Ferrara's in Florida

We decorated our apartment last weekend for the Christmas season. If only smell could be captured on the blog...the aroma of the tree fills the entire apartment. The photos don't do justice to the poinsettas; they are lipstick red!

Today I'm officially 6 months along. As you may tell in the photo, there's been significant growth. Less apparent changes--I can run a good six minutes before my abdominal muscles feel as tight as a taut rubberband. Fast-walking on the treadmill has left my inner thighs perpetually sore and regular walking is just too boring. Thankfully Spin classes & swimming seem to do the trick. Oh, and I bought a decent pair of black flats (well, 1-inchers) for the office since I noticed that stilettos are no longer stylish when paired with a watermelon belly....one word for that: disproportionate!!

Tim and Marlene visited this past week and we had a great time. Marlene seems to be a celebrity magnet as the first time she visited, I saw more celebrities with her in one day than I'd seen the first three years I lived in NYC. Well, the first night we had New York pizza at John's in Times Square and then hit Junior's for authentic NY cheesecake. We sat about 3 tables away from Donny Osman (sp?), yet another celeb sighting with Marlene. I got out of work early on Wed. and trekked down to Chinatown, NoLiTa and SoHo where Marlene shopped and Tim people-watched. The weather was overcast and chilly--just perfect for the holidays. Philip met us for dinner at Cafe Havana then we met up with one of Tim's Slidell High footballers near Columbus Circle. All five of us headed to Stone Rose in the Time Warner building where we were seated at the best table with the best views of Central Park and Columbus Circle. Thanksgiving Day--Unusual for New York, the rain poured steadily all...

Six pregnant months or 5 1/2 calendar months For those of you who insist I'm not showing, this photo is proof. This t-shirt was my workout uniform at Gold's Broadway and no, it didn't shrink nor was it ever a half-shirt...until now.

These photos were taken in week 19 of my pregnancy. As you can tell, the sonogram tech steered clear of Big Apple Baby's torso so there was no chance of catching a sneak-peak of his/her gender. We find the suspense utterly enjoyable as it builds day-by-day.

This weekend Victoria, Philip and I cheered on the runners which included Pastor Fabian. We had loads of fun running from the east side to the west trying to time him passing by us. Trying to spot one person in the field of 35,000+ runners was comparable to spotting a tadpole in the sea, but Philip's hawk eyes nailed Pastor Fabe running by us 3x!! The crowd never seemed to thin out; it was a constant wave of people all the way to mile 26.

Our baby's bedding --white matelasse with chocolate accents--from Pottery Barn Kids This pic shows the bedding we chose but not the crib...we chose Big Apple Baby's furniture from BuyBuy Baby in Chelsea

Thursday night proved to be a hectic one as we dashed from work to the hospital to make a 6:00 pm hospital tour. Philip and I met in the lobby of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, renowned as New York City's premier labor and delivery facility, along with several other expecting couples. As we walked past the security desk, we had the privilege of speaking to a beautiful woman holding her one-day old child. In passing we congratulated her and she gave us a rave review of the Birthing Center. This mother of two beamed with delight as she spoke of the stellar service she received by the Birthing Center staff, and naturally, it aroused our curiosity of the place. The informational meeting put us at ease and the tour reaffirmed our desires to choose the alternate birthing route. In short, there are two options at St. Luke's: (1) the usual labor and delivery ward with dim lighting and sterile atmosphere or (2) the hotel-like, peaceful rooms with hardwood floors and soft lighting. A...

This post will serve as closure for me--and then Louie will be a mere memory (gosh, I miss him). As most of you know, Louie was given up for adoption one month ago on October 1st. We still miss him, but he probably does not miss us. His now lives in the Connecticut 'burbs with a stay-at-home parent where he travels with his owners on weekends in their RV. After mere minutes meeting our bully baby, Louie's new parents left our home with smiles from ear-to-ear, covered from head-to-toe in Louie-snot and saliva. Louie jumped into the back seat of their car although we saw him trying to squeeze between the two front seats to be as close to his new parents as possible. As for us, we're getting used to an unusually quiet apartment. Last month was the first quiet one in almost 3 years--no snoring, no belching, no loud and smelly flatulence...but also silent mornings--no one to wake us up with a big silly grin whose only purpose in life was to follow us around with loyal devotion ...