O, Christmas Tree!

This will be our last Christmas in Alaska, and I thought it would be great fun to have the experience of cutting down our own Christmas tree this year. I pictured snow shoeing out to hunt down the perfect tree, Bella in tow and light snowflakes falling ... beautiful, huh?! I finally convinced Tyler to give it a try, and then, last weekend when we were planning to get our tree, it was 50* and raining ... it. rained. Crazy! Needless to say, we bought our tree and we're quite happy with the way it turned out.

Last Monday we went to get a Christmas tree right after Tyler got home from work then we had dinner and decorated the tree as a family. We had the best time decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music and sipping on coffee and hot chocolate. Caroline slept for the first bit and then was awake, so I decided to put her in the sling so she could help, too.

 All we need is the bow!

Taking in the sights of her first Christmas tree.

I have so enjoyed decorating for and celebrating the Christmas season this year. Stay tuned for the rest of our decorations!

Wordless Wednesday

Our little thinker.

She's So Strong.

When we left the hospital with Caroline I asked the pediatrician when we could begin tummy time, and I was surprised that she said, "Right away." I love tummy time and I think it's so good for the babies. We have had tummy time nearly everyday of Caroline's short life and she doesn't mind it at all. I can tell that tummy time has been good for her because she's quite strong.

It's Beginning to Smell Like Christmas!

One of my favorite things about the Fall and Christmas seasons are the smells!! Growing up Mama had a few concoctions that made our home smell so delicious. I recreated one of the smells today, and I'm in love with the way my kitchen now smells.

All you do for this Christmas concoction is slice a lemon, slice an orange and throw them into a sauce pan with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks and a little water. Let the mix simmer for as long as you desire. Put on a little Christmas piano music and you'll be in heaven!

Wordless Wednesday

 

 Not the best picture, but you can see her sweet smile in the mirror.

Our Beautiful TWO Month Old

That's right, folks, our baby is  TWO Months old. We are so very in love with our little one. Today was a big day for her ... she had an audiology appointment, a well-baby appointment and her first round of shots. She did fantastically well with all the excitement. 

Caroline is quite the snuggle-bunny, and we just cannot get enough of cuddling with her. She is a very sweet, peaceful child who is beginning to smile at funny noises or faces that Tyler and I make. We bought a play mat for her and she loves to look at herself in a mirror that dangles from above. Caroline is quite strong ... she can hold her head up quite well whether she's on your shoulder or the floor. We have had tummy time most everyday of her life, and she doesn't mind it at all. Like her mother, she loves bath-time. 

We are awfully thankful for her, and we look forward to everything that lies ahead for us.

Caroline Blair

Two Months

10 pounds 4 ounces, 22.5 inches long

September 27, 2011

Tuesday, September 27 was a special day for the Van Zandts because we welcomed Caroline Blair into this big world!! I was admitted to the hospital at 9 AM after my water broke. Tyler and I spent the day walking through the Labor and Delivery ward until about 3 PM when I was in too much pain to walk. Caroline was born at 7:01 PM after an incredibly wonderful pregnancy and delivery. 

We have had the most fun getting to know our little one. She is beautiful and already beginning to change from a newborn to a baby. Sadly, she is already three weeks old .. I'm unsure how that much time has passed already. There are more pictures to follow in the coming days, but for now, here is her introduction to blogland!

Today's the day that we'll meet Caroline!

 

Already in love.

Daddy's little girl. 

Caroline Blair.

6lbs. 10 oz. 20 inches long.

You're Beautiful

This post has been on my heart from the first time I heard this song. You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham is a beautiful song about Christ and how he's in so many parts of our life. I heard it for the first time as part of the worship set at our church. It is definitely more powerful live, and fortunately was able to find a live performance to share with you. 

At first this song spoke to me primarily because the final verse speaks about how we'll enter into heaven with wedding bells ringing and the Bride will come together and sing "You're Beautiful." In the Bible the bride of Christ is the church, and I think Wickham is saying that the church will come together to rejoice that another soul has lived a good life and now resides with in heaven with Christ. But, as I sang those words the first time, I was taken back to when I was the bride, what it was like to walk down the aisle and how, although that was super exciting, my Earthly walk down the aisle will pale in comparison to what it will be like to meet Jesus. We are his bride and one day we will walk into his arms much like a woman meets her Earthly groom at the altar on their wedding day. For me, that walk was filled with excitement, wonder, love, thankfulness and so much more, and I cannot help but think of how much more exciting my walk into Christ's arms will be.

Love.

I'm not usually a bare-belly exposing kind of girl, but I love this picture of my husband. We have had the most fun over the past few weeks, and my heart is just overflowing with love for him. He loves me so well, and I cannot wait to see how he loves our sweet, **almost here,** daughter.
Cheers to a few more weeks of just you and me, babe. xo

Curtains!

Back to the nursery ... we now have curtains in the nursery! My grandmother made curtains for the nursery, but we had yet to hang them until this week. See below, and let us know what you think.

Showtime!

Tyler and I have enjoyed lounging around and watching movies over the past two weekends. I am slightly embarrassed to tell you that we've watch three movies in the last two weeks. Two we highly recommend, one was only okay. Here goes:

The Adjustment Bureau

 We really enjoyed this movie staring Matt Damon. Honestly, we'd just heard it was good and rented it blindly to see for ourselves. You definitely have to watch this movie to understand what is happening as the plot twists and turns, but it is worth it!

Limitless 

Another movie that you much watch (not have five other things happening while the movie is playing). This is the one that we weren't so thrilled with. Bradley Cooper stars in this film about a man who takes a drug to use 100% of his brain all the time. He is able to learn quickly and access information that he hasn't used in years. The plot is interesting, but it wasn't the best movie we've seen as of late.


Lincoln Lawyer

Great movie! Matthew McConaughey stars in this movie; yet another that you must devote your full attention to. This movie twists and turns and leaves the viewer questioning morals vs. money and who deserves what in the judicial system. We liked this suspenseful movie, and I think McConaughey did a great job. 

We rent our movies through RedBox. We love how easy and cheap this rental system is. There are RedBoxes at McDonalds, Walgreens, various gas stations and multiple grocery stores. Be sure to check them out ... fast and easy with a great selection of movies!

Let's Cook!!

We are taking a slight detour from baby for this post, and that is a-okay. Last Friday night Tyler and I went to a cooking class at Allen & Peterson, a home appliance store. The cooking classes are actually put on by Viking, an up-scale appliance manufacturer. They offer a variety of classes for adults, teens and children in most big cities throughout the US. I would highly suggest looking to see if there is a cooking school near you ... we had the best time!

We went for "Date Night: Dinner for Two." There were five couples in our class, and we all worked together to complete an incredible meal.

Our Menu:

• Glazed Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp
• Mixed Salad Greens with Candied Apple Slices, Pistachios and Mini Grilled Brie Sandwiches
• Chateaubriand (a beef tenderloin)
• Bearnaise Sauce
• Broccoli Boursin Gratins
• Chocolate Creme Brulee with Fresh Raspberries

And it was all just as good as it sounds. We took a few pictures, but it was hard to take in the information, help cook and take pictures so we don't have too many. Seriously .. find a class near you and go. The experience was just so fun!

Aprons on ... ready to cook!

Turning on the torch for Creme Brulee.

Torching the Brulee

Tyler and Fire ... his favorite combination!

Still torching. We did one thin coat of sugar, torched it and then repeated twice.

Us.

Our super easy and wonderful salad and grilled cheese. There was SO MUCH food to eat, I couldn't finish all of mine, but that's okay. This is the only course I took a picture of (on accident), but mainly because I was starving. Everything was delicious!!

The Crib.

Tyler and I went to Babies R Us and found exactly what we were looking for. I have always loved white furniture for a nursery, there's just something about white that goes with the fresh and delicate nature of a newborn baby. The crib was a gift from Tyler's parents that we bought and shipped to Alaska, but there are more special things about this crib ... here we go:

Step Two:
When I got pregnant and started thinking about the bedding for the crib, I thought that it would be neat to ask my Grandma to make the bedding .. yes, make the bedding. She is an incredible seamstress, and I thought this would be a special way to incorporate her gift. Fortunately, she said yes and we began moving forward with Grandma making Caroline's special linens.

Grandma was super excited and she perused fabric shops from the beginning getting ideas for color schemes and patterns, but there was nothing we could do until we found out what the baby was. At 20 weeks, we found out that we are having a girl and a few days later a small, but beautiful fabric swatch appeared in my mailbox. I had nothing to do with the color scheme, fabric or pattern for the linens; as I said, this is my grandmother's gift and boy am I glad I didn't interfere! Grandma was finished with the linens by the end of June and she waited patiently for my arrival to North Carolina on July 17 to give me the most beautiful gift ever. Look below to see our gift:

Keeping my eyes closed to wait for the surprise.

Back in Alaska with my favorite crib putter-togetherers.

The crib and bedding.

A close up so you can see all the elements.

A view from above. Special surprise #1001 ... do you see that pillow? Do you see the pink stuff that lines the top of the case? That is called tatting, a stitching that my great-grandmother used to do. My Mom found some of this in pink when she was cleaning out a closet, and had my grandmother make a baby pillowcase with the tatting on top. I am fortunate to have known and loved my Great-Grandmother, so although Caroline will never meet her nor will Great-Grandma know Caroline has some of her tatting, it is such a special touch from my Mom.

Lots of lovies! These come from various loved ones both near and far. There is one in particular that is significant...the bear to the right of the pile sitting just behind the pink elephant. Tyler bought that in Peru for Baby Van Zandt #1 who was thought of, but not yet conceived. It is made of baby alpaca -- super soft!! -- and is the baby's very first gift. I think it is spectacular that her first gift is from her Daddy.

I hope this didn't overwhelm you .. that was a lot!! Stay tuned tomorrow for Step Three ... the dresser.

THE NURSERY!!

Our child is the luckiest in the world because her nursery is filled with pieces and acts of love by so many people -- both family and friends. I cannot wait to reveal Caroline's sweet space to you over the next few days!! Tyler and I returned home from North Carolina last week and excitedly worked to start and finish the crib and dresser for Caroline's nursery. I am going to give you a bit at a time to show how this space has and still is evolving.

Step One: 
The first, and only, step we took to begin the nursery before we traveled was to paint the nursery. We debated six or more colors before I finally found exactly what I was hoping for. I wanted to take the nursery from ugly-government eggshell to a subtle, soft pink. At first we could only pick out neon, gross, pepto-pink colors. I began to get frustrated, but finally found the perfect color. Think of a new ballet shoe ... not a bright pink one, but one that has more of a taupy-tannish-pink color ... it is perfect because it is subtle, but still there.

For this step I enlisted the help of my dear friend Jami Bahmer who is very good at picking paint colors and painting. We knocked out the entire nursery in about four hours. I am awfully thankful for her keen eye and enthusiasm to help. Caroline and I will be helping her prepare her nursery in the coming months -- I can't wait!

So, that is that for today -- Step One. Stay tuned tomorrow for THE CRIB!! There are many, many acts of love in the crib and bedding ... can't wait to tell all.

We're Back!!

Hello everyone! I hope that you have been doing well. As you probably noticed, I took July off from the blog-o-sphere and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am hoping, especially with the preparations for Caroline and then her arrival, to be better about blogging. Today I feel particularly thankful, so I thought I'd list some of the reasons why. In no particular order ...

1. I have a husband who loves me deeply. He makes me laugh, he is fiercely protective, extremely charming and my very best friend in the world. 
2. Tyler works incredibly hard so that Caroline and I have everything we need and so much more!
3. We both come from families who know and love Jesus.
4. Both of our families provide a pristine example of what marriage and parenting should look like.
5. Caroline and I are both healthy.
6. Caroline is already dearly loved by so many. People are already praying for her, giving to her, asking about her, and hoping to meet her soon.
7. We traveled to NC for two and a half weeks -- my word are we blessed.
8. Tyler and I visited with six of our grandparents.
9. I learned to make my Mimi's peach ice-cream.
10. We returned safely to Alaska last night despite a pretty turbulent descent.
11. We have friends scattered around the world who love us and anticipate the day we can hang out again.
12. We have wonderful friends in Alaska who have become our family away from home.
13. I have a solid roof over my head and food in the refrigerator.
14. I know what it is like to be loved.
15. I have the ability to love others.

I apologize if this list is awfully boring, but today I just keep finding things that I am thankful for. What are you thankful for today?!

Airborne!

Tyler is Airborne qualified, which means he is qualified to jump out of airplanes with the Army. A few weeks ago, families got to go to the Drop Zone and watch the jump. For a variety of reasons I have never had the opportunity to see Tyler jump, so I was super excited to witness the drop.

The airplanes passed the Drop Zone three times. The first pass dropped heavy equipment. The second and third passes dropped people. Fortunately everyone landed safely!!

The birds approaching for pass one.

 Passing over.

If you look carefully, you can see the parachute flying out of the back of the plane.

Again look for the parachute.

Heavy things .. not sure what they are, but they weren't people.

Almost down.

Safely on the ground.

Pass two or three.

They jump out of two doors, and from the ground it looks like they are so very close together.

More...

Falling.

Maybe Tyler?!

Less than 100!!

We are less than 100 days away from our due date, and we are thrilled!! Caroline still has some growing to do, but we are so excited to be into double-digits instead of triple-digits until she gets here. We cannot wait to meet her!

Web Site Rut

Hello fun friends! I hope you are well. I love the internet and the wealth of information that is literally at your fingertips, but I seriously get into an overwhelmed rut sometimes because of the limitless options. So, I'm asking you to help me out of that rut ... what are some of your favorite web sites? How do you peruse the internet to find new fun things? Do you have any "must-adds" to my bookmark list?!

Thanks for the help; have a great day!

Happy Anniversary!

Last Tuesday, Tyler and I celebrated three blissful years of marriage! We could not have had a better day. Tyler did work, but we were fortunate enough to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Tyler took me to a nice restaurant where I had halibut cheeks (YUM!) and he had Prime Rib (his favorite!). Below are some pictures from our night out on the town. We apologize for the quality ... they were taken with a phone.

 23 weeks 6 days.

Frolicking Friday

The last few weeks have been super sunny, and we've had to water our yard to keep it green and fluffy. Our sweet, water-loving lab LOVES the water sprinkler, but  because she gets a bit smelly when she's wet, we don't let her play in the water often. Last week I decided to be nice and let her play while I sat and soaked up the sun and read. I found her excitement really funny. She has no care for anything else when the water is on.

I hope you think it is pretty funny, too. Happy weekend!

It's Anniversary Time!!

Three years ago Tyler and I were married. I honestly cannot believe that three years have gone by since I walked down the aisle to my handsome groom. The last three years have brought exciting adventures, a deepened friendship with each other,  a peaceful home routine and more laughter than can be documented.

I truly am so very lucky to have married my best friend, and continue to thank God for his friendship, his love and loyalty to me in everything he does. The next three years will bring children, more moves and added Army responsibilities, but I cannot wait to continue walking alongside him and to see what the good Lord has in store for us.

Old School ... months after we began dating.

  
Shortly after we were married.

Playing with our first addition, Bella. I know he will be an incredible Daddy to our sweet children.

Home is where we are.

Home together!!