Spousal Abuse

Please let me begin this post by saying the title may be a "bit" exaggerated.

One of my hobbies is gardening...I love flowers and working in the garden. However, when the temperatures rise, I don't like it quite as much. It becomes more of a chore to keep all my pretty flowers alive because it requires me to water pretty much everyday. I must give John some credit since he assists during my chores. Tonight was such a scorcher, we decided to add a little fun... a water fight. It sure was a silly, fun way to beat the summer heat!!

H Is For...

HALLOWEEN

It has been quite a while since I have written a post from my ABC's of Blogging Project.

I have always enjoyed Halloween, but since having a child it brings a different level of fun. As amazing as it is, to me at least, Kyle has celebrated three Halloween's. I can't believe Halloween is just three months away. The past couple of weeks, while shopping in a few stores, Halloween displays are already set up. It seems to get earlier and earlier each year. Well, for now, we will still be enjoying the summertime.

Kyle's 1st Halloween was celebrated in the NICU as The Tin Man, from the Wizard of Oz. A little girl in the NICU next to him was Dorothy. They were such a cute little couple. We actually purchased his costume from Build A Bear and as you can see it was still way too big for him.

Halloween '06. Mommy and Daddy had different ideas about what Kyle should be for Halloween, so he actually had two different costumes. Mommy wanted her Little Munchkin to be a pumpkin and Daddy wanted a little dinosaur.

Rombach's Pumpkin Patch - Oct. '06 Rombach's Pumpkin Patch - Oct. '07

Halloween '07. Kyle was a lion...ROAR!!! Mommy with her Little Lion - '07

A Is For...

B Is For...

C Is For...

D Is For...

E Is For...

F Is For...

G Is For...

Three In One

This morning, we headed out on yet another family adventure. We went to Faust Park to enjoy all the activities they have to offer for Kyle. We visited The Butterfly House, which is the main attraction, the St. Louis Carousel, and of course the playground. Three awesome adventures all in one place!!

The Butterfly House is a tropical, tranquil setting which is home to hundreds of various species of butterflies. This is a big tourist attraction, which is a must see for all visitors to St. Louis, especially if you are travelling with children. They will even touch you, as you can see below. This is The Paper Kite butterfly, which landed on John and didn't want to let go. They even check each person as they exit the conservatory to make sure they don't have any butterflies still clinging to them. Kyle certainly enjoyed hanging out with all the butterflies!!

We all took a ride on the indoor carousel and also let Kyle burn off some energy on the playground. It was a warm morning so we weren't able to let Kyle stay very long on the playground, but of course there was enough time to snap a picture or two!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!!

Common Blue Morpho Butterfly Kyle and Mommy in The Butterfly House

Very Peaceful, Tranquil Surroundings Kyle Poses on the Butterfly Bench Closer Look at The Paper Kite Butterfly

We took a nice stroll in the beautiful outdoor gardens

We love taking pictures of Kyle on "photo rocks"

Hey you, with the camera...stop taking my picture!!

Of course, Daddy had to climb the play equipment to make sure it wasn't too hot after seeing this news segment.

Go Cards!!

This evening we went to a St. Louis Cardinals Family Party through a local mom's group that I belong to. Actually, I'm not as active with the group as I should be, but this party sounded like too much fun to pass up. Unlike, John, I'm not a huge baseball fan, although most game nights I have no choice, but to watch the game since it's always on the television. Most importantly, Kyle seemed to have a fun time. Of course, he headed to the cars, trucks, and race tracks first. The baseball game wasn't his top priortity of the evening as you can see from the pictures below. I was really proud of myself because I only took ten pictures the entire evening and none of them were all that wonderful. That isn't going to stop me from showing off my Little St. Louis Cardinal!!

The Cardinals have a beautiful new stadium, which we haven't even been to yet. That's pretty sad...I probably shouldn't broadcast that to anyone! One of these days we need to take Kyle to his first Major League baseball game. We will put this on our list of things to see and do!

The Week In Pictures

No major excitement happening on our end so I thought I would stop in and at least share a few pictures of My Little Munchkin from the past week.

The good news is that tomorrow is Friday, which means the weekend is right around the corner!! Yeah!!

Calling All Toddler Moms

I recently finished reading Naptime Is The New Happy Hour. The author has such a light-hearted, laugh out loud funny, way of describing day to day life with a toddler. I certainly enjoyed the book and could relate to the topics which were discussed. I don't want to go into many details in case some you may want to read the book.

The author also wrote Sippycups Are Not for Chardonnay, which outlines the first year of a child's life. I haven't read this book, but it should be a good read for any new mom's out there. I also want John to read this book...it seems right up his alley! If he does, I will be sure he gives a little review for everyone.

Happy Reading!

A Mid-Summer Night's Stroll

The weather in STL has been pleasant considering it is the middle of the summer. We decided to take a little stroll around the lake in our neighborhood and enjoy the weather...before the heat wave returns! It was a nice way to enjoy some family time! Surprise, surprise...the camera came along with us, so of course I have to share a few pictures.

The lake that you see in the pictures is the same lake which disappeared in 2004. If you aren't from the area you may have heard this story because it made news around the world.

It's a.... Plane!

The only two "quacks quacks" we saw out today.

Plastic Slides

Last night on our local news there was a report about the dangers of plastic slides. I just wanted to pass along the article for anyone who has little ones. As much as we frequent parks and playgrounds, I will certainly be checking twice before Kyle uses the equipment.

Toddler Scorched on Plastic Slide

Cruising Through Wine Country

Saturday morning, we took a cruise in our new car and drove to Augusta...Missouri Wine Country. The drive is very pleasant and scenic. We stopped at two of our favorite wineries...Montelle and Mount Pleasant. We didn't have any wine, but did enjoy the nice peaceful surroundings and took a few pictures. We are planning a date night in the near future to have a Sunset Dinner at the Montelle Winery.

John and I don't make it to the wineries as often as we have in the past, since Kyle is now in the picture. Montelle Winery was one of our very first dates in St. Louis so we have special memories. Mount Pleasant is also special since a few friends hosted a surprise wedding shower for us at the winery. We plan to head back in the fall when the weather is a little cooler.

My Little Chauffeur

If you are travelling in the STL area, beware of an almost three year old driving an Outlook...you may want to move out of the way pretty quickly!!

Kyle is set and ready to roll.

Making sure everything is set to his standards.

Does this horn really work??

Well, at least I think he approves of his new wheels!

My New Baby

After months of drooling, I finally have it....a 2008 Saturn Outlook XR, Midnight Blue. It is beautiful...inside and out!! We absolutely love the car and are so happy with our new purchase. The interior has tan leather, second row captain's chairs, and a third row for additional seating. Next week, we are having a DVD system installed so it will be 100% Kyle friendly! We are even more excited to have our new car for our vacation next month. We will be cruising in style and comfort!

Beach Bound

Well, we're beach bound, but not for another five weeks. Since we are traveling to New Orleans for my high school reunion we decided to take a little detour on the way. I am so excited for our vacation to Orange Beach, Al. For the entire trip we will be gone for 12 whole days....I just can't wait!

We have planned to have professional beach portraits done as well....pictures of Kyle and also the three of us. We don't have many family pictures so I am looking forward to having these photos to capture our memories from our beach vacation. I just hope that Kyle cooperates with the photographer and we are able to get a few decent pictures. I know I will post pictures and details about the trip. I haven't decided, but I may take a blogging break at that time. I know, I know...all my readers will be so upset...LOL!

Hope everyone is having a great week...it's almost the weekend!!

The Dirtier The Better

This morning I picked Kyle up from preschool and the moment I saw him I knew he had a fun day. How you might ask? He had paint on his shirt and shorts. For children this age I think...dirt = fun!! Learning is actually fun for children at this age. They better not get to used to it though because once they hit elementary school they may have a different opinion.

As Kyle has gotten older I have given up trying to keep him nice, clean, and put together at all times...especially during the summer months! That's a boy for you and I wouldn't trade it for the world!! My Little Munchkin is the best!

Fun For All Ages

A fun way to beat the heat and have fun indoors on the super hot summer days. A long time favorite even from our childhoods...Play-Doh. Play-Doh provides plenty of entertainment for My Little Munchkin and even for Mommy and Daddy. I'm not sure who has more fun...it's a toss up! The Play-Doh Big Barrell (pictured below) has it all...from six different colors of Play-Doh and tons of cutters and accessories. According to Kyle, it's even good to eat. No, he didn't really eat any (as far as we know!), but he certainly tried. If only, he enjoyed real food half as much we would be in good shape!

What types of indoor activities do your kiddos enjoy to help stay cool during the dog days of summer?

Creating his Circle Masterpiece Prepping the Play-Doh Examining some of his work. Yum, this stuff looks good!