Lone Elk Park

WELCOME TO LONE ELK PARK

Today was another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Planning an outdoor activity seemed to be our only option...can't waste time indoors when it's so pretty! Believe it or not, The Spence Family chose to head to a park, but this isn't our typical kind of park. Lone Elk Park is a nature, scenic, hiking, wildlife area where elk, bison, deer, waterfowl, and wild turkey call home. We located all these animals during our tour except for the deer and the wild turkey...maybe next time! Lone Elk Park is 546 acres so it is impossible to take in everything in one visit. Also, The World Bird Sanctuary is located next door which we also plan to take Kyle too one day in the future. It's always so fun and exciting heading on new adventures with Kyle and watching him enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors!

There were plenty of bison in view...

aren't they such pretty animals? Ha!

Just a couple of scenic pictures. I can only imagine how

pretty the area is once the leaves are on the trees and

especially during the fall once the leaves change colors.

It was such a refreshing treat to spend quality time enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures with my boys this weekend. We can finally see light at the end of the tunnel that spring is on it's way...Hooray!! Hope everyone had a fun-filled weekend!!

Warmest Day in 2010

Today was the warmest day St. Louis has seen in 2010 and it seemed everyone was out to enjoy the first taste of spring! If only it would last, but I'm sure Mother Nature is just teasing us! We can't be picky and take each beautiful day to head outside and soak up the sun and warmer temperatures. We took Kyle to one of our favorite parks, which is typically not very crowded, but today was a different story...plenty of other people stole our wonderful idea!

As usual, Kyle loves the freedom of being outdoors. This year, he is really enjoying the slides more than usual....I should have counted, but I'm sure he went down the slide at least 50 times today. The park has a sand volleyball court and Kyle was determined to play in the sand. He must be trying to tell us he wants to go on a beach vacation this year. Also, in a recent post I mentioned our spring/summer goal for Kyle...transitioning him to the big boy swing. Well, yesterday he actually got on one, mainly because he was following his friend and today he also got on one, but wasn't such a fan. It really depends on the swing and how low it is to the ground. I'm sure once we find the perfect swing he will become a pro! But, we are making progress!!

Tomorrow is going to be another warmer day, so we are making plans to head outside once again. Hope you had nice weather in your neck of the woods!

Kyle had his eye on the prize...

the playground

One of his fifty trips down the slide Not so sure about this swing

Kyle the tree hugger What a beautiful day Waterfall

Productive Date Night

Thursday evening, John and I attended a workshop seminar entitled "Managing Challenging Behaviors" sponsored by the Early Childhood Center where Kyle attends preschool. The seminar focused on techniques for managing challenging behaviors, learning the functions of problem behavior, how to identify the function of behavior, and how to teach a replacement behavior which achieves the same function.

We thought this would be beneficial to attend, to assist us with managing some of Kyle's not so "wonderful" behaviors. What we have learned is that Kyle's behavior issues are attention seeking. He tends to "act out" when he isn't getting the attention he wants (or thinks he deserves) from us. Most of the time, he wants our undivided attention and will go to great lengths in order to achieve his goal. Honestly, we didn't come home with as much knowledge on the subject as we were hoping, but we did learn one important fact. Based on the attendance at the workshop, we certainly are not the only parents struggling with some difficult behaviors. We were able to speak with another couple who has a son about the same age, and it was helpful to hear what they have experienced with their son. It was a small world because their son was also born prematurely and spent time in the same NICU where Kyle was for eighty six days.

After the workshop, we did eat dinner at a great Italian restaurant...Rich and Charlie's. Kyle was with a sitter while we were away and they seemed to have a great time together...doing crafts, reading, playing with trains, etc. It's always comforting to know that he is comfortable with babysitters and doesn't have a tough time with the separation....this proves he is growing up!!

What Is Your Typical Day Like????

Today, I am participating in Kelly's weekly blog event..."Show Us Your Life". This weeks topic is "What is Your Typical Day Like?" For those who aren't regular readers of my blog, I am a SAHM to a four year old preschooler named Kyle. My typical day is absolutely glamorous and I know many of you will be anxious to jump into my shoes and live out my typical day....Ha Ha :)

6:45a.m. - 7:30a.m. The alarm rings, which is way to early for this mommy, so the alarm is snoozed a minimum of two times. Once I finally crawl out of bed, I take a shower and get dressed. I like to get myself ready before getting Kyle up and ready for his day. During this time, if I hear Kyle waking up, I know the morning routine will run much smoother

7:30a.m. -7:45a.m. Head upstairs to get Kyle out of bed. This is somewhat of a challenge if I need to wake him from a deep sleep. I've always attempted to live by the rule of "never wake a sleeping baby", but when he has preschool this is a neccessary evil! Once he is fully awake I get Kyle dressed and ready for school.

7:45a.m. -8:15a.m. Time for Kyle to eat breakfast and have a little down time before heading out the door. During this time, I finish getting dressed if this didn't take place the way it should have earlier.

8:15a.m. - 8:30a.m. Leave the house and drop Kyle off to preschool.

8:30a.m. - 11:30a.m. Since Kyle is in school for these three hours, I attempt to get as much accomplished as I possibly can...shopping, errands, appointments, or meeting friends for hot chocolate (since I don't drink coffee). It is amazing how much you can get done when you are alone! This may seem like a long time, but this three hours flies by so fast and before I know it I'm heading to pick him up.

11:30am. Pick Kyle up at school.

11:45a.m. - 2:00p.m. Arrive home, eat lunch, read books, do puzzles, and play, play, and play some more. During this time we also have some down time...usually Kyle will watch an episode of Thomas the Train and I will "try" to get on the computer. "Try" is the key word because Kyle isn't a big fan of me being on the computer when he is awake. I like to clean as we go so the house and playroom isn't a complete disaster zone once the day is done, but I've found that this is much easier said than done...on most days!

2:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. Kyle and I head out and about for an afternoon activity. This activity changes from day to day, but we go to the carousel, children's museum, local science center, play dates with friends...just to name a few. We are looking forward to the spring/summer when we will be able to plan outside activites!! Spring can't get here quick enough!!

4:00p.m. Arrive home, plan dinner, and prepare for John's arrival.>

5:o0p.m. John arrives home, I begin to prepare dinner. and the "witching hour" begins. Since Kyle no longer is napping in the afternoon, by this time he is about "done", so his behavior can be very challenging...to say the least.

5:30p.m. We sit down as a family at the kitchen table and eat dinner. Unfortunatley, dinner time isn't very relaxing because Kyle is melting down, along with the fact he isn't a very big eater so John and I are up and down during our meal..it's a very good thing we both are fast eaters!

6:00p.m. Wash/dry dishes, and clean the kitchen. I don't like to have this chore looming too late in the evening, if at all possbile.

6:30p.m. -7:00p.m. Take Kyle upstairs for his bath, brush teeth, and read a book or two before going to sleep.

7:00p.m. - 11:00p.m. Time to spend with John, do laundry, pick up any debris left from the day, watch our many reality television shows, read, and play on the computer.

11:00p.m. Bedtime...time to rest up and do it all again!!

This is a breakdown of the fun times of a SAHM. It may not be the most glamorous life one could lead, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to stay at home with Kyle in his early years. If you are interested, head over to Kelly's blog to read about the "typical days" of many other wonderful bloggers!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Until next time...take care!

2010 - Year of Change

I hope everyone has had a great start to 2010! The new year brought a couple of big changes to The Spence house. John and I are creatures of habit, so change can be difficult. Kyle is a little more "go with the flow" so it isn't as difficult for him. Hopefully, for his sake he will stay this way and not take after his Mommy and Daddy...LOL! In this post, I will only discuss one of the changes so the post won't be too long and hopefully discuss the other in a post tomorrow.

At the end of December the company John worked at for 14 years was purchased by another company. The company he worked for was a rather small company and the new company is a much larger company, based in Helsinki, Finland. With this change, has come travel. Since we have been married, John has only traveled once for an overnight trip, which was pre-Kyle, so travel is definitely not something our family is accustomed to. His first trip was to Boulder, Colorado for a week in the beginning of January. Kyle and I managed just fine except for one stressful situation, but in the end everything was fine.

John's second trip was to Helsinki, Finland. This was a seven day trip and quite a a snowy, cold adventure for him. Unfortunately, the week consisted of work, work, and more work so he wasn't able to sight see as much as he would have liked. I do have to say they have some absolutely delicious chocolate so I did get something good from his trip...LOL. My parents came to spend the week with Kyle and me which certainly made me feel more comfortable since John was out of the country. He already has another trip planned in March, but it is within the United States and only for three days. I have a new found respect for families who deal with plenty of travel on a regular basis. It isn't easy, but with many jobs these days it is a necessity.

Through John's work travels we have a new best friend named Skype. It is totally awesome that we can video chat with each other...makes it a little easier and best of all it is FREE!! Kyle isn't quite sure what to think of seeing Daddy on the computer screen, but it is so cute when he kisses and hugs the computer monitor....it is priceless!

Kyle's Magical Day

One of the most popular attractions in our area for children is The Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum. John and I have been very excited to bring Kyle to experience the "magical excitement" of the museum. We have been waiting for the perfect time, so he could enjoy what it has to offer and today was the day we chose to visit for the first time.

Kyle absolutely LOVED The Magic House!! It is filled with activities for children to explore, pretend, discover, play, construct, and create. Kyle was able to pretend to be working in a bank, a restaurant, grocery store, as well as being a mechanic. He also enjoyed the "construction zone" pretending to be a construction worker, wearing a tool belt, painting, etc. One of the cutest areas is the "Star-Spangled Center" where children can sit at the President's desk and play in a jury room. "Once Upon A Time...Exploring The World of Fairy Tales" is a limited time exhibit which Kyle enjoyed. He was able to have a hands on, interactive experience from several of the most popular fairy tales, including Jack and The Bean Stalk.

This is just a small sampling of what there is to see and do....it is impossible to explore the entire Magic House in one visit. Kyle had such a great time, we decided to purchase a yearly membership. With the membership we have free admission for an entire year, as well as a few other perks. We look forward to our next visit in the very near future!!

Kyle, the mechanic, filling up the windshield washer fluid. Our future Mozart.

This place is electrifying!

Kyle serving Mommy and Daddy some pizza. Kyle also enjoyed the museum gift shop.

Spence Saturday Snip Its

I love Saturdays, which means my boys and I have some family fun! This morning, John and I took Kyle to a "Planes, Trains, and Things That Go" workshop sponsored by the Parents As Teachers group through our local school district. The event was advertised for ages 2-5 so we figured it would be a perfect outing that Kyle would love, since he is all about "things that go". The majority of the children there were younger than Kyle, but it certainly didn't stop him from having a good 'ole time. By far, Kyle's favorite part of the morning was "driving" the fire truck...he has seen a fire truck up close and personal on many occasions, but it's always fun and exciting each and every time.

Kyle, The Fire Chief, driving the fire truck

We were experiencing a "heat wave" in the St. Louis area today with temperatures reaching into the 5o's. We couldn't pass up the awesome opportunity, so this afternoon we headed to the park to soak up the "warmer" temperatures. Kyle has been antsy to get outside and has been asking to go to the park practically everyday....unfortunately everday the answer is no, but today his wish came true! Kyle was so happy to be set free and was able to run off some much needed energy. John and I enjoyed the fresh air as well....The Spence Family is ready for spring!

So happy to be on the playground. Whew...here I come!

Ready, Set, Go!!!!!! Can you catch me???

My two favorite "boys".

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

The Spence Family would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! We had a wonderful day spending quality time with one another. John and Kyle brought me a dozen beautiful roses and gave me the sweetest cards showing their love and appreciation! Kyle also brought home special artwork he made at preschool, especially for Mommy, which I will always treasure!

John and I celebrated Saturday evening with a special Valentine's date night! We began the evening with dinner at Candicci's, a local Italian restaurant. The meal was delicious and we enjoyed every single bite! After dinner we enjoyed a drink, relaxing by a fire, enjoying our time alone, having an adult conversation! To end the evening, we went to The Sky Music Lounge to listen to a local cover band...extremely loud, but we enjoyed the music and people watching! John and I always have a great time on our "dates" no matter what we decide to do. As much as we love Kyle, it's nice to get out and about with each other. Hope everyone had a special day with their loved ones!

Pumpkinland at Thies Farm

The last several weeks we have seen rain, rain, and more rain, so outdoor activities have been somewhat limited. This past Sunday, however, it wasn't raining and the sun was shining so we decided to head out to Thies Farm so Kyle could experience some fall and Halloween fun! Thies Farm has an area called Pumpkinland for the children to run, play, and explore. The area has many activities including tractors to ride, mazes made with hay bales, pumpkins, a hay ride, and a pirate ship. There is also pony rides and farm animals to keep the little ones entertained. We all enjoyed our time enjoying the pretty weather and having a little fall fun at the same time! Of course, we took pictures so I am sharing several for your viewing pleasure!

Kyle loved riding in the tractor tire swing!

Kyle also enjoyed playing in the large area of hay. Kyle making his way through one of the hay bale mazes.

The Spence Family at Thies Farm It's a must for Kyle to pose with the pumpkins although at the time he was more interested in watching the tractor being used for the hay ride.

Hello Fall

Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall! Fall is such a pretty season with the leaves changing. In the STL area the leaves are much more vibrant and beautiful than in years past...maybe because we have had more rain than usual. On this Sunday morning, we decided to take a colorful and scenic drive. We headed out to the wine country area to a little park John spotted in the past. Klondike Park was the perfect destination to enjoy the fall leaves. With several different walking trails and an overlook to the Missouri River there was plenty for Kyle to explore.

During our site seeing of the area, we made a very special, small world meeting. At one point, John was calling Kyle Robert and a mother and son approached us to say that the son's name was Kyle Robert. It was such a coincidence, especially since we very rarely say Kyle Robert in public. We continued talking and soon realized that the lady works in the NICU at the very same hospital where Kyle spent the first 86 days of his life. She has worked in the unit for 25 years so she was there when we were, but we didn't have the opportunity to meet her during Kyle's stay. She was so happy to meet Kyle and was amazed at how well he is doing for a former 25 weeker. I think it makes her remember why she does her job each and every day. She was such a sweet lady and it was such a special treat to meet her....we were meant to each be in Klondike Park on this day, at this time! Next time we make a visit to the NICU, we will certainly check to make sure she is working! It just goes to show that it really is a very small world!

Below are several pictures from our fall family outing! Enjoy!

Greetings From The Dells

Saturday morning The Spence Family headed on vacation. Origianally, we planned to make a stop on the way and arrive in Wisconsin Dells on Sunday. We were making such good progress and Kyle was cooperating so we decided to continue driving and arrived this evening. This was such a great decision...so we could get settled, unpacked, and shop for supplies for our condo. We are staying at The Wilderness On The Lake in a two bedroom condo overlooking Lake Delton...beautiful! The condo is great, fully equipped kitchen, washer/dryer and is huge... it may be a little big for our little family of three, but it is nice to have the space separate from Kyle. We are deciding what our itinerary will be for the week and what fun adventures we would like to explore in The Dells....so many activities to choose from! Stay tuned for details of our week filled with family fun!

Kyle's Visitors

My parents came to St. Louis for a visit recently, mainly to visit Kyle. It was a nice way for Kyle to end his summer vacation before preschool started. They haven't seen Kyle since January so they were happy to have the opportunity to spend time with him and vice versa. Kyle is always excited to have the extra special attention from Ce Ce and Poppy...reading books, playing with toys, and playing chase. They were able to enjoy a little "cooler" weather than what they are accustom to in New Orleans. We enjoyed dinner on the deck one evening and a pleasant morning at a local park to let Kyle run and explore! Kyle sure hopes to be able to visit again soon with Ce Ce and Poppy!

Poppy and Kyle

Beautiful Butterflies, Horses, and Slides

What do these three things have in common??? A morning full of fun for a certain three year old named Kyle. This past Sunday morning, we headed to a very popular, must see attraction in the STL area. Faust Park has many activities to keep the little ones entertained. First we visited The Butterfly House, a very pretty, tropical, tranquil setting which is home to approximately two thousand butterflies of eighty different varieties. Kyle is alway amazed when he walks in and is greeted by so many colorful butterflies. He attempts to touch and catch them (which of course isn't allowed), but they sure are fast movers so he doesn't have much success! As Kyle gets older it will be a great educational adventure for him to learn about different stages of a butterlies life, bugs, insects, etc.

After spending time with the butterflies, we took Kyle to ride a horse on the carousel and to the playground to burn off some of his energy. The carousel is indoors so it would also be perfect for a warm summer day when you are attempting to beat the heat. We have really been lucky the past couple of weeks with the wonderful weather we have been experiencing. I realize I have mentioned this in many past posts, but I'm amazed at the spring/fall like temperatures in the middle of July! Believe, I'm not complaining...I would take this any day of the year! Below are several pictures from our Sunday morning outing!

Welcome to The Butterfly House

Kyle is all smiles with his new butterfly friends. Mommy and Kyle stop to rest and enjoy the beautiful environment