Well, our travelin' boy has another trip under his belt! Kaiser and I got back yesterday from almost a week in St. Louis. Erin, a friend of mine from grade school/high school, got married on the 3rd, which provided a great excuse to take Kaiser home. We had a wonderful time visiting Oma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa. YaYa even flew in from Oklahoma to join us for a few days!
And, of course, here are the highlights of our vacation:
Wednesday:
The kidlet and I headed out of town in the afternoon. Not too much to report, other than Kaiser got, well, let's just say a teensy bit tired toward the end of our travel time. (I guess that's what missing a 3 hour afternoon nap will do to you.) I'll spare you the details, but let's just say he wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine when Oma greeted us at the airport. When Kaiser finally hit the hay, he hit it hard, and by the next day his batteries were recharged and spirits were renewed!
"Mommy, do we get to go on our big trip today?"
"I'd better eat all of my carrots so I have plenty of energy!"
Thursday:
First things first: Our precious son turned 28 weeks old!
The "__ weeks old" sign is officially a toy. This is the best shot we could get.
He celebrated by spending the morning with his Papa and Jane, who came over to spend some time with us while Oma and Grandpa were at work. Kaiser was so friendly and super talkative, which made Mommy very happy, since last time we were in town he seemed to be wearing fussy pants every time Papa was around!
Happy to be hanging with Papa.
Eating up all the attention from these two!
Kaiser spent the rest of the afternoon napping and playing, and then ate a bit before I dressed him up nice and we headed to church. Since he'd be staying home with Oma and YaYa the next night while I was at Erin's wedding, I figured I'd let him accompany me to (and show him off at) the rehearsal. He was and jabbering up a storm but oh-so-pleasant, so I had no trouble learning my part in the ceremony (bringing down the bread and wine, which I would do with another close friend from high school, Meghan).
Enjoying the booster seat that Oma bought him for our visit.
Logging some play time in the living room.
"I know it's been a few years since you fed a baby, but you're still good at it, Oma!"
Mr. Cool at Erin and Tom's rehearsal.
With the beautiful bride-to-be.
Friday:
Pretty quiet morning at the house. We did our normal routine, and Oma headed to the airport to pick up YaYa, who arrived around 11am. Kaiser and I walked next door to Nana's house and hung out on the screened-in porch until "the package" was delivered. Shortly thereafter, YaYa arrived! Hooray!
"Now, let me get this straight...you're Mommy's grandma?"
"Boom Boom Boom"ing with Oma and YaYa on Nana's porch.
So happy that YaYa's here!
A couple of hours later, I put the kiddo down for his afternoon nap, and made sure to give him extra kisses and squeeze him extra tight, because I wouldn't be seeing him awake until the next morning. Meghan came over so that we could drive to the wedding/reception together, and we left Kaiser in the very capable hands of his YaYa, Oma, and Grandpa. I'm sure he was spoiled silly during the time between waking up from his nap and going down for the night! Meanwhile, we had a great time at the Zinselmeyer wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony (and we did our "jobs" without tripping or falling), and the reception was delightful. Congratulations to two amazing people who everyone has known should be Mr. & Mrs. for the past 10 years!
Dino and Turtle finally tied the knot! It's about time!
Bustin' a move.
So glad I got to be there!
Fun catching up with the Meg(h)ans - Callahan, Telfair, and O'Leary.
Saturday:
Kaiser's first 4th of July! Meghan and I relived our younger years by having a slumber party the night before, so the boy finally got to meet Mommy's NYC friend when he woke up! After his morning nap, he got an extra-special treat--Erin, Meghan's sister, came to see him, too. She has been following his life via Facebook and wanted to love on him face-to-face. :)
Mego and Kaiser both heart NY!
Erin does a ton of babysitting and is a pro.
Kaiser looking Asian for Mego. (Can't remember how that became an inside joke, but it did.)
Miss my buddy from the Jesu!
Kaiser needed his beauty sleep after a big morning with the ladies.
Later in the day, we dressed in our red, white, and blue and headed over to Nana's for a little barbeque. Several members of Oma's extended family were there, so Kaiser got to meet his great-great aunts, 3rd cousins, and 4th cousins (I think). Of course, he had to retire long before the party was over, but was great while he lasted!
God bless the USA!
So glad his hair is long enough for that fauxhawk. :)
Love my Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Lookin' all patriotic with YaYa.
Oma had Kaiser giggling before bathtime.
Sunday:
Another uneventful morning. In fact, the ladies and Kaiser bordered on lazy. We spent lots of time in front of the TV watching Wimbledon and decided to forego church in light of the fact that there is no nursery there.
"You can take away my food, but I'm keeping the spoon!"
Checking to see if Federer or Roddick is winning.
Playing/singing with Oma, who is still in her robe!
Sunday evening, we all went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Papa and Jane. Obviously Kaiser doesn't truly appreciate a good steak, because he was not the happiest baby on the block while we were there. We spent most of the time looking for ways to entertain him, and YaYa was a lifesaver and walked him around outside for a good while so that I could eat. Such is life with a 6 month old!
Studying Papa's face at Outback.
Experimenting with drinking from a straw (one of many attempts at distraction).
"Sorry I was a pill, Papa and Jane! Mommy says thanks for a delicious dinner!"
Looking much happier on the way home.
Monday:
YaYa, Oma, and Mommy decided that they wanted to have lunch at Panera and do a little bit of shopping in downtown Kirkwood, so Kaiser figured he'd tag along. The shops were so precious; if I had more money, I could have done some serious damage at a couple of them! I wish we'd had more time to stroll, but the kidlet was already pushed way past his limit, so home again we went so that he could rest up.
Dressed and ready to go!
Me and my handsome feller.
Grandma sandwich!
Kaiser woke from his afternoon nap to another new face: Robin, my best friend from grade school, stopped by to meet him! It's been ridiculously long (like 5+ years) since I've seen her, so it was awesome to see her face and catch up on life. She never fails to make me laugh. And Kaiser fell in love with her, too!
Kaiser and his new gf.
"So, this boyfriend of yours...is it serious?"
With Robs and Mommy.
While Robin was visiting, Nana came over to spend some time with us, too. She ended up staying for a while and feeding Kaiser his bottle before bedtime. Oma said her official goodbye to Kaiser before he went to sleep, because she had to leave for work on Tuesday before he woke up for the day. :( After the boy was down, Tom treated us to a dinner of steak, green beans, mushrooms, and salad--YUM!
Proud Nana with her great-grandson.
Pitching a fit when Robin left. (This is him doing his "fake cough" when he's upset!)
Hugs from Grandpa before bottle and bed.
Kaiser's trying to check out what's on TV again.
One last pic with Oma.
Tuesday:
YaYa, Mommy, and Kaiser woke up early to get to the airport. Grandpa drove us there, and we were fortunate not to hit any traffic on the way. YaYa was using Southwest buddy passes to travel, so we were a little concerned about there being seats available on her flight, but she got on smoothly and was back in OKC in less than a couple of hours. Kaiser and I, on the other hand, had a little more eventful trip. Again, I'll leave out most of the details, but they include us racing through Chicago-Midway airport, arriving at a gate when the plane was already completely boarded, kicking off a standby passenger, and Kaiser being the best form of birth control any couple contemplating conceiving a child soon could ever ask for! Ha! I guess it wasn't that bad...we survived, didn't we? :) Boy, were the two of us glad to be home in Pittsburgh with Daddy and Berkeley!
Hard to say goodbye!
Finally in our driveway! Do you think someone's exhausted?
Someone missed her baby brother!
