Pretty in Pink

Before Grammy left, we snuck out to do a little "girlie" shopping. Thank goodness for gypsy cabs and the new Target/Babies R Us/BJs trifecta of stores across the river. We got plenty of girlie stuff for our new girlfriend.

So far, she's looking like one well-dressed little princess...

Pretty in pink (notice she still has a thing for the dramatic hand across the forehead look):



Her first outing (to Mason's preschool picnic) outfit:



Her first dress:



Rockin' a headband:



And maybe my favorite look of all, hanging with her very loving big brother:

Guess Who?

So, I've got some picture labeling to do. Mason and Piper look nearly identical in their hospital pictures. Care to guess who's who?

It's a girl!

We are so happy to welcome our new little one, Piper Rose Mercier, born at 1:27 and weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces.

Catching Up

So, we've hit the due date and I haven't had a whole lot of time to post lately. That might have to do with a little something called nesting, but I digress.

Here's what the Mercier clan has been up to in our last few weeks of only-child life...

Heading out to Staten Island to take in a (Staten Island) Yankees game with the CU Alumni group:



Pal-ing around Central Park and taking in the scenes and kiddie rides at Victorian Gardens:



Mommy and Mason took one last big "adventure" as a duo -- heading out to Prospect Park to take in the zoo:







Then heading over to the carousel for a quick spin ... and some ice cream!:



A different kind of adventure -- heading to N.J. and Ikea to get a new big-boy bed for our soon-to-be big brother:



Our first visit to the *new* Yankee Stadium:





Never underestimate the power of the rally cap. Yankees are down, Mason dons his (again) and voila ... back-to-back eighth-inning homers propel the Bombers to victory:



And last but not least ... welcoming Grammy to the city and spending a fun day with her in Central Park (while Mommy was at her zillionth doctor's appointment!)



Hopefully the next time we check in, we'll have some big news about a new little one!

Surprise!

My girlfriends teamed up to throw me -- and the Bean -- a surprise shower last Sunday. We had a great time visiting, eating, drinking and eating some more at Jess' and Becca's place, but the highlight was the goodies I got to take home.

Here you can see the girls hard at work designing custom-made onsies for the Bean. I supervised from the couch while sipping on Courtney's delicious watermelon-mint punch concoction. Mmmm.



And here are the finished products all lined up and waiting for a little person to model them. Too cute!

Ready For A Close-Up

We got a good look at our Baby Bean yesterday -- 36 weeks and 2 days into the pregnancy. Bean is looking pretty good, and measuring right on schedule, though Mommy did have a slight panic when she noticed the measurement for the noggin was about a week ahead of schedule! They estimated Bean's weight to be 6-pounds, 6-ounces at this point.

Beantown

We loaded up the family on the ol' Amtrak train last weekend and headed north for some Fourth of July fun and a little belated birthday celebration for the Dad-O Man. We had been wanting to go to Boston ever since we moved east ... five years ago ... and finally made it! Here's Dad-O and Mason man checking out the view from the train as we left NYC in the rear-view mirror.

Once we got to Boston, we made a bee-line for Boston Common and took a tour of the Freedom Trail from this lady. Mason, as you can see, was totally enamored with the city's historical sites.



(As an aside, the sleeping was a much better reaction than we got when we took him to see the Liberty Bell. There, he just cried. Alas, both times he was woken up way too early to hit the road!)

Here are some of the Freedom Trail sites. Rob would later go to the pub across the street from the Granary Burying Grounds to "sip a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams" grave as our tour guide suggested. Since the under 21 set wasn't welcomed, Mason and Mommy went for ice cream instead!



After our tour, we headed for the harbor where we took in the sites and enjoyed some delicious seafood at Legal Sea Foods. I'm still dreaming of Rob's jumbo stuffed shrimp!





Feeling re-energized, we took a walk through the financial district and back to Boston Common so Mason could get in a little playtime. He loved the sprinklers there and we all had a blast wading in the Frog Pond. Mommy's tired feet were especially appreciative!







After a brief respite at the hotel, we hit the road again and headed to Cambridge to watch the fireworks over the Charles River. Based on some faulty intelligence from our waitress, we arrived WAY too early for the show, but landed a good viewing spot. It ended up not mattering too much, though, as we had one terrified toddler on our hands and left shortly after the fireworks started going off! At least we squeezed in a family picture first!



Sunday started off with a trip to Fenway Park. The Sox were in town, but we didn't have tickets to the game. Instead, we just took in the pregame sites and our intrepid little Yankees fan braved the hostile environment to pose for a picture with his Yankees hat in front of the field. He and Dad-O gave the hated Red Sox and thumbs down. Fearing backlash, I turned his hat around once he hopped back in the stroller, but he was fearless and turned it right back around. Luckily, no one hurled any insults at him, though a dirty look or two were directed at Dad-O and I!





After a walk down Newbury Street, we headed to the Public Garden. We had promised Mason a boat ride, so to the Swan Boats we went.







For the final leg of our trip, we returned to Cambridge and took a quick walk through the Harvard campus.



From there, it was back to South Station and all aboard the train that would take our exhausted selves home. All in all, it was a great way to spent a holiday weekend and a great mini-trip for the three of us. We're already looking forward to returning and not waiting five years to do so!