Zavoral Villa!

Everyday, Tanner is doing something new. The past 2-3 weeks seem to have been an explosion of new skills. Here's a few of his recent developments.  Sits up for long periods of time without any assistance. We even try to push him over and he stays up! Grabs feet and pulls them up to his chest. It started with just grabbing the toes of his right foot, then the whole foot, then both feet. Pretty soon they'll be in his mouth! Spots an object and reaches toward it slowly with pure intent, then grabs it and tries to bring to his mouth. Depending on how big it is, he can hold it long enough to on it. He can do this in our lap and sitting up on the ground Grabs our plates at the dinner table.  Reaches to type on the keyboard. Squeals, gurgles, and coughs for fun Watches his Daddy everytime that Daddy talks or makes a new sound (like coughing, grunting, hooting at the ball-game, etc) Looks around the house in the evening, almost like he wonders where his Daddy is Grabs the pages of boo...

 Tanner's first Thanksgiving was a fun, relaxing day with just the three of us.  Tanner loved these Thanksgiving dolls as much as I do! Our feast!  I love Tanner's little face in this picture- "can we eat now?" Notice Tanner's high chair? He's been sitting in it since he was little to watch us work in the kitchen, but we had to start using the tray this week because he is getting good at arching his back while sitting in it. The tray helps keep him in and lets us put toys in front of him.  We had Hormel peppered turkey, boiled yams with cinnamon, mashed potatoes, fresh green bean casserolle (I used Paula Dean's recipe-YUM), broccoli, and autumn butternut squash casserolle with Hormel cinnamon apples.   Tanner got really cranky while we ate, so I put him on my lap. He kept reaching for the food, so I let him taste a tiny bit of gravy.  He was so happy!  After our feast, we went to the beach!  The tide was perfect for photos- a thin layer ...

Our very, very good friends, the Beauchamps, were in LA for a family wedding, so we got to spend a fun-filled day with them on Nov 12!! We were so excited because it's been two years since we saw them in Charlotte, North Carolina. Even though we live on completely opposite sides of the country, I'm so glad that we still manage to stay in touch with them. They are amazing examples to us, and we always feel so uplifted when we talk with or see them.   Ryan and Jeremy were RA's together in the dorms at BYU. Now they get to be dads together! Chelsea and I became good friends when Ryan and Chelsea started dating. Now we share all kinds of fun ideas about being good mommies and raising our children in the gospel. I get so many awesome ideas from Chelsea! A few weeks ago, I tried her laundry idea and it has changed my life!! I put a load in the wash every morning. Then at lunch or when I get home from work, I switch it to the dryer. Then at night, while we watch TV, I fold and p...

(the pics have nothing to do with the post) Our family survived my first week of work!! The first day was perfect. Tanner and I had time to cuddle in bed before getting ready. The whole morning was stress free, and dropping him off was great! I didn't get emotional--probably because the traffic kept me distracted. Work was super fun because all the kids and teachers were really excited to see me. While teaching, I was again reminded why I feel so guided by the Lord to be a teacher! Pumping breast milk in my office has also gone really well. I pump three times a day, and when I pick Tanner up, I drop off the fresh milk at the daycare for them to use on the next day. I just have to make sure to keep rotating the bottles and nipples. I forgot bottles to pump milk into on Friday, so I had to go to the drugstore to get some!    Wednesday was the hardest day for me. The reality of not seeing Tanner for most of the day and the week really set in. One thing that I didn't anticipate ab...

Well, the wonderful 5 months of my maternity leave has come to an end. (and it truly has been wonderful!) Tomorrow is my first day back at work. It will be bitter sweet because I have made such an awesome, special bond with Tanner, but I also can't wait to be making music again with my students. Honestly, I feel a lot of peace about going back to work. This is something that Jeremy and I have talked, fasted and prayed about in great detail numerous times. Since I made the decision back in April to return full-time to teaching, I have felt very calm about it. I am going to miss Tanner terribly, and I will probably cry all the way to work tomorrow, but I know he is in wonderful hands! I really believe that Heavenly Father has been paving the way for me to be able to go back to work. For one thing, my employers have been amazing with accommodating my schedule, paycheck and work environment, making it possible for me to work and be a mom at the same time. Also, I was able to find an ex...

We have season passes to Universal Studios. (Thanks to Gramz and Grampz!!) I'm really starting to like having season passes to things. We can enjoy the park a lot more knowing that we can come back.  This past Saturday, we rolled into the park at 2:00pm after sleeping in, taking our time with break fast, getting Tanner ready, and eating out for lunch. We did the studio tour again (which we've learned is different every time depending on what sets they are filming on), did a ride (the wait was only 15 minutes! Jeremy went while I waited with Tanner) and then we watched a show (we just walked right in, no line! I breastfed Tanner in the dark). We left the park at 5:30, used a gift card for dinner at Chipotle, and made it home in time for Jeremy to play church basketball. It was a perfect day!  Tanner is big enough to ride the bjorn on our back! He was a little angel the whole time. He hardly peeped a single complaint. (notice Tanner's hair, or lack thereof?)  I love Ta...

Tanners eyes were black when he was born. Now they have lightened up a lot. Here's what his eyes looked like at the beginning of October. I can't quite decide what color this is. Any opinions? It will be interesting to see if they change more as he gets older.

I turned 28 in October!! Jeremy was still 27. I love being older than him for 6 whole days. We were in Sacramento, so the family took us to Chevy's.  Then, Jeremy turned 28 (finally! what a youngin!)  His birthday cheesecake had 28 candles...sort of. The giant "z" is for Zavoral and also represents the number 2 (from 28). And there are 8 "no flame" candles around it. I invented them out of drinking straws!  Tanner's tongue showed up a lot in October. For about 2 solid weeks, every smile had a tongue with it. He started sticking it out while we were in Sacramento. I think he liked feeling his gums with his tongue.  Tanner's finger nails grow so fast, I can hardly keep up with cutting them. Can you see the scar he gave himself?  Tan Man's hair has fallen out a lot, but he still has some strong patches of hair on his right side. One night, I decided to make baby dreadlocks with them!  Tanner has a strong set of abs. Now he can sit up in the rocking chai...