Pictures from the park

During the warmer months {and even some of the colder ones}, we can't have a visit from friends or family that doesn't include a trip to the park. I love getting outside especially when the weather is nice and the kids LOVE to be outside {not to mention the dogs}. So, while the boys went shooting {practicing for their hunting trip in October}, my mom, sister and I headed up to the park with the kids AND the dogs; a dog and kid for each of the adults {seriously - so much FUN}! Two of us would walk around the park with the pups and Aveyn while the third would hang back with the kids to supervise and take pictures. I love these women and the perspective that they bring to my life.

*No, you are not mistaken, Veronica is getting ready to dump the sand on Cael's head and with a little prompting from Mommy and Aunt Jori, she changes her mind and decides to play beside him :) These two are best buds, that is for sure and I can't wait until Aveyn can join in the fun!!

**Naturally, we had to follow up a trip to the park with a bath. I think we thought it was going to be a pleasant experience and it wasn't, hence just the one picture.

Gender bending

My mom, Kyli, Chris and Veronica arrived at our house on Thursday afternoon {The Gnaders drove and got here around 8:00} and Cael and Veronica immediately picked up where they had left off. They have so much fun together and I love watching them run around, play, laugh and even fight {they're still cute}. Veronica discovered Cael's four wheeler and Cael discovered Veronica's shoes. LOL. I had to take pictures even though there is definitely something wrong with this scenario!

Hey, who says the rules can't be broken every now and then? It's all about novelty and for these two it just happened to be shoes and a four wheeler!! Next time, the sky is the limit :)

Sissy is standing!

There is something about that first time that you walk into your child's room and they are standing up on their very own. I remember it with Cael and I will always remember it with Aveyn. It is so cute and so endearing. I have been anxiously awaiting that first glimpse of her standing up in her crib with her hair in her face and her little arms holding onto the crib as tightly as she can while she tries to contain her excitement at having seen me {us}!

I remember being so nervous after her 9 month appointment because she wasn't doing any of the things that the doctor asked me about and now here she is, just shy of her first birthday and she is crawling, cruising along furniture, pulling herself into a standing position and {kind of} saying 'mommy' and 'daddy'! As usual, we had nothing to be worried about!!!

Wedding weekend

One of my best friends from high school, Brooke, got married this weekend. Ryan and I loaded up the kids and headed back to Omaha to participate in the festivities. We arrived on Thursday and it was a whirlwind of events up until the time we left on Sunday afternoon. Brooke and Jim were gorgeous and the wedding was a huge success.

While I was busy playing bridesmaid, Ryan, Barb, my mom, Nolan, Makenzi, Tim, Erica, Kyli, Chris and Veronica all participated in helping with the kids. I am pretty sure they didn't even notice I was gone {kind of a good thing} and they had so much fun. Thank you to everyone for everything you did to make the weekend possible. I can't begin to tell you how comforting it is knowing I am leaving the kids in good hands!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Pretty in purple

For those that have ever potty trained, you know it can be a process and a lengthy one at that. Cael does fairly well, but for the most part we expect that he will have an accident {or two} at school and try to supply them with enough extra underwear and clothing. I picked him up the other day and as I glanced through the window into his classroom I saw my sweet little boy running around in purple pants and not just purple pants, but purple pants with flowers on them. I walked through the door and burst out laughing {I think they were worried I was going to be upset}. He got a lot of comments as we made our way from his room to Aveyn's and each time I remarked that he made purple look GoOd {he really does}!

If I would have had my camera on me, I would have taken pictures at the daycare, but no such luck! However, I took a couple of him while watching Diego and Dora! I think it captures the color {and flowers} perfectly!!!! ENJOY {I did}!

Swimming {neighborhood style}

This summer Ryan and I have been taking advantage of the pool in our neighborhood. We usually walk up there on the weekends in order to enjoy the warm water {it is heated - woohoo} and to use it as an opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy the weather {or escape from it}. Aveyn really seems to like the water and as we all know Cael loves it! I have forgotten how much I enjoy being in the water and how much I love swimming. It is a fun way to wile away a few hours before naps, lunch or to create the perfect ending to a great weekend.

Family Pictures {July 2010}

When we were up in Idaho for the 4th, my dad hired a photographer to come out to the house to take some pictures. The scenery {and cabin} provide for great backgrounds and I was anxiously waiting to see how they turned out. The CD came in the mail a couple of days ago and I was overwhelmed by how much I loved them! I am sorry, I can't help myself.... my children {and my niece} are gorgeous. There I said it...... see for yourself {oh and the rest of us don't look too shabby either}!!

For those of you who know me well, you know I spent an INSANE amount of time trying to line up all of the pictures by size {no luck}!! I will be posting the pictures to Shutterfly and e-mailing them so you can order the prints that you like!!! Hope you love them as much as I do.

In the morning {work week}

As you can imagine our mornings are pretty hectic with getting ourselves ready, the kids ready, feeding the dogs, making lunches and bottles, grabbing last minute coffee, loading everything {and everyone} into the vehicles and then fighting the traffic to get to work on time. For the most part we have it down to a science with Ryan and I working as a very efficient team {it took a lot of tweaking, but I think we're there}. We both get up at the same time and while Ryan showers and gets ready, I make the bottles, grab my coffee, feed Aveyn, get her dressed, do her hair, then get Cael dressed and brush his teeth {depending on Ryan's timing he will help}. We head downstairs where Ryan and I make our lunches {if I haven't already made mine} and then we load the kids into his car. I say my goodbyes and then rush into the house with about 45 minutes to get myself ready and out the door. Believe it or not, it works and everyone seems happy :)

{Cael} Kids Say The Darndest Things

I have been eagerly awaiting the 'kids say the darndest things' posts because I know that Ryan and I {and the kids} are going to look back at some of the things that they have said and howl with laughter. They are so innocent and have such a different perspective on life that it is refreshing to hear how they process and interpret various events, words, phrases, etc. This isn't the first time that Cael has said something adorable, but it is the first time I actually remembered it well enough to capture it in writing. Cael's full name is Cael Ryan Zikas and we have been working on teaching him his name {both full name and last name}. I asked Cael what his full name was and he responded with 'I am Cael Daddy Zikas'. Talk about howling with laughter. He was so proud of himself for remembering. {sigh} Out of the mouths of babes!!!