oh boy oh boy!

it's a boy!

there he is!

in all his

boy-ish glory

somehow i

was just really sure

it would be a girl,

and i think rob was too.

so we were shocked 

when the sono-tech

said it was a boy!

i couldn't quite

grasp it at first...

but now, of course,

we are so excited!

we had each decided

on the first thing

we wanted to buy

the baby after we found

out what it was.

so right after we found out,

we bought him his first shoes

(my idea, and they are SO cute!)

and his first comic book

(rob's idea. spiderman ;) )

so now we

are getting used to

the idea of 

having a son.

wow,

a son...

3 more days!!

we find out the

he-she business

about our baby

on friday

and i am

so so so

excited!

i can't 

even stand it!

a lot of people

have tried 

to convince me to

let it be a 

surprise.

they had

some really good points,

and i was almost

convinced.

but i just

have to know!!

i want to start

calling baby 

by it's name,

instead of baby or it!

and, if you know me

at all,

you know how

i will have the

nursery decor 

planned out and 

since i'm going to be making

the bedding myself,

i'll need some time!

plus i've never 

been good at waiting,

i'm pretty impatient.

i admit it.

i have to know!

so in just a few 

short days,

we'll know,

and then you'll know!

everyone has a very 

definite feeling on 

which it will be:

my dad is completely sure 

it's a girl,

rob is completely sure

it's a boy..

someone is 

completely wrong.. ;)

so now's the time

to place your "bets".

BOY?

GIRL?

what do you think?!?

Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

You are the best, 

smartest, most beautiful 

woman I know!

I love you!

i'm just not sure

how well this plan

was thought out.

well really,

it wasn't thought

out at all.

it just is.

and i think

i can be 

honest with you

because i feel

certain that 

all of you have 

felt something

akin to this

at one point

or another.

i'm almost

halfway

through this

pregnancy,

and i have to say

i'm still not 

really sure about this.

i go back and forth

a lot.

basically,

i wake up every morning

thinking 

"there is no way

i can do this"

and then by the time 

i go to bed

i'm thinking

"how exciting! a baby!"

so really.

i'm sure it will 

be fine

and wonderful

and i'm just 

kind of a worrier.

but i'm sharing

because that's what i do,

and isn't that 

why you read

anyway?

on another note,

i've really

been enjoying the rain.

i usually don't.

i love summer,

and i'm always 

so sad to see it go.

i dread the cold

and the rain.

but somehow,

this year 

i'm loving it!

it's cozy, and

hoodies, and 

polka dot socks

inside my polka dot 

rain boots.

holidays are coming,

family visits,

fireplaces

and apple cider.

i'm loving

my newfound love

for autumn/winter.

i'm having dinner

with an old friend tonight.

i'm bringing the desert,

which i need to get out 

of the oven now.

my little duck timer

is quacking.

Annie

i went to visit 

my sister, Annie

at her new home in

Baltimore, MD.

She moved there last 

month to go graduate school 

at the Peabody Conservatory,

the music school of Johns Hopkins.

annie outside her school. 

it is so huge and fancy looking!

we had so much fun,

seeing sights,

exploring new 

parts of town,

eating fancy deserts,

drinking coffee at little

outside bistro tables.

i really loved the city

and i'm just a tiny bit

jealous at her

"glamorous downtown life".

the square outside her apt. 

there was a concert going on by the monument.

her apartment is the one with the red awning.

isn't that such a fun little park outside?

her school is the building on the right

and her apt is just out of the picture to the left.

down at the harbor. it's so beautiful!

funny fish statue.

we made cupcakes

for her birthday this week.

happy birthday annie!

i miss you!