12.28.2010

New Year - New Look

It was time for a little remodeling. If you know me, I thrive on good ol' change. My house gets rearranged quarterly (at least) and my wardrobe needs updating from time to time, even my hair gets chopped off every other year or so. Ha! Anyway, the blog needed a new look. Not too far from the old look, but an updated pic and a slightly new background. Enjoy!

Also, take a look at our ALL NEW family photos. Crissy Bayless, of Bayless Photography, came through again with some great shots of the Zbeebs. Hope you like them - and Happy New Year!

12.27.2010

Merry Christmas

A Merry Christmas indeed... for more pics, click here!








Thank you, Santa

For bringing my first remote control car... among many other things!


12.14.2010

Happy Holidays!

Click on timeline to make it appear larger.


12.10.2010

Asa visits with Santa

Well, he didn't smile, but he didn't cry... a step in the right direction.



12.02.2010

Thanksgiving Thanks!

After yesterday's gore, I decided to take a lighter approach to today's post. We are getting super excited for the holiday season, but wanted to thank all those that made our Thanksgiving a great week! Love y'all.




12.01.2010

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Warning: the following blog post contains graphic images of the Mohs surgery performed on my right temple yesterday. If you are squeamish, look no further! If you are indeed curious, consider yourself forewarned!

Pre-surgery:

Marked up for the hacking:

First round of digging:

Didn't get it all, so a second round was required (fun!):

Getting stitched up:

Post-op care instructions:

Pressure bandage that had to be worn for 24 hours -
Asa was not a big fan:

Post-op Day 1 -
a good facial reconstructive surgeon puts the scar in the hairline (nice!):
Well, friends, let this be a lesson - if you have little ones, lather them up with sunscreen every time you go out. Most of your lifetime's sun exposure happens under the age of 18. I haven't gotten burned in years - heck, I hadn't really been out in the sun much until Asa came along. At any rate, now that I have had this spot, I am predisposed for more to come. Lovely. Friends don't let friends get sunburn - share your SPF! :-)

11.29.2010

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was spent in chilly Lexington, KY, but the weather didn't stop us from having fun. We enjoyed spending time with all our cousins, aunts, uncles, and grands! We also loved seeing the horses and cows on nearly every car ride and even getting a chance to see some horses up close and personal. For more pics, click here! Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, too.




11.14.2010

Great Day in Grant Park

Started at Oakland Cemetery


Hung outside Cyclorama

Ended at Zoo Atlanta



Great Day in Grant Park!

11.12.2010

Thank You, Jiddo and Grandma Jane

Asa always loves opening presents. Thank you to Jiddo and Grandma Jane for the belated birthday gifts! The popcorn packaging was a big hit... but the vet kit really took the cake.



Books are always winners at this house, too!


Thank You, Yia-Yia

Asa received a belated birthday gift from Yia-Yia. He was super excited about the Choo-Choo book! And he told me to save his money for a rainy day! Thanks, Yia-Yia.


This Game Could Have Gone On FOREVER!

Asa's really into repetition!


10.31.2010

Happy Halloween Birthday!

Started out a cheeseburger - became a birthday party guest - left a cowboy! Happy Birthday, Miller. Can't wait to celebrate many more...






For more Halloween and birthday pics, click here!

10.29.2010

Excited to GO...

... but didn't know what to do when they got there!


Asa and his best buddy Davis - at the Atlanta Botanical Garden!

10.26.2010

Birthdays = Festivals, Gardens, Parties, and Checkups


Well, well, well.... Asa turned two this past Saturday - and what a wild weekend we had. We celebrated for days. First up, on Friday his school had the annual Fall Festival where Asa and his buddies dressed up in costume and played games.

Saturday, we did our normal morning park routine, enjoyed a visit with Ann, took a long nap (a great 'unbirthday' present to Mama and Dada), had breakfast for lunch, and then headed to the Botanical Gardens for some awesome garden fun! We managed to get in a trip to the Farmer's Market, head home for dinner and a bath, then round out our day with the typical book end! Ha!

Sunday was another jam packed day with preparation of the big party. Asa had his friends (and some of Mom and Dad's friends, too) over for some monkeying around, along the usual fam. A big jumpy house, lots of toys, plenty of dirt and dogs, kept the kids busy. Asa received so many gifts and is busy writing his thank you notes... you know, he is a very advanced child.


Today rounded out the weekend with the typical visit to the doctor. Birthdays always mean checkups - unfortunately for Asa. I don't really have stats to provide... we were told Asa is off the charts for weight, height, and head circumference (i.e. bigger than most or nearly all 2-year-olds). So, the doctor went to the body mass index measurement to be sure it, too, wasn't off the charts - then we'd have a problem. Luckily, we were alright there. Asa's BMI was just under the 85th percentile. The doc assured us that we are good parents, after all. Woohoo! Just take down the milk from 2% to skim and ease up on the cheese - both going to be much harder than they sound. Other than that, Asa will surely be more active in the next year or two and thin out on his own.

Oh Mama's boy - so much to love... can't believe he's already two. Although according to him, when asked how old are you, he says "No two, Mama!"


10.21.2010

Books & Ice Cream

Asa's personal heaven!

10.19.2010

Leaving the House

Nearly everything for Asa is a routine... including leaving the house. He makes sure to say goodbye to the dogs every time we walk out. This morning, sounds like he and Dada used their funny voices for this ritual. Enjoy!

10.11.2010

Riley's Costume Birthday Party

First, we got our pirate on...



Then, we got our drum on...



Happy Birthday, Riley!

It's Not All Fun and Games, Folks

Sometimes we gotta show the "other" side of parenting on our home videos...

10.07.2010

School Photography: Can someone improve on this?


Yesterday, the school photographer had 4 beautifully skirted tables lined up with photos on perfect display to sell to eager parents. As I walked up, I was excited to see the shots of my little man. I looked around at other kids' photos and saw that each child had three poses to choose from and that got me even more excited: greater odds of a good pic! The photographer asked me my child's last name and then she pulled out a huge packet full of pre-printed photos. I thumbed through the pages and only saw Ace in one pose (and it was just 'okay' - not a smiling shot). I asked the photographer how come Asa was only in one pose in this packet and she said, "Oh, your last name is Zbeeb - he must have been the last to go in the group and he was probably not very cooperative." NICE SELLING LADY!!! I told her she could keep her packet of nearly 20 pre-printed pages of 8x10s, 5x7s, even calendars and "wallet sizes for the grandparents". If you are going to take pictures of children, esp. toddlers!, you should be more organized and prepared than to have the little ones sitting around waiting for everyone else to get their picture taken. Bad business. In the end, I did break down and purchase one 5x7 because the 'Mama voice' in my head said I wouldn't want to be scrolling through his baby book one day and not see a Toddler school pic. Ugh! They get you every time. Someone should really fix the school photo biz - they'd make a killing, not that they don't already!

10.04.2010

Rounding out a JAM-PACKED weekend...

... this pic says it all - guess who's OVER IT! :-)