Happy 3rd Birthday Zack

It's hard to believe that it has been three years since we have been blesed with having Zack added to our family. We have always had a great time celebrating his birthday, however we were a little concerned with this year due to Alexis coming so close to his birthday. We were afraid that Amanda wouldn't have the energy to entertain in our apartment. So this year we thought that we would forgo all the hassle and have his birthday at Jungle Jim's Playland. It just so happened that Alexis came 2 weeks early. So Amanda made a tough decision to stay home with our little girl and miss his party. That means that Aaron had the pleasure of being in charge of a wild and crazy birthday party. She was very much missed by Aaron and the family, but we also appreciate her sacrifice.
So on the day of Zack's birthday, Zack woke up and he was very excited because we had told him that he was going to go and play with his friends and cousins at a birthday party. He didn't care that it was his birthday he just loves the concept of a birthday party. We had already ordered the cake, which Zack picked out. Any guesses... Yup, Thomas the Tank Engine! So we first stopped off and picked that up from Sam's Club. Then we made our way over to the Playland. Everyone showed up and everyone was having a great time riding the rides until Zack found the play house. He had a great time. So much so I'm sure we could've had his birthday party at McDonalds. Either way he had a great time as did everyone else and so it was a success.


Even the older kids (Joel, Ruthann, Dan, Ranna & Seth) had a great time playing the token games. They were very good at getting the tickets. They won over 650 tickets. So after prying him away from the playhouse, literally, we went to open presents. He had a great time opening all of his presents but he probably just wanted to get back to the playing. He enjoyed his cake and ice cream, as did everyone else. The cake was really good this year.
As everyone started to leave Ruthann and Charlene took Zack to cash in all of the tickes that the older kids had won. That was the deal Aaron made with them when he gave them over 100 tokens. So when Zack was asked what he wanted to get he asked for the Cat in the Hat hat. To Zack, it was the best!

Panicked!!

With bringing Alexis home, we aren't even close to getting set on a schedule. This is difficult for Zack because he is very much regulated by a schedule. We are very grateful for that. So last night we had put Zack to bed and Amanda stayed up with Aaron to feed Alexis. After the feeding, Amanda and Alexis went off to bed. A few hours later Aaron started to come to bed too. He locked the front door and went to check on Zack. One of the cool things that you get to do as a parent is to peek in on your little angels while they sleep. Only when Aaron went to do so Zack wasn't in bed. So Aaron thought that with Alexis being home that perhaps Zack may have climbed into bed with Mom. So Aaron went to check on the baby and Amanda. Still, no Zack was to be found. Aaron started to freak out!
See, Aaron ran away from home when his parent brought his little sister home and has always been teased that Zack might do the same thing. But Aaron was sure he would've seen or heard Zack go out the front door. So he went back to Zack's room to see if he was under the blankets. Still nothing! Aaron stood there in Zack's room dumbfounded as to where the little guy could've gone. Then he heard a sound and found Zack here:

UNDER THE BED

Zack had never done this before due to the fact that the crib mattress was under the bed. Best we can figure is that he must've dropped some toy under his bed and had gone after it. Aaron then woke Zack up and asked him to get into his bed. Wow what a fright!

Trimming the Tree

Things have been a little crazy with Alexis coming 2 weeks early and all. So we have finally pulled out our Christmas stuff. Aaron insists that we can only do this AFTER Thanksgiving. Understandably so, Thanksgiving is a very important time of year and not one that should idly be looked over. Having your daughter born on that day kind of makes it important too!
So Aaron pulled out all of out Christmas stuff and he and Zack started to put it all out. Zack had a blast helping dad with the tree. We think he was most excited to do this because he saw the big train set that we have that goes around the bottom of the tree and we told him that we can't set it up until we set up the tree. There is a great motivator!!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Alexis Nicole Bates has chosen November 27th, 2008 to join or family. Yep, Thanksgiving Day 2008, plus it is Joel's fiance's birthday too. A little something extra.
Amanda made it home before Aaron did Wednesday night and asked him if they could go out and walk the mall or something. So after dinner, everyone loaded up and went to the mall. After being out for about 2 hours we started to head home. Aaron taught Zack a fun game of Mall Hide-And-Seek in which Zack and Aaron would run to the space between each store and wait until Mom would come and find them, then they would run to the next open space. Aaron & Zack had a blast but Amanda had a difficult time keeping up. Give her a break she is full term pregnant at this point.

We came home and put Zack to bed after which Amanda desperately needed a bath to relax. After her bath she went to get a bowl of breakfast cereal. Again give her a break. A break is just what she got too. Her water broke about 10 PM on the 26th. So after calling Aaron's mom to come over and watch Zack, we headed off to the new Intermountain Medical Center. Amanda started full on labor at around midnight. Alexis was born about 4 AM.

Both mom and baby were fine. Amanda did a superb job of maintaining her weight and was off to a good quick recovery, which she would need with a 3 year old brother waiting at home. Alexis came with all 10 fingers and all 10 toes. Even a little bit of a retarded toe (it's a family thing). She was lucky and didn't get her fathers 'butt-chin' as Amanda puts it. She did however get the Putnam family ears. Very tiny. She was also born with a full head of black hair, which would explain all the terrible heartburn that Amanda went through. Even two weeks early she came out a healthy 7 lbs. 5 oz. an measured 20 1/2 in. A full pound and 1 inch less than big brother.

Everyone has agreed that she looks a lot like Amanda. It has been a long standing joke that both Amanda and her sister Britta are great copy machines. They make great copies through their children. Abby and Alexis are very much like their mothers and Zack and Landon are very much their fathers.

Amanda and Alexis are doing quite well and Zack is adjusting to being a big brother.

Stud!

Granted, it's his aunt Ranna and Nadene, but look at our little Ladies-Man! He's got an older woman on each arm.

I Can Cook!!

Zack a very independent child. He is learning to do things all on his own. He has now learned how to cook several things. It really started one morning that the pregnant Amanda was really tired due to, of course being pregnant. She hadn't had that much sleep from the previous night, but Zack doesn't grasp the fact that not everyone has the same stamina as a 3 year old does. So he came in and asked "Mommy I want pancakes, please!" Amanda said that she was too tried to cook them and said that Zack should cook them. To this Zack of course said that she should cook them. Back and forth this went for a little while before he got bored and said "OK, I can cook." To this response he headed straight to the pantry and started to pull out the pancake mix. Aaron found him struggling and immediately asked what he was doing. To this Zack answered "I can cook!" Since then Zack has cooked (Ramen) Noodles, Pancakes, Chocolate Syrup, Chocolate Cream-O-Wheat and Mac&Cheese (all under supervision, we would like to avoid the ER as much as possible as well as getting as much of our security deposit back as possible!)

Our Little Guitar Hero

The big thing right now are music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. We have opted for the former. Whither you are playing or watching, fun is had by all. It is definitely a great way to get everyone, especially children, excited about music. Every now and then Joel and Ruthann will come over and play. It's fun to watch them because they are much better then Aaron and Amanda. Zack has a great fondness for this as well. So much so, he has his own 'toy' guitar that he uses to play with the band. But what is most admirable is how he has picked up how to use the drums. Every now and then he will pick up the drum sticks and say "I'll play". Aaron has been working on patterns with Zack too. He will tell Zack a pattern and Zack will repeat it by hitting the corresponding color pads. He is such a smart kid. But hey, we are his parents, we get to brag as much as we'd like to!