Happy Retirement Great-Uncle Jim!

Zoey has been pretty cute lately. She and Tyler have gotten into the habit of "talking about their days." So at dinner or bedtime, Zoey will say, "Daddy, talk about my day." Which means--tell me about what we did today. Of course many times, we are not with her during the day so we make her tell us about her day. But of course, she is sweet enough to say, "Tell me about your day mommy (or daddy)."

Today Zoey had a lot to tell me. This morning my friend Stacy and her sisters and niece came over to our house to work on a project. Stacy's niece is two week younger than Zoey--so she had a good time showing her around the toys in the basement. Then the highlight of her day--Nana and Poppa came to pick her up and take her to Great-Uncle Jim's retirement party. Before they came to get her, she told me that she wanted to wear a pretty dancing dress that twirls. I found the ONLY dress she has and she was a happy camper. Zander and I stayed home, but Nana and Poppa took pictures of their day together.

Group photo of the retirement party.

Zoey modeled Jim's bus uniform.

Jim's grandkids were at the party. Nana said that the three kids were asked to make a funny face for this picture. What do you think?

Nana and Zoey playing at the party.

Thank you Nana and Poppa for taking Zoey with you. She had a good time and you wore her out. What an easy bedtime it was!

Don't tell anyone. . .

. . .but Zander slept through the night last night! Yeah! Let's all send our good thoughts so that it happens again tonight.

Zander Eats Rice Cereal

Yesterday was the first day Zander had rice cereal. My camera battery was dead yesterday--so these pictures represent the 2nd time Zander ate rice cereal. We did however get the first time on video--so the memory isn't totally lost. Zander ate rice like he has been doing it all his life. We decided to pull the trigger and try him on solids because he drains four 8oz bottles a day and is still not consistently sleeping through the night. We will see what happens now.

Both Tyler and Zander went to urgent care over the weekend. Tyler for a nasty cough and Zander for pink eye/ear infection. Hopefully both of them will start feeling better soon. However because Zander was at the doctor we now know that at 5 1/2 months he weighs in at 17 lbs. 13 oz. Way to go Zander! Here are some of the things that Zander does:

• Rolls from his back to his stomach, in one direction
• Smiles all the time!
• Loves watching his sister be goofy.
• Gives mommy high fives
• Giggles at his own reflection
• Loves bath time
• Hates when we wipe his nose
• Has 4 teeth (two bottom, two top)
• Grabs at his toys and plays with them
  

"Where is my food?!"

Yummy!

"Look Zoey! I am a big kid like you!"

Zoey is very proud of Zander.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! For me the new year means a fresh start--so that means a new look for the blog. It has been a fun break and it will be over all too soon. The kids head back to daycare on Wednesday and I am using the day to get everything put in order and make my own fresh start. All the normal New Year's resolutions are in place--I want my family to be healthy and happy and that means eating better and exercising more. I am planning on taking up running again and Tyler will be doing a lot of refereeing in the next few months. My goal is to do another 5K this year--maybe even more than one.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas this year.

This is what happens when Zoey plays with her little brother.

On Christmas Eve, Zander was enthralled with Grandpa's duck noises.

Yes, Santa brought Zoey her Superbabies!

Santa Baby!

A cute picture of Grandpa and Zander.

Zander got a new ball.

Uh Oh! Zander got a superbaby and is playing "This Little Piggy."

Check out Zoey's new train set! She is really excited about this gift from
Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen.

Zander enjoyed all his presents this year.

Zoey played Santa for all our gift openings--she really knows how to open gifts now.

While in Grand Forks, we visited an indoor waterpark. Here we are on the Lazy River.

Christmas Eve 2007

It was a nice quiet day at the Livingston household. We spent some of the time cleaning and getting ready for hosting Christmas tomorrow with the Livingston family, but mostly we just hung out as a family. We had fun tracking Santa on the web and seeing where he was throughout the day. (Okay--so I thought it was cooler than the kids did.) We went to church and then came home and had a nice dinner with Nana and Poppa. Zander was full of smiles as usual.This morning Mary dropped off the projects that the kids worked on at daycare. Aren't they adorable? Zoey told me that she used her hands and Zander used his toes to make the Christmas banners.

More to come. . .Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just Enjoying the Break

Christmas Cookie Party

It was our second annual attendance at Mary's Daycare Cookie Party this year. As always, it was a blast. The kids were all pumped for the special visitor and there was enough sugar to keep us all hyped for the rest of the night.

Here is Tyler and the kids waiting for Santa to arrive.

Zander was in the spirit of the holidays and was full of smiles.

Zoey did the right thing and pottied all by herself before Santa arrived. Then she washed her hands. Yea, Zoey!

When Santa came, Zoey was so excited that she sat on his lap and froze. Zander however had to sit and think about what he was going to ask for.

Santa and Mary gave all the kids gifts. Zander got a book.
Zoey got a magnetic dress up doll-which she LOVES. She couldn't contain her happiness when she went to say thank you to Mary.

Here she is at home playing with her new doll.

Zander is ready, as we all are for a nice relaxing winter break.

Playing Hookie

Ok, so I wasn't really playing hookie today. Zander had pink-eye couldn't go to daycare so I stayed home and did nothing really but hang out with him. It was nice. In the morning Zander was a little fussy until I finally got him to fall asleep on my shoulder. Then in the afternoon, he fell asleep on the family room floor--I didn't have the heart to move him. He slept there for almost 2 hours! I love watching him sleep. (Why can't he do that in the middle of the night?)
Zander did have time to pose for a few pictures though. As I was playing with him today, I discovered that he has two top teeth trying to break through. It could explain a lot of the fussiness.

Last Friday there was no daycare so Daddy stayed home with the kids. He brought them both to school to have lunch with me--which I love! Zoey was very excited to be a part of my kindergarten literacy group and they were thrilled to have her there. The kindergarten girls all took Zoey under their wings and helped her sing songs with us, clap her hands and shake her sillies out. When it was time for Tyler and my kids to go home, Zoey didn't want to leave. It was very cute.

Speaking of cute, Zoey loves to watch storybooks on the internet and I am fortunate enough to have a membership through my school that allows us to watch these stories online. So Zoey has gotten into the habit of watching two every night ("Because I'm 2!") She has her favorites, but she also likes to watch new stories. So tonight I told her she could watch the story called Joseph and the Little Overcoat. As I was getting it ready for her, she was playing around and then came up and impatiently said, "I want to watch Jesus and the Little Jacket peas."

So while she watched her story book, I was trying to watch my television show. Zoey gets off her chair and goes and turns off my TV. "I want to hear my storybook!"

Tyler took Zander upstairs to put him to bed and I was folding laundry. I folded up some of Zoey's socks and playfully threw them at her asking her to put them away. All of a sudden, she starts to go upstairs and I ask her where she is going. "I am going upstairs." Why, Zoey? "I going to tell Daddy you hit me!"

Happy Birthday Gia!

I asked Zoey what she wanted to do for Gia's birthday today and she said she wanted to bake a cake. So here is your cookie bread hamburger cheese and peas cake--Zoey's specialty. Hope you had a wonderful birthday and a safe trip back home!

Happy Birthday Poppa!

Mom: Zoey, what is this picture all about?
Zoey: Grandpa
Mom: What is inside the circle?
Zoey: a baby suppi-o
Mom: Did you write your name?
Zoey: Yes--h, i, j, k, l, m, n. . . I found a Z!
Mom: What should we tell Poppa?
Zoey: Birthday cake! We having a birthday cake!

Happy birthday Grandpa Livingston! We love you and will get that birthday cake taken care of soon!

P.S. In honor of all of the grandparent's birthdays this year, a Christmas light was bought in your names. The money went to a food shelter in Mahtomedi.