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.

mercy and her buddies

Mercy had a blast at Andy's birthday party. Here she is with some of her friends...

Special moment with Mercy and her friend Jaydn.

Mercy hanging out with her buddy Colton.

Our friend Kelley checks out the action at the batting cages with Mercy.

Mercy joins in on Ramin and David’s conversation.

The lovely Tara Swanson with Mercy.

fun parks are for 30-year-olds

To celebrate Andy's birthday, we went to a fun park nearby with some friends

(Andy’s goal was to not feel 30).

Go-Karts! Will Mercy enjoy it?

Andy certainly does.

It’s confirmed. Mercy’s a fan.

A big one.

andy is 30!

For Andy’s 30th birthday (Finally! I’m no longer alone in the 30s!),
we had a little Zenz party when Andy got home from work.

Andy and Mercy blow out the candles.

Quality time on the couch.

the blessing of girlfriends

My dear friends threw a baby shower a few weekends ago for Karin and me (we’re due the same week). It was such a special morning full of great conversation, fabulous food, prayer, and adorable baby gear, of course. The new baby and I were spoiled immensely by the girls’ generosity. Thank you, beautiful ladies, for such a wonderful time together!

The girls--front row from left: Shauna, Karin
Middle row: Julie, Katie, and me;
Back row: Jenny, Meggan, Jen, Amy, Nat, and Mandy

Love that Julie and Nat so much.

My wonderful friend Meggan.


- Fellow prego buddy Karin.
Some of the women from our Bible study at a recent girls’ night out.
From left: Kelly, Meggan, Nat, Karin, me, and Amy.

loving our friends

This past weekend we got to spend time with our dear friends from Michigan––Terry, Sue, Amanda, Chris, and Kaitlin. We stayed in a cabin with them in Estes Park and had a great time catching up. Then Mercy and I were able to visit with my good friend Johanna and her three kids as she was in town. What a fantastic couple of days we had with treasured friends!

Sue, Amanda, Kaitlin, Chris, Andy, Terry, Mercy, and me

Rocky Mountain National Park

Andy & Mercy at the pool

David, Renee, Johanna, Sam, and Mercy enjoy a book together.

new family video

Here's the latest Zenz family video! This one covers May and June 2007 and features the Zenz extended family. We stayed with Andy's parents for a week and then Andy's brother Aaron and his family came to visit us for a week. It was so fun to see the cousins getting to know each other better and to have some quality family time together. The video also has a tribute to Andy's recovery from his bike accident in May and a quick section that features Mercy's buddy Jase. Enjoy!

making family memories

Sister/Aunt Amy was in town this past weekend and we enjoyed every moment together!

Amy and Mercy having some quality playtime together.

Four weeks to go!

Amy took some photos of the three of us...

...and the two of us.

Love that boy.

Sisters!

more summer fun

We've had a great past week full of all kinds of adventures. Mercy helped Andy put together her new toddler bed, Andy went backpacking with a friend to Crater Lake, and Mercy got to visit our good friend Brady at his beautiful garden here in Boulder.

In on every bit of the action with Daddy.

Andy checks out the amazing view at Crater Lake.

Taking a break from working in the garden to strike a pose with Brady, though Mercy does seem to be a bit more concerned about her purse than anything else.

Helping Brady pull some clover.

more from the video archives

Here are three videos we made last spring of Mercy's adventures. The first two are general fun times with a lot of editorial experimenting. The third is the official "first crawl" footage set to a Chariots of Fire/Gettin' Jiggy Wit It soundtrack. Definitely a family favorite.


Video #1 - Spring 2006: Hangin' out at home


Video #2 -Spring 2006: She almost crawls.



Video #3 - Spring 2006: She crawls!

from the archives

These are two videos from the last year that are too fun not to share. I'll post more from the archives in the near future!


Video #1 - February 2007: Mercy and I visited Carrie and Dan in L.A. Amy came to visit, too. Fantastic sister/bro-in-law/niece bonding.


Video #2 - August 2006: Mercy walks for the first time!

good times with good friends

I got to spend time with my friends Meggan and Janet today. It was wonderful to enjoy meaningful conversation with both of them. Grateful for the gift of friendship today...and the gift of children (Mercy and John are quite the buddies).

Meggan, John, Mercy, and me

Mercy lovin' on John

Janet and me

family video time

We've been having lots of fun editing family videos since Mercy was born. Now that I've figured out how to post them on our blog, I thought I'd share the latest one. It covers March through early July 2007.