Our Little Rock Star

At the ripe old age of 5 weeks, Tagg took his first trip to Lake Powell for Labor Day weekend! We think we just beat a family record - Scott's brother was 6 weeks when he made his first trip. Tagg was a true rock star - and he has the outfit to prove it! He really couldn't have been any better behaved the whole trip. He slept for most of the car ride and loves to sleep in his sling while we walk the docks or the beach. He really liked checking out the scenery and practicing his rock star moves with mommy on the "l'anai". Is it a little too N Sync, or is that just us?


It was kind of funny to pack for our first trip with the baby - how does one little guy need so much stuff?! We barely had room for Aunt Tiff and the dogs! We got a special bouncer for the boat which he seems to love, even without the battery operated vibrator and music. Bright stuff that swings? Sign him up!

Tagg is starting to fit into lots of his cute clothes - luckily just in time for the end of summer! The weekend was a little bit of a fashion show, poor guy. I think our favorite outfit is still the naked-baby-in-a-diaper! It's the best for checking out his little fat rolls and cellulite. Why is that so dang cute on babies? He seemed to love the diaper-only ensemble, too, which is kind of unusual since he's got a bit of an aversion to being naked. Nana bought him this cute little striped outfit which was perfect for the cooler nights. You can't see them, but it has matching little striped socks too. Darling!


We had so much fun introducing Tagg to our favorite place and making plans for all of his future lake adventures. We are hoping to squeeze in a few more trips to the lake before the end of the year, even though it snowed in the mountains on Sunday night! Eeek! Way too soon for summer to be over!

The weather was a little funky for Labor Day but we did get to see an awesome lightning storm. It was fun to watch from the comfort of our enclosures and nice, safe camp spot. We actually got lucky with the weather. The cloud cover made it a little more comfortable for Tagg to be outside, slathered in sunscreen and hidden under big hats and umbrellas!

This might be one of our favorite pictures of Tagg from the weekend because of the smile. Gas? Whatever. That is a smile! He's actually starting to find his voice so he's grunting...a lot. Mister Grunts A Lot. It's pretty funny. At first we thought he was really working on some serious diaper business but no, he's just starting to talk. By grunting and groaning!



One last cute picture...Tagg in his going-home outfit. Can you believe the difference 5 weeks makes!! It actually fits him now and it's so cute on him - one of our favorites! It's awesome that he's getting so much bigger but sometimes we're like, stop growing! It's going too fast already! - sigh - This is Tagg sleeping in his super-fancy swing.
He loves the forward-backward motion with the disco lights, circling fish mobile and ocean sounds...so much for a nice rock in daddy's arms! Make sure to check out the double chin and fat rolls on his leg!

Tri, Tri, Tri!

On August 23rd, Lisa and Tiffany finished their second triathlon at Jordanelle. It was a beautiful day - nice and sunny, even though it was really hot by the time we got to the run...at noon! Even so, we both managed to beat our times from last year by over 10 minutes which was awesome. Unfortunately, neither of us made our really aggressive goal times which means we'll have to do another one! There were almost 1000 people taking part in the race, from age 13 to 70!

As usual, the swim seems to be the biggest challenge...but, geeze! look at that! It's so far, right?! Those little white dots are us and there are still two more legs to go! Thank god for wetsuits with a little flotation in them! The best part...we got medals! That's how you can tell these are new pictures since we both have the same outfits as last year. ;-)

We weren't able to have Tagg come to the actual tri because of the heat and lack of facilities, but he's still mommy's biggest fan and incentive! He sent lots of rah-rah text messages (with a little help from daddy). After the race, we went to Nana and Papa's camp spot at Jordanelle to celebrate her birthday. We played washoes and had a great barbecue dinner (which the birthday girl had to bring...woops!).


It was Tagg's birthday too - one month! Oh wait, we're only allowed to count age in weeks at this point - 4 weeks! ;-) We couldn't believe it's been a month already and he's changed so much and done so much already. So Tagg celebrated with his first camping trip! Although, the fact that we had power for A/C and lights and a working bathroom kind of took the "rough" out of "roughing it!" But it's a start! Tagg was awesome, as usual! He's a natural!

Tagg is getting so much bigger every day. That might be a function of how much he eats - more than double and he's into the bigger bottles already! He's finally starting to grow out of some of his newborn clothes and he's starting to get more and more little fat rolls. One of our favorite things is the little coo's he makes when he's eating (see the video if you want to see how absolutely cheesy we are!). He's always making funny faces and noises that we can ooh and aah over.

It's such a rough life being Tagg Davis! We think he's going through a growth spurt because he's been sleeping so much. He's such a sweet little boy and makes everything so easy for us! He's finding his voice a little more so we get to hear a lot more grunting and cooing. Every so often he'll have little giggle fits in his sleep. We keep trying to catch one on video but the timing never seems to work out!

Tagg got his first new car this week...complete with some pimped out rims! Scott was determined that even though we traded the Jeep in for a "family" SUV, it should not look like a soccer mom car! The 4-wheel drive will be great in the winter and it has a DVD player in the back. Morgan even likes riding in it which is pretty shocking!

Tagg got to spend a lot of time this week with Tami and Porter. It's been nice to have another new mommy around! Plus, Porter is like our new fashion icon so we had to make sure Tagg got some hip new clothes...check out his cute little camo cargos! We just don't tell anyone that we still have to buy preemie sizes so they fit! We went out to dinner and made the boys go to the mall a few times. Lisa kept teasing Tagg that if he was smart he'd start being fussy so he'd get out of shopping in the future but he decided to be cute as usual.

We also got to spend time with the grandparents who absolutely dote on him. The phrase "he's pretty tough to take care of" seems to be said quite often without any seriousness whatsoever! He's such a chill little guy that he's happy to hang out anywhere, with anyone.




Lisa's continuing to train for the triathlon this coming Saturday but it's a little more difficult when there's a baby in the house. Tagg suggested that a nap together might be just the ticket!

We've all been engrossed by the Olympics - go Michael Phelps! The whole gang are like Olympics Couch Potatoes - and we have the photos to prove it! Tagg will probably think the theme song is a lullaby, he's heard it so much this week.

What Could Happen In a Week?

You'd be amazed how much a little guy can accomplish in just one short week! First of all, Tagg is growing like a weed! We had our 2-week check up today and he weighed in at 7 lbs 11.5 oz and 20 inches - which means he's gained a pound and an inch since he came home. Holy cow! Scott and I had bets on his weight gain and we seriously underestimated (actually, Scott guessed pretty close and I told him he was nuts so he down-sized...hee-hee!). He must be gaining it in his cheeks because they are getting chubby! His hair is still growing and blond. He's eating twice as much and has achieved all of his one-month milestones like lifting his head and focusing on faces already. Such an advanced boy!

Tagg had his first lunch date this week. We went to Happy Sumo for sushi with our friend Tami from Michigan and her 6-week-old son, Porter. The little guys also went shopping with us but declined to pose for joint photos! We went up to Park City on Friday to meet my old co-workers for lunch and a little "shower" which was really nice. Tagg was a doll, as usual.

He also got to meet more of the family: Kurt was here from Hawaii and uncle Jeff, aunt Lynne, and cousins Brooke and Canyon from Seattle were in town before the family Powell trip so they all came to the house for pizza and baby-holding. It was great to see everyone! They loved Tagg and really tried to convince us that 1 week was plenty old enough for a first trip to Powell. It would have set a new family record but we decided to play it safe! Morgan was pretty happy that the cousins were in town...she was their favorite for sure, and belly rubs were aplenty!

On Friday night, we went to a surprise birthday party for our friend, Brooke - Tagg's first party! He was the youngest kid there, but not the only one! As a matter of fact, his "cousin" Nikelle, 3, held him for awhile and read him a book, and "cousin" Greyson, 2, determined that he was "cute" but not as fun as a football or the LuvSac.

Porter was there too with Tami and Jake, and the baby boys held court all night. The dads were happy to pose for pictures with the boys, making sure it was the little guys' bald heads in the shot not theirs!

Tagg's been helping us train for the triathlon, too. Well, "helping" might be a stretch. But he's gone to morning swims with Lisa and Tiffany a couple of times and has been doing his best to let mommy sleep so she has enough energy to train! He's hoping to be on-hand for the big day so he can cheer us across the finish line!



Of course, all this activity does tucker a little guy out which means he spends a lot of time catching up on his beauty sleep!

A First Week of Firsts

Tagg's first week home was pretty eventful, except for the sleeping, eating and pooping! Although, for some reason, that kind of stuff now seems like a newsworthy event to us! We have discovered that changing his diapers is usually a 2-person job. Hopefully, we'll get better!

We had to get Tagg circumcised on Wednesday which was pretty traumatic...maybe more so for us! There's a reason they usually sneak them away in the hospital and bring them back magically altered. He held on to Lisa's fingers - she said "squeeze when it hurts, little man" and he squeezed until his knuckles were white. Poor little guy. He seems to have recovered nicely though.

Thursday we gave him his first bath at home. What a mess! We were terrible! He did not enjoy the bath any more at home than he did at the hospital, plus we were trying to wash around his little circumcision and his umbilical cord (both of which ended up totally soaked anyway). And, just so he was batting a thousand, he managed to pee on both of us. We were absolutely cracking up. Once we got him all bundled up in his little frog towel, he was back to his normal happy self. He's been very tolerant and patient with his newbie parents, that's for sure!

We have had a constant stream of visitors and everyone agrees that he's just perfect and darling (duh...could have told you that!). He's gotten so many cute gifts and everyone has been so sweet and thoughtful. He's gotten lots of books, toys, clothes that don't fit and some really soft blankets. Nana and Papa bought him his first Ute onesie. Hopefully, he'll fit into it by football season! The best new outfit...his Harley jacket. Real leather and everything. Next year, it'll be perfect. For now, it's a little big...but still pretty freaking cool!

He's got more blond hair coming in, you can actually see his eyelashes and the little dimple in his left cheek is getting more pronounced as his cheeks get chubbier. We're both amazed at how strong he is. He lifts his head up on a regular basis and looks around. It's kind of freaky. Like if your dog just looked up at you and said "Hey. What's up." We don't see his eyes open nearly enough, but apparently being one week old requires lots of sleep!

Meet The Grandparents...And Everyone Else!

Tagg came home with us from the hospital on Monday afternoon after all the legal papers were signed. He's officially ours! Well, we have to go to court in 6 months for it to be legal-legal, but this is pretty close!

After driving about 5 miles an hour in the slow lane on the way home (and we thought that was just a scene from Knocked Up!), Scott and I got home and looked at each other and said, "There's a baby in our house! We have a baby!"

The whole family got to come and meet him and hold him and he was welcomed with so much love. The Grandmas and Grandpas are thrilled, as are the new aunts and uncles. He must have felt like he was facing the paparazzi, there were so many cameras going!

Morgan keeps looking at everyone who visits like "Uh, are you taking him home with you? I know he's not staying here forever...right?" She's actually been very good with him and even condescends to sleep in his general area now - as long as he's not crying!

We've been trying to find some of his cute little outfits that actually fit him. For some reason, we all thought he was going to be a little bigger than he is. So cute and tiny! He's a good eater and a good sleeper and just gets cuter every day. He makes the cutest little squeaks and moans and has a thousand little facial expressions. We're all amazed at how long his feet and toes are! We pretty much just sit and stare at him all day long!

We are settling into our routine at home. Both of us are amazed at how much we fell in love with him and how fun it is to be a parent. We've been peed on, spit up on, had some serious diaper blowouts and a few sleepless nights ... and it's the best thing in the world. We just couldn't love him any more! I feel like I'm on the verge of tears all the time because he is such a miracle to us.

Thanks to everyone for your support and well wishes. He's a very lucky baby to join this family and network of friends!

Welcome, Baby Tagg!

Tagg Davis was born on Saturday, July 26th at 10:48pm. He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 19" long. He's perfect and healthy and wonderful in every way!

Baby Mama was a trooper throughout the 14 hours of labor and delivery. It was so amazing for her to let us share in the experience. We actually heard his first cries through the door of the delivery room, and she put him in Lisa's arms just an hour after he was born. They invited us to stay with them in the hospital so that we could feed him, change him and bond with him for the first two nights. Lisa even got to give him his first bath. It was a really incredible and unique experience. The recliners in those hospital rooms are not built for two, but it was well worth the back ache! The first night we both got peed on, spit up on and changed some nasty black tarry diapers - and it was all amazing!

We bonded so closely with Tagg's birth family - mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and cousin were all here. They felt like family from the first moment we met them and that feeling was just reinforced over the weekend as we shared such a powerful, emotional experience together. We feel so blessed to have them in our lives. It was hard knowing that our greatest joy is tied to their heartbreak but they made the whole experience so easy and special for us. We kept laughing about how many things we all have in common and how right this all felt.

Tagg's birth parents bought him a darling going-home outfit and made him a "We Love You" bear at Build-A-Bear which we keep in his room so they're always with him. He is, of course, wearing a little NBA uniform and the bear is actually bigger than Tagg...for now! We hope they know how much love and affection we will shower on this precious little boy. We are truly looking forward to having them in our lives, and in Tagg's life. It was so unexpected and special to meet and bond with such wonderful, loving, courageous and generous people. There will never be enough thanks for the gift they have given us — the gift of our family. We are very blessed and Tagg is truly a miracle!