The stockings are hung...

It is finally beginning to look like Christmas around here, thanks to Lilly! She and daddy hung up our stockings the other night. By the time we are fully decorated it will be Easter, but at least it is a start!

Jeremy's stocking fell about 4 seconds after this picture. Think it's a tad too... um... optimistic?

Zac didn't get to help in the hanging of the stockings, but he does look awfully cute in his santa's hat!

My mom bought Lilly some gloves yesterday, which she proceeded to wear on her feet!

And baby Shyla sitting up like such a big girl! This was at my grandma and uncle's birthday dinner (Taco Night! Yum) on Thursday!
PS Notice the black smudge on the last two pictures? I was really hoping it was only on the display, but turns out it is not. The rest of the pictures from the birthday dinner didn't turn out so good because of it.

Looks like all of our Christmas pictures will have a big black mark on them too. Boy that will look great in the family album! :(

Rock n Roll Half Marathon!

Well we survived! If you recall, on Friday Nicole and I headed out to Sin City wearing our super shiny jackets!

Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon getting ready for the half marathon!

Then we got to meet up with Andrea for catching up, gossip, and lots of carbs at Olive Garden.

Then, finally (and yet all too quickly) Sunday morning was here! Here we are when we finally got to the starting line.

And we were off! Gotta love green ponytails.

Not sure what mile this is...
Pretty sure this is mile 12. We were pretty excited to see that the end was near.

And our finisher medals!

This running stuff is fun! Vegas was COLD, so we're all a little more sore today that we would be otherwise. And, a few hours after the race my left foot started hurting, so I have it on ice now as I write this.

Still, I ran 13.1 miles yesterday.

RAN it.

No walking, just RUNNING.

This is something I'm proud of.

Very proud.

Nicole and I came in at 2:39:56. Our pace was the same on mile 1 as it was on mile 13. We're proud of this too.

Kendra finished about 4 minutes ahead of us. She rocks.

Next goal - Ragnar in February then hopefully another half marathon soon, maybe breaking 2 hours 30 min!

Happy Monday!

Vegas baby!!!

Nicole and I have our shiny Vegas jackets on and we are ready to head out! Half marathon here we come! I already miss the kids (ok ok and Jeremy), but am excited at the same time!
We are meeting Kendra there tomorrow, and the half marathon is Sunday. Wish us luck!

Potty update & Christmas is coming!

Last weekend, we took Lilly to Chuck E Cheese since she had completed her "Potty Perfect Sticker Chart"! You can download these suckers (and many other sticker charts) straight from the Chuck E Cheese website. Brilliant! Anyhow, here she is... so proud!

She got to take her chart and turn it in (they give it back, thank goodness) for 10 free tokens. Oh the pride!
We played for a bit, then forced her to sit and eat a little pizza. She also got to drink from her new, fun cup!

Then it was back to playing! She dragged grandpa onto a bunch of rides with her.

She took a timeout to show Zac around.

And got SO excited to see Chuck E Cheese himself. She gave him five and hugs and posed for pictures.

And for some reason she really enjoyed Barney. Oh boy...
Zackary had a blast too! With car rides...

And slides...

and Barney trains!

That was just a taste of SO many pictures I took!

Then, we headed home for nap time. Neither kid wanted to nap, but Zac eventually fell asleep. Lilly read in her room for a bit, then came out with me. After a couple hours, she just put her head down and fell asleep on the couch. This was her first "couch nap!"

So I had to take a picture of Zac in his bed too!

It was a very fun and exhausting day for everyone!

Now, flash foward to today, December 1! Can you believe it is December?!? Lilly got to open the first door and enjoy her treat from Santa Clause this evening!

And, this is just a random pic of Zac I took today... I love his little smile and dimple!

December gets me thinking about Christmas! There are so many exciting things coming up... I can't wait!

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!