Blake & Jesse's visit to the USA - yay!

The time had finally arrived – we’ve been talking about their trip for ages and everything was in readiness for them. Our apartment was filled with baby stuff – cot, highchair, pram, car seat, toys, books, nappies, baby clothes……….. Julie Ruth & John Frances were definitely ready!

Week 1 – San Francisco

Blake & Jesse flew to San Francisco from Auckland and I flew up to SF to help her on the last leg of the journey knowing she would probably be exhausted after a 12hr flight with a baby on her lap! We spent a few days there unwinding before flying on to Houston. It was so great to see them both. They looked incredible. Blake was gorgeous and Jesse was adorable (of course). I spent the first 3 months of Jesse’s life with him and he was now 6 months old and had grown soooo much and developed an amazing personality – so happy all the time! It was just lovely being able to spend more time with him.

We caught the double decker tourist bus and saw all the sights – Fisherman’s Wharf (where Jesse had his 1st merry-go-round ride and where we introduced him to the most fabulous fruit stand – he’s just going to love raw food!), views across the water to Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the Victorian houses featured in the Full House tv show (an old favorite of Blake’s), the crooked street etc . We rode on a trolley, caught up on a lot of exercise walking up and down those hilly SF streets, shopped and ate (that was the beginning of a definite pattern!)

We found this great restaurant called The Stinking Rose – a garlic restaurant. It was sensational – their motto is ‘we flavor our garlic with food!’ – the food was to die for and Blake & I must have smelled like a garlic clove for days – not that we cared!

Jesse was amazing – he experienced every nook and cranny SF had to offer, he was plonked on and off buses, in and out of his stroller and smiled the whole time – what a traveler! Think I forgot to mention that he slept most of the way over on the plane – Blake should have enjoyed the flight however the turbulence was quite severe and she vowed never to fly again (of course we had to get to Houston so it was only a matter of days before she was back in the air – she’s so brave!)

Finally in Houston……

Blake & Jesse’s visit – what can I say? It was awesome – they are awesome.

We were so busy – Blake had a very long list of things to achieve – the purchase of an engagement ring (she bought a stunner!), a wedding dress (another stunner!), wedding party outfits, clothes, shoes, bags – you name it, it was on her list!! We really did shop until we dropped and Jesse just smiled through it all – he’s such a happy baby. He won the hearts of everyone he met – how could they not fall for his beautiful smile.

We managed to fit in so many things - including a party especially for them, Jesse’s christening, visiting friends, a play date, yoga classes, sightseeing and we even attended one of Joel’s church services. In amongst this, we ate and ate and ate – Blake experienced so many of the wonderful restaurants and cafés here in Houston. I’m sure she’d tell you her favorite eating place was The Chocolate Bar where she enjoyed a fabulous chocolate/banana concoction – yum!

Blake & Jesse surprised us early one Saturday morning - we meet with our Houstin Fit walking group at 5am and on completion of our walk, there they were waiting at the finish line. It was such a wonderful surprise - they had walked from our apartments (1.5miles / 2.5kms) just to share in our achievements - it definitely put a spring in my step over those last 100 yards!

"our little Texan"

Jesse enjoyed his first ‘play date’ with little Patrick. Patrick is 4 months old so a little younger – he is the grandson of our friends Jackie & Chris and the son of their daughter Ginny and her husband Ryan. It’s fun to know that Jesse has a little American friend.

Blake actually bought a book to read while relaxing at the pool in our spare time – mmmmm what spare time? – hooley dooley in her dreams!! Luckily we did find time to have fun in the pool and really enjoyed Jesse’s first ‘swim’ – he’s a natural! Actually the weather was very hot and humid for the first couple of weeks so the pool was certainly the place to cool down, relax and soothe our feet.

John Francis was amazing with Jesse and looked after him so many times. He entertained him in the shopping centres, in the pool, walked him around the apartment complex and the neighbourhood, sang to him, told him stories, bathed him, fed and changed him – what a man! He loved every single moment and found it very difficult to say goodbye – maybe even as hard as I did!

Blake Verity’s new haircut – gorgeous isn’t she!! Not only a great mum but good looking as well!

'Sip & See' & Jesse's Christening

We invited our friends to a “Sip & See” where they could meet and spend some time with Blake & Jesse. We held it at the home of our friend Judy Harper – it was a fun day surrounded by so many friends and lots of food.

Judy is a minister and we took this opportunity to christen little Jesse. It was absolutely amazing. Judy talked about the importance of community and how it takes a community to raise a child. Everyone stood in a circle, with Blake, Jesse, John & I in the centre, and as a jug of water was passed around, everyone blessed the water with their loving thoughts and expressed their wishes and intentions for Jesse’s future. I particularly like Russell’s wish that Jesse has children and his children have children and they have children – such a lovely forethought to ponder. So many beautiful things were said – there was certainly a lot of love in the room! It was a very moving experience – everyone played a part and it was very touching, spiritual and definitely memorable.

Yoga with Nancy

Blake & Jesse came along to 3 yoga classes with me. They both participated and Jesse was 'adopted' by the group who loved his happy presence and especially loved Blake's calmness and commented on her being a great mum - so relaxed and easy going. Jesse led us in many yoga positions - his body is so much more flexible than ours!

The Path of Tea - Charlie, Thia & Chris

Please meet Charlie (red shirt) - he is a very special person and friend and has been given the title of honorary Godfather to little Jesse! He actually knew about Blake's pregnancy before John! I was outside the Path of Tea when Blake called with the news - I was so excited I ran inside and shared the scoop with Charlie. When I finally calmed down I realized that John (who was working out of town) didn't know - of course I remedied that very quickly. Thia is Charlie's daughter and she & her husband Chris are the wonderful owners of The Path of Tea and were equally excited to meet Jesse. The actually lived in NZ for 6 years so feel a special affinity to our little kiwi.

Farewell time………

All vacations have an end date and usually that date arrives much too quickly. Another wonderful time together, another farewell - mmmmm sure doesn’t get any easier.
Blake is an amazing mum – she’s so calm, patient and giving. Jesse is one lucky baby – I guess Blake is the reason he smiles all the time! We love them and miss them so much but are so grateful for Skype – we can see and talk to them as often as we want which is great.
We know we will see them in Fiji for the wedding in May – can we last that long without seeing them???? That’s the million dollar question………..once again, stay tuned………..