Preschool

 Well, it's official, I am the mommy of a preschooler now!  Time sure does fly.

We got up early to make sure that mommy could get all the pictures taken that she wanted.

Michael was eager to get to school, and maybe to get away from all the pinterest pictures. (Thank goodness Mommy and Daddy still have some time before we have to worry about him driving anywhere on his own.)

His teacher this year, Mrs. Streb, seems super nice, and extra bubbly. She's going to need all that energy, because there are 6 boys and 2 girls in her class this year! Good luck!!!

                                                    

It really hit me that my baby is growing up when I took this picture.  In the year 2027, he will be at least 6 ft tall (taller if he's like his Daddy), he will be 18 years old, and getting ready to leave me for college... the worst part... I will be 40 years old! EEK!

Although he was done with pictures, and ready to rush into school, we stopped one last time outside Resurrection to get this picture. 

These are a few of Michael's favorite things.

I'm Back!

Well it sure has been a while since I've updated this thing... jeeze, almost a year.

A ton has happened in that time, so we'll just highlight the most important things:

• My niece, Caroline Jane was born in August
• Michael was Frankenstein for Halloween
• We moved, just a block over, but to a bigger house. Boy did we need the extra space, and the truth is, we could still use just a little more
• I'm back in school!!!
• Thanksgiving and Christmas were a blast
• Michael is potty trained! (Well, almost, we're still having a little difficulty with #2)
• Michael went to his first Monster Truck show

There's tons more, but that's the short version. (You're welcome!)

Michael is turning 3 in 12 days! Time flies. We are having a birthday party for him the day after his birthday. It is going to be a Monster Truck theme, since he is OBSESSED with Monster Trucks.

Mommy and Michael at Michael's 1st Monster Jam

Michael's Birthday Invitation

by Denise at LunaPetuniaDesigns

(We LOVE how they turned out, and she provides great, quick service!)

*Address and phone number were removed, so no, there's not a big white box at the bottom

2nd Cubs Gamee

Yesterday we went to the Cardinals v. Cubs game at Busch Stadium. It was Michael's second Cubs/Cards game, so he wore Cardinals stuff (to make his Daddy happy). It was hot, but there was a nice breeze most of the game.

Michael is waving to his Grandma Kienzle in this picture, thanking her for giving us her awesome SLU Hospital tickets! Thank you Grandma!!!

All 3 of us at the game, Michael looks grumpy here, which is how he acted about every other inning. It was, interesting.

Even though the Cubs lost, I had a wonderful time at the game with my family, we also ran into some old friends, so that was a pleasant surprise!

Tonight, while I was grilling pork chops and potatoes for dinner, Michael was running around the yard with his bubble mower, and his ride-on fire truck, at one point, he looked up at the sky and said, "banana." I wasn't sure what he was talking about, until I looked up, it was a crescent moon tonight. What a silly little baby. I tried to explain to him that it was the moon, and not a banana, but I'm not sure that point stuck. Oh well, we'll try again another day.

Baby Oh Baby

Today I hosted the first baby shower for Beth and my little niece. We had a wonderful time, so I thought I'd share some photos.

A Precious Moments Nursery Rhymes book I got to read to my niece, however, we may want to teach her the regular nursery rhymes first, because Precious Moments gave them a whole new spin, quite an interesting one too, if you can't tell by Beth's expression.

Geoffrey and Beth

Beth and her best friend, Angie (due in June)

Yay for Coach diaper bags!!! I'm totally going to have my dad pick one of these up next time I'm pregnant!

Somehow, this is the only photo I have of the favors I made for the shower. They were little popcorn containers, filled with delicious white chocolate and m&m popcorn, and the tags said "Poppin' On 08/23/2012" Yes, that's right... 2012. WHOOPS! No, Beth will not be waiting a year to have this little girl, Baby Fissel will be here around 08/23/2011. =)

While I was busy doing shower stuff, Geoffrey and Michael went to get hair cuts. Don't get me wrong, I really like Mike's new hair style, but it is SO drastically different than the hair style he's been rocking for the previous 2 years, that it's going to take a little getting used to. He looks adorable though, and he looks about 2 years older.

Big Mike

Make-Up Mother's Day!

So yesterday we had a make-up Mother's Day, because on the actual Mother's Day, Geoffrey was studying for his last round of finals. The boys planned a pretty fantastic day for me. I am very blessed.

We started our day off with lunch at Hooters. We relaxed together and had some delicious fried pickles and wings. Michael was very happy when the ladies gave him his balloon. After lunch we went to...

Glazed and Confused! It's a paint-your-own pottery place that I've been dying to go to. We maybe overestimated Michael's ability to sit and paint for as long as we were going to need (by a lot). So we didn't finish our plates, but we were able to take them home, and bring them back another day to finish them. Michael finished his little dinosaur he was painting, it was very cute. I'll post pictures of our finished products as soon as we get them back.

We went to an early "dinner" at Drunken Fish. Delicious sushi and a mai tai. It was nice that it was early, because it's not Michael's absolute favorite place in the world to be. He was happy that he could use his chop sticks as drum sticks. =)

Then we ended the day with a trip to the drive-in. This was the first weekend they were open! We saw Kung Fu Panda 2 and Thor. I actually fell asleep for a little bit during Thor, but it was a pretty good movie. Kung Fu Panda was adorable, Michael even paid attention to a lot of it, screaming "Oh no, what happened?" and "I got you" at the right moments.

It was truly a perfect day, I am very thankful to have 2 wonderful guys who care so much about me.

Doggie Moving Day

Today we had to say goodbye to our dog, Tychus. He is a wonderful dog, and we will miss him so much, but he's a big guy, and we're not home enough to give him the attention he deserves. We've been talking about finding him a new home for a long time, and I've put it off as long as possible, but he recently started jumping the fence, so we can't even leave him outside alone.

We found a really great family for him though, they have 3 young children, and live on 13 acres of land. It's going to be so good for Tychus to run around, and have people home with him all the time.

I wasn't too sad to say goodbye until he actually got into the car with his new owner. I lost it, but just for a second. I know it's a win-win-win (as Geoff says). Everyone is going to be so happy in the long run. Michael got to say goodbye to his puppy, and he was sad, but only until he was allowed to have some soda.

So, farewell, Tychus, not goodbye. Your new family has been kind enough to friend me on FaceBook so I can keep up with how you are doing!

Tychus on Halloween

Tychus at the Puppy Parade

Tychus when he was just a little puppy

Little puppy

Tychus and Mike on a walk

On a happier note... tomorrow we are doing a make-up Mother's Day. We couldn't celebrate on actual Mother's Day because Geoff had to study for exams. (School comes first.) I'm very excited, we have a fun-filled day. Hooters, Glazed and Confused (a pottery painting place), the park, Drunken Fish, and the drive-in to see Kung Fu Panda 2!!! Can't wait to spend a day together with my boys!

Gloomy Weather

This gloomy weather has been getting me down. I'm not really a huge spring person, because my spring allergies are horrendous, but I'm happier sneezing than being stuck inside worrying about the possibility of tornadoes, and watching hail violently bounce off my van.

The weather has more than just me down, Indie and Michael are feeling it too. They're ready to get outside and get back to the park!

I stole a few pictures off FaceBook of hail around St. Louis... this is just crazy!

Hail at Saint Louis University

Hail in Arnold, MO

Hail in South City

Let's all do a cheerful dance and pray for some sunny weather!!!