The Yates Family

Bribe... this time a 2 laned cardboard highway...

2011-03-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Just around the house

2011-01-17T18:44:00.001-08:00

All Three Feet

2011-01-17T18:43:00.001-08:00

Xmas 2011

2011-01-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

oh.. and as a reminder.. here was C at *around* the same age

Time to get started again?

2011-01-17T18:37:00.000-08:00

Baby Boy.. with Jet Pack

Colten's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-12-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

Colten's big party. He's already asked for another one. In fact, he asks every day. This morning he asked for a Jeep Liberty birthday party. Please. :)

And finally - I am caught up. FROM TODAY.. really!

2009-12-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Colten

2009-12-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

Swine Flu

2009-12-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

More Eve

2009-12-03T18:44:00.002-08:00

First picture of Eve and Colten together

2009-12-03T18:44:00.001-08:00

Halloween 2009

2009-12-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin pickin'

2009-12-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

Eve's first smiles

2009-12-03T18:40:00.001-08:00

Evie at One Month

2009-12-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

ok this post is out of order.. :)

2009-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Some from the summer..

More 85mm with the my first favorite subject!

2009-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Borrowed 85mm and a favorite subject...

2009-12-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

She can be a bit uncooperative.

Eve's first Photoshoot

2009-12-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

The birth of Eve - Sept

2009-12-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

Yes.. ok, it's DECEMBER.. but at least I'm catching up.. right?

Here she is!

And now some of me taken by EJ!

2009-08-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

my beached whale pose.. maybe pregnant on the beach wasn't a good idea!

I think he did a good job!

So first, some of Cousin Ella..

2009-08-15T18:05:00.001-07:00

Who is taking after her mom with her poses..

Our trip to the beach today - even though it's overcast...

2009-08-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

They have a playground at the beach..

A day in the life of a future athelete (extended version)

2009-08-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

So C is destined to be an athelete. This kid LOVES to run and play. These are all from just today's activities...

So we start off with soccer practice for an hour this morning... He of course loves it and is the fastest runner!

Then after his nap he wanted to go to the "Field". Mommy hasn't been there before but apparently I was missing a lot! The next hour and 10 minutes was full of RUNNING!

Just.. running the track.. the bleachers... the field....

He just takes off...

8 months of the same movie everyday and no wonder you are sucked into the marketing hype

2009-08-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

But then again, C's smile is worth it.. right?

New "SAY CHEESE" photos

2009-08-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

we are trying to get him to look at the camera while saying cheese at the same time...

Soccer with my friend from school!

2009-08-01T11:17:00.001-07:00

My friend from school joined my soccer class.. and its' so much fun!

We goof off!

MONSTER JAM!!

2009-08-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

More baby e with family!

2009-08-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Baby E with friends...

2009-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Me, pregnant.

2009-08-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just a boy and his dog...

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Baby E

2009-07-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Some pics from July 5th dinner..

Back to the BEACH!

2009-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

We went back to the beach spot. We played monster trucks on the sand, played on the playground, and actually stepped in the water. We liked to collect rocks then throw them in to the water to make splashes.

Oh and notice my "lightning McQueen" swimming outfit from Daddy!

I also like to cook....

2009-07-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

In between monster trucks, sometimes mixing up a cake is fun too.

Colten made this cake and watched it "get big" in the oven. Then he decorated with sprinkles. But he insisted that we put candles on it and use "FIRE" so he could blow them out.

Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Just one from our beach trip this morning. Colten LOOOVED our new beach spot and didn't want to leave.

Saturday at the beach

2009-06-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

A quick stop at the beach this weekend...

Daddy is showing C how to skip stones in the water.

(more pictures to come.. just too lazy to put them up tonight)

First NON rainy day in a while!

Half a "cheese"...

Torture...but mommy thought it was good light. I had something in my shoe... LOL

Just around the house...

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This is FUN!

Mom doesn't always get a smile...

Finally, he EATS the icecream from the icecream truck.

2009-06-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

So, usually we WANT icecream.. but we don't actually eat it. Today, however, it was the Haagen Daas milk chocolate covered icecream bars that passed the test.

It was really good..

Just a day in June

2009-06-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

Baby E's Baptism and C gets to visit with his FAVORITE cousin!

2009-05-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Baby E' got baptized today..

Some of the god parents. (missing one)

And then we had a party..

Here's C outside of the restaurant.. letting Mommy practice with the camera

Yes.. she's not really good.. cutting off my ear like that

Here's my favorite cousin B giving me a hug!

And us playing simon says with Mommy

Some time B is SOOOO funny I have to laugh and laugh...

Hands on our ears..

More Soccer from this morning..

2009-05-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Score!

So we see here the tongue goes STRAIGHT when C goes straight....

We chase the hoops down to see how fast we can run..

And Coach John makes bubbles for us!

Which I like to pop and step on..

Then I run and crash into mommy at high speed. It's fun!

Some of me...since I've been hiding..

2009-05-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Since I'm pretty squishy still...

and of course one of C!

A smile and more soccer

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Preggers mommy playing soccer too....

Tongue to the right...

Tongue to the left...

Soccer Star!

2009-04-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

C in April...

2009-04-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

At Oma's request, some updated pictures for the blog...

At the park...

Still in a winter jacket ..sadly in April...

And to prove he does smile...

At least SOME of the trees are in bloom!

No room in the house... I mean COUCH

2009-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

So, apparently the "Grand Scale" couch size from Potterybarn is not enough to hold the whole family. It apparently is and will be a giant dog bed. And maybe a small space for a human... maybe..

And of course a picture of C with crazy hair on our snow day...

Two from today in Feb

2009-02-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a pic of our handsome little C

And from our walk in the woods this morning

Feeding the....cars?

2009-02-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Does it bother us that C feeds the cars like ..well, they are animals? No.. I guess not. Maybe we never knew that the Jeep liked Nilla wafers....

This is genetic.. from Daddy.. Mommy can't twist her tongue..

Mom, the cars like to eat cookies.

Feeding Nilla wafers to the Jeep..

See Mommy, Jeeps like cookies!

Yeay! Jeep ate cookies.

Bubbles are hilarious!

2009-02-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

At least to C they are!

Blowing them on mommy is fun too!

And you end up with a bubble beard!

2009 Inaugural Ball - Salute to Hero's

2009-01-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, for the first time since 1953 the president did NOT show up for the Veteran's ball. Instead, the VP was the guest of honor. :)

Here are some pics

First, ME & E

Marg Helenberger (from CSI Las Vegas & China beach) was the host among other military dignitaries...

Buzz Aldrin (it was his birthday too) - stopped by for a passionate speech about space exploration..

Here is J with the Lt Gen Hal Moore (and medal of honor winner) who wrote "We Are Soldiers once and young" the 2002 movie with Mel Gibson..

And our guest of Honor, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife

Crazy toddler for sale

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Cheering on the ravens!

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C cheering on the Ravens

And my handsome hubby

Some more smiles around the house

2009-01-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Making a "ladder" out of pillows to flop on top of.. is fun!

And of course the remote is fun too.

And Mommy cheats and tickles me!

Just a few from today.. New Years 2009!

2009-01-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Warning.. mommy didn't wipe my face or my nose for these... ok.. proceed

And one of course.. which is most.. non smiling pictures...

Picture of the blue jeep for Oma

2008-12-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

And I like to fix it!

And some more looking away from the camera pictures..

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, it's C's second Christmas! Wait.. THIRD Christmas...!!! I guess we still have to count the first one even though, technically he wasn't able to open his own presents at 3 weeks old....

And the technology of tomorrow.. is actually the technology of today.. Oma and Pop Pop visited us virtually for the gift openings... I wonder if C thinks they live in that box?

This year we were MUCH better at the opening part..

Although the boxes sometimes still fun when they are not opened yet...

That goes for the shiny ones too..

Toys are really fun at this age..

And all C really wanted for christmas is cars. Especially ones that the doors open on. If you look at his "parking lot" you will notice every door that can can be opened is, opened.

Later on at Aunt E's. I guess I need to wait a bit until the fun wears off so that we can get a picture.. looking at the camera...

Xmas is near..

2008-12-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot our Christmas tree this year...
As usual it's gigantic.. and I was unable to capture the whole tree with my camera. But alas! I received a wonderful birthday gift of a new lens.. so this WILL be updated!!

disclaimer.. Dump truck provided by C

And at Aunt E's holiday party - we got to make another gingerbread house. This time we didn't eat the chimney (thankfully, there was none in this kit).

C is an old pro now....

My First school recital

2008-12-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it didn't go so well.

There were a lot of people, which almost made me cry... so I sat on mommy's lap while my class attempted to sing jingle bells.

Mommy made me take this picture afterward on the "stage" with my jingle bell.

I did feel better later on in my classroom..

But then mommy took me to see santa... (pictures later)

My holiday wall clings..

2008-12-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

So here's the finished product.

Self portrait with uncoorperative dog

2008-12-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Stubborn.
The dog I mean.

Test Christmas photo...

2008-12-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

My ideas are not really working with a newly turned 2 year old... hmmm

First snow of the season!

2008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

So we went out to play in the 2 inches of snow that fell overnight.

We had a great time

Until the first snowball was thrown...

Well, you just have to brush it off and..

Learn how to make one yourself!

This is the face I give mommy most of the time.. the "I won't look at the camera"

Here I am making my first snowman (which ended up with 4 arms by the way)

And here's Nona helping me with the nose

I had a lot of fun!

Oh..and our christmas tree is up and I like taking the "circles" and throwing them.. it's really a lot of fun

Oma I love my boat!

2008-11-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

Oma, I love my boat!

I like to play with it in the bubbles

By the way, I'm cute....

And quite the ham for the camera!

Today... mommy has a new flash

2008-11-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

So she gets to practice on her favorite subject

BEFORE and AFTER

2008-11-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

So I was a little overdue for a haircut

So when mommy cuts my hair I scream and cry.. .so I end up with.. well..
It's kind of short.. but that's what I got!

And here I am calling Oma and Pop pop...

Daddy

2008-11-02T05:12:00.001-08:00

Dining room chair saga has ended...

2008-11-01T10:36:00.001-07:00

In August I ordered some dining room chairs. I waited for a year to get them.. they finally went on sale, so I decided I should go ahead. I debated the whole weekend and decided on Sunday night to order. Well, apparently by Sunday night they were "out" of the chairs -so my order could not be placed. I called and was told that because of where I lived, they wouldn't sell me the chairs.. but if I lived on the west coast I could have them. I complained.

The next day, I was told I could order the chairs.

So I did.

When they arrived... however, I only got three. :( But I liked them...

After many calls (it's November when I am writing this).. I found out ..kind of.. that the delivery company damaged the 4th chair. They had placed another order for the chair.. but for the first 2 months it was under the wrong catalog number. When they did finally correct it - the stopped making the chairs. So, they offered to replace my 3 chairs with ones that were twice as expensive. Unfortunately, they are different, not exactly what I wanted, but at least there are 4? They also gave me a $200 gift certificate as well.

So the new ones were delivered today... :)

Please excuse the elmoboon (elmo balloon)

And it's finally over...

Please cut my hair mommy

2008-10-31T18:42:00.001-07:00

Like Daddy, like mommy.. like baby...

2008-10-26T17:32:00.001-07:00

This is what we call "google jeep"

Guess what he found?

Smile!

The one before

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hi!

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Making a cake for Daddy

2008-10-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Daddy is away this weekend so mommy let me cook!

This is serious business

Lemme try some of this...

Mom... this is kind of good I think... is this cake only for Daddy?

I think I need to try some more..

Yeah. This is good. Really good.

I think I'll have a little more.

Mom wants you to look at my shirt

Oh.. yeah.. and the floor

Fall fun.. but I have a black eye...

2008-10-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

The leaves are falling now...

But I still have my black eye from running into the bridge at school..

But mommy said she'd try to take pictures of the other side of my face...

But I keep smiling at her.. I hope she tries to photoshop it out..

Nope.. she didn't ..oh well..

Halloween Preview

2008-10-19T12:15:00.001-07:00

Rawrrrrrrr. I'm a Dragon!!

Who looses his head once in a while...

But I have a tail!!

That Cache apparently needs to sniff.... dogs!!!

Huntington Festival 2008

2008-10-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

Aunt E, Mommy and I went to the Huntington Festival this year. There are more pictures to come but I won 2 prizes all by myself!

You think your strong Aunt E?

Look Aunt E, there are fishes!!

Wow those fishies are cool!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-10-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Mommy and I went to the pumpkin patch again this year. She asked me to pick a pumpkin. I tried, but this one was too heavy!

So I took mommy's wagon and backpack and began my search for another one!

Ahh, here's one that's my size. Perfect!

Wait! There's another one here that I can get!

Hmm, I should look for some more.. I think...

Look ma! Here's another pumpkin!

THREE pumpkins!

[fast foward] FIVE pumpkins!

Ok. I think we have enough now mom.. Now, how amd I going to fit in this wagon?

Ok.. I need to move some stuff around here..

Ok! Done. Let' go Mom

I also got to feed some animals! I squealed when they lick my hand!

And I wasn't too happy when they ate the cone.. I thought that was mine!

Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia

2008-10-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Pictures from a short walk in the woods

Soda Shoppe in Pine Mountain, Georgia

2008-10-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my business trip this week from a very small town in Georgia - Pine Mountain. They only had about .. 12 places to eat. One was this cute little soda shop we stopped in for lunch. Everything was "home made".

They still mix the syrup and the sodawater for drinks..

Bite size desserts

Sunday at the house

2008-10-05T18:09:00.001-07:00

Yes.. of course.. there's not a day where he doesn't ask to drive..

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At the park of course

2008-10-04T17:12:00.001-07:00

Frisco, Colorado

2008-10-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

My business trip this week was in FRISCO, Colorado. This was the view from the little balcony off the dining room of my room. Sunrise

This is from the WALMART parking lot

Say Cheese

2008-09-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, he says cheese all by himself now..

Gratuitous smiles curtosey of the "rocket pop"

2008-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

C had his first popsicle last weekend. This weekend he marched directly to the ice cream truck at the park to get this one.

But at least I got smiles out of it. He was VERY happy about this.

Why did you take it away? I didn't finish the blue part!

Man vs Wild

2008-09-13T19:50:00.001-07:00

C is a big Man vs Wild fan. He watches with Daddy all the time. So I guess we are in for lots of adventures..

After spending time climbing, sliding and running in the park, you can get very hungry and may need to find things to survive in the wild. You have to concentrate to spot those things that may make the difference between survival and demise...

Yes..we may have something here.. I'm not sure if this is going to work out.. I'm just going to reach in gingerly here and remove...

The pinecone! Native to this area, it's still sticky with sap that may be sweet to eat...

Nope, no eating.. but this is really cool!!!!

C for President?

2008-09-13T19:40:00.001-07:00

When C saw the stage set up, he had to go up on it. Twice.

He liked standing on the stage... :)

Bribery part 1

2008-09-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, after 3 weeks of hunting down a smile.. I resort to bribery. C's favorite toy.. MY CAR.

I simply need to put him in the front seat, and look! It's just that easy...

He gets all set for his "driving". Putting the sippy cup in the cup holder

This is "MINE" right?

Ok.. you wanted a smile.. here it is. Is this all I have to do to stay here?

This is fun!

How about my race car driver look?

Here's another smile... how long does that get me?

What? We have to go now? Wait, YOU'RE going to drive?

Well, can I at least play with the seat if I have to get out.. here's another smile!!

You SUCK mommy. I hate this seat. It doesn't have a steering wheel, and NO buttons!

Did I mention that I'm not happy with this arrangement? I want to DRIVE please.

eating is fun

2008-09-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

The aquarium

2008-09-07T11:51:00.001-07:00

On Sunday we visited the aquarium

I think C likes to rock climb...

I haven't been able to get a smile lately..

In the tunnel looking for sand sharks

Watching the seals in from the underwater viewing window

Mommy & C

Half a smile?

When did C grow up?

And you get three Pirate pics because he's just so cute..

Driving on the moon

2008-09-01T11:23:00.001-07:00

Look Grandpa! This is MY plane!

2008-09-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

The Childrens museum - Labor day weekend 2008

2008-08-30T11:44:00.001-07:00

We visited the Children's museum this weekend..

C likes things that he can turn. He learned to say "wheel" this week.

And turning

Hmm you guessed it! More turning wheels

A toothbrush! No honey, it's for your teeth.. not your hair!

No wait.. not YOUR teeth. Ugh.. disgusting.. those teeth right there!

Yes! THOSE teeth!

He would NOT turn around for me.. :(

Almost finished the basement project

2008-08-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

Before and afters of my summer basement project

BEFORE

AFTER
BEFORE (but after painting the walls)
AFTER
AFTER

Just a couple..

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and more of the La Brea tar pits

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more LA pics

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L.A.

2008-08-16T13:45:00.001-07:00

Pics of the parents...

2008-08-16T13:11:00.001-07:00

EJ in his new DITA sunglasses

And me..

BUGS for dinner!

2008-08-16T13:07:00.001-07:00

EJ Picked the restaurant.. and yes we did pay for that extra protein.

I liked that the crickets were fashioned in with "grass" like noodles..

And scorpions too.. on shrimp toast of course

Yes.. the stingers were still attached. And, yes, you ate them... I mean EJ ate them.. I sadly did not partake..