Snowy December

Only in NYC do you carry your tree home from the corner store. Good work Shawn!

Here is the finished product. Looks good to me.

Our good friend Bridget was in town to celebrate another law school semester's end. She was a great help with our tree~ This is at the Rockefeller Tree.

We got a massive snow storm, and the snow is still here for a white Christmas. This was 9 a.m. the next morning on West 69th St.

CA Shower

I just got back from a wonderful long weekend in CA for my first baby shower. Heather and Alix did an amazing job, but sadly Alix was sick and wasn't able to stay at the shower. The decorations were so cute, including a place to put name suggestions for our yet to be named baby boy. The food was wonderful and Walt, Heather's dad, made the cutest cake. My mom came down from Spokane to surprise me and it just added to the excitement. Baby B got a ton of cute clothes and other little things. I managed to fit all of the gifts in the extra suite case I brought. Thanks again to everyone who came to the shower or sent a gift. We really appreciate it and felt very loved. It's pretty amazing to still be so close with such a large group of girls from high school!

Thanksgiving

This year we spend Thanksgiving in MA with my cousin Bobby and his family. We brought the boys some Knicks gear, and they wore it all weekend.....it was pretty cute! We had a great time relaxing outside of the city. Thanksgiving dinner was amazing, and I was full for about two days! Thanks Criscolas for having us!

John Mayer

Shawn and I scored last minute tickets to John Mayer's CD release party at the Beacon Theatre. It was a great show, and we had awesome seats. For all of those who are not that into JM, I say go to a show and you will change your mind! The Beacon Theatre in just a few blocks from our house and is totally remodeled and gorgeous. If you're in NYC and someone you want to see if playing there, go and check it out! On the way home from the show we caught John coming out of the Theatre and getting into his car. I pretty much felt like part of the paparatzi, but I got a good picture of him.

Knicks Home Opener/Halloween/NYC Marathon

It was a busy weekend here in NYC. The Knicks had their home opener on Halloween which they sadly lost in over time, but the game presentation, Shawn's job, was totally great! The player intro's were sweet and the Jaabowakeez were and awesome addition to the opening act and did a great half time show. If you don't know who the Jaabowakeez are you should look them up on youtube or google. They're an awesome dance troop from SoCal.After the game we got dressed up and went to a Halloween party at a club in Midtown. There were a ton of great costumes, but I have to give myself props for suggesting that Shawn should be Alan from the Hangover! People totally loved it! I went as Juno.

Sunday was the New York City Marathon. The finish line is right next to our apartment. After our 2nd Annual Race Day Brunch we headed to the park to cheer on the runners. Our good friend Adam was running the race and we were there to cheer him on for his last 400 yards! It was his first, and probably last, marathon!

World Series

Shawn and I were lucky enough to score two tickets to the World Series last night. Our seats were in the 5th row of the bleachers in between left and center, more towards center, field. The fans were totally crazy. I figured when the baby is old enough to understand what the fans are saying, I'll tell him, "Now all of the words you hear at a Yankee's game are ALL of the ones you are not allowed to say!" We'll see if that flies!

It was a great game, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys sang "Empire State" before the game, John Legend sang the National Anthem, and the Yankee's beat the Philly's 3-1! YEAH! As a die hard A's fan growing up I never thought that I would root for the "Evil Empire," but the playoff atmosphere in NYC can be addicting! My favorite Yankee's are ex-A's, Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher, so I think I'm in the clear. Don't worry, I still rout for the A's......they will always be my favorite team, even when they suck!

Last Pitch of the game

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

Half Way

Twenty weeks sure did come and go fast.....I'm officially half way done with my pregnancy. I have a feeling that the next 20 weeks might not go as fast. I am no longer sleeping through the night, and it seems like between trying to sleep on my side and getting up to go to the bathroom I might have to bring my afternoon naps back. Other then that I've been feeling good and still fit in most of my regular clothes. I have a feeling that will change quickly, so I bought a few essentials from Gap Maternity.

New Apt.

We moved into a new apartment yesterday. It is only a couple of blocks from our old place, but the floor plan is WAY better. It will take us a couple of weeks to settle in, but we're so happy to have more room!

Pictures to come once we are all set up!

Baby Bennett is a.................

BOY!
Shawn and Katie came with me to my second scan yesterday. After a few minutes of looking at the baby and making sure all was good, the tech told us that it was a boy. I saw her put XY on the screen, and I knew what that meant! Katie was the first to notice that he was a boy. In between the two femur bones was a white line. The tech was 100% positive that it was a boy, and she showed us the proof! When the Dr. came in, she pulled up some 3D pictures of the baby. I really got a good look at his face. I think he already looks just like his dad. It's pretty hilarious! Right now she guesstimated his weight at 5 oz.

We are so excited and look forward to baby boy shopping. Katie and I hit baby Gap yesterday for some "day we found out you were a boy" clothes!

How fast a year goes by

Yesterday I realized that I have been living in NYC for a year. I have to say that it was the fastest year of my life. I would chalk that up to the crazy pace of life and endless things to do here in the city. With Baby Bennett on the way, I can only imagine that this next year will go by even faster. We have been able to do so many great things in the City, and I'm looking forward to the new adventures to come!


Don't worry the above pictures are all from our first few months here in NYC. No beer for the baby! :)

Baby and the City

I figured it is time to tell the blog world that Shawn and I are expecting our first baby in March. When we found out we were pretty shocked, but we were so happy! I was able to tell a few friends and a lot of my dad's family in person on our West Coast trip. It was so fun to see people's reactions. This will be the first grand baby for mine and Shawn's families!

It has been a rough month and a half for me, but I'm starting to feel better and am excited to get out and enjoy the city again. I found a great Dr. on the Upper East Side. The whole office has been great, and I've been very impressed by the whole staff. For the most part I have been on my way to see the Dr. right at my appointment time, which is such a welcome change from normal doctor's offices. We went in for our first scan last week. The pictures were incredibly clear, and I was totally amazed with all of the details we could see....arms, legs, heartbeat, etc.

First thing on our list is to find a bigger apartment. The baby probably won't have its own room, but we'll make a baby zone instead! We found a place that is only a few blocks from where we live now and only a half block to Central Park. We are so excited to meet our baby in March! Many more updates to come!

Katie's back in NYC

Last week Katie moved back to New York. It has been so great to have her here, and I know all of her NY friends are happy to have her back too! We kicked off her "Back in NYC" week on Thursday. Shawn scored us tickets to see John Legend and India Aire at Madison Square Garden. We were in a suite and had an awesome view and the suite was filled with food and drinks!

Welcome back Katie!!

CA cuties

I was in CA a couple weeks ago, and I just had to post some pictures of the super cute CA kids. It is always so much fun to see all the little ones, and their mom's of course, when I'm out to visit.

Little Roman is already a ladies man!
Super cute Ayla

Marlene's girls Ellie and Katelyn! Ok, so these are ladies and not kids but still cute! :)

Yeend Family Weekend

The Yeender's headed up to the Oregon Coast a few weeks ago for an extended reunion weekend. We had so much fun just relaxing and catching up. All of my first cousins except for Michelle and my brother were there. We missed having them, but we know that work and a new baby can keep people from traveling!

My dad, sister, Shawn and I drove up from CA. We stopped in Portland to see my grandma. She looked great. The other lady in the picture is her bff, Betsy.
There was lots of fun activities going on, including football, Frisbee, beach sunsets and nightly theme dinners!


Friday night was "Cape Cod Cool" sponsored by Matt and Amy. There were lots of speicality drinks and "special" outfits. The evite requested that we all dress in Cape Cod gear. Here are some pictures of the CCC:

We are looking forward to the next reunion.....2011 anyone? Maybe someplace a tad warmer like San Diego?? Just a suggestion!