Juggling Our Way Through Life

Jeff and I had a great time this weekend in Hermann. We decided to get away for the night and stay at a bed and breakfast there referred to us by some great friends. It's called Meyer Hilltop Farm Bed and Breakfast. The couple is so sweet and they own over 70 acres I believe and have cows and 2 donkeys. The donkeys were so friendly and let you pet them. Too bad we went on the hottest days of the year! We tried to walk around Hermann some on Saturday but it was just too hot! We did however get to tour Stone Hill Winery Friday night and that was really neat. They had wine tasting and I actually found a wine that I liked-I am not a big wine fan normally. Then we had a great dinner there. I really enjoyed some down time with Jeff. We need to get away and spend time together more often! Little man stayed with my parents and my sister Kristi and her husband Jason came in town. I think Cale enjoyed spending time with his aunt and uncle! Saturday night we got the pleasure of hanging with Jeff's side of the family his Uncle George, Aunt Barb, and cousin David and David's son Camden were in town so we went to Jeff's parents to hang with them. That was fun. Camden is adorable! The joys we have to look forward too when Cale gets older and walks-chasing him around all the time! Then Sunday we got to spend a little time with Kristi and Jason before they left. Great weekend all around!

Wow what a crazy busy weekend, but lots of fun. First of all Saturday morning me and little man met Travis and Stephanie at Bread Co. for breakfast. I have known Travis since I was a little girl and he is an amazing friend and I grow to love his beautiful wife more and more every time I get to visit with them! Man it would be great if they lived in St. Louis. We rushed home after that and my mom and dad picked me and Cale up to head to Carbondale, IL for the day. It was the Lipe famiy reunion (my dad's mom's side of the family). It was great to see my dad's uncles and cousins and show off the little man. I think my grandparents are quite proud of Cale and it was fun for them to visit with him. After the reunion we headed to the Caubles (my mom's parents) to visit with them. They had a blast with Cale as always. It's so fun to see my grandparents (both sides) with him and see the love they have for him. Man that little boy is so loved and spoiled. We made it back to St. Louis around 10:30 and everyone was wiped. Jeff juggled for his cousin's daughters birthday party on Saturday and I think everyone had a blast with that.
Then on Father's Day we went to church and left early because Cale was so worn out from the day before and just not in the best of moods. I cooked Jeff pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs for his Father's Day lunch. Tried to get Cale down for a nap, but he didn't go down until almost 3. Then after he went down the whole family did-including the puppies. I think we were all a little exhausted. So we had a pretty low key Father's Day. Now it's back to the grind today. I have lots of pics to post as soon as I get a chance this evening I'll be back. Hope all you wonderful father's out there had a great Father's Day. And thank you to our ulitmate heavenly Father for always showering unconditional love, grace and mercy on us!

I have a new term for my dear sweet little Cale when he doesn't nap: not naps. As we speak right now I wish I could tell you my little man is taking his nap, but I will just say he is taking a "not nap" right now up in his crib talking and kicking and having a good old time. We have a lot of not naps right now or power naps. Occasionally we get a multi hour nap in, but not everyday. Looks like today will be one of those days. At least he's happy up there in his crib hanging out. In other news Cale had his 6 month check up yesterday. He is now 27 inches long and 17 1/2 pounds. Our cute little chunk! People always ask "so what percentile does that make him." And to be honest, I couldn't tell you. I don't remember. I'm not so into the percentile thing and comparing numbers. The doctor says we have a very healthy baby boy and that makes me happy. Happy Sunday to you all. It's a very happy day for me because it's the last day of Shakespeare Festival! It's been going on for 4 weeks now and Jeff has been gone every evening pretty much except for Tuesdays. So that means little chunk and I have been together every night-which has been great, I love hanging with him, don't get me wrong, but it will be so nice to have my hubby back!

Here is a random selection of pictures for you.

Well folks, we did it. We traded in the Eclipse on Friday night and bought a minivan. It's a 2004 Ford Freestar with only 24,000 miles on it! Apparently an older couple who didn't travel much had it before us and kept it in stellar condition. We have been looking for a while, but when we saw this one at Dave Sinclair, we couldn't pass up the price or the trade in value for the Eclipse. So we now have 2 family cars-which is wonderful because having to constantly switch cars (because we didn't feel safe with Cale in the Eclipse with it being so small) was not fun all the time. Now we have 2 cars that are family friendly. And we can grow into this van which has stow away seating in the back for more storage. We took it on a ride this weekend to Carlyle to spend the day with my parents at their little lake house. The puppies loved it and so do we! I have to say though, it was a little emotional leaving my Eclipse for the last time. I bought that right after college and it was the first thing I ever bought for myself back in 2002. It was a 2000 and it's been a good car. I almost teared up-how crazy is that!

We had a great day in Carlyle-I finally got to ride the jet skis (I was pregnant last summer and couldn't ride) and that was wonderful. Cale loved being outside and just taking in the new sites. Thanks mom and dad for a great day, for helping with Cale, for letting us take the jet skis out, and for the great food. My dad is a omlette maker extraordinaire with the learned skill of flipping it in the air while cooking it-I have to say I was quite impressed-I would have spilled it on the floor! I will post some pictures this week of Aunt Mallori and Cale sitting on the jet ski (no worries, he wasn't in the water, they were just sitting on them before we took them to the boat launch). Hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend. Good night!

Cale has really chunked up these past few weeks. I love his legs and thighs right now with all the baby fat! Here are some recent pictures of him and also of him enjoying rice cereal!

Cale is 6 months today. We can hardly believe it. Where does the time go? I was at Wal-Mart the other day and walked by the party section while looking at cards and saw decorations for a little boy's 1st birthday and almost broke down at thinking he's already 6 months and that 1 year will be here before we know it! We love you more and more everyday little man and are so proud and happy that God has allowed us to be your parents. Pictures to come later.