families are forever

Saturday May 1, 2010 we took Zackary to the Washington D.C. Temple to be sealed to us for forever.  It was a beautiful day and an amazing experience that is hard to express in words.  There were a lot of happy tears and Zackary was so good.  Everyone at the temple fell in love with him.  I will never forget looking at him while he sat there with his little hand on top of ours!  I wish everyone could have this experience because it definitely gives you a different perspective about eternal families.  We are so grateful to have another member as part of our forever family!

blessing day

Sunday May 2, 2010 we finally got to give Zackary a name and a blessing at church.  Jeff did an amazing job and gave him the most beautiful blessing I have ever heard.  It was so special!  Zackary looked so handsome in his little outfit. 

After church we had a special dinner at our friends house and of course ended up at one of our favorite places...the beach.  Zackary loved the feel of the sand and kept squishing his toes in it.  It was so fun to be able to share the places we love with our parents and we are so grateful they were able to be here to share this special weekend with us.

After playing in the sand he needed a bath and this is what his hair did when we dried it.  It was so funny we couldn't help but take a picture.  He was so tired and ready for bed after a really long, but great weekend!

it's official

It's official, we are a family!!  Last Wednesday, April 14, we went to court to finalize Zackary's adoption. Jeff and I each had to go up and testify and then the judge ordered the adoption final.  (It was in much more legal words than that.)  I didn't feel any differently until later that day when I read the part of the document where it says the male child born November 19 is declared to be the adopted son of Jeff and Tiffany.  It suddenly hit me that I have a son!  Sometimes I still can't believe that he is here, that he is ours, and that he isn't going anywhere.  We are so blessed to have him and once again can't thank Yvette enough for what she has given us.  We LOVE you and we LOVE adoption!

Zackary talking to the Judge after it was all over.  He seemed to know what was going on and was very interested in everything that was going on around him.  He seemed to like him until suddenly he realized he was talking to a stranger and then started crying.  It was kind of funny.

We are a happy family!

With our caseworker, Merilee.

With our attorney, Paul.

We are so thankful for Merilee and Paul.  They worked so hard to get all our paperwork in order and to get everything to go smoothly and it did!  It couldn't have been more perfect. 

We spent the day as a family and celebrated with lunch and dinner and shopping and lots of smiles and laughing.  From now on April 14 will be family day!  The day we officially became a family!

splish splash

I have been giving Zackary his baths in the kitchen sink but he is just getting too big to do that anymore, so last week I decided it was time to move to the bathtub.  He loved it!  He instantly figured out how to splash and got me soaking wet!  He takes both his legs and lifts them up in the air and then smacks them down on the water and it makes a huge splash.  The whole time he had a big smile on his face.  I think I might need to invest in a good raincoat!

All clean and so cute!

easter weekend

We had a great easter weekend!  It was beautiful weather and we spent a lot of time outside.  On Saturday we went to our friends neighborhood easter egg hunt and then decorated eggs with their kids.  Sunday we had a delicious easter dinner with our friends and ended the day with a walk down to their small beach.  Jeff had fun playing with the camera and we got some great pictures!

zackary and dad singing

sadie and zackary

Sadie has not always been a fan of Zackary and is having to learn how to share the lap she had claimed as hers.  She has quickly learned to keep track of him and make sure we are taking care of him.  If he cries when he's in his crib she runs in there to find him and runs out to get you to make sure you're coming to get him.  Anytime we leave and come back she has to check his carseat to make sure he's in there. 

The other day it was pretty warm outside so I bundled Zackary up and took him with me when I took Sadie out.  He loved it and so did she because we got to spend a little more time outside rather than run out and run back in!

the cutest baby ever

These are all just random pictures that were too cute not to share!

He looked so cute in this little hat but did not like it!  We tried to get a picture and this was the best we got.

Where is Zackary?  We were laughing when we took this because he totally blended in to his swing.

merry christmas

Christmas was a lot different at our house this year.  We both felt like we got the best gift we could ever be given about a month earlier so we didn't do much.  We didn't even wrap our presents.  Jeff bought his own gift and I bought mine.  It was a great day spending time with each other, our sweet little boy and our friends!

a bunch of firsts

First time in the Carseat!

He didn't seem to mind it then, but sure doesn't like it now. Atleast when you strap him in.  Then when we go somewhere he only cries when we stop. Even at stoplights or stop signs when we're only there for two seconds.  It's actually pretty funny, almost like an on off switch.

First Bath at Home!

He loves to have his hair washed and it goes curly when it's wet.  As soon as it's dry it's right back to being straight and crazy, but so cute!

First Haircut at two weeks old!

First Airplane Ride!

He was two and a half weeks old when we got to go home.  He was so good on the airplane.  He slept most of the time and didn't cry once.  Nobody even knew there was a baby on board!

First time going to Church!

He looked so handsome in his little church outfit!  Our ward was so excited to meet him and couldn't get over how cute he is and his great hair!  He was really good too and never made a sound during sacrament meeting.