The girls made up the menu for Jenny's baby shower, then decided who would do what. Sophie decided she wanted to do the Bacon Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes. What a hit those were! Delish!
Emily decided to do the deviled eggs even though she didn't like the bleu cheese in them that the recipe called for. I think she actually got the biggest job of all and it took forever for the water to boil--because she stood and watched it!
My Gorgeous Girl, Katie, wanted to do the cucumber sandwiches. I love cucumber sandwiches. And she made good ones.
After Jenny and her cohort, Allie, did their Starbucks thing, they finally got around to getting the balloon bouquets and bringing them home. (The balloon thing was actually just an excuse for Starbucks--we're on to Jenny.)
Not real sure. . . .
Congrats!
This diaper cake was Katie's creation (here she's applying the final touches) and was one of the hits of the party. It was the coolest thing and so very clever. One of the girls actually thought it was a real cake! Good work, Kate.
This was the real cake and absolutely beautiful to look at and one of the best commercially-made cakes I've ever eaten. (Next to Katie's wedding cake) Jenny and girls loved the fondant bow on top. Really lovely.
Here's a close-up of the finishsed diaper cake.
Emily has the crackers and dip ready to go on the table. Very clever presentation, Em!
Allie's doing the prep work for the "poopy diaper" game. Very interesting. . . .
What a beautiful table is set. I wasn't in here when this happened, but I do know that it was a collaborative effort of Katie, Jenny and Allie. They did a superb job. A delight to the eye.
One of the balloon bouquets.
Katie is showing us her super cool Mongo necklace. Love it!
This is the "poopy diaper" game. Melted chocolate candy bars in baby diapers. The idea is to guess what is the candy bar in each diaper. The winner gets -- guess what!! -- a chocolate candy bar! And Meredith is really getting into this--we didn't let her taste it--she could only smell it!
Roll it around. See how it smushes. Does it have nuts?
Not too sure about this one. (She actually won the game -- she was really serious about it.)
Michelle doesn't want to get too close to it. . . .
The 'measure-mommy's-tummy' game is a guess at the girth of momma and baby. Mandy decided to use her own little baby bump to take a guess at Jenny's size!
Sister Kate was doing some of the measuring to see who is the winner.
Michelle wasn't even close! (Rather insulting, wouldn't you say?)
Our hostess-with-the-mostest finally got to cut into that goreous, delicious cake and serve all the guests. Yummy.
Yea! A Moby Wrap. Jenny was most excited about this. She's planning on making good use of it with baby number eight.
An adorable quilt from GiGi (great gramma--Jenny's gramma)
Baby Caleb even has his own sippy cup! Fun! (Although it may be awhile before he's using it. . .)
Caleb's first Adidas outfit! (Katie's husband, Bas, works for Adidas in Germany.)
The Germans make the neatest sleep sacks and this was another gift from Katie.
I first made this quilt for Katie's baby when she was pregnant--Katie loves little scottie dogs and she especiallly loved this quilt. Jenny also fell in love with it after her last baby was born, so I finally decided to make it for her even though she was done having babies--it would be just for her. It wasn't too long before she was pregnant. That is her last baby quilt. . . .
This quilt is made of 'minkee' and nothing could possibly be softer. And polka dots are so in right now. (It was a horrible nightmare to sew--never again.)
Katie and Luna after the guys showed up with all the kids. They had a fun, busy afternoon (Walt was exhausted!) at Power Play.
The guys were back and the shower was done, but the day's activities were hardly over--oh, no--not at the Zack Gang house. We were off to Sophie's la crosse game.
And this is my Gorgeous Girl, Jenny, cheering on Sophie.
I can't believe she played as well as she did considering how sick she was. Poor thing.
Uh Oh. Luna found one of the shower favor pacifiers and decided to give it a try!
Katie and Bas taking a look at the family picture book I put together for her and Luna.
Jenny is showing off the really beautiful little ballerina music boxes that I got for each Jenny and Katie. Yes, there is a story there. But it's a long one.
And now Katie and Bas and Luna are off to Florida for a week at the beach, soaking up some warm sunshine. Walt will go back to work in Ecuador on Thursday. Jenny has an appt to be induced on 30 April. And I am here for the duration. What a wonderful week we have had together as a family and how exciting it is to look forward to the birth of this new baby into our family. We are so blessed.
We're getting ready.
Not sure what I would do without all this help.
I remember baby birth days when I had all little ones to do myself. These girls are so great.
And check out that handsome Joshua!
Cute guys. We're ready to head to Petland on our way to the hospital. (The girls are obsessed with finding a new puppy.) It is POURING down rain. Allie is sleeping -- more pain of some kind. Bless her.
Everybody's up except Matthew and Allie. Emily and Sophie are cooking bacon and eggs. The day has begun! Caleb's Birth - Day. An exciting day for sure. Stay tuned!
And today is one--the whole weekend, actually. So it seemed a perfect to indulge in -- SUGAR!!
They don't have one of these in Polaris. . . . (Admit it -- makes you want to run out and get donuts!!!)
DD for the Gang requires 18!!! But what a treat.
Jacob ate one and a half all by himself!
And Matthew -- well, a picture is worth a thousand words -- and certainly worth 10!
Josh loves that chocolate -- and he's on his way to Urgent Care with strep. But, you know, donuts are soft. . . .
Gather round! Get your donuts here! Sophie actually got out of bed for donuts -- at 10:00!
Noah is not going to miss a single sprinkle.
Oh, Jacob -- that's what sugar does to me, too.
Big brother, Josh, is good for some comfort -- a soft tummy.
Furniture delivery on Monday, but Matthew appears to be perfectly comfortable on the floor.
Emily got bored so decided to make a batch of the family favorite "Snickerdoodles." Yum. Yum. I remember making these and sending them to Jenny in college at Missoula. Long time and 8 babies ago!
Allie's always good for a laugh. . .
. . . and hamming it up!
Now we know -- Josh is actually into shopping! No more toys for him. They do grow up . . . .
They're out of bed, but are they awake? Must be Spongebob Squarepants.
The Three Brothers. They are so cute together. Jacob used to be a baby--now he's just part of the Gang. (Jacob, Noah, Matthew--guess Josh is too grown up for toys!)
I'mt not at all sure how Emily keeps up with them. (I'm having problems with this post--some technical difficulties here.)
Noah was building a ball roller coaster with the croquet set. . .
Sophie was practicing -- everything: basketball, wave boarding, roller skating, etc. Josh was trying to keep up with her!
These two (Matthew and Jacob--what a pair) got hold of the croquet mallets and went a little wacho--that's an understatement. Check it out on video below! Amazing one of them didn't accidentally hit the other.
Josh has to go outside to practice! Wonder what he does in the winter. . . .
You will want to take a couple minutes to watch these videos I took today of the kids--then you will understand the title of this post--totally understand. (Walt and I are staying in a hotel right now because of the remodeling going on in the house. Along with everything else.)
The girls made up the menu for Jenny's baby shower, then decided who would do what. Sophie decided she wanted to do the Bacon Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes. What a hit those were! Delish!
Emily decided to do the deviled eggs even though she didn't like the bleu cheese in them that the recipe called for. I think she actually got the biggest job of all and it took forever for the water to boil--because she stood and watched it!
My Gorgeous Girl, Katie, wanted to do the cucumber sandwiches. I love cucumber sandwiches. And she made good ones.
After Jenny and her cohort, Allie, did their Starbucks thing, they finally got around to getting the balloon bouquets and bringing them home. (The balloon thing was actually just an excuse for Starbucks--we're on to Jenny.)
Not real sure. . . .
Congrats!
This diaper cake was Katie's creation (here she's applying the final touches) and was one of the hits of the party. It was the coolest thing and so very clever. One of the girls actually thought it was a real cake! Good work, Kate. 
This was the real cake and absolutely beautiful to look at and one of the best commercially-made cakes I've ever eaten. (Next to Katie's wedding cake) Jenny and girls loved the fondant bow on top. Really lovely.
Here's a close-up of the finishsed diaper cake.
Emily has the crackers and dip ready to go on the table. Very clever presentation, Em!
Allie's doing the prep work for the "poopy diaper" game. Very interesting. . . .
What a beautiful table is set. I wasn't in here when this happened, but I do know that it was a collaborative effort of Katie, Jenny and Allie. They did a superb job. A delight to the eye.
One of the balloon bouquets.
Katie is showing us her super cool Mongo necklace. Love it!
This is the "poopy diaper" game. Melted chocolate candy bars in baby diapers. The idea is to guess what is the candy bar in each diaper. The winner gets -- guess what!! -- a chocolate candy bar! And Meredith is really getting into this--we didn't let her taste it--she could only smell it!
Roll it around. See how it smushes. Does it have nuts?
Not too sure about this one. (She actually won the game -- she was really serious about it.)
Michelle doesn't want to get too close to it. . . .
The 'measure-mommy's-tummy' game is a guess at the girth of momma and baby. Mandy decided to use her own little baby bump to take a guess at Jenny's size!
Sister Kate was doing some of the measuring to see who is the winner.
Michelle wasn't even close! (Rather insulting, wouldn't you say?)
Our hostess-with-the-mostest finally got to cut into that goreous, delicious cake and serve all the guests. Yummy.
Yea! A Moby Wrap. Jenny was most excited about this. She's planning on making good use of it with baby number eight.
An adorable quilt from GiGi (great gramma--Jenny's gramma)
Baby Caleb even has his own sippy cup! Fun! (Although it may be awhile before he's using it. . .)
Caleb's first Adidas outfit! (Katie's husband, Bas, works for Adidas in Germany.)
The Germans make the neatest sleep sacks and this was another gift from Katie.
I first made this quilt for Katie's baby when she was pregnant--Katie loves little scottie dogs and she especiallly loved this quilt. Jenny also fell in love with it after her last baby was born, so I finally decided to make it for her even though she was done having babies--it would be just for her. It wasn't too long before she was pregnant. That is her last baby quilt. . . .
This quilt is made of 'minkee' and nothing could possibly be softer. And polka dots are so in right now. (It was a horrible nightmare to sew--never again.)
Katie and Luna after the guys showed up with all the kids. They had a fun, busy afternoon (Walt was exhausted!) at Power Play.
The guys were back and the shower was done, but the day's activities were hardly over--oh, no--not at the Zack Gang house. We were off to Sophie's la crosse game. 
And this is my Gorgeous Girl, Jenny, cheering on Sophie.
I can't believe she played as well as she did considering how sick she was. Poor thing.
Uh Oh. Luna found one of the shower favor pacifiers and decided to give it a try!
Katie and Bas taking a look at the family picture book I put together for her and Luna.
Jenny is showing off the really beautiful little ballerina music boxes that I got for each Jenny and Katie. Yes, there is a story there. But it's a long one.
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