Hodge Podge of Catch Up!!

The last several weeks have been very busy. First of all, my sister in law Ashley passed away on March 21st. She had been battling Sarcoma Cancer for over two years. She was 32 and a mother of four. The first picture is of David (Daniels older brother) and Ashley from the Z reunion last July. My heart goes out to David and the kids but I know that David is strong and will get his family through this tough time. We have grown close to Davids family, as we are the only family in Texas. The boys LOVE Uncle David. The boys and I went to the funeral, thanks to Aunt Sara who flew down to Houston to drive with us. The funeral was a nice Memorial of Ashleys life and she will be missed. Most of the family was able to come. Amidst all of the sorrow, it was nice to see all the cousins playing and laughing and to be with family.

The Z cousins minus one.

Nate, David and Ashleys oldest, and Brigham.

Uncle David and Brigham.

Uncle Matt with Lendl.

Uncle Neil with Brigham.

The kids wrestling Uncle David.

We got back from the funeral on Thursday, March 25th, and switched gears to prepare for little Daniels baptism on Saturday the 27th. Friday was the day of arrivals including my mother, my brother Nick, Daniels parents were coming from Davids and daddy. Friday was a stressful day. Little Daniel woke up and felt sick so he went back to bed. When he woke up again, he threw up and got back in bed. Then his face started to swell. His eyes were swollen, lips were swollen, parts of his forehead and ears were swollen. Initially I thought that Daniel was having a reaction to a tooth that fell out the day before. Normally I would not think a tooth coming out would cause a reaction but his tooth was knocked out by one of his uncles. I won't name names but I love him anyway! Once Daniel started to scratch his throat, I knew that I needed to get him to the doctor. I was feeling very anxious seeing my son this way. It turned out to be a bite of some sort and he was put on several medicines. We now have an Epi pen. So with that moment over, we were able to redirect our focus on the Baptism and to seeing daddy. Though daddy was only able to come home for a day and a half, we loved being with him. We are now down to 9 weeks of the 22 week separation. We look forward to being together again!

So my Daniel is EIGHT. What an amazing moment to see my husband baptize our son into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! It is hard to describe my feelings but my heart feels joy. We had a great program. Lendl said the Opening Prayer. Grandma Cease played the piano while I conducted the music. Daniel chose the songs "When Jesus Christ Was Baptized" and his favorite song, "Called to Serve". Grandma Z gave a talk on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. Daddy baptized and confirmed with the help of Uncle Nick and Granddad Z. Uncle Nick said the Closing Prayer. Even with his itchy and watery eyes, little Daniel had a very special day and I hope he remembers it and remembers how he felt coming out of the waters of baptism. Daniel and Daniel

My four favorite boys!

I am so blessed to be part of this family! A BIG thanks to all who came to celebrate with us.

So then EASTER. What a fun time with egg hunts, class parties and candy candy candy!

The boys had fun dying eggs but more fun eating them.

This was at the Church Easter activity.

The second graders did something different this year. The kids were all suppose to bring 6 eggs with their name on it. Instead of just running around getting 6 eggs, which takes a few minutes, the kids had to find their own eggs. Sounds simple but with 90 second graders looking for very specific eggs, it took about 30 minutes. It was a lot of fun and by the end, friends and siblings were helping each other.

The Easter bunny came to visit Lendls class. As you can see from his smile (above), he was thrilled!

My baby is Nine months old! Nine! I mean NINE!

MMMMMM...Fresh Avacado.

Brigham loves bubbles. He watches them, laughs at them and tries to catch them.

This boys never wants to sit. He is always on the go and is cruising well with the help of his walker. He has skipped the whole crawling phase. He has also started to let go and will stand on his own. I love to watch his face because he feels so proud of himself as he stands longer and longer. I have attached two videos from one of the first days he started walking. My other videos are too long to attach. We have two walkers and he will start with one then see the other one, go to it switch and then switch again and again. So fun! I don't think it will be long before he starts walking without help.

First time on a swing. I would say he is enjoying himself.

Love his cheeks.

Okay, yes, I let him have a sucker and you know what, he thought it was YUMMY.

Isn't his face so pure and perfect!

He is a big boy too.

Since I am on my own there are no pictures of the baby and I so finally because family was in town, I now have a picture with my son.