A Room at the Inn...

 
So today's bout of productivity consisted of tearing down our treadmill and replacing it with our bassinet/co-sleeper. And with that, it's official...Isaiah now has a place to rest his head in Queens. (Look a the picture, back at me, back at the picture, back at me...) And there was much rejoicing.

[and yes, that's my little touch above the crib...our mobile wasn't handy.]

As many of you may know already, Raquel, our son, and I are moving to Philadelphia shortly after Isaiah's arrival. It's a bit awkward and very disorganized trying to prepare for the arrival of a newborn, while at the same time packing up as much of your lives as possible for a move.

Lucky for us, we have at least a tentative idea as to where we are going to live (hope to firm that up this weekend) and at the very least, plenty of storage space and yet another temporary home on the other side of New Jersey.

So until next time, wish us luck!

Signing off,
TD

Celebrating LOVE in Connecticut!

This weekend Tyler and I went to Connecticut for our friend Mandy’s wedding. It was so fun to finally be able to see Brian and Mandy get married. Tyler and I met Mandy at Cornell. She was a freshmen our Junior year, and she became involved in Campus Crusade for Christ, where Tyler and I met. She was in my small group, and through the two years that we were at Cornell, she became part of our group of close friends. Her wedding was also a great excuse for a lot of us from our close group of friends to get together. It was extremely special to see Madeleine, who (unfortunately) moved back to California shortly after graduation. It had been 2 years since Tyler and I had seen Madeleine (not okay!) We also got to see Andrew (and Allison), Chris (and Jackie), Joy, Lauren and Amy. Along of course, with Brian and Mandy. Katrina was gracious enough to let Tyler and I stay with her, so we were able to see her and she was able to hang out with us as well.
The wedding was absolutely beautiful! The venues (the Atrium at City Hall, and the Society Room) were gorgeous! Brian attended the Naval Academy so one of the most unique parts of the ceremony was the Sword Ceremony as they exited the Atrium.


Afterwards, we took a brisk walk to the Society Room for the reception, where we had a blast!! I wasn’t about to let something like being 35 weeks and 6 days pregnant stop me from enjoying the party. So we danced the night away, although at times, i think Tyler may have been a little worried about me :) I had forgotten how fun our friends are, and how much I enjoyed just being silly with them. It made me miss them even more, and hope that we can hang out more soon.

All dancing and craziness aside, the wedding was a wonderful time for me to reflect on my own wedding vows. Its been a little over 2 years since Tyler and I got married, and its amazing to look over the short time we've been married, and the long time we've been in a relationship (7 years - can you believe it!?!!?!) and remember what our relationship has withstood. There were many times where we and people around us were not sure that our relationship was going to make it, (or that it should make it), but i think that the defining moment (rightly so) came when we got married. Up until that day, we both had the option of walking away, something that we very realistically considered at times. But once we decided to get married, to go through with it, both of us unequivocally knew what that meant. It meant everything that we said, that in richer or poorer, sickness or health, good times or bad, we were together. That's it. Finito! And there have been moments, even in these short time we have been married, where I have stopped and thought, "this is the sickness part, or the good times part, or the poorer part, [i will be thinking that last part for a while i think..... :)]" I've been able to identify those times, and it takes a conscious decision and commitment on your behalf to continue faithfully and lovingly in a relationship when its not all roses.

It's easy to say "i love you, we'll be together forever!" when things are going okay. But the instance when it is the most difficult to stay faithful, and stay committed is when the person who you love the most and who you need the most hurts you. Unfortunately no one is perfect. So there will be a time when you hurt your spouse deeply, and when they hurt you. And if you are not 100% committed to them before that happens, and if you aren't ready to forgive them in advance, you're doomed. Being able to attend this wedding, witness the exchange of vows, reminded me of my own vows that i made to my husband, and provided the opportunity to renew my commitment to him and our relationship. And the greatest gift that we can give to each other, and our son is this commitment to our marriage, one of the most sacred rituals that there is.

I love you Tyler!

almost there!

Today I am 34 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Its very weird and surreal to me for a variety of reasons. Most of all, because I remember how i felt when i first found out that i was pregnant. We knew pretty immediately, (@ 5 weeks). At that time, it felt like being full-tern was eons away. Now its only 1 week and 2 days away. Granted, that doesn't mean that my due date is 1 week and 2 days away, but still, it means that he COULD be born as soon as 1 week and 2 days.
So anyway, on our way home from the Birthing Center yesterday (yes, we are having our baby at a free-standing birthing center, not a traditional hospital - www.brooklynbirthingcenter.com for more info, its so COOL!!) Tyler and I were talking and it's just been hitting me the past few days that in a few weeks we're actually going to have a baby! EEK! It's really exciting, and yet terrifying at the same time. You spend all this time - months (...10 to be exact) anticipating the arrival of this little baby, and then its happening, and all the sudden it feels like you're not ready at all. Until i started showing, and feeling him move (around 21 weeks or so) it kind of felt like being pregnant was something that was happening independent of me. I didn't really have symptoms at all, no nausea, no crazy cravings, or hunger (i still don't really). So i knew intellectually that i was pregnant, but didn't really feel pregnant otherwise. Now, i'm clearly showing, eating more, and can feel him move around, kick, punch and somersault all the time. So it feels more real, and yet i think when he's actually born, i will be surprised...shocked.
Tyler and I started to get ready last night, sorting his clothes that need to be washed (did you know you're supposed to wash all baby clothes before they are worn for the first time? I didn't), and packing our bags (just in case!) We bought some last minute items we needed, and at this point, pretty much have everything that we are going to need. We're practicing our relaxation exercises (per The Bradley Method) and focusing on the actual labor and delivery part of this whole birth process. Its really exciting, but it will still be shocking when it first happens. They say you can never be too prepared, which is probably true, but how about feeling even a little prepared? Here's to trying at least. CHEERS!

Belly Pictures

Tyler's Dad used to be a photographer, and so when we went to West Virginia a few weeks ago he took some pictures of me. Here are some of them. Enjoy!


 
 
 
 

A Quarter of a Century Old....and more to come!

So last weekend, Tyler and I celebrated our 25th birthday. It was lots of fun. Tyler got a bunch of our friends together, and we went to Southern Hospitality, a restaurant co-owned/founded/somehow related to Justin Timberlake. The food was great and the company awesome! Below are some pics from that night. Somehow i managed to not get one picture of me with Jenny and Ari, which makes me sad.....but they were there, i promise! After dinner, we went to a pool hall nearby and played darts, pool and arcades. All in all, a very enjoyable evening.

Why my iPhone rocks and winter will soon not rock.

Hi-Ho There.
Tyler here.

Kermit the Frog used to do that. From now on I'll do that...
...If a blog starts with "Hi-Ho There" don't be afraid, it's not Kermit...it's me.

So you may notice that Raquel and I are once again attempting to be bloggers. I guess we figure with a kid on the way, what's one more thing to try and squeeze in every week. My philosophy is to add as many features to the blog as possible. Thus the picture gadget to the right.--------------------->
(Good use of arrow, TD.
Why thank you!)

I have come to find that my iPhone has become an expert documenteur of my life. Better than myself even. Well, at least from your perspective. So in conjunction with this blog revival, I am from this day forward going to be better about NOT clicking cancel when the AutoPlay window pops up when I plug in my iPhone, and INSTEAD importing my iPhone photos to Picasa and uploading for you beautiful people to see. So enjoy...or else.
(and I can see you're concerned...there WILL be captions to further educate you on the scenes I choose to submit you to.)
[trust me, it's gonna be fun]

Furthermore...and I do mean furthermore...winter is going to quickly become my least favorite season.
(Why TD?
Thanks for asking!)
BECAUSE! It's the season that I fail to sleep. I constantly fail to occupy myself enough to create tiredness...and it sucks.
Bring on golf season!

So there you have it folks! I'm back to blogging.

Was it good for you?

Almost old...sorta...

So in three days, Tyler and I will turn 25....eek!! I feel like this birthday has snuck up on me. Normally, I'm hyper aware of my birthday, and extremely excited about it for the month before. But not this year. Today, I was at work and all of the sudden i realized, "our birthday is in 3 days!" My next thought was "maybe i should get Tyler his gift." :) In talking to Tyler about my realization, he made the accurate point that this year, unlike years past, we have had a lot of things going on, more important things than just turning one year older. We're having a baby (soo soon!), moving to Philadelphia, trying to figure out finances and jobs for next year, and oh yeah, having a baby. So maybe its a sign of maturity that I'm not birthday-obsessed this year. It is the last year that it can be 'all about me' though, so i'm going to enjoy it while i can. ;) I'm excited about our birthday, and excited about spending the weekend with Tyler. We have only a few left before he starts work, and only a few weeks after that before Isaiah makes his debut, so I'm enjoying all this chill time while I have it.