unfortunately it was too cool outside and the wind was blowing too hard that when you got out of the pool it would have been WAY too cold for him...so he had to sit out.  Luckily Aunt Stac was not swimming either so her and Zac hung out while Jer and I played water volleyball.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Camping...Attempt #2 - Ink's Lake

Let's try this whole camping with a baby thing again...Hey! this time it worked!

We went to a lake called Ink's Lake which is about 2 hours from San Antonio.  The great thing about Texas is that there is sooo much to do outside.  There are hundreds of state parks and lakes.  Really if you are into the outdoors (and heat), Texas is the place to be.  Jer an I are really looking forward to a little bit older baby and a little bit cooler weather so we can really start to check out some of the cool places nearby.   

We went with out friends the Ashmore's again...pictured below...

We tried the water out for Zac...but he was not having it...

But at least he looked the part with his hat, swim trunks and swim shirt....awesome. 

The water was just a little to cold for our little boy that LOVES the heat.  When we are camping he is in heaven being outside in the heat all day (in the shade of course).  He absolutely loves to be warm.  Seeing that he didn't love the cold lake water, we are excited to see how he does in Grandpa's pool (which is kept so warm that you are probably sweating, you just can't tell because you are in the water...really it is just a giant hot tub...Zac is going to love it!).  Grandpa...we are coming this weekend...make sure that pool is steaming!

We did some boating and as you can see below...Zac was SUPER comfortable in his infant life vest...

Really...he could breath.  In fact, the life vest did an excellent job of holding the binky in his mouth.  As soon as we started moving, he passed out.  I really don't think he even realized he was on the boat.

As far as an update is concerned...our little boy is getting not so little.  Last trip to the doctor he weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs. 8 oz.  HUGE...growing like a weed. 

He has gone from a really good baby to an incredibly fussing baby.  It started literally as soon as he hit one month.  He could put a pubescent 14 year old boy to shame with his gas.  I have tried to eliminate a lot of dairy from my diet to see if that helps, which is hard to tell if it is working because if he is not being held, he fusses.  Very needy...oh well, I guess that is children.  He still sleeps excellent at night so that keeps me pretty happy.

We started putting him in his bumbo the other day.  He takes it like a champ.  He is not the best with head control yet, but he can sit in the seat for a good ten minutes before getting tired from keeping his head up. 

One Month and a Catch Up

So the little bugger is 1 month old!  Time really flies when you are completely immersed in nursing and diaper changes all day long.  I didn't forget to take a picture of the event.

Other big happenings over the last month were 1) his blessing and 2) his first camping trip. 

First his blessing.  We had Zac blessed on July 18th.  Yes only 10 days after his birth.  Why so soon?  Why not...but the real reason was that Jer's parents were in town and we thought it would be cool to have Jer's dad stand in the blessing circle for his first grandchild.

Next was Zac's first camping trip.  We went with our friends the Ashmore's to Canyon Lake which is about 45 minutes from our house.  It really wasn't all that eventful for Zac (or myself as I got sick and stayed in the trailer most of the time).  We don't have an infant life vest so Zac spent most of the day in the trailer with me.  Lame.  We will try to repeat the camping experience in a few weeks when we go to Ink's Lake with the Ashmore's again.

Other than above mentioned events...it is pretty much as I said in the beginning...feeding and diaper changes.

Last trip to the doctor he was doing well.  Healthy boy.  I don't know his stats.  I just know he is healthy.  He is a pretty good baby.  He fusses now and then, but for the most part he is pretty calm.  He sleeps great at night.  Only wakes up once a night to eat...however...he doesn't like to go to bed all that early, usually between 11pm and 1 am.  We are working on it, but at least he sleeps until 9:30 ish for me.  He is now sleeping in his crib.  That's about it. 

Here are a bunch of my favorite pictures that we took over the month.

Church outfit

Picture Overload

So this is my attempt to make you forget the absolute WORST picture ever taken of me that Jer decided to post in the last blog post (you'd expect me not to look that great considering I had just spent 3 hours pushing out an 8 pound baby, but really there were slightly better looking pictures taken). 

For example....

(please ignore the brace face...they are still unfortunately a work in progress)

or even

So here is a bunch of new pictures of our little man...A.K.A the cutest kid ever, I may be slightly biased, but I still think he is REALLY cute, especially for a newborn.  Some come out so wrinkly and old manish looking, but my little guy is just perfect.

Many of you may have seen this picture.  I sent this out via text message to let some of you know that Zac had finally arrived. Here is Zac after they took him to the nursery and cleaned him all up for me.

(one friend commented that Zac looks like a little zen master in this photo)

Here is the evidence that he was a chunker weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz.  Side note...the hospital measured him at 18 inches.  I went to the pediatrician yesterday and they said 20.5 inches which to me seemed more realistic.  I never did believe he was 18 inches, that seemed too short for how much space he was taking up in my stomach. (Every day I look at him and then look at my stomach in awe that he fit in there and in awe that I was able to get that big head through such a small space (not to mention I also delivered a hand with that head)).

First picture with extended family.  My mom came in on Wednesday (right before I went into the hospital) to be here for the baby and to help me get through the first week of mommy-hood, she has been such a great help and is taking great care of all 4 of us (including Ozzy).

Speaking of Ozzy, he is not happy.  He did not have an immediate protective instinct with Zac that we thought he would, in fact he just ignores the fact that he is even here most of the time.  Every time Zac starts to cry Ozzy goes and grabs a toy and tries to get us to go and play with him and pay attention to just him.  I think he is a tad jealous, but he will get over it.  He hasn't shown any aggression and has given Zac a kiss, but really I think he is just being patient and waiting for him to leave (like all the other kids that have been around us over the years).  Sorry Oz, this one isn't going anywhere.  I am sure once we get through all of the company and it is just me and Zac and Ozzy hanging out together all day, his attitude will change.

Now here is just a bunch of pictures that we have taken over the last few days in no particular order whatsoever.

(My mom made this quilt for Zac...it is perfect for tummy time and is the perfect brown and blue combination).

The New Addition, Zac

Okay, Ames will probably kill me for messing up her blog, but I was trying to help her out and let all of you know the scoop.  So, I apologize for erasing our header photo Ames.  I was trying to change it to the three of us.

Zac was born on Wednesday the 8th at 4:36pm.  This was after about 13 or 14 hours of labor, and 2 hours and 45 minutes of pushing.  This makes me tired just thinking about it again...and I really didn't do anything :)  Zac weighed 8 lbs and 5 oz and measured 18 inches long. 

I'm glad to report that both mom and baby are doing great, and I wasn't cursed at or blamed for anything in the birthing process...thanks babe.  They will be released from the hospital Saturday morning.  I guess we'll see how Zac likes his older brother Ozzy.  We have visions of him and Ozzy (when they are older) sitting in time out in the bath tub (that's where Ozzy's time out is located).  Then Zac will turn to Ozzy and say, "Ozzy, this is all your fault!" 

Zac seems to be a pretty happy baby.  He doesn't seem to fuss too much either.  I guess I like him and will keep him around.  This photo is right after he was born and they wiped him down and gave him back to Ames.

This photo was later that night when she finally decided to share him with me.

I'm sure Ames will tell you all more about the life of Baby Kratos, but I just wanted to make sure Bre didn't leave Utah to come to Texas to kill us for not updating the blog.