HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

A great, big, ginormous happy birthday to my daddy today!
We had a great day with him, from start to finish. Here is his birthday cake - a "Blizzard cake" from Dairy Queen! Are these new? Because I hadn't heard about them until recently, and let me tell you they are De-lic-ious!

If you choose to enjoy a blizzard cake for one of your celebrations, please keep in mind that it is, well, ICE CREAM, and therefore probably shouldn't be left on the counter for too long! Hee hee hee! By the time we got to it, this is what it looked like. Still... De-lic-ious!

I'm going to back up and start at the beginning. My wonderful parents babysat both kids last night so I could go out with the girls! We went to Blanco for dinner, and had a great time! Here we are - Clockwise it is me, Rebecca, Kristen, Amy, Suzanne and Eileen! We had so much fun and it was so nice to sit back and relax with a yummy white peach and habiscus margarita (!), great friends and adult conversation.

We had decided it would be easiest for my parents to put the kids down to bed at their house, then I just headed over there after dinner. Surprisingly, Zac woke up in the middle of the night. When I went in to check on him, I found he had somehow pulled back the bottom pad of the portable crib and he was laying on the bars, understandably upset. Are babies supposed to be able to do this? Random! I obviously didn't take a picture at the time, but here is how the crib was left.

So, I of course freaked out and refused to put him back in the crib. Instead, he and I had a slumber party in the living room for the rest of the night.

Anhow, after that crisis, we woke up and it was grandpa's birthday! Lilly sang to him and we got all set and headed out to the zoo. Stevie and Kendra and Shyla met us there, and boy did we have fun! Grandpa and Lilly checking out the lions.

The Forgacs fam.

Grandma and grandpa with the three grandchildren. Is this the first pic of them with all 3 kids? Maybe not, but then again... maybe.

After the zoo, we headed to The Good Egg for breakfast.

Then, back to grandma and grandpa's house. Lilly refused to nap, which is very unlike her - she usually embraces her naps. She obviously knew best though, because she was hardly grumpy until the very end of the evening. Anyhow, instead of napping, she went swimming!

Zac, thankfully, did nap. But, he woke up just in time to hit the water too! He had SO much fun splashing like crazy!

Grandpa cooked up a yummy dinner, then it was time for presents!

It was during presents that the cake was sitting out for too long. Oh well, it was still, seriously, absolutely yummy!

After dessert, Kendra and Stevie decided to practice their part in Beth and Dave's wedding this Friday - they are the officiators! Here they are, practicing their parts.

Since it's my blog and I have the power, I'm leaving out the picture Kendra took of me standing with Bailey (the dog) pretending to be bride and groom. Especially since he eventually got bored and left me at the altar. ha ha ha.

Other fun facts from the day:

-My mom actually said, "Hey! I'm not the one who is two years older than I am." That made no sense.

-My mom also said, "Blow out the candles grandma!!" referring to my dad.

-Not to pick on mom too much... Stevie asked my mom if she knew what at aviator was. This was while she was in the AVIARY at the zoo. Big difference. Then again, Stevie once threatened to call the CPA on me for abusing my daughter (for the record, he was kidding - I don't abuse my kids. And, if I did, I hope someone would call CPS rather than the accountant).

Why am I picking on my fam? Because I can. And because they can take it. And because they would, and do, do the same to me. And because I love them.

A very happy birthday to Kimmie too! Her and my dad share a birthday, which is so cool! Her daughter Kaylie might just share a birthday with my mom too, later this month... stay tuned!

First day of school tomorrow... wish me luck.

Dance party!

In our house, it sometimes becomes necessary to crank up the volume on the sterio (ok, the computer) and have a dance party! Last night was one of those times.
This is one of my favorite pics, because this is exactly how Lilly dances! She looks like she's just crouched down, but she bends her knees and swings her little arms back and forth... princeless!

Oh, and we can NOT forget about the necessary spins....

Even Zac and I got into it! He is one of my favorite dance partners!

Eventually, we have to take a break!

All that dancing really wears a kid out...

I challenge each of you (all, what, two of you! hee hee, just kidding... I think I have 3 or 4 regular readers) to have a dance party of your own! Enjoy!

Also, happy birthday to my (late) grandmother Helen Sonntag today. I love you, miss you, and know you're with me every day, casting "voo doo" on anyone who stands in my way :)

No title, just fun!

Boy my creative juices are not flowing tonight. But, I still have a few pics that I wanted to share! So... here we go.
Last Friday, I walked part of Sabino Canyon with my (from left to right) Gabi (with her son Dash), Kendra (with Shyla), and Kirsten. Such fun! This picture is super cheesy!
I jumped in the picture and we got a lot more subdued. We had such fun!
From time to time, my husband is a culinary genius. The other night he made lamb chops and green beans. We had a half of a loaf of french bread that was a little too hard to eat. I was getting ready to throw it out, when Jer's genius struck again. He turned it, tomatoes, green beans, capers, and peppers from the garden into a delicious panzanella! This picture does it no justice, but it was delicious, healthy, and a great use of veggies and stale bread!
On Sunday morning, Jeremy had to work so I took the kids to the zoo! We always have such fun! Here they are checking out the monkeys!
I love how excited Lilly gets about the animals.
We always feed the ducks. Sadly, there were only two ducks that wanted to eat. Jeremy said that he noticed the same thing the last time he took Lilly to the zoo. Do ducks not eat much breakfast? We tend to go in the mornings, so maybe that is why. Hee hee, it was still so much fun!
That's all for now! Have a great week everyone!

Young love!

One minute he's barely eating mashed veggies, and the next he's falling in love. Literally!

We went to our good friends Josh and Laura's house for dinner the other night. They have a beautiful baby girl, Sara, who is just over 2 months old. Zac LOVED her. He kept crawling on top of her and "kissing" her by putting his mouth on or near her. It was hysterical!

He was very happy to be around her!
Eventually, in order to give Sara a little peace, Laura put her in her bouncy chair. Zac didn't take the hint.

The funny thing is that Zac is around Shyla all the time, and he doesn't react this way. He obviously knows the difference between his cousin and a possible girlfriend!

Here is Laura with Sara! We are so happy for them!

Meanwhile, Lilly got to go swimming with Josh!
Thanks again to Josh, Laura and Sara for a yummy dinner and a very fun evening!

Moving on... there was a good storm last night! Lilly is getting into the monsoons just as much as her daddy is. Here they are checking it out!

And here is a pretty rainbow pic that Jer took tonight.
I have no idea why I took these next pictures, except that I have addiction issues with my camera. I moved into my new classroom this weekend. I am so excited about being at a brand new school with great technology. It's fun to have a brand new shiny classroom, and it's even better that I'm moving to the school with some close friends, including Suzanne & Kendra. We have to officially report back to work on Monday, but I've spent a lot of time there this week getting organized. These first two pictures were taken when I walked in on Monday.
And, a couple of "after" shots.
I'm not completely done, but at least it's a start.

Zac's teeth and more.

Zac has been working so hard on these two teeth, and they're finally here! His right one came in first, slowly sometime last week. Then his left one popped through overnight last night.

It's a good thing too, because this little boy is hungry! In no time at all, he's gone from just "trying" rice cereal, to scarfing through a big bowl with a whole jar of veggies this evening. This is about 45 minutes after a bottle of formula, mind you! I thought teenaged boys ate their parents out of house and home, but I didn't realize it began so early!
Zac is now eating cereal, sweet potatoes, carrots and green beans. yum!

Here is Lilly, loving an avacado this evening! She is feeling much better, thankfully.

Yesterday my friend Liz came over to hang out with us. Lilly decided to move all her chairs to her room and play "class." I think it's cute that her purse and Allie's purse get their own seats.

Speaking of Liz... she made me promise to post this! It's a little hard to see, but these are Jeremy's work schedules on the fridge. Liz cracked up at seeing how he saves each one. Jeremy, honey, I love you. And I know you're a pack rat. I will love you no matter what. But... seriously, I'm not sure why we need to know when you worked last October!

Hope your week is off to a great start! I unofficially went back to work today. My "report back" day is next Monday, but I will spend this week getting my classroom unpacked, organized, and ready for those crazy kids! Summer goes so fast...

Fun stuff

This picture turned out a little blurry, but it's just a first attempt. Jeremy loves the monsoon storms, and especially loves snapping pictures of lightening. Since we have just a basic camera, it's tough. This picture was taken two nights ago, just minutes before the storm hit hard!
Lilly and Zac with cousin Shyla, all dressed up for the 4th!
The Forgacs family.
Today we had a playdate with Soren and Suzanne. Lilly and Soren are so cute playing together! There were other cute moments, but this was the last picture I took since our camera's memory card is full! Time to backup and erase.
Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend!

Preparing for the 4th, etc.

Look at how cute Lilly's new hat is!!
She made this today with her daddy. Zac and I had our Weight Watcher's meeting today, which means Lilly-daddy bonding time. They went to the mall to play and attend storytime at Borders, which apparently is also craft time! Lilly and Jeremy both told me about all the fun they had, and I know it is so good for her to have her daddy all to herself sometimes. It's cute that she sees my Weight Watcher book and knows that Zac and I go, and her and daddy get to do something fun!

This evening, Lilly and grandpa hung flags in preparation for tomorrow!
My mom decided to pose for a picture with Shyla. I kinda hope this picture embarasses her a little bit. Why? Click on the "A Beagle and a Baby" blog and read the latest "Flashback Friday" along with the comments. That's why!
Sorry mom... I still love you!

Mr. Big Man Zackary is now sitting without any support!

He is also crawling like crazy. We had to pull out the playpen yesterday so that we can contain him if we're not able to watch him like a hawk. We don't have dangerous furniture or anything, but Lilly has a lot of toys with small parts that can and do end up on the floor, and we're not willing to take any chances. Lilly, of course, had to try out the play pen too. I think the idea of it was more fun than she ended up having though.
From time to time people ask if we're planning on having any more children. The answer is, of course, heck no. Realistically, this is because I am already the mother of 3. And, I'm not even counting Jeremy. (ha ha ha). Lilly has a baby doll named Allie, and Allie is pretty much like my 3rd child. Honestly, sometimes I think she's more work than Lilly or Zac. I hear Lilly say "help please" regarding something for Allie probably at least 100 times per day. At least she's saying "please" though, right? Here, she is putting Allie down for a nap after I had to lay out the pink blanket JUST RIGHT. For the record, I did it wrong a bunch of times first. And Lilly told me I was wrong. Loudly.
Notice that Lilly is putting Allie into her bench seat for nap. Please know that I never made Lilly sleep in a bench. Or even a drawer for that matter. :) But, this is a huge step up from when she would insist on Allie sleeping in Lilly's crib, which meant mommy had to get her in and out.

Lilly also feeds Allie. This pic is cute because she was feeding her, then crossed her legs like I do, apparently when I feed Zac.

I also think it's cute that this spoon feeding of Allie has just recently started. Like, when Zac started eating from a spoon. She had been known to pull up her shirt and breastfeed Allie in the past. Then, she burps her. She also gives big hugs and kisses before and after Allie's naps. What a good mommy!

We also have to frequently change Allie's diapers, take her for walks, and even sing her to sleep. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Finally, here is a recent picture of my beautiful niece Shyla. Isn't she an angel??
Wishing everyone a wonderful 4th of July!!

Turning corners.

Lilly seems to have turned a corner with her virus and is thankfully feeling much better. She still has her nebulizer, which we're supposed to use a couple of times per day to clear out and un-swell (?) her little bronchial tubes. Now that she is feeling better, she is a lot less happy about the nebulizer. These days, I tend to hold it under her chin and aim it up her nose, while distracting her with a cartoon. Yikes!

This was taken when she didn't hate it as much.

Zac has turned a corner in his own way as well. He now eats rice cereal, sweet potatoes, the occasional fuzz from our constantly shedding rug and, as of last night, carrots. Last night he did the best job yet of eating, where not one bite got spit (or fell) out of his mouth. There is a little rim of carrot around his mouth, but I didn't have to "catch and retry" any. My little boy is growing up so fast. Next week sometime we'll be introducing a green veggie!

I took this picture the other day, when I realized that the kids had been quietly playing, individually, by themselves for a number of minutes. Lilly was playing with her tea set and Zac in his walker. They were both happy and content and I had to sneak around the corner to take a picture. The picture does it no justice, but trust me when I say it was a NICE feeling to not be pulled in different directions for a few minutes. Could we be turning a corner into more peaceful playtimes? I won't hold my breath!

Finally, I think we may have turned the corner into monsoon season! We love the rain and storms and are hoping for some good ones coming up!
I, meanwhile, have turned the corner into sicksville myself. I probably have what Lilly had, but it's not so bad since my bronchial tubes are bigger. Last night was pretty miserable with fever and chills, but I'm feeling a little bit better today. Hopefully it moves quickly, as Lilly's did.