Father's Day Happenings

A month late---ok, almost two!, but still worth posting the memories!  Whew, I'm wayyyy behind!Wanted to share some of the great "Daddy Moments" we had throughout the day on Father's Day.  :)  It was a wonderful day celebrating 4 amazing daddies:  My Daddy, My hubby, My Father in law, and My Brother in law!  They are all wonderful men!

I love my Daddy oh so very much!!

Play time with C's Daddy!

The Hiner crew loving on their Daddy

We have the greatest Dad in the world!

Look how good he does at his Daddy role

Little Landon loving having some special time with his Daddy

My silly family

Zach and his Dad

We celebrated by making them a "man's meal" of ribs, beer, macaroni, chocolate cake and goodies.  Hopefully it was a day to make them feel so special! :)

Happy Father's Day: My Husband

This is officially the celebration of Zach's first Father's Day!!  We celebrated last year because he was already a father, but this one is special because he has his little son here to love on him and remind him of what a blessing he is to Carter!
I have been blown away watching Zach so easily take on the role of Daddy.  He was made for this!  Zach is a very loving man towards family and that is just magnified with his son!  It is very apparent that he would do anything in the world for the safety and well being of Carter.  Carter will grow up feeling overwhelmingly loved, supported, and encouraged. 

Daddy gives Carter lots of kisses and love

As soon as we found out we were pregnant, we began imagining our future life with our little one.  Many men (and women, honestly) freak out at least at some point of the up coming reality that will be their lives.  Zach never had one of those moments, or if he did, he never showed an ounce of fear or nervousness.  He was elated!  Every conversation was filled with joy when discussing our son and parenting and how our child will grow up.  Zach said from the beginning he was going to be a very involved Dad and he wanted his child(ren) to know that they were the most important part of his life (....besides me of course hehehe). 

Loving on Carter before he's even here

In labor and delivery, Zach showed characteristics that were very telling of how he would father.  He encouraged me the whole way through reminding of the good that was going to be our outcome.  It got tough in there and he stayed very positive and focused on helping me through it.  Zach is already like this with Carter.  Each little milestone that Carter moves towards, Zach is there rooting him on and encouraging him.  Every night when he gets home, he practices walking with Carter, he watches him get better and better at crawling and is genuinely excited at his growth.  He plays with Carter and finds himself doing extremely silly things to get a smile out of him. 

First moment with his son

Taking his baby boy home

I've mentioned before the bed time routine that we do which is bath, feed, story, bed.  Zach has been a part of that every single night (that he's been in town).  He is commited to being there for Carter and being in Carter's childhood memories.  He doesn't even do it out of "I just know I've said I'm going to" kind of mindset, but he is excited to do it!  There have even been nights when friends or family have been over and I've told Zach that he can be with them while I do bedtime and he always says no!  I want to do it too.  :)  Not only that, he makes it fun and exciting for Carter by playing bath games with him or singing goofy songs to make Carter smile.  He is amazing with him.

Zach flying Carter and zooming him into kisses!

I think one of the greatest things is just how Zach wants to be such a big part of his life.  He shares the parenting duties with me to his greatest ability and I couldn't imagine being in any different situation.  I couldn't imagine not having him here to help with every task and decision.  Granted, there are many times that he lets me decide how we should schedule or handle certain things, but he is always ready to share ideas of what we could do or try and he is always there to be a part of implementing them! He always tells me he doesn't care what he's doing with Carter, he loves every opportunity to be with him.  This works out great for me when I've been battling a nap fighting kiddo and would love a break.  It's not the most fun moment to spend with our little love but Zach jumps on the opportunity to tackle naptime because it gives him another moment with his lil man!  He is joyful in every thing he does with Carter.
I love being in the kitchen cleaning, or upstairs, and hearing Zach and Carter playing.  It usually fills the house with giggles and "yay's" and excitement!  I know they have a blast together and their relationship will only grow stronger through the years.

Snuggles before nap time!  Carter is fascinated by Daddy's nose.

Something that is precious to me is that Zach LOVES dressing him and Carter alike.  It's not like they wear exact matching outfits, but he loves to coordinate them in either colors or patterns!  It's pretty cute!  He used to love playing superman with Carter when he was littler and fly him through the house.  He loves any firsts he can do with Carter, like experiencing his first snow, feeding him his first foods, watching his first moves.

Dressed like Daddy for Christmas

C's first snow!

Daddy feeding C peassss!  ewww



Carter watching his Daddy at his baby dedication

 Zach is a wonderful Daddy and our little one is soooo lucky!  He has the smartest, most loving, most hardworking Daddy to grow up with and that's a blessing.
And I'm sure lucky to have this man by my side as we experience life together and parenting!  What a rock he is for me!  I love you Babe!! :)  Happy Father's Day!

Say cheese

What a lucky girl I am!  One of my best friends from high school has taken up photography and took some of her time to practice on my little family.  It was an amazing time.  She has semi recently begun and is very talented!  She thanked us for letting her practice, but REALLY we were thankful because we got extremely great pictures done and got to do it with someone we love! Even on a 90 degree humid May day with sprinkles of rain, she captured some beautiful shots and look at this editing!! Thanks Megan Dunleavy for taking these excellent shots!  Here are a few of my favorites!

I love how this windy day blew his hair around!  Haha

We volunteer to let you practice any time you want!!!  Love you oh so much Meggo!

We did it!

This weekend, Zach and I had a friend's engagement party to attend so Mom was going to come babysit Carter for us for a night out.  We also have a very quick approaching summer trip, in which we will be leaving our sweet baby for 1 week with his Gigi and Captain.  That means Carter (ok, Mommy really) needs to be comfortable being away overnight.  Truthfully, it will probably affect me more! :)  Zach and I have been trying to think of a night that would be great to leave Carter over night and realizing we're running out of time, thought why not this night? 
So, realizing that I think leaving for just a night would be easy, we had to do more.  C is a great sleeper and once in bed (usually between 7:15-7:45) he's out for the night.  We don't hear from him until the following morning around 6:30-7:00 so I figured it would be very simple for my parents.  Also, leaving for just a day is easy. I do this fairly often (at least once a week). There's comfort knowing that whatever kind of day he had, his Mommy will be able to soothe him, or just play if he doesn't need soothing, when she gets back.  Where I figured my struggle would be was combining a full day and night.  More than a 24 hour period.  So, that's just what I wanted to do.
We dropped Carter off before his first nap, around 8:30 and headed off for our special day.  We did many of our old favorites.  Nothing fancy, just had a coffee date at Starbucks, which many of you know is a staple for us.  We sat outside in the sunshine for a little over an hour, talking interruption free....though of course some of that conversation was about Lil C.  Then went to our usual shopping spots which included getting a few pairs of shoes each! :)  and some cute clothes for Carter.  We decided to grab lunch at Idle Rich to enjoy their patio and have an afternoon beer!  YUM! :)  Then we headed home to get ready for Kristen and Travis' engagement party. 



Great quality time with the man I love more every day!

 We had a great time celebrating their upcoming wedding.  It was a beautiful house, great dessert table! (a plus in my book), and a good time meeting her and catching up with him.  Zach and I also just enjoyed being out for an evening.  We dogo out sometimes, but those days have definitely dwindled in the last 7 months.  We wouldn't trade it though. 
Overall, it was successful!  I didn't cry at all.  I was a little anxious leaving him initially but my mom is so great and lets me call as often as I like so I called after each nap.  :)  When I woke up at 7 the next morning (out of habit), I was excited that I could go back to sleep but also ready to get Carter.  I dozed in and out until just before 9---when did this last happen?!?  Quite wonderful!  We headed to family dinner after that.
Everything went great for my parents.  Carter was good and easy and they discovered he LOVES dogs!  He went next door to play with the neighbor's and was squealing and laughing while they were licking and running around him. 
Zach and I are looking to see what our next over night will be!
Now I know I can and will survive...now we'll just see how a whole week goes!.....

The Love story





My hubby's gone for the night on business travel.  I was thinking about how very special he is.  Obviously.  :)  But it made me start thinking about the beginning of "us".  What a fun story that is!  Many of you know it, but I sure like to relive it!  So, I am!   Right now.     Well, I went to college at Texas State, Zach went to University of Florida.  He was the Exchange (an apartment community) manager in Florida and was transferred to the Exchange in San Marcos (YAY!).  I worked for him for quite awhile as a leasing agent.  I remember thinking how poised, mature, eloquent in his speaking he was.  And HOT! :)  But, that's all.  Admiring from afar.  We didn't even hang out except for when the whole office did together.  Until, turn.  Turn is when all the student move out of their apartments and we fully prepare the apartments for the newcomers.  This equates to about 10 16 hour days in a row.  Everyone is required to work it.  Needless to say, it makes us all very close!  Zach and I were put on a "sparkle team" together meaning that we were to clean the apartments as eachother's partners.  YAY!  Let the fun begin.  We actually made cleaning a blast.  We told eachother all kinds of stories of our families, our lives, and even made up silly stories to pass the time away.  Even 2 people who talk nonstop sometimes run out of things to talk about.  Well, at the end of turn, I was getting ready to move to Europe for my study abroad program!  Therefore, that meant we were not even thinking of pursuing anything with eachother.  I had 1 week in between turn and moving in San Marcos.  Zach was supposed to be flying out the day after turn to help another property with their turn.  (Ironically?) he missed his flight.  I think he did this on purpose to have time with me ;).  So, we spent the whole week together just hanging out.  We played at the pool, watched movies, hung out with friends, had a picnic lunch, and I even thought I would impress him by "cooking" for him...that's the way to a man's heart - right?  So, boxed Mac N Cheese it is!  Haha, little did I know he is like a wonderful CHEF!  He still pretended to be impressed though.  What a good man.  Well, the week was fun, but it was time to move.  Like anything could actually develop while I lived in the Netherlands for 5 months....

The Netherlands:  Selia (my best friend in college) and I arrived in London to do some traveling prior to getting settled into school.  She called her boyfriend when we got there, and multiple days after that.  One of those days, I said...well, if you're calling him, I'll just call Zach and see how he's doing.  It was out of the blue- I'm sure he wasn't expecting that at all.  We talked at as much ease as before and had so much fun.  I wouldn't admit yet that I truly liked him, because I kept thinking of the distance and how impossible that was.  Selia knew though.  And she wouldn't let me get away with not admitting it.  It ended up turning into trading daily emails with him.  I would wake up (no matter where we were- in Vlissingen for school, or in another country traveling around) and write him a lengthy email in response to his lengthy email.  We started playing  a get to know you game too where we asked eachother questions in every email...some silly, some deep....just really wanting to understand eachother.  We then began 2 of these per day, and they were long, detailed emails.  This turned into a phone call a day.  And multiple ones.  Selia and I even got a cell phone there to share and that allowed me to talk to him more often.  

So, I left the end of August, we started talking about him coming to visit...halfway just testing the waters with eachother to see what the other would say.  A short 2 weeks later, his trip was booked to come in November and be with me for my birthday!  And here is where everything starts snowballing (in a beautiful way).  He was/is so romantic, he sent me flowers and teddy bears and love notes throughout my stay and we both anticipated our reunion.  Finally it was time.



My friends that came to visit for my birthday in Amsterdam

Amsterdam:  I rode the train very nervously to Amsterdam which was 1 1/2 hours from my flat in Vlissingen.  He got off the plane.  We ran to eachother (I was sooo excited and nervous) and immediately locked in eachother's arms...and stayed that way the rest of the trip.  Sickening to most, I'm sure.  We sure were/are that sappy, must be near, touching holding hands, arms around eachother, sneak in kisses at every opportunity kind of couple.  And we love it.  So many friends met us in Amsterdam to celebrate my birthday.  And he was such a gentleman the whole time.  Conversing with all- he was sure to learn how to say "Cheers" in Georgian (the language from the country, not the state), opening doors, helping at any opportunity.  I was falling for this man...fast.  And everyone could see it.  One of my dear friends, Gencer, who I talked to about everything always asked me before Zach came "Does he make you happy?  Is he good for you?  Tell me about him.."  He wanted to be sure that I wasn't just starry eyed and that we were really good for eachother...because we were moving fast in our feelings and G was always trying to protect.  When he met him, he said "Ohhh wow, Nicki, you are very happy and you are very good for eachother.  He is a good man.  (Gencer (G) is the one kneeled down with the hat on).   After the 3 days in Amsterdam, I had to go back to Vlissingen to take some tests and Zach was going to visit Switzerland, Rome, and Antwerpen, Belgium. We were going to meet in Paris for our special one on one time!

Paris:   Ultimate Romance.  

Did you know I have the most romantic man in the world?  Well, I do.  :)  He had some dates planned for us in Paris.  We coincidentally stumbled upon eachother on the train to Paris.  His flight to Prague had randomly gotten cancelled and so he and his 2 friends re routed to Antwerpen, from there, he got on a different train from the one we planned to meet eachother from and it happened to be the same one I was on!  What a good thing, because we didn't know how we'd meet up otherwise.  His friends went their seperate way when we got to Paris and Zach and I found our hotel.  OOOO what a quaint little place it was.  It had a Juliet balcony and looked onto the narrow Parisian streets. 

We went walking around and shopping because that night was our first date night. We were going to take a dinner boat cruise down the Seine River passing Paris' most beautiful sights including the Eiffel Tower.  The evening was nothing less than magical.  We had a little table next to the window with wine and a 5 course dinner.  The live music serenaded us and the others the whole time and created a surreal atmosphere.  We finally decided to get up and dance (our very first dance)...and at that moment, the band stopped and Michael Jackson's Billy Jean came on.  Haha, not quite as romantic but very comical.  We had a blast.                                                       

Hotel before our first date





Dinner Boat cruise





Magical Moments

It was a perfect date! 

We spent the day touring Paris the next day, seeing the Louvre, Notre Dame, grabbing a baquet and cheese and eating in one of the parks, listening to the people speaking in their beautiful French language, disbelieving that we were sitting in the most romantic place in the world with eachother.  We were fully wrapped up in it.  And then then 2nd date night came:  We got all dressed up again and went to have dinner-in the Eiffel Tower, overlooking this majestic city.  Again we were swept off of our feet with our surroundings.  We were up in the Eiffel Tower!!!  Truly.  No words can describe it.  We had such wonderful conversation together and couldn't do much besides (CHEESY ALERT) search each other's eyes, intertwine our fingers together, and continuously share our hopes for the future.  That early on, we both knew what we wanted out of this and it sure did pay off in the end! :)  After dinner, we went to the Moulin Rouge where I was pleasantly surprised that it was very classy.  The costuming was so elaborate with crystals dangling from the outfits and feathers protruding out the sides.  It was breathtaking.  It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen!  Yes, being in Paris is romantic and breathtaking, but the true beauty in it was that I was finally with Zach, my man, my future husband.  I had been waiting for this time for months! 

The Louvre

Moulin Rouge in all its glory.  The elaborate costumes

The rest of the time in Paris was as magical!  We loved every moment together. 

 My mom was heading to come visit me and she was going to get to meet Zach on the tail end of his trip...perfect!  So, mom met Zach and I in Amsterdam and we spent 2 days together.  She said immediately she knew I was going to marry him- I acted different and talked different about him then I had ever done before.  She was so confident, she called my Dad and said "this is it".  It was wonderful to get to have them interact so early on too.  What a big step.  Mom flew all the way to Europe to meet my hubby to be.  And technically, he flew all that way to meet his future Momma In Law.  :)

Zach left and I was sad but knew that I would be with him again soon.  It was sooner than I expected....he called when he got back to the States and asked me if I would come home for his company Christmas party...this would be just a few weeks before I was coming back for good.  I wanted to so badly.  I missed him.  I ended up flying home for the weekend to go with him, and turning right around (with big tears in my eyes) to go finish my amazing time in Europe.  I was thrilled for my upcoming travel adventures but knew a BIG piece of my heart was at home with Zach.  I didn't want to leave Europe...I thought I could stay there forever....Zach came at the perfect time because that sure made me excited and ready to get home to him.  If my surreal life in Vlissingen had to be wrapped up, at least I was going home to true love, to start down this new road with Zach. 

I love him more than anything and know that God really put us together to love eachother completely.  I never could fathom a love like this existed, but it does.  It's real.  It's beautiful.  It blossomed in a fairy tale romance but has grown and bloomed in the real world and gotten stronger with every trial, every joy, every experience we've shared.  It's everything I could ask for.  My heart is full. 

PS...I think my favorite part is Zach said the very first time he saw me, he told his friend Mike, "I'm going to marry Nicki Pohl.  Just watch."  Mike backs it up.  I love that.