My Baby is 1

I can't believe that one year ago today this baby boy came into our lives. I really get choked up thinking about how fast he has grown. I can honestly say that he has been a pure joy this past year - other then taking 11 months to sleep through the night (yeah, you read that right). He has been all smiles all the time. And for any of you that know him you know I'm not just trying to paint a rosey picture... he is such a sweet-heart. Here he was 1 year ago.

Goodness! Look at this boy and that little face.

It wouldn't be a birthday without family, friends and some cake. I think he's a little intimidated by the 50+ eyes staring at him and his bright cake (yep, I made the cake - WOW is it bright!!!).
Oh!!!! Poor baby boy didn't like all the attention or better yet - he wasn't into the messy cake. Stop the torture and get this boy cleaned up!

Lucky for everyone else my friend Davlyn made us this beautiful Red Velvet cake. It was so moist and yummy! I seriously suggest you try hers sometime.
Well, he was a tad bit timid of the cake but made enough of a mess to get washed up. What would a birthday be without getting in your birthday suit.
Opening presents was a lot of fun for this boy. Lucky for him he had a lot of help from his cousins and friends. Happy birthday Brock!
For the record this boy took 5 steps today! Way to go!!!!

President's Weekend

Can I say that I love our dead Presidents even more when we get days off in celebration of them? I really do. Thank you President Lincoln and President Washington for making such an impact on our country so that we can have the day off to spend with our familiy and friends.






This weekend was really nice and relaxing. We didn't do too much because the kids weren't feeling themselves. Friday night we went to dinner to celebrate Valentine's day with some friends. PF Chang's is always a good place for a large group. Too bad the Barber's didn't make it - poor baby swollowed a penny that day and was rushed to the ER to get it taken out. Nice to know she is fine now - whew! (I hijacked this picture from Summer's blog)


Saturday was spent organizing and cleaning house. Now that my mom has moved out... oh only a few months ago - we are trying to decide what to do with the spare room. John wants it to be an office. I'm not against it completely. I just think that since neither of us "work from home" we shouldn't use up an entire room just for an office. I'd like to have it part office, playroom, tv room... you know - a little of everything. Am I expecting too much? I think we should re-shelf the closet to fit a TV and have space for baskets of toys and other kid items. I want a small couch in there but John really wants bean bags. I just don't know if I'm a "Bean Bag" kinda gal. Hmmm.... what to do... what to do.

Monday after the kids and I went to the park we came home and John called saying the tide was low and we should go down to the tide pools. I LOVE THE TIDE POOLS!!! So off we went and it was a beautiful day. I didn't have my camera with me so I took a couple pictures with my phone. I think they turned out ok considering....

Here is Jim giving a quick Marine Science course to the kiddies... Oh, I think he's just picking up crabs.
Look how georgous this day was. I swear I could have stayed outside all day long. I can't believe it is the middle of February!!!
Here is Paige and Owen (too shy to be photographed) standing on a rock covered in muscles. What was nice is that these little creatures made it really easy to walk on the rocks - it wasn't slippery at all.
Here is me and my buddy Brock. What is with me? Do I think I'm Posh Spice - can't I smile??? I think I was concentrating on trying to get the both of us in the picture at the same time - but seriously smile girl!

Valentine's Day Our Way

We started the day off with Valentines parties at both Kindergarten and Preschool. I could only go to one of them so I picked my favorite child and went there.... j/k. I wasn't invited to Owen's party and since I don't get to help in Paige's class that often - I try to go to the events that I can.
I went to the party with a mission. The mission was, if I choose to accept it - which I did, to take a photo of Trevor (the "Love Note" kid) without being noticed. I'm afraid that his mom already thinks we are stalkers (I may have neglected to blog about Paige's other Love Notes dropped off at his house) so I was to be stelth. This is the best shot I could get. Yes, she still talks about him constantly, but in good taste she plays it cool around him. I was impressed.
I was glad to be the one picking up today because the kids (we carpool with Mason) came out wearing the cutest hearts over them. Luckily I still had my camera in my pocket from my earlier mission. On the back was a cute poem that said... "This Valentine I'm giving you, Don't put it on a shelf. It's something you can hold and love. I'm giving you myself." I about cried it was too cute.
Well it wouldn't be Valentine's day without some home-made treats. We decided to make a cake for Daddy. Paige and her cousin Fletcher helped frost it and all the kids helped douse it with sprinkes.
Wha-la! "The Best Cake Ever," according to Owen. Can I say that I was impressed with our efforts. The kids also made valentines for their dad - Owen refused to make one for me. I asked a couple times and he said, "no, Daddy." Alrighty then.
Don't worry the day wasn't going to pass without Paige making a special delivery to Trevor's house. Lucky for us he wasn't home so after ringing the bell a few dozen times, she left it on his doorstep. Oh Trevor I swear we are not stalkers, but this girl has a mad crush and if you only knew how often she wanted to drop by... well you get the point.
And finally it wouldn't be Valentine's Day without a dinner out... with the kids to Chuck E Cheese - yep that was our night. It was actually pretty fun, Brock had so much fun playing on this firetruck with no tokens in it. Don't you love that stage - when it was fun just to play on a toy without dumping $$$$ into it only to have it wiggle and jiggle for 28 seconds before we have to dump more $$$$. Good boy!
Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine's Tag

So I was tagged and let's face it - why not?

First off can I just say how HOT MY HUSBAND IS?!?!?! I think he is so smoking hot and I just want to say that not only is he hot, but he's a great husband and a hot father... (LOL!!! Ok, I can't write anymore without laughing too hard. That was for you Sara and Wendy and Adrienne and everyone else who thinks it's silly - to say the least - when people blog like that.)

Ok, Here we go... for real.

WHAT IS HIS NAME? John Karl Zimmerman
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? 7 years this March
HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? 9 Months
WHO EATS MORE SWEETS? That is a close tie, but I'm going with him to make me feel better
WHO SAID I LOVE YOU FIRST? Interesting question, he tried to get me to say it first and I refused... I wasn't born yesterday buddy ;)
WHO IS TALLER? Him
WHO CAN SING BETTER? Me, and that isn't saying much.
WHO IS SMARTER? Well, I like to say that he has the book smarts and I have the street smarts - he'll probably argue that though.
WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY? I wash it, but he will help me fold it and put it away (I hate that part)
WHO MOWES THE LAWN? Neither of us... I want to meet a husband that does.
WHO PAYS THE BILLS? John.
WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? Well, I'm on top... j/k (LOL). I do.
WHO COOKS DINNER? I do. But he makes cookies better than me. It's true.
WHO DRIVES? That's a trick question, because if I'm not then I'm telling him where to go and that is half the driving right? No but really, he does.
WHO IS MORE STUBBOR? Are you kidding? Did you read my answers? Me.
WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? That will be the argument till the day I die. I say he did. He says I did. I may be stubborn but I'm not a liar. HE DID.
WHO ASKED WHO OUT FIRST? He aske me.
WHO HAS MORE SIBLINGS? He does, by 1.
WHO WEARS THE PANTS IN THE FAMILY? "We both have one leg in" Isn't that what everyone says? A cliche' but true.

Love You Honey!

Big Bear or Bust!

This past weekend we took a quick trip up to Big Bear with the Thurmans and the Brians. It was so fun and beautiful up there. Getting away for the weekend can be such a nice treat. The kids had a blast together - as always!
Here they are... all the kiddies minus 2 babies. (Back Row: Paige, Meggan, Taylor & Zach; Front Row: Owen, Eliza & Avery)
Saturday was just perfect. There was enough snow for the kids to go sledding and make a Snow Man but the weather was good enough to go out on a walk and throw snowballs. We also went to the old school arcade and played games for cheap toys. Love that. It was also Meggan's 9th birthday so Lori made a cake and we all sang to her. We really enjoyed celebrating with her. Happy Birthday Meggan!!!
Here is John and the kids before heading to the hills for sledding. The women and babies stayed home and kept warm inside while the dads took the kids out. I think Owen looks funny here - almost like he's too cool for the photo.
Paige had such a good time, she was sad that we couldn't stay longer - unfortunaltly a snow storm came in earlier than we planned and cut our trip a little short. Don't worry Paige I'm sure we'll go up again soon. It took a little convincing for Owen to keep all these warm clothes on. It is hard enough for him to stay fully dressed at home - so all this extra clothing was a lot for him to handle. He was so cute trying to stomp through the snow and chase the other kids around.
Here we are - the snow just kept calling for us to come out and play. It case you couldn't tell by the background Paige wanted to hold up snow to show what she was playing with. Thanks Paige!
Oh! And yes, Brock came too - he didn't play in the snow though. He is still just crawling and had a fabulous time chasing after the kids indoors.

I must say it is weekend like these that the kids will always remember. The adults had a good time too - after the kiddies were in bed we played games, watched movies, talked and laughed - oh yeah and ate!

Thanks guys for such a fun weekend!