Baby Jud turns One!!

Our youngest grandchild, Jud, turned ONE year old on Saturday.  His Daddy was in a wedding in Fredericksburg on Saturday night, so we had his party at our house on Sunday afternoon.  I stayed up all Saturday night decorating and getting things ready.  Looking back at the pics, I could have EASILY stopped around 2:00 a.m. but noooo, I had ribbon and a glue gun, and I just couldn't stop myself. 

Note to my little friend, Stephanie:  I know.  Don't say it.  Less. Is. More.  Next time, I'll remember that.  Everything you made looked incredible.  We LOVED it all! 

Little buckets for the party favors.

The "loot"

We were so glad that sweet little Aubrie came to the party!

Jud (eating ice) with Great Grandma Smith

James, holding Jud's little cousin, Hutton, who is 5 weeks younger than Jud.

Lyndsey, getting some hugs from the twins when they arrived!

It ended up pouring rain, but not before a little swimming by Terry, Aden, Eric, Steven, and Aubrie.

The only problem we had was when Jeremy asked his Dad to watch the burgers for "just a second" and when he returned, they were ON FIRE!  Jeremy is a wee bit anal abouts things, not totally unlike his Mother, unfortunately!  Note to Jeremy:  we just like things to be a certain way, don't we?  And that doesn't make us bad, does it?  Actually, the burgers and "dogs" were delicious!!

Jud telling everyone he was "ONE"!!

Jud's Mommy asked for Dr. Seuss books.  He got at least 25 of them.

Cousins Eric and Aden...trying out the new "ride" with Jud!

I had to get me some Jud "sugar" before the night was over!

And, what a difference a year makes!

The blanket Jud is lying on in the above picture was my Dad's baby blanket, 78 years ago.

Got milk?

The End.

All things written...

I have an addiction love of all things hand-written, especially if it was written by or about a family member.  For example...

We received this precious letter in the mail from Maggie, our 6 year old granddaughter, who stayed with us last week.  How cute is this?

We love you, too, Maggie!  Yes, we do!

A few days ago, I found this 2-sided note among some of Granny's diaries.  It was written on March 3, 1942, when my Dad was 9 years old...to his mother.  I have no idea where they might have been, but its possible he was at work with her...not sure since he is asking someone to give this to "Mrs. Croft" ...

This side says "Please give this to Mrs. Croft" ...  it is also dated in Granny's handwriting.

This side says "Mother come out and talk to me"

Will probably never know the details of this one.

Last night, I came across this folded envelope:

I assume it contained her Christmas bonus.  The names that are written on the back are ancestors...I've seen these names before.

Then there is this.  It is the opening page of an Autograph Book from Granny's days at Gem City Business College.

And guess who one of the first "autographs" was from?  Yep, Clinton (Abie) himself!  He must have really wanted to leave an impression because his is the only page out of around 30 that has a picture on it.  I think his self-description fit him well...

"Abie, as sure as you think of anything of a mischief-maker, tiz him".

Here is a picture of the address he listed...508 N. 23rd Street, Cairo, Illinois. 

For kicks, I googled the address, and here is what the house looks like today:

There are so many family things in my possession.  But they'll have to wait for another post.  I have to get ready for a birthday party tomorrow.  Will post pictures for everyone to see!

Hope you are all having a WONDERFUL weekend!

GiGi and Pappy Camp

Terry and I hosted the first session of our version of "Granny Camp" last week.  Paul and Jenny went to Vegas, so we helped the other grandparents out by keeping Maggie, Maisy and Lawson for a couple of days and nights.  It went really well with no reason whatsoever to have to interrupt their parents!  We swam, napped, went to the park, and had a great time with them.

Maggie wore several different hats while here!  She was a "little Momma".  She was Events Coordinator.  She was Lawson's interpreter.  She was Maisy's consoler.  She was a blanket finder.  She was "brush your teeth before bed" reminderer.  She was (sorry, Jenn and Paul) a drinker of Diet Dr. Pepper.  And she was SO sweet and SO much fun!

Maisy was almost transparent, if that is the correct term to use.  I don't know a whole lot about birth order, but from what I've read and can remember, she is the typical middle child.  She did her own thing and was absolutely precious.  The only "hint" of a problem was when I put a rubber band (coated, of course) in her hair.  I soon found out she DOES NOT like them and there is NO WAY she is going to wear one.  No biggie!

Lawson wasn't so sure about camp this year!  As long as his Pappy was in sight, he was fine.  Actually, the day Terry worked and I was alone with them, he was fine, too!  Once he got over the fact that Pappy "went to work".  He asked, several times that day, "where's Pappy"?  He wasn't thrilled with being IN the pool, but certainly enjoyed throwing balls, floaties, and everything else into the pool (to Pappy, of course) for fun!

After we met Jenn and Paul and made the "switch", we headed back and met Lyndsey in Cisco to bring Jud back to camp!  We kept him for a couple of days and nights, and couldn't have asked for a better baby.  Terry had to work both days, so Jud and I just hung out...napped, played, etc.  Actually, Jud and I never left the house until it was time to meet Lyndsey in Cross Plains to make the "switch".

The last campers of the week (for a mini-session) were Aden and Eric.  We kept them overnight while Jeremy and Kristin went to the Coleman Rodeo to hear Josh Abbott in concert.  Aden slept with Terry; Eric slept with me.  Midway through the night, Eric had crowded me over to the very edge of the bed, so I got up and moved to the other side.  The next morning I woke up and both boys were in bed with me.  That was sweet.  In the 4 weeks since I have kept them on a daily basis, they have changed from babies into rough'n'tough little boys.  In all honesty, I was too tired to even pick my camera up by the time I kept the boys.  However, here are a couple of pics made earlier in the week:

We would love to have Briley and Cade come to camp this summer.  Chad and Buffy, if you are reading this and would like to send the kiddos to camp, we will gladly meet you somewhere and pick them up.  Same on the return.

So, that about catches me up on posts for a few days.  Its 7:00 a.m. and I haven't been to bed yet (Wednesday night).  I have insomnia, but have made the most of my "awake" time by posting several things. 

I hope everyone is having a perfectly wonderful week. 

The End.