HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY ZACHARIAH MARTIN

On October 1st, Zach had his first and Golden Birthday. We ended up having 2 celebrations. One with the Sohre side at the Pizza Ranch in New Ulm and one with the Malecek family at Uncle Jim's and Aunt Denise's. Lucky Zach... he got 2 cakes... which means he got to dig in and get messy 2 times. Lots of fun!!!

Gracie, Zach, and Rochelle.

Birthday Party #2 with the Sohre Family.

All the Sohre cousins.

1 year and 2 1/2 year photos

Zach turned one year old on October 1, 2009.  We had photos taken at Sears Photo Center.  Zach of course is 1 year old and Gracie is 2 1/2 years old.  Seems like we were just there getting Gracie's 1 yr photos.  That time sure goes fast.  Zach is doing great with walking.  He can now give kisses... although sometimes he tries to bite me instead of kiss me.  I have to be careful.

Twin City 10 Mile

Today was the Medtronic TC 10 mile run... also known as the "Shortcut to the Capital."

Marty, I, and Marty's sister's Denise and Lisa, and Lisa's husband Mick participated in the run.  7:05 am at the Metrodome was the start and the finish was about 1 hr 40 minutes later at the State Capital, running the entire way.  It was a beautiful morning for a run.  We thought it would be to cold or maybe ran... but it turned out wonderfully.  

I did the run with Marty's sisters two years ago, but this was Marty's first big run and he did great. It is such a good feeling to accomplish such a great thing and even better that I got to do it with Marty. It is amazing to see all the people that participate.

The Medtronic Twin City Marathon started about an hour after we did. They also start at the Metrodome and finish at the State Capital... but of course do 26.2 miles, this is why the 10 mile run is called the "shortcut to the Capital!"

 Rochelle (our niece). She was our cheerleader.

Cherish the Moment.

These are the moments where this little boy should be getting into a lot of trouble and be scolded because he certainly is not being good or in a safe situation,

but on the other hand he is so darn cute that taking pictures seemed more fun.Maybe next time we will scold him!

Right now it is times like this when you I just want to cherish the moment and realize that my babies won't be babies forever and someday we all will get a kick out of thinking... way back when... Zachy used to play in the dishwasher...

I think of a picture my Mom has of my little brother laying on the bottom shelf of the corner Lazy Susan, at probably the age Zach is right now... again a moment that she should have been scolding him... but he was so darn cute... and now her baby is a grown man...


So let's forget about being safe and good for a couple of seconds and cherish these moments!

Zach Can Walk!

11 months old and Zach is upright moving around. He started doing a couple of steps about 2 weeks ago and now he can go across the room without falling! He is growing up sooo fast! This video my cute Zachy walking and the bonus of the loving relationship between siblings... in one moment Gracie is playing so nice with Zach and then next moment... well you will have to watch to see. Enjoy.

Trip to San Diego, CA

Over Labor Day weekend Gracie and I decided to go visit one of my college friends, Jina and her family in San Diego, CA. I was able to talk my other friend Jillian in to coming along with us. Jina, Jill, and I were all roommates for 3 years and we went through our entire nursing program together. Jina moved to San Diego after college all by herself and now has a husband and 2 children, Keala (almost 2 years old) and Kaeden (4 months old). It was a delight to see our little girls play with each other. We were able to visit a beautiful San Diego beach on Sunday and then go to Sea World on Monday. On Sunday evening Jina's husband watched the kids so the grown-up girls could go out for supper. We had a wonderful time at supper - Thanks Eddie!

The three Grown-Up girls... Me, Jina, and Jill (with her baby in her tummy!)

It is amazing how we first became roommates mearly because we needed roommates, we really didn't know each other. Then we became nursing classmates, and in the mix of it all became really good friends. Now 6 years after school with drastic changes in our lives like, careers, houses, husbands, and kids we are still good friends and I think safe to say life-long friends. It is a great feeling to be able to get together and just pick up like we still see each other every day, even though it may be year or two in between visits.

Gracie all ready for her fun day in the sun. This is the first time she has seen the ocean and been in waves. She had lots and lots of fun.

Playing in the HUGE sandbox with her new friend Keala.

The cutest toes you will find in the sand.

Mommy enjoyed playing in the sand too!

Next up: SEA WORLD and the famous Shamu show (the killer wales)

We are waiting to see the killer wale show with Shamu. It was a beautiful day.

Gracie telling the Wales "come back" after they went back into the water.

Jill and Keala also enjoying the show.

Jina and her little bundles: Kaeden and Keala.

Looking at the polar bears and Gracie holding her new SHARK! (it was actually was suppose to be a present for Zach, but someone became pretty fond of the shark... Sorry Zachy)

We had a WONDERFUL time.

Thanks for letting us come Jina. Thanks for coming with us Jill.

Thanks for being such Good Friends.

Dancing Moves!

Zachy has mastered his dancing moves and his sister isn't too bad herself. The music comes on and these two instantly start grooving. They are quite the entertainment... you can hear Grandma Betty in the background laughing.

Swing Set Fun!

This spring we bought a Rainbow Swing Set and put it up. We have very much enjoyed playing on it all summer long... kids and adults!. Gracie loves to swing. I think she could do it all day long. Zach also likes to swing, but his sister often thinks she needs the baby bucket instead of the regular swing. Some how we work out a compromise.

1st Haircuts

Today was haircut day for the two little Malecek's. This is both Gracie and Zach's first haircut ever... therefore it is a big event in both of there lives! I took pictures and saved a locket of hair for both of them. It again made me think "They grow up so fast!".

Gracie was first. She sat in the beauty chair like a little princess. She did not fuss at all. She just got an all over trim and the beautician layered it a little so the curls would fall nicer on her. She looks so cute.

Zachy was second for the beauty chair. He did pretty good at first and then got a little squirmy. He has some curls on the side of his head. I think if we were to let it keep growing it may be as curly as his sisters. For today it was just a trim to even it all out and get the bangs out of his eyes. What a handsome little fella.

The reason Zachy needed a haircut... look what his Auntie Christy did to him when we were on our summer vacation! (He does make a cute a little girl... shh don't tell him I said that!)