My first Baby Shower!

Lots of pink... check.
Lots of girlieness... check.
Lots of delicious desserts... check.
Lots of fabulous presents... check.
All of my favorite ladies... double check!!

A few weeks ago, some of my good friends threw me my first baby shower! It was pink and girlie and awesome and fabulous and I loved every minute of it. Thank you again to everyone that came to celebrate our little girl. Here are a few pictures...


The dessert spread.


Traci, Rebekah, Missy and Donna playing a baby game.


Present Time!


I like this present thing... :)

Thanks again, everyone!!

The View from Here

Yes. Those would be my feet, just barely visble under my large, 3rd Trimester belly. :)

Another view...


28 weeks!!

How to Make a Crib in 6 Easy Steps

Step 1. Start by gathering all your ingredients and laying them out.



Step 2. Add a very capable Husband.



Step 3. Mix in some nuts, blots, screws and nails.

Step 4. Cook for about 1 hour...

...but double check on its progress about half-way through, just to make sure the capable Husband is still happy.

Step 5. That's it! You got yourself a crib!

But wait! We're not done...

Step 6. To complete the look, add some freshly washed and ironed bedding.

There, that's better. :)

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, our good friend Matt Daniel did our annual Christmas photo shoot (which he's done now for the past 3 years) but we also used the occasion to get our first round of professional 'pregnancy' shots done. I’m finally at the point where people realize I’m pregnant and not just getting fat so I wanted to take advantage of that. :)
During the shoot, we were joking around with Matt about how our Christmas picture has evolved over the last three years... first it was us with Cricket… then us with Cricket and Dodger… now us - without dogs- and a baby on the way. :) Things have definitely changed! I can NOT say this enough, but Matt is AMAZING and we’re soooooo lucky to have such a talented friend. If you need pictures taken, he’s totally your man. Anyhoo, here are a few of our favorites:

Miss Eliza Beliveau Robinson

Here SHE is!!


Face and Belly...


Foot!


Girl Parts :)

Unfortunately, our 20 week ultrasound wasn't as fabulous as our 12 week ultrasound... the tech sorta rushed through things and we didn't get as many pictures. We also didn't get to see her move around as much. BUT - Bruin reminded me we'll have many many MANY years to take pictures and see her move around, so not to worry. :)

My tummy has also started to poke out more...

Half-way through!!

I still feel pretty great... I was having some heartburn issues but Zantac has helped tremendously. Putting my shoes on in the morning, however, is getting a little challenging but Bruin has already promised to help when it gets really difficult. :)

The cool thing is I've been able to feel little kicks for about a month now. Recently though, they have been more frequent and much more intense. In fact, last week I was finally able to feel her kick when I had my hand on my belly! It was pretty strong, too.

A quick note on her name... Eliza is actually Bruin's great-great-grama's name. My mom's name (and my middle name) is also Elizabeth, which of course, Eliza comes from.

As for the middle name... it was my Memere's (mom's mom) maiden name. Most of you know how very very special she was to me so its such an honor to be able to give Eliza a part of her in this way.

Stay tuned for nursery pictures!

Belly Shot, 18 wks

This shirt makes me look a lot bigger than I really am, but there's certainly no denying that I have a baby bump now. :)
We have our 20wk ultrasound next week... can't wait to find out if Poppy is a boy or a girl!!

Belly Shots, Weeks 12, 14 and 16

Some long anticipated belly shots...


12 Weeks


14 Weeks


16 Weeks

The Littlest Robinson :)

We are due in March and are so excited!! For now, we are calling our little one 'Poppy', short for Poppy Seed (which was the size he/she was when we found out we were pregnant... we also happened to have Poppy Seed Chicken casserole for dinner that night, haha). You can see more pictures here:

Poppy Seed

P.S.
Sorry for the slack posting... but I've been REALLY tired lately. :) I'm feeling much better now, though, so I promise to get back to posting reguarly.

Our New England Trip

This may come as a shock to you... but I'm not a true Southerner. GASP! I know, I know, you can't believe it... but it's true. I was actually born north of the Mason-Dixon line in Rhode Island and moved to South Carolina when I was six years old. So, while I wasn't BORN in the South, I was RAISED here. And to me, that's enough to call myself Southern. :)

Anyway, Bruin and I have been talking about taking a trip up north for a while now but things just never seemed to work out... until recently. The stars aligned and we just decided to go for it.

The trip started Friday (June 26th) with a drive to Northern Virginia (where Bruin’s parents live). We stayed the night, then went to a High school reunion for Bruin Saturday afternoon. The Richmond Robinsons drove up, too, and joined us for dinner that night.

Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early and began the New England leg of our trip. Unfortunately, we spent about 4+ hrs in traffic (some on the Jersey Turnpike and some in the Bronx) but still made it to my Dad’s house in CT in time for dinner. That night we stayed at my favorite B&B.

our view of New York City as we sat on the Jersey Turnpike

Monday morning, we drove the rest of the way to Narragansett, RI, where my Dad’s brother has a house. He works in the city during the week (NYC) but his wife, my Aunt Mindy, and their two boys, Remy and Christian, stay there during the summer and graciously allowed us to crash there for a few days. After dropping off our bags, we headed to Newport to explore the Newport Mansions via the Cliff Walk. What a beautiful experience!! The Mansions are just breath-taking, and we had fabulous weather so it made the experience even better.

Our new summer home! :)

Tuesday was another beautiful day, so we took advantage of it and rode the ferry out to Block Island. I have fond memories of going there as a kid and I’m glad it hasn’t changed a bit. We rented a Smart Car and drove all around the island, taking lots of pictures. Then we did a little shopping downtown before taking the ferry back.

I love lighthouses.

Unfortunately, our good weather luck ran out Wednesday. No worries, though. It didn’t stop us from taking the train to Boston and walking the Freedom Trail. We had lunch at Cheers before walking up to the North End for dessert (a cannoli, of course!!)

It rained ALL day but we still had a fabulous time.

Thursday, we decided to sleep in a bit then explore Hope Valley (where I spent most of my summers as a kid). One place I really wanted to see was Arcadia Pond. My cousin Becky and I would walk there almost every day and go swimming. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been maintained and people only fish there now. It was sorta disappointing. :( But I’m glad we went.

Me at Arcadia Pond

That night, we met up with my mom’s sisters and their families for a good ‘ole cookout. It was also my cousin Hope’s birthday and we celebrated with cake and ice cream.

Catching up around the fire.

Friday morning, we were up and on the road early. Our plan was to drive all the way to Richmond and stay with David/Chara/Riley. Thankfully that panned out and we made great time. Saturday morning (the 4th of July) we completed the last leg of our trip and made it home in record time. No fireworks for us, though. By the time we went and got the dogs and got home, we were both so exhausted that we were sleeping on the couch by 7pm. We did hear them, though. :)

To say we’ve had a busy June is probably an understatement but it was a blast. We’re very much looking forward to sticking around town for the rest of the summer, though. :)

To see more pictures from our trip, click here:

New England Trip

Our new 'Animal'

… a Dyson DC28 Animal, that is! It’s a long (and sorta funny) story as to how we ended up without a vacuum and thus NEEDING one… so after some research, we decided to invest in a Dyson. With my allergies & asthma and our two shedding beasts, we needed something that could really get the job done. And let me tell you… IT TOTALLY DOES. I tried her out yesterday and all I can say is UGH!! I had to dump the camber TWO times, just from our LIVING ROOM!! Now I can rest a little easier at night knowing there isn’t a new civilization growing in my carpet. :)

P.S. We could have gotten the 'ball' version but I tried it out in the store and really didn't like how it handled. I mean, it rolled around like butter, but the handle part was really heavy and it honestly didn't look as 'powerful' as this one.

Cruise, take two!

Cruise #2 was fantastic. Great weather. A much nicer ship. And lots and lots of great memories. I'm so glad Bruin and I got to have a 'do-over'. We had a good time the first time... but this time, we had a FABULOUS time. YAY!! Grand Cayman was gorgeous - I definitely want to go back and spend more time there. The water was just sooooooo blue!!

We thought about playing our chances again at winning another cruise, but decided not to... Instead, I played a slot machine for the first time! And lost $10 in about 2 minutes! haha. Our only complaint was regarding a group of high school grads just a few doors down from us... they thought it was cool to stay up really really late and make lots and lots of noise. Bruin had to literally hold me back at one point, cause I was going to go out there, in my PJs, and tell them to shut up. He reminded me that it wasn't too long ago that I was that age and probably annoying older people, too. Whatever. :)Thankfully, someone else must have complained, cause they were only really bad the first night.

I'm still suffering from post-vacation depression. How long does that usually last?? Anyone got a remedy?? :)

Check out the pictures:

Cruise #2

Happy Birthday, B!

Girl's Weekend

When my favorite sister-in-law moved to Richmond last August, I was heart broken. I mean, she's the most fabulous person EVER. (Sorry if you thought you were. You're not. CHARA is. hehe.) Anyway, after she moved, we started plans to have a girl's weekend so we could reconnect. Well... that weekend just happened to be last weekend! We meet half-way in Raleigh, which was perfect, cause I have two GREAT friends from college who live there. I drove up Friday night and spent the night with one of them, Mickelle. We went to dinner, then chatted while watching a movie (one of our old past times). Saturday morning, Chara drove down and we spent the day getting pedicures, having lunch, doing some shopping, getting massages and just basically catching up. It was AWESOME. Saturday night, the three of us had dinner at this great sushi place. Of course, this is the only time I remembered my camera (go figure). Ladies, we must do this again SOON!!! :)


The FAB Chara.


Me and my BFF Mickelle.


My Dinner - a Shrimp Tempura Roll. It was SOOOOOOOOOO good.


Three hot ladies. :)

Risks and Rewards

The 'rewards' of a CSA are pretty obvious...


Gorgeous Zucchini


Delicious Sweet Onions (I chop them up & freeze 'em!)


Crisp yummy Broccoli (that barely make it out of the box before into our tummies :)


and Sweet, Crunchy Carrots.

The rewards can also be pretty little surprises... like this 'flower' in the middle of my cabbage:



But, there are also risks... like this, for example:


(he was dead, btw)

However, the risks do not deter us! There ain't nothing like farm-grown, hand-picked, organic veggies. :)