Please allow me to intrduce Maya Joleen Zaske...

On December 29, 2008 at 12:00 midnight, our family became a family of four. Maya Joleen Zaske was born. She was scheduled to be born at 9:30 that morning, but she decided not to allow her mother and father choose her time to enter the world. She wanted to make her own entrance. She has dark hair and dark eyes and reminds her daddy of her mommy. Below is a short little video of her.

Her older brother is visiting with his grandparents during this transition time for the family. Soon, most likely tomorrow (the first day of 2009), he will be introduced to his sister. I am sure that he will be a wonderful older brother.

Christmas Eve 2008 - Canon says Hello...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

We are still here

I am terrible at this blogging thing but I'm gonna try it again. We scheduled our c-section for 12/29 @ 9:30 in the am. WOW, it sure makes it real once you schedule it.

We are currently trying to get Canon into his toddler bed. I think this is the 4th night that he's gone to sleep in his "bed". The other morning it was so cute, I said to Bill nothing from the little boy yet and then all of the sudden I heard the little feet hit the floor and then pitter patter, the door swings open and he comes bounding out. It was one of the most precious moments I will cherish.

He is an all out train-freak. Thomas everything. It is cute and he keeps us busy and entertained all of the time. I think he'll be a great big brother and it should be a fun ride.

Trying to blog again!

Well I am back after a long blog sabbatical! hee hee. I last blogged in May - OMG! That's like 4 months ago.

In case there are still people that don't know and read my blog - Canon is going to be a big brother! I am due January 4th. I am feeling pretty good. It is definitely interesting the second time around when you have a toddler to keep you going. There are not as many naps and not a lot of time to just veg out. Oh well, he is my precious little boy. I wouldn't change him for anything.

We just got back from the fair and Canon loved the goats, sheep, horses, and cows. He was NOT so crazy about the pigs and refuses to oink. He does all the other sounds but no oinks, oh well. I realized that I don't particularly care for the squeal of pigs - what an awful sound!

We ate fair food, hung out with friends and family, and visited the tractors at least twice a day. I am glad to be back home because now we can focus on what we need to do before "Sweet Pea" arrives.

We are not going to find out what the sex of the baby is but lots of people are thinking and hoping girl. We have an ultrasound on the 27th of the month and I can't wait for that. I want to make sure all parts and pieces are accounted for and functioning properly.

One dilemma we are dealing with is where to put everyone in the house. We have a bungalow and we used to be upstairs until I was 6 months preggo with Canon and then we moved downstairs. We were thinking of moving Canon upstairs and putting the baby in the nursery and then staying in our bedroom but we just don't know. The more we think about it the more we think we should move back upstairs. I wish I could just be on the same level as my babies but I don't have that option so we'll just have to wait and see. I am sure it will all work out in the end.

Okay, I must go now, take care everyone!

HUGE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

Bill passed his LEED exam. He is now certified in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. His office bought him a really cool spiky plant to celebrate that he passed. He says he has more letters behind his name now.

Here is a blurb about LEED. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.

Canon is doing so much now. His favorite word is ball. Everything is ball, if it's found it's a ball. He is so much fun. He is walking like a pro now. He loves his basketball hoop and like I said anything that is a ball.

We took family pictures on Friday so I can't wait to get those back. I will maybe post one when I get them.

I wanted to blog since it's been SO long. I am going to try to be more up-to-date on it but we'll see.

We are going up to the UP this weekend to go see Canon's new cousin, Charlee. She was born on April 30, was 7 lbs. 5.2 oz and was 20 inches long (Canon was 20 inches long too). I will hopefully have some pictures of the two of them together but we'll see.

Take care everyone!

Big boy actions

I taught Canon to put his clothes in his hamper last night. He is getting to be quite the little helper. I ask him to hand me stuff and he does it. One of his favorite toys is the phone. I think this is just the cutest picture!

Down below is him in his gator. Daddy is also pointing out things to him in it. Too funny! I wonder if he'll even be able to use it this summer!

We got the Trailblazer back yesterday and it is just like new. They did a great job and would definitely use them again.

Well that is all I can think of for now so blog ya later.

LATER, GATOR!

So, March is here! Yea!!! SHAMROCK SHAKE TIME!!! Bill was in DC for the first weekend of March. He went there for a conference or seminar on science labs in schools or something like that. Exciting huh, I guess not. Their plane ended up leaving late because of deicing and then one guy's plane hit the deicing truck, yikes! They all got there in one piece though ;0) Canon and I stayed home and hung out. Aunt Beth & Uncle Conor came over and brought us Chinese food and some good wine. They played and cuddled with Canon and then we put him to bed and stayed up and visited. It was a really nice time and I've missed them a lot.


Saturday I got up and went to 2 mom2mom's with my friend Sam. Her husband Chris stayed home and watched the boys, Alex and Canon. He said Canon cried for 20 minutes when I left but then he pulled out the graham crackers and all was better. Brooke has been telling us that Canon is possessive with toys and Chris confirmed that. We really need to work on sharing, I hope it's just an age thing. Bill and I play with him and he takes away the toys we've been playing with too. Oh well it's something to acknowledge and improve upon. I found some toys and some clothes at the mom2moms. I took Canon home put him down for a nap and then we got up and went to Westborn and I got dinner and some other stuff. We went home and ate and played and that was it. It was a rough night, Canon was crying and wanted to be held so I didn't get much sleep but oh well.


Bill got home on Sunday and we decided to go to Somerset. The baby and kids sale was going on @ Gymboree and I had a coupon so I wanted to go. Bill & Canon went to Stride-Rite to get Canon measured for shoes and he went from a 4m in September to a 4.5w in March. That isn't too bad. After that we went to McD's and got shamrock shakes and went to Arbys to get Arbys melts and mozza sticks. Canon actually ate some roast beef and ham for dinner. This is a rarity because his diet consists of graham crackers, milk, yogurt, apple slices, bananas, and fruit cups. We were excited. It was a nice time.


Nothing much happened during the week just work and getting my clients back on their feet. Friday we went to Cost Plus World Market because they are going out of business and I wanted to look at tables. We have been thinking about replacing the dining room table with a round one. We found a table we liked but had the rental car so we couldn't fit it. We are thinking on it. The chairs that go with it are SO expensive so we are not for sure. We got some cool glasses and some other misc stuff.


Saturday morning I went to a mom2mom with Sam and got back a little later than I was supposed to. I got some great stuff this time, its a good thing Sam brought the truck ;0) Bill was not impressed since we had pictures and it was snowing and I was later than I should have been. However, Canon was still sleeping when I got back. He went down at 9 and didn't get up till 11:30. Our pictures were in Rochester Hills so we were a couple minutes late. We called and let the studio know though. We got there and we changed Canon into his first outfit. We went to this studio because a work friend referred me and they use real animals for Easter. They had 2 chicks, a lamb, and a bunny. Canon tried to kiss the bunny but wasn't sure about the chicks or the lamb. I think he did better with the pictures in the beginning. The photographer told us that with the braver kids sometimes we can get the chicks to sit on their shoulder. We thought that would be cute so we tried it. NOPE! The chick started flapping trying to fly off and then Canon was swatting at it trying to get it off. It was funny to us but he was upset and crying, poor little guy. He got his revenge though he starting beaming the chick on the head with the Easter egg that he had in his hand, poor chick. I think after that we decided we were done and it all took less than an hour. We should have the proofs back within 10 days to 2 weeks so we will have them for Easter. I CAN'T WAIT!


Sunday I stayed home and cleaned and tried to reorganize. We took our floor rug out of the dining room because it was getting food smashed into it and all kinds of other stuff. We now have just the hardwood in there and I think it'll be easier to clean! I did a ton of laundry and ran the dishwasher like 3 times, we just played catch up and it was nice. Bill went to Home Depot to look at basement stuff so he is ready to jump back into that - woo hoo! I am SO excited!



So speaking of dishwasher, Canon knows how to open it by pushing up the lever and does it everytime after I start it. He is a smart little tike! I just take him in the other room and distract him so my dishes will get clean ;0)


I was talking to Bill and telling him that at the mom2mom sale they had the motorized cars. They had a Jeep and a Big Jake construction one. I told him I liked Big Jake but Canon was a bit young for one yet so I decided not to get it for him. Bill then said that he wanted to get him a John Deere Gator so I was like oh, okay. I went to Craig's List for grins and typed in gator and lo and behold there was one for sale in Brighton. I emailed the seller and asked if they still had it and they said yes. We told them we could be out there that afternoon to pick it up so we got it. Bill & Mickey took the van and used the stow and go to go get it. When they got home we took Canon outside and sat him in it and pushed the pedal. I think it scared him but he is still little yet but he continued to sit in it and daddy showed him how to play with it and he laughed and smiled. It should be interesting when he is ready to drive it around, hopefully mommy and daddy will be able to keep up!


He is also walking all over now! We were not sure when it was going to happen but he's been walking more and more since the middle of February. It is the cutest thing. We love it! He is also testing us more with standing on chairs and not listening to us. He has his music chair taken away almost daily. I hope he catches on to this soon. He gives kisses and hugs and is just so much fun!

Two Posts in One Month - WOW!

Wow, so if January wasn't a bad enough month February didn't go so well either. On February 8th, I stayed home with Canon because he threw up like 3 or 4 times in the early morning and I knew we couldn't send him to daycare! Bill earned major brownie points with me during this because he let him lay on his chest and even got thrown up on. He then decided to put a towel down. I got up and changed sheets and did laundry. Not fun.

I stayed home in the morning but had to go into work in the afternoon to get some stuff done. I worked from 2-6 and it was a crappy drive in. I ended up leaving the bldg at 6 and it took me like 15 minutes to clean the trailblazer off. Anyways, I decided to take the backroads because I figured that the expressway would be horrible! I was about 15 minutes into my drive when all of a sudden I saw a van coming at me and I'm like "omg this guy is going to hit me" and he did, head on! I was not hurt at all but my glasses flew off to give you an idea of how hard I was hit!!! My airbag didn't go off either which is amazingI have never wanted to punch someone SO badly in my life and then 911 couldn't figure out if I was in Pontiac or Auburn Hills - HOW FRUSTRATING!!! Thank goodness I didn't need medical attention! I called Bill and then him and Canon got in the van and came and got me. What an awful night! We found out later that my trailblazer had $11,500 worth of damage and were surprised yet elated that it wasn't totalled!

We stopped at Wendy's after the accident to get dinner because Bill had made dinner but turned the oven off and left it in there with all the commotion, poor guy! We got home at about 8:30 and called the moms and dads and told them what happened and all that. The next day I didn't have to go to work since it was my day off because the backup daycare was going to Sesame Street Live and Canon was going there all week because Owen had bronchialitis that was contagious and required breathing treatments. Originally I had taken Friday because Brooke was taking Ian and Owen to Sesame Street. Sesame Street Live kind of cramped my style that week ;0)

Well thank goodness I didn't go to work cuz Canon was still feeling kind of blah and around 3:00 I started feeling like there was someone drilling a hole in my stomach, a searing pain. I thought I had food poisoning. I threw up 2 times within 15 minutes for the first time in years and then I called Bill and told him and asked if he could come home and watch Canon because I was sick. I couldn't decide whether to sit on the toilet or bend over the toilet every hour on the hour from 3-11 pm. The next day I just ate Ritz crackers and drank Coke and did that for 2 days and then slowly went back to regular food. I still haven't ate at Wendys! Bill came down with it on Saturday but luckily him and Canon had a small case of it!

Can't think of much else until Valentines Day. We ordered ribs and cheesy bread and salad for dinner and I had a couple glasses of wine. I forgot how nice that was!! Canon got a Corduroy valentines book and a laugh and learn vacuum. He hates our vacuum so I thought this might help him get over that. He does like it and the songs it sings. Bill got a wallet, Itunes gift card and book. I got my favorite stuff, Life is Good, a wallet (too funny) and sleep shirt <- so comfy!

We went up north that weekend and saw both families. It was a good time. I was supposed to help get ready for the shower but Katie and Dawn already took care of that, lucky me! Grandma & Grandpa L got Canon got a cute stuffed bear and a big boy book that I put up in his closet for when he's older. He tends to tear up books if they aren't board books and especially likes to pull off the flaps on flip-up books!

Then I had the next 2 days off so Canon and I hung out. It was a good time. We had Bill's birthday and went out to Applebees and Canon was flirting with every woman in the restaurant, especially the little girl at the table next to him. I think they were about the same age. Her mom told her to say hi and then a minute later she did and I told Canon to wave and a minute later he did, talk about your delayed reactions. It was a good birthday, Bill got the electronic monopoly game, a Kenneth Cole briefcase, patchwork shorts that match Canon's, a ringer tee, and a cool Corona hat and t-shirt. The Corona hat is for PUNTA CANA!!! Woo hoo! 1 month, 1 week, and 5 days! Not that I'm counting down or anything. Hope you can see my count down ticker on my blog. I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to get it on here ;0)

Abbie's shower was last weekend, she got a lot of nice stuff and some fun stuff. I got her all bath & ducky stuff! Canon's little cousin should have fun bath stuff too! She is a girl and is expected on April 28th! Maybe I will put a ticker on the blog for that too! Our theme was pink and brown. We got pink and brown balloons and then tied brown ribbons around pink boxes and stacked them on cake plates on the tables. The boxes were also filled with pink and silver candy. My mom-in-law said that she liked pink and brown because a girl and is pink and there is going to be a lot of poo - brown. Too funny!

On Sunday we got up and had a big breakfast and then put Canon in the car for his morning nap and left for the trip home. We were going to stop at Birch Run because I decided I needed to buy a pant suit for my downtown clients. Canon and I slept through Birch Run so we stopped at Great Lakes Crossing and I found one at TJ Maxx and then bought a car shade for the van because I didn't realize I didn't have one until our trip home when Canon was crying because the sun was in his eyes, poor little guy!

So it was a good weekend and has been a long week! We did a reorg at work and the two new applications I support have been dead in the water since Monday. I am trying to figure out what will fix it but it's quite perplexing! I think one of our dlls got clobbered and the only way to fix is reformat and reload all applications :0( My clients are busy right now and are giving me resistance so I am trying to compromise with them. At least we have a resolution now! Hopefully I still get Monday off!

Canon is walking more and more everyday now. Its so fun to watch. He'll just stand up and start walking and then sometimes plop right down again. He is so cute! Bill took him to the grocery store the other day and all he wanted has a banana. He didn't understand that they weren't ripe yet and Bill said everyone in the store felt sorry for him (Bill) because Canon was acting so bad. I laughed because usually he's a perfect angel for daddy ;0)

Last night was the best. We were changing Canon, a 2 person job anymore it seems, and we were getting him ready for his bath so we let him go naked while the bath water was running. He came in the bathroom and was waiting and then all of the sudden Bill felt something leaking and lo and behold it was Canon and he was peeing on his sock! Bill was like, EWWWW, he just peed on me. I don't even think Canon realized it. I was laughing SO hard! Bill is such a good sport. We then gave him his bath and read him stories and put him to bed.

Well, that is my long update on what has been going on with the Zaske family. Take care everyone! I will be updating the pictures on the blog soon!

TGIF - Thank Goodness its February & January is Over!!!!!!!!

It has been so long since I have blogged and I have been missing it. I read everyone else's so they should be able to read mine too!



Canon is almost 16 months now (Saturday he will be 16 months). He is still not walking by himself. He would rather crawl and talk than walk. He is cuter than ever! He is 30 inches tall and 21 lbs 12 oz and in sizes 12-18 mo, 12 mo, & 18 mo. 18 mo is mostly for shirts. I don't know when he'll grow into the 18 mo pants ;0)



Well we did it! We started out the new year of 2008 with a minivan! I can't believe it myself but it is loaded and is red-orange w/heated seats! I like it a lot but the Trailblazer will always hold that special place in my heart and I still drive it sometimes.



We also are finishing the basement. We have one side done and the other more difficult side to go. We bought some new brown leather furniture for the entertainment room and moved the big tv down there. The upstairs former living room now has more space and is more like a sitting/visiting room. There is a little tv for Bill & Canon to watch the news in the morning but other than that there is a toy bin area and lots of pictures on the walls ;0)



Canon can do so much now. He turns the light switches on and off and will hand things to you and even help you pick up things. We are still working on picking up the toys. He does high fives and waves goodbye.



We are really working on him pointing to body parts because he didn't do well in that area of his 15 month check up. He was however gesturing and asking "What's that" and all kinds of other things to show off to the pediatrician. She said he is a perfectly healthy little boy who just doesn't want to walk yet or doesn't have enough confidence to try it by himself yet. We really like her she's younger and has a 2 year old and really seems to be able to identify with the stages we are going through because she's already been there and has recent experience. He really likes her too except when she checks his ears.



He has been sick since his MMR - silly shot but oh well. He had a viral infection last week which entailed having a fever all week and then getting spots on his belly.