Catching Up and Counting Down

The last couple of weekends Tim and I have had family in town which has been so much fun! It started with Tim's mom visiting while in DC for work, then my Uncle Dave and Aunt Courtney and their three kids, followed by Pete, Matt, Abi, Becca and Geoff two weekends ago. We had such a wonderful time with everyone. I wish they would all come back! Below is a picture of Abi, Matt, and Pete on Pete's 27th birthday. I also posted a picture of Abi and I which shows my baby belly.



This past weekend Tim traveled up to Maine to celebrate his friends 30th birthday while I drove to PA to visit with my family and my great friend Danielle. Danielle helped me pick out a super cute dress for my shower in June and my parents helped me pick out a glider for the nursery. Slowly but surely things are coming together.

I am now in my third trimester and I have constantly been craving fruit. I put fruit on everything: waffles, cereal, oatmeal, salads, icecream. The problem is that along with the fruit I have also been craving bread, and not the healthy whole wheat bread, nope I have been craving white bread especially bagels. I made waffles the other night after eating pasta and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Bisquick is my best friend right now. As I write this I am now craving strawberry shortcake. Yum!


It also seems that every two weeks our little baby boy goes on a growth spurt. I get dizzy and faint as he saps me of energy and food. I have to eat constantly to stop myself from passing out. Just this morning I had to pull over the car in downtown traffic and shove gum in my mouth to stop myself from fainting. IN addition, baby boy has decided that he will kick non-stop as he drains me of my energy and every piece of food I put in my mouth. Kicking is one of the very bitter sweet aspects of pregnancy that I will never get used to.

Getting Ready

Tim and I have been doing a ton of work around the house getting it ready for our little baby boy. Other than selling all un-needed furniture on Craigs List we have also been starting to collect a few necessary baby items. This adorable bassinet is on loan from our neighbors. It is just so cute and matches our house perfectly. The bassinet which will sit by our bed will serve as our baby's sleeping spot for the first couple of weeks. Pippin was very curious about this new piece of furniture. In fact he was so excited about the new bassinet he actually jumped into it.
Other changes to our house in the last few months have included:
- getting a new bedroom rug and thus moving our old bedroom rug to the kitchen
- getting a new rug for the living room (since we have all hardwood floors I feel like we need to start baby proofing our house and covering up these hard surfaces)
- New curtains and bedding in the nursery/guestroom
- Selling a cedar armoire on Craigs List
- Landscaping and gardening our front yard (this really has nothing to do with the baby)
- Purchasing adirondack chairs for our back porch
- Buying a new kitchen table
- Starting to landscape our back yard

We have also decided to completely remodel our bathroom before the baby arrives. We currently don't have a tub so we will be putting in a tub and all new tile, fixtures, paint, furniture, etc. I am so excited for this to be complete.

I feel like these last few weeks have completely flown by. We have had several weekend visitors including my aunt and uncle and their three precious children this past weekend. With all the work we have planned over the next couple of weeks I have a feeling the baby will be here before we know it. Here is a picture of me at 27 weeks. It is not great since it is on a self timer and I am talking to my mom and trying to take the picture at the same time.

Carmel

Al British novelist once said, "You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person." Well I totally fell in love with Carmel, California when Tim and I went there on our honeymoon almost six years ago. We recently had the chance to go back again for the third time.

We stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast a block from the beach. Tim got to play his favorite course again and they actually let me walk it this time. I grew up going to golf tournaments with my parents and have always felt at home on the golf course. Well, Cypress Point blew my socks off. It is absolutely stunning. Every hole is picturesque.

The same can be said for the beach and town of Carmel. The quaint homes with fabulous gardens and cypress trees suggest that you are walking in a fairytale. Tim and I took several walks along the coast and thru the neighborhoods.

We had an amazing time visiting with Tim's grandparents as well (they live there several months out of the year and have the most darling house and front garden). On Easter Sunday we worshiped in the church where they were married. We walked in the courtyard after church as the children found hidden easter eggs in the lilac trees.

You can view our pictures at this link (you may need Internet Explorer instead of Firefox to view them. ) Carmel Pictures.