Yaeger Family Vacation... Volume One

Last Friday, Ron and I loaded up our car and headed towards Illinois. Home of the Yaeger clan and where Ron's family hails from. Ron's parents left their family behind when Ron was in first grade and moved to NC. An annual trip to visit family is a must for us and that was the plan as we set out on the 700 mile road trip. We ended up driving 5 hours friday night, (Grant did great and also enjoyed his new big boy carseat with all the extra room) and we finished up the trip driving an additional six hours Saturday morning. Boy, were we excited to arrive at his Grandmother's house and reach our destination! Ron's parents, sister and brother-in-law and our nephew, George also made the trip from NC and met us here on Saturday. We have had an eventful week and their is so much to report on I couldn't wait to get a post up about our trip. I was shocked upon arriving in IL when I realized that the weather here is much different than what I'm accustomed to in AL, temps in the 90's and has been so since March? Ummmmm... the temperature was in the 50's and it was raining. One, I did not bring any rain gear and two, I did not bring any warm clothes for Grant or myself! I brought a ton of bubbles and shorts and he hasn't worn any of them all week! Thank goodness Ron's sweet Grandmother, Betty made a trip to JCPenney and purchased Grant and George sweatshirts and overalls and they have worn the same outfits all week long!

We reunited with Ron's Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and their kids on Sunday for an unofficial family reunion at Ron's Grandparents barn in Belleview, IL. The barn is right beside a creek and all of the kids had the best time playing in the water all day. It was wonderful seeing all of Ron's family, they are the best and so much fun to be around. I'm truly lucky to have married into such a warm and welcoming family.

Grant was a trooper as we embarked on our trip. Yes, he is once again, traveling in his jammies!

What a sight and an annoyance... it's unbelieveable how much stuff you travel with once you have a baby. UGH! I DREAD the ride home this Saturday. We cooked out and enjoyed eachother's company, after all, we're lucky to see all these wonderful folks maybe twice a year!

Ron's sister, Mom and I with Grant and his cousin, Matylda

Grant met his cousins, Ella and Abby for the first time, I think he had a crush!

This was an impossible task. Getting all 11 Great-Grandchildren to line up in order from oldest to youngest. The oldest is 10 and Grant is the youngest at eight months. There are 6 girls and 5 boys and my sister-in-law, Lesley is expecting again! Ron's Grandmother, Vi, is one lucky lady to have such a big family. Grant was around for last year's pic, he was just in my belly. :)

Grant fit perfectly in the bucket to be on the end of the line for the group shot! Ron's other Grandmother, Betty bought all of the buckets for the kiddos to play with in the creek and they were a hit as you can tell in the above photo, one of the little boys, Nick was fighting for his cousin Kyle's bucket.

Informal group shot, the older cousins were such a big help with the babies.

They enjoyed throwing rocks, digging for treasures and of course, splashing eachother with water. By the way, the water was freezing! I have no idea how these kids could stand to play in it! I enjoyed soaking my very swollen feet in this same creek last year when I was seven months pregnant.

Grant and his cousin, Elise (Matylda's Mom)

My family of three

Ron's cousins and I, love you girls!!

Ron and his cousin, David

Much, much more to come! Stay tuned!

These Are the Days...

To Remember.

New Videos

I am finally posting some recent videos. The first is of Grant and I playing Peek-a-boo in his crib. The second is of him enjoying his jumper which has been one of his favorite activities for some time now. The third is of storytime with Daddy. This particular night Grant cracked up every time Ron pointed at one of the sight words. Enjoy the footage of our rapidly growing little boy!

Mother's Day Delight

My first Mother's Day was delightful... Any day that is fun, new and exciting for Grant makes a great day for me. Grant drew his Momma his first picture with Daddy's help and that was the best gift a Mom could ask for. I also did receive the coveted Shark Steam mop that I have lusted after for the past few weeks. Typical, I know. A mop for Mother's Day, but I was thrilled!

I purchased a baby pool for Grant last week and I had been dying to give it a go. The weather was beautiful and sunny on Sunday so we enjoyed a day filled with family fun and new experiences!

My little Picasso's artwork

I thank God everyday for the gift of being a Mother. I'm so proud to be Grant's Mom.
The pool was a hit! He loved it!

We had so much fun, Grant decided to invite his buddy Luke over to join us. At first, Luke was shocked by the cold water! He finally warmed up to the situation and enjoyed himself.

"Why do our Mom's insist on us wearing these funny hats?"

Luke's Mom, Laurie and I enjoying our boys!

Ready for his nap after playing so hard!

An Unexpected Trip to NC...

Last Friday, I got a case of the blues... the kind of blues you get when you feel completely left out of something. The kind of blues you get when the weather is absolutely dreadful and there's nothing but rain in sight. The kind of blues you can only get when you live 11 hours from home and have to miss out on more than a few celebrations. Case in point. Jessica had just given birth to baby Sam and my friend Georganne was planned to be married the next day and I so badly wanted to be there for both joyous events. I did the complete unexpected. I surfed over to cheaptickets and bought a plane ticket for RDU the next day departing at 6am. Unexpected? Yes, completely exhilirating, yes! I scurried around the house for the next few hours trying desperately to prepare for this impromptu trip and keep in mind everything you need while traveling with an infant. The next morning I awoke at 3:30am to depart at 4am for Pensacola airport with my precious husband in tow who gladly let me take this trip with his baby. I took Grant straight from his crib to the car where he continued to sleep until we reached the airport at 5am. My poor child has already flown four times in his short eight months of life. Every time we do fly we are always greeted with warm smiles and adoring grandmother types that always ask, "Oh, is this is first trip on an airplane?!" Grant has become much more difficult to travel with as he gets older and more mobile. We were lucky enough to have an empty seat next to mine on all but one of our flights. So, he was able to sit in his on seat and entertain himself for the most part and by entertain himself I mean dropping his toys in the aisles for all of the friendly people around us to pick up and hand back to him.

We were greeted at RDU by Grant's adoring grandparents. Grant and I sneaked up on them while they were waiting for the two of us to come down the escalator. This I still don't understand... how could I have gotten Grant's stroller and all of our stuff down the escalator by myself and why didn't this occur to them? hehe.

This picture shows they have already forgotten about their beloved daughter and are mainly focused on their only grandchild.

The expression on my Mom's face here says it all! I wish I had a dollar for everytime she introduced Grant as her, "Grandbaby from Alabama!" Pure Bliss.

After the airport, it was straight to the hospital to meet baby Sam for the first time and check up on his Mommy. I casually knocked on Jessica's unsuspecting door at the hospital. When I opened the door she exclaimed, "You're here?! What are you doing here?!" It was the most fun suprising her and her family. Grant and Sam both slept through their first introduction but I'm sure these two will have some wild times in the near future!

He is just the sweetest little thing in the world!

Grant couldn't take his eyes off of his new little friend. He kept peering over my shoulder to check up on him.

After a wonderful visit with Sam and his parents we decided Mommy and baby needed some much needed rest. On to Clinton we went just in time for Georganne and Matthew's "I do's!"

My Mom stayed at home with Grant during the ceremony but we picked them both up for the reception. Grant enjoyed meeting many of his Mommy's high school buddies and Grandmama loved showing him off!

Meagan was there, (yay!) Grant couldn't resist playing with my necklace all night, therefore his face is turned in every photo! Grant didn't stay too long, he was pretty tired after such a long day of traveling. My parents took him home and put him to bed and let me stay and have fun!

The blushing bride and I

Here I am with my great friend, Kalin and Jill. Jill is Jessica's sister and Baby Sam's Aunt!

The rest of our trip flew by which they always do. We had a great time just being together and playing with Grant.

One of my favorite aspects of my childhood home is the location. My parents live on a lake and growing up I loved feeding the ducks, fishing in the pond, catching tadpoles, swimming, we used to have the most fun. I spotted these little duckies on Sunday and ran out into the yard to try and snap their photo. I love all that spring represents-new life, but it sure does wreak havoc on my allergies!

A trip to NC just wouldn't be complete without seeing Mimi and Poppy! We met them for a quick dinner Monday evening at good 'ole Cracker Barrel off of the interstate. Grant was delighted to see his Grandparents!

We enjoyed our home cookin' and after a quick changeroo into Grant's PJ's in the car we were ready to head back to Clinton for the night.

The next day my little man and I flew home to our awaiting Husband/Daddy. Our spur of the moment trip was a blast and I was so thankful we were able to pack in so much into just a few days. Grant did fabulously on the plane with the exception of pulling the man beside him's arm hair continuously for an hour. That made for an interesting flight and yes, I'm a true believer in babies flying in their jammies. It's just easier.

Hide-and-go-seek

Grant has become very wise and knows exactly when his naptime is approaching. He actually goes as far as to try and hide from me to keep from missing out on all the fun to be had!

Check out his latest attempt:

My, How Time Flies...

Casa de Yaeger

When you are having fun! May 1st marked our one year anniversary in Spanish Fort, Al and in our home. It also marked our two year anniversary in Alabama. I don't know where the time has gone! Ron and I are thankful everyday for our numerous blessings.