A Catch-Up To The Present

Once again I have been very poor about keeping our blog up to date. As I work on getting a few budding projects started, Alan continuing to have a VERY busy schedule and Wilhelm daily becoming more inquisitive (which requires a little more attention and direction from momma), the days fly by with little time to update our happenings for our friends and family to read on the blog.

Here is a quick pictorial catch-up of the last week or so.

We had a fabulous day as a family at a local park. Both of us couldn't believe just how big Wilhelm looked and the determination he has to achieve what he is working on.
Aside from playing on the jungle gym we manged to have a stick fight,pitch some ball,
ride on the tire swing, and
just some time to squat and think.

The next day we attended a local baseball game. The picture of Wilhelm is a little blury, because we truly could not get him to sit still. I'm not sure if it was the excitement of the ball park or all of the food he ate. Needless to say, he and daddy had a grand ole time.Along the way he caught a ride with his cousin Lily Grace while they spent the day at their Daddy Will & Gran's house. Wilhelm looks a little frightened, which is rightly so with that crazy girl driving.

Gran provided a little more ease at days end.

My intention is to do a better job at posting regularly, but I won't make any promises. We plan on taking a trip to Chicago next week to visit friends so I'm sure that will provide for many photo opportunities to share with you. Stay tuned...

Better Late Than Never!!!

In the past week or so I've been extremely busy trying to help my dad get an eBay business up and running, therefore I've neglected my journaling, i mean blogging. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post a few pictures of Wilhelm Clarke and others from Easter.

We had a full Easter weekend. On Saturday we went to West Virginia to visit with Alan's family since his sister was in from South Carolina. The day was delightful, but I forgot our camera so we only have memories in our minds.

After church on Sunday we headed to Mount Eden, KY, to my parent's house to have an Easter feast with my parents and my brother & his family. In addition our great friends, The Wilson's (Joel, Radhika, & Maya) joined us for Easter lunch.

As a side note, The Wilson's are in KY because Joel is a cardiologist fellow at UK. Their families are in the Seattle, WA, area so while in KY my family is adopting them as their own.

radhika, joel, & maya before the feast at the palmer house

the boys and i hamming it up for a picture!

Between play with family members, plastic eggs containing sugary objects, and travel from here & there, Wilhelm was super exhausted by the end of the weekend. Though I'm sure he would do it all over again if he could!

A First Parade

A few days ago we took Wilhelm to his first parade! In true Kentucky weather fashion, it was a SUPER cold and rainy day even though last year at this time was low 70s. Due to the weather the pictures didn't show Wilhelm's cool St. Patrick's Day shirt, but we did have the opportunity to see a few bagpipe troops and emergency vehicles. Our little guy was in sheer awe throughout the processional of floats, waves, and candies hurling through the air at him. It was a fun morning celebrating the Irish!

A Day At The Park

Kentucky weather is as predictable as.... we'll it isn't very predictable! Today the temperature was near 70 degrees, it was beautifully sunny, and extremely pleasant. Due to this wonderful respite Wilhelm and I headed to the park to meet our friends Maya and Radhika. It was the first time that Wilhelm swung and slid, and he LOVED it!This picture says it all. Our boy enjoys soaring through the air !

Maya was nearing nap time at this point (that is where the cracker comes in, for distraction), but I love this picture of her because it shows off her stylish new outfit and her curls that make her so darn adorable.Watching him brought out such a youthful side of me and we had such a good time. It caused me to imagine what he will be able to do and enjoy in a few months. He will soon be running laps around me at the park and protesting when it is time to leave (do i really want that time to come?). We left the park with a very dirty and tired little boy! What a great day, and tomorrow it will be rainy and in the 40s because that is Kentucky.

Swimming Class with Daddy

For the last eight weeks Alan & Wilhelm have been in our local YMCA's swim class. They have had a tremendous time each Saturday morning. I tried to control myself and only take pictures of the last class. I didn't want to look too crazy so I snapped a few pictures, none of real good quality. We all are looking forward to this summer when we can spend LOTS of time in the swimming pool.

A Roadtrip

A few weeks ago I received word that one of my dear friends from Geneva, Maureen, was experiencing a few sudden health issues. Some of you may know her or recall me talking about Maureen while we lived in Geneva. She played such a significant role in my life when I was pregnant with Wilhelm and we developed a great friendship between our families. When I heard about her health I felt compelled to help out in any way that I could so I headed to Illinois to make a visit and do a little babysitting (Maureen's daughters, Tate & Laine, have been featured in the blog before.).

Since Alan had no way of getting out of work I asked one of my friends, Radhika, who happens to have family who lives in close proximity to Geneva, and her daughter Maya, who happens to be Wilhelm's favorite playdate and girl around the town, to join us for a roadtrip to the North. It was a grand adventure as we left out early Monday morning and returned late Friday. We had great conversation and great kids, with the exception of a slight mood set back on our return drive. I think it was part protest and part upset stomach, mainly from Wilhelm with sympathy cries from Maya. Thank goodness there were two mommas in the car. Radhika got quite a workout on the way back!

While we were in Geneva we visited with Maureen and her girls, along with some of our friends from there. I captured some, not all, of our moments and have put the best pictures below to share with you.

As I write this email I've also gotten an update from Maureen about her health. They plan on monitoring an aneurysm in her brain and some blockages she has. Our family continues to pray for Autie Mo Mo's good health.

this is joy and eli. eli was so kind and let wilhelm play with his new train set.

wilhelm's friend simon and he, surprised to see the camera.tate and wilhelm snuggled for a morning nap. she had a snow day from school so they had some good quality time before we headed back to KY.
this is maya, occupying herself in the car seat with a toy string.
or maybe she is entertaining her riding companion. if you look close enough you can see the remnants of the chocolate chip cookies radhika made for our trip home on wilhelm's face.

WHAT A WONDERFUL ROADTRIP!

A First Birthday Bash to Remember

Wow, it really has been one year since our son, Wilhelm Clarke Eargle, was born. In celebration of this special day we threw a splendid birthday bash with family and close friends at our home. A wonderful time was had by all, especially the birthday boy. It was quite an experience to see the joy in his eyes throughout the day. And, I know it seems crazy but I think since that day he looks older. He is even doing things that one-year-olds do like climbing up step ladders and throwing balls! As fast as this year has gone it frightens me to think how fast those in the future will be, however I am excited to see how our special son develops into a young boy.

Here are a few shots from the birthday party.This is a picture of one of Wilhelm's cakes and his guest's favors. Alan and I ordered personalized Jones Soda bottles with Wilhelm's picture on them for all of our family and friends in attendance.
The singing and picture flashes took Wilhelm a little off his game when it was time to blow out the candle, but...

he soon regained his composure and sense of humor when it was time to dive into the cake.
It was like Christmas all over again! Wilhelm received many generous gifts. He appreciated his friends and Daddy helping him to open.

I would like to say that I have a good picture of him passed out after the days activities, but the boy is a partier and didn't go down until nearly 10 o'clock that night. He wanted to stay awake as long as possible to celebrate his birth time at 9:54 (CST), even though he missed it he lived out his first birthday to the fullest.

Thanks to everyone who made his day special!

A Quick Hello to A Friend

On our way back from visiting Alan's parents in Cincinnati, OH, we were able to cross paths with one of my old college roommates and good friends, Anne. Anne was in from Texas, staying with her parents in Northern Kentucky for the holidays. It was absolutely wonderful to catch up with her and even just to see her. She is in Texas to get her masters degree in play therapy and hopes to be back in the Bluegrass state by the end of 2008. Though our visit was short it was simply wonderful. Hopefully we'll see Anne again sooner than later.

A First Christmas, Oh So Bright!

We'll always remember Christmas 2007 as Wilhelm's first Christmas. It was a glorious time for Alan & I as we watched our little boy gasp and shrill in excitement at the lights on the tree, the presents to open, and the other bright moments that come along with the holidays.

I find it impossible to record all of our special moments during this Christmas, but here are a few special ones.Wilhelm enjoyed each time we would pack to travel somewhere. It was hard to tell if he really wanted to go since he pitched out everything that was put in the suitcase and then jumped in himself. Possibly he wanted to ride in there, instead of his car seat. Only a few short weeks until he can forward face in his car seat, yeah!
Wilhelm received a rocking moose from Santa Claus this year.

His stocking also included some goodies.
Daddy Will and Gran began a new Christmas Eve tradition by reading The Night Before Christmas to the grandchildren.
Christmas morning included a big country breakfast, many presents, and matching pajamas. I think my mom is a little more sure about her excitement than the children are.
Eight children, in front of a camera, expected to stand still for a posed picture. I don't think this was a bad attempt. These are Wilhelm's 1st and 3rd cousins. Chloe, Lily Grace, Camille, Bethany, Timothy, Hannah, & Carlie Mae. What a group! They had such a nice time playing with each other.
Aside from boxes and paper, this Curious George doll was one of Wilhelm's favorite presents he received. It was from his Pappy and Nanna Eargle.

One of my favorite pictures taken during the holidays was of my goofy niece Lily Grace and her Uncle Alan. They are such hams!
Our family was so blessed in 2007 and we look forward to what 2008 sends our way.

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.