Fun with Nana

There is so much fun to be had at Nana's house. Zoe loves hanging out in the mornings while we talk silly to her. It is amazing to hear all the noises that come out of her mouth. Nana shows her lots of new stuff. She also teaches her how to sit and stand up. Zoe gets bored very easily and Nana knows just how to entertain her.

Zoe likes to watch American Idol with Nana. Sorry Dad!

Nana knows just how to get Zoe to sleep with gentle rocking and a song.

I love my Nana!

Nana helped Zoe tame a lion in the nursery. So ferocious ...ROAR!

Kisses for Nana

Flipping the camera off... so much sass at 10 weeks

We sure are going to miss Nana and I know Nana will miss us. We'll have to get Skype to help fill in the gaps between visits.

More fun with the cousins!

Zoe has so much fun jumping from house to house, playing with her cousins. With so many kids around, there are lots of new gadgets to try. She plays in Lily's bouncer and swing, hangs out under Nana's floor gym, and she even tested out a jumperoo. Yippee!

Abby and Sam love it when Bekah reads to them. What a fine piece of literature.

Zoe liked the jumperoo but hasn't quite figured out what to do with her arms.

Aiden loves his Superman pajamas. Too cute!

These boys are thick as thieves

Ahhh... kisses from Aiden. He loves to give big wet smooches.

My sister worried what might happen to a little girl in a house full of boys. Well, this video shows she will have nothing to worry about.

More visitors for Lily

My sister's boys finally got to come visit their new baby sister today. After months of waiting, they couldn't wait to hold her. Whitney is recovering well and so happy to see her boys. She is looking forward to going home tomorrow.

Big Brother Connor

Big Brother Nolan

Lily and Zoe

Oh Boy!

Okay. So we knew things would be a bit crazy having two sisters with the same due date but with a planned c-section and Bekah's reputation for delivering late, we thought we would have a slight gap between the births. Well, Judah had other plans.

Mom decided to stay at the hospital overnight to help Whitney with the baby and I had gone home with Zoe to get some rest. I got a call at 3 am from Mom telling me that Bekah was in labor and on her way to the hospital. I needed to come and relieve her so she could help Bekah during her birth. Zoe and I rushed out of the house to lend a hand.

Bekah received her epidural at 4:30 and by 6 am, Judah arrived without a push. This girl is amazing. I think there might be a Slip-n-Slide attached to her somewhere.

Judah William weighed in at 8 lbs 5 ozs

We are all pretty tired from all the excitement but what a wonderful time. Both moms are doing great and we can't wait to bring everyone home.

Oh Girl!

My sister went in for her third and last c-section today. We all met at the hospital to wait with her before the surgery. She was in good spirits and looking forward to meeting her daughter Lily Anne.

Mom, Whitney and Brian before surgery

Brian prepares to meet Whitney in surgery

Shortly after 2 pm, Lily Anne arrived weighing 7 lbs 1 1/2 ozs. She has the tiniest features and super blonde hair. Just a doll!

We had quite an exciting day but little did we know we were in for a surprise. Our extended from Roseburg drove down to visit Lily on her birthday. What a sweet gesture and quite an effort on a week night. Thanks for coming guys!

Zoe got a piece of the welcome wagon as she got to meet some of her aunts and cousins too.

Aunt Janie

Aunt Patti

Cousins Galore!

Today we went to visit my brother Jon and his family. Zoe has 3 cousins there with one on the way. We are hoping to spend some good time with Uncle Jon because he joined the Army and will be leaving for basic training on July 20th. Though we are a bit sad, he feels this is a good move for him and his family. We wish them the very best and will miss them greatly.

Uncle Jon

Aunt Bekah

Cousin Abby

Cousin Benjamin

Cousin Samuel

Chillin' in the valley!

We made it to Medford!!! It has been quite an adventure to get this far and we are grateful for such wonderful memories with such a loving family. Zoe met some of her cousins today. My sister's boys were smitten with her, which is perfect. Their baby sister will be born on Wednesday by c-section. Whitney is a bit nervous but it is the last time she will have to endure that kind of recovery. All the girls went out for chinese food to celebrate. Zoe is still getting used to the noise level around so many big kids, but she's having fun.

Connor

Nolan

Aiden

Aunt Whitney

Growing Zoe leaves Redding

Zoe has had such a good time in Redding with Great Grandma and Grandpa Deetz. The weather was fantastic and the food even better. We leave today for Southern Oregon. In fact, Nana will be here soon and Zoe hasn't seen her since she was five days old. We hope GGma and Gpa Deetz enjoyed having us around and we hope to see them soon. Thanks for everything!

Zoe loves being able to wear her summer clothes! Thanks Redding!!

More visitors!

One of Debbie's closest friends, Colleen, came by yesterday to visit Zoe. It was really nice to see her and her granddaughter, Jordan. We hadn't seen Colleen since our wedding 4 years ago. Quite a bit has happened since then. Of course, she joined the consensus that Zoe looks like Aaron. If he weren't so cute, I might be offended.

We continue to enjoy the atmosphere out here. It is still so weird to be able to go anywhere by car and actually go into a store and find what you are looking for. We went to Target early this morning and no one was there. People smile at you and say "Have a wonderful day". I forgot how nice that is. Listen to me, what a fuddyduddy. We definitely are looking forward to the end of this trip and getting home to Daddy. I know he misses Zoe a lot.

Colleen
Jordan

Diggin' David Bowie

So apparently, Zoe has a thing for David Bowie. We made this discovery while staying with Aunt Dianne and David this week. She was having her nightly fuss after dinner and Uncle David scooped her up and started to dance and sing. This method has a long-running success rate with the girls in the family. Take note of Aunt Dianne's impressive scratching skills.

VIDEOS!

I think I finally figured out the FlipShare camera. I hope to post more videos during the trip. She is just doing so many adorable things, it seems only fair that I share them with as many people as possible. ENJOY!

Good Times in Redding

Well, we made it to Redding and the weather is absolutely beautiful: 80 degrees and dry as a bone. Great Grandma and Grandpa Deetz are beside themselves, doting on Zoe. They can't get over how much she looks like Aaron. It's true. We are looking forward to a visit from Colleen, one of Debbie's friends, sometime before Sunday. Then on to Oregon!

Great Grandpa John

Great Grandma Dodie

I couldn't help myself!!! You cannot be in California and not go to In-N-Out Burger. Of course I indulged in a strawberry shake as well.
Eat your heart out NYC.
You still got nothin' on this burger.

So much fun in Sac Town!

Zoe finally got to meet her Great Uncle Dave and Aunt Dianne. They were due back in Sacramento late on Easter Sunday but bad weather in Houston fouled up their flights and they spent 29 hours battling to get home. We were so glad to see them early on Monday morning and got spend the whole day with them. Cousin Lindsay flew in from LA to join us and made the visit even more perfect. I got the coolest haircut (pictures to come) and we ate a lot of tasty food. The Heimers made such a tremendous effort to see Zoe and we love them and thank them for sharing their beautiful home and opening their hearts to our daughter.

Great Uncle Dave knows what Zoe wants. She wants to dance and be serenaded with David Bowie songs.

Cousin Lindsay

Great Aunt Dianne

Dave made the most amazing dinner with antipasto salad and risotto with grilled chicken and asparagus. That boy can cook. He topped it all off with chocolate-dipped strawberries and ice cream for dessert.

Auntie D let me borrow the car and we were able to get to Yuba City to see Traci and Charlie. Charlie gave us a tour of the garage and showed off his birthday present. We are so glad we could make it out to see them both.

The Many Faces of Zoe

I have become fascinated with how many different expressions this little girl is capable of creating. You really can just watch her all day. She has changed so much in the last few weeks and I can't wait to show everyone our fast-growing baby girl!

Perfectly content with Mark



I only need to give you one shot to guess what she's doing.

Grandpa and the Princess hold

Getting goofy at Aunt Amy's

Chillin' on the changing pad

I think she's working on her third chin. You go, Zoe!