SEVEN

I know I say it every year...but wow, time flies!  Seriously - how is my first born seven years old??  I sure don't feel seven years older - so how is it possible?

Newborn

Somedays I am amazed that we've kept a child alive and unbroken for this long!!  Who would've thought that Josh and I had it in us when we first started this journey of parenthood?!  I thought I knew it all about babies, I mean I babysat all the time growing up and had 4 younger siblings...haha! We didn't know shi* about babies once we were handed one of our own!  You can tell someone until you're blue in the face that having a child is the most tiring, thankless; yet best job you'll ever have and they'll never get it...until they have their own!  It's true - parenting is beyond tiring, it's never ending, it's a 24/7/365 job, no paid vacations, no sick leave, no 2 week notice; time for a new job - it's constant...there are no quarterly reviews with someone patting you on the back and telling you you're doing great and you'll see your annual 3% raise on your next paycheck.  But - something else that you won't know until you have your own child; is just how much you can love someone and how unconditional that love is.  You don't realize the true meaning of saying you'd lay down your life for someone...until you have your first child.  You don't understand that this little person who depends on you day in and day out is exactly what you needed to make you feel whole.

One

Two

I am constantly in awe of the boy that Zane is growing into.  This child melts my heart everyday.  He is a lover and a total mama's boy and I don't mind one bit!  Zane is one of the bravest soul's that will ever cross your path.  He wears his heart on his sleeve.

Three

Four

He is shy at first, scared of dogs for no known reason, lives-breaths-sleeps soccer, if he had it his way; he'd wear shorts and neon t-shirts 365 days a year, he loves when babies smile at him, he can love and despise his little brother in a span of 30 seconds.  Zane doesn't like to be alone, he always wants to be where he can see or hear you.  He loves school and is progressing just as he should be. He tells me he loves me everyday and is not ashamed to give me a hug and a kiss in the middle of his school cafeteria in front of all of his friends!

Five

Six

Zane loves to help and is ecstatic when daddy asks him to help out in the garage. The kid loves to hike and will school you up the side of a mountain.  He loves to run and will just keep on runnin' and runnin' and runnin' like Forrest Gump if he could.  He loves arts and crafts, shooting hoops, riding his bike, having NERF battles and building Legos.  Just like his mama he can get frustrated very easily when he can't figure something out fast enough.  But at the same time he's just like his daddy and is patient, mellow and kindhearted.

Seven

Seven

I hope that we can keep on doing what we're doing because I think we're doing a pretty darn good job - he's turning out to be a pretty stand up young man. I thank God everyday for my beautiful children - I am so happy that we were trusted enough to be made their parents.

Happy Birthday Zane - I am not sure there is enough time on earth for me to show you just how much I love you.  No matter how old you get - you will always be my baby.

Halloween {Through the Years}

Halloween through the years for the Alexander boys...

1st Lost Tooth

Zane is definitely one of the last kids in his class to lose a "first tooth"!  He has been anxiously awaiting this day since Kindergarten!  The last time we went to the dentist the dentist told him to eat lots of apples and carrots and it would help loosen his teeth.  I of course figured that was the dentists' way of getting him to eat more healthy foods!  After that appointment, Zane asked if we could go buy some whole apples (we usually cheat and buy the already sliced ones) - so we did.  First bite and voila he announced he had a lose tooth - no joke!  I guess the dentist knows what he's doing after all :)

After what seemed like forever of this wiggly tooth - he finally pulled it out at school yesterday! When I dropped him off at his before care yesterday morning, he said "if I come out of school with a yellow envelope, it means I lost my tooth"..he must've had an intuition of what was to come!  I picked him up and sure enough, he comes prancing out of school holding this little yellow envelope up so everyone could see!  He was SO excited...and I was too - I was so excited for him and so excited for some tooth fairy action in this house!!  This mama's been waiting a long time for that!

Before bed, he snuck the little yellow envelope under his pillow - I told him that the tooth fairy always likes his teeth in an envelope, so they are easy to find!  When he got in bed, it was like Christmas Eve, he was SO excited for the the tooth fairy to come!  It was awesome.

Once he was in bed the tooth fairy had to get to work on her job as well!  But the tooth fairy was too scared to go and deliver - so she enlisted the help of her prince of a fairy husband (who wants to make sure everyone knows that he is not a fairy)!  The prince fairy made the swap without a hitch!  Zane was delighted to wake up to his money this morning and tooth fairy receipt!  When I asked him what he was going to buy with his money he said "all of my birthday presents"...um, ok - go ahead kiddo!  I let Zane know that I was pretty sure that the tooth fairy paid big on the first tooth, but most likely doesn't give the same amount for subsequent teeth - didn't want to set him up for disappointment when the next ones are not quite $5!

Hard to see in this picture - but that $5 has some tooth fairy dust on it {glitter}!

Landon wanted us to all see his teeth too!

Birthday Surprise {Great Wolf Lodge}

Zane (well, and Landon) has been asking to go to Great Wolf Lodge for a very long time!  When we'd ask Zane what he wanted for his birthday, he always responded with "Great Wolf Lodge" - we'd always respond with "save your money"!

Well, last Sunday - we surprised him {them} with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge!  Thanks to a dear friend for sharing her work's promo code - we scored a decent enough deal to pull the trigger and go! He was SO excited when he found out!  So glad we were able to do this - we all had a really good time!  Oh and if you're thinking of going ever...one night is plenty!

Our good friends the Nilsson's joined us as well!  I was talking to my friend Lisa (not talking to myself, promise) a few weeks ago and telling her of our grand plan!  Then on a whim I asked if they wanted to join us and go the same night!  They did!  Their kids are younger, so having them there wasn't a big excitement for Zane, but having Natalie show up was a big surprise and excitement for Landon!

Yep, he wasn't a fan of this slide the 2nd time around - 1st time down, he liked it!

Andrew avoiding his knees touching the rough ground!

There is a ropes/obstacle course outside - Josh and Zane tried it out before we left on Monday!  Both really enjoyed it!

Pumpkin Carving

Our neighbors invited us over for a pumpkin carving party the other night!  I cannot stand carving pumpkins...it just isn't my thing.  I don't mind digging the guts out, but when it comes to carving it - no thank you!  Usually Josh takes over for that, but this year he was busy carving his own pumpkin - a surprise for me :)  A neighbor graciously took over the carving duties so Landon could get the pumpkin he so desired!  Zane carved his own pumpkin for the first time this year - he was pretty proud of that!

I'm crazy about the Chevron pattern - look what the hubs did for me?!

Yummm - that's our neighbor Joel!

A sad picture of the neighborhood pumpkins!