Zachary can crawl now.  He has been able to crawl for about three weeks now.  He also can sit himself up straight.  It’s amazing how fast kids grow.  Not only can Zachary crawl, but he can also pull himself up on many objects.  For example, the sofa, he can pull himself to a standing position on the table already.  He is also walking around using the sofa.  He does the same with the coffee table at home.  I would not be surprised if he started to walk in a few more weeks.  All this is coming too fast.  For about 8 months, he was not able to mobilize himself, but now he’s too mobile.  It’s like he’s trying to skip the crawling stage. 

Zachary just got over a cold again.  For the past few months, our family has been catching quite a bit of colds or flu. It seems as if there is not a day where someone is not sick.  I guess it comes with having more people in the family.  Once one of us gets it, everyone else will eventually get it.  I have almost fully recovered from the cold that Zachary gave me this last round.  Michael still has a bit of it left also.  It has been a bit harder for him to get over the cold because he has been working a lot of overtime lately. 

We are very sad to hear that Grandma Tuttle was not doing to well in the last month.  We have wanted to visit her when she was sick, but Michael has been working a lot so we have not had the time to go down to Palo Alto to visit her.  Also, we have been sick and we didn’t want her to catch whatever we have had.  I heard yesterday that she is doing a lot better.  She was able to attend a gathering for half an hour yesterday.  This is very encouraging.  I don’t know if Grandma Tuttle will be reading this, but we wish that you’d get better soon.

Nicholas.  Oh boy, is he a handful.  He has gotten better with speaking to us in sentences.  I am starting to understand him a lot more.  He has also gotten to like having his baby brother around.  He likes to play with Zachary a lot.  They both seem to like to play in Zachary’s crib a lot.  They have spent many hours in that crib.  Nicholas is starting to play with his brother a lot more.  He also like to hold Zachary, but I’m not too sure that Zachary likes being held by Nicholas all that much.  I think it’s the way Nicholas holds him.  Nicholas also loves to play video and computer games.  He has become such a computer wizard.  He also has a new favorite fictional character.  It’s Power Rangers.  We saw the video at Wal-Mart over this weekend and he basically would not leave the store until he got that movie.  He watches it at least once a day when he’s home.  I’m sure this trend won’t last long. 

Michael.  He’s doing fine.  I think he’s been very tired and sleepy lately.  Like I mentioned above, he’s been working a lot of overtime so he doesn’t get much rest.  I haven’t seen the guy in quite a while.  The same goes for the kids.  He’s home for bed and that’s about it.  In the mornings, he gets the kids ready for me and he usually doesn’t see them until it’s bedtime.  There have been a few days where the kids and I are able to see him more.  Actually, I get to see him on Wednesday nights because we go bowling on Wednesday nights.  I also get to see him earlier during the evening on Fridays. 

Well, because Michael has been working so much lately, I have taken on the job of a single parent.  Oh boy, do I know how single parents feel.  It has been very hard and stressful to maintain the family and the kids when you’re the only one who’s suppose to do it all.  Usually, Michael is around when I need help with the kids, but lately, he hasn’t.  It’s hard to pay attention to Zachary when Nicholas is right next to you asking you to assist him in something.  It’s hard to try to put Zachary to sleep when Nicholas is screaming for you from the other room because his tape is over and wants you to rewind it for him so that he can watch it again.  It is also no fun to be eating by yourself or have the whole house to yourself and the kids.  I miss having Michael around and the house never gets clean without his help.  I try to keep it as clean as I can, but with just me around, it’s next to impossible.  He has told me that he won’t need to do this for much longer.  I hope so because I definitely need his help around the house.

Well, this is about all that’s been going on around the house.  Hopefully, the next time I write this, everything will be much better.