Zoe is Four!

Zoe turned four this March. It was a crazy spring and I am finally writing this for her. Our Zoe bug is growing up so fast! She is so energetic, funny and social. She loves to play with her friends and go to school. She is crazy and we love her.

Zoe loves:

• Her Family
• People
• Animals
• Playing Outside
• Hot Dogs
• Watermelon
• Swimming
• Playing Moms and Dads (Playing House)
• Going to School
• Frozen
• Reading Books
• Painting
• Taking Baths
• Getting Her Hair Cut
• Flying Kites
• Butterflies
• Wearing Her Hair Down
• Going to Cardinals Games
• Chick- Fil-A

Zoe doesn't like:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Getting Splinters Out of her Feet
• When Her Kite Gets Stuck in the Tree
• Waiting on Mommy to Get Done Talking to People
• Barking Dogs
• When Zach Pulls Her Hair

She got a brother after she turned 4.

She was a flower girl in Tia G's wedding.

My bug.

Her first Daddy-Daughter Game

She likes to help wash the dishes.

She started school!

Trinity Hoyleton!

Helping Make Banana Bread

Zoe drove the boat with Uncle Steve at the Lake!

Riding on the boat with Aunt Vivi.

Watching Christ Our Rock High School Volleyball

First Field Trip

Princess Poppy for Halloween

Hanging out with Grammy Betty

Princess Bug

Pre-op

She had successful bladder surgery.

Playing in the Playroom at the Hospital

My princess bug.

A girl and her daddy

Christmas Time

Sass.

Cutie!

Love

First Trip to the Dentist

She's so big!

Let's sing!

Proud parents

Excited to open gifts

Giving the walking ladies hugs!

Giving hugs to her friends...

We can't believe she's four already and we love her so!

That's all for now! God is good!

Zach is One!

Our sweet, handsome little boy turned 1 in April. Life has been crazy this spring which had made me off my blog game. Zach is our laid back guy. He loves to mess with his sister, snuggle with mommy and soft things and love to eat. I was so scared to be the mom of a boy, but here I am and I love this little guy!

Zach loves:

• His Family
• Meatballs
• His Pal Scout
• Strawberries
• Being Outside
• Running Away From Mommy and Daddy
• Hot Dogs
• Grilled Cheese
• Pulling Zoe's Hair
• Playing with Zoe
• Sesame Street
• Potato Chips
• Naps
• Little Tikes Playhouse
• Putting Everything in His Mouth
• Playing in Water
• Dancing
• Bouncing a Ball
• Going Down Slides

Zach doesn't like:

• Getting His Hair Washed
• Getting in the Carseat
• Getting His Diaper Changed
• Squishy Foods
• Being without Food
• Playing with Zoe (Yes, it's on both lists.)
• The Fact that He Can't Talk
• The morning

Zach is indifferent about:

• Sign Language
• Animals

What people say about Zach:

• He's cute.
• He looks like Mommy.
• He looks like Daddy.
• He looks like Zoe.
• How many teeth does he have?
• He walks so well.

Hi Mom, nice to meet you. Let's snuggle

Zoe meeting her new brother. Mommy is trying to hold back the tears.

This one gets you right in the feels.

So sleepy.

Why are you taking pictures of me naked with a baseball hat on?

First time he kept his eyes open long enough for a picture.

Snuggle bear.

Happy Baptism Day!

Christmas Bear!

I'm so smitten!

These two.

I got this one, mom and dad.

He wasn't too sure about his smash cake.

Opening his gifts...

Turning one is exhausting!

We love him so much!

That's all for now. God is good!

Home Sweet Hoyleton: Proximity

Something I love about Hoyleton is how close everything is. Now, you may say, "But Katie, Target is 35 minutes away!" Yes, Target and many things are 35-45 minutes away, but that says me money. Haha. Everything we need is within an hour of Hoyleton because we live about an hour from St. Louis. I love how close everything is when you put it into perspective and where we used to live.

I love that we live close to St. Louis. I spent a good deal of my life living in St. Louis and was born in the suburbs. I am a St. Louis girl at heart, so being close to my favorite city is a huge plus. I have family and friends in St. Louis that I get to see on a regular basis now. We were able to go on a short Labor Day vacation with family friends because we are close now. I love that we can go to a Cardinals game any time. Nate has a clergy pass that gives him two free tickets to any non-cubs, non-opening day, regular season game. It's pretty awesome. We already have plans for several games this coming summer. I love that I can take the kids to the awesome attractions that St. Louis offers for children such as the Zoo, Science Center, Magic House, sporting events and all other kinds of things.

Zoe at the Magic House

Nate and I on a Cardinals game date.

One of the greatest things about being close to St. Louis is being so close to St. Louis Children's Hospital. When we were in Texas we had to travel 3.5 hours to Zoe's urologist and now we only have to go one hour. Also, I was so glad that Zoe was able to have surgery at St. Louis Children's because our experience was fantastic.

What I really love when it comes to proximity and Hoyleton is the proximity to my friends. If we want to take Zoe to the park and get some friends to take along, our friends, the Kasten's live on our way as we walk to the park. It is not a hassle to plan a walk or park play-date at the last minute because there is no getting in the car and driving somewhere. We walk out the door and there are our friends. I love that if it is getting late or you aren't able to go out of the house it is easy and quick to borrow something from someone. I have needed so many things and its so easy to just call my neighbor instead of running out to get things. For instance, a few weeks ago, Zach had a fever and I couldn't seem to find any infant's ibuprofen in our house, so I called up a friend and had it in less than 10 minutes. That is less time than it would have been for me to run to the Walmart around the corner in McAllen. Either I or someone else has borrowed these things over the past year: an onion, loaf pan, flavor injector, corn starch, ice and I am sure there are other things. Even though the store is 15 minutes away, you usually don't have to go in an emergency because someone is happy to share what you need.

My friend Esther called me yesterday wondering if I had some paper plates and forks to send with my husband for the Elder's meeting because she had made them a cheesecake. She was busy running her son to extracurriculars yesterday and didn't have time to get those things to send with the cheesecake. I was happy to send along those things that I already had in my house. I think the proximity helps us all put less pressure on ourselves. We don't have to let other things suffer and run late to everything because we had to run to the store for something like paper plates. We aren't afraid to ask our friends to help us out in our time of need because we have been in the same boat and they would do the same for us. The fact I know I can lean on my neighbors from time to time helps me not to stress out quite as much.

Our proximity to the church is amazing, in that we live next door. Some pastor's families don't like this because it makes you open for people to drop in or look into your windows and know what you're doing all the time. I personally don't care if people know my business, I'm an open book for the most part so that part doesn't bother me at all. I love that I don't have to get the kids in the car to go to church or school. I love that Nate can spend more time at home before meetings at night because he just has to walk next door. It's also very convenient for when I hold parties for the kids at the school. I don't have to load up everything in my car and drive it there. I also can run home and grab anything I have forgotten.

So, even though we live in a tiny town in rural Southern Illinois, there really isn't a problem with things being 15 plus minutes away. We have St. Louis, a church, a restaurant (and bar) and each other. No problems here.

That's all for now. God is good.

Zach is 11 Months!

Zach is 11 Months Old. How did this happen? He is almost a full year. Why don't they stay cute little babies forever? We are in full swing for planning his first birthday party. The first birthday is a celebration of not only this sweet little child, but also, you kept your kid alive for an entire year! Congrats! I feel like it's more of an achievement with the first one because its the first time you've done it. However, I also feel like I forgot everything about newborns when Zach was born and was just as scared and clueless as the first time around. I will say though, I wasn't super stressed out if he didn't eat all of his bottle or poop every day because I knew he would eat when he was hungry and what goes in must come out. Anyway, he is 11 Months and he's cute as ever. He's starting to show his personality more and more every day. He does things like throws his pacifier when he's mad and laughs at his sister when she makes funny noises. Zach is getting to be more aware of what people are feeling. Zoe knocked her daddy over when he was sitting on the floor and Zach was afraid that he was hurt and started crying. He has also started to bond more with Daddy. He has been a Mama's boy pretty much since he was born and still is, but recently he has been noticing and wanting Daddy more and more. He saw Daddy from across the gym while we were walking one morning and started to get very excited. He loves his Dad. He took a few steps yesterday. Looks like we will have a walker soon!

Zach likes:

• His Family
• All Danger (stairs, hot things)
• Putting EVERYTHING in his mouth
• Meat
• Laughing at his sister
• Pulling Zoe's hair
• Crawling really fast.
• Hanging out with the walking ladies
• Smartphones
• His Pacifier
• Taking a bath

Zach doesn't like:

• Rinsing his hair in the tub
• Getting his diaper changed
• Changing his clothes
• Getting in the car seat
• Waiting on food
• Being hungry
• Getting his hands or face wiped

Zach is unsure of:

• Squishy foods
• Wind
• Shoes

Hey Buddy, you're blocking the 11 months sign.

Oh sorry Mom, let me move over.

Yep, I'm cute.

Hmm?

Picture time!

Lemme see that sign.

I got it!

Okay, I'll sit for one.

How did he get this cute?

Mama's snuggler

Mama got flour on him when she was baking.

She's my mama.

Making a plan to mess with his sister.

Can't I drink this?

Hamming it up with Uncle Kurt

I'll take these, thanks.

So hard to be me.

I'll get this one.

First Spaghetti night.

Standing on dad with sister.

I can't even.

That's all for now. God is good.

Hopefully All Done...(Update on Zoe's Condition)

As many of you are aware, Zoe had surgery in November for a urinary condition called Vesicoureteral Reflux. If you have questions about what that is, you can look within my blog at these posts: Zoe: The Most Popular Baby in the Hospital or More Crazy Adventures for Zobug (Another Update). Since we had a follow up today, I thought I would share the story of her surgery.