Baby Shower

Now that we've recovered from Mexico, we're ready to party! Lauren Coyne and Brook Shinsky, along with help from Will Coyne and the most gracious Tulp family, threw a fantastic backyard bbq baby shower.




Kathy Lynch (Jamie's oldest friend in the world), Jamie and Grandma-to-be Rita.



John and Nora Urdi, Rita, Jamie and Lauren.



Tamira and Will suck for all they're worth in the bottle relay game. It was a Battle of the Sexes, and as you might expect, the women destroyed the men.



Stacy and Abby Colodny enjoying feeding time. We're looking forward to this one...



Ian and Brook.



The men compete in an "If I Was Pregnant and Had To Tie My Shoes" Contest. Will won, but really we're all winners at this age.



Dana, Meghan and Jamie.



Melissa and Christian Budde enjoy Will's special burgers.



Melissa Sabanosh (due June 15) and Jamie play bumper bellies.



Ben gets a little practice with the Baby Bjorn.

Thanks to our moms, whom we honor on this day for bringing us into the world and nurturing us along to become the people we are now. We love you.

Babymoon - Mexico

Almost as much a tradition as the post-wedding honeymoon, la luna de bebe (baby moon) is fast becoming the norm for parents to be. We had the opportunity to take a week in Playa del Carmen for Jamie's 31st week of pregnancy, thanks to the wedding of Ben's cousin, Jonathan.





Jamie looking stunning in her summer stripes.




Our house for the week, White Partridge Villa, had a private backyard pool and was only a block from the beach. Check out that belly!



Cocktails on the veranda. Jamie enjoyed Michael's now renowned concotion of fresh fruits sans alcohol.



Enjoying the sun and sand!



Mariachis serenaded the wedding crowd in a backyard garden.




Jonathan and Keri cutting their delicious vanilla coconut cake among a sea of margaritas and tequila.





Soon-to-be Grandma Laura and Grandpa Michael taking in the Caribbean surf.




It wasn't all about sipping tequila and lounging in the sun, one day we ventured inland and got some culture at Chichen-Itza, a wonder of Mayan civilization and soon-to-be Wonder of the Modern World.




From left, Michael, Laura, Julia, Dave and Jamie enjoying appetizers and cocktails on our rooftop terrace, before enjoying a meal of Red Snapper Veracruzano prepared by a private in-house chef.

Today, May 6, we attended a birthing yoga class, which has brought us one step closer to welcoming Baby Benjamie into the world. Next weekend is the baby shower so stay tuned for more fun pics.

New Garage at 26 Weeks

It was a promise Jamie made me make upon conceiving our little pea in the pod - "If I'm going to eat only pickles and ice cream for 10 months, I want a red garage." What's a guy to do, but paint. I have to admit, painting the garage was the lowest "home improvement" project on my priority list, but now that it's finished I think it is the nicest asthetic change we could have made (besides re-siding our entire house). It looks awesome. Every morning when we make breakfast in the kitchen, we have a nice view of our freshly pruned trees backed by a bright red garage. You can't help but smile. Jamie says, "Now all we need is a privacy fence..." To be continued...







If you aren't too good with depth perception and mass judgement, you might not have noticed that Jamie is growing.









I've never seen a more beautiful pregnant woman (not that I'm looking) - Jamie takes the cake, er cupcake. In and around town people actually turn their heads to catch a glimpse of the cutest little pregnant lady in a neighborhood full of little pregnant ladies.

Jamie has begun a strict regimen of bringing home the bacon all week, eating all the bacon (uncured and un-smoked, of course) in the house on the weekends and going to prenatal yoga on Saturday mornings. Every American should be proud.

Recent Utah Powder Extravaganza

Taking a break at Snowbasin on a bluebird day after 20 inches of new snow.













Jamie standing on the patio at Wahso, an excellent (though stuffy) Park City eatery.
















The belly...before dinner.




















Michael's "secret 'stache" is epic even by local standards at Snowbird.
















Ben and Michael after a short hike into the Deer Valley wilderness.















Michael goes DEEP on Snowbasin's Strawberry Peak.

















Jamie gets a few more powder turns before hanging up the skis for the third trimester.

Vail Getaway

This week in Rifkinland...

Jamie and I headed to Vail, after a last minute invitation from an old co-worker to sample the newly renovated Tivoli Lodge. It was a great chance to get to Vail, which we haven't done yet this year, and also a nice opportunity to relax away from home, which I'm sure we won't be doing too much in the near future.

We had a late dinner at one of our favorite Vail restaurants, Sapphire, on Friday night, skied all day Saturday, met some friends for drinks on Saturday afternoon and then went to Campo di Fiori for some excellent Italian cuisine on Saturday night - Jamie had cappellini with a pesto sauce and I had osso bucco, because really, how often do you get to have osso bucco?

Before going to Vail on Friday we had our 20 week appointment with Jamie's obstetrician. Here are a couple pics of the little bambino/a.

Profile of the head, spinal column, etc.
















Prone view of our baby's little face...















Jamie's been working on a huge RFP all last week and this past weekend and she's ready to submit it tomorrow, after a big visit to Office Depot and her new office moniker, The Collating Queen. While Jamie's bringing in the big bucks, Ben will be in Snowbird testing the latest powder skis on behalf of Ski Magazine. Life is hard here in Rifkinland, but at least Jamie will have a big dish of no-bake lasagna to keep her company this week.

20 weeks

Well, folks, if you had to see it to believe it, here it is. Ladies and gentleman, I present Jamie's Belly at 20 Weeks. On Friday Jamie has her 20 week appointment and we're estimating that the little Rifkin is now about 6 inches long and weighs about 9 ounces. Jamie can't wait for the baby to grow by 10 times his/her present weight in the next 20 weeks.

We did our first round of maternity shopping this past weekend, grabbing a couple workout shirts and a new belt from Old Navy. Our friends, Keith and Stephanie, dropped off a box of maternity-wear for Jamie to sift through before we go buy a new wardrobe.

We got the chance to play with 12-month-old Abby, daughter of our friends Dave and Stacy, last Saturday. Got a quick lesson in changing diapers and roasting golden beets. On Sunday we went to Loveland for a few turns in 40mph wind before going to watch the Superbowl with the Buddes.

Jamie's back on track for spicy foods and meat now - she threw back a few chicken wings during the Superbowl and we've both been enjoying a broader range of food in the past week.

Two weekends ago, the last time it snowed in metro Denver (for the 7th straight week), we went to Chataqua Park in Boulder with the Coynes and there dog Mia for a romp in the powder. Nice to get some fresh air.

Stay tuned - more belly pics to come.

17-ish Weeks

We've got a bit of catch up to play on this post.

Jamie's about 17 weeks into her pregnancy. She's got a little baby bulge (no pun intended) and a few of her pants are tightening around the waist. After a several month aversion to meat and anything with a smell stronger than mild cheddar, she's begining to come back into her old self - semi-spicy foods and pickles are back on the diet! She's still not as spicy-spicy as the old days but I've been adding a little Sriracha and a few jalapenos to everything we eat, hoping that little Benjamie will come out at least half the fireball as his/her mom.

We've gotten to see two ultrasounds and heard our baby's heartbeat a couple weeks ago. Swoosh SWOOSH SWOOSH - sounds like a lively one. I wouldn't be surprised if Benjamie comes out trying to hold a mute grab with one hand and the other pumping a victorious fist - let's hope not for Jamie's sake.

We've been incredibly busy lately, not letting "the bulge" slow us down at all. Jamie was in Vancouver for work last week and then went to Whistler with a few friends in search of Pacific Northwest powder. I was in Sun Valley last week/weekend for the first stop of the Honda Ski Tour and a few client meetings. The festivities were great (lots of bands, film screenings, etc) but the weather (5 degrees as the daytime high for my entire trip) and the skiing (eastern hardpack - sorry mom and dad) weren't exactly optimal. Still, a fun town (Ketchum) and beautiful area.

This weekend we're off to Copper for the US Freeskiing Open, an event which Jamie won a few years ago. Saturday night is the Big Air event and Sunday is the Halfpipe finals. On Monday I have to run to Vegas for a couple days of the SnowSports Industry Association convention and then hopefully life will slow down a bit.