Happy Birthday, Isabelle!!!

Happy Birthday, Isabelle!!!
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

My lovebug turns two years old today. I can't believe how fast time flies. So much has changed since she was born. She is such a smart and cute baby - Shawn and I both love her to pieces! Happy Birthday, Isabelle!

Two nights in a row!

Emma 1
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

I love company... especially by friends that I never get to see. Last night Jennie surprised us with a visit. We ordered some take-out and spent a few hours talking and catching up. My niece, Hannah, had a ball with Jennie's baby, Emma. Emma smiles non-stop... she is soooo cute! My friends with babies like it that I am so prepared - high chair seats, baby wash, wipes, sippy cups... you need it, I've got it. We both hope that now that she knows where we live, we will gets lots more visits from her and baby Emma. :)

Our long lost friends... and their new addition!

Amber and Belle
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So Sunday night Shawn and I had a pleasant surprise when friends Andy and Amber showed up to visit. I was so excited to see them... and their new puppy. It was so nice to catch up and visit with them. And bonus, handy Andy fixed my dryer so that it no longer blows steamy hot air and lint all over the place. It was a great visit! :)

The Nursery... already??

The Nursery
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So I've had a nursery all set up for over two years now. Part of it was because of Isabelle and the other reason is... well, I'm just like that. I've had the Noah's Ark theme that entire time and most of it was navy and maroon and "countryish". Last Sunday I decided that it wasn't quite baby enough and I gutted the nursery of everything that wasn't pastel and baby-looking. :) So... all that is left to do is finishing the bureau/ changing table, getting a rocking chair and getting more wall decor. I do have alphabet letters ready to paint that sage green color that I painted the frame but it will be another 6 weeks before I know whether to paint the RCS or the XJS. :)

Have you got your rewards??

So last night I got home to find that my $100 gift card from my new credit card came in! Everyone should have this card! Just for signing up, I got the $100 gift card (or technically I got two $50 gift cards). They also have a pretty good initial rate and 0% balance transfer rate for a year. I've had the card for a little over two months now and in addition to the bonus $100 card for signing on, I have already earned almost enough points to get me another $100 gift card. The points really add up fast... esp. if you do a lot of your spending at gas, groceries and drugstores (you get 5 x the rewards for these places). So do like I do - buy the things you would normally put on your debit card or pay cash for with your credit card instead and collect the rewards! Of course, this is only such a great deal if you are disciplined enough to pay off the balance each month rather than go shopping with that paycheck. ;)

While I'm here... I'll just mention that I'm officially in my 2nd Trimester today. So exciting. I'm 14 weeks along and very anxious for the belly to grow. I keep thinking that if i have physical proof, maybe i can actually keep myself convinced that I'm pregnant. Once the jumbo shrimp (this is the size they tell me my baby is at right now... much larger than a grape;) ) starts kicking, pretty sure that will enforce it as well. Until then, I'll just count the days until my next OB appt so that I can hear that there is a heartbeat in there. It's very exciting to be at this point. I am almost done reading "The Girlfriend's guide to pregnancy" and next I am going to read "What to expect when you're expecting" (I have only read up until the 8 week mark in this one, and it was an older version). Next up after that is "Your pregnancy week by week". With all the studying the husband is doing, it shouldn't be hard to log in some reading time over the next month or so.

As Good as it Gets

View of Samoset from the Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

Last week we were on ... sigh... vacation. It's a good thing, too, because I couldn't have handled two straight weeks of this heat in my sauna of an office. We did some much-needed landscaping, we hung out by my brother-in-law's parents pool, we went to Camden/Rockport, we attended a family reunion and we (and by "we" I mean "I") worked on the nursery. Overall it was a great week. And a desparately needed one. Last vaca for me for a year or two... :(

All dressed up

All dressed up
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So Shawn has a new job. He starts the week after next and he is going to have to retire his polo shirts and khakis to suits and ties. He just got his new suits back from the tailor yesterday so I made him try on my favorite, a Ralph Lauren suit.
I would be posting a picture of my 12-week-pregnant-self but yesterday we learned that Shawn isn't capable of taking a non-blurry picture. Guess what we'll be working on in the next few days?!? I told him that by the time the bebe arrives, he'd better be able to take a good picture... or else! He only took one from the side (because he is SOOOO IMPATIENT) and it is totally blurry.

MILESTONES...

So I'm definitely not under the misconception that nothing bad can happen from here on... but just the fact that today I hit the official "12 week" mark that I have been so desparate to achieve is such a sigh of relief. For 7 weeks (that is how long we've known) I have been losing sleep, stressing out and feeling the need to double up on my Zoloft! But now, finally... I am officially 12 weeks pregnant and I can relax a bit! FINALLY... :)