Oh yeah ... We had a baby!

Oh yeah ... We had a baby!

Our beautiful little Amelie came into the world on 12/16 @ 3:56pm. She was a healthy (and unexpected) 8lbs 3oz and 20inches long . As one of the nurses who was helping deliver me put it "Congratulations you gave birth to a toddler!" , who knew all that baby was in that tummy! It was love at first sight for both of us and we can't even imagine life before her!

I will update with more pics soon and updates on how Amelie is progressing but here are a few teasers for now!

Some more holiday pictures!

Some more holiday pictures!

The final stretch.

The final stretch.

Thanksgiving and the holidays are upon us! We really enjoyed ourselves this year, especially because we A) Didn't have to cook or B) Didn't have to travel, which always makes for a remarkably relaxing holiday! I've been getting bigger by the week (at least my OB's office scale seems to think so) and the gluttonous fest of Thanksgiving weekend definitely added a few more lbs. to that scale. As I'm nearing the end of this pregnancy I can't help but think how fortunate I am that everything went so smoothly and that I've truly been the happiest I've ever been in my life. I'm as so fortunate to have a husband who loves and supports me and will undoubtedly make the best father ever.

Bryan and I are trying to get as much 'couple' time as we can before the little one debuts - this means morning brunches out in Fells Point or dinner/movie dates together. We are also trying to get Napoleon acclimated to all the new baby stuff accumulating around the house but he seems none the wiser - so we'll see how he does when we bring her home. I'm sure he'll just love to have another human to incessantly lick!

As for now, I'm at 39 weeks (and counting). We really thought that this little girl would come early (OB even thought so too) but I'm not ruling it out until her due date next weekend. Been gradually slowing down and really feeling heavy everywhere. I'm sure this is not uncommon for most women about to pop so I'm trying to to take it in stride and stay somewhat active. Cleaning and walking the dog have become daily rituals, granted they are both done at a nice slow pace but at least they are getting done! I've also been continuing with some yoga practice, which I swear has helped me so much throughout this pregnancy. Anyways, here are some pictures from the last few weeks! Next post will hopefully include pics of the baby!


S

Our family portrait by our Christmas tree!

35 weeks chowing down on donuts at the Farmer's Market.

36 weeks rocking the new mommy hair cut!

38 weeks and ready for date night.

Devouring some yummy Lebanese food on date night.

And of course the after dinner gelato!

Breakfast croissants and coffee at one of our favorite local bakeries.

Work baby shower hosted by my awesome co-workers!

35 Weeks

35 Weeks

Still eating all the time ! Even my daily 4am peanut butter and jelly sandwich barely gets me through the night. Here's a pic of me enjoying a bag of fresh donuts at the farmers market this morning.
Also started doing the ever so graceful pregnant "waddle" which Bryan is enjoying immensely. Mama and baby are healthy and enjoying fall weather ... Can't wait for all that thanksgiving food!

Always hungry ...

Always hungry ...

At some point this week my appetite kicked in full swing and I'm now eating every 2 hours. Trying to keep it healthy but tonight a burger sounded too tempting!

Preparing for "Frankenstorm" ... Hopefully won't be as over hyped as the hurricane last year that just rained on us.

Week 32

Week 32

Starting to get much bigger now! Luckily the nesting instinct has kicked in for both me and Bryan so we have been cleaning and reorganizing like crazy. We are also packing things away in preparation of moving after Bryan's graduation too. So this past week and weekend has been quite buy. Luckily we were able to enjoy a date night together the other night - dinner and a movie- trying to get in some couple time before the little one makes an appearance !

Week 30

Week 30

A pic from this morning... Feel like I'm getting bigger everyday! Loving this colder weather because I can wear my leggings and dresses and boots! ( Which means no tight pants anymore) Fall weather is the best!

The Final Countdown....

The Final Countdown....

Haven't really posted anything in a little while - this is mostly because we have become entirely overwhelmed with baby preparations!! Personally, I didn't think that finding diapers would require such a vetting process but I was wrong....I realize now how new mommies can be really frustrated with everything especially because there are so many options for everything now. Organic or non-organic? Biodegradable? The list goes on. But the beautiful thing is that we enjoying every minute of it together and can't wait for this little girl to make her appearance. Also Mommy is starting to feel the burden of carrying around some of this extra weight! (As is evidenced by my "Elevator Mirror Chronicles" of this pregnancy - see pics below).

We are officially at 30 weeks now and that means the clock is ticking! 10 weeks to savor these last bits of sleep and quiet time together before we two become three! (Well, four since we have Napoleon as our 'furry child').

At least the football season and our 49ers are giving us a welcome distraction from the frantic pace of life right now...and we definitely can't wait for the holidays together here in MD. (For the first time in seven years we are actually spending holidays -i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas - here in Baltimore).

Enjoy the pics and perfect fall weather!

S

At a wedding for some friends of ours - 27 weeks. 

Showing of some 49ers pride with the bump too! 27 weeks.

Headed out to brunch with a friend - 28 weeks. 

Starting to pop out a bit more!! - 29 weeks. 

Wow, its really wedding season...

Wow, its really wedding season...

Got a chance to spend another weekend celebrating love, life and marriage with more friends during Labor Day! Bryan and I both recollected on how lucky we are to have such a diverse group of amazing friends in our lives that we truly enjoy sharing these special moments with. (This would making wedding count for us up to 4 this year so far with two more to go!!)

The Chai's with the newlyweds!

Sneaking a piece of challah that is traditionally cut at Jewish ceremonies (couldn't help myself, it looked so good!)

Customary couple pic.

And the full length shot!

On a side note - that blue dress is super tight!! Six months pregnant and I didn't think I would fit into the dress I got, but luckily the belly was on my side that night and we were able to shimmy into the dress. (Also having a full zip on the back of the dress helped too!) I'm really enjoying showing the bump off in fitted dresses too!

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend off, I know I definitely did not want to go back to work this week =(

I also made some super easy breakfast pastries - Peach Financiers - to perk up our Saturday morning this weekend. They were a perfect pairing with coffee/tea and the rainy weather! Check out the recipe!!

Til next time!
S

Baby Shower!

Baby Shower!

I was so happy to spend the past week in CA to celebrate - Carla & Mario's wedding and a baby shower! The week went by quickly and we were lucky to have amazing weather the whole time (typical CA!) Carla and Mario had a beautiful wedding and I was so honored to be a part of it. Their love and the love of their friends and family was so apparent, such a wonderful couple.

Bryan left to head back to MD that weekend and I stayed on for a week of vacation to spend time with family and friends. My mom and sisters hosted a lovely baby shower for me (since I won't be flying back to CA anytime soon!) and I was so lucky to be able to celebrate the baby shower surrounded by our closest family and friends! See below for some highlights from the trip.

Bryan and I having fun in the photobooth at the wedding. 

Roommates reunited!! My two BFFs.

Playing Baby Shower games.

4 generations right here! (GMa, Mom, Me + Baby!)

Decor was my old childhood toys and coin banks!

The lovely french themed brunch buffet!

Lovely Sunday

Lovely Sunday

Spent this morning baking a blueberry buckle - which we devoured! - and perusing the JFX Farmers Market for some yummy finds. I just mostly sampled bread =)

19 Weeks, almost halfway there!

Also here's the link for the recipe for the Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake - I actually used some old frozen blueberries I had mixed with some fresh blackberries from the market. I'm sure you could use anything in this though, its an amazing recipe!

It's a....

It's a....

So we were very anxious about finding out the gender of the baby!! I'll put it this way, I'm amazed and appreciate those who can wait the full 40-something weeks to find out...however, I'm a bit of a compulsive planner....so that part of me just couldn't wait! Now mind you, I'm not the type to open Christmas gifts early, but I really wanted to know what this gift would be!

Our ultrasound for the 'mid-pregnancy' point went great and we got to see our little one squirming and kicking around in there. Haven't felt any of the kicks yet, but SHE was such a busy bee! That's right, we'll be thrilled to welcome a little girl into our family this December. We even got to see her sucking her thumb during the ultrasound, which was truly amazing. Hopefully I can post a copy soon, once its scanned, to share! In the meantime, here are some cute onesies I couldn't help but buy...

Loved these!

S

The Bump Makes it Debut...

The Bump Makes it Debut...

So its been a while....and we've been trying to be contain all of our excitement but we are finally ready to debut the little Chai that will be joining our family in December! The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity and just absolute craziness.

First off, let me just say, for those of you that can't do math (like me) this is NOT a Paris baby. (Haha, one of the first questions we got from most people). However, this was definitely part of our 'master plan,' we just didn't think it would happen so quickly! We are unbelievably excited about our news and can't wait to share our joy with all of our family and friends. I've been feeling great and not having any issues (no morning sickness) other than some occasional fatigue. Summer is heating up and I'm grateful that I won't be intolerably pregnant until later in the winter when its nice and cold over here in Baltimore.

Either way, this fall is going to be very very very busy for us. On top of preparing for B.C. (Baby Chai) , Bryan is preparing applications for an Oral Surgery residency - which will take us on our next adventure to some mysterious place next year. We won't know where we are going until January 2013 so we're anticipating quite a bit of stuff this winter.

These past two weeks have been great because my sisters were able to visit and spend some time with us in Baltimore and NYC (for a quick trip!). Enjoy the pics below and stay cool in this awful summer weather!

S

Bryan, BC & I enjoying the breeze at Battery Park, NYC.

Getting some lunch in Baltimore with Liya and Bryan, Beba is behind the camera!

All the sisters at my birthday dinner at Aldea in NYC. 

A quick pic with the bump in Times Square. 

Another one!

Fitness Nerves

Fitness Nerves

So I've got a 30 minute session with a personal trainer tomorrow night and for some reason all I can think about is all the negative that will come from it. First off, a little background, I purchased a Groupon for a month of Pilates classes - however due to a move the Pilates studio changed what it was able to offer and in lieu of pilates classes they are now offering individual training sessions with personal trainers. Now I'm a little disappointed but I figured this would be a great opportunity to get some feedback from a professional about my form, problem areas etc. But now this nagging feeling of "I'm not fit enough for a personal trainer" is starting to wiggle itself into my brain (I mean, in all honesty, I've consumed about 3 buttercream frosted cupcakes this weekend, see below, so this might be guilt talking....) We'll see how this goes!

In other news, trying to update with more things more often, so I'm not going to send out mass e-mails to the blog unless you are still interested in receiving them - don't want to spam everyone. (Drop us a comment or an
email and let us know if you want to keep receiving e-mails!)

We are still enjoying this unseasonably warm weather and hoping it doesn't parlay into an even hotter miserable summer. *Fingers crossed*.

I've posted my secret to the buttercream frosting I've been using - its .... magical. Magical enough to be eaten straight out of the container (which I am doing with too much pleasure). Give it a whirl on your next cake or batch of cupcakes and I promise its worth it! (Also below is a recipe for Hi-Hat cupcakes too!)

The only issue now is how to explain all these cupcakes to the personal trainer...

Take Care!
S

Chocolate buttercream on chocolate on the left, Hi-Hat on the right. Both decadent. 

Link for Chocolate Buttercream and Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Its been a while...

Its been a while...

Ever since coming back from Paris I haven't really been in the mood to update. Mostly because nothing is really ever changing for us! Well, the only thing I've really been working on is perfecting croissants and other baked goods. So maybe our waistlines are changing...but its worth it! Anyone willing to try here's the link for the croissants.

The weather here has been ... strange... we hadn't had a decent snow this whole winter and then on top of that everyday it seemingly got warmer and warmer! It actually topped out at 66F one day and this was two weeks after the first snowstorm of the winter (we got a few inches, but melted within a few days.)

I will try to post more often - especially with pics - so that we can be more up to date on things in our lives. (New Years Resolution #4 broken already!)

Hope everyone is doing well!!

S

Finally got my M.S. in the mail!!

Adding the 7in. block of butter to the dough for croissants. Day 2 of 3 in the process.

The Final Product, flaky, buttery goodness.

Napoleon enjoying the water! It's been a weird winter!

A Joyeux Noel Indeed

A Joyeux Noel Indeed

One of my fave pics taken - from top of Arc du Triomphe,  unintentionally wrong aperture and speed.

Its amazing what a difference a 7 hour flight can make. We  had been on vacation (officially) 2 days and were already in the happiest mood!  We stayed in the 2 Arr. which is perfectly located in central Paris. We were able to walk to the Galerie Lafayette and Printemps on Friday evening, which was ...hectic to say the least. It was beautiful but felt a little like Times Square - a gazillion people + shopping. To avoid the crowds we ducked into a Monoprix and did some shopping to stock up on the essentials. On the way back from our jaunt we stopped off at the Rue Montorgueil - gorgeous street lined with shops, markets, brasseries, boucheries, boulangeries and cafes! Needless to say that a few hours were spend eating escargot and sipping cafe in one of the quaint cafes. Its amazing how much people watching goes on over here; where we were seated was facing the sidewalk and it seems like a national past time to people watch (and smoke!).

Day Two was spent touring the Jardin des Tuileries and walking all the way down the Champs Elysees to the Arc du Triomphe. The day was brisk and sunny so it was perfect weather for walking; we were able to check out some of the Christmas Market at the Champs Elysees and to also see (and climb) the Arc du Triomphe; a gorgeous Napoleonic piece of history. (I can still smell the sweet scent of vin chaud and crepes being made as we walked by each stall)

Christmas dinner was at Le Train Bleu at the Gare du Lyon ; a famous resturant constructed during the late 1800s with elaborate frescoes on all the ceilings. A sumptuous 7-course meal was  presented in traditional French - fare and we were stuffed by the end of our meal to say the least.

Since most of the boutiques and cafes were closed - or running on holiday time - we decided it would be best to explore some the churches on Christmas. Once of which included St. Eustache ( which was a few minutes from us) as well as attending an organ concert on Christmas night in Notre Dame Cathedral. The concert itself was played on the large organ and the movements were very long; can't even imagine what is must have been like to play there as an organist. The sound was beautiful because it echoed throughout the entire church and surprisingly it wasn't as packed as we thought it would be!

Versailles was on the docket for the next day and while it was beautiful and grandiose in all of its French splendor, the hoardes of tourists was quite a bit much to handle. Still we enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing a bit of French history.

The rest of the week was spent walking around the various arrondissement and randomly finding ourselves in cafes and restos. We were able to see the Eiffel Tower (of course) and it was much more stunning in person than from far away. You always seem to see it peeking between buildings in the skyline of Paris, so being able to see it up close was really special.

We spent a few days touring the museums as well including the Musee du Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. Which I must say D'Orsay was our favorite - impeccably curated with tons of works from the big names in Impressionist paintings as well as post-Impressionism and pre-Modern. Absolutely breathtaking to see all those Monets, Chagalls, Renoirs up close!!

New Years Eve was spent back out at the Jardin des Tulieries - because you have a view of the Eiffel Tower without having to brave the huge crowd!! It was actually really wonderful to ring in the new year watching the lights glitter of the Tower at midnight, magical almost.

As you can tell Paris has left a huge impression on us Chais; we definitely cannot wait to make a return trip to Paris and hopefully next time to the countryside as well. (Granted, since we have been back we have been having some serious carb-withdrawals -I can't even begin to explain how good all breads/pastries are over there. In fact I don't think we had a meal that we disliked! Definitely miss being spoiled by that!)

I'll be posting a link to our photo album since I didn't want to bog down this page with all the pics!
Paris Album

Au revoir!
S

October in Pictures...

October in Pictures...

Hanging out at the Bentley Football game, cheering on Kyle. 

Players warming up.

Visiting friends in Boston, Ma.

Candlepin bowling. MUCH harder than I'm making it look, with my perfect form and everything ;)

Crisp, fall morning pic from our building before heading down for work.

An interesting display at a Wal-Mart in Virginia. (Don't even know what you would do with all of that processed meat!!)

Our team for the Tough Mudder, VA race.

Bryan making his way down an obstacle.

Bryan and our friend Greg awaiting my approach to the half pipe.

My very feminine and dainty run up the half pipe, thanks to the guys who dragged me up the rest of the way!

The final obstacle, Electroshock Therapy - running through a bunch of live wires, ouch!

Decided to go for a Star Wars theme for our Halloween Party - I'm Princess Leia, Bryan is a Sith Lord and Napoleon was Yoda!! (Obviously he loves his costume based on the facial expression)

His + Hers Pumpkins. Can you tell which one the dentist carved?

Halloween Cake Pops I made for the party!

October was a very very busy month for us.... A trip to Boston to watch Kyle play Bentley Football, visiting old dental school buddies...Then the Tough Mudder race in the Virginia mountains the next weekend (10 miles up and down mountains definitely took its toll!!)....then hosting a Halloween party at our place for all our friends!! As busy as we have been - we're so grateful to have the opportunity to travel and to spend time with great family and friends! Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Next up on the itinerary -  Thanksgiving in CA then our winter retreat to Paris!

S.