hockey player

On his own, Dennis found my hockey stick and a ball in the back porch and went at it like a natural. I think its in his blood. :)

Then he decided to wear my shoes too. Silly Dennis.
I have replaced "my baby" with "my big boy" in my vocabulary. Tonight I said, "I love my big boy" and he responded, "I love my big mommy". Still not quite sure how I feel about that.

me do that

Dennis is quite the independent little guy. Here he is drinking at the library all by himself.
Here he is totally sprawled out on the floor making something out of a ripped piece of paper, a highlighter and a staple remover. He has been working on it for 30 minutes and still isn't done. He loves to make things. Everyday he asks me if he can paint... sometimes at 7:00 am.

I love this kid.

snowman

...and it's still snowing...

fun in the sun

For spring break, Dennis and I went to Florida with my super good friend and neighbor Emily and her two kids. Our trip overlapped with Randy's trip with his family and friends. It was a party at the condo. We set a record of 13 people... including babies.
My nephew James is the cutest thing around. He could seriously pose for a magazine. I just want to take a bite out of him.
This is my dear friend Emily. She has been such a blessing in my life. We met while walking our beagles and as we got to know each other better we found that our lives are parallel in a lot of ways. I grow to love more as I get to know her more. She is one in a million. Even though we probably won't stay in St. Louis forever, she will always be a dear friend. (Dennis took this picture of her... quite some talent I must say)

We got the chance to go to two night concerts... it was super fun.

We went to the park.

And of course spent most of our time at the beach or at the pool. Dennis is quite the swimmer. He LOVES water. We got him those blow up arm floats and he was off in a jiffy. (pictures to come if I can find some)
That's right. That's my kid in the spedo.








Ah... a little vacation does so much good. Today one of my students stopped me in the hall and said, "wow Mrs. Funk... You've gotten dressed up 2 days in a row." Yup... Most of the time I shower and head out the door with wet hair and no makeup. Not the past two days! I am setting records! I am tan and feeling good. May as well treat myself with a little makeup and heals.

never gets old

Ok. so I couldn't choose just a couple. I LOVE these pics.

before croup

I didn't realize this until after I titled this post but... we went to the zoo and touched animals on Saturday. I didn't remember until after we ate lunch to wash our hands. Monday, Dennis got croup. Tuesday, I got croup. I will always remember to wash my hands before I eat and I will always get a flu shot from now on. I don't know why I don't think I need it. I get sick ALL the time and Ryan never does. He got the shot. Lessons learned. This was the WORST cold I have ever had. Every symptom that you can think of I had. Including aching bones for 4 days!!!! I have never been achy that long before. My chest still hurts a little when I breathe. Dennis didn't seem to have it as bad as I did. oh... enough complaining.

We had a great time at the children's zoo. Dennis got to play vet.
Dennis got to play with this cool pulley system... and you can see that there are exhibits right next to this jungle gym.
He played farm.
and we got to see two owls, some guinea pigs, rabbits, and a snake without glass in between us.
Going to the children's zoo in the winter is really nice because nobody is there! and its FREE. oh I love St. Louis.