Catching Up: Part 2

Wow, two posts in the same week!  I'm on a roll!  LOL.  

Grey turned 14 months in early December!  Holy cow!  Unbelievable!  His personality is really starting to shine through these days.  :)

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Mary Sue came for a visit in mid-December.  Grey had a good time showing him all his toys and walking all around everywhere with Grandpa.  We ended the weekend with brunch at Harvey's in Union Station.  I always love visiting Union Station at Christmas.  They have the best decorations!!  It's a must see if you ever visit KC around the holidays!

Also in mid-December I had the pleasure of spending a week in Minneapolis (with negative temperatures) at our corporate headquarters.  Holy cow, it was cold!!  Brrrr!!!!  I hate leaving the boys, but I appreciate how Grey's daycare staff send me pics throughout the week.  Leaving would be much easier if they were sending me to Florida!  LOL.

Prior to heading back to STL for the holidays, Grey had ear tubes inserted.  We were quite nervous about the procedure, but all went very well.  We couldn't have asked for a better experience.  Grey recovered wonderfully and has been doing well since.

After a very busy month, we finally headed home for the holidays.  Lots of family time, cards and Red Rooster.  (You'll have to ask me about that.  Delish!)  Grey was more interested in the Christmas activities this time around, which made it a bit more fun this year.

Unfortunately, we lost a beloved member of our household once we returned home from the Christmas holiday.  Smokey had been sick for several years, and it had finally taken its toll.  It was a difficult decision for us, but we feel it was for the best.  We love and miss his terribly.

We celebrated the end of 2016 with our neighbors, and Grey's BFFs.  We're so lucky to have such great neighbors that I can call friends.  It's been a great year.  More on my 2016 reflection soon!

More posts to come, I promise.

Cheers!

Catching Up: Part 1

Wow!  It's literally been 4 months since I last blogged.  I guess the last few months of 2016 got away from me.  I'm not surprised in the least.  It was a crazy busy last quarter.


In October, we celebrated Grey's 1st birthday.  I can hardly believe that our little guy is truly a "little guy".  We've entered the kingdom of toddler-hood...and boy is it different than infant-hood.  I'm having to learn how to care for him all over again.  He likes different things...wants different things...needs different things.  It's an adventure for sure!

We also attempted our annual family photos in October.  In my mind I pictured cozy knits and plaids outside in the crisp air.  Of course Mother Nature pictured something different...think 80 degrees.  We were sweating our booties off hiking around the Nelson Akins Art Museum grounds.  We managed to get a few good ones despite Grey's ever-changing mood and the sweltering temps.

We spent the end of October/early November in Ft. Lauderdale for our first vacation since Grey was born.  Unfortunately Mother Nature worked against us here also, as the temps were low and the winds were strong.  Despite the weather, we did enjoy ourselves and got a bit of beach/pool time.

Grey and I tagged along with Chad on a work trip back to Florida later in November - but in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral this time.  Chad's work has revolved around the GOES-R satellite for the last several years, and it was being launched into orbit.  We had much better weather this trip, but our health took a turn for the worse.  We ended up at Urgent Care on Day 2 where Grey was diagnosed with his 5th ear infection in less than 1 year.  Shortly after that both Chad and I caught colds.  We just weren't meant to vacation in 2016.  LOL.  We did manage to have some good moments though.  However,  I was grateful for the room service, the tiki bar/cafe on the pool deck, and the waitress that packed up my lunch and bloody mary when Grey started screaming.  :)

Last, but not least, we managed to have Grey's picture taken "with" Santa in November.  This was taken on a warm day in a neighborhood near where we live.  This was our first Santa attempt, since I couldn't bear to take my little newborn to the germ-infested Santa areas last year.

Best.  Pic.  Ever.

I'll write more about the rest of our year very soon!

Cheers!

Mom Life: Family

As Grey gets closer to his first birthday, I feel myself becoming more and more sentimental...tearing up all the time.  Happy tears.  Today is no exception.

If you know me, you know I read a lot of blogs.  It's what got me inspired to start this blog.  While my blog is in no way close to the level of those blogs, I feel it serves a personal purpose for me that I wanted it to.  It's a place for me to get out my feelings...to share my thoughts with others.  I tend to really enjoy bloggers that write about "life" - meaning their blog isn't focused on only one thing, such as make-up, decor, etc.  I enjoy the blogs where the writer has a mix of content and lets us in on their own personal life.  This morning a read this blog from a blogger I just recently started following, and it got me reminiscing about the time I met my great grandmother.  I only met her once, just about 12 years ago, but I did get to spend time with her multiple times throughout that trip.  What a wonderful trip to Germany - the trip of a lifetime!  She has since passed, so it makes that trip all the more special.  Here's a few pics (horrible of me, but still special)...

My Omi

4 generations

During the trip, I also had the pleasure of meeting my grandmother's sister, Gisela.

This is just the best picture of that I have of my grandmother and her sister.  

So much joy & laughter!

My grandmother loved being back in Germany - seeing her family.

What a special trip!

I'm so happy that Grey has gotten to spend time with so many great grandparents.  He actually has 4 of them. What a lucky boy!!

Cheers!