my runner

For the last four months Zach and three of his friends have been training for the St. Jude half marathon.

You can't really tell in the picture but Zach just crossed the finish line. 

The four boys who trained so hard and all crossed the finish line within 20 minutes of each other.

 

 Zach ran it in 2 hours 4 minutes and 40 seconds!

 Way to go Zach!  

Declan meets his cousins!

We spent Thanksgiving in North Carolina again this year with my brother's family and my parents.  We only see my brother and his family once a year so it was a lot of fun being able to spend time with them.  Plus, I love North Carolina.  Every time we go I try and talk Zach into moving there.  If we could get my in-laws to move there I think Zach would agree! :)

One of my best friend's, Ashlie, and her husband Brent just happened to be visiting Brent's sister in NC for Thanksgiving also.  Brent's sister, Taya, is good friends with my sister-in-law, Tara, so they all came up to Hickory on Wednesday.  We just love Ashlie and Brent!  It was so great to see them. 

On Thanksgiving we took some family pictures.  It's funny to think that last year Tara was pregnant with Gavin and I was pregnant (but it was still a secret) with Declan. :)

 This is my favorite picture...too bad you can't see my mom!  I love how Bella is totally diving straight for the camera.

 

My parents with their grandchildren.  It's crazy to think they already have more grandkids than they have kids!

We carried on tradition and made toffee the day after Thanksgiving.  Here are all the boys in the kitchen.  I promise the girls did help...we just didn't get a picture of it.

This is what my mom did while we were making toffee...Just kidding, my mom helped a lot with the toffee since she's the expert in making it! :)  She just couldn't pass up the chance to hold Declan.

Bella had fun making Declan laugh!

Gavin is 3 months older than Declan.  We had to get a picture of the two chubby babies in just their diapers!  Can someone tell me why the picture keeps flipping??

Declan riding Bella's elephant.

The 3 kids the morning we left

Thanks Mike and Tara for letting us invade your house!

More Visitors

We had a lot of fun with my parents when they came out to "meet" Declan again.  They were here for over a week before he was born but since he was a week late they only got to spend a few hours with him before they had to fly back to Idaho. It was so great to have them here! Declan loves having people around to give him attention 24/7.

Zach blessed Declan at church on October 25th. Doesn't he look cute in his little white tux? My mom found it in Idaho and it fit him perfectly! By the way Declan's name is pronounced Deck-lan not DE-Klan. :)

All of us in front of the Memphis Temple

My parents with Declan

My mom reading to Declan

Declan decided to start sitting up with help while they were here.

We went to the Memphis Botanical Gardens while they were here.  It was the first time I had ever been and they are amazing!  They have a really cool area for kids to play.  I'm kind of sad that we're going to move before Declan is able to enjoy it.

Creative flower beds

Declan was a monkey for Halloween!

Levi, Emery, and Declan at the ward party. They are all just waking up.

We were able to go to the Zoo and watch the cool sea lion show.

Declan with Grandpa

On their last day here Declan decided he wanted to start standing with some help of course! It's his new favorite position now.

5 years ago today...

Zach surprised me with this

I am so glad I said yes!

Declan meets Aunts Hilary and Hailey!

Zach's twin sisters, Hilary and Hailey were able to come to Memphis for a few days in October.  We had a lot of fun while they were here.  Declan loves having other people around to give him attention!  We tried going to the Gibson Guitar Factory but they didn't have anyone there to give tours, so we walked around downtown for a little bit and then ate and Kooky Canucks. 

Hailey eating a fried pickle. YUM!

We decided to share the 4 lb hamburger for dinner...we ate half of it between the 4 of us!

On Friday Zach was at school all day but we had fun hanging out at home. Hilary and Hailey bought Declan the cutest Halloween outfit. The shirt says, "Daddy's Little Monster."

On Saturday Zach, Declan, and the twins were able to participate in a Vision Walk while I was at work. It was really cold that day...

Hailey and Declan...don't you love his outfit? :)

Hilary making Declan laugh...I promise he does wear pants sometimes.

2 months!

Declan has discovered his hands...

He grabs at his toys now...

 

  He had a fun time with his Aunts Hilary and Hailey when they came to visit...(more pics to come from their visit.)

 

Older girls are holding his hands...ha ha :)

His first trip to the Zoo and he slept most of the time...

After the Zoo I babysat my friend's baby, Joel, who is a few weeks older than Declan.  They had fun playing.

Declan's favorite time is story time right before bed! (I changed the picture to be turned the right way, not sure why it keeps flipping back.)

 We just had his 2 month check up today and he did really well with his shots.  He cried for a few minutes and then just fell asleep. 
2 month stats:
weight: 13 lbs 15 oz (75th percentile)
length: 25.25 inches (90th percentile)
head circumference: 40.5 cm (50th percentile)

growing up so fast!

We've been busy the past few weeks (although, I don't seem to accomplish much during the day...) Declan has started to smile a little bit.

Emery (Marissa's little girl) and Declan. She is 2 weeks old here and he is 6 weeks.

A lady in our ward had a mother's of new babies party on Friday. Here are 4 of the moms and new babies that have been born this summer.

All the babies in their car seats getting ready to go!

Declan's favorite thing to do...besides eating of course! He slept 6 1/2 hours straight the other night. I hope this starts to be a common occurrence!