long time, no sleep.

Well, obviously not for Davis, but for Zach and myself. Gone are the days of sleeping in on the weekends and not over-sleeping for work during the week. Goodbye to the nights of sleeping soundly for at least five/six hours straight. Farewell to being a heavy sleeper. Hello to waking up at the sound of nothing at all just to see if the baby is still breathing. Welcome to Parenthood. We have definitely arrived.

We have been so busy these past few weeks, we haven't even had the time to let the exhaustion sink in. But in the back of my mind I know its there. Waiting. Well, at least we've had a great time wearing ourselves out. Davis and I got to visit my Granmom while she was in Gaffney with her church picking peaches and shopping at the outlets. However, Granmom didn't get around to the shopping part. There was only enough time to hold Davis for about two hours. Cousin Meggie and Charlie stopped by on the way to a conference to see the newest and littlest Trogdon. Davis had his first road trip to Wilkesboro to meet the Hamby 6 and the Molnars, too. I've gone back to work and Mom is here helping with Davis for two weeks. And I think that's only half of it.

I've added two new pictures...Davis smiling during a sweet dream and another that I think looks just like his pose in the first photo posted on the site. How he's grown! 13 lbs now - Can you believe it?

noah's arks

As promised, here are some pictures from our 'somewhat' recent visitors. 'Somewhat' referring to last month but due to my own fault, they are just now reaching the site.

Aunt Amy and her crowd were returning from the beach, and we met in Gaffney for a coffee & nephew fix. They pull up in two large white boats. And the feet kept on coming out, two by two, from all possible exits. The back of the land yachts looked like they had packed for 40 days and 40 nights....yet it was only a week vacation at the beach. What I would do for a suntan these days. Nothing ruins a summer like your doctor telling you that you cannot go swimming for at least eight weeks. But then again, Davis IS the best consolation prize.

It was a nice visit. Davis was snatched from my arms before I could even shut the car door, and he was passed around for a good, solid hour. Amy's own show & tell. Meanwhile, I sat back and enjoyed a venti coffee light frappuccino. Yes, it was so good that I remember exactly what I ordered.

At last, here are the photos. Not too bad for a 1/2 dozen camera phones.

chubby cheek

show & tell

jess & davis

snoozing, of course

how are the dogs?

Is a question we get a lot, especially coming from friends that know our "first babies" each have four hairy yellow legs. But Darby and Rio have adjusted fantastically and are also very excited about our new addition to the family.

They were both a bit anxious on Davis' first day home. They panted constantly. Not only had we left them for four days, but what was "this thing" we brought home and was now receiving all of their usual attention? They quickly came around and became very curious and protective of Davis. You can most likely find one if not both dogs laying in the same room as the baby either by the crib or the bassinet. The dogs' favorite parts about having Davis around are all their new visitors and visitors bearing gifts. This would include the UPS driver who delivers to our neighborhood. Thankfully, she likes dogs so much that she comes with her own dog treats in hand. In fact just last Friday, Darby followed her back to the truck and climbed in hoping for a ride and maybe more treats.

What amuses us most about the dogs is that they love presents. If you walk in from the store with a plastic bag, they assume its contents are for them and hurry to stick their noses in to check it out. Likewise for nicely wrapped baby gifts. The joy they find in helping us unwrap and open the packages! All we have to do is say "Presents!" and Darby comes running for the fun. All in all, they would love to be our best helpers....Darby would love to help out by giving Davis a bath of puppy kisses. And Rio would love to help Davis break in all of his new toys. Especially the squeaky ones.

This picture is of Rio enjoying a nap with Davis.

best buds

darby and davis enjoying a new toy.

the littlest firecracker

Although you wouldn't know it from his pictures, Davis is staying awake with us more and more each day. He usually likes to hang out with us for about an hour both in the morning and at 10 o'clock at night when we are winding down. (At least it's not in the middle of the night!) During this time his favorite activities are waving his arms, kicking the legs and listening to music. Simple pleasures.

We should also report that Davis received a clean bill of health for his 1 month check up at the doctor's office this week. I am proud to tell that he has jumped from being in the 25th percentile in weight at his first visit to reaching the 70th percentile weighing in at 10 lbs 6 oz. What a kid. He is also now 22 inches long (50th percentile).

Our Fourth of July was pretty uneventful, but very relaxing. This weekend we finally got the nursery, well, looking like a nursery. And the way I like to look at it is that Davis wasn't due until this week anyway, so we are still on time. Right? (Right.) We have had so many visitors in the past few weeks I know I have a lot of news to catch up on. But because it's late already, I will have to save those stories for another time. So sorry to disappoint you this time, but it gives you something to look for in the future.

I think Davis expresses it best in the picture below. Night, night.

with the biggest yawn

the proof is in the pictures

The jury is in. After reviewing baby pictures of myself and zach, it is concluded that Davis is 9 1/2 parts Zach and maybe 1/2 parts Stephanie. Here are two of Zach's baby pictures to prove the point.