Sweet Savannah turns 3!

It is so hard to believe that last Friday, we celebrated our baby turning 3. I'm always in awe of how much children change from month to month, when as adults, I feel like I stay pretty much the same. But looking at pictures from even three and six months ago, she looks like a whole new person!

Savannah is a sweet, spunky three year old with personality for days. Sometimes this is a blessing, and sometimes, the greatest challenge of my day. :-) She is headstrong and always wants things done her way, on her schedule, and with her as the star of the show. As the oldest child, I can't imagine where my oldest child gets all of these traits...

She loves to eat (most days), loves her little brother (most days), has a great time at school and the daycare at the gym (most days), and above all, she loves Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the rest of the Clubhouse gang with ever fiber of her being (all days, nights, weekends, holidays, etc.)

For her birthday, Mick and I decided to take her ice skating. Though she didn't really get the hang of it, she did have a great time watching Mick and I skate around her, and sitting on a chair on the ice. She was brave enough to try it a few times, which I was really proud of her for.

She also got moved into a big girl bed (her crib with the front taken off), and this weekend, Mick and I plan to redo her room and give her a real big girl bed. I am really excited about that as I think she is really going to like it.

We went to the doctor today. She weighs 31.2 lbs and is 37 inches tall. She's still a peanut, but growing how she should and meeting all of her milestones, which I'm so grateful for.

She has had a little trouble going to bed lately, so I've been trying several tactics. I'm going to see which ones work and then I'll report back so I can remember them for when Noah turns three. Eek!

Here are some pictures from her birthday. We will have a party with her friends the first weekend in February, but we were able to celebrate with family on Saturday, and she enjoyed the presents, but most of all, the family and of course, the cake.

I love this picture. It shows how much they really love each other (even if they don't always act like it!)

In her big girl bed. She wasn't very happy about it...

Graduation and the beginning of spring (finally!)

Well, it's been a busy few weeks in the Metzger house. Over the past weekends, we have had at least one (and sometimes more) overnight guests at our house. This is because there have been a lot of exciting happenings in the past few weeks!



Last weekend, Uncle Tyler came into town. Here are all of the Metzger men!



Savannah has learned a new favorite word, and a new favorite activity. She now wants to be "outside" ALL of the time! She loves playing outside, in her swing, and walking around. She cries when we make her come inside. Here is a picture of her- she gets sad when the dogs get to go outside without her!



Hey, wait for me!



Last week, I was watching an old dance video, and lo and behold, Savannah became super interested in watching the dancers. She even clapped along with the audience at the end of each dance. I think that this is my proudest parenting moment so far!



Watching her dancers!


Last weekend, Aunt Natalie graduated from Webster University. We are so proud of her and look forward to all of the wonderful things that I know she will do with her life in the future. We celebrated with the ceremony and a party afterwards at George and JoAnn's house.



Aunt Natalie with her Hoeckele's graduation cake.



Natalie with the dean of the College of Fine Arts.




This isn't a great pic, but I love her happy little smile! That's my girl!

 Savannah also got to experience her first ice cream cone this week. One day after work, Mom, Ally and I took an impromptu visit to Fritz's- my first high school job! Savannah clearly isn't my child, as she only took about two bites and then amused herself by trying to run into traffic on Old 141. But I managed to get a few cute pics, and isn't that the most important part??



Yummy, let me have it!



Mommy, this is cold!

 This should be a fun weekend for our family too. More later!





16 months!

Dear Savannah,

How has it already been 16 months! Seems like just yesterday that we went to the hospital to have you, but you are now a walking, chattering tornado with a mind of your own!

You are becoming a very adventerous walker, which has led to a few spills, a few tears, and a few forehead bruises. You is really doing well with it though. You still can't stand up without pulling up on furniture, so that is the next trick that you will have to learn! Overall, though, you are very good at getting around and love to run around, rather than be held or carried!

You talk all the time. You definitely do a lot of jabbering, but you say quite a few words. In addition to the ones I've already talked about, you have added "oh boy, I know, Neigh (what does a horsey say?), Ooh aah (What does a monkey say?), Kiki (kitty), book, opposites (from your FAVE book, the Book of Opposites), back, bath, up, what's that, who's that, no no (your current favorite- you use it for everything that we have told you not to touch- outlets, the toilet, trashcans, etc.), uh oh, nana (for banana). You also say hi and bye to everyone that comes in and out of the door. Recently, you have started saying hi to everyone that we walk past at Target, the grocery store, etc. It is hilarious but a little embarrasing as you literally chase people around the store yelling "hi! hi!". But generally people think you are cute and funny. I know I do!

Your favorite toys are all books. You love the same ones you always have, and bring them to me or Mick to read to you all the time. You still take a bottle in the morning and at night, but we will begin phasing those out soon. You have recently started watching Clifford's Puppy Days in the morning, and seem to really enjoy it. That's the only time that you really watch TV. Plus, it gives Mommy and Daddy a chance to get ready for work!

You also still love your push toy that Laura and Kyle got you, as well as your singing picnic basket. Your favorite toys are still remotes, iPhones, etc. You love your tree swing that we have in the backyard, and you LOVE to chase the cat around. Sometimes she'll even let you pet her, which thrills you to no end.

You still take two naps during the day, and go to bed around 7:00-7:30ish. You love baths, and I think that you are really going to enjoy going to the pool this summer. We take walks around the neighborhood a lot, and all of the neighbors think that you are the cutest thing. Of course, we do to. Not that we are biased or anything.

You wear some 12 month and some 18 month clothes. You are still a peanut. You still hate bows and won't wear them. This makes mommy sad. Hopefully, someday you will decide that bows are alright.

You don't have a ton of baby friends right now, but you hang out with Brady quite a bit since he is right across the street. You also occasionally see Thomas.

Basically, you are a joy to be around and we are so grateful that we were chosen to be your parents. Life as a parent has been so many things, but through it all, we have had a wonderful time seeing the little person you have become in 16 short months! Baby girl, we love you!




Savannah and Linus keeping a watch on the neighborhood!


Mommy

This week!

Hello friends! It's been a nice week, full of some (finally!!) warm weather. Of course, it's supposed to get down to 50 degrees tomorrow, so we have been outside, soaking up the sun while we can!

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to go to Aunt Natalie's senior art show at Webster University. Of course, we think she is super talented, but obviously others do too because she won a $500 prize for having the best piece in the art show. We were so proud of her!

Since the show was right at Savannah's bed time, we spent most of the time outside with her. Here's a picture of Savannah with her biggest fan- Grandpa Mike!

On Saturday, we spent most of the day with Mick's parents, just hanging out. That night, the Metzger girls went to the Webster Conservatory performance of Legally Blonde: The Musical and the guys just hung out.

Sunday, Mick and I relaxed and took Savannah to the park for a while. It was a nice relaxing weekend!

Here's something interesting I did last week. As part of the high school's 80th anniversary, I wanted to take a picture of all of the students in the shape of an 80. However, that meant climbing on the roof of the school and taking the picture from 3 stories up. Add that to the list of job responsibilities that aren't exactly part of my contract! But it was fun to be so high up.



Here I am high in the sky! Don't look down!



Savannah decided to help clean the house on Sunday. I was so grateful for her assistance...

 This weekend, Uncle Tyler comes in town, so we'll get to spend some time with him. We are looking forward to seeing him.

15 months old!

Good morning! How is it already Monday? It seems like the weekends just FLY by, especially when they are full of nice weather like this past weekend! We mostly just hung out- I worked at Father Daughter on Friday night and had an auction committee party on Saturday, but we got some time to hang out and relax, which was nice.

Last week, our "baby" turned 15 months old. How is that possible! I really should probably start referring to her as a toddler, but she's still that little bitty bald baby that I brought home from the hospital 15 months ago!

At 15 months, Savannah is:

1. Taking a lot of independent steps, but not full on walking yet. I'm pretty sure she is going to take off any day now!
2. She LOVES books. Her favorite ones right now are Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants, Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug, Easter Surprise, Lots of Lambs, I Ruff You, I Love You Through and Through, and Bedtime and Playtime Peekaboo.
3. She really isn't interested in TV at all yet. As strange as this sounds, I hope by the time we have to drive 12 hours to Florida in July, that she will get a little interested in some TV so we can use that to distract her in the car!
4. She still takes two naps- one around 9am and one around 2pm.

The weekend of Easter, we had some family photos taken with Christina Weyers. Here are a few samples of our pictures. I am so pleased with how they turned out. She did a wonderful job!

If anyone is looking for an STL area photographer who is talented, timely, and affordable, I encourage you to check out CW Photography.

When we eat pasta for dinner, we have naked dinners!

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Aunt Ally!

Yesterday, April 2, was Ally's 25th birthday. It is so hard to believe that my youngest sibling is a quarter of a century!

To celebrate her birthday, we went to Blueberry Hill in the Loop for dinner. Then, it was off to Pin Up Bowl, where we played a game of "Smith Family Bowling"! When we were little, we used to go bowling all the time. I'm generally a pretty AWFUL bowler. Surprisingly, Mom is pretty good.

Here are some pictures from the bowling game.

The Smith family all together. Ryan is being predictably ridiculous...

This is a milestone in our relationship. This is the first time Mick and I ever went bowling together!

Me and the birthday girl!

One more attempt at a decent family picture. We had to take the props away from Ryan.

This is also the first and only time that I can ever hope to tie Mick in an athletic competition. I am so proud of myself that I can hardly stand it!

Notice my score (top M) and Mick's score (bottom M). So proud!

Happy birthday Ally! I am so proud to have you as my little sister and Savannah's godmother!

At Savannah's baptism. With our favorite godmother!

At Savannah's first birthday. What a sweet smile!

At Aunt Ally's graduation from Wash U. So proud of our OT graduate!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter! We went to church with Mom and Dad at Sacred Heart, and then we headed down to Perryville to spend the day with the Hoeckele side of the family. Mick enjoyed the chicken and dumplings, and of course the company was fantastic!

On Easter Monday, I was off work, and we had an appointment with Dr. Dennis Altman, who is a pediatric neurologist. When Savannah wasn't sitting up at 14 months, her pediatrician recommended that we get her evaluated to rule out any other problems. The good thing was that he gave her a clean bill of health. He was a wonderful person!

Mick and I are blessed beyond measure to have a happy, healthy, beautiful baby girl. Savannah, we love you so much!

Here are a few pics from the weekend!

Driving around in the twins Easter present! I look like a country girl!

Savannah and her sweet second-cousin Joseph

Savannah's first ride on a 4-wheeler. Metzger parenting at it's finest!

The best family picture we got. Sad, I know.

This is what happens when you take away the iPhone that Savannah is playing with. At lunch with Aunt Ally!

I love this picture. We love our godmother!

Have a great week!

Easter Weekend!

So far, we have had a great Easter weekend. Mick was off on Good Friday because the market was closed, so we enjoyed having an extra day with Daddy! He played golf in the morning, and then Friday afternoon we headed off to the pediatric orthopedist to check out Savannah's hips. Because she was a breech baby, she needs to be monitored for shallow hip sockets. Luckily, hers have always been fairly normal. At 14 months, her sockets measure 26 and 28, which is within the normal range. Yay, Savannah!

Friday night, we hung out, and Mick went to watch basketball for a while.

Saturday, we took pictures with CW Photography, which is run by my friend Christina Weyers. She does such an amazing job- I can't wait to see the pictures. We went to the Botanical Gardens, which is such a beautiful place. We will definitely have to come back during the summer when everything outside is blooming. After that, we went to Fountains on Locust for lunch. What a neat place.

For dinner, we went to Grandma Judy's house, and she cooked an amazing Easter meal for us. She also gave us our Easter baskets. And yes, I'm a 30 year old who still gets Easter baskets from my mom. And I'm totally okay with it.

Tomorrow, we will go to church and then head to Perryville to spend Easter with the Hoeckele side of Mick's family. There should be a lot of people there, which is always fun.

Happy Easter!

For most people this is routine, but since it took her so long to sit up, I still get excited when I come in and see her sitting up in her bed. My little girl is getting so big!

Good morning! Ready for a fun family day!

This is apparently how we carry toys around our house. I officially think she's spending too much time with the dogs.

Rowing away in the canoe at the Missouri Botanical Gardens!

I love this picture. It shows how sweet they are together. And how Savannah has him wrapped around her finger!

Love the architecture at Fountains!

Baby's first ice cream sundae at Fountains on Locust. Actually, Mick ate most of it, but I thought it was too cute!

Man, am I bad at this blog stuff!

Obviously, since my last post (December 2011), things have changed just a bit. We welcomed Savannah Amy on January 9, 2013 through a scheduled C-section because she was breech. We went to the hospital at 9:30am, went into the operating room at 11:30 am, and she was born 6lbs, 15oz at 11:43am. The song Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera was playing on the radio in the delivery room.

Kind of an odd "welcome to the world" song, but here we are, nonetheless.

Currently, Savannah is 14 months old. She is cruising, but not walking on her own yet. She loves all food, mommy and daddy, and practicing walking. She just sat up from a prone position for the first time last Saturday. All of her developmental milestones are going well with the exception of gross motor. We are working with the Parents As Teachers people and we just saw First Steps the other day to see if we can't get her caught up.

She can say a lot of words, including "mama", "dada", "oh yeah" (which is in the style of Mr. T.), "ball", "baba" (bottle), "meow", "mooo", "dog", "whassa" (what's that?), "bath". Her first real word besides mama and dada was "E-i-e-i-o." I count it because she said it while I was singing the song to her.

Walking with her push toy- thank you Kyle, Laura and Kellen- I love it! At our house, we rock the diaper and sequined headband. That's just how we roll.

She HATED Santa, but loves the Easter Bunny. Personally, I find him a little scary, but what do I know...

Look at my eggs, Mom! I love Easter Eggs!

We are looking forward to a great Easter weekend this weekend- we plan to hang out, take family pictures on Saturday, and visit Perryville to see our Hoeckele cousins for Easter Sunday!

Easter Weekend

Mick and I had a great Easter weekend! Easter is always a great time to realize how many blessings we have in our lives. Namely our friends, family, dogs, jobs and home.

On Friday, both Mick and I were off of work. Mick played in a golf tournament (shocking, I know!) and I went to get a massage and did some work around the house. Friday night, we went to the Cardinals game with several friends, including a few out of town friends! As most people know, Friday night was also the night of the terrible storm that left devastation in north St. Louis. For those who were affected, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Mick and Tom- Cape HS buddies reunited!

After a 2 hour delay of game and several tornado warnings, we were able to watch the game.

Here we are waiting out the game in the Cardinals Club- Thanks Tom for the great tickets!

Saturday, Mick and I went to breakfast and spent a lazy Saturday at home. We also celebrated Easter with my family.

Sunday, we were able to go to Perryville to spend Easter with the Hoeckeles (and George and Joann). I believe that Mick's sister Natalie came home with the best part of that day- a baby kitten who we later found out is a little boy. Congrats on the newest member of your family, Nats!

Overall, it was a fabulous Easter. Thanks for the fun, families!

Soo, I still don't think that we are interesting

But, here we are! This blog is more for myself to document the fun that is the Mickedith lifestyle. A little about us (not that anyone would read this who doesn't know us): Mick and I were married on September 19, 2009 (9/19/09- no, we didn't choose it because of that. We actually chose it because that was the 2 year anniversary of us dating).

We live in Missouri with our menagerie of animals, which include two dogs and two cats. A little about our family members:

Linus was Mick's dog before we met. When I met Mick, Linus was about to be "sent" to a new home. However, with a little intensive dog therapy (which involved me actually buying Mick a dog training book), Linus has turned into a delightful dog with such a sweet personality. - Linus's five favorite things: eating underwear and womens shoes, walks, morning kibble, visits to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Cape Girardeau, and barking at dogs who walk past his house. -

Garth was an impusle purchase at the Notre Dame auction in 2008. Long story short, Mick went to Rolla to pick him up from the breeder and he was ours ever since. He has energy to spare and a piercing yap that makes Mick and I seriously think about muzzling him (jk!) - Garth's five favorite things: morning kibble time, walks, car rides, chewing up sticks in the backyard, and chasing the cats.

Holly was my first pet. She is a gray tabby cat, with an abnormally small head and large belly. She feels as though she has had a hard life because when I got her, she was the queen of the castle, and now she has to share her mom with two dog brothers and one cat sister. - Holly's favorite things: When the dogs go out of town for the weekend, sleeping on the guest bed, eating kibble, putting curses on the dogs, and cozying up to mom when everyone else is out of the room.

Last but not least, Patches. She is a cat-dog, in that she looks like a cat but acts more like a dog! She is a long-haired calico cat with white legs and a sweet disposition. Patches five favorite things: Going outside to kill mice, eating, getting anyone who walks in the house to pet her, sleeping on the wine fridge, and taunting the dog.

So that's a little bit about life in our house. Enjoy! Love, Mickford and Mereford