Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Zack's 1st Santa Picture

Last Saturday, Zack and I were home alone while Katie and Jake went out on a little "Daddy-Daughter" date after running some errands. My dad was installing a new porch light when he noticed Santa Claus riding through the park on a motorcycle. So, Zack's first picture with Santa... was on a motorcycle.

Zack Attack

We definitely have a lot to be thankful for...Zachary James Crosby was born today at 2:15 p.m. I'm sure Rachel will have plenty to say about this jam-packed day, so I'll stick to a rundown of the facts and post some pictures (which is what most of you want anyway). We had planned to have Zack as a C-section on Tuesday, Dec 1, but Rachel started having contractions (and other pre-labor symptoms that I won't mention here) yesterday that progressed to a point at which the doctor told us to come on in today. After some excellent attention from the good folks at St. Joseph's Hospital, Zack arrived, weighing in at a back-breaking 10 lbs, 6 oz...a record (as near as we can figure) for both sides of our immediate family. Zack is 21 in long and has a "melon" circumference of 14.5 in. Thank goodness for modern medicine. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes thus far. We are truly amazed at how many people care for us and our little ones. We love you all so much. Keep those prayers coming. More pictures to follow in the coming weeks.

Little did she know...

That's my boy!

"You mean I have to stay out here?"

First kiss from Mommy

Cuddling with Mommy

"I see you Daddy...and I'm going to eat you out of house and home"

We've Got a Big Boy... a Very, BIG Boy!

Katie was 7lbs 10oz at birth. She was a very average weight, average height, healthy baby girl. So, when the ultrasound tech announced at my 32 weeks appointment that Zach was also of average weight (6lbs 5oz) there was no shock.

Well, today was my 36 week appointment and I was schedule for yet another ultrasound. This time around the ultrasound tech kept measuring and measuring. Finally she says, "Well, I can't make him any smaller." "Huh?" I think to myself. "He's 8lbs." she says. EIGHT POUNDS! I still have 3 weeks left! How did this happen?! No wonder my belly has been so sore and I've received new, angry stretch marks. I have a mammoth growing inside of me! A little linebacker-in-waiting! This also explains the past month of restless nights with extraordinarily sore hips.

After the ultrasound tech, I go to see the OB. She clarifies, "He's not 8lbs. He is 8lbs. 10 oz." She then proceeds to feel around and measure things because they could have added or subtracted a pound from Zach's estimated weight. I'm tall, so she is thinking my belly will be all squishy and he'll be smaller. Wrong. My belly has been rock-like for the past few weeks. Not only that, my uterus is 3cm larger than it should be.

We've got a big boy in there. A very, BIG boy.

Here he is in all his 8lb 10oz glory!

I just want to squeez those cheeks and kiss those lips!

The Week of the Family

Well, today was the start of The Week of the Family in Tampa Bay. The local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been encouraged by the Regional Authorities to participate as much as possible. Check out the website to see all of the activities they are sponsoring this week. They're even having discounted movie tickets, dinners and kids events.

Today, they had the kick-off at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa. My Dad was in charge of the the Church's volunteers and being a liason with the organizers. Most of my family volunteered, while Katie, my sister Bekah, and myself went to enjoy the free admission at the Museum.

Of course, as most things go now-a-days, it was all about making Kaitlyn happy. We started off meandering around the main complex and quickly realized it was not going to be holding Katie's attention. So, off to "Kids In Charge" we went. There is a huge building souly dedicated to kids exploring and learning. A much better fit for a toddler.

The first thing that hooked Kaitlyn was an "exhibit" sponsored by Publix. There was an orange grove, a farm, a deli and a grocery store filled with fake foods and conveyer belts.

Kaitlyn really liked picking the "balls" and taking them to the farm. She loves to have a job.

Then we found that there was an "Astronaut Training Program" we could participate in. Katie was too small to do most of the activities (which were all some kind of bounce house/obstacle course/velcro wall. The smallest bounce house was just her size and it contained a slide.

Bekah tried out the last challenge, which was a huge slide housed in the farthest corner of "Kids in Charge".

She burned her heels on the canvas on her way down. Ouchie!

Bekah is such a good Aunt. She followed Katie all around, wherever and whenever she wanted to go. She also crawled in and out of these tunnels with her. Bless her. There is no way (even if Mommy wasn't 8 months pregnant) that I would have been that patient.

Katie was also really drawn to this light table with translucent colored shapes. You could stack them up and see different colors... kind of like an open ended kalidescope.

On our way out to the Lowry Park Petting Zoo, we passed by a live band that was rockin' away in the 88 degree heat. They didn't let a little heat and sweat stop 'em!

When I think petting zoo, I think sheep, goat, bunny.... definitely not snake.

We didn't get to see what else they had because Katie dumped her snack in the dirt (on accident) and then decided to start running around the ampi-theater. Then, she started to have a fit when we tried to corral her. It was definitely nap time.

So, bye- bye MOSI. Thanks for the fun!

Trunk or Treat Till You Drop...

from heat exhaustion!

We here in Central Florida suffered a 90 degree day on Halloween this year. I remember many a Halloween from my childhood with my costume sticking to me. Luckily, Kaitlyn is still trying to grasp the concept, so we only hit the Trunk or Treat at our church and skipped the actual Trick or Treating that evening.

Kaitlyn was Dora the Explorer this year, while her Daddy was Swiper! I was a witch who was too hot to even wear her hat. Needless to say, bright Florida sunshine and a parking lot do not make for a lovely comfortable combination.

Besides the heat, our building's wards put on a pretty good event: Hot dogs, chips, popcorn, a cake walk, costume contest, pumpkin contest, games and Trunk or Treating.
The glistening evidence is below:

Katie was most concerned with continually checking up on her haul.

Swiper from behind. I have to say, I nailed the design of that tail, even if I couldn't whip out some gloves.

This was our game... you had to throw the ghosts back into the haunted house. After Katie was done making the rounds, she was the most avid participant. She kept climbing in the back of the car to get the ghosts and tossing them out so that they were rolling all over the parking lot.

Here's Katie checking out all of our melted Kit Kats. Poor candy.

We took Chloe too. Bad idea. It was so hot she was sweltering. Not to mention, she loves people and just wanted to jump up and lick everyone to death. Or once we finally tied her leash to the car, she would whimper anytime she wanted to follow someone who walked away. She is such a drama queen.

Pumpkin!

Kaitlyn officially loves, "Pumpkin!"s. She shouts this phrase anytime she sees them and she counts the 2 we have on our porch every time we walk past.

Since we live in hot and humid Florida, we carved our "Pumpkin!" today in hopes that it will survive until Halloween. Here are the before and afters:

Not too horrible for having not done this in a decade.
Also, this was Kaitlyn's "Pumpkin!" carving outfit, a John Deer t-shirt and a tutu... classic. (She had recently woken up from a nap. Hence the glare full of contempt.)

Images for a Cure

Recently, a family friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. So, when some friends of hers organized an event in honor of those who have been diagnosed with this disease... we were totally up for it!

A talented local photographer, Crystal Balazik, and make-up artist, Jodi Anderson, decided to participate with the program "Images for a Cure" and set a date to raise some moola! Sunday, October 25th was dedicated to raising funds for Breast Cancer Research. Crystal and Jodi offered their services for an exceedingly small fee that was donated to the program.

So, Kaitlyn and I (as well as all of my immediate female family) showed up to get our faces painted and our pictures took!

Kaitlyn was very happy to learn that people had brought their puppies. She spent her time chasing them around while Mommy had her make-up done.

My sister Rebekah is the fashionista in the family and was totally happy to be pampered with professional make-up and photographs.

Kaitlyn terrorizing Buddy.

Then, out we went for some Mommy-Daughter photos!











(There will be more pictures to post soon.
We took some more shots with my Mom and sisters!)

After all of the picture taking, we'd worked up an appetite and descended upon all of the yummy refreshments generously made and donated by participants of the event!

After all was said and done, we had such a good time raising money for this exceptional cause and can't wait to participate again next year! Thanks Crystal and Jodi!