Happy Birthday!!

Today is John's birthday! Unfortunately, for him it was an ordinary day at work, but he was able to come home this evening and celebrate with his little family. He was greeted at the door with a bag full of birthday cards and a few gifts. John was pleasantly surprised since our new kitchen was his birthday gift. Inside his festive bag, he unwrapped cologne...Eternity and Cool Water and a new book. Kyle and I also took him out to dinner this evening to Red Robin. It's always a good decision since the restaurant is very Kyle friendly and holds his attention long enough to enjoy our meal. We hope you had a wonderful birthday...Kyle and I love you very much!

Happy Birthday!!

TO ME!!!!

March 17th...Happy St. Patrick's Day... Happy Birthday! I have always enjoyed being able to celebrate my birthday along with a such a fun holiday! I had a wonderful day and enjoyed having special one on one time with each of "my boys". Kyle and I had a fun day out and about enjoying the absolutely beautiful weather since he is on Spring Break from preschool. John and I went to a quiet, casual dinner this evening...the key word being "quiet"! Kyle was off having a good time playing outside and in the dirt with a friend. I'm sure for Kyle that was much more fun and entertaining than sitting in a restaurant with Mommy and Daddy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Lindsey and John! I received a beautiful spring floral bouquet from my boys for my birthday!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Happy 12th Birthday to our favorite

Bichon Frise, Chloe!

Chloe was born on December 8, 1996 in Louisiana, the only female puppy in a litter of four. Below, is a picture taken of Chloe and her brothers when they were just little puppies! I often wonder how her little brothers are doing and where they live. Chloe has moved around quite a bit in her twelve years...seven apartments in New Orleans and two houses in STL, but has always adapted well to her new surroundings. It is amazing how animals become such a part of your family...Chloe certainly is a big part of our little family!

I look forward to spending many more birthdays with Chloe!

Family Fall Fun

Last Sunday we took Kyle to Eckert's Fun Farm in Millstadt, Illinois for his birthday. We had a blast and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Kyle went apple picking, pumpkin picking, rode carnival rides, and rode a camel. The following pictures will outline all his fun activities! If you are looking for a fun fall outing this is definitely worth checking into!

Kyle going in deep to find an apple.

Kyle has been learning many signs so I thought it would be cute to get a picture of Kyle holding an apple while signing apple.

One of the many apple trees filled with tons of apples.

Of course, Kyle headed straight to the largest pumpkin he could find.

Where's Kyle???? Look close...he is hiding in there.

Kyle loves the airplane swing ride. I used to love this ride when I was little!

Kyle's first camel ride. I didn't trust myself to ride with him so

Daddy rode with Kyle.

More Third Birthday Festivities

My Little Munchkin's birthday wasn't complete until it was cake time! This was his second favorite part of the day...his favorite being his train table. Kyle enjoyed his cake, especially the icing....probably not a good idea a couple of hours before bedtime! Of course, it was a Thomas the Train cake to fit the "theme". I was even able to find 3 Thomas candles. It was perfect and yummy!

My Little Munchkin Turns THREE!!!!!

I'm not sure where the time has gone...it has truely flown by! I think back to three years ago not knowing what Kyle's future would be. I feel so blessed he beat the odds and has grown into such a happy and healthy little fellow. Kyle has overcome so many obstacles and has come such a long long way! He is my little "miracle" and I love him so very much!

Kyle's birthday weekend has been very busy and tons of fun! I will be writing several posts in the coming days about his celebrations....sorry in advance for the overload, but he only turns three once!

John and I have been super excited about his present....a Thomas train table and Thomas Roundhouse Train Set. We knew he would absolutely love it and I believe it's safe to say it was a huge hit!! The only thing he wanted to do today was play with the trains. We also decorated one wall in his playroom with all of Thomas's friends. The play area looks so cute and Kyle loves it so much!

Thomas train table and Roundhouse Set.

Thomas area in the playroom. Roundhouse Set. Doesn't the wall decor look great?? I spent hours painting and stenciling. Ha...they are stickers!

Kyle grinning from ear to ear.

Playing, playing....

and more playing!

Birthday Tradition

For the third year in a row, we followed Kyle's birthday tradition. Each year we take him to the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park. If you haven't been to the STL zoo it is definately a must see! It is one of the best zoos in the country...and the best part of all it is free! Kyle has always enjoyed going to the zoo and with the pretty fall weather it makes for a perfect outing to begin his birthday celebrations. Recently, there have been several babies born at the zoo...including five tiger cubs, giraffe, and a zebra. The birthday boy loves riding on the carousel and also the train.

When Kyle is several years older there is an Engineer of the Day program offered at the zoo. We plan to have Kyle be the Engineer of the Day on his birthday. I'm sure he will think it is the best thing ever!!!

Tomorrow is the Big Day so I plan to post about all of Kyle's excitement!

Kyle saying hello to the ducks!

One of the five tiger cubs..they are so adorable! Tiger cub is tired from pouncing on his mommy! Kyle is getting ready to pet the tiger fur. Cute baby giraffe. Kyle looking "cool" while riding the carousel. Kyle riding the train.

Looking at the penguins.

Exerting a little energy.

Taking a break.

The Backyardigans Live

Saturday, October 11th, we are taking Kyle to see The Backyardigans Live at The Fox Theatre. This is one of his favorite shows to watch on television, so hopefully he will enjoy the live show just as much. I've been skeptical to take him to a show such as this, but figure it's time to take the plunge and give it a whirl. Kyle's 3rd Birthday is the week before, so this will be part of his birthday present. I'm sure this will be a fun family adventure.

B Is For...

BIRTHDAY

This post continues my "ABC's of blogging" project.

Kyle's First Birthday was such a special milestone and we really had a fun celebration. My parents came to STL for the festivities. We began a tradition that year of going to the zoo. Kyle's actual birthday is October 5th so the weather is typically nice and it is our last zoo outing for the season.

When Kyle was in the NICU, Hayden was Kyle's neighbor for the majority of his journey. They were born one day apart and spent the same number of days in the hospital. I became good friends with Hayden's mom, Angie, and we have kept in touch since. We decided to have a double 1st birthday party for the two "little miracles". The party was held at a local park and the weather was perfect. It was so much fun and the perfect way to celebrate his first birthday milestone.

Included in the birthday invitations was this cute picture of Kyle and Hayden (shown below) with a sweet saying on the back of the picture. The card read:

No we're not twins.

We're not even related!

BUT we are two little miracles,

born a day apart and months too early!

We laid side by side in our little "boxes"

fighting for our lives for three months!

We have become dear friends and

thought it was only proper

to celebrate our first year of life together.

Picture included in the party invitations.

Mommy and Kyle at the Zoo - Oct. '06

Kyle's 1st Birthday Party

Kyle eating his cake at the party.

Our Little Family at the party.

Kyle's 2nd Birthday was more low key than his first. Instead of having a party, we had a small family celebration. We made our traditional trip to the zoo and had a celebration at home with cake and presents. Kyle's favorite "present" was his balloons. He played with the balloons for a week after his birthday!

The Birthday Prince at the Zoo.

Kyle wearing more of the cake than he ate!

Writing this post sure did bring back many good, fun memories. Time sure does fly...I can't believe he will be 3 in October.

I hope you enjoyed Kyle's birthday journey down memory lane! A is For...

Happy Birthday...

TO MY HUSBAND

We have double the celebrations today since today is my husband's birthday and also Memorial Day! We enjoyed a pretty low key day...just the way John wanted it to be! John received a digital photo frame (shown below) for his birthday. He's being eyeing this for a while and is excited to display it on his desk at work. I'm sure all the pictures he will upload will be of My Little Munchkin. A couple of other "gifts" I gave him were being able to sleep in this morning and cleaning out my closet. As much as I hate to say it, John usually wakes up with Kyle on the weekends, so sleeping in was a much needed gift. My poor closet has been needing major attention for a really long time and it always "scared" him so I cleaned it just for him! It's the silly little things these days that mean so much!

I am in the process of preparing his special birthday dinner. It consists of our usual special occasion menu...filet mignon, roasted potatoes, and corn on the cob. It has been a wet weekend in STL so we weren't able to enjoy any outdoor festivities to celebrate the weekend.

Hope everyone had a wonderful, fun-filled weekend!