Zachs Blessing

On Sept. 6th Zach was given a name and a blessing by his dad. I am so grateful for the priesthood which James holds and that he is worthy to perform such a wonderful ordinance. There is nothing sweeter then a blessing by your father. Both of them did a great job Zach slept through the whole thing and James gave him a wonderful blessing. We were happy to be able to share this experience with family and friends. It was fun to have Jame's parents here as well as his two brothers. They got to stay close this trip. . . thanks for letting us cram you guys all together!! : ) We had a great time and hope you did too. We love having family around and wish everyone could have been here. We have been truly blessed with two amazing boys and I'm grateful that they will be ours forever.

Zach not liking his suit hiked up to his ears, but he looks cute anyway.

Proud father!!

Proud Parents!

Brody looking as cute as ever!

Grandma and Grandpa Slade

Playing cards to pass the time. . . I think I won that game!

Brian and Steve playing the Wii, couldn't get enough of the tank game.

Nate. . . enough said

Random Pics

We haven't had much happening around here, but here are a few random pictures we took in the last couple of weeks. Thanks again grandma for coming and helping with the kids we loved having you here.

Grandma and Pam's kids Brody wouldn't get in the picture.

Zach a couple of weeks old.

Grandma Redford and Zach

Zachary Van Slade

Talk about an adventure. . . I kept hoping and praying that my delivery would go faster with this second child then it did with Brody, and now I'll be thinking twice about what I hope and pray for! : ) So our story begins with an excitement of being induced at 3 pm only to be rejected at the hospital due to lack of rooms. I was a little annoyed at that because they had scheduled us, but such is life. So James and I made the trek back home. No worries though because at a more convenient time for everyone 11:30 pm my water broke. We made it to the hospital close to midnight and the contractions were pretty bad. For some reason the ER was really slow. . . maybe it was just me in pain, but they were moving like we had all the time in the world. Anyway, a nurse finally made it down from the 3rd floor to get me and I wanted an epidural right then, or any form of drug that would make the pain go away. Yep, I am a pansy!! : ) So they take us to an admitting room and start asking us all these medical questions and I just want the lady to shut-up and give me something for the pain. Good thing James is a sweet and patient guy who doesn't get riled up about much because he answered most of the questions a lot nicer then I did. Let's just say the pain going from a 5 to an 8 was enough to make me never want another kid again. The nurse told me I could probably do the birth natural and I told her no way give me the drugs so they finally gave me a spinal and then I was in heaven. We waited about 2 more contractions and then I started pushing. Zach was born pretty quick and ended up with some bruising on his cute little face. I took one look at him realized I didn't feel a thing ,and decided I could handle having more kids!! : ) Drugs are my friend!
Zachary Van Slade was born around 1:40am on July 22nd 2009 weighing in at 8lbs 8oz and 20 1/2 in long. He has blond hair, blue eyes and kind of has his own look about him. He is adorable and a good sleeper as well. We are so thankful to have him here and healthy. We have been blessed with two wonderful boys and I can't imagine being happier. James was wonderful through it all and stayed by my side the whole time. I'm sure at some point he wondered where his sweet, loving wife went and when did I become such a wimp, but if he did he kept it to himself. Thanks to family and friends who have given us gifts, prayers and support we truly appreciate it.

Brody's favorite thing!

Brody has a couple of loves, cars, blankets, and the mini dvd player. He is a fanatic when it comes to the dvd player. He knows how to plug it into the wall, put the cord in the right spot, plug the head phones in, and turn it on. He is a very smart little boy. Brody insists on having the headphones on when he starts watching which is funny to me because they are way to big, but he loves it. I think he just wants to be like his dad!!

2 weeks to go!!

I figured since I was about ready to pop that I'd better get some pictures taken. At this point I am 38 weeks and counting!! I'll let everyone know when the big event happens. We are very excited to add a new little addition to our family.

This can't be happening.

Wow, it's been a long time. We haven't had much excitement to write about until yesterday!! Our family had a "I can't believe that happened" and "I just want to die" moment at church yesterday. It's 2 pm and we are just getting out of church. James is chatting with a friend in the foyer, Brody is playing by the front door, and I step away for a second to get a tithing slip. As I'm walking back towards James I hear this really really loud ringing sound going throughout the whole church. That sounds kind of like a fire alarm. I look over at Brody and sure enough he has stuck his little hand up the glass and pulled the fire alarm down. Talk about wanting to die right then and there. . . I run over to Brody and pull him away hoping not too many people saw what happened. At this point I am beside myself and have no idea what we are supposed to do. I don't know how to turn the thing off, or who we should talk to. All James can do is laugh like it was the funniest thing ever and Brody has no idea what drama he has created and walking around without a care in the world.
All of a sudden the foyer is full of people coming out of the chapel because their sacrament meeting was being disturbed. I grab Brody and head outside horrified at what was happening telling myself this was just a bad dream. I watched as people filed in their cars and left to go home while others stood around on the lawn wondering what to do. By the time James and I left a fire truck was there and over a hundred people were outside. We had talked to our bishop and he said not to worry about it so that made me feel better. I think I was finally able to laugh about the whole ordeal by the time we got home.
I hope to never have that happen again, and keep wondering why fire alarms are put at a level that a two year old can reach them. Someone didn't think that one through!!! : )

Let's go fly a kite!!

A couple of weeks ago I bought Brody a kite. I thought it would be a fun thing to do as a family plus I haven't flown a kite for years. Brody absolutely loved it. He wanted to fly the kite all by himself and did a great job for the most part. However, he had a tendency to walk towards the kite which would send the kite hurtling to the ground. Luckily dad was there to help him get it going again. Brody loved it so much he wouldn't let anyone else fly it even when he decided to play in the sand. He just kept his arm up and played in the sand with his other arm it was hilarious. Over all the kite was a huge success and we were able to spend some family time. What more could you ask for!!

Look one handed!

Beautiful park next to our house.