We're Back!

Hello friends and family!
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while…I wish I could say my life has been so boring that there is nothing to post about, but it is actually quite the opposite. We traveled a lot in August and September, and I have been working quite a bit in October. Below are a series of “catch-up” posts with details about our recent adventures.
As I hit 36 weeks this week, we are now focused on enjoying our last few weeks sans baby…

Baby Showers!

Brian, Baby P and I are so lucky to have such a strong support group in our friends and family! In August, my Texas girlfriends threw us a couples baby shower in Dallas. We got to check out Ashley and Ryan's new gorgeous home (which they gut-rehabbed themselves). We also got to spend time with Ella, Carly and Sam (Megan/Mike's daughter, John/Lana's daughter, and Ashley/Ryan's son). We received some wonderful gifts from our generous friends...and my former coworkers at Maverick sent some adorable clothes!! Sarah and Jill, thanks for traveling so far to be a part of my special day! Megan posted the sweetest blog entry with some pics from the shower - here is the link...

http://mmperkins.blogspot.com/2009/08/celebrating-steph.html

In September, my lovely sister-in-laws Emily and Tara, along with Brian's Aunt Marie, threw a wonderful shower at Marie's home. It was a great crowd- all of the women from Brian's family attended, my friends Megan and Angela came, as did many of Ann's (mother-in-law) friends who attended our wedding. We had a great lunch (wonderful tomato basil soup a la Ann, cranberry cous cous, and chicken salad, followed by a delicious ice cream cake). Everyone brought a little book in lieu of a card, so Baby P's library is totally stocked! Below are a few pics from the shower...

We are so grateful for all of the gifts received at our showers, they sure put a dent in our "baby start up costs," and provided Baby P with some special keepsakes at the same time. We love all of you!

Baby P's Nursery!

At last, we finally feel like we are ready for Baby P to make her grand entrance! We have everything done in the nursery, with the exception of her name on the wall above her crib. While we think we are pretty much set on her name, we don’t want to spill the beans until she is born (in case we change our minds after looking at her). I hope she likes pink (actually, the color is called sorbet…but really, we all know it’s just a version of pink)!

Somebody stop me!!

It’s no secret that I enjoy shopping…therefore, it should come as no surprise that I have already purchased quite a few things for our baby girl in the 5 weeks since we found out her gender (against my sister-in-law's wise advice). I have done most of the shopping online – where the best deals are, and let’s face it, what beats shopping your pj’s? While Brian really enjoys the weekly surprises on our doorstep, I think he is starting to worry that I am going a little overboard – hence, we had “the talk” last weekend, and I agreed to take it down a notch. But it is so hard! As I told him, she will change sizes 4 times in the first two years of her life, so I will need 4 wardrobes in the next 2 years! Why not get started now when work is calm and I am not busy with the baby in all my spare time? After all, things are at their cheapest given the recession…great rationalizations, right?

We recently ordered furniture for Baby P’s nursery, but until her dresser arrives, I laid all of her clothes on our guest bed. Below are some pics of the stockpile (some of these items are gifts for which I am VERY thankful!). I usually get ready in the guest bathroom in the morning, and I love to gaze at these and picture what she will look like in all of these outfits, at each different age.


Since she will be born in November, these boots are a requirement to help her survive the harsh Chicago winter!!

Welcome!!

Welcome to our blog! This is our effort to keep friends and family updated on what is going on in the Paine household…

To kick things off, I thought I would summarize our 4th of July weekend. We had a bit of a “staycation” here in Chicago, and really enjoyed our long weekend. On Thursday night, we had our friends Catherine and Chris over for dinner. Below is a picture of Catherine and I comparing our bumps…she is due a month before me, and is having a boy. I miss my girlfriends back in Texas a ton, so it is nice to have someone here in Chicago to share the pregnancy with!

On Friday, Brian and I hung out on our roof deck and got a little sun. We then went over to our neighbors’ place (Paul and Angela) and enjoyed some grilled “delicacies” in true 4th of July fashion (burgers, brats, you name it). We are so lucky to have such great neighbors- and there is a bit of a baby boom in our building. Of the 9 units, 3 are having a child in the next year!

On Saturday, we ventured down to the Taste of Chicago festival to eat a bunch of fair food and see my favorite band Guster. We had great intentions, however, the weather was AWFUL (60 and rainy), so we saw the band and left. The show was great, but the Taste of Chicago itself was a little disappointing. I went into it totally craving a corn dog (a la Fletcher’s corny dogs at the Texas State Fair). However, Brian was quick to dash my hopes by informing me that “they don’t do corn dogs up here.” I couldn’t fathom it! Why would a town that is known for “regular” hot dogs not take the extra step to embrace the corn dog? I sense a money-making opportunity. Alas, I was forced to settle on a prime rib quesadilla and some ice cream (poor substitutes). Brian had a pulled pork sandwich and we called it a day.

Sunday was the only truly beautiful day of the weekend. It was about 80 degrees, with a nice breeze, and SUNNY! We had breakfast on our roof deck, enjoying the clear view of the downtown skyline. Then we went to the Cubs game with Mike and Emily (Brian’s bro and sis-in-law). Thankfully, the Cubs won!

Hasta Luego~