A Brief Intermission and Now It's Back

I know it seemed as though we forgot about our blog and that it was a thought of the pass, but we simply were having an intermission and now we are back! As everyone, we have had a very busy December. Here are a few of the highlights thus far:

Anna Kate O'Dell Arrives
My dear friends Candice & Jeremy welcomed their daughter Anna Katherine on November 29. I was able to make it to Bowling Green, KY, a day after her grand entrance. She is so precious! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the day.I look forward to seeing her grow into a darling little girl. I'm sure she will be a familiar face on our blog as our families share many memories in the future.

A Visit With Uncle Drew
So maybe he is not a biological uncle, but we are sure that Wilhelm will come to call Alan's college friend, Drew, Uncle. We were able to make a trip to Cincinnati the week after Thanksgiving to visit with Alan's parents and our friend Drew. Drew is an attorney and lives in Dayton, OH. Though our visit was short Wilhelm and Drew found time to share a few laughs.
It was wonderful to see Drew and it is nice that we now live closer to one another.

Our First Trip Back to Geneva (and some Christmas shopping)
We'll we have no pictures to prove our visit, but we just returned from a long weekend in Geneva, IL. It was our first visit to Geneva since we moved in August. The weather was extremely cold and there was lots of snow, but that didn't stop us from spending some quality time with friends and shopping the streets. We had a grand visit that simply went to fast.

That brings us up to the current moment, we are trying to get ready for Christmas and in less than a month we'll be celebrating Wilhelm's first birthday. Stay tuned for an exciting time in our eargle family's adventures.

So Many Thanks on Thanksgiving

Our family had a really nice trip to Baltimore, Maryland, over the Thanksgiving holiday. It is tradition for Alan to always spend turkey day at his Gran Po & Gran Mo Eargle's. This was Wilhelm's first experience at the festivities, actually it was his second but he experienced it slightly differently last year in his momma's belly. The littlest Eargle of the bunch enjoyed the trip from the start. Here is Wilhelm helping Daddy move the suitcase to the door. When we arrived it was time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. First item of business was to help mix the enormous amount of dressing Gran Po made for the 19 family members and some neighbor friends. And yes your eyes are not tricking you, it requires one to mix with their hands in a LARGE Tupperware tote container.After a little inspecting Wilhelm made it a family affair and decided to jump in and help too!
The outcome is always a delicious one with the rest of the turkey dinner.
Thanksgiving day was lovely in Baltimore. The temperature was perfect for playing outside in the leaves. Here are some pictures we captured of Wilhelm. They really show how thankful we should be for the beauty of nature in the fall.
With so many family members around, we all had great conversation and were kept occupied. Wilhelm had a blast playing with his Nana on a car that was Alan's when he was young.
Our trip ended with celebrating Gran Po's 80th birthday, a few days early. He was surprised with a visit from some relatives from Tennessee and a dinner fit for a king. A grand man who deserves oh so much for his 80 great years, happy birthday Gran Po on November 28.
Alan, Wilhelm, and I were so thankful that we could make the trip and spend time with family. It was a short visit, but the quality of our time is what really mattered. It was a great Thanksgiving 2007.

Milestones

Reflecting on this past week it is hard for me to believe how much Wilhelm has developed in just seven days. Often times it is difficult for me to see his changes since I'm immersed with him daily, but he hit two big milestones this week that made me step back and realize just how fast children grow up.

After many failed attempts in past weeks, Wilhelm, without hesitation, mastered the art of climbing stairs and also stood upright by himself. I admire his fearlessness in both instances. He shocked me so that I didn't even have time to catch him in the act (I say this because we do not have stairs at our house, but my parents have an easy one-two from their living room to the kitchen.).

However, Alan did manage to snap a shot of Wilhelm wrestling with his diaper. I thought that it could potentially be a sign that he is nearing potty-training, but I believe I'm kidding myself and it simply was just entertainment, for him and for us.

In Costume

Well I am truly embarrassed with the untimeliness of this post. With the piles of "stuff" around our loft I misplaced our digital camera's transfer cable, which takes pictures from the camera to the computer. But alas you must wait no more to see glimpses of Wilhelm's first Halloween.

For those of you that aren't Eargles, you have to understand that costume development for this event is quite an undertaking. In July, I had proposed that we begin thinking of Wilhelm's first costume, but with the new job, the move and the stresses that come along with it this item of business was pushed to the wayside. Unfortunately, we were unable to do a creative, homemade family costume and resorted to a good alternative that we found at our local Old Navy. Here is our little pirate enjoying the evening.
For the evening we went to the town I grew up in and then stopped in to see my parents. Along the way we met up with a delightful princess (Lily Grace) and an enchanting butterfly (Hannah Kate). A good time was had by all. Because of our situation this year discussions have already begun for Halloween 2008. I will have the sewing machine ready. Stay tuned!

It's Fall!

Even though the weather in Kentucky doesn't consistently feel like fall yet it is fall on the Palmer family farm (my parent's homestead). This past weekend marked the annual Palmer Family Fall Gathering. It is where 200+ of my parent's closest friends get together for good food and great fellowship. They have been having a version of this cookout since the early 90s.

The event is something that many look forward to the third Saturday before the fourth Monday each year in October. There is food, hayrides, a bonfire, and fireworks. This year we had two couples fly their private planes, using a mowed strip of land as a runway, to join us. A group of guys from Denmark and an exchange student from Italy. Alan's parents also came in to spend time with us and enjoy the event.

My parents work so hard to make it an enjoyable day and evening for so many people and by Sunday are simply exhausted. I wish i would have snapped a pic of them yesterday at the festivities, but i was feeding Wilhelm when they did their welcome to the crowd.

I did happen to catch Wilhelm playing in the rocks with a childhood friend of mines son, Orian. They enjoyed their time getting dirty, it was just difficult to keep the rocks out of their mouths.

It is hard to believe that they are only a week apart!

Today was a day of clean-up and recovery. It was a fantastic evening and we appreciate the hospitality of my parents.

Girls, Horses, & Cousins, Oh My!

I've been a little behind in updating our blog because the movers came this week and left us a sea of boxes, but prior to that we had an eventful couple of days.

Last weekend great friends of ours from Geneva came to visit. Maureen and the girls, Tate & Laine, flew in on Friday afternoon and stayed through Sunday. We enjoyed time on the family farm, took in an art show, and spent the afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park (the highlight of the trip!). Here are a few shots from our time together.It was group bath time on Saturday morning. This will be a great picture to pull out in the future!There were many beautiful horses to enjoy at the park on Sunday. I believe Tate and Laine may have rode horseback all the way back to Chicago, but they were persuaded by Maureen to take their flight out that afternoon. We miss you girls and hope you visit again soon!

On Monday, my mom & i took Wilhelm, Lily & Hannah to my uncle and aunt's house in Bowling Green, KY (about 2 hours from Louisville). There Wilhelm met his great uncle and aunt, and 2nd & 3rd cousins. They have all seen many pictures, but never gotten the opportunity to interact with him in person. It was a a super hot day, but we managed to get in a little outside time. Here is some of the group.Tim, Wilhelm, Chloe, Bethany, & Camille took a break from playing, while Carlie Mae, Lily & Hannah jumped around.

It was a full couple of days so it was important for Wilhelm to have a restful remainder of the week at his Gran's house. Alan & I have been working from morning to night at our new home in Lexington and normally picking up Wilhelm once he is asleep. It will be nice to be settled soon.

A Meeting of Grand Portion

We were lucky enough to earn a spot on the itinerary of Alan's Granddaddy and Kelly Clinger's trip back to North Carolina from Chicago last Thursday (yes, they were suppose to visit us while they were there but we moved before they could). This was their first time meeting Wilhelm. Wilhelm found a lot of enjoyment in his great granddaddy's beard.Our visit with them was delightful and Wilhelm was given some unique music makers and other toys. It was also his first experience opening gifts by himself. This gave us great insight into what a fun Christmas it will be.Our visit with the great grandparents ended with a dinner, minus Wilhelm (my mom & dad graciously watched him), at one of our favorite Louisville eateries. It was a grand evening in every way.

Each Day is Something New

It seems like each day Wilhelm learns something new and it makes parenting an amazing experience. As he inches in on his nine month birthday the little guy is crawling around every which way and just yesterday he has started saying, "ba baa," when people leave the room (and the sound is accompanied with a wave too). He shows such pride in his new accomplishments. Hopefully we will get a new video camera soon so I can capture some Wilhelm moments for you all. This is him taking a break in the grass while we were at a cookout for Alan's new job. He looks like such a little man to me here. It is ashame that we can't freeze time!

A Review

I believe the most appropriate start to catch ya'll up with our lives is to do a pictorial recap of the past eight months. they sure have been busy ones! from a blessed baby boy being born to a number of road trips and vacations, it has been a grand time filled with first experiences, laughter, tears, and memories. Here are some of my favorite pics from January until now.

Our son Wilhelm Clarke Eargle was born on 01.12.2007

He has such a playful personality!

By June he was taking his first flight on his first vacation to the beach. Daddy was such a trooper for taking this picture. He was recovering from knee surgery and bent a little too low in the cockpit. We love you Daddy!
Wilhelm enjoyed his trip to the beach to play in the water and the sand.

And had lots of fun with his cousins, Lily Grace and Hannah Kate, too!First train ride into the city, Chicago that is. He loved it!Once in the city we took in the scenes,
and hopped a train back to Geneva with Wilhelm's friend Jack.
I'm not sure he likes to be photographed while eating. I guess he takes after his Momma. This is just one of the glimpses of his first bites in Mid-July.

Look closely, these are his first two teeth sprouts. It is the best shot I could get before he attacked the camera. When my friend Elisabeth's son Simon cut his first teeth she said she was sadden that she would never see him toothless again. I now can totally relate!
This is Simon & Wilhelm. We really miss our Geneva playgroup friends.I cherish this picture and this moment. It is the two loves of my life, my boys. This was a beautiful summer day at a local festival with family and friends. Wilhelm appears to love the outdoors and we look forward to all of our adventures in the future.

This should bring you up to speed to where we are now. In the next week or so we will be moving into our new loft in Lexington, KY (lots more to come with that). Life is grand and we hope you enjoy sharing it with our eargle family.

A New Journey Begins

As the eighth month of Wilhelm Clarke's life begins it is time to begin another new journey in the life of our Eargle Family. We have recently left our quaint town of Geneva, IL, and moved back to "my old Kentucky home." Alan has accepted a position near Lexington, KY, and we will be living there starting the first part of October. Currently we are living on my family's farm, enjoy lots of catch up time with family and friends.

After reading a blog of a friend who moved away from Illinois and becoming inspired I decided it was high time to start a blog for our family as a way to share with others stories of our life together (thanks Heather!). I had intended to get the first post of the blog up while we were in IL, but before I knew it we were off again, back to KY. I truly hope that this serves as a avenue for those near and far to get a glimpse of us, our eargle family.