The Drive Home from St. Louis

I never thought I would write about something as uneventful as an 8-hour car ride on a blog if I ever created one; however, we've made the drive to St. Louis so frequently, I thought I'd share a few images. Not to mention, this may be the last peaceful, efficient, and enjoyable ride we have in a while, since driving with a baby isn't nearly as easy as a three-year-old that loves watching movies he only gets to watch on long car rides.

This year we brought the cats back with us so they didn't have to stay by themselves for a week. It's actually quite entertaining to drive with them. I've heard that most cats don't like to ride in cars, but ours actually do pretty well-in and out of cages and unders seats.

Most of the drive Collin either napped or watched his favorite movies - Cars or The Incredibles and I enjoyed reading The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield which I HIGHLY recommend. It was introduced to me on a Mary Kay Conference Call last week by my mentor Barb Wagoner and is particularly relevant for anyone this time of year and especially for us as we take such a big step in our lives by Mike starting his own business. View some video clips of Jack Canfield about his book.

Our timing worked out nicely to stop at a rest stop on the Tennessee River in the mountains while the sun was setting. I have to say the rest stops we have to choose from are much better than our choices in Oklahoma on our drive between Dallas and St. Louis.

Christmas Trip to St. Louis

We switched our Christmas plans this year to be in St. Louis again so we could be with my whole family in Dallas for Thanksgiving and don't have to travel next year with a 10-month old. It's always fun to be in St. Louis for Christmas! Collin was slightly disappointed that we didn't have any snow but he was thrilled that Santa found us at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Click here to see more pictures.

We got in town on Sunday, then Monday was Christmas Eve so helped Grandma prepare for the annual tradition of serving 30 people for Christmas dinner. That afternoon Karen and Greg came over with the girls dressed in their beautiful Christmas dresses. We met up with Tim, Laura & Audrey for 5:00 mass and got to sit this year which was a good thing. After a long service we came back to Grandma & Grandpa's for a yummy lasagna dinner and some Christmas cookies.

After letting the kids play and dance for a bit it was time to put the cookies out for Santa. Watching Collin's face when we explained how Santa would come down the chimney with the presents, and answer his 20 questions on all the specific details of Santa's evening was quite a joy! I've never seen Collin so eager to go bed. We read "The Night Before Christmas" and I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face as he closed his eyes tightly to sleep.

When we woke up Christmas morning, of course Collin was very excited to see whether Santa had come. We delayed a bit so that we could all be in the living room to see his face and his FIRST response was "He did come...but I can't see baby Jesus, there are too many presents!". Voegtles display their manger under the Christmas tree and the ridiculous amount of gifts obscured the manger. Was it possible that we had somehow helped our three-year-old understand the true meaning of Christmas?

The day after Christmas all of Mike's cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings & their kids gather again at his Grandma's house for the annual gift exchange. We attempted to visit the Budweiser Brewery for a tour but it was closed. We had Collin looking forward to seeing the (Clydesdale) horses even though he really needed a nap after two days of none and staying up so late on Christmas. Instead, we visited cousin Kate's cute apartment in Soulard nearby and went back to Laura & Tim's newly renovated basement.

The next day Grandma & Grandpa had to return to work, and Mike had to take a quick day trip to Dallas for a potential job opportunity, so Collin & I had some time to visit with my family. We visited the wonderful train exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Gardens again with Uncle Charles. It's really amazing because most of the landscape is miniature trees and other living plant materials surrounded by beautiful poinsettias. After a nice lunch with Charles we went to my cousin Caitlin's house and visited with Daryl, Teresa, Caitlin & Maureen (while Collin slept on my lap), back to Laura & Tim's where she helped me create this blog, then out to dinner with Aunt Pam, Uncle Jon, my four cousin's and Leah, Clayton's wife. It was a great day, then we headed back to Belleville to greet Mike home from Dallas.

Friday Laura & Karen hosted a party for "Poppycorn" at Laura's place. Aunts Pam & Teresa & cousin Maureen came along with Mike's Grandma and it was really nice. Collin thought the party should be for him, and especially loved the diaper backpack I got and thought it was his. Here you can see him wearing it around with the shirt we made at school with his hand and foot prints as Rudolph.

Saturday we went to the Magic House with the whole crew, which is a favorite past time of mine from visiting my cousins and grandparents in St. Louis. It's changed quite a bit since I probably haven't been there in about 23 years but all the kids had a blast!

After a week in St. Louis it was time to head home on Sunday...

A FUN December!

Knowing this would be my last December with one child and enjoying Collin's relative independence and curiousity, I sought to make this a memorable month and enjoy every moment of the season! Each Sat. of December Collin and I enjoyed a fun holiday activity. Mike was working most Saturdays as he focused on getting his new business up and running, but we made sure that Sundays were dedicated church/family time. Click here to see more pictures.

I took Collin to see The Nutcracker on December 1st. We were really lucky to get some recently released VIP tickets that were on the end of first row in case we needed to leave. Surprisingly Collin sat through the entire show and seemed to really enjoy it. At the end of the ballet he said "Do we have to go bye-bye? I don't want to go bye-bye." That evening we bought our Christmas tree and ate out for pizza. We decorated the house the next day.

The next Saturday we went to a Santa parade in Kennesaw with our friends Carter (right) and his mom Amanda, and watched real trains go by while we were eating. That night we had Mike's new business partner Bill and his wife Phuong over for dinner.

On December 15th we had several parties on the same day. We first went to our Church party where Collin sat on Santa's lap and sang Christmas songs with his church friends while Santa played guitar. We had to leave a little early because Santa was coming to our neighborhood for a Teddy Bear Tea Party and I needed to help set up. That evening our new friends Andy & Stephanie (also from Texas) came over with their two boys Cameron and Conner.

Other enjoyable events of the month were Collin's school concert and party, a carriage ride after visiting with Santa, decorating cookies, visiting the Atlanta tradition of the "Pink Pig" ride (see photo of him with friend Katie), attending a gingerbread house decorating party, and singing Christmas carols in the car everywhere we went or while playing the piano. Collin's favorite songs are 'Away in the Manger' and 'Jingle Bells'. It is really fun to be able to live Christmas through the eyes of a three-year-old!

Thanksgiving Trip to Dallas

It was so great to be able to spend Thanksgiving all together as a family - with Rob, Kristen & Owen traveling from California and my grandma (who turned 90 this year) visiting from St. Louis. Collin & I flew so we could be there all week and Mike drove and met us for the long weekend. Nine of us stayed at my parents house. Kristen's parents, brother, and sister-in-law came in town from Austin to spend Thanksgiving and Friday with us so it was a full, fun house!

Collin was so great with Owen, and he especially enjoyed feeding him and tickling him. Owen thought Collin was great and it was fun to watch GG (Great Grandma Gehbauer) interact with Owen too.

On Thanksgiving Day we went to the Frisco Fire station with friends Chrissie & Jackson to visit Jackson's daddy, Brian who is a fireman and was working on Thanksgiving. Collin thought that was really cool to be able to see the trucks up close and had plenty of questions (as usual) about how everything worked.

Friday we visited one of Mike's architecture projects to photograph and then the girls (& Collin) went shopping. We were sure to make it back in time for the Aggie game to watch them beat t.u. and eat some chili.

Saturday we got to spend some time with Laura & Jeff (due 1 month before us) and see Chrissie and Jackson again. That evening we enjoyed watching Missou win against Kansas ("a winning tradition since Sept")! Too bad they couldn't pull off the Big 12 win against O.U.

Sunday we drove home with rain the entire way, turning our 13 hour drive into 14. It wasn't as bad as I expected though since I worked on my school while Collin watched his movies or we played with his new toys. Amazing that this was the first day we'd gotten rain in Georgia in a long time.

November St. Louis trip

We took a last minute trip to St. Louis for Mike's Grandma Esther's 85th birthday party. We were so thankful to be able to celebrate such a joyous event with all of Mike's family. While we were there we were able to snap a few pictures with Collin's cousins - Sophie, Audrey & new baby Meg. It was so great to see all the cousins together and see Collin as a big cousin.

Click picture for more...

October 2007

October was a fun month. We attended many fall festivals - one almost every weekend. Some great family time! The trees in Georgia are just BEAUTIFUL with so many fall colors it's the perfect time to drive around or be outside. Click here to see more pictures.

I began wearing maternity clothes at five months pregnant as you can see above. I felt like I could tell from my bare tummy that I was pregnant almost immediately, but then it took a while to grow enough that I couldn't wear my normal clothes.

Collin was Dash for Halloween since "The Incredibles" is his favorite movie. He enjoyed running around and acting that he was "superfast". We all enjoyed the annual Somerset events - a parade in the neighborhood, pizza party and costume contest at the Clubhouse, then Trick-or-Treating. This year we went to more houses than ever - our walking began at 5 PM for the parade and didn't end until 8 PM minus our break at the clubhouse. It was a great night, but we got way to much candy! Collin has already been talking about what we wants to be for next Halloween and asks us what we're going to be next year. One idea he shared in December was to be "Santa" and have a list of all his friends - whether they have been good or bad. I'm not sure I've ever seen a 4-year-old Santa but that sounds pretty funny. I'm sure he'll change his mind 100 times before next October so if you're Collin's friend I wouldn't be too worried.

September 2007

One of our September highlights was a visit from Baby Owen and his parents Rob & Kristen from California. They came in town for the weekend for a wedding so we didn't have a ton of time to spend with them, but we enjoyed the time we had. Kristen & I took the kids to the zoo and then I got to have lunch with Rob while he took a short break from working at our house. Click here to see more pictures.

After the pool closed for weekdays and the weather cooled off we began attending concerts each Wednesday at our nearby park (East Cobb Park). It was great because the music was great for adults and there were lots of fun activities for the kids. Here you can see Collin playing ball with his friend Riley & his little sister Nancy Clare with the music in the background.

It was here at the park that we opened our envelope from the sonographer that told us Collin would be having a little brother. We decided to open the envelope right before the singer started playing "You are My Sunshine" which is a song special song for me & Collin. As soon as this song started to play, I knew the baby was going to be a boy!

Another fun outing in September was the North Georgia Fair. It was the first time Collin had a chance to ride multiple amusement rides and he had a blast. He was too scared to ride the big ferris wheel even that is what he talked about most before we went. It was probably best since one of my primary pregnancy symptoms has been feeling dizzy from something as simple as riding on a swing. I don't recall this symptom from last time, but I didn't visit a playground most days either with my first pregnancy.

August/ Collin's Birthday Celebrations

August means back to school and Collin went back to the same church school that he attended last year, now Tue, Wed & Thurs. He was happy to have a lot of his same friends again in his 3-yr-old class this year. It took quite a long time to get used to the new teachers, having been home with mommy all summer, but eventually he learned to love Ms. Mary & Ms. Jenn as much as he did with Ms. Zoe & Ms. Judy from his 2-yr-old class. Click here to see more pictures from August or HERE to see hightlights from the entire summer.



We are so lucky to have both sets of grandparents visit Collin for this birthday! This year Mike's parents came first and we celebrated with a lasagna dinner, cupcakes and opening gifts. School is back in session the week of Collin's birthday so we brought cupcakes to school to celebrate with his school friends.

My parents arrived just in time for his actual birthday (Aug 31st) and we celebrated by going to The Children's Museum, which Collin loves!

That afternoon we hosted a fire truck themed party for some friends at our neighborhood pool. He was thrilled to have his friends together for pizza and cake but wanted to leave fairly soon afterwards so he could open presents with Nana & Papa. While my parents were here we also attended a concert on Labor Day. Concerts and museums are two of Collin's favorite outings, which makes him sound like a pretty cultured kid.

Click on Elmo pic for more...


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July 2007

For this post, click on each picture to see more pictures!

The Fourth of July is s a fun event in the Somerset neighborhood. We have a parade where the kids' wagons and bikes are decorated and we end at the clubhouse for ice cream. A big group of us watched some wonderful fireworks at a nearby neighborhood golf course following a dinner gathering at our friends' house.

The second week of July we enjoyed another family vacation, this time with Mike's vacation at Kentucky Lake. We rented a spacious lake house and boat and enjoyed a relaxing weekend together. Collin was thrilled to have the chance to fish with Grandpa, and surprisingly he caught more fish than anyone else that weekend (with a little assistance). This was the first time we met baby Meg and it was fun to watch Collin & Sophie play well together.

The Cardinals were in town to playing the Braves where Mike attended every game. His cousin Joe flew down for the occasion, so they went to several games together, we got to sit in Beck's great seats one night, and we took Collin to another game.

The end of July is Mary Kay's annual seminar in Dallas, so I made my second annual jam-packed visit in July. It is so amazing to see the big picture of Mary Kay and how many women's lives have been changed by this incredible opportunity. The number of women who have achieved phenomenal success just by helping other women feel important and encouraging others to be successful is astounding. Laura & I were both newly pregnant (1 month apart) so it was fun to be able to share that together. While we were in Dallas we went to Gatti Town and visited the Dallas World Acquarium.

Collin & I flew directly from Dallas to St. Louis with my parents for my Grandma Gehbauer's 90th birthday and met Mike as he drove up for the weekend. We celebrated her birthday at an Italian restaurant in St. Louis. I was great that the entire family could be together for this special event.

June 2007

This summer began with a trip to Destin, Florida with my family. We stopped to visit Raquel, Ryan & Ella on the way and went to Seaside for the day. Mom & Dad rented a nice place on a golf course in San Destin; Rob & Kristen came from California. We had a great time at the beach, renting bikes, family and pool time. Collin was so excited to play miniature golf, and Mike and I were thrilled to play tennis each morning on clay courts, taking advantage of how much Collin loves to spend time with his Nana and Papa and their willingness to play with him. Click here to see some highlights from the first part of the summer and Collin's last day of school.

From Destin we all drove to Birmingham, Alabama for my cousin Russ' wedding to Christina. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at a downtown hotel and the bride arrived on a horse-drawn carriage. Birmingham has a great children's museum with a temporary Bob the Builder exhibit, so Collin was in heaven (even though he kept talking about how he wanted to go back to the beach house for weeks after our Destin vacation).

We were lucky to have only a 2 1/2 hour drive home compared to the rest of the family that had to travel much farther. We told Collin that when we got home he would no longer be able to wear diapers, as we began potty training boot camp. It worked pretty well and I'm convinced it's the only way to do it for some kids. He cried for his diaper several times that week, but we made him run around the house with no pants and stayed home for a week. Within a few hours he achieved his first successful trip on the potty.

The next week Raquel & Ella came to visit. Since we were busy showing them around we did have a few mishaps/set backs with the potty training, but overall he did great. We went to lots of parks, a puppet show and saw the Sesame Street exhibit at the Atlanta Children's museum. Collin loved having a playmate for several days - take a look at this video of the two of them! At the end of the week we took Ella & Raquel to the airport to fly home and we flew to Dallas to visit my parents and meet up with Mike who was there for a business trip all week. It sure is great to have the freedom and flexibility to be able to take advantage of last minute opportunities!

We went from having activities each day in the Spring (Music class on Mondays, school Tue & Thurs, playgroup at church on Wed & Bible study on Fri) to only having two structured activities during the summer (swim lessons Monday afternoon & the playgroup that I coordinated at church on Wednesdays). Somehow I still wonder what we did each day. We joined the zoo and visited frequently since we could take friends for free. We enjoyed visiting the pool many afternoons and weekends, but it seemed like we were usually busy most weekday mornings.