random

I can't believe tomorrow is February already, December and January flew by!  We had a great time in Idaho for Christmas and New Years.  It was so fun to show Declan off to everyone who hadn't met him yet and he loved the constant attention.  We're back in real life now and Zach has his nose constantly in a book getting prepared to take his first round of national boards in March.  I am trying to get Declan on a schedule and it has been quite the process.  I think we're finally getting somewhere with it though. Thank goodness.

Anyway, I was looking through some pictures tonight and found these.  I had totally forgotten about this until I saw these pictures!  The day before we left to go to Idaho Zach came home from his last final and decided to do an "eye exam" on Declan.

 

Getting distracted by the TV...(yes he is wearing his Halloween outfit in December, we were in the middle of packing and I wasn't sure what I wanted to take with us yet.)

Of course, he tries to eat everything that comes close to his mouth.  Poor kid, this won't be the last time your dad tries to shine a bright light in your eyes.  Believe me.  I can't lie though, I'm glad Zach has someone else to practice on at home.

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.