Failure on Day #2

It has taken a week to get this posted. Last Thursday (our early out school day) I decided to venture out with friends to the fossil gorge. I have only been there one other time and there was no water so I didn't expect all the water. Anyway, we had been there for about an hour- the kids were all having fun catching tad poles. Nate was doing good playing and every once in a while splashing water and mud at the edge of the small pools of water. I had Zach on my stomach in the carrier standing on a little ledge, 3 other moms right by me and 2 dads roaming with the kids. We watch Nate walk over to the edge of the deepest part of water and either he slipped or he tried to stomp and splash water and one of his feet went in the water, then his other foot, then the swampy water started to pull him and his bum went under, then his back, then his arms, then his head and finally Jen (thanks AGAIN) grabbed his leg right before his whole face was under the nasty water. I was still standing where I had been, I never thought I would be a freezer, I sure hope it was the fact I saw Jen running and I couldn't get to him with Zach strapped to me. Nate was speechless for the whole ride home and during his shower.

I would like to say my other kids were ok but Alyssa must have had sunscreen dripping in her eyes the whole time we were there because her eyes were bright red, they were perfect when she got out of the shower. Zach slept the whole time until we started walking to the car and he did a giant poop and cried and was hungry.

So I made it one day, after my help was gone, as a mother of 4 without problems. The first day I didn't leave the house, by the way.

Full house

We are feeling like a full house around here. Even though my parents have left it still feels like there are a lot of people around. It was so wonderful to have my parents here and I don't know how we are going to keep up on the laundry or taking the dog outside. Thanks for everything Mom and Dad, it was SO wonderful having you here.
It really is amazing to Phil and I that we have all of these little feet plus a dog and a fish and some little caterpillars (who will hopefully turn into butterflies) to take care of. We are so blessed!
Some super cute pictures to come taken by the wonderful Jen and Jessie. I am NOT going to spoil the birth announcements even though it is SO tempting cause the pictures are super cute. Thanks guys for taking them!
Tomorrow is Zachary's official due date and my birthday! So glad I am not laying in the hospital and that I can touch my toes again, what a great birthday present.

The name is...

Zachary Dean Brenchley! Little Zach arrived at 11:16 pm barely making it for Cinco de Mayo. His official weight was 6lbs 8oz, there was a little discrepancy on his weight. He was 20 inches long and had a apgar score of 9! He has a perfectly round little head and isn't swollen or anything.

He came out covered in 'cheese', as the nurse called it. I had some friends come and take pictures of the great event (THANKS guys SO much) so you could all feel part of it. Ok, I won't post any of those pictures but here he is minutes after being born covered in 'cheese'.


This is how he has been feeling ever since, tired! He is a sleepy little guy until about 1-2am then he is ready to party. He stays awake for about 3 hours and then he is asleep the rest of the day.

It was so nice for Phil to have a few days off. We had our own little mini vacation. Room service food, cable tv, people coming in the room at all hours of the night to talk, no kids running around being loud, whirl pool bathtub. Apart from the super uncomfortable beds, and some other non pleasant things associated with giving birth it was actually nice to have the quiet time.

Zachary Dean Brenchley

Pretend you didn't see all his stats here and that you are excited to get his birth announcement that I spent hours on!

Number Five

How fitting that our 5th child will be born on 05/05. What a fun 'super' birthday he will have when he turns five. Do you know what a 'super' birthday is? When you turn the same age as your birth date. So when I turned 19, since my birthday is the 19th of May, was my 'super' birthday. I was in college and my parents were on this fabulous vacation to Bermuda, I had told them it was my 'super' birthday (a roommate in college is the one who clued me in on this wonderful thing) they followed the rules and sent me 19 gifts! So anyway McKell will have to wait till she is 31 and Alyssa 22. Nate and Juan or Jose or Paublo will be able to celebrate it a lot sooner. But a 5th birthday on the 5th month and 5th day has got to be like a 'super, super' birthday, how many gifts for that?

My fabulous friends who are quite the little photographers took some fun pregnancy pictures of me yesterday. So this is me until baby comes out tomorrow!

I survived our garage sale on Saturday (it was a success), Phil's 2 weeks of nights rotation, crazy getting ready for baby cleaning, busy children's schedule the past 3 weeks, baby hiccups at least 2 times a day, kids not having room to sit on my lap, lack of wardrobe, lots of ouchie shots, annoyance of not being able to bend over, making 70+ baby announcements... and am ready for baby to come. We all can't wait to meet this little guy, even though he will probably be nameless for his first year of life. Will try and get Phil to post pictures or stats of little no-namer, in the mean time, give me some name ideas!