GOAL!!!!!!!!

I bribed with M & M's for this pose.













































Ziga loves to twist up the chains and let go. To think, I taught him how to do that!















We've been doing a lot with dominoes this week.
















Somebody is tired......



Ziga and I took advantage of the thrilling rise in temperature today to head outside and get a little Vitamin D & fresh air. Grandma had gotten him an ESPN soccer goal that yells "GOAL!" every time you kick the ball in. I also included some other pics from earlier this week. Other news: after consulting with our Parent Educator I decided we are going to cut out Ziga's naps for the time being. He just doesn't need that much sleep and he is raring to go at 9:30 PM if he takes a nap. This was day one, and he went down without a fight at 8:30 sharp. It was a beautiful thing.

Bro & Sis cuddle time

Zala enjoyed her apples & cherries

Ziga got pancakes for breakfast for staying in his bed ALL NIGHT!

Ziga & Zala play great together.

Can't Stop this Train

"I'm stuck!"---Ziga, while climbing into Zala's crib.

Lately, Ziga's vocabulary and language skills and overall independence are blowing my mind. Everyday, several times a day, I am amazed at how he is maturing. I am amazed, proud, and.....a little panicked. Time is going by waaaaaay too fast. I'm going to take the lead from Jamie and Heather and start posting the more about what Ziga is saying and doing, things I'm afraid I'm going to forget.

So: the last two weeks, these are words/phrases that Ziga has learned to say, clearly, with the correct meaning: "maybe, a little bit", "maybe, later (said when I asked him if he was ready to clean up play-doh and take a bath)", "sometimes", "comin' right up!" (learned this from Grandpa perhaps?), "dinosaurs/monsters/ghosts are comin'!"(followed by door slam), "Oce's workin' downstairs in basement", and other sentences that seem way too long for my little guy to be saying. He plays hide and seek with Janez and understand how the furnace makes air warm and pushes it out through the vents around our house. He picks out his own outfits, and most of the time I would let him out of the house in what he picks out.

Other accomplisments: toilet training is complete. It is very rare that Ziga has an accident now, and he is able to go into the bathroom by himself, take his pants down, get on the potty, and sometimes wipe if the situation calls for it. He is so proud of himself--"I can DO it!" he says. He can. He can do a lot. And he'll keep doing more, at alarming rates, and I'm not complaining. We're so blessed to have such healthy, beautiful kids. And as much as I miss working, I wouldn't trade staying at home for the world. And I know I can't freeze time. And, I can take comfort because I will get to re-live the baby days through Zala, who is also getting so big, so fast.

So, I have that John Mayer song in my head "Can't stop this train......I can't take the speed it's movin' in...I know I can, 'cause now I see, I'll never stop this train."

Wintertime Fun

Zala is loving her exersaucer

Lindsay got Ziga a Play-Doh Activity Center for Christmas--he loves it!

Lindsay and Avery came over for a visit on Friday. Avery is getting so big and SMILES!! Janez and I agree it is like we are looking at a little Steve.

Ziga enjoyed his first hot cocoa after our brief time playing outside.

Hmm. It's just not the same with snow and below freezing temperatures. Let's go inside.

All bundled up! What do we do now?

Ok, well, not everyone would call 20 degrees FUN, but we have been trying to make the best of our first winter back. The cold spell last week sent some snow our way and we decided to put Ziga's new snowsuit (thanks Dad & Jolene!) to use. On Saturday, we met Jamie & Kohen, Heather & Emily, & Gina, Lyndon, and Amelia at Wonderscope in Shawnee. I forgot my camera that day but Jamie posted some pics to her blog. Follow the link: http://millerfamilymissouri.blogspot.com/2009/01/wonderscope.html

Random pics

Ziga loves to model the Sporting Up apparell, esp. the stocking caps.

I always thought Ziga resembled Steve in some way and just couldn't put my finger on it. In this pic, I think he looks so much like him, esp. with the beenie on!


Ziga's first video game--Janez dug out Super Mario Brothers. Guess what song I had in my head ALL DAY LONG????????

We went to Emporia on Sunday to celebrate Polona's 3rd birthday party--had a fanstastic time!

Anxiously awaiting the cake....

Princess Polona thanking Ziga for her gift

Matevz is so silly with a balloon in his shirt!


Photo art: That bright orange zig zag on the left was the moon as we were driving back from Emporia on Sunday night. It was HUGE and orange. And it was small and white by the time we got home. Too cool.


So, after several weeks worth of Ziga not sleeping well (and thus, no one sleeping well), but otherwise acting totally normal, I took him to get his cough checked out today. Sounds like he has a bit of a sinus infection. I finally bought some over-the-counter cough medicine--FYI, Mucinex for kids you can give to kids 2 and up. Let's hope it works for his cough tonight. I am TIRED. Zala continues her marathon teeth-cutting, with no tooth apparent yet. I'm hoping she wakes up tomorrow with a tooth that magically appears!

New Year's Resolutions

Ziga appears to be going through a "shy" phase which includes not talking to anyone on the phone, and disliking having his handiwork photographed. Pictured above his Play-Doh toast. It looks purple because white and brown have been so well mixed together than an entirely new color was formed. The Play-Doh kitchen set was a fantastic gift from Janez's parents. HOURS of entertainment. Highly recommended.

The kids and I were in pajamas until noon on Monday. It was fun, and Ziga played with Zala really well in his new favorite place, his parents' bed.

Smiley and content.

Like I said, Ziga's new favorite place. I am betting on a 4:00AM visit.

So, Santa brought Ziga this fantastic tunnel/tent ensemble. Later on Christmas day some uncle figures who shall remain nameless taught Ziga how to walk around while inside the tunnel. So, while he does not care to crawl inside the tunnel, he does walk around the kitchen in the morning, inside the tunnel, and tries to scare Zala (she just laughs) by telling her that "dinosaurs are coming!"

A New Year for the blog! Yes, folks, that's right, my plan is to post about 3 times a week. I know you're all thinking, "Ali, it's late, you need to go to bed. Obviously you're speaking from exhaustion, because you haven't posted since NOVEMBER!!!" True, my friends. But--New Year, New Me. I will be wearing my retainer. Going to the gym. Eating my broccoli. Answering emails in a timely fashion (try not to laugh at that one). And, posting to the blog regularly. To kick off the new year (yeah, I know, I know-- I'm already a little tardy, since it is already January 8th) I'm going to post some pics I took of the kids. I welcome harassment, subtle, and not-so, about posting more regularly, so feel free to er, comment.