Youth Group Reunion

Aaron and I thought it would be fun to have a party for those that have graduated youth group during the time that we've been here in Vincennes. It was so great having the group together again. Not everyone was here but we had a big turn out! It was such a blessing to spend time with all of them. :)

Christmas 2011

Aaron, Kaitlyn, and I had our own Christmas early since we would be gone on Christmas Day. Kaitlyn opened her presents and then we opened ours for each other after she was in bed.

Last Thursday we headed north to visit my family. We were there until the 26th. It was so good to be with family and have them get to enjoy Kaitlyn! She didn't really want anyone to hold her but she did let them feed her and play on the floor next to her. I think she did have fun playing with the big kids. :) Our time went by so quickly and it was hard to leave, as always. On the way home we met up with the Barkers in Kokomo. They were our adopted family in college through the church we went to.

Recapping...
*spent LOTS of time just hanging out and relaxing with family
*visited with my friend Beth who I see once a year
*rode 4-wheelers and remembered why I love country living :)Kaitlyn had her first 4-wheeler ride!
*my mom gave Kaitlyn a rocking chair that was hers as a child. She loves it!
*we saw Greg, Natalie, and kids in their Christmas Eve service while Mom watched Kaitlyn
*Christmas Day service at Maple Grove

Here are some pictures!

Merry Christmas from the Zehrs!

8 months

Kaitlyn is such a joy in our lives! She has been so much fun these past 8 months and she's just really growing into a beautiful little lady. However, we are starting to see that she can be quite the drama queen. Aaron and I are defintely going to have to break her of that! I'm so thankful that Aaron is providing for our family and I am able to stay at home with her. I wouldn't want it any other way!

Kaitlyn...
*weighs just under 17 pounds
*now has two teeth, both on the bottom.
*loves to eat! She can really put it down. New additions this month are green beans, acorn squash, avocado, prunes, applesauce, and bananas. It takes her a little while to get used to something new but she always ends up liking it.
*is still super clingy. If we are in the room she won't let anyone else hold her without crying about it.
*loves being with other kids. She gets all excited when she sees one.
*doesn't use a bottle anymore. She only uses a sippy and is doing great with it.
*loves apple juice
*likes playing with toys that make music
*still prefers playing with things that aren't really baby toys
*can turn herself all the way around when sitting on the floor
*still doesn't crawl. Everytime she's on all fours she flattens and rolls to her back
*has been adding more consonant sounds when she jabbers
*for the most part doesn't take an evening nap anymore.
*loves to play in the tub
*sleeps 11-11.5 hours at night
*loves to play chase and peek-a-boo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week we went to Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with Aaron's family. We actually had two Christmases as well. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. Kaitlyn was clingy, of course, but she allowed others to love on her at times. Here are some pictures...


Kaitlyn got to meet her second cousins. When she saw Brielle she kept touching her face. She loves other kids right now. She starts smiling and making noises when she sees them.
Kaitlyn with Aunt Samantha. Kaitlyn looks so much like Sam did at this age!
Playing with Great Grandma Rocke
Playing Settlers of Catan
Loving on Great Grandpa Rocke. I had to take this picture quickly because it didn't last long!

7 Months

Our little lady is just growing up so fast! I love seeing her do new things and learn about her surroundings. I never get tired of watching her play with something and examine it so thoroughly. That girl is so observant, she doesn't miss anything that goes on around her.

Kaitlyn...
*is now eating real foods! So far she has tried sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and peas. Her favorite is squash!
*loves playing with things that aren't really baby toys
*has her first tooth!
*learned that she can control her tongue. She's been sticking it out quite a bit lately.
*loves to stand
*doesn't seem close to crawling. She wants to be able to move but doesn't know that crawling will make that happen.
*has been trying a sippy cup. She is definitely still getting used to it.
*has been learning about her hands lately. She's been staring at them as she opens and closes them and turns them over.
*loves her door jumper


It's never too early...

Halloween-The prettiest flower you'll ever see :)

Trying out the sippy

Like Mother, Like Daughter

For Christmas last year my mom gave me a bunch of my clothes from when I was a baby for Kaitlyn to wear. Here is a picture of me at 6 months.
This past Sunday I put Kaitlyn in that same dress.

Cripe Visit

This past weekend my parents came to visit and brought along my oldest step brother Ronnie, his wife Heidi, and two of their kids JoEllen and Luke. Aaron was gone for most of it because he was with the teens on a fall retreat. Obviously we wouldn't have preferred it to happen that way but that was the only time that worked for my family. They got in Friday afternoon. That evening didn't quite go as I had imagined it. While we were getting supper ready I cut my finger and Kaitlyn was also pretty fussy and didn't want anyone but me. It was pretty stressful for me. We went to have my nurse friend check out my finger and she didn't think I needed stitches so she just bandaged it up for me. Saturday went much better. We did some sight seeing and spent time talking. Aaron got home that night and was so tired. He preached Sunday morning too. We had lunch after church and then they were on their way. Here are some pictures from our time together...

6 Months Old!

I can't believe our little lady is half a year old already! She has really grown up this past month.

Kaitlyn...
*is now sitting up
*is now rolling over both ways
*sits forward in the stroller without the carseat
*naps about an hour and a half in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon with a little catnap in between
*loves to chat it up while riding in the car
*now takes baths sitting up in the inflatable duck tub
*loves ANYTHING that crinkles
*loves to visit Lexi outside. She smiles and squeals everytime she sees her
*is sleeping 10.5-11 hours at night!
*eats rice cereal three times a day plus the usual milk feeding
*loves to touch faces

Our friends Ryan and Ashley came over to take Kaitlyn's 6 month pictures. I'll post those later when I get them. Aaron and I took Kaitlyn outside to take some of our own as well. Kaitlyn was much more interested in playing with the leaves and grass so there wasn't much smiling going on. Here are a few from today...

Fall Visit

Last week we were blessed to have family visit. Aaron's Grandpa and Grandma Rocke came Wednesday night after youth group and left Friday morning. The weather was beautiful and we spent much of Thursday outdoors. Kaitlyn was great and let them love on her. That was such a blessing to me because for the past few months she's had a hard time letting other people take her.
That Friday night Aaron's parents arrived for the weekend. Kaitlyn was great for them too! It was so nice to have family here. I'm convinced that Kaitlyn was so good because she recognized their faces from the family photo book I made for her. :)

Our Little Sitter

Yes, that's right! Kaitlyn is now sitting up on her own. Aaron and I still need to stay close by because she will occasionally fly backwards but she is doing a great job! Because she is now sitting up we graduated her to riding forward in the stroller and no longer using the car seat. I'm sure she loves facing out and seeing everything around her and no longer just the sky and our faces. :)

The Forgotten Child...

Since Kaitlyn was born Lexi the cat has gotten much less attention. Part of me thinks she likes it that way. She is a cat afterall! :) The biggest change in Lexi's life is that she is now a total outside cat. Kaitlyn and I go out many times a day to visit her. Kaitlyn starts kicking and squeaks and squeals as soon as she sees Lexi. Aaron propped open a window in the shed so Lexi can go in and out. She is adjusting well and seems to really enjoy being outside.

Love for Coupons

Since Kaitlyn was born we have gotten into couponing. Since I'm not working we are doing our best to save money wherever we can. Every little bit helps! Aaron and I go to Jay C on the way to church every Sunday and buy a paper; sometimes we buy 2 depending on the week. That afternoon I cut out the coupons and put them in our binder.
Coupons are really worth it when you combine them with items that are on sale. On Friday night we look through the Walgreens and CVS ads for good deals. When we first started we went to Walmart and wrote down prices for the items we buy so we know whether items at those stores really are good deals. It's saved us from buying things we thought would be a good deal but really weren't. We are also careful not to buy anything we wouldn't normally buy just because we have a coupon.
On Saturdays we check the blog Hip2Save.They always list all the deals you can get with coupons at Walgreens and CVS. They also find deals using online coupons that you can print. This blog also has deals for other stores and other random deals like free samples for products and codes for Pampers points (which we will be getting free Christmas photo cards with our points!). Aaron and I have saved $300 so far this year using coupons (That's the total with the cost of papers taken out)! We didn't get real serious with it until June so next year will be much more I'm sure! It's such a rush to get things for cheap or for FREE!

5 months Old!

Kaitlyn is growing and changing every day. She doesn't seem babyish anymore.

What's happened in the past month...
*Kaitlyn learned how to roll over last week! She's only done it for me twice and Aaron still hasn't seen it. She really only does it in her crib. Being on her tummy seems to be helping her sleep.
*She's taking long naps. (I'm afraid to type that because I might jinx myself!)
*She's doing great sitting supported. She can stop herself from falling forward but isn't quite there to sit on her own for long. I'm sure it won't be long!
*She reaches for stuff that she wants.
*She's still pretty clingy but getting a little better.
*She loves playing in her Exer Saucer.
*Her favorite song is "The Wise Man Built his House upon the Rock" with the motions, of course! She smiles everytime I start doing that song.
*I used to rock Kaitlyn in her room before nap/bedtime to get her sleepy to help her fall asleep in the crib. Now she just wants to be put in the crib and left alone. I like that she wants to do it by herself but I miss getting to rock her.
*She's become quite the Daddy's girl! Aaron can always make her smile.
*She's started rice cereal. She does a great job with it and really seems to like it.


Kaitlyn usually plays in the Exer Saucer while we eat.

When I put her in the high chair she gets a big smile on her face because she knows what's coming. Yum!

I think she looks so grown up in this one.

Of course she can't be all smiles all the time. This picture was taken by our good friend Ashley, who will be taking her 6 month pictures.

I'll leave you with one of my absolute favorites!!

Exalt Student Ministries

Last Wednesday was our fall kick-off for youth group. We had 15 teens come. They played Ultimate Ultimate. It’s like Ultimate Frisbee with a whole lot more objects than just a frisbee. It started off with a frisbee and then added the following…beach ball, socks filled with flour, giant pickles, avocado, tomatoes, eggs, water balloons and a cow tongue. The teens seemed to love it and they were good sports since they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into when they got there! We had pizza afterwards. Tonight starts our regular night of youth group. This year will be quite different having Kaitlyn around. She will be in the nursery during this time but I will have to rush home right after to feed her and put her to bed. I was thinking the other day that she will be over a year old by the time youth group ends for the summer. The nursery workers will get to see her grow and change so much!
Here are some pictures from the kick-off...
Aaron with his cooler of goodies :)
The cow tongue...so disgusting!
The teens definitely got messy!