our little fashionista

mercy's been sporting quite the ensembles lately. our landlord and his wife gave mercy this totally fun leopard-print beret the other day. mercy was ironically already wearing her hand-me-down leopard-print pants and she quickly located her leopard-print purse given to her by our neighbor pete. oh my. what fun.

i also got out my "betsy" shirt that i wore in kindergarten when my elementary school did a disney musical. my class was the mickey mouse club. i still have the mickey mouse ears, too, which mercy pulls out from time to time. hmm...isn't it a bit strange that mercy fits into something now that i wore as a five-year-old?

the outdoor shots were taken during a photo shoot andy did for our friends meggan, ben, and john.

pretty in pink

I was able to capture some more of the growing Eden (7 weeks old today) this afternoon while Mercy napped. Thanks to Jody for this adorable outfit!

Hi blue eyes.

Dimple girl.

A little tummy time.

sisters

Andy set up a little photo shoot with the girls this week. I am loving these photos of Mercy (24 months) and Eden (6 weeks). It will be so fun to show them these shots when they are older! Thanks to my amazing husband for capturing these moments.

Gentle lovin'.

Sweet girls.

Great shot of Eden's smile.

Great shot of Mercy's smile.

Oh my goodness, I love this one.

Little tiny toes.

Our Eden.

one month old today

Eden Joelle is one month old already. We celebrate her little life and love every part of her!

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.