Family Fun

We went to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on Labor Day. It was a perfect day; the temperature was in the 70's so we were able to stay for 5 hours.

Cael's new favorite movie is Rio so I took some pictures of the birds.
Giraffes are always a favorite of mine. They were the last animals we saw so maybe that is why Cael says they are his favorite. At the gift shop we let the boys pick out one stuffed animal. Emmett picked a penguin which he calls his Baby and he carries it around in his mouth. Cael wanted a giraffe. When I asked him what he was going to name it he said 'Giraff-ia.' Too cute!
Emmett loved the zoo. He was excited to see all the animals. He called everything baby and wanted to touch.

The penguins and fish were a lot of fun for the boys.

Check out Pumba behind us! :)

Cael and Emmett rode in style. We love the wagon!

Cael thought the skeleton was cool and wanted to take a picture beside it. He loved watching the big silver back gorillas. They are so magnificent!

This guy was eating a HUGE salad while we took pictures.

The boys did get tired as it was a long day. Cael has a sour face in this picture...

Oh, here is Emmett and his Baby!

Yesterday we went to the Lincoln Airshow. We had so much fun! It was HOT but fun!

Cael and Emmett make a good flight team, don't you think?

Here they are ready to fly away. Don't you love their matching shirts with a jet on them?

The boys loved to check out all the planes and helicopters parked for our inspection. :)

A nice lady offered to take a picture of us. We took a few blankets and camped out for a while.

Cael got up on Daddy's shoulders for a better view.

We did not stay for too long because it was so hot and the sun was beating down on us. This particular airshow is one of the longest they said. It started at 11am and the Blue Angels did not perform until almost 4. We live close to the airport so we were able to see and hear the Blue Angels as they flew close by our home.

Daddy let the boys pick out souvenirs. Cael picked a Blue Angel and Emmett picked a Shark bomber.

We love you all! We wish you could have been here with us. Talk to you soon!

Updating the kitchen

BEFORE

The mess...

AFTER

What's left to do in the kitchen - the floor, the ceiling, and finishing the pantry door and baseboards.

I've included pictures of the living room as we have bought a new couch, hung up so new pictures, replaced the carpet. etc.

Oh, and we bought a new kitchen table.

We are looking for a new TV stand and a side table maybe. I also thought about a storage ottoman for the toys OR maybe a coffee table that provides storage.

I love my new kitchen. And I think anyone look at our starter home will like it too!

Just dropping a couple of lines...

I apologize for not updating my blog as often as I did before. I think of updating but then get busy with something else. Well now I am in Orange County, CA and my flight was delayed so I have some time to kill with no distractions - no housework calling my name, no kids needing my assistance, no pertinent work duties weighing heavily on my mind. I could sit and cry about having to wait to get home or I can be productive, right? Anyway....

You will see I created the list of Emmett's words. I had fun doing that when Cael learned to talk so I thought I would try to do it again. This time I will try to include the age he said them.

So what is new besides Emmett's words?

Emmett is walking now. He was a little stubborn to let go and go on his own but the last 3 weeks he has become more confident and practically runs around the house. He seems so much busier than I remember Cael being; Emmett is always into something. When we returned from vacation back in July he did move from the Infant room at daycare to the Peach room. Of course there was an adjustment period but he loves it now. He is such a big boy and so handsome! That cute toothy green and those bright blue eyes melt my heart. The back of his hair and around by his ears is curly - especially with the humidity. I am afraid if I cut it then the curls will be gone. We are going to wait a bit longer before giving him his first hair cut. Emmett is a great eater and now is able to eat pretty much anything, though we are waiting on the shellfish and peanut butter just in case.

Cael is not a little boy anymore. He can be sassy because he is so darn smart. He is potty trained with the exception of still wearing a diaper or pull-up at night. I was amazed how quickly he caught on and has done a great job. He even stands up to pee. I think when he saw his cousin Isaac stand up that encouraged him even more to do it. In Cael's class at daycare they work on tracing letters and numbers. He has done a great job. He has learned more fun songs, we talk about the weather, the days of the week, the months of the year, and of course his vocabulary, grammar, and knowledge grows each day. The other day I was talking to my mom and Skype. I was holding Emmett and Cael was playing with some toys in a clear plastic container. I asked him to come over ant talk to Beesha and Cael said, "mom, this is my future," pointing to the clear container of stuff. All my mom and I could do was laugh. He loves the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons so maybe that is what that was about. Cael has also been saying 'baby' all the time - 'okay baby' 'yes, baby' 'play with me baby.' I am not sure where he go it because Mark and I don't call each other baby. I call Cael and Emmett silly things like 'sweetness' and 'handsome prince.'

Mark is enjoying his job as a Parole Officer. He enjoys learning new things and strives to be the best there ever was no matter what he is doing. As a family we love having him with us throughout the week and weekend since his hours are M-F, 8-4:30. He will have to work late one day a week but that is not bad at all. Mark is the best husband I know. He is such a great support and help to me and the kids.

So life for us is good. We need to keep motivated to finish all the projects around our house but other than that...

Love you guys! Talk to you soon!

Summer Vacation 2011 - Part 2

I am sorry for the delay. Here are some more photos from our trip.

We were so glad to spend time with Dan, Erin, Garrison, and Stella. Here is Mark in the pool with Cael, Emmett, and Garrison.

Garrison had so many Buzz Lightyear toys so Cael was in heaven!
These guys had a lot of fun!

Awh! The Binky babies Emmett and Stella.

Kim and Ron through another awesome birthday party for Cael:

Cael was beaming with everyone singing 'happy birthday' to him.

Ron was anything but a short order chef! We had oysters along with burgers and hot dogs.

It is great when family can get together! We need to do it more often!

We also went to Silver Springs with Kim and Ron. We saw lots of birds and gators.

Unfortunately our day was cut short by the weather. The time we spent there was fun though.

Cael had such a good time playing with his cousins, even the non-blood related variety. Here is a picture of Garrison, Cael, Maylee, and Isaac.

Good food at a family get together is a must!!! mmmm-mmmmm! I love me some country ribs!

Isn't this the cutest picture! Left to right: Maylee, Max, Isaac, Emmett, and Cael

And another one!

The boys love their Dziedze!

Even in the pool Emmett wanted to snuggle is mommy.

It took Cael a while to warm up to the water. Then all of a sudden he was brave and wanted to jump into the pool.

Thank you Kim and Ron for having us and throwing another great party. We appreciate all you do for us. The boys, Mark, and I miss you both immensely.

Thank you Mom and Dad! I miss you guys so much! I wish we lived closer. Thank you for everything!

Talk to you all soon!

Love you!

Summer vacation 2011 - Part 1

My family and I just returned from a wonderful vacation to Florida. It was so nice to be together for 2 full weeks as an immediate family, with no work, and to see our extended family. We split up our time with Mark's parents in Macclenny and my parents in Jacksonville. My sister Jenilee is just 45 minutes away in Georgia and my brother and his family came down from Atlanta. We had so much fun!

I have TONS of pictures so I will post some today and then will post more in the next couple of days.

As you can see from the new family photo at the top of my blog we had pictures made. My mom asked a friend from church to take our pictures while we were all together. Some came out really cute!

Ah, siblings! Kevin, Jenilee, and I having a blast!

Kevin and Jennie have a beautiful family. Isaac is 5.5yrs old, Max will be 1 yr soon, and Maylee will be 4 soon. My how time flies!

The entire Zywot clan! Jenilee held a picture of her husband Joe as he is out on deployment - an active serviceman in the US Navy. We missed you Joe!

Emmett loved his first time at the beach. He acted very different than Cael did the first time.

Cael had fun playing with his cousins, looking for seashells, and riding the boogie board on some waves!

Mommy just enjoyed relaxing and watching the boys play.