Vegas, Baby!

Well, the V-man, who is already a seasoned traveller, got a chance to earn his first passport stamp last week! We flew to Las Vegas to visit his Grandma and Grandpa* (Chris' mom and step-dad), and spent a lovely and relaxing week in the 100-degree heat (aaaaaah).

He was spoiled rotten, of course, but was full of smiles, as was Grandma! It was a great opportunity for Chris and I to get to the local Gold's Gym every morning, while Grandma babysit the squirt.

Here he is in his big boy clothes, debating whether to roll over again. He rolled from front-to-back the day after we arrived, and the next day, travelled halfway across the living room like a little tumblyweed.

The shopping in Vegas is amazing. We were "smart" enough to have made a list of what we were looking for before we left, which unfortunately precluded buying too many extras, but I did quite well for myself. Grandma found this awesome suit on a sale rack, and we were all thrilled about it! Now I can have a little black cat again, and Chris can't complain about his allergies!

The highlight of our trip was probably the Wine Spectator Grand Tour, held at the Venetian. We got all dolled up on Saturday night, kissed Vaughn goodnight, and hit the town in style. (I got to wear my faboo Bebe dress, my new Fergalicious shoes, and my new Stuart Weitzman clutch...I felt like a supermodel!)

Rob and Lynda (and Laurel and Mike), stop reading now.

It was INCREDIBLE. There were about 200 wineries there, each showcasing their best wine. I was surprisingly sensible about tipping out, but being sensible only gets you so far when you're tasting about 50 different wines. Good thing we made notes.

We debated whether the length of the event - 3 hours - was too short or not, but I think it was a smart call to limit it, as almost everyone was staggering out when we left. Of course, Chris was the only staggerer holding a bouquet of flowers that was as tall as I was, in a huge glass vase... let's just say that we made friends with some of the Aussie importers.

The best wine that we've ever tasted (but will probably never taste again) was the 1998 Hardys Shiraz McLaren Vale Eileen Hardy. Yowza. Yum. There were several other delicious bottles, too - the 2004 Heath Shiraz Barossa Valley Southern Sisters Reserve stands out in my (hazy) memory, as does the 2004 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E&E Black Pepper. All of this, however, will just ruin us for other wines that we used to think were good, but now we know different.
Sigh.



Rob and Lynda (and Laurel and Mike!), you may resume reading. Just know that it would have been so much more fantastic with you two (four) there. And that we're definitely going to try to go to one of these again, so you'll have to join us next time, ok? And hey, you didn't have the stellar hangovers that we did on Sunday morning... anything? Anything at all?

We also went out for a lovely dinner, just the two of us, on Monday night. Great food, over-the-top service (which we're SO not used to anymore, living in the Hat), and lovely ambiance. The wine was ok, too, but since we're even more snobby than we were prior to Saturday, it would have been hard to impress us.

Back to the 100-degree heat.

As you may recall, last year, we flew south in mid-April, enjoyed a week of beautiful weather in California, but came home to find 3 feet of snow in the Hat. No chance of that this year! ha ha! By travelling in mid-May, there is absolutely NO chance that we would experience such a drastic difference in climate!

It snowed this morning.

Kaff.

*the term "Grandpa" is still being debated. I have suggested "Grunkle" as a nice alternative.

First Mother's Day!

Vaughn recruited Daddy's help to make me a variation of my favourite Cora's treat: French toast with strawberries, bananas, kiwi, and whipped cream. What a great way to wake up! The Domestic Goddess appreciated the morning "off".

I believe I even got a nap, too. Bliss.
The next day, I set up a mini photo shoot of the pooper, attempting to replicate the studio shots we had taken. Let's just say that the professional ones are better, but with a subject so cute, it's hard to go wrong.

Four Months / One Year

It was last May 5th that I, well, peed on a stick and our lives changed forever.

I still remember walking into the kitchen, shaking, holding it in front of me. I passed it to Chris, who asked me what it meant. I nodded, and he hugged me. Oh, and then, of course, I cried.

...flash forward 1 year...

Soooo, Vaughn had his 4-month check up on Monday, and he's MASSIVE!!!

Ok, no he's not. He weighs in at a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz, and measures a staggering 24 inches long. Woo! That puts him firmly on the 50th percentile for length, and the 10th percentile for weight. The doctor looked me up and down and said it was just fine, and frankly, to be expected. I'll take that as a compliment. As for the boy, he's not skinny; he's solid, but not chubby, cheeks aside!


Changing time is one of his favourite things, because he gets to hear my rendition of "Time to Say Goodbye" - which goes, "Time to...change your bum....bum bum bum bum bum...bum bum bum bum." Let's just say that Andrea Bocelli would be horrified.



He loves to cuddle - when he gets tired, he'll "come in for a snuggle", and it's just a matter of seconds till he's calm, quiet, and super easy to put to bed. I think it's his best trick, in fact.

Duuuuuuude.

And his other fantastico trick is below. He's a really, really early flipper-over, which makes me fear for the future. As it is, I already can't put him down and walk away. We'll need to invest in baby gates soon, I think! (either that, or overturn a laundry hamper over him...)

3 1/2 months - Sir Kicks-A-Lot

Guess who can roll over?

From his back to his front?

This is a 6-month skill, but our talented and crafty little boy has decided to skip the front-to-back roll, which would be fine, except now, when you lay him on his back, he rolls over to his front... but then he gets tired, and doesn't know how to get back!

It's a really fun thing, at 4 am, to walk into a screamy baby's room, to see him lying on his stomach, mad as heck that he can't figure out how to sleep that way!

But pretty cute, too.

I've post a rolling-over video soon. Here's our happy little fellow enjoying his tummy time!