what a week!

Mercy turned two on September 13th. Andy and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on September 14th. Grandma (Mimi) & Grandpa (Jim) were here to visit from Nashville and Aunt Amy was here again from San Francisco. Andy and I enjoyed a lovely date on our anniversary while my family watched the girls. Mercy was loved very well as she had two birthday celebrations during the weekend. It was such a special time together as family. I'm so thankful for these past few days!

Mercy blowing out her candles.

Good job, Mercy!


Opening presents with Aubrey.

Hiking the Red Rocks trail with Dad, Mimi, and Amy.

Mercy's nice and secure between Grandma and Grandpa.

Eden resting in Grandma's arms.

Amy and Eden share a meaningful moment.

The fam.

Clapping after "Happy Birthday to You" (which she sang along with everyone) at her party shared with buddy Colton (thank you, Michael and Lisa, for everything!).

Mercy blowing out another set of candles on her very cool butterfly cake.
(Thank you, Kelly!)

Colton and his amazing train cake.

Yum!

Evidence of a satisfied birthday girl.

Mercy with Pete, our neighbor, and his "Groovy Girl" gift.

Lovin' the party favors.

Opening gifts with Mommy.

Resembling Cyndi Lauper a bit with all her loot.

A recent shot of Eden (almost four weeks old).

In Daddy's arms.

Opening those eyes a lot more these days.

Sisters.

Gentle kiss.

a hint of fall

Eden is almost three weeks old and is packing on the ounces. Mercy is a great help around the house and is still lavishing loads of love on her baby sister. Mercy is showing so much creativity lately and is becoming more and more vocal all the time. She repeats back to us most of the things we say and does an excellent job of cracking us up on a regular basis. It's hard to believe that Mercy turns two in just two days!

Personally, I am feeling like a bit of zombie as the sleep deprivation sets in, but the hours I spend awake have been filled with so many memorable moments in these early weeks of Eden's new life. We loved attending our friends Jenny and Jason's wedding over Labor Day weekend. Exciting things are happening with our church (http://rootschurch.org/) as Andy and I prepare to co-host a new cell group. And I've just started up Bible Study Fellowship and am looking forward to studying the book of Matthew with some pretty incredible women this year. Finally, the leaves have just begun to change, which makes me want to curl up with a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. Perfect.

Mercy exploring a bit before Jason and Jenny's ceremony.

What an amazing place to get married - on top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder!

The radiant couple.

Some Mommy & Mercy time while we watch the recessional.

The Zenz nerds whoop it up at the reception with our buddies Garret and Aubrey.

Eden naps on a particularly chilly September afternoon.

Doing her best monkey impersonation.

I see you...

she's here!

Eden Joelle Zenz has finally arrived. She was born on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 12:02 p.m. after a whirlwind labor and delivery. She has, of course, been blessing our lives immensely the last two-and-a-half weeks. Mercy is a wonderful older sister, regularly giving Eden kisses and hugs and saying, "O-tay, Edie" (It's okay, Eden) when she cries or even makes any sound at all. Andy and I are soaking up every moment with our two precious little girls. We've been taken care of so beautifully by our family and community here as we adjust to life as a family of four. Andy's parents and sister were in town the first week of Eden's life. My sister Amy came to visit over Labor Day weekend and my parents (and Amy again!) will be here next weekend. What a joy it is to share this sweet newborn girl with loved ones. Here are some (okay, a lot of) shots from the last few weeks with Miss Eden...or Edie Jo, as we sometimes like to call her.

Moments after Eden's birth.

First kisses from Daddy.

First sister pictures.

Hi, beautiful.

Ten perfect toes.

Adjusting to life outside the womb.

Not a huge fan of the first bath.

Andy, Mercy, and Eden.

Learning how to hold the non-baby doll.

Getting a bit more comfortable.

Hi, Eden.

Family photo before leaving the hospital.

Sisters' hands on the trip home from the hospital.

Andy bonding with his girl: he is 30 years old and she is 30 hours old at the time of this photo.

Welcome to the Zenz clan, Eden.

Hitting the trail with Mom, Dad, and Anna Zenz.

We love to hike!

Check out those dimples! (photo by Anna Zenz)

Love this shot (also taken by Anna).

Yet another great shot by Anna.

Visit from Aunt Amy.

Stretch!

The look-a-like outfits begin...

At the time of this photo, Mercy is just days away from turning two and Eden is two weeks old.

Lovely.

soon and very soon

My husband, the extremely talented photographer, has captured some pretty sweet moments this past week as we count down the days until we meet baby girl #2.

a day in the life of mercy isabel

Here are a few shots of Mercy’s everyday activities lately.

Our friend Ramin brought over an inner tube the other day because he knows Andy loves to tube in Boulder Creek. Mercy helped herself and decided to have a little party in the tube.

She can’t seem to get enough of her cooking set these days. She serves us up all kinds of treats and even enjoyed her own real sandwich while snacking on a pretend tomato during lunch today. She actually took the time to cut up the sandwich into tiny little pieces with her pretend knife and then use the pretend cutting board as a plate while she ate every single bite!

Mercy’s been sleeping like a champ in her toddler bed and is completely fine with the fact that her “old” crib is for the baby. It’s fun to watch her climb into bed on her own, especially on days when she’s soooo ready for her nap and doesn’t even need prompting to start her nap.

we love water

We went to the Boulder Reservoir the other day with our friends Natalie, Lauren, Isaiah, Meggan, and John. We whooped it up and relived fond memories of growing up near lakes in the Midwest. Mercy thoroughly enjoyed herself in the sand and Andy thoroughly enjoyed repeatedly throwing Mercy’s little squealing body way up into the air as they played in the water.