Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Monday, September 29, 2014

34 Weeks


 Baby C is the size of a butternut squash.
Perfectly timed for the Cashmere Solstice - what a stylish baby!


Lots going on this week to prep for little one's arrival. We took a birthing class and I started prepping freezer crockpot meals for once baby is here and we don't feel like cooking and are sick of take-out (unfathomable as this may seem in our city of endless culinary options). The new plaza at the Met is finally open to visitors, so we've started a new Saturday morning tradition of picking up bagels and heading to the museum to enjoy breakfast at the fountain. If it's not too crowded, we head inside for a bit to peek at our favorites (as we did this weekend) and then usually go for a walk through the park. I'm starting to feel winded after even short walks, but am trying to continue with them as best I can!


A bit apprehensive heading in to our birthing class. We came out feeling much less nervous!


DVC sweetly surprised me with treats from my favorite bakery, Two Little Red Hens. 
Best cheesecake in the city!

 

He's also taken to sporadically laying out baby outfits on my side of the bed.
Which I find hysterical.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Happy Bday Jamma!


Wishing you a wonderful birthday. I love you more than nutella and corndogs from the fair. XOXO

Friday, September 26, 2014

Last Day in Cape May


Final Cape May post, I promise. There was just so much wonderful stuff that happened and I love reliving it!  Much to my delight, we ended the week the same way we began it...with a trip to Uncle Bill's Pancake House. First time around I got the peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes and this time I got the strawberry stuffed french toast. Which is odd, because I rarely order pancakes or french toast or anything bready / non-carnivorous for breakfast. Baby must like maple syrup! Anyway, you can always supplement with bacon, right?


After breakfast we hit the beach. Elliot was no less enthralled than he was on the very first morning. I could listen to that kid shriek with joy at the incoming waves all day. "Look, a big one!" he would shout at every single wave. So stinkin' cute.


In the afternoon, Elaine and I took some time to ourselves and toured one of the town's famous Victorian house museums - The Emlen Physick Estate. Though our oddly dressed tour guide did his very best, the tour itself wasn't all that exciting (and no pictures allowed, BOO), but the bookshop sure was interesting...
 

Before meeting the boys for dinner, we popped by the biggest, fanciest hotel along the beach - Congress Hall - for an early evening cocktail (Arnold Palmer for me, woohoo!) and relaxing lounge in the deck rocking chairs. There was a wedding happening on the lawn of the hotel, and we had front row seats!



Rounded out our evening with a fresh seafood dinner on the boardwalk, some fierce skee ball competition at the arcade, a family photo booth squish-in and a final visit to the fudge shop. Easily my favorite spot in Cape May.



Highly recommend this lovely little town and hoping to be back on many future visits. 


Already planning our Cape May escape for next year!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

David Bowie Is

I'm taking Dave on a surprise date tonight and we're going to see this at The Paris Theater! I'm so excited!!
 

It's a documentary on the David Bowie Is exhibit originally hosted at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, but now on it's worldwide tour. Only U.S. stop is Chicago. Boo.


Update: It was a really fun night and I didn't even get a belly ache from the movie theater popcorn! Paris Theater is a great spot to see a movie, it's a super old art deco theater with a balcony and we scored great seats up there (my favorite place to sit). The film even included some background on The Labyrinth, so I was very pleased. They even held a Q&A with the documentary director after the screening! I kept hoping Bowie would pop out from behind the curtains and make a dazzling surprise appearance, but alas, he did not. Anyhow, we were singing all the way home...

Ch ch ch ch CHAAAAAAAAAANGESSSSSS!!!

 

Monday, September 22, 2014

33 Weeks


7 weeks to go (that's less than two months!) and
Baby C is as big as...  an alien   an armadillo egg   a durian fruit?


Seriously, creators of this photo series?? There was nothing else better to use this week??

Wiki to the rescue: "Regarded by many people in southeast Asia as the 'king of fruits',[3] the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting."  SICK.


So 33 weeks, what does that mean in the way of development?
According to my handy dandy alerts from The Bump - baby's brain is going through another growth spurt and developing like crazy. Pretty soon he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. His bones are hardening and he may grow up to a full inch this week alone. He's now keeping his eyes open while awake - so I guess it's time to try that shine-a-flashlight-on-the-tummy trick and see if it makes him wriggle!


And what have we been up to?
Madly touring daycare centers to check out all of our options, trying to decide which prenatal classes to sign up for and going on a walk-through of the maternity ward at the hospital later this week. Oh and possibly moving sometime soon, since construction on our building is out of control and has become nearly unbearable. Because we're not busy enough already, let's throw apartment hunting into the mix!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Leaf Diggity Dog

Happy birthday, baby sister.  You're going to be such a fun aunt.  Hope your day is as fabulous as you.


Friday, September 19, 2014

Beach Time


The beach in Cape May was so fun. I've never been a huge beach person (slightly terrified of the ocean + dislike being sandy = rough combo for the seaside), but CM may have completely changed my mind.

 


The shoreline was so pretty and very different from the beach towns I've visited in California. I loved trekking down to the beach each morning for a stroll along the water and then again in the evening just before sunset. We walked in the sand so much my legs were sore, but it was such a good tired feeling. We slept like stones.



Our evening walks were my favorite. The air would start to cool and the water felt almost warm.


Plus all the castles from the day were out on display. 

 

And sometimes I'd bring dessert. EL Fudge for the win!


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Cape May P.B.Co.


You guys. Cape May has it's own Peanut Butter Company. Seriously. 
Because it hadn't already established itself as the most charming seaside city ever??


They have all these different flavors of peanut butter and you get to sample as many of them as you want!


Their best seller is the Honey Roasted, but my favorites were Hazelnut (tasted like Nutella's cousin) and Butterscotch (suuuuper sweet, but I guess Baby C is into that at the moment, because he kept sending me back for fresh taster spoons). Cappuccino was surprisingly good as well, I was not expecting it to be so tasty.



In addition to regular ol' PB spreads, they've got an array of jellies and jams, pancake and waffle mixes, peanut buttery baked goods, candy, chocolate bars and fudge. I was well-behaved (ok, actually a little full from all the sampling) and limited myself to a container to take home and a brownie bite for immediate consumption. 


Heavenly.


I suffer from zero peanut butter fears.  Except for fear of being without?

P.S. they deliver!