Friday, August 31, 2018

This & That


Happy Friday!  Can you believe this is the last weekend of the summer?? Tatum and I have had so much fun with pool days the past few months.  A couple weeks ago we were planning to go to the Phillies/Mets game for Tatum's first baseball game.  

A week before my dad unfortunately broke his hip in an accident and while he was walking with a walker well at that time - the game would have been too much so we had a viewing party at my parents house instead with hotdogs, chili, and game day food. 


It's been super hot around here lately - we had a happy hour with neighbors but resorted to inside to keep cool but enjoyed apps, drinks and a good time.


We've been having fun trying table food with Tatum - he had his first piece of cheese at the deli counter, mandarin oranges, pasta, etc.


My parents have pretty much been hanging out at home so we took over dinner this week - salad, chicken spaghetti and garlic bread.  We all had the best time hanging out!  Poppy is walking all around with his cane and Tatum thinks the cane is a toy!


With the final few days of summer coming up, we've been getting in as much pool time as possible. Afternoon pool time usually leads to diaper naps which Tatum loves - we always joke about what he'll do in the fall when he has to wear clothes all the time.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Weekend at the Lake


We had a good weekend at the lake - our last weekend of the summer!  We'll probably try to do an overnight or two in September but with some cooler temperatures and plenty of sun we had a good time.

The water was very low on Friday when we got there so we just set up some chairs on the lower ground for a bit before going up to start happy hour on the porch.  Since it was just Derek and I we ordered pizza and salads and got into an intense game of uno while we waited.  We had some other family stop over for drinks after dinner.


Saturday we went for a family walk then Derek and I each relaxed during Tatum's morning nap - the weather on the porch was perfect and I loved having the time to read out there.  After lunch we packed up and went over to my uncle's dock to spend the afternoon.


The highlight of the day was Tatum's very first boat cruise!  His life jacket came in recently so he was ready to go and even got treated to my cousin driving him for the ride!  He took a nice nap while we relaxed on the boat.


We had a booze cruise on the party barge in the early evening with 8 family members and 2 dogs. After our cruise we made DIY tacos for dinner and had an even bigger round of uno.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Nine & Ten Month Favorites

Happy Monday! Almost two weeks ago Tatum was ten months old and this is a mix of 9 & 10 month favorites.  Each week almost he's into something new and every day is different - it's such a fun age!  I can't even believe that within a few weeks I'll work on planning his first birthday party.  Today I'm saying a few favorites from the past two months... 


Obsessed! Puffs usually come at the end of his meal.  If you shake the bottle of them his face lights up - he's proud and has so much fun picking them up and feeding himself.

We got both of these for the lake and they are awesome - inexpensive but what we need for bedtime.  The portable sound machine is so small for travel but does the trick just the same as the one he has at home.  The audio monitor is really all we need and so much less expensive than a real monitor.

I've mentioned before but Tatum hated baby food and being spoon fed at first - now that he likes it, meal time is fun and he loves his spoons.

I would say this is definitely the favorite toy of the summer!  My brother got him this for Christmas and we finally thought he was old enough to play so we unpackaged it to play - everyday he sits and plays with his animals, the flap on the arc and loves them so.

This is the best walker ever.  I'd recommend this for anyone with a baby ready to walk or that is struggling with walking - it's so stable that it really keeps them upright and going - he'll walk all over with this.

I'll go ahead and say this might have been the best thing I ever bought - I wish I knew about it sooner!  He will stand and play for a long time - if we're at the pool, on the dock, on a deck, at a friends house, etc.  It is the BEST item - we've only had it about a week and have used it so much already.

Friday, August 24, 2018

This & That

The night before we left for Napa we stayed at my parents, had dinner, got him settled, put him to bed and then just slept over too since we were leaving early in the morning.  It was so fun to be home again and a little easier to say goodbye since he wasn't even up when we left.



I loved getting (many) daily text messages from my parents with what Tatum was up to - he always looked like he was having so much fun and getting so much attention! 



Stella was so happy when we were back, her and Tatum have really become buddies and usually stay close.  He loves to follow her around and we're working on learning how to "pet nice" for when he's walking and on the go by himself soon.



We had a wine tasting with friends a couple weeks ago at a local spot - it was such a fun idea for a different night out - the guys had whiskey and the girls had wine then we all went out for dinner afterwards.



Trying to get in all of our pool days while we can.  Yesterday marked the start of a bunch of dry, sunny, not too hot days for us so you can guess our plans for the majority of the next week while the pool is still open.


Love sleep stalking my little guy - I'm excited for fall but a little sad that soon he can't wear only a diaper anymore - he's so happy like that! 

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Napa Valley: Part Three

For our last full day in Napa we had two tours and then a tasting planned on our own.  Like the day before we had a leisurely morning before the tastings usually start which is 10am.  Our fist was Del Dotto which is basically a cave - this would be great for a hotter day because it's nice and cool.

We tasted a bunch of wines - reds - so at the end the gave me a second rose and a white to try.  All the wines you taste walking along are straight from the barrel.  At the end of the tour they bring you back out into the gorgeous lobby for some snacks and the final wines.



Our second tour was at noon so we went over right after the first - we went to Cakebread.  When Derek and I were dating a bottle of Cakebread chardonnay was one of the first we shared out on a date at dinner.  For this tour we toured around the property outside and had the first wines then we went into where the barrels were stored and finished with reds inside.



Our final stop was at V. Sattui Winery - one we'd went to years ago - we'd remember it being a gorgeous property and fun tasting so we wanted to go back.  They have a large tasting menu of both reds/whites and you get to pick the five you want.  There's also a little market with trinkets and a deli so we grabbed lunch to eat outside there too.



We were able to enjoy a bit of pool time before getting freshened up for dinner.  This was probably our favorite dinner - at Bistro Jeanty and it was also within easy walking distance of the hotel so that was a plus!  We sat next to the owner of Chappllet and definitely want to visit that winery next time. It was right to bed after dinner (and packing up our wine to fly home!) because our flight was early the next morning.



Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Napa Valley: Part Two


Our second day I was up early with the time difference but not complaining - I had fun laying in bed slowly waking up then going out to our patio to read - it was in the 50's and got me so excited for fall. We went over to the restaurant at the hotel for a little breakfast before our day got started.


Our first winery tour of the day was Stags' Leap Winery - I think our favorite of the whole trip! The estate was gorgeous - the tour took us all throughout the house and down to the vineyards - we'd taste wine along the way at different stops - they even greeted us with one to taste before the tour started and they offered extra for any that you liked.

Throughout the tour we tried a viognier, chardonnay, rose, red wine blend, and a few cabernet sauvignons. 


I loved being down in the vineyards - you could taste the grapes if you wanted and take in the nice views.  At the end we went back into the dining room to taste a handful of wines and enjoy a cheese plate.  The only downside (which wasn't really that bad because we were having fun!) is that the tour went about 45 minutes extra - luckily we didn't have any other specific plans for the day, we just cut lunch short to try to make up for it. 


There was a small winery down the street called Pine Ridge Vineyard - we were doing mostly bigger wineries so thought it would be fun to pop in a smaller one - my Stepdad also grew up on Pine Ridge Drive so we thought it would be fun to get him a bottle.  Their tasting is mainly reds but they put together a white/rose tasting for me.

We skipped over our lunch plans to save time and stopped in St. Helena at Cook's Tavern to split a couple appetizers quickly before continuing on.


Our last stop of the day was Sterling Vineyards.  It was pretty far up through the valley but the views were great.  We had to take a little cable car up (I was terrified!) and then we began our self guided tasting - we tried seven wines while touring through the property.


We finished with just enough time to get our ride back down to the hotel - late in the day the traffic builds with everyone coming back down so we took the Silverado Trail route and got to see a little bit more.


We made it to the spa with not a minute to spare but enjoyed wonderful massages and an hour of relaxing, peace and quiet.


We finished up at the spa around 6pm and enjoyed almost two hours reading, napping and lounging by the pool before we had to get ready for dinner - we pushed our dinner reservation back to get a little more pool time.


Our dinner that night was at Brix - everything was fresh farm to table and it was a very cozy setting - we opted to sit on the patio and the weather was already starting to get chilly.  To finish up the night we each had a cocktail by the fireplace at the hotel before calling it a night.