He is here!

We are so excited to announce the arrival of our son, Nathan David! He was born March 7th, 7 lbs 3 oz, and 19 1/2 inches long. Here are some pictures of us at the hospital and when we arrived home. Our girls think he is so cute, and cannot keep their little hands off of him...which is making me paranoid because they've got colds.

Rachel holding her baby brother. Out of all the girls, Rachel thinks our baby is the greatest in the world.

Katie was scared at the hospital, but she and I took a turn holding him.

Rachel being very excited. David has been doing the girls hair for the last week. He does a pretty good job while I'm gone!

David holding his first son.

Cute picture of Nathan at home.

Sarah couldn't go to the hospital because she has been pretty sick. Now that we have him home, she thinks he is neat every once in a while to look at...but not to touch. This is as close as we could get them together in a picture. Welcome to our family little guy!

Love Sack and Chicken Hips

We have had our love sack for about three years, and have never gotten it stuffed. Well, for our Valentine's Day, we got our love sack filled. The girls love it! It is the new favorite toy that they jump on, wrestle on, and get thrown on. We were very excited today.

We made Valentine cookies yesterday. Daddy got the big one, and we made little ones for everyone else. I made it the whole time without snitching the icing or the cookie dough...it was no fun, but should be done once to let yourself know you have the willpower.

I was tickling Rachel's back the other day, and she said, "Stop Mom! You're giving me chicken hips!" I said, "Rachel, what are chicken hips?" She showed me her arm, and said, "Look, chicken hips!" I laughed and said, "Rachel, those are called goose bumps!" I still have no idea where she got the word chicken hips.

Tagged

I have never done one of these, but here it goes.


Here are the rules:
Post rules on blog
Answer the six 8 items
Let each person know by leaving them a comment


8 Favorite TV Shows (I'm going to change this to the last eight books I've read...I don't watch TV)
1. Joan of Arc, A biography
2. The Goose Girl
3. These Is My Words
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
5. Sarah's Quilt
6. Mr. Darcy's Daughters
7. Fire in the Bones
8. The Ladies Auxiliary

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Exercised (this is getting harder to accomplish each day)
2. Wiped a lot of noses (we are all still sick)
3. Made a Valentine Family Home Evening lesson
4. Helped my Mom with a quilt for Steph
5. Listened to my Dad play the harmonica for the FHE talent...it was really good
6. Played "Red Light - Green Light" with the family
7. Made myself a smoothie before going to bed
8. Played "Guess Who" with Katie and Rachel


8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. David coming home from work
2. Family get togethers
3. Date night
4. All of my family feeling healthy again...its been a long three weeks
5. Conference
6. A home of my own
7. Having our fourth child
8. My sister coming home from her mission in Australia


8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Cafe Rio
2. The Olive Garden
3. Pizza Plus
4. Village Inn
5. The Blue Bird
6. Kate's Kitchen
7. Subway
8. Quiznos

8 Things I Wish For:
1. A closer commute for David
2. Enough money to pay for a home with cash...I hate debt
3. Our children to know who they are and can stand up for what they believe in
4. Leaders of our country that stand for values I believe in
5. People I love living closer
6. Spring to come
7. Taking a ballroom dance class again
8. A ride in a hot air balloon

8 People I Tagged:
1. Anybody
2. Everybody
3. Nobody
4. Somebody
5. Anyone
6. Everyone
7. Someone
8. If you want to, go ahead, I tag you.

New Looks

Well, I got really tired of my blog, and couldn't figure out where everyone was getting such cute backgrounds for their blogs, but thanks to my all-knowing-sister-in-law Jenn, she helped me tweak my blog. I like the change.

The girls have their own look lately. I made them some skirts for Christmas, and they wear them everyday. The shirts they choose to wear with the skirts may clash...but over here, they are the most beautiful girls in the world. If they're aren't forced to wear school clothes...or church clothes, they are wearing the skirts.

The last couple months of pregnancy can be pretty frustrating, and long...so this is how I keep busy. Along with the skirts, I made these red Christmas dresses. I had enough leftover fabric to make Sarah a skirt...that she hates and refuses to wear.

Then, our latest project was inspired by my sister Melanie. We had some leftover blue and green fabric from my cousin Cami's wedding. Melanie made her little girl Brooke a blue dress, and I thought it looked cute, so Mom and I made Rachel and Katie the same blue dress. Then we had enough of the green fabric to make Sarah a little dress. Well, we didn't stop there, and Joseph and Jenn's little girl Emmy got a green dress also. That way all the little girl cousins have this same dress. Tune in later for the photo shoot.

Play Time

With the holidays and so much time together, our girls have had a lot of time to play together. So, here are some fun things they've said and done.

Rachel and Katie playing with dolls:
Rachel says, "Your big humongous baby is going to eat my Dad!"
Katie goes over to the baby, picks it up, and very seriously says, "Baby, we don't eat Dads."

Katie is telling David a story:
"So there is this bad nice man, and he is taking care of the kids..." (maybe you had to be there for this one, but that was the opening line, and the rest was as random).

Sarah loves popcorn, and we've had it a lot lately. Tonight, she said, "Popcorn, Mommy". I said no. The next thing we know, Sarah brings out the kernel popcorn (in a glass container that is as big as her). And then one minute later, she comes in carrying the popper...that is also as big as her.

Rachel says, "We have four beautifuls and one handsome. When the baby comes, he will be handsome like Daddy." Very sweet.

We always ask the girls what they want to name the baby...because we have no idea what to name him...here are our recent suggestions.
Katie: "We'll name the baby Joseph, then call him "JoJo!"
Rachel: "Lets just call him "Baby boy."
Then they get crazy, and insist that Clifford and Cleo would be good names. George has been brought up. Every boy child in Rachel's kindergarten class has been mentioned. Katie starts saying she really likes the girl names better; Genevieve, Lacey, Esmeralda....and so on. We've stopped asking for their advice...but they give it anyway!

Rachel's Birthday!

Rachel turned six today! We had her party yesterday. Uncle Joseph and Aunt Jenn came with their family. Grandma Nana and Aunt Carla also came. Grandma and Grandpa Zollinger, of course, were here for the party. Rachel was really excited about her cake and about her new doll house.

Rachel is so sweet. She is growing up so fast and has hit so many firsts this past year. She started school, lost her first teeth, made new friends at church and school, and has began to fill the role in our family as the oldest. She is a huge help to me around the house and with her sisters. We love her tons! Happy Birthday Rachel!

If you're a cat lover....don't read this.

My dad loves cats...my mom despises cats. This year, though, the cats have taken over. Once, David and I counted 13 cats. The farm does have its uses for cats, but it is extreme this year.

One reason Mom hates cats, is because they climb on the window sill and sharpen their claws on her window screens. Dad also saw this as a problem because his beloved wife was so unhappy about it. The pictures you see are how Dad took care of the problem. Mom was overwhelmed with love for her husband when she saw the nails.