Keeping up with the Duggers!

Okay, so we're not actually trying to keep up with the Duggers since they have 17 kids and another on the way but we are excited to be expecting Baby Z #2 in late January 2009!!!

We're at 12 weeks right now and so far everything has gone well. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday and the baby looks fantastic - it was jumping around in there like a little frog. Definitely more action than we ever saw from McKenzie during ultrasounds. That kind of scares me a bit since McKenzie literally does not stop moving for a second unless she is sleeping or restrained in a high chair, stroller or car seat.



I've been trying to teach McKenzie to say 'baby' - she knows what baby means. She will go get her doll if I talk to her about babies but refuses to say much else besides 'dog'. She likes her baby and will give it kisses but will abandon the baby in a second for Flat Monkey. Good thing we have baby Claire around to practice being gentle with : )

In other news we have been having fun in the sun here in Washington - two weekends ago McKenzie and I headed over to visit Grandma and Grandpa C in Chelan, one of my favorite places! We had a nice relaxing visit and went to the pool and the lake. McKenzie actually enjoyed the lake more because there were lots of other kids and she could touch the bottom and play on her own. Here's McKenzie stealing someone else's beach toy - guess I'll have to pack more toys next time we go!



Then last weekend I attended a baby shower on Saturday morning for Matt's cousin Cassandra. McKenzie stayed home with Matt and had a great time doing some shopping at Costco. In the afternoon McKenzie joined me at a bridal shower for my friend Jenn. It was one of those perfect Northwest afternoons where the weather is just perfect for a backyard event. It was so good to see Jenn and her family and to get to introduce them to McKenzie.

On Sunday we went out to visit Grandma and Grandpa Z for a swim and dinner. We had a great time and McKenzie really enjoyed the pool time because Aunt Jen and Uncle Chris had their dog Breck over and it was swimming in the pool with McKenzie. Here's an action shot of Matt tossing McKenzie around in the pool.

The Adventures of a Flat Monkey...

Where to begin? Flat Monkey, as he is lovingly known to those who have seen him, entered our lives before McKenzie. He came rolled up, hiding his true wonderful shape, as part of a fantastic diaper cake that I received at a baby shower from Matt's cousin Cassandra. There were many fantastic things in that diaper cake but the very best thing was flat monkey.





Flat Monkey is a bright pink monkey shaped toy without stuffing except for in his head. He looks a little like a cross between a puppet and what you might imaging a flying squirrel might look like. From the time she could grasp things McKenzie has been loving Flat Monkey. He has been everywhere with us and is a constant bedtime companion. In an effort to wash flat monkey once in a while and to ensure we always have something around to love, he has been joined by two other flat friends - Flat Elephant and most recently Flat Hippo an import from our trip to Banff.

Last Monday when we were getting ready to go to the zoo we stopped at Rite Aid to run an errand and when we got back to the car I looked for Flat Monkey to put in the car seat with McKenzie but couldn't find him. I was sure she hadn't taken him into the store so I figured he had jumped ship before we made it to the car at home. We went on to the zoo had a great time and then got home and McKenzie went down for her nap. I looked everywhere for that monkey, in the house, the yard, the car twice. Nothing. I talked to Matt and he accused me of ruining McKenzie's childhood. Then I decided to call Rite Aid just in case.

I called and asked if there was a lost and found and there was. I then had to describe the item I was looking for. I just dove in knowing it wasn't going to get any better... "it's a bright pink flat monkey, like a toy without stuffing." I was put on hold so they could send someone to look, I just knew they were laughing as they called this around the store... then someone else got on the line and she said "no, there's nothing like that in the lost and found, but I did see something like that out of place on one of the shelves, let me go look." She came back on and said "Well, there's no mistaking this is the item you are looking for, it's definitely a pink flat monkey." Thank you Rite Aid for taking the time to reconnect McKenzie with her friend.

Here's a little tribute to the Flat Monkey...

Flat Monkey is McKenzie's BFF.

Lions and Tiger and Bears! Oh, my!!

This Monday I skipped work and took McKenzie on her second annual trip to the zoo with our dear friends Kaden, Mikelle, Halle and Carrie. Hopefully we can make it down to the zoo more often now that she can actually enjoy the visit a little more. We saw so many 'dogs' at the zoo it was amazing. Every animal we saw whether it was a snake, elephant, or zebra was a dog to McKenzie. She was excited about all of them. We looked at the animals, had some lunch, played on some toys and then it was time to head home. McKenzie was dead asleep before we even left the parking lot which made me very happy!

Here's last years zoo trip when McKenzie was almost two months old. Needless to say we had a much better trip this year since she was able to really enjoy the sites.



Kaden is four and is holding baby Halle, who is four months old, then Mikelle is on the left and she is 2 and then McKenzie is one. Give them another year and they will be running wild together : )


It was so nice that Carrie and the kids were available and willing to drive up to the zoo and meet us on Monday when I had the day off. I am so thankful to have a 'forever friend' like Carrie - we have known each other since we were in preschool together and I know I will grow old with her as my friend. It doesn't matter how often we talk or can see each other we always can just pick right back up where we left off and we always have the best time. The best thing about Carrie is when we plan something together like our Monroe High School reunion I know that whatever part she takes on will be just like I would have done. It's hard to find a friend like that out there in the world. I just hope that someday McKenzie finds a forever friend to go through life with.

Here's Carrie and me as Junior Cheerleaders way back in the day... we'll see if these girls take after us!

Exciting Times!

Lots of exciting events have happened since my last entry so hang in there faithful blog stalkers I'll get you updated. Two Saturdays ago was cousin Kayla's 3rd birthday and we celebrated by attending her princess party. It was a beautiful day for a BBQ and everyone had a lot of fun especially those who ventured into the kiddie pools in the backyard. Here's a picture of the birthday girl herself looking cute as always : )


Here's McKenzie and Grandma C testing out Kayla's new pink scooter!!! If only McKenzie was a few inches taller she could ride it by herself...


On Sunday McKenzie headed back to Aunt Kacey's for the week and Matt and I headed off to the airport to leave on our trip to Banff. Before we left Matt gave McKenzie her first driving lessons in the truck - she was so excited to be 'driving' Daddy's truck...



On the way we talked to Aunt Jennifer and found out she was at the hospital in labor. We got all the way to the airport before deciding we should get a later flight and go see her so we grabbed another cab and headed for the hospital. We didn't have long to wait before Claire Alida Herrman made her way into the world! She is such a beautiful baby - we were very glad to get to meet her before our trip. Here's a picture of baby Claire showing off her beautiful eyes. Check out Claire's blog for more info on her : )



After seeing Claire we headed back to the airport to catch the next flight to Calgary but found out the hard way that you now need to check in two hours prior to an international flight so we had to wait eight more hours for the next flight at 9:30 pm. So we checked our bags in at a bag check service and grabbed another cab to South Center for dinner and a movie then back to the airport. The third time was a charm - we were able to catch the evening flight. We were so happy to find the Oracle greeters still at the airport in Calgary ready to get us on the next shuttle up to Banff which is an hour and a half drive from the airport. We arrived around 2:30 am but were just happy to be somewhere with a bed to sleep in. We didn't get our first look at the area until the next day and it was truly amazing! Here's a picture of the view from our hotel room - looks like a postcard doesn't it?


Here's the hotel looking up from down near the river, it looks a bit like it's straight out of Harry Potter doesn't it? Matt took this picture when we went on a small hike to see Bow Falls after having lunch at a pub where Matt experienced the Canadian treat, poutine, for the first time. Unfortunate name - great food, needless to say he loved it!



Overall, our trip to Banff was very restful and we really enjoyed seeing a different part of the country. It's amazing that this hotel was built over 100 years ago - it was part of the series of resort hotels built along the Canadian railway line. We also got to experience Canada Day, which is July 1st, while we were up there. It's very similar to the 4th of July in the States - lots of flags and fireworks. Here's a picture of Matt and me on the last night relaxing in the lounge.


We got back home on July 3rd and McKenzie was very happy to see us. She wanted to go home and see her dogs. They missed her too and were very happy to have everyone home.

On the 4th we went out to Monroe to visit Grandma and Grandpa Z. Afterwards we had some friends over and joined our neighbors out in the cul-de-sac for fireworks. Matt and the neighbors put on quite a show with a little of everyone's favorite things. McKenzie missed the show since it was past her bedtime but next year she'll be out there doing sparkles with the cousins.




Saturday night we had some friends over for the first official bon fire of the season - the Christmas tree was burned - a tradition we stick to every year. Then on Sunday morning McKenzie was being a big helper once again and brought both newspapers in for us. Hopefully this won't inspire her to want a paper route someday - you have to get up pretty darn early for that.
On Sunday we also went down to Seattle to visit baby Claire and to wish Uncle Christopher Happy Birthday! McKenzie was very gentle with Claire and even gave Claire several kisses. Giving kisses is something she has just started doing so it's a rare treat to get a McKenzie kiss : )



We have been very lucky that we have a little niece one year younger than McKenzie because it has allowed us to offload thing to Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Chris once McKenzie has outgrown them. They did get some new things for Claire that McKenzie was very interested in - here she is testing out Claire's new swing. It passed the McKenzie test with flying colors - Claire will have lots of time to enjoy it if McKenzie still fits into it!



That's all for now - sorry for the worlds longest blog entry, hopefully this will make up for the dry spell.