Two Visits from Rachel

Back in May I had the chance to spend time with Rachel twice! First she came with her son Keaton for some reason I can't remember. No matter, she was here and we had fun!

 Cedric doesn't spend much time with kids younger than him and I was a little worried how he would act. Luckily, Cedric and Keaton got along great. Cedric wasn't jealous of Keaton getting the majority of the attention and was very gentle with him. He even shared some toys. 

Rachel was in the height of her macaron baking and I was lucky enough to sample 6 flavors with yummy fillings. I don't eat a lot of macarons so they all tasted great to me!

Rachel's second visit was a few weeks later with her whole family as they headed on a farewell tour of New England and went to her sister-in-laws wedding. We met up at the Children's Museum of Boston, which was pretty dead so the boys got to run around a lot. 

Then went to the Barking Crab for dinner, where we had gone to dinner two years before when the Scotts had come up for a visit. It is very kid friendly. Cedric and Keaton continued working on their bromance. 

Cedric quickly forgot about Keats when the iPhone came out. Kids love those things. 

 It's always nice when friends come to town, we try to get the elusive family photo taken! And we like spending time with them too. 

Rachel is one of the original Bostonians that helped steer our path here to New England, though we never lived here at the same time.
Thanks for living in Boston Rachel, too bad you can't live here again!

nerds.

The Hibs' in Town

After we came back from our Europe trip my good friend Jessi and her new husband Brad (I went to their wedding in April) came to town. Brad had business and Jessi had to come and see Cedric. 

We spent most of the Labor Day weekend walking around and hitting up breweries. Cedric did a great job not melting down and Jessi did a fantastic job keeping him occupied. I think he'd have happily gone home with her by the end of their trip. She let him watch videos on her phone, probably his favorite pastime right now. 

Jessi also wore 23 lb Cedric for over an hour as we waited for and then went on the Sam Adams tour. Conclusion: Crossfit works. 

It was a relaxing weekend and lots of fun to catch up. I wish I would have taken more photos, but I will say that shows how much I was enjoying being in the moment. 

Bob and Brad were there too and happily sat back while Jessi and I fawned and fussed over Cedric. 

It was good to hang out with the Hibsmans? Hibsmen? again. We always have a great time when they visit!

San Diego Wedding

At the end of April seven great friends got together in San Diego for a destination wedding. We told everyone we are high school friends with Jessi but really, most of us are much more. From elementary school to college to Vegas, we represented a good portion of Jessi's life. 

We all arrived on Thursday for the Friday night wedding and stayed until Sunday. This meant we had a lot of quality time to spend with each other. 

Four of us have children and we left them home with their fathers and grandmas. It was relaxing for me to not have the sometimes crushing responsibility of motherhood 24/7. I did not get extra sleep though, the time change really threw me. I also did not get Mexican food. Double fail. 

The wedding was on Coronado Island, which we were so impressed with we went back on the Saturday to explore. It was a very relaxed wedding, focused on love. As a side note, it was fun to see Jessi's KU Delta Gamma friends - most I haven't seen since graduation. 

Here I am with the beautiful bride! 

Here we are at the Hotel Del Coronado. They used this hotel as the model for the Grand Floridian Hotel at Disney World. 

We stayed on Mission Beach in a condo I found online. It was very nice to stay right on the beach. There was a little "boardwalk" type area with amusement rides and shops and a really nice walking path. 

Saturday we were able to take photos on the beach. It was Katherine's 30th birthday, so they were extra special. 

It is amazing how a photo shoot can bring out the silliest in a group of 30 year olds. Will we still be taking ridiculous photos when we are 40? 50? I hope so. 

The difference 10 weeks can make . . .

Pregnancy lasts 40 weeks and it is amazing how much things change from month to month. It has seemed like it has taken forever to get here but so far I've been blessed with a fairly easy pregnancy. I've not been afflicted by many of the undesirable symptoms and I really appreciate that - thanks body. Oh I've been very tired at times, had days when my back was not happy and felt like my sinus's were going to explode but all in all I really feel like I can't complain. 

Here I am at 26 weeks at the Public Gardens in Boston. Back then people used to ask "How far along are you?".  I was being approached by more people than normal, it seemed lots of people like to talk to random pregnant ladies. They usually made some polite small talk and then went on there way.

Here I am at 35 weeks. Funny, I felt very pregnant and large at 26 weeks. Obviously I'm much larger 10 weeks later but I didn't really notice it until I picked up on the change in the conversations I was having with random people.  Now they ask "How much longer do you have?" and "When is the baby due?". I must look close to being "done". Before I thought that lots of people were bringing up my pregnancy but now it is every person I encounter. The bank teller, people on the T, the check out girl at the grocery store, etc. 

I am starting to feel ready for this little guy to arrive. I've switched from pregnancy to infant care books and have been purchasing new clothes for my new job as Chief Nourishment Officer.  I soon will be practicing my dog walking skills with an empty stroller. Though I probably will take a few weeks off while everyone gets settled into this new life, I am hoping to be back walking around the neighborhood soon. We live in an area with great sidewalks and parks, I'd really like to take advantage of the outdoors and the exercise before the winter comes. I'm already getting nervous about the cold.

Here is a great photo of us after dinner with Sol, Rachel and crew. We were able to meet up with them and two of their Boston friends as they drove to New Hampshire for a family vacation. It was good to see them, I'm hoping our new location brings many more visitors!

Anyway, I'll keep you all posted on the baby's status as things progress!