A little girl was at our house for the weekend!!!!

We had the best weekend with good friends. Ryan, Becki, and Miss Libby arrived to our house on Friday night. We were so excited for a baby to come hang out with us for the weekend. Even more excited that this little baby was a little GIRL and was coming with her wonderful parents. I had a constant smile on my face all weekend being surrounded in everything PINK! It was so great to FINALLY meet Miss Libby Lou after seeing pictures of her for the past seven months. She was such a perfect baby. All week I have tried to prepare Z for Libby. We got out his BUMBO seat, pack-n-play, and bouncy seat. During the week all Z would say was "MINE!" I was a little nervous that he would not do so well with Libby but he surprised us. He was very sweet with her. We only had a few episodes of jealousy where Z started to act like a baby. I was expecting a lot more episodes. Anyways we absolutely had the best time with Ryan, Becki, and Libby. Can't say that we did anything super exciting but just catching up with stories and conversation was the best. Thank you guys for driving down here to visit us. We loved having you! We wish we lived closer!



Zachary playing with Libby's toysPretty in Pink! Lovin' on Libby!
Ryan sporting the breast feeding apron. He's one funny guy!

Zachary climbed up on Becki's lap while she was holding Libby. Z wanted some love too.
Zachary "holding" Libby. She really enjoyed Zachary and was a really good sport.
Zachary and Libby enjoying Tummy Time
Our "timed" photo before leaving for church this morning

Weekend Company

This past weekend we were blessed to be surrounded by out-of-town friends. On Friday, we met our good friends, John & Misty for dinner in Branson. We were thrilled that they invited us to dinner on their vacation. We ate at a wonderful new Mediterranean restaurant in Branson. It was SO good. We enjoyed a nice dinner with appetizers, entrees, and wonderful company. Even though our visit was short we were so glad they called us when they were in the area.

Me, Kevin, John, and Misty
Our "timed" photo in John and Misty's hotel suite

Then on Saturday morning Zachary and I headed back to Branson with my parents to meet April and Eddie. Rachel, Matt, and Elliott met us down there too. April is the daughter of my parents best friends in Louisiana. My mom, dad, and Aprils father served in Vietnam together and have been good friends ever since. April and her husband, Eddie are traveling surgical nurses. They are currently working in Texas but drove to Branson for a mini-vacation. We were thrilled when April contacted my parents to let them know they were in the area. We met for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We figured out it had been 5 1/2 years since we had seen each other last but it was like no time had past. It is wonderful to have such wonderful friends all over the world.


Zachary, Me, April, Eddie, Mom, Dad, Rachel, Elliott, and Matt

MOPS playdate

On Thursday we had our monthly MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) play date. This month we had our play date at a local children's museum. Our MOPS group went their last year but Zachary and I were unable to go. I am kinda embarrassed that we had never been there being that our good friend, Fawn, used to work there. Anyways, we went to the Discovery Center and had a blast. Zachary loved all the hands-on displays. IT WAS AWESOME! I know as he gets older he will get more and more out of it. I was SUPER DUPER impressed with our children's museum. It had everything and more than we could have found in a big city. Not only did we enjoy the displays/play areas but we enjoyed our morning with the other moms and preschoolers.


This was Z's favorite. The crane and backhoe. I did not think I was going to be able to get him out of this room. He loved scooping up the dirt.
This is Zachary the Builder...not Bob the Builder


Z posing by the gigantic mouth, teeth, and floss. He loved this exhibit too.


Z shopping at the "grocery store".

Z showing off his grocery items....lots of steak, cheese, milk, apples, and coffee creamer for mom.
This was as close as Z would get to the mannequin at the pretend doctors office.
Zachary playing Old MacDonald Had A Farm

Enjoying my little man

I have been wanting to blog all week but we have been on the go or outside. I can honestly say that this week I have put aside all housework, projects, and things that need to be done to enjoy Zachary and the weather. Life is just too precious to have my too do list out. Don't get me wrong I will ALWAYS have my list but this week I put it aside to enjoy my little guy. I know that this is not going to be a weekly or daily thing but after being cooped up in our house last week from our sickness I thought this was the perfect week to play.

It all started when Z watched the movie "MADAGASCAR'". He started asking ALOT of questions about the zoo, lions, zebras, hippos, and giraffes. So on Tuesday when it was 78 degrees we went to our local zoo. Z has been there several times but this time was different. HE LOVED IT! He was really into learning all about the animals; what they did, how they slept, what they ate, etc. My funniest Z story was when we saw the flamingos. I said they are pink because of what they eat. I said they eat shrimp. Zachary immediately started licking his lips, smacking his tongue, and wiping his mouth. He said, "yummy they must eat at Nakatos". If you don't know Nakatos is a local japanese habachi style restaraunt that serves shrimp. From that moment on Zachary as been asking for Nakatos every night at dinner. Too funny. The only downer at the zoo was the train was not running. It starts running everyday in April so I told Z we would just have to go back. He was okay with that as long as we got our photo by it. We had a yummy picnic lunch and enjoyed some time at the park afterwards. We had a wonderful day together and made a lot of memories.

Petting zoo animals
Zachary sitting by the train
Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Zoo
Zachary was talking to this hippo like it was human.
Riding the Hippo in the parking lot

I will post more later about our week but it's time to hit the gym. Enjoy!

A weekend of friends and fun

I finally feel well enough to post about our weekend last weekend. Make sense? Anyways before we all got sick we enjoyed a visit from Julie and Jeff.

Julie was one of my best friends from Baker. We lived together at Alpha Chi for 3 years. Julie, Megs, and I were called the "Three Stooges". Since our college days it is not as easy to get together for the weekend. It is even harder for the Three Stooges (Megs, Julie, and I) to get together since we all have our own families and we live 3-4 hours away from each other. Somehow last minute, Julie and her fiance, Jeff, were able to come down for a weekend. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them. Zachary loved having Julie and Jeff at our home too. In fact, by the time they left he was calling them Aunt Julie and Uncle Jeff. Since Kevin's brothers name is Jeff, Zachary assumed that "Uncle Jeff" from Florida was coming. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized it was another Jeff.

So on Friday night they arrived. We spent the entire night catching up on our families, jobs, etc. We woke up on Saturday morning, had breakfast here and headed to the Branson Landing and the Outlets. Then we enjoyed some appetizers at Garfield's followed up with Ice Cream at Mr. B's on Main Street. Jeff is probably the biggest fan of ice cream I have ever met so we wanted to take him to a Mom & Pop's style place. After a full day of shopping we headed back home to get ready for our evening.

Z and Julie holding hands on the ride to Branson




My family had their monthly birthday party so we crashed that party to say hello. Everyone wanted to see Julie and give Jeff their stamp of approval. EVERYONE loved Jeff!

This picture was taken at my Aunt and Uncles house. We thought it was too funny that my dad and Julie matched. So we had to get a picture of Pa Peacock and Julie.
We left Zachary with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Matt, and Elliott then went to eat at our favorite place...The Flame. It was great to have a night out with good friends and eat wonderful steaks.




The Flame SteakhouseWaiting for our reservation downstairs in the Red Room

I have never eaten so much food in one weekend. No Weight Watcher points were counted I promise you that. On Sunday we ended our time together with a "traditional" meal at Lambert's Cafe. Not one of my favorites but it was a must for Julie and Jeff. Zachary enjoyed the thrown rolls and our guest enjoyed it too.

Julie and Jeff showing off their Lambert's food
Our side of the table
Group Photo at Lambert's Cafe

I did not want the weekend to end. It was so good to re-connect with Julie and Jeff. It's funny because even though it had been almost a year since our last visit it seemed as if no time has past. That is a true sign of a wonderful friendship. We are so happy that Julie has met her soulmate. We think Jeff is perfect! Congratulations to both of you and thanks for a fun weekend.

Out of the loop

I can honestly say that this week our family has been out of the loop. On Tuesday night I started to come down with flu-like symptoms. By Wednesday morning it took all I had to get out of bed and drive Z to preschool. I knew he was okay to go to school because he is on antibiotics, not running a fever and doing better. As soon as I dropped him off I came back home to collapse. Since then I have a super sore throat, aches and pains in my bones and joints, as well as a major headache. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with my primary care physician. I am sure I have some weird virus or something like that but I figured it was worth my $25 co-pay to get checked out. Basically, if you want to get a hold of me send me an e-mail. I am not answering my phone much because my throat hurts so bad. I just pray that Kevin and Zachary do not get this. Please keep us in your prayers. I will post fun posts later. I am still waiting for energy to post photos from our fun weekend. To be continued....

Ears, Ears, Ears

I have some wonderful photos and stories to share from our weekend with our good friends, Julie and Jeff but they are going to have to wait. I am too tired from being up all night with Zachary to post so I will do them later this week. Until then here is what has been going on with Z.

Since December 17 we have been struggling with Zachary's ears. He had a ruptured ear drum on the 17th and ever since then had has had three more ear infections. When he gets an ear infection he does not sleep, eat, or act normal. The American Associates of Pediatrics recommends waiting for ear ventilation tubes until the child has had four ear infections in a six month time period. Well today Z was diagnosed with ear infection numero four. So we have a consultation appointment next week with an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist to discuss ear tubes for Z. Since this whole ear thing has started I have stressed that I just want him to be healthy and back to "normal". I pray that these ear tubes will do the trick because Kevin and I are worn out. Not to mention poor little Z. He is beyond tired of feeling sick. Please say a little prayer for Zachary and us that we are doing the right thing for his ears. To be honest I would have done the ear tubes after the second infection because the antibiotics are rough on Z's intestinal tract and his body.


This photo is an image of a healthy inner ear


This is a photo of an ear infection. YUCK!

Happy March!

Well, it's time to saturate our house in green. I always love to decorate for each holiday or season. I have done it for years but it is so much more fun now that Zachary enjoys it so much. Along with the decorations we learn all about the holiday or tradition. We hope you all have a Happy March and a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Charity Auction and Friends

On Friday night, our local dental society was holding a Charity auction for the Ronald McDonald Tooth Truck. We thought it would be a great way to support local children and the tooth truck, so we put on our dress clothes and had a night out. Zachary was thrilled because he got to have an overnight with Grammy & Pops, plus he got to play with cousin Elliott and Aunt Rachel. Upon dropping him off at my parents, my mom took pics of Kevin and I on the "infamous" stair steps. I say "infamous" because this is where my sister and I stood for all of our high school dances and proms. It was funny almost 12 years later to have formal photos taken.



Hil and Mindy
My former boss, "Martens", Mindy, Me, and Kevin

Once arriving at the country club we enjoyed an evening with lots of friends in the dental community, lots of food and desserts, a live band, a live auctions, and fun. The only thing missing was our friends, Kim and Casey!