Crossing off the bucket list!

Hey Guys! We've been having fun going on a few north east get aways this spring! We're nearly done with our 'places to go' bucket list! Yippe! Each place we've visited has been so neat, I wish we had time to revisit some of them - but with short summers, rare long weekends, and shallow pockets - once will just have to do!

If you want to go sightseeing up here, let us know if we can help! If I could, I'd go back to Palmyra and Maine this summer, but those are both too far away to fit in a repeat trip. Newport, RI is a place we've been many times, and still love. Newport, and NYC are closer destinations that we have been to often and still love.

We went to DC over Easter weekend and visited Daniel's sisters. We saw all the monuments, a few museums, the temple, and ate some awesome fresh seafood. We also visited Mt. Vernon, which was really really cool. We spent Easter with his Grandparents and Aunt's family in Maryland. It was a fun trip!

Last weekend we went to Cape Cod, and camped at a beautiful state park right there in the cape. We biked around the rail trail, got some more fresh seafood (we like to eat, and try the local fare) and drove down to the very end of the cape in Provincetown. We also got to visit the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory, which was a highlight for Daniel. While camping we had a run in with a chipmunk! He stole a pack of Reese's from our campsite - and then ran the bright orange package up into his tree home! We couldn't believe it! We watched the whole thing happen right in front of us! The Horror!!!!!!! Quote of the trip - "It's all fun and games until the chipmunk steals your reese's!"

Now we only HAVE to go to Montreal (June) and camp in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York - near lake placid (July). If we want to get away in August or September, we can but wont have too. And same goes for after the baby is born. All the important stops will be out of the way, so we can just sit back, and enjoy the beginnings of parenthood!

Our sweet little Girl!

Here is an updated picture of our little baby! We found out Monday that she is a girl! The best part about the ultrasound was just seeing that she is growing, healthy, and seems to be perfect! We would have been happy either way, and are just happy to know what 'it' is! Still due on September 28th, and wiggles around all the time. Daniel and I have fun feeling her move around, and felt sorry for her after seeing how squished she is! 

Look at those gymnastic skilz! This is when we were starting to feel bad for her! All cramped up! Poor girl!

Fun Free Stuff - Redbox, walgreens, cinnabon

Hey Friends! There are some fun free deals out there that are just to good to keep to my self :)

Free Wallgreens 8x10 photo collage - http://dealnews.com/Walgreens-8-x10-photo-collage-for-free/459965.html

Free Redbox rental - http://dealnews.com/Free-Cinnabon-Roll-for-Nurses/460101.html

Free Cinnabon for Nurses - http://dealnews.com/Free-Cinnabon-Roll-for-Nurses/460101.html

All these were listed on a cool website dealnews.com. Daniel got me into it, and now I check it every day to see if anything fun comes up. Daniel checks it for all the electronics, but home/kitchen stuff, clothes and shoes, magazine subscriptions, ect is all towards the bottom. Check it out sometime, or see if you can use any of the free stuff available right now!

Paradise Found!

Daniel just finished a tough rotation at the Emergency Department. He had to work most weekends, and did four 12 hour night shifts in a row! I had to work the past 2 Sundays for my CES job and we were feeling like we needed a break! Daniel had 2 days off for his 'weekend' on Wed. and Thurs. of last week. We wanted to take a trip, but wasn't sure where. We prefere camping, but most of the sites were closed, and the weather forcast was looking pretty miserable. 

We decided to go to Atlantic City in New Jersey, and see what it was all about. We got a smokin' deal at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, and enjoyed our stay there very much! The absolute best part was their amazing pool! It is fully enclosed in a huge glass dome, and is warm and tropical inside. Who knew knew you just had to go to New Jersey to find paradise?!!!

If you think you might want to go check it out, let me know and I can give you details on the discount we took advantage of. Our camera died a few hours after our arrival, so we only have these pool pictures :) But the food was great, or room was amazing, the boardwalk was fun and 'interesting'!

Hello World!

Hello World!

That's right, I'm pregnant and this is our little baby at 12 weeks! I'm almost 14 weeks and happy to have entered the second trimester! Much less scary, and much too exciting to keep it to ourselves anymore! Our baby is due at the very end of September, perfect timing for our move in December after Daniel graduates. We'll find out if it's a boy or girl in early May - so stay posted! I'll be blogging more regularly now that I don't have to keep such a huge life event a secret anymore :) 

We wanted to have a baby before we left Yale, and were getting pretty down to the wire. We had begun to accept the fact that it wasn't going to happen right now, and shifted our mindset to other things. When the pregnancy test was positive, we were super happy, and even more surprised. I was pretty skeptical, and didn't fully commit to the idea until a Doctor's appointment verified the pregnancy with an ultrasound. They thought I was 8 weeks along, and performed an u/s to see the baby. I was actually only 5 weeks along, and had the opportunity to see our baby at an incredibly early stage. They had to use a special diagnostic ultrasound, and then we were finally able to see our little 'seahorse' baby as I called it. It was really neat, and we can't wait for the next ultrasound, they are just too fun! We are so super duper excited and just can't wait. We think about the baby all the time, and have fun making baby related jokes/excuses. :)

I felt sick off and on throughout the first few months. I have been morning sickness free for over 2 weeks now, and hope it doesn't come back! Daniel claims I have cravings for nacho's....but I'm not so sure about that :) When does something become a 'craving' vs. just wanting to eat it twice? I'm not quite showing yet, and haven't really gained any weight - probably due to loosing a few lbs. during the first few months from lack of appetite. 

Thanks in advance to all your love and support! We couldn't be more happy and are just thrilled! 

Hello Again!

Sorry for the blog hiatus! When life calmed down enough to put up a post, our computer died! Daniel ordered replacement parts and they just came in the mail yesterday. It's been a few weeks, and today I was so desperate to get online that I powered up my ancient laptop to get the job done!

So here I am. We went all the way to New Zealand for Christmas break to see my Dad and little brother Colin. It was great to see them again, we all had so much fun together. The fact that they live in a beautiful place like New Zealand is just a bonus :) I'll post lost of pictures when the main computer works again.

Daniel is wrapping up the last few days of an awesome rotation focused on Dermatology. This is a field he is really interested in, and a top prospect for future jobs. He's met lots of great people at his various dermatology locations, and even had 3 different people encourage him to come back and work with them when he graduates in a year. Exciting stuff!

I've begun a cooking class called 'Cooking with Valerie' - I don't love the name, but oh well. It's through the Graduate Life Programs and offered to those who life in Grad housing (we live in one of 3 grad apartment complexes). The previous teacher left, and they needed someone to step in. My friends Maddie and Josh told me they were still looking for someone after about a month, so I applied. They pay for the food used in the class, and give us a discount on our monthly rent. My first class is tonight, but I can't decided if I should cancel it because of the snow and ice that is expected to keep coming all day and night. Decisions, Decisions!

I'm also looking forward to joining a photography club here in New Haven. They have been around for 100 years and have lots of amazing pro's as members. They meet twice a month and have a monthly competition. It should be fun! Hopefully there are some other beginners there :) There website says it is for all types of people interested in photography, even beginners...so we'll see. I'll keep you posted!

Pictures with the next post hopefully - I know that's really what it's all about :)

From New Zealand

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from New Zealand!

Hope you are warm, cozy, and enjoying friends and family this holiday season. The blizzard in New England is big enough news to reach the locals here in NZ. Neighbors told us today about  the terrible weather up there, so we watched the news to get caught up and unfortunaly they weren't exagerating. Hope you're all doing alright! Drink some hot chocolate and go play in the snow!

We'll be heading home in a few days, and will be back in CT sometime on the 31st (hopefully!). I'll post more details and pictures from the trip then!

Love you all!