Heart Healthy

We had a checkup with Caroline's cardiologist today and were thrilled to learn that her VSD (ventricular septal defect) has completely closed and there is no longer any opening or hole whatsoever!! We were very, very pleased with that news. Caroline was a champ during her echocardiogram after the technician let her pick a beanie baby to hold and she put a puppy dog video on for her to watch. Dr. Waller has been great and easy to talk to over the past 2 years. He mentioned that it was only a 10-20% chance that the hole in her heart would close on its own by this time. No more checkups or any other precautions are required at this time!! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and we were on this journey with Caroline.

Caroline after her echocardiogram was over. She was still throughout and was curious where her shirt was!!

After the good news!! Caroline holding her beanie baby "Dinky" given to her today by the echocardiogram technician Cindy.

A Win is a win

We had a great time in Auburn this weekend. While it seemed that at times the kids provided more excitement and entertainment than the Auburn offense did, at least the Tigers came away with a win. Even with Peyton Manning on the sidelines, the Vols could not eek this one out. It could be a long season for the big orange nation.



We spent Friday night in Montgomery. We let Caroline sleep in the bed with Anna which was quite an experience. The girls were excited. Midway through the night we heard a thud as Caroline rolled off the bed!! The next night we were sure to surround her with pillows....


Saturday was a long, warm day but we enjoyed reuniting with our friends and tailgating the morning and afternoon before the game. My coworker Wade (very faithful Vols fan) met up with us and walked with us to the stadium.



The girls had fun at the game not only with everything going on around them but by entertaining those sitting near us. Anna told me that she hoped Tennessee stayed at 6 points so Auburn could win. At least the better half of her wish came true. After the game was over we took the girls to Toomers' Corner and let them "roll the trees" which is a huge tradition after every Auburn football win. They got in the middle of the action. Anna said it was "too hard" to make the toilet paper stick. They enjoyed it even so.



We stayed in Birmingham on Saturday night to be closer to home to make Anna's soccer game. The girls passed out in the car and never moved when we changed them into their pajamas and put them in the bed in the hotel. Gary and I were a bit shocked by the Alabama/Georgia game as we listened the whole time in the car. The end of Auburn's season has us hosting Georgia and visitng Alabama....could get messy!!

All in all a great weekend. War Eagle!!

Headed to Auburn

We are loading up the Sequoia this afternoon and heading to Auburn for the game vs. UT tomorrow. This is our first of two trips to Auburn this fall. I LOVE going to Auburn. I have compiled a list of things I love about Auburn:

1. I met my awesome husband there on a BLIND date!
2. Fall on the plains is the most beautiful season!
3. Football games are so much fun sitting close by 87,000+ of your closest friends!
4. Lemonade at Toomer's Corner and rolling the trees there after a big win!
5. The cute "local" stores on College Street such as Heartstrings
6. Seeing our friends including my roommates and tailgating with them.
7. All the tradition on campus such as the concourse, Tiger Walk, and saying War Eagle!
8. Watching the eagle soar above the stadium before kickoff.
9. The safety and security of a small town in the south.
10. The best 5 years of fun, friends and great memories!

Caroline turns 2!!

We celebrated Caroline's 2nd birthday all weekend long. While the official day was Sunday the 21st, we had her birthday party with her class on Saturday. We invited the class to have fun at the Little Gym. All the kids had a great time. Caroline loves Elmo so we had a great Elmo cake....she was not sure what to think when we sang and she was instructed to blow out the candles. She opened her gifts when we got home. She LOVED the singing Pizza Man Elmo toy sent to her from her cousins Blake and Drew in Dallas. My brother James always seems to get a very "noisy" gift so I just have to remember him that Christmas is around the corner. At least this singing toy has an off/on switch, which Caroline has now learned how to operate. She is very fascinated by it all and really enjoyed the festivities.

On another note, Caroline had her two year check up today. She has leaped up to the 50th percentile in weight and has remained steady at that percentile for height. That was super news and it seems that hopefully her heart condition has not slowed her down this past year. She proudly told Dr. Larkin "I'm two" when he walked in the patient room this afternoon. She also let him listen to "Ra-Ra" (her favorite baby doll)'s heart as well. All checked out well.

the birthday girl

silly sisters

the kids playing on the air track at the little gym

caroline waiting to blow out her candles

the worn out family after the party

the singing pizza man elmo toy....the favorite!!

While Mommy's Away.....

I was out of town all last week for work. Of course I left very detailed instructions for each day of the week for Gary and the kids. Everything from what they should wear to when they take vs. buy their lunch and all of the errands that needed running!! I was trying to make it as easy as possible on Gary while I was away in Atlanta. On Friday, the girls were out of school for "Fair Day." Not sure why kids still get out of school for this....we did in the days of Campus School and White Station. Gary took off work on Friday and spent the morning with the girls at the zoo before picking me up at the airport. Just thought I would share a glimpse in to the fashion that was selected for the day....wish you could have see the hairdo's by the time I got home. Gary is an awesome Dad to our girls and he had a great week!! Just a little Mom humor!!

Anna picked out her own outfit...

by the end of the visit the girls are all smiles

Soccer season is underway

Sunday marked the beginning of Anna's second fall soccer season. Gary is her coach and has "quite a team" this year. Anna scored her first goal last year in the final game of the season. Anna can be a fickle player enjoying "taking breaks" and sipping water from her water bottle. I had to leave town on Sunday before the season opener to head to Atlanta for work. I received a call shortly after the game was over and here is how Anna relayed the details of the game:

1. I scored a goal!

2. We scored 6 and the other team scored 4 which means we won.

3. Daddy is a great coach!

She was super proud of herself and her team. To clarify, in her league at church, they don't keep score but I guess Anna has learned to do it on her own! I'm super proud of her for scoring a goal and for having such a great coach! Below is a photo of her before I left and she put on her shin guards.

Road Trip to Starkvegas

Saturday we packed up the fuel hog Sequoia and headed down to Starkville, MS to cheer on the Auburn Tigers against Mississippi State in Auburn's SEC opener. Tommy Tuberville is 5-0 in road SEC openers at Auburn so we were hoping for a big showing.....Well.....3-0 at halftime brought Anna to ask "Why can't Auburn score more points?" The final score in case you missed it was 3-2!! That sounds like a baseball score!! Nevertheless it was a win. Auburn has some practicing to do before the LSU Tigers come to town next weekend. Anna and Caroline had never attended a road game and Anna was still baffled how the Auburn team got there. They had fun, our seats were great, and the weather was perfect. Throughout the game Caroline even added to the cheering section by yelling out in her wee voice "Go Auburn". The girls had fun and even though we arrived back home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, we enjoyed seeing Auburn football a little closer to home than being actually in Auburn, which we will do in 2 weeks for the Tennessee game!

The cheerleaders

Thursdays = Ballet

On Thursdays Anna takes ballet at Ballet Memphis. Her class is called Discover Dance 5. She has not learned the "positions" of ballet yet but the skills are becoming harder this year. She LOVES to get dressed up for class. This year they get to wear tights under their leotards which is a big deal. She asked me today after class when she got to use the barre in class....that's next year! Here's a picture of Anna once we got home from class and she was practicing with a Bella Dancerella DVD. The music drives me insane but she loves it.



On the way home from Ballet Anna asked when she could stay home from school because it was boring. Keep in mind she LOVES school and talks about it all the time. She wanted to stay home because I worked from home today which in her mind = play time! I told her that in kindergarten she had to go to class every day she was not sick. Her response was she wanted to quit school. I said "OK...how are you going to get a job if you can't read?". Her quick witted response: "I'm going to be an art teacher. There are no words involved!"

Labor Day Weekend

I know I am already behind on posting from our Labor Day Weekend. We enjoyed the Delta Fair and the Children's Museum! The Delta Fair was fun for us all. Anna loved the rides, enjoying one of the kiddie coasters 8 times in a row!! Caroline could ride a few things, especially the carousel, and found it to be quite unfair when big sister was tall enough and she wasn't! I've included a few pictures from the afternoon that was pretty warm indeed.

Anna, Caroline and McKayla enjoying a ride together at the fair.

Caroline feeding the baby goats at the petting zoo.

Monday we enjoyed the Children's Museum. We had not been since Anna had her birthday party there when she turned 4! Caroline was a mere 6 months old. Both girls had a blast and Anna has already asked when we could go back and play again. Caroline loved the Curious George exhibit among other things. Check out the pictures below....I wish the tooth brushing one was in motion so you could see Caroline beating the teeth with the toothbrush and saying "clean teeth" to the dummy in the chair!

Caroline telling the patient to clean his teeth!!

She loves Curious George!

Gary the fireman, Anna the policewoman and Caroline the paramedic




Anna as a Memphis Tiger football player!

Enjoy the pics and have a great week.

Welcome to the Zyriek Zoo!

Well, I have finally done it....entered the world of blogging. I am setting up this blog to keep everyone far and near up to date on our family that we liken to the Zoo, therefore the name "The Zyriek Zoo". I will post hopefully a few times a week with pictures for you to enjoy. I hope you enjoy this as much as I will as it gives me a chance to stay current with happenings and pictures of our crazy family! Enjoy!