Merry Christmas!

This was our last Christmas with just the two of us... but you can see that Laura was right there with us for every minute of the fun!

Nate and I began our Christmas celebrating in PA with his family. This was my first family away from home, and I was a little nervous about it. So you can imagine how touched I was that my mother-in-law went out of her way to make Christmas feel like the ones I grew up with - complete with Chinese for dinner on Christmas Eve! Nate's family is wonderful, and we had a great time celebrating with them.

On Saturday, Nate and I drove back to Maryland laden down with fabulous gifts. My parents and younger siblings were driving down from MA to spend a few days with us, since I couldn't brave an 8-hour car ride this year.I cooked my first Christmas dinner, and had fun serving it in my delightfully Christmas-y dining room - fancy china and all! Dinner was great, but seeing my family was even better. And the gifts kept flowing! My family stayed till Wednesday morning after a wonderful visit!

Merry Christmas!!

Let it snow!

I haven't seen this much snow in years! Nate and Ries have been having a ball playing in the mounds. It certainly is beautiful out there!

BadBash 2009

Another year, another great party!

Nate, Riesling and I hosted our annual holiday party on December 12th. Like so many years before, there was good food, yummy punch, and a host of great friends. We love seeing everyone in their holiday finest each year! And this year was no different.

I almost think this year was even more fun, with babies and toddlers joining our ranks. Owen and Caroline gave Nate and I a good idea of how much baby-proofing is in our near future. Riesling got a good taste of tiny tots as well - and loved it! Jackson was adorable in his reindeer slippers, even if he's not quite old enough to understand the fuss. Our party next year will be even more fun with Laura around!!

And yes, we're already planning next year's party :-)

Let's go for a stroll!

With our new stroller and carseat!! Laura's dolly is modeling the car seat for you:
Laura's stroller/carseat combo arrived in the mail the other day. We are very excited to have it all ready for our little girl. We would also like to thank Grammy for getting it for us. We have such a great family!

Childbirth Class

What fun! Nate and I got to spend an entire weekend at the hospital for a childbirth education class!

Actually, for a class that went from 9:30 to 3:30 during precious weekend hours, it wasn't so bad. Most of the information is common sense stuff, but still good to hear. Nate and I most enjoyed the hospital tour. It's nice to become a little more familiar with the place where our child will be born. And very nice to know exactly where we are supposed to go when the BIG DAY arrives!

While we are feeling more prepared for Laura's arrival, here's hoping we still have a few weeks!

Thanksgiving!

Obviously it has been a while since I last posted. It's not that we've been boring - to the contrary! We have been so busy, I haven't had a moment to sit down and log our activities. Let's start with Thanksgiving. Yum!

We started our week-long Festival of Thanks on Saturday the 21st. Nate, Ries and I hopped in the car and drove up to Philadelphia. We dropped Ries off at Haverford for an overnight stay (thanks Julia!!), and then made our way to Liz's house for an enormous meal. I mean enormous in every sense of the word. There were 30 people at Liz's to celebrate. Thirty! There were two 15-pound turkeys AND a ham. More mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans than can be imagined. And it was all delicious! We had a great evening of food, laughter, dancing, and CLR (a really fun, fast game).

Sunday morning, Nate and I popped over to Haverford once again for breakfast with Julia and Taylor, and to pick up our collegiate pup. Riesling had a fantastic night at college, complete with long walks and drunk freshman girls. Even better, she was very well behaved and beloved by all. Nate and I are so thankful that Julia was able to give Ries such a fun introduction to college life! After breakfast, the three of us (three and a half?) hit the road on our way up to Concord.

A few hours later, we had arrived - no traffic! We were very fortunate to have been able to take a whole week for Thanksgiving this year. It was great spending time with my family too. I haven't had Thanksgiving with my family in several years! This year was extra special - both my maternal grandmother and my paternal grandfather were with us! Dinner was great, again. And even after so much turkey, Nate and I were ready for more!

Nate and I were honored with another baby shower on Saturday. My mom's friends are absolutely wonderful. From the lovely hostess to all the guests, I could not have asked for a lovelier afternoon. We received many wonderful gifts from so many special people. Laura even received a little bear from one of my mom's college friends - the same friend who gave me my first bear so many years ago! And if that wasn't touching enough, my sister-in-law gave me a little dress for Laura, made from the bridesmaid dresses at my wedding. I was completely overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness.

Nate, Ries and I drove back south Sunday morning after a wonderful trip. This was truly a week to reflect and be thankful!

Laura's Room

Laura is one lucky little girl. Look at what her grammy painted in her room!

And look at what her grammy made for her room!

I have always known that my mom is thoughtful, loving and talented... and now I get to show it off in Laura's nursery! My mom bought (the cutest ever) fabric and made the curtains, crib bumpers and bed skirt. Then, she painted images from the fabric onto the walls. I just love it!

We are very loved

This week:
Laura and I made it to the THIRD TRIMESTER! We are two-thirds of the way through to our January 31st due date. Time is flying.

Nate turned 31! Happy Birthday Hunny! Riesling and I gave him a marshmallow gun. Ries is already regreting her help in picking out the gift.

My parents brought furniture for the baby's room! We are decorated!

(and best of all... for me at least!)
My sister-in-law gave me a shower!
Sarah invited a bunch of my friends to a tea in my honor at a little place near my house. The scones were delicious, and I could not have felt more loved. Laura made out like a bandit! Truly, we received some lovely and thoughtful gifts. The child will also be very well dressed...

After the shower, Nate and I went out to dinner with both our families. We had a fabulous time, celebrating three birthdays in style. Happy Birthday Nate, Aaron and Bernyce!

Dinner was also a wonderful opportunity for me to get just a little more quality time with my mom before she headed back north.

So aside from a teensy little fiasco with some mice, Nate and I had a lovely weekend. We are truly lucky to have such wonderful family and friends!

The Cocktail Party

Nate had a fantastic weekend. He and four friends went to the Florida vs. Georgia football game in Jacksonville, FL. While I don't know all the details, I know they had a great time. Here are some photo highlights!

Chris, Nate and Greg on Friday night:

Parke and Nate:

Nate and Albert:

Greg, Andy and Parke celebrating Florida's win (and Tebow's new record):

So what did I do this weekend? Laura and I dressed up for Halloween! (We were a pumpkin):

I also got to have brunch with my cousins Betsy and Gwen Sunday morning. I can't get over how awesome it is to have my cousins living on the East Coast! I hope to see them again soon!

Pumpkin Bunny

Nate bought pumpkins!

Riesling wasn't too happy about having one on her bed.

NYC!

Ah! Long weekends! Nate and I spent Columbus Day in NYC this year, visiting all the beloved New Yorkers we have been promising to visit for years now. After we arrived Saturday afternoon, Mandy and Reid took us on a Central Park adventure. Complete with lunch at Shake Shack (yummy burgers, fries and shakes), and snacks at Magnolia's for delicious cupcakes!

We met up with my cousins Betsy and Kyle, and Nate's friend Tori for dinner at Artisnal that night. The food was delicious.

Betsy, Kyle, Mandy and Reid had a lot of fun with fondue.

Tori enjoyed a lovely steak au poivre. I had butternut squash soup with an entree of short ribs (my favorite!). Nate had a pumpkin risotto that was amazing... and also fought to keep the cheese plate on the table well after the waiter tried to take it! He was happy; he got his cheese.

On Sunday, Mandy, Reid, Nate and I met up with my friends Sharon and Paul for brunch at Five Points. Wow, the food was amazing. I was very impressed by my eggs, bacon and biscuit. And you should have seen Nate's salmon eggs benedict! In puff pastry! It looked wonderful (minus the fish part...)

After a lovely brunch, the six of us hopped on the Circle Line for a 2-hour water tour of NYC. We got to see Lady Liberty up close - and most of Manhattan!

It was really windy, but a really nice way to spend a lovely, sunny afternoon.

After a little nap back at the apartment, Mandy, Reid, Nate and I headed to Chelsea. We walked along the High Line - a new program in NYC to convert old elevated train tracks into pedestrian walkways. The space is incredibly green with plants lining the entire length. There are benches (and chaise lounges) everywhere, making for a really relaxing place to take a walk or read a book.

This section had really neat lighting features - and a coffee bar! It really seems like a lovely way to recycle the unused traintracks. Definitely worth the walk!

We followed our walk with dinner at Buddakan.

Wow. The entire place is just amazing. The atmosphere is gorgeous, decorated in an Asian scheme. Everything is completely artistic, from the lighting to the food. And the food was delicious! We ordered several appetizers to share, and then wound up sharing all the entrees as well. I can't imagine a more delicious meal! It was also really fun to have dinner at such a chic, "New York" restaurant!

In all, Nate and I had a fabulous weekend. The food (notice a trend here?) was amazing everywhere we went. And I finally got to see a little more of New York than Times Square and Rockefeller Center at Christmas!

The best part? We got to see so many friends!

Friends!

Nate and I are multi-taskers to the max. We managed to visit two sets of friends on ONE trip to Virginia! We drove down Saturday around Noon to see Chad, Amy and Owen plus Chris, Anita and Jackson for lunch. The weather wasn't great, but who needs weather when there are yummy sandwiches and great friends?! Owen is hilarious, and Jackson is just precious. I had trouble sharing Jackson with the others... Makes me even more excited to meet Laura in a few months! Anita was going through some of Owen's old clothes, and I was pleased to see a few cute neutral outfits which I grabbed. Laura's closet is starting to look pleasantly full.



After lunch, Nate and I drove slightly north to meet up with Ben, Julie and Caroline at the Crystal City Sports Club. Nate's team didn't play too well, but it was fun to watch it with friends. Caroline is soooo cute! Banging her toys and chewing on everything. Nate tried to "warn" me that Laura will be just like that, and I can't wait!



Isn't it funny how your relationship with friends changes so much with kids? I truly look forward to seeing the other moms and playing with their babies.



Plus, it was so great that we could see everyone all in one day! The traffic wasn't even too bad!

Visitors from Down East

Alas, there are no pictures to document our weekend. Not one. Seeing as I never remember to bring the camera, I blame Nate!

At any rate, we did indeed have a fantastic weekend. Parke and Sarah drove all the way from Maine with their two pups, Scout and Jenny. Ries was ecstatic. Two friends to play with! Parke and Sarah arrived just in time for hors d'oeuvres Friday night. The four of us were joined by our good friends Chris and Anita and their new baby, plus Chris's parents for some steaks! Nate did all the cooking, and it was a fantastic dinner.

Cutest thing? Seeing Ries with the baby. She was absolutely in love with him. This bodes well for her future little sister!

Saturday, Sarah and I did a little shopping. The boys watched a little football. Then we all went to the O's game that evening. The O's, sadly, did not fare well against the Red Sox. But I guess that meant our guests were pleased with the outcome. We did get to see quite a few homeruns, and thankfully it was not a boring game!

Sunday, Parke and Sarah (and the pups) had to head back up to Maine. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Paper Moon Diner, and then it was time to say goodbye. Nate and I are so happy that Parke and Sarah were able (and willing!) to drive all the way from Maine to see us. We have the best family!

Homework and House Work

Although these two terms sound very much them same, they are not. Homework is what I did all weekend. I read, and read, and read some more. I read until I wasn't sure what I was reading! All of this reading, or homework, is for school. I'm up to my ears in reading this semester, and am just thrilled about it.

House work is what Nate and I did this weekend. Continued house work, that is. The baby's room is almost entirely empty now! There are a few things left to put elsewhere, but I am just not sure where that elsewhere is.

In the meantime, here is a picture of the beautiful fabric my mom found to decorate our little girl's room. I love it and can't wait to see everything my mom makes with it!!
Isn't my mom awesome?

Make way for baby!

Nate and I made great strides towards babyfying the house this weekend. The office/guest room is completely set up! Which means the baby's room is getting closer to empty. It will be ready for a crib, changing table, and rocking chair soon! Far sooner, I hope, than the baby...

Here are a few pictures of the office/guest room!

From the door:

From the bed: We still have some picture moving and hanging to do, but this was a major accomplishment! We even cleaned out and organized the desk. Things are actually filed!

This weekend, while still not over (yay holiday!), we also got to meet a very handsome little boy. Our dear friends, Chris and Anita, welcomed Jackson into the world on Thursday. He is absolutely precious, and I am so happy for them! Holding Jackson made me even more excited to meet our little girl in a few months! I am happy to wait to meet her, trust me, but so excited!

Meet Laura!

She's already beautiful! You can also tell from this profile shot that she already has her daddy's cherubic chin and cheeks! We are very happy that she's healthy and growing at just the right pace. And as excited as we are to meet her, we are definitely willing to wait a few more months!

It's a...

GIRL!!!

Pictures to come :-)

Cape Vacation

Well, it turns out that Scaredy-Dog Riesling isn't so afraid of the water when she can touch the bottom! She and Pippi had quite the adventure on the beach. Pippi had never been in the water at all before. Look at her up to her shoulders in the bay! Riesling wanted to go deeper, but Pippi protested, since her head was barely above the water. Alas, poor Pippi's adventure ended with a bath (after a dunk in the pool). Nate also had a chance to play in the water. The waves off the Outer Beach were spectacular, thank you to Hurricane Bill! Some of the waves were over 10 feet high, absolutely amazing for our area. You can see a little bit of Nate getting pummeled by the surf in this picture:

What is even crazier than the waves is the amount of beach that has eroded. The Outer used to be a long stretch of beach separating Pleasant Bay from the Atlantic. Now, (and not just from Bill) there is a large break in the beach, allowing the ocean waters (and waves!) into the opening of the bay. Some of the waves that got through during Hurricane Bill were so large, they were breaking all the way across the bay on Minister's Point!

If it hadn't been so foggy, you could probably see the waves breaking over the Outer Beach past those boats behind Nate and me in this picture:

Obviously, no family vacation is complete without a portrait session by my mom. She had all her kids in one house at one time, so she forced us onto the little beach, kicking and screaming, for a family photo.

Here's what else we did:

• Went to the Band Concert
  Took a midnight swim in the pool with the whole family Sunday night. (About as much fun as we've ever had together!)
• Played mini golf
• Ate ice cream (lots)
• Took boats out of the water
• Put boats back in the water
• Took boats out of the water one more time
• Laughed at four silly dogs playing very nicely with each other

Baby Showers and Phish Shows

Fun for all this weekend! Nate and I had a relaxing night on Friday, with Mexican for dinner at La Palapa. It's nice being able to eat yummy food again!

On Saturday, Nate and I had split plans. Nate went to the Phish concert with a few friends while I was at a baby shower in Pennsylvania. The baby shower was very sweet, and it was so nice to see our friends, Mark & Alaine, who are expecting their first at the end of September!
After the shower, I drove back to Maryland to pick the boys up from the show. They had a blast - I hear it was a great concert!

St. Nate

Nate is the best! He spent all weekend going through all our stuff in the office and bookshelves. He was able to completely organize the office desk, which is something we have wanted to do since we got it three years ago! And most importantly, he went through ALL the books on all the bookshelves and completely moved everything around in preparation for the baby.

The reason for all this? We have two extra rooms: an office and a guest room. One of these, the guest room, will become the baby's room. The other room will double as office and guest room. We weren't sure how it would all work, but after some measuring and Nate's heroic efforts this weekend, we have a plan!

All that's left is some organizing of clothing, and the furniture moving!

Nate and Cait's East Coast Tour

What a weekend!

Nate and I started a whirlwind tour of the East Coast on Thursday. We drove up to Philly for the "Face2Face" concert - with Elton John and Billy Joel! It was a fantastic concert. They opened the show playing together (on pianos facing each other)! Elton John played a solo set for over an hour, then Billy Joel played over an hour on his own. Billy had the flu, so there was speculation that he might not play at all. Well, he played his heart out! Elton came back on the stage to finish the show with Billy. Between the four sections of the concert, I'm pretty sure they played all the best numbers. Elton's best: Crocodile Rock. Billy's: I can't pick. We Didn't Start the Fire was fantastic, and so was Uptown Girl. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant gave me chills. And the ending I could have imagined was Billy and Elton playing Piano Man together. A week later, and I am still so excited about the awesomeness of this concert!

After the concert, Nate and I hopped on the road again, heading north. We spent Friday on Cape Cod for a quick visit with my family. Riesling enjoyed playing with Pippi, and it was great to see my parents. We hadn't seen them since before we were pregnant, so I had really looked forward to this visit - even if it was just an overnight!

On Saturday, we headed West. My friend, San, is moving to Seattle and we wanted to see her off. We had dinner at Kelly's and got to see a bunch of friends.
It was so much fun catching up with Courtney, San, Sharon and Kelly. I hadn't seen Courtney in eight years! It was a lot of driving (even Ries was sick of the car by Sunday), but I'm really glad I got to see so many people. However, for our next visit north, I think we will leave out some of the stops!

Anniversary Celebration

Nate and I rang in our New Year at a Neko Case concert in Baltimore Tuesday night. I have loved Neko's music for a few years now, and it was exciting to see her live! She has a really unique voice - beautiful! I think Nate might have been a little bored by the music, but he certainly looked amused everytime I caught him looking at me! I'm just that cute :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Nate and I were married two years ago today, on a hot and sunny July day. During the ceremony, the priest said something that really resonated with me. He said that even though we were two people, that day we became a family.
In our first year of marriage, we became a family. In the second year, we began to add to our family. And as we enter into our third year of marriage, I can't wait to meet our newest family member with the same overwhelming love that Nate and I felt from all our friends and family on our wedding day.

"It always feels like...

Somebody's watching me!"
Seriously, don't the paint rollers look like the money we could be saving with Geico?? Nate was piling up the tools we used in the closet renovation, and this is what happened. By chance!

Besides a little clean-up this weekend, Nate and I visited with friends for an impromptu BBQ Saturday night. As soon as we arrived, of course, it started to pour. We had fun regardless of the weather!

The BBQ was a nice break for me, as I had spent all day working on a paper for class. I finished it on Sunday, and will edit it this week. Can't wait to have it turned in!

Friends and Renovations

Nate and I headed into the Big City this weekend to say farewell to our friends Anne and Stu, who are moving to Sweden. It's a bittersweet goodbye. We are very happy for them, and excited for their new adventure, but we will miss them!
The evening was a lot of fun though. Our friend Mandy came down for the occasion. We went to dinner at Marvin (yum!) and got to catch up. We were having so much fun, that we didn't leave DC till almost 3:00am! It was a much later night than I intended, but very worth it.

We also finally finished the closet project this weekend. We got all the shelves installed on Saturday, and tackled the doors on Sunday. The doors were a bear, but we finally wrangled them in place.

I think it looks great, don't you? I can't wait to get everything put back in - and off the guest bed!

One Weekend in Maine

Nate and I flew up to Portland, Maine, to spend the weekend with Parke and Sarah. We brought our good weather north, and had a fantastic time!

We arrived Friday night, and stayed up late chatting and catching up. Parke and Sarah have done a lot with their house since we last visited, and it looks great. On Saturday, we took a ferry across the Portland Harbor to visit Peaks Island.

Peaks Island is very cute. It's a small island, but quite pretty with rocky beaches and fun restaurants. We spent a few hours on the beach, absorbing the sun and laughing at the kids playing in the water.

We also laughed at Nate playing in the water. He swam all the way out to the tiny island way out past the beach. Nate said the water wasn't too bad. I thought it was frigid.

After showers and naps, we went out to dinner Saturday night at Fore Street in downtown Portland. The restaurant is really neat. It's both fancy and relaxed, with a gorgeous copper kitchen right in the middle of the room!

Nate ordered sea bass, not realizing he would be served the WHOLE THING. Luckily, our fantastic server was ready with fish knife in hand to gut the thing for him. I looked away, wholly grossed out!

On Sunday, we woke to a leisurely morning. Sarah and I had our toes done at a very cute salon. Then we all headed off to a Portland Sea Dogs game. It was quite hot sitting in the sun, and the Sea Dogs were not playing their best, but it was still a very fun afternoon! After the game, we went back to the house for some hamburgers on the grill. A very relaxing evening!

We wished we could have stayed longer, but we had to get back to Maryland and Riesling. We flew back Monday, and can't wait to see Parke and Sarah again soon!

The Big Announcement!

For those of you who haven't heard, Nate and I are expecting a baby! Bad Baby is due January 31, 2010, and we couldn't be more excited.

I am 10 weeks along, and feeling pretty good, despite a constant feeling of nausea. I am looking forward to the second trimester and feeling great! Even more than that though, I am looking forward to meeting our little baby in a few months. It's such an exciting time for our family! Even Riesling has been giving me extra sniffs and cuddles!

4th of July

Nate's whole family flocked to Harrisburg this weekend for a 4th of July celebration complete with poker and fireworks. It was great to have Grandma meet her first great-grandchild, Jameson. J is such a cutie! And a very good baby. He's not quite ready for poker, but the rest of us were!

Saturday night, Nate's parents hosted a poker tournament. $50 buy-in with three tables of six - and prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. What's not to like?

I was knocked out in the first round. But I had fun playing a few hands, and I wasn't the first out! Nate, on the other hand, made it to the final table. It was down to Nate and his sister - a very close game! Liz won the tournament with a 5 and a 2 - unlikely cards, but what a hand! Nate was pleased with his 2nd place win. Cousin Matt took third place. And who could believe that the first player knocked out in last years tournament (in the first hand, no less) would win the whole thing this year?!

It was a great weekend, filled with sun, pool, food and fireworks. Happy 4th!