Ohio

Near the end of June, I was able to take Zach on a little trip to visit my mom and sister in Ohio. We haven't seen them since they moved last summer, so it was really great. What a neat little town they live in! It was so fun to be out in the "mid-west" area again even though I was reminded what it is like to be in the humidity.
While I was there Stephanie and I took the kids and drove to Kirtland to see the Church history sites there. It was really neat to see the area. We walked through the little historical area and went through the temple. I thought it was a very interesting tour and the whole area is beautiful. It's been a long time since I've been around that many trees :)
It was also fun to get Ruby and Zach together. They were born just a few weeks apart and it was cute to see how they reacted to each other. We got some cute pictures, but they happen to be print. I'll see if I can get Dave to scan one in so I can post it on here.

Pinewood Derby

This year Ben built his Pinewood Derby car (almost) entirely by himself :) Since last year Ben got to build his car with Dave, this year he was supposed to build it with his dad. But unfortunately that didn't work out. Two days before the race, we found out that it wasn't done. Yikes! So, it was Grandpa Bradshaw to the rescue. While I ran to Michael's to get spray paint, Grandpa brought over his tools. Ben decided on a design and drew it out and then got to work. Dave and Grandpa supervised and helped a little when needed, but Ben did it pretty much on his own. His design was simple, having only a day to work on it, but I told him that usually the most simple ones are the best :) We got it all painted and Grandpa helped him with the wheels. On the day of the race we were all a little nervous since last year Ben's car crashed! We just wanted him to have a good experience. When all was said and done, Ben's car came in 5th place out of 32 cars. He was really pleased. He didn't care that he didn't "win" he was just glad that he did well. I was really proud of his attitude and the fact that he did it himself.

We're Moving

We have loved this little house in Sugarhouse but we are definitely outgrowing it now that Zach has joined our family. Although we will miss the neighborhood, we're going to move into the apartment at Dave's parents' new house in Herriman. It's going to be a great opportunity because now Dave is going to use this chance (cheap rent) to finish his degree! We are really excited and looking forward to this next year. I'm also very excited to finally have a kitchen that is bigger than 4x5 ft with no lower cabinets!!! And those of you who have been to our house know that I'm not exaggerating!
It's been quite a struggle since I am still on restrictions from surgery and cannot pack, exert myself, or lift anything. But Dave's family has been wonderfully helpful. I seriously could not have done this without you guys! Once again, I look around myself and wonder how I got so lucky as to find such an amazing husband with such a great family. It is very easy lately to count my blessings.



Here's some video of Zach about 3 months old. He's so beautiful sometimes I can hardly believe it. Towards the end of this one you can see how he is really expressive with his eyebrows. So amazing.

Literally

I found the boys in the front yard earlier and when for some reason felt suspicious--let's call it intuition--I discovered that they were playing with a dying bird. When I freaked out and started scolding them Ben said to me, "No, Mom. You said never play with a DEAD animal. This bird is still alive!" Silly me.

Spring Break in Vegas

At the end of March, we were able to go down to Las Vegas and see most of Dave's family and have a fun vacation. It was part Spring Break, part family reunion and part our First Anniversary. There were all kinds of reasons not to do it: the boys were in school, I was still recovering from the complications during the pregnancy and had not yet had my heart surgery, Dave had to work... But dang it all. I did not want to miss the party! We also had not yet met Susan's or Becky's babies and I was dying to see them. We wound up not staying as long as everyone else did, but we still had a wonderful time. Liz was able to hook us up with some great deals (thanks Lizzy!) and we found many more family-friendly things to do than I expected.



We stayed at Excaliber. The boys (and especially Taylor) absolutely loved that we were staying in a "Castle."

All the babies together! Susan, Becky and Dave all with their baby boys.

The show at the Excaliber was really great. Knights jousting and sword fighting... the boys loved it!



The dolphin enclosure at the Mirage. It was really neat how close you were to the dolphins. The boys said this was their second favorite part, the best part they said was swimming in the pool. :) We also took them to the aquarium, the fountain at the Bellagio, and Dave and I saw the Cirque du Soleil "Beatles Love" show for our Anniversary date.



While we were in Las Vegas, Sally had Zach pose in this outfit which she has kept from when Dave was a child. She has a photo of Dave in the same outfit at the same age, although it's a bit more snug on Zach :)

Baby Pictures

Video of Zachary in the hospital



The day he was born



5 weeks old



2 months old

Welcome Zachary!

Zachary David Bradshaw was born on February 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 a.m. He was 19 inches long and weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. He was almost unbearably cute from day one.

Pregnancy

At first this pregnancy seemed to be my easiest but in the end, it has been my hardest. With all the bed rest, medication, hospital visits and complications, I am grateful that the end is in sight. I am also grateful that we have had so many friends and family close by and willing to help out. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us through this, and who I know will be helping us in the months to come.

Winter Fun

Since I was on bedrest literally the entire winter, I was really glad that the boys had Dave to go out and have fun with. Here's a video of them sledding down the hill at Sugarhouse Park.

Jacob

My kids are growing up WAY too fast! I keep telling people that my birthdays don't really make me feel old... but my kids' do. Jacob just turned six and he started Kindergarten this year. So I am definitely starting to feel it. But enough about me. Jacob is loving school. We were able to get him into the full day Kindergarten, which I love because the boys both go and come at the same time. He's having a lot of fun with his teacher and starting to get the hang of some simple reading. Every time he makes an achievement he gets really excited.

For Jacob's Birthday he wanted a Monster Truck cake... so even though I'm not terribly creative, I did my best. He seemed to enjoy it regardless of my amateurism.

Kristina also got a puppy near Jacob's birthday and brought it over so that he could see her.

One last picture that has nothing to do with Jacob's birthday. The boys built a fort and wanted to sleep in it. I had to take a picture so that I can remember that they are not growing up THAT fast... :)

Ben's Baptism

In August this year Ben had his 8^th Birthday!

It took a little while to organize things with the other side of the family, but Ben was able to be Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in September.

We were really proud of him for making the decision to be baptized and happy that so much of his family was able to attend. I can't believe how fast he is growing up!

Halloween

We had a lot of fun this year for Halloween. Jacob went as Batman and Ben as Indiana Jones. I didn't get quite as into my costume as I did last year, but I found a witch's hat for cheap and decided to be a fat, pregnant witch :P We went to our Ward Trunk or Treat and the boys had a Halloween parade at their school. We also took them to Boo at the Zoo which was a lot of fun, but very crowded! We're lucky enough to live near Dave's friend Rachel and her daughter Kambrielle is just a bit younger than Jacob, so she came with us to the zoo and the Trunk or Treat. She and Jacob are such cute little friends.



Batman beating up Dave :)

The Fair

We took the boys to the Utah State Fair. We took the video camera with us so that when they say, "We never do anything fun" we can show them. :)

Ultrasound Pictures

A little foot

And a little face

Our little boy seems to be growing perfectly :)

IT'S A.....

BOY!!!


We've been really thinking it was going to be a girl, so this was a big surprise! I'll get Dave to scan the pictures in and post them up here. The doctor said everything looks healthy and right on schedule. Also, this baby is already very active and gets in some good kicking practice every day. We can't wait to meet our new little boy! We'll put up more of an update when I put the pictures on :)