The Potchads

Christmas 2011

2012-01-15T15:41:00.001-06:00

We had a great December and enjoyed everything Christmas this year. Here are a few of the highlights!

An ugly sweater Christmas party with our church group!

We also made a few trips to Crown Center.

Kate loves all of the large wooden toys at Crown Center.

Michael and Kate in front of a Christmas tree at Crown Center.

Kate loved the Crayola playground with Santa.

Showing off her new Elmo slippers.

All of the Potchad "kids" in front of the tree.

Showing off her new jewelry Santa brought her!

Helping grandma "Charie" do some cooking.

Enjoying her John Deere Gator at Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau's house.

Helping Papa feed his cattle.

Looking at one of Gigi's Christmas decorations.

Twinkle Toes

2011-09-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Kate just like any girl loves to play dress-up. Her latest ensemble includes her winter stocking cap, a tutu, cowboy boots and butterfly wings. I think when put all together Kate pulls the look off pretty well.

Summer Time...a little of this and that

2011-07-05T21:12:00.024-05:00

The first half of our Summer has been busy with spending times with friends, family and of course some pool time. Below are a few of the highlights!

Michael and Kate catching some sun...

Kate and Jackson enjoying their lunch by the pool!

Kate loved the baby goats at the local petting zoo!


Michael's parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary this summer and we celebrated with them by hosting dinner at our house.

I love this pic...Kate with her parents and all four grandparents!

Kate racing her buddy Graham down the slide!

Helping Uncle Matt cook dinner

Hanging out with cousin Cole after lunch at Fritzes!

Not the best pic.....but Kate loved cruising around with Finely in this truck!

Our paths were able to cross with the Gotchers....we were so excited to meet Graham and Gibson!

We also got to see the Clendenens....here Kate is playing with Landon and Lawson before bed time!


Kate loves black beans....but what a mess! We were glad we ate outside, another favorite of ours during the summer!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-31T22:07:00.006-05:00

We spent the weekend with Michael's parents at their condo in Holiday Island, Arkansas which is on Table Rock Lake and near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We had a wonderful time going on walks, playing at the park, swimming in the pool, enjoying the nice weather, eating on the deck and just hanging out. Here are a few of the highlights. (Kate had so much fun she had to nap on the way home!)

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T20:51:00.015-05:00

We headed to Gigi and Papa's (Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau) house for Easter. We were only there about three full days but we filled them with a lot. We colored eggs, hid eggs, played with baby chicks (more about this below) flew kites, helped Papa feed his cows, went to church and even made a trip to the Coldwater ER. Whew....it was a very full but great weekend. We can't wait to go back!

We started out Friday with decorating some eggs. Kate loved it but she was very messy. I love this picture with her hand by Gigis.

The BIG surprise for the weekend were the baby chicks. Gigi got Kate eight chicks that were each dyed a different color. Their fur is dyed by coloring their drinking water, so it does grow out and is completely safe for the chicks. Gigi found a home for them after Easter but we sure did enjoy playing with them. The two pics above are when Kate first got to see them....she thought they were super fun!

The weather on Friday afternoon was perfect so we spent a lot of time in the yard with the chicks. As Kate said it was "so fun!"

Close-up of the chicks...aren't they pretty!

Kate and I enjoying the nice day!

On Saturday morning we headed into Coldwater for an Easter egg hunt. Kate loved it and got some really fun things in her eggs from candy to money!

Later in the day we helped Papa feed his cattle. I love this photo with Papa in the background while Kate thinks she is driving.

We ended the day by flying some kites.

While the adults flew our kites, Kate spent most of her time pushing this cart up and down the road.

We were flying the kites right by one of Papa's wheat fields. I thought the green fields made for some great family pics!

Easter morning while Kate digs into her Easter basket.

Family photos before we headed to church.

As we are getting ready to head home on Sunday, Kate cuts her finger on a broken glass door. We couldn't tell how bad the cut was so we headed into the Coldwater ER. She didn't need any stitches and they just used some glue on her finger. The good news is her finger is just fine.For some reason the photo of her above loaded small....but wanted to share the pic of Kate with her rather large bandage for her very small cut!

Future American Idol Winner?

2011-04-19T19:52:00.002-05:00

Probably not....but here is a link to Kate's latest rendention of Twikle, Twinkle Little Star.

Kate is enjoying a cupcake at her friend Emory's party!

The Bachelor Crew

2011-04-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

I have lost count how many years ago we started watching the Bachelor with our good friends Jill and Matt Bleything...but lets just say we rarely miss an episode. So even now that we both have kids we still get together on Monday nights to watch the show. The bachelor ended about a month ago... but wanted to share some pics of us all together.

We tried to get a pic of the kids...it didn't really work so we took the next shot.

Jill, Sam, Kate, Ben & Camille

Ben & Sam hanging out before the show and their bedtime...

Our good friend Travis has recently joined in on our watching parties. Can't wait until next season!

Visit from Gigi

2011-04-14T20:57:00.006-05:00

Over her spring break my mom (aka Gigi) came to spend a few days with us. We had a great time and one day had a true "girls days" filled with shopping and we visited the Princess Diana exhibit that is currently at Union Station.

Kate and Gigi

The exhibit didn't allow photos inside so this was the only one we could take.

Kate loves to ride the carousel at the mall so of course we had to take a break from shopping to ride the carousel. We rode it twice and each time she requested to ride the white horse!

We ended the day at the Nordstrom Cafe...we had a great time with Gigi and can't wait for her to come back and visit again soon!

Kate is 2!

2011-04-07T21:30:00.006-05:00

We just celebrated Kate's 2nd Birthday...the past two years have gone by fast. Kate really likes Elmo and Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street so we threw her an Elmo and Abby themed party! Below are a few of the highlights.

Kate in front of the cake table....telling us she is 2!

The cake....

Grandma Charlie made these Elmo Cake Pops for the party...they were super cute and yummy! The party favor bags

The gift bags were filled with these crayons in the shape of Elmo.

The party table.

We were lucky that we had good weather for her party so everyone could be in our backyard.

The kids played pin the nose on Elmo!

Opening presents with Grandpa Potchad.

Big Birthday hugs from Grandma Charlie.

Not wanting to smile...

On her actual Birthday Kate was sick, but she felt better by the end of the day so we did go out to eat at one of her favorite places, Chick-fil-a. Kate didn't eat much, but the rest of us enjoyed it!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

2011-03-13T12:03:00.011-05:00

Saturday was a beautiful early Spring day in KC, so we headed to the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Parade. It was a great parade that lasted over an 1 1/2 with everything from floats to men in kilts. (see below) We had a great time!

Fall Photos

2011-02-21T18:45:00.010-06:00

This past fall we had our family photos taken. The photographer finally updated her blog today with the pics....so wanted to share with all of you. Click here to view the collage of photos she put together. Our family photo on the right was also taken by this photographer as well as the photos below. Enjoy!

Snow Day!

2011-02-02T19:32:00.007-06:00

KC got about 12 inches of snow on Tuesday. I am lucky that my office was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday so I enjoyed a mid-week break and stayed home with Kate. Here are some pics of how we spent our snow days!

Tiny Dancer

2011-02-01T20:23:00.004-06:00

Kate has been playing dress-up in her tutus. I think we have a future ballerina in the making. She even talked her mom into playing dress-up too!

Christmas Vacation

2011-01-02T19:53:00.008-06:00

I am lucky that my office closes between Christmas and New Years so the Potchad family enjoyed some good family time this past week. Here are a few pics of the week's highlights!

Kate loving the ice skaters at the Crown Center skating rink.

Checking out all of the lights and Christmas displays at the famous "Falmouth" display

in Prairie Village.

We met some friends at an in-door play gym one morning so all of the kids could burn off some energy. Here is Kate going up the steps and then down the slide super fast!

Following her buddy Graham Briscoe!

Hanging out with Joshua Eberhart at the gym.

Kate and Emory Niswanger going down the slide together.

We enjoyed an evening with our friends Debbie and Buddy McFadden and they spoiled Kate with this cute puppy dog!

Kate with Austin and Luke Steging and Finley Kullberg on New Years.

Christmas Fun

2010-12-27T20:31:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and were lucky to spend time with both sides of our family. We spent Christmas in Coldwater with Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau or according to Kate "Gigi and Papa". Then we headed back to KC the day after Christmas and did "Christmas" with Grandma and Grandpa Potchad or "BG and Charie". The pics below are a mixture of Christmas with our families and fun Chritmas sights in KC!

The Man in Red

2010-12-05T12:35:00.003-06:00

We were able to see Santa and Mrs. Clause yesterday. (twice for those of you who notice that Santa has two looks in the below pics) Kate could not have been more scared of Santa and wanted nothing to do with him. We told her that he might bring her an Elmo doll but as you can see below that didn't really matter to her.

CupKate!

2010-11-01T20:46:00.007-05:00

This year for Halloween Kate dressed up as a cupcake! Kate still doesn't quite know what candy is but she really enjoyed putting it in her pumpkin!

Our own little cupcake!

Kate and her dad before "hitting the streets"

Showing off some of her Halloween goodies!

We went to a party on Saturday and we attempted to get a group shot of all of the kids in their costumes. Kate and Elmo couldn't stop looking at the other kids...so they missed out on the pic!

Family pic with the witch!

First Day of School

2010-08-25T20:20:00.006-05:00

Kate's first day of "Sonshine School" was today. This is at our church and she will be going one day a week. Overall she had a great day and can't wait until next week!

Kate with her dad first thing in the morning. The girl LOVES her thumb!

Saying "bye bye" to mom...such a big girl!

On our front step with her back-pack.

Walking into school...so happy!

Getting dropped off with her teacher....not so happy!

We went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants....Kate had some black beans. Can you tell!?!?

Kate's Adirondack Chair

2010-08-04T21:34:00.003-05:00

Grandpa Potchad aka "BG" and his good friend Twylia have made Adirondack chairs over the years. They have always been adult size....until now. BG brought Kate over her very own chair this past weekend. As you can see from the pics....she thought it was so fun to have a chair her size!

Bike Ride

2010-08-04T21:23:00.002-05:00

We recently got a "trailer" to pull Kate in behind a bicycle. We have really enjoyed our "family strolls" and of course we had to get Kate her very own helmet. I thought she might not like wearing it but as you can see from these pics, she actually likes it.

Weekend with the Cyrs

2010-06-15T20:42:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we visited our good friends Jeremy, Sara and their little boy Jackson. Jackson is about 4 months older then Kate so it was fun watching the two kids play together. This was also Kate's first time on a plane and we were so glad that she seemed to enjoy the flight!

This little book kept Kate pretty busy during the flight and we had the whole row to ourselves....so that was a big help!

Checking out the clouds and the big blue sky!

Jackson and Kate saying "hello" to each other!

We went by a pond near their house to feed the ducks....the kids loved it!

Kate loved watching the ducks and instead of feeding them the bread she would eat it herself...silly girl!

We spent the afternoon in their pool....Kate had to warm up to the water. But soon was ready for more! (see below)

Family pic in the pool.

Just a cute pic of Kate eating breakfast in her pjs.

Kate at the K

2010-06-07T18:22:00.005-05:00

Sunday was "Family Day" for the Royals and they handed out build-a-bears to the first 7,000 kids that attended the game. So we thought this was a great first game for us to take Kate to. The weather was perfect, the Royals won and Kate had a good time so we think it was a success.

Kate sitting like a big girl at the stadium.

We went to the game with our friends Blake and Meaghan....here is Kate with their son Graham.

Kate and her dad at their first of many Royals games together.

Family picture looking over center field.

Kate with her new bear before bedtime.

Girl on the Run

2010-06-06T20:27:00.005-05:00

Over the weekend Kate took her first steps. Here is a video of her on the go.

Pool Time

2010-06-01T20:54:00.004-05:00

Overall the weather in Kansas City this past weekend could not have been better so we decided to get out Kate's pool. She wasn't too sure about it at first but after a few minutes she loved it!

Waiting while her Dad blows up her pool.

Check out her fair skin...lots of sunscreen for this little girl!

Trying to chase down her ball floating away in the water.

Spring has Sprung!

2010-04-11T20:33:00.003-05:00

The weather was so nice in Kansas City this weekend.... so we enjoyed a lot of time outside! Here are some pics from our weekend.

Kate so happy about the toy she was playing with!

Just hanging out in the swing at the park.

Kate standing by her dad while he fished.

Kate talking with Barrett Jennings.

Two pics of Kate and her Dad enjoying their time outside!

After all of the time in the sun of course Kate needed a bath.....she ended up taking it with her best buddy Graham Briscoe!

Happy Birthday Kate!

2010-04-05T21:37:00.007-05:00

Kate turned the BIG 1 today! She enjoyed spending the day with her family....below are a few pics.

For lunch we ate at Jack Stack (not Kate's favorite restaurant but it is her dad's favorite)

Kate and Grandpa Boisseau playing with Kate's toys.

Kate standing like a big girl!

Kate and Grandma Gail

Just a close-up of the cute shirt the "Birthday Girl" wore today!

Kate and "BG" before dinner.

Kate checking out a book from Grandma and Grandpa Potchad.

Kate got this Tricycle for her Birthday....here she is taking her first spin right after she got out of her bath!

Easter

2010-04-05T21:05:00.005-05:00

To celebrate Easter we started off the day with a visit from the Easter bunny, went to church and then enjoyed a wonderful Sunday Easter Dinner with our entire family at Grandma and Grandpa Potchads' house. Here are a few pics of the day.

Kate is great at standing (but not walking yet).... here she is using her Easter basket to help her stand like a big girl.

Kate checking out her goodies from the Easte Bunny.

Kate and mom before church.

Our family in front of Grandma's Easter Bunny (Kate was upset because she had a short nap).

Kate and Grandma Charlie with the bunny cake!

Kate enjoyed spending time with Uncle Matt outside...the weather was great!

Kate visiting with Melissa (Uncle Matt's girlfriend)

Kate playing out in the yard...

Kate's Birthday Party

2010-04-05T20:43:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Kate's Birthday this weekend. We were so excited that her Uncle and grandparents that live out of town were able to be here for her 1st Birthday. We also had a special guest....the Easter bunny (aka Uncle Matt).

Family photo with the Easter Bunny!

Kate waving to the camera...

Kate with the Easter Bunny before diving into her Birthday cake.

Kate with her face covered in icing....which she seemed to prefer over the cake itself.

What happens at grandma's house....

2010-03-25T20:13:00.003-05:00

stays at grandma's house! Unless grandma takes photos. Kate is so lucky because she gets to spend every Wednesday with her grandma Charlie. Below are two pics at grandma's house. Kate is trying to grab her pink sippy cup from the fridge and gets caught in the action.

Family Fun!

2010-03-22T20:20:00.005-05:00

Last week Grandma Boisseau was in town for a few days during her Spring break. Kate was so excited to spend time with her. We had a great time with grandma....but of course it went by too fast!

Kate and Grandma getting ready for bed!

Kate also got to see her cousin Cole Boisseau (my cousin Chad and Jenny's son) last week....here they are playing together!

Grandma Boisseau brought Kate a puzzle that was her Grandma Boisseau's when he was a little boy...Kate thought it tasted really good!

My Funny Valentine

2010-02-14T19:59:00.004-06:00

Kate enjoyed her first Valentine's Day. She is still crawling all over the place, loves to pull-up on everything and she has started to take some steps if she has a push toy in front of her. Below are a variety of Kate pics that show her many moods.

Not sure what happened...but something made her very unhappy.

This ball pop-up toy is one of her favorites.

Not sure if she likes the toy or just likes to play with the balls.

Kate loves to play with any jewelry that I wear. I let her put on my necklace and she thought that was very cool!

I tried to get her to smile, instead I got this very serious look.

Okay not the best angle of Kate....but thought it was a cute shot of her Valentine bum!

Here is a pic of Kate reaching for the remote....she also loves our cell phones!

Big Girl

2010-01-19T20:21:00.004-06:00

Kate is growing and changing everyday. She has mastered crawling and loves to cruise around the house. Below are a few pics of "big girl" Kate!

When Kate crawls and stops her legs do this move....I call it the cheerleader hurkey!

Kate is also starting to eat more solid foods...be sure and take note of the food in her hair.

Kate is pulling up on anything she can get her hands on...here she is picking out a book before bedtime!

This is one of Kate's favorite toys....she loves the music and lights!

Christmas Vacation

2010-01-03T15:48:00.007-06:00

We really enjoyed our time with our family over the Christmas break. Here are a few pics of all of us during the Holidays.

Michael and Kate on Christmas Eve as the snow began to fall.

Uncle Matt read Kate a story on Christmas Eve....Michael and I just listened in.

Kate and Matt on Christmas morning.....enjoying their new toys!

Grandma Charlie, Kate and Uncle Matt with full tummies after our Christmas feast.

One last pic with Uncle Matt before he headed back to Chicago.

We headed to Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau's house after Christmas....here is Kate with Grandma Gail.

Kate and Grandpa Boisseau....just hanging out.

We helped Grandpa Boisseau move some of his cattle....here is Kate driving the truck.

The whole crew...

Kate enjoyed watching K-State basketball with here dad...here they are cheering on the Cats!

Busy Weekend

2009-12-06T19:03:00.009-06:00

We had a very fun weekend with Kate. Here are a few pics of the highlights.

On Saturday morning Kate had breakfast with Santa. Since this was the first time she has met him....she needed to check him out!

Kate got to spend some time with her friends Finley Kullberg and Charlie & Barrett Jennings. Here are all four kids by the Christmas tree!

We also had the opportunity to meet Sam & Ben Bleything (who were born the day before Thanksgiving)...here is Kate with the Bleything Twins!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-29T19:36:00.008-06:00

We headed out to Coldwater to celebrate Thankgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau. We had a great time with them and here are a few pics from the long weekend.

Cowgirl Kate enjoying her first Thanksgiving!

Grandma Boisseau with Kate before eating her first bite of turkey on Thanksgiving.

Grandpa Boisseau and Kate enjoying all of the football on TV!

Kate meeting Reb!

Michael, Beau, Kate and Camille....Kate was very intrigued by Beau!

Kate helped Grandma plant tulips.

Grandpa tried his hat on Kate....it didn't quite fit!

Happy Birthday Grandma Charlie

2009-11-10T20:55:00.006-06:00

Today we celebrated Grandma Charlie's birthday. We started off with dinner at the Herford House then back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for yummy ice cream cake.

Kate with Grandpa and Grandpma Potchad.

Since we ate at the Herford House Kate thought she should bring her toy cow!

Kate helped Grandpa order his dinner.

Kate had a great time at the restaurant!

The whole Potchad family (minus Uncle Matt)

Kate helping Grandma blow out her Birthday candles!

Go Cats

2009-11-07T20:35:00.009-06:00

Today was the Sunflower Showdown (aka K-State vs. KU) football game. This is the fourth year we have gone to the game with our good friends Meaghan and Blake Briscoe (they are both KU grads) . This year we both have little ones for the first time but still made it to the game. Well the dads went to the game while Meaghan and I stayed with the kids but we did enjoy some pre-game tailgating. We had a great time and look forward to next year!

Kate and Graham the night before the BIG game!

Meaghan, Blake, Graham, Michael, Kate and me before kick-off.

Kate and I enjoying the great weather and tailgating!

Grandma Gail, Grandpa Roger and Kate post-game....celebrating the K-State victory!

Grandma Gail and Kate happy about the big win!

Kate's Cousin Cole

2009-11-07T20:24:00.004-06:00

Kate got to meet her cousin Cole this week. (Chad and Jenny Boisseau's son) Cole is about 15 months old and lives in Atlanta so we don't get to see him very often. We are so glad he was able to make a trip back to Kansas. Here are a couple of pics of the kids together!

Trick or Treat

2009-10-31T22:24:00.007-05:00

Kate had a fun first Halloween. Here are some pics from the busy day.

Kate was a K-State Cheerleader for Halloween.

Our first stop was at our church for Trunk or Treat. Here is Kate with her friend Graham who dressed as a dragon.

Here is a pic of Kate's friend Landon dressed up as a King on his horse and her friend Emory dressed as a Candy Corn.

The three of us at Trunk or Treat.

Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Potchads to Trick or Treat. Here is Kate with her Grandma.

Our last stop was at the Jennings house. Here is Kate with Buzz Lightyear aka Barrett.

Kate and Woody aka Charlie out Trick or Treating.

Kate had a great day but was very tried by the end....she was thankful that we gained an extra hour !

Sweet Kate

2009-10-25T19:43:00.003-05:00

Kate is starting to show us more and more of her personality everyday....which is so much fun! Here are a few pics from this weekend!

Splish Splash

2009-10-19T19:31:00.006-05:00

Kate is starting to really enjoy her bath time. She loves to splash the water and her favorite toy is her yellow duckie!

Visit from Grandma Boisseau

2009-10-19T19:20:00.005-05:00

Grandma Boisseau came into town a week ago...here are a couple of pics of Kate and grandma playing with Kate's quiet book.

6 Months Old

2009-10-05T19:32:00.003-05:00

Kate is six months old today. She is weighing in at 15 lbs 1 oz and she is 24 1/2 inches long. She has mastered rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy and she is working on sitting up. Kate loves to laugh and she is also becoming very chatty! Below are a few pics of Kate from the weekend.

Kate is giving the camera her big girl smile!

Kate with her one of her favorite toys...she loves anything that makes noise!

Clean as a Whistle!

2009-09-28T19:38:00.004-05:00

Kate really enjoys her bath time....but seems to be even happier once she gets out!

Happy Girl!

2009-09-24T20:17:00.007-05:00

We love watching Kate grow and change everyday...she loves to smile, giggle and laugh.

Kate in her pj's before going to bed.

Kate loves her tuumy time.

Showing a little bit of her serious side.... but still enjoying herself.

Yummy in Kate's Tummy

2009-09-19T20:35:00.004-05:00

Kate had her first experience today eating rice cereal. We got out the bibs, the chair, the spoons, the bowls and the cereal for about 3 or 4 big mouth fulls of cearal.....sure was a lot of work for not very much eating!

Kate sucking on her bib before eating her cereal!

Not quite sure about this yet.

Kate with a full mouth, full tummy and a messy face!

All done and ready for clean up!

Kate's Favorites

2009-09-13T18:52:00.008-05:00

Kate is growing everyday and loves her play time. Here are a few of her favorite activities.

She loves her exersaucer and standing up like a BIG girl!

Kate likes her tummy time and rolls over to her toys when she can't reach them.

Kate enjoys sitting in her bumbo too!

Family Ties!

2009-09-09T20:02:00.010-05:00

Kate has enjoyed spending time with her family this summer.

Kate with her Uncle Matt...... or as we refer to him "The Uncle"

Kate giggling with her dad!

With grandma Charlie after attending her first wedding.

Grandpa Mike gave Kate her very own Harley T-Shirt!

Enjoying time with grandma and granpda Boisseau.

Born to be a Wildcat!

2009-09-07T09:18:00.000-05:00

Kate made her first trip to Manhattan this weekend. She got to go to aggieville, campus and the football game and even spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Boisseau.

Say Cheese!

2009-09-02T19:27:00.000-05:00

Last time Uncle Matt was in town he took a few pics of Kate. Here are a couple of them.

Keeping up with Kate!

2009-09-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

Wow! Miss Kate is just a few days short of being five months old. This summer has gone by way too fast but it has been a great one. Here are a few pics of Kate from the past few months.

Here is Kate meeting Willie the Wildcat for the first time!

Kate's first time in a pool....we think she liked it!

Kate is in her full purple gear before riding in her first 5K race.