The Swiss Riviera

We made a quick trip down to the Swiss Riviera, the city of Vevey to be exact. This area is very hilly with vinyards aplenty and on the northeast shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). And of course, there is a Starbucks here too.Payton likes riding the merry-go-rounds. We are finding they are very common throughout Switzerland.

I don't know what it is about the Swiss women and their colored hair. They seem to like shades of maroon and purple a great deal. This orange hair has been the brightest and boldest we have seen to date.

Somebody put a fork in it so this lake must be done.

Charlie Chaplin lived the latter part of his life in Vevey.

Jumpin' Jack Flash

Hey there. This is the sandbox at my school playground. Wanna see how far I can jump? Check it out.

First bath

Wanted: 'Jack-Jack' Parker

If Grandma says so it has to be true

Thanks Grandma for coming to Switzerland to be with us and help us out!

Both Mama Mi and Parker looked much better this morning. Each was rested and ready for the day.

My little man was rough on himself his first night. He scratched his face up pretty good. The hospital doesn't normally trim babies nails for a month. Kathleen is waiting patiently to get home so she can either trim them or at least file them down a bit. Ever so carefully though, they are quite delicate.

Payton took to his little brother really well. He still calls him Jack-Jack, sometimes Jack-Jack Parker. Kind of sounds like a cowboy nickname.

The three boys of the family and this really isn't far from the the truth.

P.S. > That money shot - I have to fess up. It wasn't staged and the picture is real, but she isn't in pain. Instead she is just yawning. She was tired and had been at the baby thing for a while.

It's a done deal - we have our new baby boy!

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Kathleen takes it easy checking email.This is some hours later. She has started to feel contractions, but still the little guy isn't ready to come out and play.

Here you can probably guess that Kathleen hasn't had her epidural yet. This is the money shot.

Here he is! Parker Davis Taylor. Born September 2, 2008 at 10:02 PM. , weighing in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 20" long.

The initial pictures of Parker are pretty bad. Low light and he wouldn't hold still. I'll get some better shots tomorrow.

BTW - it looks like Joe with the SC Saff Staff wins the boobie prize for guessing the correct date. I scanned through the comments and his guess is the only one I found for the 2nd. I will defer final judgment to Kathleen. Thanks for putting in a guess!

Pictures for the day

Payton thinks our bottle rack makes a great space hat. Ya know what? I think it does too.












We tried growing cantelope in our garden boxes. We were only mildly successful with two 'lopes. They weren't very big, but they were tasty.

The best lawn ornaments ever!

Today we checked out a local garden center. We have driven by it many times, but never had stopped by until today. It is quite large and turned out to be a great store for just about all things garden/lawn/yard related. I found the best lawn ornaments there that my neighbor Steve from back home would dearly love. Moles! He can't stand the little creatures. He really hates them. Him having these ornaments in his garden would just be the funniest.

Still cooking

Our baby is still in the oven. Kathleen has an appointment this coming Monday to discuss options. My August 30th guess isn't looking too good right now, but there is still lots of time. I suggested to Kathleen that if she has to be induced then do so on Sunday. Then she might have our baby on Labor Day!

Come out, Come out!

I had a doctors visit today to see how the baby was doing. All is well. Baby and Mom continue to grow. Great for the baby, but I am ready to have this guy. Right now I am sleeping very poorly and would rather spend my sleepless nights caring for little Jack-Jack than surfing the internet!

During a very vigourous walk on the treadmill the other morning Stanton asked if I was trying to walk the baby out of me... I am. I'm down to about 2.5 miles, but still trying to walk everyday.

We had some sticker shock doing some last minute clothing shopping for the baby! Switzerland is expensive, we know that, but $15 for a cotton infant cap. Give me a break! We did buy a new stroller. I've had stroller envy here. They have some very cool designs in Europe and our Graco stroller we brought from the US just wasn't feeling very fashionable. We got another Graco so that our infant bucket seats for the car are compatible, but it has a much cooler design.

I think we are pretty well set now. Just need that baby!! I'll keep walking, maybe do a little hopping around too, but I'm now thinking September odds are rising quickly.