Thanksgiving

Mia's first Thanksgiving was a bittersweet holiday for us. We were so excited to celebrate this milestone with her, but Gabe's Dad was never far from our minds. Also, a dear family member lost his battle with cancer a couple of weeks ago, so our Turkey Day started out with a short memorial service for him (which we ended up missing because we were running terribly late).

Nonetheless, we all enjoyed our day with family. This year, for logistical reasons around the memorial service, it was held in a ballroom at the Residence Inn in Springfield, MO. All the usual people brought all the usual food and it was fabulous. Between Bonnie's deviled eggs, Kathleen's sweet potato casserole, and Judy's sinful creamy corn, we were in heaven. Mia loved it too!

Of course, Mia stole the show looking so stinkin' cute in this outfit! (thanks Linda!)

Such a big girl eating at the big table!

My favorite picture of the day...

Of course, no holiday at the Schnelle house is complete without a little dress-up...

Having a little fun with Uncle Michael...

A fireside chat with Grandma B...

We have so much to be thankful for this year.

A day in the life...

Our normal day is pretty routine and pretty boring. Eat, play, and nap, go to Sonic, repeat. And usually, we will go for an afternoon walk. Walks are the highlights of our day. Mia loves to be outdoors and the whole family goes. Dogs, cats, and humans. Its great. But last week was a bit different. All week it was cloudy and gloomy and rained and rained and rained. We were house bound. Extra boring.


Finally, the sun came out and we could take our walk! We were so excited. We got dressed, loaded up in the stroller, and off we go! Well, that is until we ran into this in the front yard:

Press Play

Ok, maybe not.

Belated Halloween Fun

It is mid-November, and I am finally getting around to posting pictures of Mia's first Halloween. So if you are interested, read on...

For Mia's first Halloween, we were invited to her friend Sadie's 1st birthday party. It was great fun! Mia went as a little pumpkin. It wasn't a real costume, but I thought is came out really cute anyway. So fitting too since I like to call her my little "Punkin' Head".

She had fun helping little Sadie open presents...

Of all the picture taking I did that day, this was the best photo I got of her outfit {sigh}. I can't believe she didn't try taking the hat off.

She always smiles big with Daddy...

Stay tuned for more catch up photos!

My weekend in pictures

So, a couple of months ago, my BFF Kristi invited me to tag along with her to Las Vegas for a friend's birthday. After being on Mommy duty for 6+ months, it was an offer I couldn't refuse. I had the frequent flier miles and she had the hotel points for it to be very cost effective.

So this weekend, this Mama went to Las Vegas baby, yea!!!

We saw the sights...

Saw a fabulous show...

Put on a fabulous show...

And spent some quality time with the best of friends...

It was a great time. I came back rested and refreshed and happy to be home with my family. And even better, I won big at an airport slot machine so the whole trip ended up free!

*Thanks Kristi for the pictures

Pic of the week - Pooped Pooch

Apparently, having you face smashed against a shoe is pretty comfortable. I especially love the tongue.