Wow, knock the dust off this blog... I have been inspired to start back up with the blog as a way to record the transformation of wooded lot to new home! Yes, there are many things going on in the Pepin world since last post, especially since the last post was 2011!!!!

Ok, so let's try to catch up quickly. Since Halloween of 2011 (yes it has been almost 3 years) Juliet has turned 2 and 3...she is huge now, about 42 in tall and 34 pounds! Here she is eating some pizza, and she has been known to eat 2 or even 3 pieces! Next...

Most of you probably know that we picked up and moved to North Carolina! Yes, we are no longer Floridians. While visiting NC for Aimee and Brian's wedding In 2013, in met up with Bill (friend from residency who works at the Durham VA for those who don't know) and caught up. I told him that sometime in the next 10 years we could see ourselves moving to NC. Little did I know that in August of 2013 he would forward me a posting for a position at the Durham VA! It was a job I knew I would enjoy, and in a place Jenny and I could see ourselves in the future (much sooner than expected). So, I put in for the job, figuring if it was meant to be it would work out and if not we would continue our happy lives in Florida. Turns out, a new adventure was I our future. I was selected for the job, we sold our house in just over a few months (from putting on the market to closing, thanks Lana). January 2014, with an army (thank you Mike, Ben, and Nick) we loaded up two 26ft uhaul trucks (yes, 2!) and headed north. Upon arrival, another army (thank you Mike, Dan, and Bill) unloaded into our 1900 sqft town home (rental). On January 27th, I started at the Durham VA.

Ok, pretty caught up (yes there is a lot more that has happened, but don't have the time/energy to cover everything) so let's move to the present.

Jenny, Juliet, and I are happily living in NC, I the triangle. For those not familiar with "the triangle", it is the geographical region surrounding Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Yes, this is where Duke and UNC (and yes NC state and ECU) are located. NC is the land of college basketball, and not so much college football...so that was a little change (GO GATORS!!!)

Back to the inspiration for this rekindling of the blog, our new house. We are about to begin the process of building a new house in a town called Franklinton, NC (just north of Wake Forest). We just signed our contract, and are hopeful that the lot (just over an acre) will be cleared in the coming week! I plan to post pictures as we embark upon this new journey, updating our progress to our dream home! Hopefully, we will be in our new house by April/May of 2015.



So, here is our heavily wooded lot. The plan is to clear for the house, 25 ft around the house, and for the septic. Some of the mature trees will be kept...will have to wait and see!

Comment with any questions, comments, or concerns and I will attempt to address in future posts. I will also be updating the look of the blog, as well as adding more pics of the family.

Happy Halloween!

Hello Friends and Family!

Well it has been way too long. This blog is turning into a bi yearly update. There is way too many things going on in our lives to not post more updates so we will keep them coming! Juliet is now 6...no almost 7 months! It is truely flying by.

Here's our newest pictures of her. We went to a fall festival and got pictures in the pumpkin patch with her friends Augustino and Carson! Juliet is decked out in her Mummy bib and hat thanks to Steph (Augie's mom). I am working (slowly) on collecting the 100s of Juliet Pictures we take but stay on the SD card. Got to get organized...can you believe the holidays are coming!

Talk soon
Jenny

Juliet and New Bow

Juliet and New Bow, a photo by irishpharmd1 on Flickr.

Juliet and New Bow

Sorry for the Delay!

Hello all!

Life is good. Juliet has definitely been a life changing experience, and I would not change it for the world.  She is an amazing daughter, and I am also blessed with an amazing wife, Jenny.  She has been so wonderful taking great care of our new baby.  Juliet is now about 2 1/2 months and she changes almost daily.

I have posted a slide show of some of the pics of Juliet at and leaving the hospital, as well as the first few days at home.  I know these are old news, but I am working on getting some more recent pics uploaded...it takes a while to upload 1500 pictures!

Jenny and I are getting the hang of things, I think Juliet has gotten us pretty well trained!  She has been sleeping in her crib since she was 2 weeks old, and for the past month or so, she sleeps through the night.  When I say through the night, I mean she goes to bed @ 9-10pm and sleeps until 7-8am!  Jenny and I have been enjoying our sleep and are very thankful to the inventor of the swaddle.  Juliet gets a double swaddle.  We have the swaddler w/ the velcro that keeps her in a bundle, then we swaddle her with a linen blanket on top of that.  If we don't use the blanket, Juliet a.k.a Houdini will work her way out of the velcro swaddle.

So, nights are more quiet now, and we are all getting some much-needed rest.  Things are settling down, and we are also starting to get back into the fun of cooking!  Last night we made a Manhattan Clam Chowder, and we also finally tried out the ice cream attachment for our kitchenaid. 

The ice cream attachment is pretty awesome, and I have to thank Melonie for the inspiration.  On our recent trip to Gainesville (which was Juliet's first trip out of the Tampa Area, and was great, and probably deserves its own posting) Melonie had made some espresso ice cream.  We had had some of her ice cream creations before, including her Spicy Cinnamon Ice Cream, but this was different.  First off, coffee ice cream is my favorite flavor EVER, and Jenny's as well.  This espresso ice cream was like coffee ice cream on steroids, and it was so rich and creamy and delicious.  Secondly, I was able to witness the master ice cream maker in action, and watched Melonie make the ice cream from scratch.  It motivated me to try out our ice cream maker, which we have had for two or three years now (just sitting on the shelf).

Anyway, I ended up making a Berry Frozen Yogurt, which turned out quite good.  I will admit, I did use store-bought non-fat yogurt as a base, but it did turn out very good.  Only complaint I would have is that the blackberry seeds were a bit annoying while consuming the frozen yogurt, otherwise, it was great.

I have to wrap this up, so , things are great here, Juliet is happy, healthy, and changing everyday, it is amazing.  I will work on getting some more pics uploaded, not sure if I will add them to the same slide show or just have a few slide shows, so check back for updates!

Jenny, Juliet, and I love you all, and thank all of you for your help and support.

Juliet and the Gator

Juliet and the Gator, a photo by irishpharmd1 on Flickr.

Juliet and the Gator

Juliet in a Basket

Juliet is on facebook, on cloud 9 studios site. This photo appears on their facebook page, thanks Lashina and Medgyn for letting us know her photo is up for all to see!

First days with Juliet

I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to Grandma Gloria! You've been such a help coming over and simply holding and loving Juliet! It's allowed Marc and I a few hours to run around and get things done! It's amazing how much planning goes into a simple trip to Target now. Marc and I are finally adapting to our new lives with Juliet. She is a great baby and loves to Eat, pass gas, poop and be held! No holding back, this girl burbs like a champ and makes Marc laugh hysterically each time she makes a gasous noise!

As you know Juliet is now 2 weeks old but I thought I'd take you back to her first few hours and days in the hospital. She sure was a lot bigger than we expected at 8 lbs, 12oz (by the way Marc, who is your weight guessing winner?)

Overall labor and delivery was not bad at all. I succeeded and met my goal of no drugs! Thanks to Michelle and the Bradley Method I learned how to relax and breathe through the contractions. I know it sounds unrealistic but it worked for me! I was also lucky with no back labor! And check out this head of hair! It's so long we can think about a ponytail in the near future! Ok, now I understand why I lived on Tums during those last new months!

So, our biggest challenge was feeding. It took nearly 24 hours for her to feed from a bottle and forget about breast feeding. It wasn't until day 11....we didn't give up and after a wonderful visit with a lactation consultant we began breast feeding (SOOO much better than pumping constantly AND supplementing with formula). I'd have to say the first week home with Juliet was one of most challenging things for me. I don't do well with little sleep as it is, now add strapping myself to a pump every 2 hours AND trying to feed, diaper and shhhh her alseep. All I have to say is THANK GOD for my WONDERFULLY AMAZING NEW DADDY Husband, Marc! Baby I couldn't have done it without you.

This picture is dedicated to my mom, Grandma Carol. She made Juliet's coming home outfit. A white sweater, booties, hat and beautiful blanket. Juliet sure does love her blankets and she's got quite a few special one's made by friends and family. Each one used is special ways whether it's in her car seat, swing, while feeding, on a walk to block the sun or hanging up on display in her nursary.....thank you to all for the thoughtful blankets!

So the girls have met Juliet and let me say that Ginger is definately a "mommy dog". She follows Juliet everywhere we take her and constantly checks on her when sleeping. Well, today is another day and adventure....off to baby land!

Jenny

Juliet in the Sling

Here is Juliet in her sling. She is 2 weeks old today! Mommy and Daddy are starting to get into a routine.  We have been enjoying some time on the back patio by the pool w/ baby Juliet, and can't wait until she (and Mommy) can go in the pool with me.  So far, the pool is about 77 degrees, and I am sure that it needs to warm up a bit more before she will be able to go in.  Next time we go Juliet's doctor, we are going to see how old she needs to be before she can go in the pool.  Can't wait.

Thanks again for all of you that have been helping us along the way to get through this (dinners, baby sitting, cleaning, guidance, etc) we would not have made it this far without you.

Also, a special CONGRADULATIONS to my grandparents, "Mem and Pep", on their 60th wedding anniversary last week!