California finally figured it out

That is, where good beer comes from.

Mike, Cavin, and I visited the Lafayette Art and Wine festival this past weekend. Now I'll admit, I wasn't too keen on attending this affair as I was recovering from a really tough work week, not looking forward to the crowds, forgot my ID (so it was really just an art festival to me), and we had to cancel some dinner plans that I was looking forward to in order to drink wine and look at art.

So fast forward to Mike loading me up on beer so I would have a good time. As I stood next to yet another tent where a local made their version of trendy clothes and jewelry I waited for Mike to return with his beer. He rushed towards me with wide eyes and beer in hand. He handed it to me and said "here, try this Amber". Okay, so I did. I had a really confused look on my face as I was expecting a sharp taste like many other micro brews I've had recently. Yet this, this was smoooooth. He said "be careful what you say here...its one you've had before". I said "well, I like it! It's smoooooth. Must be a Coors product." That comment should have earned me big time points not only with Mike but also with his family and Mines friends but I digress. He proceeded to inform me that it was Shiner.

Ah.....Shiner Boch. My favorite Texas beer. Brewed in Shiner, Texas...home of many Boch-toberfests and the topic of so many Texas country songs...my favorite by Robert Earl Keene ("There's a girl in her bare feet asleep, in the back seat and my trunk is full of Shiner Boch and Lone Star"). Oh how I missed you Shiner. You were my friend for so many years. Oh how I've missed you so...

And that, my friends, is how you turn a grumpy Jamie into a happy girl who loves art and wine...a little bit of beer and a whole lot of Texas.

Yeehaw.

Move over Angelina and Shiloh....

....there's a new mommy / baby team turning heads in California!


Well, the paparazzi have finally caught up to Cavin and myself. After gallivanting across the bay area unleashed for 3 months during my maternity leave, they were finally able to get a picture of Cavin and I playing around after we went on one of our morning run / walks. I'm sure this picture was sold to the magazine for millions as we were highly sought out!







Those of you who know my obsession with US Weekly understand how exciting this is for me!



Link to the full article: http://www.californiacoastparent.com/onlineMag/CCPonline_Aug_Sep09_Zone1/index.html



Next up....a cover on Working Mother magazine. Or better yet, People!

Happy Five Month Birthday Cavin!

One month until the half way mark! Our baby boy has made big strides this month...so much so that I feel like I cannot keep up. He's bouncing harder and faster in his bouncy chair, rolls around faster than we can walk across the room to catch him, verbalizing words only Baby Einstein can understand, survives weekends without mommy (wish I could say the same for myself without him), has learned pitches that only the dogs can hear, upgraded to size 3 diapers, wears 6 months+ clothing (some of which is still too short!), reaches out to grab toys, loves hanging out on his tummy, pushes his upper body up to support himself on his hands, is showing early signs of teething (drooling and chomping down on anything he can fit in his mouth), and can sit up unsupported for 10-20 seconds - sometimes longer, many times shorter.

Cavin is surprising us each and every day with his development. And as I say every month, his personality cannot be beat! He is calm, sweet, mellow, fun, entertaining, and hilarious. Also, he has really taken to the animals this month. Every time one walks past him he smiles really big and lets out a big giggle. His favorite you ask? That's no surprise - Sandy. Even Mike will agree that he has found a best friend in Sandy. A typical scenario in our lives involves Mike and myself basically bouncing on our heads trying to make this little boy giggle. Yet Sandy walking across the room?? Friggin' riot! We are talking baby bouncing up and down, wiggling his legs, screeching laughter. I agree Sandy is one hilarious dog but I think I'm pretty funny too sometimes. Apparently fur and a tail is the ticket.

Clearly, daddy was funny this afternoon:

The comment we get most about Cavin (other than him being the cutest baby in the whole wide world) is how tall he is. Well no one should be surprised by looking at his parents. This month Cavin decided to stand on Elmo to show the world just how tall he really is!

And on to the stats! These are somewhat informal as we have moved past the monthly doctor's visits. Therefore we were required to weigh / measure Cavin at home. That experience only could provide us with an entirely new blog post but we won't go there.

Height: 27.5 inches

Weight: 16 pounds, 5 ounces

Happy Birthday Cavin!

The ONE downside to having a boy....

.....he doesn't have the stamina to shop with the girls....

....so his mommy dresses him up in his sleep!

There's a new kid in town

Make new friends......

(Cavin and his new buddy Lucas)

But keep the old....

(Drew and Cavin)

One is silver and the other's gold!

Lucas Emerson joined the boy's club on August 17th (our anniversary) and Cavin could not be happier to welcome his new BFF into the world. He has SOOOOO much to catch Lucas up on....starting with 'How to wrap your parents around your tiny pinky finger 101".

Happy Four Month Birthday Cavin!

What an exciting month it was! Somehow I feel like from here on out I'll be saying that. Can you say chhhhaaatterrr box? Yep, Cavin found his voice and he likes to talk about it. Mike and I try to guess what he's 'talking' about but only Cavin knows what his issues are.

This month marked mommy going back to work and the grandmas taking over. Grandma Martin took care of Cavin for the first two weeks...

While Grandma Fye took over for the last two weeks...

Mike and I are so grateful that Cavin had this time to spend with his grandmas before heading to day care like the grown-up I feel that he is now. Thanks mom and Judy!

At the beginning of his third month he rolled over from his back to his front and quickly became OBSESSED with doing so. We wake up to grunting over the monitor to find our very diligent baby spending the overnight hours training himself to flip to his tummy. There were many nights where one or both of us spent an hour or two up in the middle of the night flipping him back over to his back due to the SIDS paranoia. After a week or so of walking around like zombies we gave in. I mean no matter what he always ended up on his tummy! We realized he was self swaddling and comforting himself. And, walla! He slept longer. The bags under my eyes and I will take that! And it turns out the little one wanted to sleep as much as we wanted him to b/c he learned to flip to his tummy VERY quickly.

So the end result....

Sometimes it takes him 10 minutes to get into the perfect position...meanwhile he has traveled all over his crib moving and shaking around to find the. perfect. position. So with his booty in the air, his tummy on his hands, and his head cocked to the side, we all sleep just a little better.

Other than Cavin becoming a complete talking roley-poly this month, he's also taken his first sip of water (not by our choice...our day care provider thought it was hot outside), looks at and grabs his toys (which he immediately brings to his mouth), has become a serious drool-monster (apparently the first sign of teething), and he's been on his first airplane. And the most exciting thing he's done this month....visited the great state of Texas for the very first time!

Now on to the stats!

Weight: 14 lb, 6 oz (50th percentile)

Height: 26.5 inches (95th percentile)

Head circumference: 75th percentile - it's a Spruiell noggin'!

The doctor said he is doing great! He's looooong and lean just like his parents and he is developmentally doing very well...so we are happy.

This month we were confident that we'd have an easier time getting a picture of Cavin and Elmo. He has full head control and is sitting up well when we lean him on things. Little did we know that our wiggly worm had other ideas in mind. This kid REALLY wants to move so we ended up with ONE successful picture (above). Here are some of the unsuccessful ones...

I like to call this one the Heisman...

Happy 4 month to our baby boy!