Odds and ends!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Can you believe it is already Sunday?

I managed to not take very many pictures on Thanksgiving. I'd like to say it was because I had put the camera down to truly enjoy the day. In reality, I have no problem enjoying days through the lens. Rather, my hands were FULL that day with the kids. Oh well... here are a few at least!

What do most people do in the morning before what is arguably the largest meal of the year? Make a big breakfast right? It isn't common that we are all home together in the mornings. Usually either Jeremy is at work or I go running. Since we were both home, we decided to make blueberry pancakes. Lilly was kind enough to help.

Zac just likes to watch.

We went to Thanksgiving at my parents house. Here, Lilly is enjoying a shrimp. I will leave out the picture where she shows me how it looks half chewed in her mouth.

Zac sayin' hi!

Shyla May is sitting up now! Oh they grow up so fast! Notice my headless sister... weird right?

This might be the first of what will definitely be millions of pictures of Shyla and Zac playing together! Ok, actually I think Zac just stole Shyla's toy... there will probably be millions of THOSE pictures too!

On another note, Wednesday was my principal's last day with us. He has been moved to the District Office to head up a fantastic program. Our interm principal will be great, of course, but we had to send Kevin off in a big way. We all wore Dallas Cowboys gear (sorry Bay Area peeps!) in honor of his fav team. Here he is at our "surprise" goodbye for him after school.

And here I am with my partner, Donald. Donald rocks. I also took a pic of me and Kendra, which turned out awful, and one of Nicole which was even worse. Oh well... it was still fun wearing matching shirts (thanks Kendra for making them) and face paint.
Well time to enjoy what will hopefully be a relaxing Sunday. My first half marathon is in ONE week... eeek!!!!

Giving Thanks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I'm sitting here, enjoying coffee and quiet, and thinking about so many things I am thankful for. I think it would be fun to list them alphabetically. So... here goes!

Things I am thankful for, A-Z.


A- ABC's. Specifically when Lilly sings them.


B- Books. Fiction, non-fiction, any genre. Anything that I can pick up and fall into for a few minutes.


C- Choice. I'm thankful that we live in a place and time where my children can make choices about their futures. Lilly can be a truck driver and Zackary can be a ballerina, if that's what they want.


D- Disposable Diapers. Enough said.


E- Everything chocolate.


F- Family and Friends. This sounds common, but as I've gotten a bit older I've truly come to realize how lucky I am for my family, far and near, and true friends, old and new.


G- God. Not everyone believes the same, and that's ok. But I am thankful that I do believe.


H- Handmedowns. I am thankful when the kids get hand-me-downs from other kids. Mostly, I'm thankful that we have friends to give, and receive, hand-me-downs.


I- Ice cream. Nightly ice cream. Any flavor but my favorite, by far, is Oreo Cookie. Oh and add strawberries (or, better, strawberry ice cream). It is a perfect end to the day!


J-Jeremy. Ok, we drive each other absolutely crazy a lot of the time, but when it comes down to it, he's a pretty cool cat. I love you Yager.


K- Kendra. My baby sister who always has been and will be the boss of me. She also could easily go under "B" for Best friend.


L- Lilly. I am so thankful for my sweet little girl, who is a princess one minute and superman the next.


M- Music. I don't listen to much other than in the car or classroom, but come time for a Yager Family Dance Party and I am thankful for the music that brings the smiles and laughter.


N- New medical technology and research. I'm thankful that my kids don't need it, and thankful that the medical world makes great strides every day in what they can treat and cure.


O- Opportunities. Every decision is an opportunity, though many times that's not clear until later.


P- Police. In this same category falls military and anyone who spends their lives protecting others. (Don't worry PARENTS, I've got you covered on my thankful list.... )


Q- Quality Childcare. We have great childcare, which makes me so thankful. Lilly and Zac are happy and well taken care of every day while Jeremy and I work, plus they learn so much. It's teaching them to love school and to love learning, and I love that.


R- Running. I'm pretty new to this running thing, but I'm finding my way and thankful that I found a fun and healthy way to have some "me time." I'm also usually pretty thankful each and every time that I survive a run.


S- Starbucks. I'm sorry, but I love it, especially during the holidays.


T- Teachers. Not just the classroom kind, but the kind of teachers who lead by example, in real life situations, daily, and not for pay. The kind of teachers my parents have always been. Thanks MOM and DAD!


U-Underware? Unpaid bills? I'm thankful that this is my blog, and so I can skip "U" because I'm spending too much time staring at it. Plus, I'm really ready for "V."


V- Vino. Yep, Wine in Italian because I already want to use "W" for something else. I love love love good Vino, especially with good company and good food.


W- Weight Watchers. Does this sound silly? WW taught me how to take control and feel good about myself.


X- That I'm given eXactly what I need. Not always everything I want, or think I need, but what is truly needed.


Y- Yagers. I'm thankful for those wonderful in-laws of mine who don't hate me for needing to move back to AZ.


Z- Zackary. Of course. I am so thankful that this little man came into my life. Thank you, Zac, for being my baby boy!


This is just a small slice of the wonderful things in my life. I have left out quite a bit I'm sure, probably because it didn't fit with the next letter of the alphabet. Coffee and sunrises and laughter and love.... the list could go on and on.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and delicious holiday!

We paid for this?

See those beautiful ladies in the mud? That's me and Nicole! Why are we crawling through mud, you ask? Because we had paid good money to do it, so we had to get our money's worth!


Last weekend Nicole, Kendra, her friend Maren and I went up to Phoenix for The Mad Mud Run - a 4 mile obstacle race that ends through the mud pit! Here we are, all squeaky clean before the race.
And Kendra and I (with Nicole in the background) in the mud pit. Significantly less clean at this point!

Kendra and Maren.

Stevie actually met us on the course and took pictures of the obstacles, which I'll post another day since they are on Kendra's camera. Or, Nicole managed to get some of them on her blog, so click on the link "A Day in the Life of Nicole" on the right!

So, since the vast majority of you really just read my blog to see pictures of the kids, here are a couple.

All bundled up for a walk.

Lilly is kinda over "drawing" or "coloring" and now just wants to "write." Three days ago I had to hold my hand over hers. Now she is a pro. If you look carefully you can see lots of straight lines on her page, which is her attempt at writing her name. The name LILLY is truly lots of straight lines, she just dotts pretty much each of them. So, essentially, her name is now iiiii. Also, she is drawing a pretty darn good circle here.

In fact, here is a close up. Am I a total dork for taking and posting this picture? I am just so proud of her and so in awe of the big girl she is becoming. I know this isn't the next great American novel or anything (yet), but it means so much to me. And, since frankly I think we have spilled coffee on or allowed Zac to eat this paper by now, the fact that I took and posted this picture means I'll have it forever. So there.

And who can resist taking pictures on speghetti night?

Lots of fun coming up in the next days, so most likely lots of blogging too!

The 20th!

Wow. Here we are again, only this is my LAST 20th update where Zac is less than 1 year old! How does that happen?!?
I was so excited about it being the 20th today that I couldn't even wait to wake the kids up before I started snapping pictures! Here is my Lilly - 2 years and 9 months!
And, 11 month old Zac started waking up just seconds before I caught this pic... he smiles even in his sleep practically... This is quite possibly one of my favorite pictures of Lilly. Ever.

And Zackary's morning face.
Then it is time to get dressed and ready for school. Lilly is sporting one of many coordinated running suits she got from Aubrey as handmedowns.

Zac loves to sit on the couch like a big boy while we put his shoes on!
And we're ready for school!

Zac is pretty much in charge of his own breakfast these days. He is, after all, approaching one. What? Should we baby him forever?


Happy 6 months to Shyla May! How does THAT happen?!?

It was a great day, and I am heading to bed to get rested up for the MAD MUD RUN tomorrow morning. That's right. Mud. And it is MAD. And we are running through it. Stay tuned for THOSE pics!
Oh, and happy Friday!

Fun visits and crazy hair

Doesn't Zacky look big these days?!? Thanks grandma and grandpa Yager for this warm winter outfit - size 18 month which is roomy but certainly not too big to wear!

On Sunday, I took the kids to visit my grandparents. We hadn't seen much of them since they got back from Michigan, other than their party!

Lilly got to make cookies with grandma! Yummy!

So proud!

And this is the best picture of Zac and grandpa that I got! He just moves so fast, it's hard to slow him down for a photo shoot.... and Zac is pretty quick too :)

On another note, I caught this cute picture of Zac with his "bed head." See that one piece of hair sticking up? What a mess, huh?

Then I figured I should take a picture of Lilly when her hair is a mess. Pretty similar?

How do two children from the same parents have such different hair?!?

Have a great week!

Zackary. Yager. Is. WALKING!!!

Zac took his first steps yesterday!!! It officially happened when I picked him up from daycare. He had been standing, holding on to something, so I took his hands and we "walked" a couple of steps. He almost NEVER walks holding hands, so even this was exciting for me. Then, he was doing so well, that I crouched down, let go, and moved back. He got this look on his face, then he took three of the most steady, well balanced steps I have seen a baby take! I, of course, embarassed myself and him (ok, mostly Lilly) by letting out a "whooooo" and grabbing him and, frankly, trying to hold back tears as I smothered him in kisses.
So we got home and tried to recreate the moment. No dice. He was wobbly and didn't really want to. At daycare, he had forgotten about crawling and just wanted to get to me. At home, he did not forget. Apparently if he really wanted to walk, he'd be a pro by now! So, these are the best pics we could get. Still... good enough to document the day.

***As I read my post and looked at this pic, I realized that it is a pretty good shot of his forked tongue... see why we call him "snake"?

One last note, Lilly was moved to an older class on Monday. She has older friends and gets to go on the "big blue" slides... all kinds of great perks. She also had a big regression with potty training. Maybe because of stress or not being the big kid in class anymore. She just stopped trying. So, after a couple days we added a tangable reward - a Barbie Doll - if she had a dry day. This really made her try on Thursday, and she had only one accident. Then on Friday she was ALMOST 100% dry. She did have one small accident, but this time she had told the teacher and made it to the bathroom but just couldn't get her pants down in time. She was very upset apparently. I made an executive decision that it counted and she earned that Barbie Doll. She was jumping up and down! Ahhh the little things.... here she is at home kickin it with Barbie. I can pretty much guarantee that she is watching Dora.

Hoping that we are out of the woods on this regression.

Happy weekend! The kids let me sleep in a little this morning. I have a race today at the U of A that supports cancer research, then back to work for a bit.

I'll be keeping my camera poised for Zac's walking pics.

I should be folding laundry...

... but I'm not. How terrible is that? Laundry requires only sitting and TV watching, really. But I still can't bring myself to fold it right now! ha!

Instead, I have a random assortment of pictures from the past week or so. Last weekend (or was it the weekend before?), Nicole and I took the kids to the mall. Always a good time to be had there! Lilly likes the little cars now. You know, the ones that cost money. Right next to the free play area. Whatever. Here she is cruising with Bob the Builder.

And Zac got to take his first ride as well. Luckily he doesn't yet realize that it moves if you put money it in!

Last Saturday was Soren's birthday party! Happy Birthday Soren! Suzanne and Steve had a fun party for him at the park! Lilly had a great time playing and eating and helping him open his presents. Here they are exploring their gift bags, with Soren's grandma.

Zac kinda hates his play pen, unless Lilly is in with him! This day they were laughing and laughing and playing... ahh it was so funny and made my heart smile to see and hear them playing together and loving each other so much!

Here is Lilly showing off some of her "new" clothes. She got a ginormous bag of barely used clothes from Aubrey (and Aubrey's mom, Lori). She also got a few things and a ton of shoes from another friend at school, Rosalie (Rosalie's mom, Ms. Tammy, works at Childtime). Here she's wearing pants from one and a top from the other. She is thrilled with her new clothes, and I am so thankful that we have such very thoughtful friends.

And, it was bound to happen... Zac discovered the tupperware cabinet! Actually, I kind of pointed him in the right direction this evening as I was making dinner. It's so much easier for me to watch him when he is right there with me!

I especially love how you can kind of see how the buttons aren't buttoned on the back of his shirt. Poor kid has outgrown all of his summer clothes, but it's still warm! It isn't worth buying him new stuff, so he is squeezing into a few things just until it cools off! ha! Poor second child...

That's all for now... the laundry awaits. I hope everyone is having a good week!! TGIF - almost.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Happy birthday to grandpa Yager! Ok, his birthday was yesterday, but I unfortunately could not talk my body into doing anything BUT sleep after the kids went down last night. But, we were thinking about you all day Papa Yager and hoping you had a great day!
Here are a couple of pics taken on our trip there in June. We can't wait for grandma and grandpa Yager's next trip out here, most likely in December or January.

Happy Birthday Dave! We love you!!!

No reason at all...

There is no reason at all for this post, other than the fact that I think my kids are cute. So there ya go.
This picture is fun for a couple of reasons. 1. Lilly has on two different types of headbands. Ahh her fashion sense is in line with her daddy's. 2. Lilly and Zac are pointing at each other in a cute way. 3. Lilly is also wearing my shoes. This is the 3rd pair she tried and the easiest for her to walk in.
Doesn't he look like such a big boy? Gotta love the trail of Cheerios that is always behind and around him.

Lilly showing off another new dress care of grandma and grandpa Yager. Thanks!!

And Zac again. I just love this little guy's FACE. Between those eyes and that smile, I think we are in real trouble as he gets older...

Happy Thursday!

Halloween 2009!

Halloween! For Halloween this year, Lilly said she wanted to dress up "as pink." She did not mean the singer. She meant the color. So she was thrilled with this pink fairy costume. Auntie Margie actually bought it for her when they were here last month. It looked great!
Zac didn't have as much of a say, so we decided he could be Charlie Brown. This is the best picture I could get of the two of them together.

We are encouraged to dress up for school on Friday (Oct. 30), so Kendra had the great idea to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. I think these creative and inexpensive costumes turned out great!
We took the kids Trick or Treating around our house, just to a couple houses. Cute huh?!? The sky in the background is very pretty too.

For "real" Halloween, I dressed up as "Stevie's nightmare." In other words, I just wore everything he hated. He hates huge sunglasses. check. He hates Ugg boots (with fur) worn with a skirt. check. He also hates being poked repeatedly. check check check.

Shyla May wins for cutest costume, in my opinion. A giraffe! Look at her and Lilly checking each other out.

Giraffe's get sleepy early, you know.

One more shot of Charlie Brown. Good Grief.

Halloween 2008 - Lilly was a UofA cheerleader and I was a very tired and very pregnant mommy.

I hope your Halloween was safe and spooky!