Winter play

Winter is officially here. It has been snowing for 48 hours straight with no sign of letting up. Ryan had to shovel the driveway and decided to take Cael with him so he could play. I bundled him up in his winter gear and off they went. We still haven't had a chance to buy boots for Cael and I was worried his feet would get cold in his sneakers, but he didn't seem to mind the cold at all. In fact, once Ryan was done shoveling he took Cael into the backyard to play and Cael didn't want to come in despite the fact that his feet were wet and his face was red. Cael looked so cute (as did Ryan) that I had to take a couple of pictures.

*Cael's outfit was an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Breast Cancer Awareness

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the daycare let the kids paint with pink. They took pictures and gave them to the parents last week. I don't know about everyone else, but I think pink looks good on Cael :)

The Nursery

I hung three prints yesterday in the nursery and am now comfortable saying that not only is it complete, but that it turned out perfectly! I seriously love it and love that I actually got to decorate this time (since we were in an apartment when Cael was born). It was a team effort with Nana painting the walls, Daddy hanging the wainscoting and crown molding, Grandma and Grandpa cutting shapes out of wood and painting, Bapa and Kim providing the changing table and crib and Mommy completing the finishing touches. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do (unfortunately I was unable to capture the full effect with pictures, but hopefully you get the idea)!

Lil Angels Photography - October 2009

As is customary, the daycare had Lil Angel's Photography come in and take pictures of the students. The photographer dresses the kids up in a variety of costumes (at their discretion) and then the parents can order pictures if they so choose. So far I have loved the outfits they pick out for Cael and this time was no exception. He is such a little boy these days and so handsome. He reminds me of a newspaper boy in the 50's trying to sell his papers on the street corner (maybe it is just me)! Anyway, if you want to place an order, please e-mail me at jrzikas@aol.com and let me know which poses and what sizes you want (you can click on the picture to make it bigger). We missed the deadline to have them sent to the school, but I think I can order them directly from Lil Angel's. Enjoy!!

Neighborhood 'Fall Festival'

Our neighborhood held an annual fall festival yesterday at one of the parks close to our house. Naturally, it was a Halloween theme and since Cael has several costumes we decided to head up there to see what it was all about. They offered hay rack rides, pony rides, pumpkin decorating, food and of course the playground was right there. Cael went dressed as a fireman and he was absolutely ADORABLE or perhaps handsome is the better word. However, given the weather was approximately 80 degrees, the ensemble didn't last for long.

He loved the horses that were pulling the hay rack ride and would wave bye bye every time they passed. He also loved riding on the pony even though it lasted all of 30 seconds and the line was way too long to go a second time. And of course since we were next to a playground we had to stop and play on the swings, slides and teeter totter for a bit. Aveyn spent the outing snuggled next to me in the infant carrier and managed to stay cool despite the heat.

Trip to Omaha - October 2009

Since I am on maternity leave and Ryan had a hunting trip planned with my dad and Chris I decided to go back to Omaha for a couple of weeks with the kids to visit our friends and family. The one thing I didn't account for was how difficult it would be to keep Cael occupied. He is used to having so much to do at daycare that it was a challenge, but we did what we could. Kyli brought Veronica over a couple of times and Ed and Barb took him to Mahoney State Park one afternoon to play with Nolan and Sandy and Dave's grandkids. He played with Nana's cats, we went to the mall to play on the indoor playground, watched Nana play tennis and Brooke also came to visit (not to mention playing in the cardboard house Nana made). All in all we managed to keep him busy and having fun although at times it was difficult.

Ryan flew into town the last weekend I was there and we moved to his parents house to spend some time with the whole Zikas clan. Stefani had also flew into town so it was a full house and a lot of fun!! We went over to Tim and Erica's for a little bit and Cael was entertained playing with Nolan, Makenzi and Aunt Stefani while Aveyn slept, ate or was cuddled by Grandma. Sunday night everyone came out to Ed and Barb's and we ordered pizza, watched a little tv and hung out. It was really nice to have everyone together (my mom, Chris, Kyli and Veronica came out too) and Cael had a blast playing with his cousins.

One month

Aveyn is one month old today and to commemorate I took a couple of pictures of her after she was freshly bathed and in a cute outfit. She is such a sweet baby. She hardly cries and when she does it is so quiet you can hardly hear her. She loves having her hands up near her face and prefers to sleep on her side for naps and at night. She didn't like being swaddled at first and isn't that crazy about the pacifier, but now tolerates both. She eats really well and her schedule is usually every three hours starting at either 7 or 8 in the morning and then eating once in the middle of the night following a bottle usually at 10 or 11 pm. I am experimenting to see how she does with different bed times and have been putting her down at around 7 or 8 and then just letting her sleep until she wakes up. She was so hard to wake up at 10 or 11 that I just opted to let her sleep and see how she did. If she gets fed at 7 or 8 she usually wakes up around midnight and then again at 5:00 am. She has a big appetite, which I think causes her to spit up a little after every feeding and she gets the hiccups like clock work. It is funny how she is so predictable (for the most part) at such an early age. We love her to pieces and can't believe she is already a month old!

Two (or three) peas in a pod

When Kyli and I were pregnant with Cael and Veronica we would talk about how we couldn't wait until they were old enough to interact and to play together. Well, now almost two years later we no longer have to wait. They have so much fun and it is so cute listening to them giggle and chase each other around the house! It is so nice that they are finally at the age where they can entertain each other and give Kyli and I a much needed break. They are like two peas in a pod!!

Nana got into the action the other night and helped make them a little house/fort out of a cardboard box. They had so much fun going in and out the door and looking through the windows. Who needs toys when you have Nana and a cardboard box?

Driving along in my automobile

When my mom's neighbors sold their house and moved they gave her an electric mini Hummer since their grand kids had out grown it. Cael was getting restless and needed to get out of the house so I took him outside for a test drive. At first, he was tentative, but quickly got the hang of it and was soon cruising down the street in his yellow Hummer like he had been born to drive. I ran along next to him because although he had no problem figuring out how to press on the gas he hadn't figured out the whole steering bit!!! It worked out nice because he had fun and I got a little bit of exercise.

Plane ride to Omaha

My mom, Cael, Aveyn and I flew to Omaha on Wednesday (9/30). Although I think both my mom and I were nervous about what we were getting ourselves into, it ended up being relatively uneventful. Aveyn was great and basically slept the entire way other than when it was time to eat and Cael was pretty good except for a couple of tantrums because Mommy wouldn't let him do what he wanted. We were lucky because the flight was not very full so my mom and I each got our own seat, which made a HUGE difference in the experience. It gave her room to maneuver with Aveyn and gave Cael plenty of room to play. After we landed in Omaha the pilot invited Cael into the cockpit and he was in heaven. He was in awe of all the gadgets and I practically had to drag him away. It was so cute.