Nesting...Take One

Last night, on a complete whim, Eric and I purchased our baby girl this crib set & accessories. We love, love, love this pattern! Because the baby and I will be in Texas for a few weeks once she is born, then back here in St. Kitts for less than a year with Eric, it has been hard for me to really get excited about looking for baby apparel. The reason being, I am not setting up a "complete" nursery at our home in CS or my parent's, plus we will be limited on what we can bring back to the island. So the nesting phase of my pregnancy has been non-existent thus far...But we just couldn't pass up this beautiful collection and great deal! Looks like we will be bringing a little western to the Caribbean. Yee Haw!

Eric's Island Birthday

HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND, ERIC ALLEN!

Today Eric celebrated another birthday here in St. Kitts. Because it fell on a Tuesday, we decided to celebrate with friends Sunday night at our place. We cooked two pots of taco soup, jalapeno & cheese beer bread, and baked potato dip. I also made Eric a Cake from Hell, which is a very sinful chocolate chip cake topped with homemade chocolate chip icing. Our friend Louisa made yummy chicken enchiladas and others brought Mexican influenced sides and appetizers. We had a great turnout as well as a fun time with our friends. Thanks everyone for coming to help Eric celebrate 28 years!

And one of my favorite b-day quotes...

"Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake."

Or wait, is that just my pregnancy? Can I get an Amen?

(click on picture to view in larger format)

Matt & Lindsay's bday gift to Eric- 2, 40 oz. bottles of Colt 45

Weekend Ramblings

Eric & I enjoyed a long weekend together. Yesterday was St. Kitt's Independence day, so campus was closed and there were no classes. Friday, semester volleyball kicked-off, and Eric played with the VIPERs. On Saturday, we watched college football ALL day! We are so happy the Aggies pulled out a win in the last quarter against FIU. Whoop! Sunday, we attended Bratfest at Elvis' and had a great time. There was beach volleyball, corn hole, brats, line dancing, two-stepping, cupid shuffling and more! We ended our enjoyable weekend at the Marriott casino, with a mixture of video roulette & Monday night football. WHO DAT!

Three weeks from today, I head home to finish out my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Our baby girl has been very active lately, and we can't wait until her arrival! Her movements/kicks have become a lot stronger and you can now actually see my belly move when she does. I will start my 25th week of pregnancy tomorrow. According to babycenter.com, she is now 13 1/2 inches long and weighs about a 1.5 lbs.

Another topic of conversation that keeps us on our toes is the weather here in St. Kitts. We have been fortunate to dodge a few hurricanes since we have been back from break, but have endured some effects from these storms (wind, rain, oceanic swells). We are still in the rainy season, and some of these storms have brought in cooler weather. It looks like Tropical Storm Lisa just formed this morning. Hopefully she will take a turn to the north like the others have. Here's to another great week of vet school and life on a caribbean island! Cheers my friends.

Storm over the Caribbean Sea

Storm over the Atlantic

A storm rolling in to Timothy Beach while we were at Bratfest

Us at Bratfest

JACKPOT!

Last Sunday night I met up with a few friends at the Marriott Casino for Jessie's Bingo Birthday Bash. I happened to get lucky and win the jackpot round, walking away with a new T-Shirt and $500 dollars cash. Finally, I win at something like this! In the meantime, Eric was dabbling in the casino while I played bingo, and he walked away $150 ahead. I guess you could say we had a pretty successful night.

A Room with a View

As promised, here are shots of our new apartment. We are very pleased with our spacious one-bedroom living quarters, and it offers two private balconies with excellent views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The suitcases are packed away, and most of our belongings have a place now. Perhaps anyone would like to pay us a visit? :)

Living Room

The boxes you see are finally gone, and we have placed a curtain

over the far window, instead of a moving box.

(O, and that 1000 piece puzzle on the table...completed already.

Once I start, I can't stop!)

not too shabby

when nature calls...

We have already purchased a crib and Eric says he will put it together when he gets back from Christmas break. So much for letting me nest!

View of the Marriott and Atlantic Ocean from our bedroom.

The Caribbean Sea with Nevis in the background

It is so nice to sit on the balcony in the evenings and look out over the golf course, with the cool tropical breeze blowing in your face.

Bedroom Balcony

August Break in Tejas

Eric & I thoroughly enjoyed our 2 week break back home in Texas. We got to see many friends and family, and we thank all of you who traveled to see us! I was horrible at taking pictures while we were home, but I managed to get a few. I really need to become a better photographer before baby girl gets here. Below is a nice potpourri of pictures from our Texas getaway. Enjoy!

Max & his airplane pillow at the Miami airport.

He was such a trooper throughout all the delays we

encountered on our way home.

Max was waiting patiently to get to our gate after sitting on the tarmac for an

hour after landing in Miami.

We were greeted with this wonderful sign at our home in College Station. Thank you so much Anne and Danielle for making our homecoming special!

Kyle, our fabulous neighbor, had our fridge and freezer stocked. We were so happy to see these American/Texan delicacies after arriving to our CS home at 4:30 am from IAH airport.

I almost ate that whole carton of Blue Bell by myself.

My excuse, eating for TWO.

Max fell asleep under Eric's arm while we were driving to my parent's house.

We miss him already!

My mom & dad threw us a welcome home party at their house, so that we could see family and friends while we were in town. This way, we didn't have to run all over the county to see everyone in such a short time. We had BBQ brisquette & ribs with all the works, appetizers, baked beans, potato salad, etc. It was a perfect way to begin our over-indulgence of American food while we were home. We also celebrated my brother, Tyler's, 30th birthday that day. A great time was had by all. Thanks again Mom & Dad!

Tyler & the kiddos with his cake.

Court, Tyler & Jeremiah

Our Cake

Pa Pa, Me & Gran

They took us to eat in Beaumont.

We had a wonderful seafood meal and I got to eat BBQ crabs!

Thanks again!

The Sartin Crew

Momma & Me

Next stop, Chireno, Texas.

We spent several nights in Chireno. Eric got to spend quality time with Shea, pastures, & cows. We were able to see Eric's parents and his sister Shana & her husband David. Shana & David bought our baby girl the cutest little clothes. Eric's mom fried fish, Paula Deen hush puppies and fries for us one night. It was ever-so appetizing. Thank yall for everything!

Purty Pastureland- Eric got ahold of the camera :)

Charolais Bulls

Checking Cows

Eric, back in his element.

Max & Shea finally reunited.

Playing Ball

Back to CS. Tyler, Courtney & JT came to visit for 2 nights.

Here is stinker pot playing on the floor. We LOVE him.

Me & JT & Max

Eric & Jeremiah

Macey, Rodney & Torey drove to CS one night to have dinner with us. Here is a pic of me and Torey. I don't think we were ready yet!

I also got the chance to go out to eat with the girls from St. Jo's one night. I am so excited that I will get the chance to work with them again as PRN status when I am home for my 3rd trimester.

Our friends James & Kristen also came to CS and spent 2 nights with us. Mom & Dad also made the trip up to whisk Max away back to their home. We sadly left him in Texas this time. It was so good to catch up with everyone! Next time Eric is in Texas, we should be expecting the arrival of our baby girl any day. *all smiles*

I will post pictures of our new SK apartment in the next few days. Stay tuned!