Halloween Party

Today a few of the neighbors threw a really cool mommy and me Halloween party. The kids were so excited to get into their costumes and go see some friends. Even some of us moms dressed up! Here are a few hi-lites of the party:

This is Nyah getting her Halloween Groove on. She is the only kid dancing... what a cutie!

This is the last few seconds of Zane beating the crud out of the pumpkin pinata. He was the biggest (not necessarily the oldest) kid at the party, so they let him go last and bust that sucker open!

Shelly and I in our costumes

The cute witch is Selena, and the pregnant and pretty angel is Stephanie.

Thanks Selena and friends for a great party! I am not exactly sure of all the ladies that helped put it all together, but it was so fun, and I am glad we went. Hopefully we can do it again next year!

Birthdays

Since my last post both Jeff and Zane had birthdays. Jeff's was first, and he wanted to go to Tepanyaki for dinner to celebrate. We love this place because they make such yummy food, but also because it is so entertaining to watch them cook it right at your table. Zane and Nyah had never been there before, so it was especially fun watching them discover how cool it is to watch someone do tricks while they cook for you. Nyah wasn't sure how she felt about the onion fire volcano at first, but as soon as she saw the cook turn it into a choo choo train she smiled with delight.

After dinner we went to Zane's soccer game. He scored another goal, and it was fun for everyone to be outside together in such nice weather. After the game we went home for some cheesecake (Jeff loves cheesecake) and a few small gifts. It was so nice.

The onion volcano.

Nyah is nervous about the volcano.

The volcano is now miraculously a choo choo train

Nyah tries to climb over the top of Jeff at the soccer game.

Jeff's cheesecake. Yummy.

Exactly one week after Jeff's birthday was Zane's birthday. The big number five. He wanted to have a party, but I was hoping to keep it low key this year, so we decided on a movie party. We got ready by making sports cupcakes and decorating a little bit.

Then lots of his friends came over, and everyone went down into the basement for snacks and a movie. Zane chose Alvin and the Chipmunks. The kids seemed to be watching it for about thirty minutes before they got too excited and started to play around. A few of the older cousins decided to have a puppet show for the younger kids, and it was a big hit. Unfortunately that just made them more rowdy and wild. So I decided it was time to redirect the party upstairs for cupcakes and presents.




The party was so fun, and I am glad that so many kids could come celebrate with us. On Zane's actual birthday we took the kids to Boondocks and played arcade games. After an awesome afternoon playing, we came home an sang Happy Birthday and had chocolate cupcakes. He had a soccer game that night too, so we went straight there after our little family party. It was a great day, and I am so glad that Zane is our boy.

Such a cool kid. I love his smile.

This Week

Hooray for Zane!!! He got his first goal last Tuesday at his soccer game! He is really learning how to get the ball out of the crowd of kids surrounding it, and kick it in the correct direction. He is the youngest kid on his team, and many of the other kids played last year, so they have a few more soccer skills than Zane does. But I think that is a good thing, because he is learning so much watching their example. It has been such a blast to go to the practices and games as a family and cheer the team on. I will be bummed when the season is over.

Zane is right in front of the girl (#3). This is the moment before he kicked the ball into the goal! Too bad you can't see more than a small part of the back of his head peeking out.

This is the photo I shot right after he made his goal. He was so happy.

!

This one is obvious... he is throwing the ball back into play.

This past week was filled with many fun things in our family. Just before Grandma Deb came into town, Zane decided it would be fun to help Nyah put on some makeup while I was on the phone. They did this in a matter of a few minutes!!!

It kinda looks like she has a moustache!

She's fussing because she knows she's busted.

Later that day Jeff and I put together her first big girl bed. She was so excited! All she can talk about (even now) is her new big girl bed. The first night she slept in it was Wednesday night, and she didn't get out even once. I find this to be quite a miracle because when Zane got his first big boy bed he was out of it like 50 times a night. We had to keep putting him back in it (without saying a word to him) until he finally got the picture. I am glad that Nyah's experience made it much less exhausting on Jeff and I!

Woo Hoo!!! My new big girl bed!!!

Dad and Ny on her new bed.

On Thursday night after the kids were in bed, Grandma Deb came to visit for the weekend. It was so fun! We went to lunch, went to the toy store, and had Sponge Bob Popsicles. We all loved having her here, and we wish she could visit more often. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Grandma gave each kid a whole dollar! Zane was especially thrilled.

Grandma and Nyah.

The Summer of Fun

Zane and Nyah at Lagoon
Driving a car at Lagoon
Zane and his sand castle in San Diego
Nyah Playing in the water at the beachZane and Ny at a baseball game on Ny's birthday

Since the Summer is over now, I thought I would post a few pics of the kids having fun. We took two trips to Cali this year, and it was a BLAST! Zane and Nyah love the beach, and it makes me dream of moving back there someday. I love the mild weather, the waving palm trees, and the layed-back attitude. Maybe when we are rich...

Since I am such an antsy person, we took the kids to a lot of fun places. We were regulars at Lagoon, Thanksgiving Point, and the aquarium. We went swimming at the local pool and at the beach several times. We went to multiple baseball games. We went on Craig and Jen's boat twice. We went to Sea World, Disneyland, and the San Diego Zoo. We even went to a beautiful wedding. Maybe we should stay home an relax next summer so I don't burn my poor family out;-)

I am glad that we were able to do so many things, and I am grateful for the season passes that helped make all this possible. I think Jeff is starting to wish he married a homebody... Oh well, I guess I'll work on that next year.

Zane's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Zane's first day of kindergarten at Challenger School. He has been so excited to start kindergarten, with only one exception... kindergarten shots. He wouldn't even have known about them if his friend who started kindergarten last year didn't let him in on it. Luckily, we didn't mention that he was getting his shots until the moment he had to get them, so it went pretty quickly with little anxiety.

Anyway, back to the first day of school. He was so excited this morning when I woke him up. He ate his breakfast fairly quickly, and then ran upstairs to get dressed. He felt all grown up wearing his spiffy uniform, and he didn't even seem to mind the tie too much. He wanted his hair styled with gel to look cool, and he was thrilled to put on his new backpack. I was exactly on time, but that didn't leave much room for pictures in front of the house, so I snapped the few I could and hustled the kids in the car.

When we get there he was so excited that he jumped out of the car with the attendant, and tried to bolt toward the school. Luckily she grabbed him and informed him that he had to hold her hand while they were by the unloading zone to make sure he was safe.

As soon as school was over, I was right there to pick him up at the loading zone, and the very first thing he said to me when he got in the car was, "Mom, I loved it! It was so awesome!" I am so glad that he had such a good time getting to know his new class and his new teachers. We were able to meet both of them last Friday at the open house, and they are delightful. I feel so blessed that he attends that school, and that the new campus is so very close to our home. I am almost as excited as he is for this year of school.

My Hubby

Jeff was away in Vegas this weekend visiting his buddies. It was a good chance for him to get away for a few days, but we really missed him at home. Zane told everyone we came in contact with that his dad was on a vacation, but it was just for 2 days, and then he would be back. On Friday, the first day Jeff was gone, Ny woke up from her nap a little bit crabby. She plopped herself right in front of the door to the garage and cried for daddy for a solid 10 minutes. Zane and I tried to distract her, but she was bent on having her moment. Finally she was tired of crying and we were able to bribe her with a little snack.

Jeff came home today, and since I was sick most of the day they hung out with him. Nyah insisted on having Jeff sing to her before bed, which is something I normally do. It is so awesome that my kids have a dad that is so fun and so lovable that they miss him when he goes, and relish every moment that they have with him. I think he just might be their favorite, and I don't even mind.

My Little Ballerina

My little Nyah is two now, and the older she gets the more personality she shows. She is so cute, everyday she dances around the house to any music that she hears... even if it is her own sweet singing. She always wants me to turn the music on when I am at the computer so she can twirl, and leap, and hop, and flap her arms gracefully around the office. A few weeks ago I went to pick her up from her nursery class at church, and the new nursery teacher was gushing over how cute Nyah is. She told me everytime they started a new song during singing time Nyah would get out of her chair and start dancing. When the song was over she would sit back down, but as soon as the next song began she was back up on her feet. A few days later I heard the same story from my friend Sarah who happened to be in the nursery at the time. She makes me laugh! For her birthday, my friends Tatum and Lisa each made a cute little tutu for her. She LOVES to wear them and twirl around the house like a little pink ballerina. I guess I will be finding some dance classes for her soon so she can really have something fun to look forward to every week. Wh knows, maybe she will be a star on SYTYCD in 16 years or so! lol.