Zachary's Churching

Today was a special day for Zachary and our family. As with Helaina, Zachary received his forty day blessing at church. Forty days after birth and in accordance with the Old Testament tradition observed by the Virgin Mary (Luke 2:22-24), the mother brings her child for his first visit to the Church. Inspired by the example of Simeon's encounter with the infant Messiah, for each child has the potential to be great in the sight of the Lord, the act of churching recognizes this and also serves, as with the mother, to introduce the child to the community of faith.

Father George and Zachary

Helaina and Seedy lighting prayer candles

Our family

Zachary is 6 weeks old, and he is quite a big boy!!! At his doctor visit last week, he weighed in at 12 pounds and 23 inches, both in the 90th percentile. On Saturday, we passed the 6 week milestone. Earlier this week, he shocked us by rolling over from his stomach to his back numerous times, and he's continuing to roll during "tummy time." He's rather strong and is working on rolling over from his back to stomach. His feeding patterns are very similar to Helaina's as a baby...a lot and often! Zachary is still waking two times at night to feed, and his longest stretch is usually only 4-5 hours, which also resembles Helaina's sleeping patterns the first few months. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he will soon give us a little longer stretch of sleep. He's basically outgrown most of his 3 month clothing and is wearing mostly 6 month outfits. I guess big babies are in our genetic gene pool.

Look at those cheeks!

Pictures from Valpo

We returned to Michigan safely, late on Saturday evening. Once again, the kids did great, and I was grateful that the drive was rather uneventful. We were so happy to spend quality family time yesterday with Randy, as it seems likes it has been an eternity since the four of us have been together.

Zach is 5 weeks old, and things seem to be settling in our home. Randy will be around more often, no more big adventures for the next couple months, and baby Zach is sleeping a bit longer. I know it will take a few weeks or even months to get into a new routine, but I do see some trends starting to develop already.

The Cobb Family sent us these adorable shirts for the kids soon after Zach was born. I couldn't wait for it to get warmer so they could wear them, and I could post a picture!

Zachary is full of smiles these days. I swear he was flashing them around 3 weeks of age...much earlier than Helaina. This isn't one of his big ones, but it's what I could capture on camera!

Unfortunately, the Great-Grandparents weren't able to visit at the same time (due to Grandpa's busy farming schedule), but we got pictures with both of them with the kids.

Great-Grandpa Walter and the kids

Great-Grandma Walter and the kids

Helaina and I took a joy ride on the 4 wheelers.

Yesterday we were invited to a BBQ with the Khoury family. Helaina, Isabella and Alina played together for most of the afternoon and evening.

While I was in Indiana, I was able to take some pictures of my cousin Alexis and her prom date Jeremy. They looked fabulous for their special evening.

Let's Celebrate our Graduates!

This spring has given our family so much to celebrate and be thankful for! Obviously, the birth of our healthy baby boy, but there are 2 other very special people in our lives who have made us extremely proud!
We couldn't be happier to announce the graduation of Dr. Richard Omar Freij!!! This May he graduated from Michigan State's Medical School and is moving to Pittsburgh this summer to begin his pathology residency. He's had a few weeks off between the two programs, and the timing couldn't have been better. He's been a five star uncle to Helaina and Zach. He's definitely smoothed the road for us during our transition to a family of four!


The proud parents of the graduate!

My brother Nathan actually completed his degree this past December, but on Monday we had the honor of watching him walk in the graduation ceremony and proudly receive his diploma! Nate worked for the City of Valpo through an internship while he was going to school, and he must have impressed the big men, because immediately after graduation they offered him a full-time position with the city. So here's to my brother, an official graduate of Purdue University and the City of Valpo's Project Manager in the Engineering Department.

Helaina loving on her Uncle Nathan before his ceremony

1 month old

Zachary is 1 month old! He doesn't seem that big to us until we snap a photo and get a perfect glimpse of those chubby cheeks! He doesn't return to the doctor until his 2 month well visit, so we took a weight at home. He's weighing in around 11 pounds, which is right on track for his growth thus far. He is such a sweet and snugly little baby!

Zachary meets Indiana

After 3 days of preparation and some pretravel planning, Helaina, Zachary, and I made it to Indiana Friday night without a single hiccup. My maternity leave ends on June 1 and there was the lingering possibility that Randy would be in Vancouver with the team for the next round of playoffs, so we decided now was a good time for the 3 of us to meet my family in Indiana. The Wings lost, and we had to leave Randy at home, but the kids sure have enjoyed all the visitors here!!!
Last night, I was able to break away for a few hours while my parents stayed with the kids. I got a few extra hours of sleep as my mom helped with the middle of the night feeding. Zachary will be 1 month old tomorrow. He is still waking every 3 hours at night to feed, but that is an improvement from a week ago when he would have a feeding frenzy in the wee hours of the early morning.
This picture of the 2 of them together speaks a thousand words...she's is full of energy, but oh so sweet and lovable!!! And Zach is a trooper...Helaina runs circles around him, and he just watches calmly, never fussing when her little hands are giving him giant size hugs!
We've had so many visitors in the past few days and are loving all the quality family time! This is a picture of Zach with his Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa McGinley.

We only wish the weather would be not so winter like! Such a disappointment to be spending all our days inside because of the 40 degree temperature and constant rain. Zach has already experienced what seems like all 4 seasons (snow, spring rain, tornadoes, and summer heat) in his 4 weeks with us...only in the midwest!

3 Weeks

Tomorrow Zachary will be 3 weeks old! The days are passing quickly and most nights are basically just a blur. He has had a long stretch of sleep from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm, but has been waking around 2:30 am, then 4:30 am, and again at 6:30 am and taking full feedings each time. I think Randy and I both are getting used to functioning on little sleep, so for the most part, things are going well.

Helaina has been wonderful with the new baby transition. She is very proud of her little brother, telling people his name and that she's a big sister. She likes to give hugs, kisses, and help us with all the baby tasks. It is pure joy to see the two of them interacting together already.

Hopefully Zachary will be our second water baby. As most of you know, Helaina is a little fish and it would be great if Zach loved the water just as much as his sister. We give him a bath right before bed, and he seems to enjoy being in the tub and held under the running water.

Daddy turned our water on outside this week and started the sprinkler system. Our little helper just couldn't resist getting herself involved in the process. On a rather cold 55 degree day, she was soaked from head to toe!

As I'm typing this, my ears are glued to the t.v. The fate of my Mother's Day weekend depends on the outcome of the Red Wings game this evening. Randy is working the game tonight...if the Wings win, he leaves with the team for California and won't be back until late Monday. If the Wings lose, he'll be home around 11 p.m. tonight and will be able to spend the weekend with his family. Current score in the second period...Wings 3-San Jose 1.

Hospital Photo

We had a newborn photo taken at the hospital about 24 hours after Zach was born. We had the same photo taken for Helaina, so we couldn't resist doing the same for him.

The days are busy, but time is passing quickly as I knew it would. Randy has been in California since Wednesday with the team for the playoffs and won't return until sometime Monday. Since he's been gone, Amo and Auntie (Randy's parents) have been with us during the days, and Auntie has been sleeping over at night to help. Zach seems to be settling in to his new life at home, and Helaina is adjusting better than I had anticipated.