Summer Days, as seen through an Iphone

When you live in a Coastal town,
you never like to hear these words: hurricane, tropical storm, power outages.
Luckily, we're a few miles from the beach and on the Bay side.
But, we're still ready to hunker down for the rest of the weekend.
As we prepare for the rain and get our flashlights ready
(along with wine, O'Douls and a portable dvd player),
here is a snapshot of far sunnier days, as captured by my Iphone

A day at the beach with school buddies Annie and Betsy

Sunday Funday - for the kiddos and their parents

Sprinkler park with Tessa

Mason and Charlie's birthday party at the petting zoo

Lunch, ice cream and a duck feeding kinda day-

shared with Robin and Jen

Group hugs at the Club

Hitting the pool before Hurricane Irene

Sending sunny and safe thoughts to all our friends and loved ones!

Dear Baby Girl,

Hello Little Lady.
It's your mom.
Just dropping in to say a quick "hi".
This pregnancy seems to be flying by lately.
I am 22 weeks along now, so we're more than halfway there!
The awful, nonstop nausea has long since departed,
and my energy has returned - hurray.
Gotta love the second trimester.

We saw you wiggling and squirming, waving and turning
at our last ultrasound appointment.
You even flashed the peace sign to us.
Your daddy felt you kick for the first time last night.
And, now that we know you are YOU,
we are busy deciding on your name.
We have a short list that we're working from,
and, so far, your dad and sister are both in agreement.
I have also started to plan your nursery.
It's so much fun when you actually know if you're decorating for a boy or a girl!

Your big sister is more than ready to meet you.
She tells just about everyone that she's getting "a new baby sister"
and that "Santa Claus is bringing her on Christmas".
Combined with all the excitement, though, is the slightest bit of jealousy.
The other day I caught her curled up in your Moses Basket.
She loves to sit in the little bumbo seat,
and before she'll let me move any of her old clothes into your closet,
she insists on trying them on to make sure they no longer fit :)

It's going to be a busy few months before you arrive  -
filled with the back-to-school season, birthdays for your mom, dad and sister,
our 7th Anniversary, Thanksgiving and maybe even Christmas
(fingers crossed you decide to join us just a bit early).
With each passing day, we get more anxious to meet you.
In the meantime, keep up the good work growing!
Just avoid my ribcage for as long as you can.

Love ya lots,
Mom

Adventures

These days, you love to go on an adventure.
It doesn't really matter where we go, or what we do.
If we tell you it's going to be an adventure, you always get excited.
I am trying to plan some special outings, just the two of us.
Before your baby sister arrives.
Sure, if you're not at preschool or summer camp or the gym nursery,
I am usually always right by your side.
But making special plans and talking them up to you first
makes it feel a bit more special.
One day a few weeks back, it was a dreary, rainy day.
I decided to take a chance, and off we went for our first mommy-and-me pedicures.
I had no idea if you'd sit still for it.
I wasn't sure if your feet would reach the little ledge at the bottom of the chair.
I didn't know if you'd like a complete stranger massaging your legs.
But pretty nail polish, that I knew you'd like.
As well as the chance to be just like your mommy.
And you know what?
You did great.

You raced right over to the nail polish rack.
You were so excited to look through all the colors.
You couldn't decided between pink and purple,
so I suggested we use both.
You sat so still, so quietly, as you got used to the new setting.
And then you broke out in the biggest smile as you peeked down at your toenails.
The ladies at the salon ooohed and aaahed over you.
They put little flowers on your big toes.
They brought a lollipop over to you while your toes dried.

It did the trick - ten tiny little toes came out looking perfect.
You were so proud, so excited that you went from chair to chair,
showing every lady in the salon your first pedicure.
It was a great morning, just the two of us.

For our next little outing, we had a girls' dinner.
Your dad was in the city for a work dinner
(or a boys' dinner as you called it),
so I decided we'd have our own adventure together.
We went back-to-school shoe shopping first!
We had a ball.

I didn't realize that this year, you'd have so many thoughts and opinions.
We must have looked at 20 pairs of shoes.
You were very particular.
You wanted to try everything on.
You started to pull your own choices off the shelves to show me.
It gave me a glimpse of what you'll be like as a teenager ;)
We each picked out our favorite pair,
and then it was time to head to dinner.
Nothing fancy - just Panera Bread - but it was special all the same.
We talked over our sandwiches and lemonade.
Two girls, on an adventure.
As I looked across the table at you, I saw the big girl that you have turned into...
the big sister that you will soon be.
And it made me so very happy (but also just the tiniest bit sad).

Ta Da

When the three of you first met,
you were crawling around at The Little Gym.
These days, you are busy chasing after each other,
jumping in together and arguing over pool toys.
Let the good times roll!

The Jersey Shore

A few weekends ago, we visited the Jersey Shore
(and stayed far away from Seaside Heights).
Aunt Wendy and Uncle Carl own a great beach house there now,
and we had a fun few days with them, Matt and Courtney.
And let's not forget Ozzie the puppy, who Lexi followed around all weekend long.
It was a HOT couple of days - about 100 degrees and even more humid,
so we stayed in the pool or at the beach for as long as possible.
Thank you, Hanks family, for hosting our gang.
You all may have needed a nap once we left :)

Lexi loved being one of the "big kids".

She even cried after learning she was too young 

to join Courtney for "fun day" at the club

Luckily, Matt kept her busy down at the shallow end

Making some new friends. 

She gave each of these guys a rock, 

a high five and then decided to pose with them.

Some post-dinner fun at the beach

It's A...

(For those of you not skilled at deciphering ultrasound pictures, 

you are looking at our little girl upside down and spread eagle. 

The arrow points to the lack of "boy parts")

That's right...Alexis will be getting a sister this winter!

And Vic will be getting very outnumbered.

I can already envision the two of them hosting tea parties, 

taking dance classes, and playing dress up together. 

I can even envision matching outfits from time to time. 

More than anything, we hope our little ladies will become the best of friends over the years.

And for their dad's sake, I also hope they will happily join him at The Garden and Citi Field. 

(This is a profile shot. Baby Girl is sucking her thumb, just like her dad used to)

(And this shot is amazing, because you can clearly see all her facial features.

It may even be a little too high-tech for our tastes)

Sweet Baby Girl, we have so much love to give.
We cannot wait for you to join our family.
We love you already!
And now, it's time to plan your nursery.

Halfway there

I am just about halfway there...around 20 weeks until we become a family of 4!
We find out later this week whether a little boy or girl will be joining us.
The nausea is gone, my energy is back,
and we're soaking up summer - just the three of us.