Thursday Fun...

Today was the last "Lunch on the Square" for the summer, so of course we had to go! We were thrilled that Angie and Jackson Mohr were also there! And did I mention that Nancy Turk was there also with her kiddos (wink, wink, Nance)and although she didn't eat there, she did do the craft:) Where was everyone else?!? After enjoying our lunch, we headed across the street for crafts and the ever-popular face painting. Today the kids colored butterfly recipe card holders (which Nancy and I agreed would make cute picture holders also).

Showing off the craft

Then it was time to get our faces painted...well, in our family, we get arms painted:) But Jaelyn surprised us today by actually wanting to get her face done...and here's the result:

And Jackson decided to get his arm painted too:

Other pictures from our outing... My 2 favorite guys:)

The New Man in Town...

I have a new man in my life...and he's totally stolen my heart! I love this little guy to pieces...we all do! Thanks to Joe and Kateri for the onesie...it's one of my favorites:)

Some of the highlights from the past week or so are:

At his 2 week visit, Zane weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz! I was completely thrilled!!! When he came home from the hospital he was 5 lbs. 14 oz., so I was hoping he'd be at least close to 7 lbs. I felt good knowing that he is obviousely getting enough to eat!

Zane had his first tub bath this morning. He didn 't seem to phased by it, he didn't cry or anything, just kinda laid there. Although, when we got him out, he did pee on me...comes with a boy I guess:)

Kaesyn has decided to not sleep in her bed anymore. She now prefers the hallway! She's been doing this for about a week or so now. One would think it would get a little uncomfortable sleeping on the hard floor but she doesn't seem to mind. And usually halfway though the night, she goes back to her room.

The other day Jared and Zane were cuddled up for a nap, and I was able to snap some super cute pictures!

Our Little Man...

So far Zane has proved to be a very easy baby...he goes 3 hours in between feedings and he even wakes himself to eat! We are thoroughly enjoying our beautiful baby boy! I have learned to be very fast at diaper changes and although many have told me boys are "easier" to change than girls, I'm not buyin' it...at least not yet. There is just way too much to do all at one time! Here are a couple of the latest pics:

Playing Catch Up...

Jared has been VERY helpful with stuff around the house...so I thought I'd take the time and do some catch up work on my blog, since I never did get around to it before Zane was born.

Our month of June was pretty much consumed by getting the basement ready for the girls...but we did manage to get some "fun family time" in:)

We went to Dutch Wonderland with some friends of ours...unfortunately we picked THE hottest day of the whole month I think. I even had some lady come up to me and ask if I should really be at the park in "my condition"...I assured her I was sitting alot and drinking plenty of water! It's amazing what people will say right to your face! Here are some highlights of the day:

The girls enjoyed alot of rides and we all enjoyed the water park. We can't wait to go back later on this summer!

The next "big" thing in June was that Kaesyn turned 2! We decided to keep it really simple this year since we had so much other stuff going on. We had a cookout with family and then headed up to Lake Tobias since Kaesyn LOVES animals. We absolutely LOVE going to Lake Tobias...it's a great place to take kids! (Oh, and Jena...if you are reading this...no fancy birthday cake this time:) My belly was a little too big and bending over a cake wasn't too appealing to me, so I took the easy way out and just did cupcakes). Here are some highlights from the day:

The Birthday Girl:)

Kaesyn was HILARIOUS in the petting zoo...all the goats wanted her crackers but she didn't want them to eat them at first. Every time a goat came up to get a cracker she said "HEY!" and pulled the cracker away. Finally, with a little coaxing, she gave up the crackers! Taegan found a goat that she really liked and called it "her buddy" and Jaelyn's favorite were the ponies. I opted to not do the bumpy safari ride, but the girls really enjoyed that too! It was a really fun day!

INTRODUCING...

Zane Matthew Akers

July 6th 3:14 a.m.

6 lbs. 5 oz 19"long

So here's the story...we went to the hospital on Saturday afternoon, after contracting all day Friday and Saturday morning. I was 3 1/2 cm so they told me to walk the halls for awhile. After walking for about 45 minutes, I was about 4 1/2 cm so they decided to keep me. I was hoping for a short labor but it turned into a pretty long night. I was dilating and making progress but Zane's head was a little turned and was preventing him from dropping down into the birth canal. At about midnight I was pretty exhausted and asked for some staydol so I could rest for a little. That knocked me out for about an hour and a half, which I definitely needed. Then they gave me some pitocin to help get my contractions going more regularly. I started pushing at around 2:45 and he was born half an hour later. Because he dropped so fast and was out in one push, there was a little bit of fluid on his lungs, so they had to monitor that for awhile. But we are thankful he is very healthy and doing great!

The girls absolutely LOVE their baby brother...and fight over who gets to hold him next:) Kaesyn calls him her baby and doesn't give him up too easily! Well...motherly duties are calling...be back to blog later!