Scott's Hall of Fame: The "adults only" vacation

This past weekend marked a major developmental milestone.

For mommy.

I painfully cut the apron strings for the first time, traveled out of state, and left my son behind.

Russ, Monya, me and Jim at our first stop - Truchard Vineyards.

In the tasting room at Schramsburg.

It's been a long time in the making. Last year, my husband gave me a pretty cool combo birthday/Christmas present: my first trip to California's wine country. All I had to do was pick the time, and be willing to leave Scott in Arizona with his Grandma and Grandpa for a few days.

It took me eight and a half months before I felt like I could do it.

I expected to be a basket case, but I believe I handled my first long-term separation (five nights, four days) from my little man pretty well. I only had one meltdown. It lasted about an hour, Jim talked me through it and I made it through the rest of the trip with flying colors.

It helped immensely that I knew Scott was being spoiled rotten by my parents in my absence, and the fact that my mom sent more than a dozen pictures didn't hurt either. I got to live vicariously through Scott (via my cell phone) as he giggled his way from one adventure to the other.

Tank's stay at "Camp Richardson" didn't start all that well - he was fighting an ear infection and a cold that turned him into a ginormous snot factory. And then, after two nights of keeping my parents up at odd hours, they discovered that he had sprouted a new tooth. (That's #5!)

Again, I repeat: teething is hell.

But after that sucker popped through, it was smooth sailing.

Good morning, happy baby! Post fever, post new tooth.

Scott made his first visit to the McCormick Ranch Railroad Park, where he went on a train ride, got a new rubber ducky and was apparently enthralled by the many model choo-choos.

At the carousel with Grandpa.

Train time with Grandma.

He spent time in the splash pad/fountain at Kierland Shopping Center, and then indulged Grandma and Grandpa when they decided to stop at their favorite restaurant, Zinc Bistro, for a glass of wine.

Oooh! Cold water and a ducky!

Mommy, Daddy: Feel free to leave anytime. Grandma and Grandpa are fun!

Later in the weekend, Scott entertained his great-grandmas (Nahnee and Gee-Gee) by trying to stand up and by playing his favorite game "Bang, Bang, Bang!"

(And yes, that is exactly what it sounds like: Scott takes the noisiest toy he can find and bangs it has hard as he can on whatever nearby surface yields the highest decibel impact.)

He also had dinner at Red Lobster - his first outing to a restaurant since becoming a big enough boy to sit in one of their high chairs.

Trying to play "Bang, Bang, Bang!" with a placemat doesn't work so well.

Don't worry about it Grandpa. I got this one.

Meanwhile, mommy and daddy worked their way through one end of Napa Valley to the other, and then drove over to Sonoma County with some friends from California. We had a blast - spent some time visiting with Jim's mom, eating at incredible restaurants like Bottega and Cyrus, joining wine clubs, and yes, taking out a second mortgage to pay for all the vino Jim purchased.