Spruce Cliff on Cliff Island, Maine

This weekend Mark and I joined our friends at their beach house, Spruce Cliff, on Cliff Island in Maine. It was a 100+ year old former guest house with charming details, comfortable rooms and a relaxing porch. All the furniture came with the house when Mary & David's family bought the it five years ago. They've done a beautiful job making it a real retreat. We'll update more on the activities of the island in another post. For now, enjoy the house tour!

Around our house. . .

Will & Jenny in San Francisco are expecting another son (baby #4) in September. Will sent shirts for my major quilt project and I put them to use a little differently. I made a baby quilt for my nephew and sent it to them last week. It was my first time to follow a quilt pattern and I hope the love in making it comes through to their little guy.

The picture below is my normal routine with the dog, I sit on the steps in the morning and he comes to sit by me and watch over the fence as the neighborhood wakes. Thankfully, Mark's getting better and better about taking Jackson out so I don't have to "hike" the stairs as much.

Jackson could be a racquetball champion. . .he loves to catch it on the bounce in our "yard".

Mark's getting really excited to meet Alice. I'm only on Facebook every week or two and checked Mark's page this weekend. It brought a smile to my face. His status two weeks ago:

"My daughter will be born in the next few weeks. I can't wait. Pray that everything will go smoothly." Isn't he sweet? He's made funny comments about how surprising it is to have a daughter. He never pictured his life with anything but boys and is thrilled to have a girl on the way. I get up in the middle of the night and he always rouses, slightly, to ask if I'm okay. He recently said he wants a brown eyed daughter. I think that would call my character into question because we BOTH have blue eyes. Mark says it's a possibility because his grandparents had brown eyes. I look forward to seeing him as a daddy. I think he'll be great!

Boston Baby Shower for Alice

It's amazing to think that two years ago this month we moved to Boston. I had just graduated from Emory, we sold our house, Mark was starting a new job, and we lived in Back Bay. In other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. Was it only 2 years ago that Jackson broke his leg? How long have we lived in Cambridge? Have these friends I really enjoy only been in my life two years? I would've guessed more.

Alice's Boston baby shower on Saturday was such a fun time to enjoy being together, just girls, and celebrate the new addition to our family. My friends are more generous than I realized and did a great job making me feel special. If Alice came tomorrow I think we'd be ready, maybe not for the sleepless nights and feeding schedule, but we'll dive in with gusto when her time at home begins. I saw my OB today and Alice is active, my weight is good, she's been head down for 2-3 weeks, and her heartbeat is strong. All good things!

Anna, Katie, Mary, me, Rachel, Sarah Nell, Joanne (Cecilia missed the photo op)

cute warmup outfit from Joanne

Mary holding our only male guest (Samuel) & Sarah Nell

generous friends and beautiful flowers

with Rachel, who's getting married in July (yeah!)

some favorites: rasberry-ginger punch, orange rolls, apple-cranberry bake, goat cheese/scallion quiche on Katie's great-grandmother's china. It was beautiful and delicious!

the hostesses, Katie & Anna

Almost true. . .

I'm not quite this bad yet, but I can feel it coming. I went to the doctor last week and measured perfectly for my stage-- 33. It's 6 days later, I'm 34 weeks pregnant, and I measured at 35. No wonder Mark said, "you're huge" this morning. My OB doesn't accept complaints about an active baby because that means she's strong, and active is good. Alice must be great because when I lie down at night she's like a hamster on a wheel--spinning, spinning, spinning. I know it's not quite time but I'm ready to meet this girl. We're already up every 2-3 hours anyway. . .

Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine

I worked at a Radiology Convention at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine this week. It's a beautiful place on the Penobscot Bay looking at the Atlantic Ocean. I convinced Mark to come up Thursday as a relaxing escape. He played golf with my coworkers, we ate great dinners that included delicious seafood, we strolled through charming old towns like Rockland and Camden, and enjoyed one of our last times away as a couple without kids. There are fun places to hike and bike in the area but I'm getting too big to enjoy much more than a leisurely walk. Mark's a good sport as we detour into antique shops, book stores, and baby shops.

Camden, Maine

Happy Mother's Day

Mark bought me a beautiful pitcher from Edgecomb Potters in Edgecomb, Maine as my first Mother's Day present. What a treasure! They make fine china with incredible glazing patterns. I'm thrilled to be a Mama and we can't wait to meet Alice in about 6 weeks!

self-portrait for Mother's Day

He's at it again. . .

blue gill

yellow perch
small mouth bass
Big Daddy, also known as large mouth bass

Mark's accepting donations to his fly-rod fund. He's afraid the money will be diverted elsewhere when his daughter arrives.