Happy Turkey Day!!!

Well, with it being Thanksgiving and all, I thought it appropriate to give a little thanks. Here are a few things I'm thankful for this year:

1. My family - Brandon and Dayton. I couldn't imagine my life w/o either of them. I thank God every day for both. He blessed me with a wonderful man to walk hand and hand w/ on this journey of life. Tomorrow marks our four year anniversary - so hard to believe! It feels like forever, though (in a good way) considering in February we'll be together for 11 years - yikes! I thought I loved Brandon as much as humanly possible when I was 16. I thought I loved Brandon as much as humanly possible when he became my husband. I thought I loved Brandon as much as humanly possible when he became the father of our child, but I know now that our love is still growing every day. As for Dayton - wow! Even though he spills ketchup on the carpet and colors w/ markers on the tables and bedspreads, he is still my little angel. Every day I learn something new about life just seeing things through his eyes. He makes me laugh more than a grown person should and he brings out a side of me that makes me feel young. Never in my life did I ever think I'd get excited every time I saw a tractor or a choo-choo. Never in my life did I think our living room would be the perfect spot to play tackle football. Never in my life did I think it'd be okay to roll up my pant legs and go outside barefoot on a November day to play baseball in the yard w/ my lil' slugger.

2. Christmas - I am thankful for Christmas for so many wonderful reasons. First and for most - the reason for the season - our Lord, Jesus Christ. I love going to church during Advent and seeing another candle lit on the wreath every week. I love taking a name off of the church Christmas tree and finding a gift that I know will make a special kid happy. One of my favorite Christmas memories is sitting in the back of church in the Christmas of 2004 w/ my entire family and turning around to look out the glass doors and seeing snow falling on the ground - snow in El Campo, TX - what a sight. That was one of the best Christmases ever. Santa - bring us snow again this year, please! Anyways, this Christmas will be special - Dayton is old enough to get to really get into all of the Christmas festivities. I can't wait. I think I already have a different Christmas shirt for him for the entire month of December! I love, love, love Christmas - the music, the lights, the fireplace, the shopping, the decorating - everything!

3. Our house - I have to say that this Thanksgiving I am thankful for our cute little house on Myatt Lane. This will always be our first home and the sight of so many firsts in our lives. Even though we won't be here at this time next year (or maybe next month for that matter), I will never forget the memories made here. It's really kinda sad. This is where Brandon and I spent our first four years together. We've parked many different cars/trucks in this garage - hahaha! We brought Date home from the hospital to this house. We cooked many a meals in this kitchen - okay, who am I kidding? Brandon's cooked many a meals in this kitchen. It's a great house, just a tad too small for our family. I'll never forget this place - my Tiffany blue bathroom and my red couches - wow, I have a nice husband who gives in to his wife's crazy sense of style very easily...

4. All of our family and friends - that's an easy one. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family who is all close by. What a blessing to see our parents and brothers and sisters every day. Dayton gets to grow up w/ all of his cousins - how lucky is he? We love our families! We love our friends, too. Even though we don't get to see everyone as often as we'd like. We hope one day that everyone will give in and move to this little town of EC. We'd be VERY thankful for that ;)

5. Reality TV and dvr's - sad, I know. I love reality tv and if it wasn't for our dvr I wouldn't get to watch it. Between work and Dayton, there is rarely a day that I get to watch a show at the time it is really on.


*Here are a few things I'm not thankful for:

1. The BCS polls/rankings. I don't know how many times it's been said, but I'd like to say it too - WE NEED A COLLEGE FOOTBALL "PLAYOFF" W/ A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AT THE END!!! Enough said. Glad I got that out of my system - Go Horns!

2. Hand lotion - yuck! There is nothing worse than the feeling of my big-pored sweaty hands covered in unbreathable thick hand lotion. Can't stand it. Don't get me wrong, I love lotion on my legs, but please keep it away from my sweaty hands (and feet) for that matter...

3. Hangovers.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!!! GO LONGHORNS!!!!

Progress - on many levels...

Well, we've had some progress over the weekend. As of this morning, we have a slab!!! We didn't know if they'd make it this morning because of the potential rain, but it's held off long enough for them to pour - yeah!!! Progress w/ Dayton this weekend, too - we now are only using the "boppy" (pacifier) at nap time and nite-nite. Dr. Brian said it's time to get rid of it, so we are trying hard. We'll see how it goes. Also, more progress - Dayton ate mac and cheese for lunch today! I know this sounds crazy, but this is his first time to eat it - he has hated it thus far, so I bought him a Gerber Graduate w/ cheese, macaroni, chicken and corn and he actually ate it. I also snuck some peas in there and he ate them, too. This was huge for us. We gotta get this kid eating better - his diet mainly consists of chicken, hot dogs, ketchup and fries. I'm horrible, I know... Anyways, here's some more pics:


Here is our crafty little turkey we made for Thanksgiving. Obviously, he did this w/ a little help from Mommy:



Here is our cutie on Friday night before we went out to eat. He is love w/ this choo-choo hat. It's pretty hilarious...



Daddy says, "Date, show Mommy your muscles!!!" Hahahahaha!!!



Saturday was Brock's birthday party. Dayton had a blast. Here is my big boy trying to kick the ball off Uncle Scott's toe...



Here's the birthday boy w/ his gift from us - a nice big football toybox for all his new toys!



Here's a pic of the house as of Friday; ready for concrete!



Date and I rode out there at 8:00 this morning and they were pouring. There were three cement mixers and Date thought they were the greatest thing ever. It was fun to watch!



Here is where we stand right now - shaping it up and then we'll have to let it sit a couple of days before we move on. So happy to finally have a slab!!!




Well, that's all for now. Yesterday was my dad's birthday so we celebrated over there. I also put my mom's Christmas tree up yesterday evening. Glad to have that out of the way! Brandon woke up this morning feeling pretty bad, so he's been in and out all day. I'm hoping he gets well before Thanksgiving. Have a good one! JZ

I know I'm a little early...

I know I'm a little early w/ the Christmas background, but if you know me then you know Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year and why not start celebrating a little early??? I think I waste about an hour a day wondering what Santa will bring Dayton. Santa is a very smart guy, but Date is very undecisive. He changes his mind every day. I ask him what he wants from HoHo (or PoPo as he calls him) and he says a choo-choo. Okay, Santa. Choo-choo it is. I think we're sure on that one. As for anything else the little guy wants, who knows - sometimes it's click click (horse) sometimes it's tractor, sometimes it's Caillou. I'm sure Santa will manage to somehow get him one of everything he wants ;) Instead of the twelve days of Christmas, Dayton may have about 32 days of Christmas ;)

When I was going threw my old pics from last year looking for the adorable little Christmas pic I found (I miss my little baby!!!), I found some old Thanksgiving pics, too. Hard to believe how fast a year has gone by. My little boy is going to be two before we know it - ahhhhh! It is crazy how fast time flies!

When I saw this pic I immediately busted out laughing - what is he doing???




Here he is opening one of his ornaments last Thanksgiving at my parents. Every year we exchange ornaments on Thanksgiving Day. It's a great way to kick off the Christmas season and we've made so many little memories w/ this tradition. I love taking them all out year after year and decorating the tree!




Eating some Thanksgiving supper at Grandpa and Grandma Vasut's. This was one of his first tastes of real table food...




Dayton and Mommy on Thanksgiving night:




My Happy Turkey Day Date:

House Pics and such...

Here is a small house update and a few other random pics:

Okay, I'm sure all of these pics I've been posting just look like a bunch of dirt and pipes to you, but to us, we just think they are the most fabuluos pvc pipes we've ever seen!!! Pipes = Progress... Not that this means much, but this is a view from the guest room overlooking the 2nd bathroom, the "nursery", then Date's room, then the breakfast area and living area...


This is me standing in what will be the garage. Brandon is in the future game room and to his left is the utility room and then the kitchen. Behind him is our master suite... I know - hard to imagine!

Dayton obviously hasn't yet learned the value of a dollar...





Getting ready for nite-nite time. Here's Dayton in his Thomas the Train pjs w/ his Thomas the Train sippy cup...


How ironic - here's Mommy in her Pink pjs w/ her pink sippy cup. Are we a stylish pair or what - hahaha!!!



That's all for now. Dayton had a doctor's appointment this morning. He got three shots, so he is not very happy w/ us right now. Plumbing is done at the lot for now, we're just waiting on the guys to get everything prepped for the foundation and that should be poured either tomorrow or Saturday if doesn't rain - Monday at the latest.

On a side note - I've got to get a video of Date playing football. It's so hilarious. He literally gets down into a three point stance, says hut and takes off running in his clumsy little way. We were reading "O Little Town of Bethlehem" the other day and it plays music. Apparently this music pumps him up. He sets the book on the table, opens it up to activate the music and then repeats his little football routine over and over. When the music stops, he goes over to the book and proceeds to do the entire process again. Who ever knew Christmas carols could be so "krunk"????

OuR WeEkEnD...

Well, here you have it - our weekend in pics...


On Thursday, Mommy and Date enjoyed some arts and crafts. Dayton hadn't finger-painted in a while so I let him have at it. He did quite a good job!


Finger painting wasn't enough, so I took out some paper squares, glue and scissors. Dayton loves to stick stuff to paper - glue, stickers, etc. This kept him occupied for quite some time. It turned out very "abstract" to say the least..


Here is our little cowboy! Tractors, pearl snaps and boots - what more could you want? We went out to eat at the country club on Friday night and Dayton behaved so well. Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy some great food and wine and Dayton just sat in his high chair and played away. Everyone loved his boots - they were a big hit. Maybe he'll be willing to wear them more often!


A close up of Farmer Date...


Saturday morning, Mommy went to the Nutcracker Market w/ MeMe and DeDe, so Date and Daddy had the day to themselves. They watched UT in the morning and headed down to the bay in the afternoon. The house was a disaster when I got home, but looks like they had a great time. Mommy had a great time, too. I love the Nutcracker Mall - I'm so ready for Christmas now - my favorite time of year!!!

Here is Date loading up to go to the bay...


Here are a few pics Daddy took of Date...






Saturday night we went to Ronnie and Misty Henke's couple baby shower. It was a great time. Girl baby stuff is just too cute!!! Sunday we went 10:00 mass and then headed in to Sugar Land w/ my mom and dad. We dropped my dad and Brandon off at Golf Galaxy that just opened in Sugar Land and me, my mom and Dayton headed over to Carter's. They were having a huge sale (of course), so I stocked up on Date's winter clothes. We needed some windpants and stuff like that that he can wear every day. We headed over to the mall when we were done and picked up a few things there. Yesterday evening we just hung out. PaPa Zabodyn brought home a great John Deere scooter home from Coushatta. It's a little too big for Date to figure out, but he loves it none the less.

Here's Date showing off the new ride!!!



Big plans for this week? Not much. Date has a doctor's appt on Thursday morning and it will involve shots so we're not looking forward to that. Brock's b-day party is on Saturday so Date will love that. That's all for now. Have a great week!!!


***House update - we have people working out there as we speak - as long as the weather cooperates, we'll be in good shape. Plumbing and electricity was getting worked on this morning when I drove out there. No pics b/c no real progress. I'll keep you posted - just happy for the nice weather - yeah!!!***

Happy Wednesday!

Go away rain! (So my mommy doesn't put me in this ridiculous outfit anymore!!!)


We visited Shoppa's Farm Supply after lunch yesterday to go see tractors - I know, what has my life come to? Who would've ever thought? Anyways, they gave Date some great John Deere balloons, so when he woke up from his nap (hence, the nice hair), this is what he had waiting for him.


Look Mommy - Tractor!!!


Cheap fun!


Dayton and Lucy go nite-nite last night...


A successful trip to Wal-Mart - we found a Thomas the Train coloring book AND a John Deere Tractor coloring book - talk about hit the jackpot!!!


Our first masterpiece in the John Deere book...


Okay, I thought this shirt was too cute so I had to get a good shot of him in it. Today was his first time to wear it...


You guys probably think that this kid only eats junk food, but he was rewarded at lunch today for eating so well the last few meals. He got his first Little Debbie Christmas Cake w/ green and red sprinkles. I think it goes w/o saying that he thoroughly enjoyed it...

Our No Good, Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Morning...

Okay - we have started the week off w/ a bang! I hate Mondays as it is - I work till 8:00 tonight and after running after Date all day it makes for a VERY long, tiring day. Today was supposed to be the day that the plumbers started on our house. The foundation was supposed to be done by this Friday. We wake up and after not having rained for weeks now, it decides to be a gully-washer out there! We expected it and are expecting it for the rest of the week. This is just going to set us back even more. We have the worst luck! After waking up to the horrible rain, Dayton was in quite the mood. I took two minutes (at the most) to empty my bladder and I'm interrupted by a large crash coming from the dining room. In comes Dayton, covered in coffee. I run into the dining room to find this (see below). I spent the rest of the morning picking up pieces of the mug (that I've had since I was in high school) and scrubbing grout. Hopefully the coffee doesn't stain...







On a lighter note, here are some pics from our weekend. Will and Luke had a wonderful 1st Birthday!!!

Here's Anna...


Luke...


Will...


Will and Luke...


Dayton...


Will...


Will and Luke blow out their candles...


Date...


Anna...


The Cake...


Mommy and Date...


Date's gift to the boys - isn't he such an artist?


Happy Birthday Luke!


Happy Birthday Will!