Parents retreat

Enjoying a quiet moment in Fundy National Park

After 7 1/2 months, Alan and I had our first night away from Caleb. We headed to a beautiful cabin (Vista Ridge Cottages) in Alma and left Cale with Greg and Linda. Driving out of my parents driveway, I felt a mix of excitement for the vacation we'd been looking forward to for so long, nervousness in hoping that Caleb wouldn't be too much of a hand full and would let Greg and Linda get a bit of sleep and a tinge of sadness as I realized I was starting to miss Cale already. But, I soon was able to relax and enjoy a wonderful vacation and remember the way life used to be.

We had a great time in Alma - walking along the shoreline at low tide, eating lots of seafood, visiting the super cheesy souvenir shop on Main St and buying sticky buns from Kelly's bakery. It felt a bit strange to have uninterrupted naps and time to cook a nice meal...no baby waiting to be fed or dog waiting to be walked...just us. Alan did awake after a nice afternoon nap by sitting straight up and asking where Caleb was, but for the most part we were able to relax, enjoy our time together and SLEEP! My first full night's sleep since before Cale was born.

And Cale, of course, made out great with his grandparents. We didn't have time to get him used to sleeping in the playpen before we left, so he happily slept curled up in between Greg and Linda and only woke up twice in the night. He only really cuddles when he is sleeping, so I don't think they minded sharing their bed with him.

On the car ride home, Alan and I tried to sing loudly and make as much noise as we wanted. As nice as it was to have an evening away, in the end, our empty backseat felt, well, empty. It is nice to know that as great as life was before Caleb came along, it is even better now. We will always look forward to taking more overnights away in the future, but we will always be even more happy to come back home.

Cale helping out at the Jeffries family yard sale this weekend