Life Lately

I've been a bad blogger....just can't seem to stay on top of it.  I'll try harder.  Life has been great lately.  Nothing big to report...just enjoying it.  I've found myself being very sentimental lately...I'm not sure if its because Rob's first birthday is coming up (Leslie if you read this...you nailed it when you said I would feel this way) or what?  Little things have me getting either all choked up or just elated and doing a happy dance.  I am stopping to smell the roses a little more....and just really trying to appreciate everything I have been blessed with.  Alright enough with all of that...here are some pictures of what's been going on in our lives lately.


Grandad wanted to give Rob some ice cream...he LOVED it...who doesn't?!

playing in the pack n' play in Galveston

he LOVED the sand (until he ate it) and waves...just like his momma



a boy and his wagon





10 months

We are into double digit months....happy 10 months to my little (ok not-so-little) man!  We love you more than words can describe....you bring laughter and happiness to our home like we never could have imagined. 



learning to take a photo and catch a toddler all in 2 seconds time (but hey...it looks as if he is sitting there all still and cooperative)




rockin' and rollin' and what-not



In Vino Veritas

I can now say that I am totally in love with all things Napa.  We had the most amazing time there!  We also enjoyed a short stay in San Francisco but to really see that city, we will have to go back for longer.  Now..back to Napa.  Mmmmm....we left the August hell heat of Texas and were welcomed with perfect temperatures of sunny 80 degree days and crisp, cool 60 degree evenings.  It did not take us long to figure out why so many people want to retire to California.  By the end of the first evening (and after a day of sipping unbelievable wines), Jamie and I had our retirement years planned out.  Here are some highlights from our trip.



a stop at Vista Point on our way from San Francisco to the valley

We woke up early on the first morning and hopped in our oh-so-cool convertible Mustang and headed up the 101 towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  San Francisco is such a beautiful place and we both want to go back and really see the city one day.  But...like I said...ON TO NAPA!  




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On our first day we stopped at Domaine Carneros on our way in and are real suckers because I mean WHO joins a wine club on their first stop?!  That's us (we had some great recommendations though for that place..thanks Hailey and Molly!)  Then we headed to Robert Mondavi for an educational tour that showed us how the winemaking process works from start to finish...way cool!  We then grabbed a quick lunch and enjoyed it in the awesome weather.  Next we stopped at both Peju and Sequoia Grove (again from recommendations from friends). We loved both of these places...very laid back and chill.  We checked into our amazing lodge and then headed to a yummy dinner at Mustard's.  Very successful first day!



Our fun DD Steve and our cool ride

The next day we got a DD to drive us around for the day in our rental.  His name was Steve and he was a jokester so he and James got along really well.  He started the day off taking us to Plumpjack/Cade which is a smaller, off-the-beaten-path winery which turned out to be one of our top two!  Yay Steve!  They served us a Cabernet that was by far the best tasting thing wine I have ever put in my mouth.  Thank goodness this was our first stop or I wouldn't have been able to turn down that purchase ($275...wow!)  Then we took a very cool tour at Del Dotto in St. Helena.  We really enjoyed this tour because you taste right out of the barrels and it is really neat to see how the same wine tastes so completely different out of the French/American/hybrid barrels.  I am a French barrel lover while Jamie preferred the American.  :)



The Del Dotto wine cave

After Del Dotto (which the locals call Del Blotto b/c you literally get like 12 tastings) we grabbed some sandwiches at the St Helena market and Steve drove us to another out of the way winery up in the hills named Burgess.  It was beautiful up there!  Back to the room for a rest then a yummy pizza dinner at Redd Wood.  Another fun-filled successful day!

The next morning (and our last..boohoo) we wanted to do something a little different so we rented some bikes and took off on their shortest (10 mile) loop.  We took off and made a few stops along the way at a couple tasting rooms (Napa Valley Wine Co. and Silver Oak).  We enjoyed both of them of course and then set off to return our bikes.  When we got back to Yountville, we returned the bikes and then had some lunch at Michael Chiarello's Napa Style eatery.  I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrity chef since they told us he was working there that day but we never did.  After lunch we got back in the Mustang and hit up our last winery...St. Supery.  Finished the evening with a yummy dinner at Bistro Jeanty and then hit the hay for our 7am departure back to the city.



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 Needless to say..we cannot wait to go back!  It was such a nice and relaxing vacation and lots of good memories were made!  If anyone is heading to Napa Valley...I would recommend any and all of the places we visited!  


4 more days...and a crawler!

Just four more days and we will be hopping on a plane to Napa!  Yay!  I'm really looking forward to our vacation this year.  Having a little one is the best thing that has ever happened to me but you definitely learn to appreciate a few days of adult time and relaxation.  By the end of our time in California however, (or who am I kidding...the entire time) I will be missing Rob and waiting patiently to hug him up in a big bear hug when we get home.



ahhh....can't wait!

 On another note...we have a mover and a shaker!  Rob started crawling last week!  He has been toying with the idea for a while but just decided one day to take off!  I am so happy for the little guy...he was starting to get really frustrated by not being able to get around.  Now life as we know it (as my dad says) will always be about chasing that little rugrat around!  I welcome it though.....I am loving every minute!  I will post pictures and maybe a video of the crawling as soon as I upload them.  For now..this will have to do...its Rob and all his sweet friends :)

 

Cabo!

Yay!  Hailey's wedding is finally here and this is where we will be in just 24 hours!

8 months!!

Here is our chunky monkey at a whopping 8 months!  Where does the time go?!

Summertime

We are definitely in the middle of the sweet HOT summertime! We have been busy this summer doing the usual things but none of it seems "usual" because we now have our little man to join in the fun with us.  I've really enjoyed this age (we are now 8 months!) and getting to see his little personality come out more and more each day.  In the next month Jamie and I have a few grown-up things planned that we are excited about.  Next week we are going to Cabo to see a dear friend of mine get married!  Yay for Hailey and Josh!!!  Then at the end of August, we are going to San Francisco/Napa....cannot wait!  So in the next couple months there will ACTUALLY be some posts on here about something other than our beautiful baby boy.

Fun in Galveston

He loves doing this!

the boys turned 30!

snuggling with mommy in the morning



Pool time with all the cousins!



again in Galveston...Benno's!  Yummy!



Colorado Good Times



The entire Davis clan travelled to Durango, CO a few weeks back and we had a great time!  The weather was beautiful, the scenery was breathtaking and the fun times will never be forgotten.  Here are a few pics from our trip.



Rob's first plane ride!



The beautiful house we stayed in





The choo-choo train!



Seven Months!

One more fun-filled month down.  I know people get sick of hearing parents say this but I really do wish time would slow down.  He will be ONE before we know it!?!  Little guy is now a chunkey monkey!

We Have a Happy 6 Month Old!

I cannot believe my sweet boy is already 1/2 a year old.  My oh my how time is flying by so quickly.  He has brought so much joy and laughter to our lives and I'm not sure how but I love him more everyday. 





9 Years

I cannot believe it has been 9 years since we lost these two beautiful, precious women.  My heart is always heavy on this day for myself and so many others...but I should also remember to be happy to have gotten to know them and to cherish the times we spent together.  Love you girls and I miss you everyday!

Still Playing Catch Up

Since I'm still trying to get caught up, I'll go ahead and post Rob's month-to-month photos.  Its truly amazing how much these little munchkins grow and change in their first months with us. 





Hello world




1 month




2 months




3 months




4 months




5 months

























Where Has the Time Gone?!

So...I see that my last post was when I had 5 weeks to go in my pregnancy.  That doesn't surprise me at all since right at about 35 weeks is when my easy breezy pregnancy turned into a not-so-easy bumpy ride.  To make a long story short..at 35 weeks my blood pressure started giving us trouble and we spend the next 3 (seemed like 10) weeks on bedrest....overnight hospital monitoring....strict bedrest...more hospital stays.  It seemed like an eternity and was filled with worry and anxiety.  At exactly 38 weeks we decided it was time to induce me and to meet our baby boy. 

We went in on a Monday afternoon and the process got started.  To be brief (if you know me well then you have heard just how it all went down in more detail), we got dealt a pretty crappy hand when it comes to the birthing process.  Mr. Rob was face up, I would not dilate past a 3 for many, MANY hours and I had to be on Magnesium since my blood pressure was so high (not a fun drug and NOT a fan of the catheter that was required right from the get-go). FINALLY, when I got the epidural I was relieved for a short time.  Three epidurals later and we finally got used to the fact that it was really only working well on my left leg (which was dead weight by the end of everything).  So after 19 hours of labor, 1 hour of pushing and no epidural benefits we decided Mr. Rob wasn't going to cooperate so we went in for a c-section.  I have never been more ready to meet someone in my life and at this point...never more exhausted and ready to be done with the whole thing.  It was now Tuesday, November 22 at 10:30 am.  If you know my husband..he has this thing for palendromes so Rob's birthday was a very fitting 11-22-11.  This picture is my favorite of all the messy c-section photos so I will share (sorry if the blood grosses you out)...I love how Jamie is helping me to touch little Rob's foot.  Poor Jamie was just as glad as I was to have reached the finish line....poor guy looked defeated :)

So after all the craziness we finally got to love on our new miracle and love on him we have.  He has been such a blessing and is just the sweetest, happiest little boy.  We love to watch him change daily and to witness him just loving life so much!  He is already 5 months old and time is just flying by!  Here are a few of my favorites from the last 5 months. 

Best day of our lives.



Jamie has been Super Dad from the very beginning.  Love these two boys!



He has so many funny looks to give us!



First Day of Daycare



First Easter




He loved his first meal!

 I will try to be better about blogging so I don't have to stuff 5 months into one post.  I'm sure it will all bore you to death as they will most likely be filled with nothing but Rob.  But hey....that's just how it goes. Happy May to everyone!