Two cuties

What sweet girls. Though neither one was very cooperative during this photo adventure, Miss Janna managed to capture a few good ones of somber Claire (didn' t feel well on this day) and mischievous Lilly.

These pictures were taken in mid January at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler. Claire age 9mo, Lilly 2 1/2 years. Enjoy.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our family meal

Rather than visit a restaurant on one of the busiest "eating out" days of the year, we prefer a home-cooked meal with family. Some of the fondest memories I have are of the annual Valentine's meals held at the Hamilton home. My mom would go all out and make a fabulous meal... Amy and I would be given special gifts including a rose from my dad. We would even make cards for our parents. Valentine's was more of a family celebration, which was super-cool to me when I was little. So in spirit of tradition and in hopes that Lilly and Claire have fond memories of Valentine's also, we set out to repeat the Hamilton tradition.
Thanks for the lips, Nana!
Ready for a yummy meal.

This year, thanks to a fabulous issue of "The Best of America's Test Kitchen" magazine that Rob picked up at the store, our Valentine's menu consisted of... Meatball lasagna (an obvious favorite in Italy), Roasted broccoli, Crescent rolls and Chocolate cream pie... all homemade and all delicious. A nice bottle of Chianti that Rob brought back from Italy in 07 was the drink of the evening (for the parents only, of course).
Homemade pie. Lilly said "good one, mamma!"
Since Claire has a double ear infection (Yes, fun, we know), she was in rare form... fussy. Big sister Lilly had a blast. After dinner, we opened cards and special gifts. The girls received the DVD Madagascar 2 and a toy doll house. Lilly has been mesmorized ever since. Enjoy the pictures of our memorable evening. And, thank you for all of the cute Valentines and gifts you sent the girls. Lilly had great fun opening each of them.

Claire likes to "Move-it, Move-it".
And the fascination begins... a toddler dollhouse.

10 months already

Believe it or not, Miss Claire is 10 months old. She celebrated by growing two more teeth in the top middle (total count= 4 teeth). She is also sleeping pretty much through the night (6:30pm-6:30am) without interruption. Her favorite activities include playing in Big Sister's room, swinging on her new swingset, laughing, eating fruit, holding her own bottle, exploring the house and even eating a dogfood kibble now and then. She is our little smiley pride and joy. Regardless of level of tiredness, time of day, ache or pain, Claire always has a smile. We love our little Bear. Enjoy these pictures from today. Family: expect to receive copies in the mail within the coming weeks.

Standing so tall. It won't be long before she walks.
Claire can crawl at the speed of light.

Just precious. Come see me!

Progressive Neighborhood

At one time or another you have probably heard us talk about our super-fun neighborhood. We are blessed to live in a neighborhood with many couples our age who also have small children. Besides the monthly bunco and poker festivities, we also partake in the now famous "Neighborhood Progressive Dinner". A large group of friends (mostly neighbors and a few neighbors who have mistakenly moved out of our hood) move from house to house partaking in drinks and goodies until the wee hours of the morning. For this dinner, our home was the "appetizer house". We offered several types of fresh bruschetta, homemade pesto and even homemade hummus (Rob was the chef on this night). Thanks, Rob! The drink of the evening prepared by me, bartender Lori, was a cranberry spritzer: vodka, cran and Sprite. Simply refreshing! The other fabulous homes served yummies as well. Here is a picture of the lovely ladies of the evening. We missed those of you who couldn't make it! Until next time! Cheers!

January in Review

Time flies! Life at the Z house has been anything but dull. From the holiday lull... to the Super Bowl... and everything in-between, it has been one busy month. Here are a few highlights.

Lilly and her best buddy Hannah on the way to the park. While we were there, three people asked me if they were twins.

Playing with cousins Courtney and Nathan. Though they only live a short drive away in Scottsdale, we don't see them often enough. Courtney and Lilly are one month apart in age.

Claire was quite the party animal at Rafael's 2nd birthday party. She especially loved the whipped icing on his birthday cake. YUM!

All smiles with baby Mel. Shawn and Amy Lorg and new baby Mariah joined us for the Super Bowl. Lilly loves MEL (Mariah Elizabeth Lorg, get it?) She is a welcomed addition to our Wildcat family. One day, Claire and Mel will share a dormroom (or sorority house) at KSU. :)

Vroom Vroom Vroom

Vroom vroom...
If you listen closely you may be able to hear Hannah and Lilly cruising our neighborhood in Hannah's new Escalade. It's quite the sight to see the two youngsters roaming the culdesac while listening to mariachi music. Watch out... their driving skills aren't exactly up to par. You may lose a foot, a toe or come away with a bruise or two if you get too close.

Lilly is quite fond of our neighbor, Hannah. It's convenient that she lives directly across the street and that they both attend Tiny Toes. Hannah's parents are graduates of the University of Nebraska (nice rival of our beloved KSU) and Shelly was a Theta (just like me). So, including our young daughters, we have lots in common with The Huckfeldts.

The girls are really too cute for words. This weekend Lilly accompanied Hannah to her dance class. I'm doubtful that Lilly is a born ballerina. Instead, I think she sincerly enjoys the company of her little buddy that lives so conveniently across the street. There are many more adventures to come, I'm sure. Stay tuned and watch out!

Happy 2009!

We hope you enjoyed every second of your holiday celebration. We did!
We were thrilled to welcome Nana for Christmas and Grandpa Stan for the week between Christmas and New Years. Lilly and Claire were ultra spoiled with 2 weeks of grandparents! It took Lilly awhile to get used to "life as usual" with just mom and dad once our guests departed. Claire also had a fabulous first Christmas. This was the first year that Lilly had a clue as to what was happening throughout the holiday. She was very eager to celebrate Jesus's birthday, open presents and join in all the festivities.

We welcome 2009 and all the excitement it will bring. We look forward to...
** Claire's first birthday celebration in April
** A trip home to Kansas sometime this summer
** A trip to San Diego sometime this spring to visit Shamu and friends.
** A trip to the Polar Express next winter
** A finished dissertation and potential graduation for Lori?? (Cross your fingers!)

May the coming new year bring you health, security, joy and faith. We look forward to sharing more adventures with you.

Please click on the photo to view our December slide show.