Vacation Time...

We're packed and ready to go

Zachary's new do'



Z's ready to go to the airport tonight

Well, we are headed on a mini vacation. Actually Kevin is going to a lecture/conference series and Zachary & I are tagging along. We are packed (except toiletries and this computer) but I wanted to say that we will be blogging while we are away. Check back daily. Also we are so excited to see Kevin's Brother, Jeff, our sister-in-law, Kathy, and our beautiful nieces Brynn and Karsen on Saturday. Say a prayer for safe travels and a safe return home. Our parents are going to be watching our house and feeding our fish. Lastly, the photos of Zachary are of him tonight after his bath. My sister wanted to see his new haircut...or should I say buzz. Zachary loves it. Kevin and I think it makes him look much older than 19 months. Anyways, we love you all and will keep you posted.


P.S. This is a shout out to all my MOPS friends. Sorry I am going to miss the last one. I hope it goes well. Thanks Kim!

No need for a sibling when you have a cousin 8 months older

Last night we met our "Peacock" family for dinner at Nonna's downtown. We had to squeeze one final get-together in before we head to Florida for a week. This photo is of Elliott & Zachary walking into the restaurant. They held hands the entire way through the parking lot. Grams was a little slow on with the camera but you get the idea. E & Z are the bestest of friends. The Austin's and Young's have decided that for now, there is no need for a sibling for either Elliott or Zachary...Especially since they act and seem like brothers & friends.

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

Hil, Zachary, Elliott, & Aunt Rachel at Zoo entrance

Grams & Z getting ready to enter zoo





Saturday was a beautiful day for a trip to the zoo. My mom, sister, nephew, Zachary and I hit the St. John's 23rd annual Teddy Bear Rally at the Dickerson Park Zoo. Even though it was extremely crowded we had the best time. If you have never been to the zoo with a toddler, you must. If you don't have a toddler to go with call me you can borrow mine or I find one for you to take. Going to the zoo with a 2 year
and a 19 month old brought so much joy to my heart.

Both of the boys knew the animals. Elliott said every animal by their name, whereas Zachary knew the animals by their sound. Elliott was so specific to the animals name that I thought he was going to call them by their genus & species name. Seeing E & Z get so excited at the animals was a hoot. I think Zachary's favorite animals were the monkeys. Elliott's had to be the Macaw parrots. Both boys loved the elephants too. At the exit of the zoo there was a train that you could pay for rides. The boys LOVED it! Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of this because we left the camera in the stroller. However if you could have seen us it must have been priceless. Elliott shared a seat with Grams. Zachary sat with Aunt Rachel, and me. During the ride around the track both boys sang their favorite song that my dad sings to them...Down By the Station. It was a great ending to a fun, memorable day.

Happy Birthday Cousin Karsen!

Today is our niece, Karsen Rebecca's 5th Birthday. It's hard to believe that she is already five. When Kevin and I were engaged...almost married, Karsen entered the world. I can remember sitting in a classroom at UMKC School of Dentistry waiting for my soon-to-be mother-in-law to call to tell me that Karsen was born. I checked my phone numerous times, waiting & waiting to hear the good news that she arrived.

It's hard to believe that was 5 years ago. Today, Karsen is a very caring little girl that loves animals and loves to take care of others. Unfortunately, the last time we saw Miss Karsen was last summer at a family wedding. Good news is that we are going to get to see her and her sister Brynn next week in Florida! YIPPEE! Here are some pictures of the birthday girl with her cousin Zachary, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Hilary. Karsen have a great day and a Happy Birthday. We love you!

My sister's son

Ever since Zachary was born, I have noticed a lot of similarities between my sister and Zachary. Here are some to name a few...

Zachary is very dramatic....much like his Aunt Rachel.

Zachary LOVES to be out and about. He's always on the go....again like Aunt Rachel.

Zachary LOVES music....just like Aunt Rachel.

Zachary LOVES to sing...just like Aunt Rachel.

The other day really made me question as to if I was raising my sister's son. Zachary and I were in the kitchen. I had the refrigerator door open. Zachary reached into the veggie drawer and took out a plastic bag with a clean tomato in it. He immediately bit into it and ate the entire thing. For those of you that know me, you know that I despise tomatoes. I have never liked them. My sister loves them. She always has. After this episode I knew that I am raising my sister's boy.






Please note the tomato seeds on Z's chest. What a mess!

Let's Go Fly A Kite

My in-laws were gone for a week to West Virigina. The other night when they returned we went to their house for dinner. Zachary was excited to see his "Paw Paw" and his "Maw Maw". It was the first time my in-laws heard him call them by name. It was sweet. After dinner we went outside to play with the dogs, feed the horse, & ride the John Deere. One extra bonus was that we took our ELMO kite from Grams & Pops with us. Luckily the wind was perfect. Z loved the kite. It was a great night with our family.

Zachary with a Pinwheel

Kev, Hil, & Zachary


Zachary and his ELMO kite


Paw Paw and Zachary....I love this photo!


Three Generations of Austin's


Paw Paw and Z on the John Deere


Daddy and Son

A playdate with Leslie & Harley

Today Kev and I had an appointment with our attorney to get things finalized with our will. My cousin, Leslie was so awesome to come over and watch Z for the morning. Zachary loved having all of Leslie's attention but he was super excited that she brought her dog, Harley. Harley is a Great Dane and she has the best personality. She was super good with Z. He loved having a dog in our home....I think he thought it was a pony though. Leslie, thanks for taking good care of Z. We really appreciated all you did. After Leslie & Harley left, Zachary ran all over the house barking. He was looking for his friend, Harley. It was so funny.

Outside, please.

This photo of Zachary is what I see all day long. He stands by our front door or patio door and begs to go outside. Zachary says, "Out, out, pleaseeeeeee." Poor guy he was teased by the recent spring weather. Now it is back to being cold again. In fact last night we had a freeze advisory and were expected to get below 20 degrees. We are praying that the weather gets warm again...soon.

P.S. If you click on the photo it will enlarge it. Please note the many finger prints on my patio door. You can see that Zachary spends a lot of time in this position waiting to go outside.

Gram's Birthday Party

This past Tuesday, April 8th we celebrated Gram's birthday. We all met for dinner at Pasta Express (Gram's choice). It was a great night to celebrate all that mom/Gram's means to us. Mom took the head of the table to sit next to her favorite boys, Elliott & Zachary. We enjoyed dinner, "Party Cake" and presents. Elliott & Zachary helped mom open her gifts and helped her eat her cake. Happy Birthday Grams!

A nice day to play.

Sunday afternoon was probably the nicest day we have had in 2008. I promised Zachary that if he took a long nap after church I would take him to the park. After church all 3 of us came home and collapsed. After long naps, Zachary and I went to the park. Poor Kev had to go to the office to make a couple appliances, so he missed out. Zachary had the best time swinging, playing on the purple dino, and crawling through the blue tube. He also went up and down the slide a lot. He loved it. I enjoyed being outside and letting him release some energy. We had a fun time! Next time we will have to take Daddy.

May I introduce our new son .....MONKEY

As most of you know Zachary loves his pacifier (aka Nina). (See Previous Posts) Since he is 18 months old, Kevin feels it is time for his pacifier to disappear. Last week we started the weening process. I personally felt like if Z had something else to transfer the love he would respond better when "Nina" was gone. So we got out Mr. Monkey from the toy box. It worked....for the most part. Zachary became very attached to Monkey from the start. At Zachary's request, whatever I did to Zachary, I had to do to Monkey. This was hilarious because if I changed Z's diaper, I changed Monkey's. If Z ate a snack, so did Monkey. Anyways, Zachary has been carrying Monkey around with him everywhere (Target, Church, MOPS, etc). So this week we are going to start snipping the tip of the pacifier with the hopes that Zachary will not want it anymore. Then he can just have Monkey to love on. Pray for us. Pray really hard for us. I think it is going to be a rough week.

My new son, Monkey at the dinner table
Please note Monkey has on clothes


My boys (Kev, Z, & Monkey) enjoying Taco Night


Monkey & Z going to Grams & Pops house
Please note Monkey changed his outfit on Day #2 since Z changed his clothes

Hey, Look at me! I am crazy salad bowl head....

Zachary found this clear salad bowl in our kitchen. He thinks it's a hard hat. He loved wearing it around the house, until we had to give it back to Grandma Karen. As you can see Z provides us with a lot of entertainment.