Shoes & Booze 2011

Year #2 of a wonderful tradition! Last year, a few girlfriends of mine got together in Chicago for a "girls getaway".  We did a lot of shopping and wine drinking so I decided to term this weekend "Shoes & Booze", as seemed appropriate ;) The name has stuck, and those same girls decided that not only should this be a fun thing to do once in a while, but should become a yearly event.  So this year, Shoes & Booze 2011 was in Dallas!

These 3 lovely ladies are all friends from different parts of my life; Blair, my fabulous cousin from Chicago and Alexis and Cris, my East Coast gals that I met at Unilever. This year was a bit different then Chicago, as we were staying in the burbs instead of the big city and there was also a baby on the way...which cut down significantly on the "booze" portion of the trip ;) None the less, we had a wonderful time, sun bathing, eating, laughing and catching up on a lot of lost time together.  Thank you ladies, for the most fabulous girls weekend.  I miss you all already (and so does Charlie!)

The girls vintage finds

Sun bathing on the patio

Dinner in Plano

Crossfit...what up!

Watching movies

 

We clean up well ;)

 

Lunch & Spa Day

Dinner at home...thanks Pete!!!

My, How You've Grown Little BOY!

It's a BOY!
Yes, Grammy Cline's premonitions were correct and we could not be more excited. Everything looks perfect on the ultra sound; strong heart beat, perfectly round head, 2 arms and 2 long legs!! Yes, hard to believe if you know the Shempps, but baby appears to have Cline legs ;) We are 21 weeks today, 19 more to go!

6 wks little peanut!

8 wks 

12 wks

21 wks- skeleton face ;)

 Can't wait to meet you little man!!! Love your excited Mommy & Daddy

Easter

Easter 2011 turned out to be a wonderful day, spent with old and newly made friends.  We have been so fortunate to have met some great people in the short amout of time we have been living here.  We are also blessed to have rekiddled friendships with those we met years ago. Two of these wonderful couples came to our home Sunday for a casual Easter brunch.  Heather, Dave and their precious daughter Kailee, we have known since 2003 when living in Connecticut.  I worked with Heather during my first job with Playtex Products. We became fast friends then... and again, when we reconnected here in Texas. Heather and Dave met the same summer that Pete and I did...so many years ago ;)  We love you Catelottis! Thanks for coming.

,

Lisa, Derek and their cuite patootie, Alexandra, are brand new friends that we met through Heather and Dave. They are a ton of fun and truly great people that I know we will have in our lives for a very long time. I'm so glad they could make the trip to the "burbs" and make our first Easter in Texas so special.

The happy hosts

Here are the stars of the day!

 Alex and Kailee playing so nice together.

                                         Charlie                                    Kailee (aka. Tinkerbell)

Happy Easter Everyone!

Half Way There!

20 weeks! Half way there and feeling great!!! Baby is kicking all the time, loves loud music, when daddy talks or Charlie barks.  Baby definitely knows who the family is :)  We head to the Doctor on Wednesday for our 2nd trimester ultrasound.  We will be able to find out the gender as well as get a full diagnostic exam.  The doctor will check the heart, all the organs, bone development and size.  I'm so excited to see my little one again, it's been much too long.  What a wonderful Easter blessing, this little one is. Life is good.

Oh, How I Love Weekends

Lots of random activities from the last few weekends.  The weather in Texas has been perfect, 80's and sunny...and of course VERY WINDY.  Despite the 30mph gusts, we have been able to get outside and really enjoy the Spring (if you can call it that!). Here are just a few fun moments from the last couple of weekends.

The Crib has Arrived! Now we just need to know the gender of this little one so we can paint and decorate! Charlie...not so sure about all this ;)

I love the legs on this beautiful crib.

It's just not summer without a little watermelon!

  

Enjoying the afternoon at the park, Plano's Arbor Hills

Landscaping went in this past week. The finishing touches on this amazing outdoor living space. Please come visit!

Listening to Classical music. Baby gets very active and seems to love it, especially the ones with bass. Maybe a Dancer? Musician? Rock Star?

  

Daddy gets in on the dance party!

A View From The Top

18 weeks and growing!!!  This is what things look like from my point of view ;)

 

The crib has been ordered and shipped (thanks Grammy Cline). It's beautiful and just what I was envisioning. I can't wait till it gets here! Baby's Shempp gender will be revealed April 27th!!! Then nursery design will be in full swing :)

Shempp Siblings

This weekend Jacqueline came to Dallas to visit and we had such a blast.  She got in late Thursday night, just in time for a night cap on the new patio!  Friday, Pete and I both had to work so Jac enjoyed a relaxing morning, lazin' in the great Texas sunshine and doing yoga on the patio.  I was very envious!  We had a great girls afternoon out, lunch at my favorite French Bistro and a little boutique shopping.  Since the weather was just too nice to be in the office, I played hooky for the rest of the day and joined Jac in the sunshine.  We were blessed with 80-90 degree weather the entire weekend and we got a great start on our summer tans! Friday night the 3 of us hit the town and ate at a great Mexican spot and had drinks on the patio at a downtown pub.  Saturday morning was a trip to the Dallas Farmers Market and lunch at another great Mexican spot, right there at the Farmers market. Saturday night we cooked Jac's favorite, Samon sandwiches, and sadly...we were all fast asleep watching the final 4 by 9:30...yea we are partyers ;)  We all had such a great time and were sad to see the weekend end.  Thanks Jacqueline for being a wonderful sis-in-law and sister, we love you!

Brother & Sister

Charlie enjoying the new patio too!

Enjoying my non-alchy beer (kind of...not quite the same)

 Jacqueline can't wait to be an Auntie!

Saturday at the Farmers Market

Charlie enjoys the scene at the Farmers Market

Lunch!

Dog-Tired after our afternoon excursion

 So Sweet

 What a great Saturday!