JollyJobe.com

Warning: Bumps in photos are larger than they appear.

Although Caroline dutifully posts pictures of her burgeoning baby bump, nothing compares to seeing it, with one’s own eyes, in all it’s amazing glory. Caroline continues to glow.

During our second visit to London this past weekend (yep, we currently hold the title):

We saw Caroline lovingly rub her belly, when the baby kicked or hiccuped (which if you didn’t know – is a sign of intelligence!), while gently saying “hi baby, what do you need baby.”

We saw John lovingly tie her shoelace, a task that has become increasingly difficult for pregnant Caroline. Monday challenge: put a beach ball under your shirt and give it a try.

We took extensive measurements in an effort to win the rocket (Matt claims he won the rocket when Stephen was born and would like to retain the crown).

We had some fun at the baby’s expense — see below. Yes, Caroline’s bump was our canvas and yes, Caroline and John will be accepting donations for baby’s future therapy.

It’s amazing to think that Baby Jobe will soon make its debut.

Caroline said she’s excited and not nervous.

John said he’s anxious and that Caroline is in denial.

We say no matter what, it’s going to be awesome.

So when we were little, we had a contest to see who could guess our newest siblings gender, weight, length, etc. The winner got….a toy rocket…man who doesn’t love to launch a toy rocket?!?!? The bad part was always after you launched it and you realized that it was not coming back….maybe they have figured out a way to make it come back….but I digress;) So, I figured it was time to spread the wealth. It is November now which means 1) time to panic keep calm and 2) in theory Baby Jobe should be making an appearance NEXT month!!! So, if you want a chance at winning a toy rocket–head over to http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyJobe and make your prediction! (You don’t have to register–you can just enter your guess). Good luck!!!

PS: Matt and Susan are coming to visit on Thursday for the weekend–yippee! Hope they are ready to get their blog on! Josh and Jen come the following weekend but they are not staying with us….I think the blog has scared them off;)

Well it’s my birthday too, yeah!

* Luckily John’s money belt kept us from being robbed by the guy in the hooded sweatshirt;) Just kidding.

How cool is it that Margot and I have the same birthday! I told Stephen he is never allowed to forget us;) I hope our husbands treat us like the princesses we are…I have to admit I am a little worried because John confessed that he found himself googling “what to buy your 8 month pregnant wife”….not a good sign;)

However, I did get quite an early birthday treat. After an all day baby first aid class we just happened to be only 2 tube stops away from that magical place IKEA (John thinks I strategically picked the class due to the proximity to IKEA). So, John did what he said he would never do again…

This time he said he GUARANTEES he will never do this again after riding a bus, 3 tubes and then walking home….but I do have another birthday next October so we shall see about that….the prices are irresistible;) Thanks everyone for the birthday love! Happy Birthday Margot!!

Jack and I decided to visit Caroline and John in London  and were delighted when they suggested that we “take the Eurostar to Paris for the weekend”…(we love saying that).

We arrived in Paris on Saturday morning and spent the day checking off our list of pastry shops, beautiful gardens and museums. There is always time for naps when the Daimler family travels and after napping we had a delicious meal at a small restaurant (12 tiny tables…the kind where you feel obligated to say ‘God Bless You’ when these strangers sneeze, but they didn’t, at least not on JOHN!) The meal was delicious and we strolled back through the charming streets of Paris to our hotel…are you envious yet?

***Caroline and John are accepting bookings through the end of 2012.

The next day we decided to take a train to Giverny to see Claude Monet’s house and gardens and the nearby museum.  The gardens and setting were spectacular. Everywhere you looked there were ‘undisciplined’ flowers (different from the manicured English gardens) growing up, over, cascading and filling the vista with a profusion of bright colors. That sounds pretty good… and you know I was a math major.

Saturday night we had a fabulous meal but we  (Caroline and I) were on a tight schedule to get to the twinkling illumination  (not to be confused with the ordinary illumination) of the Eiffel Tower, which only occurs on the hour and for only 5 minutes. It was magical and worth (?) missing the madeleines that were served at the end of the meal. Full disclosure: Jack and John brought the cookies to us and they were in time to see the twinkling..PHEW…

The next day we walked from Notre Dame to the Musee de L’Orangerie with a stop at Sainte-Chapelle, considered the most beautiful Church in Paris. It was at this church that a miracle occurred.  We were standing in a VERY long line to enter, when the guard noticed that Caroline was pregnant (photo attached) and told her that she had a “passport” to the head of the line. We were ecstatic.

We then climbed up a narrow, concrete stairway that opens to a breathtakingly beautiful room…hence what is called the “stairway to heaven”.

We are back in London now; visiting fabulous museums, delightful parks, more bakeries and even took in a play “Wicked”.

John and Caroline are relaxed and gracious hosts. Their apartment location could not be better and Caroline looks fabulous.

She has reached the point in her pregnancy where she has “left the morning sickness and mood swings behind and has bloomed into a ravishing creature with glowing skin and thick shiny hair”. (I found this quote and couldn’t resist using it)

See photo…also hard water has an impact….

Even the pubs bloom in London:

Grandma to be,

Sussy

**Should I submit this picture to National Geographic now or wait a bit?

Hard to believe but we have already been here 5 months and Mr. Wiggles (as Char so kindly named Baby Jobe after feeling his/her strong kicks and adorable hiccups) is due to arrive in 9 weeks! So I figured a quick baby update is in order. We had our 30 week scan last week and the baby looks great and was hamming it up for the doctor moving all around like only a Jobe/Daimler baby would do…I really think it has John’s dance moves already:)

John has really been focused on buying the essentials….see exhibit A.

**Who needs car seats and diapers when you can have a London bus?!?! I have to admit it is pretty darn precious.

Charlotte too has taken John’s approach and wanted to make sure that Mr. Wiggles is warm yet stylish…see exhibit B.

**Again, does it get any cuter than that…

I have been feeling great and started doing pregnancy yoga which is a hoot (going with the owl theme…get it?) to see all these big old bellies trying to move around but it has been fun….see exhibit C for a big old belly:)

*John and I both have determined the bump is not photogenic. John kept saying let me take one more it is so much bigger than this…

My parents come on Friday and we will head to Paris for our last trip before hunkering down in London. Be on the lookout for a fabulous, creative, funny post from my parents…I can see my mom starting to sweat just thinking about the blog:) Talk soon.

When I learned a newcomer is vying to take my place in John and Caroline’s life, I knew I needed to make the trip to London before I’d have to share my room with some unwanted crying.  I brought along my favorite travel companion Gregg and we arrived at their flat Saturday morning.  The next few days we hit up some of Caroline and John’s favorite spots—many of which have already gotten shout-outs on the blog—Borough Market, Ffiona’s, Hyde Park to name a few. We especially liked the waterfalls in Holland Park:

One nice afternoon, Gregg and I decided to rent bikes in Hyde Park.  *Note to mom: helmets weren’t offered as an option :)*

On Tuesday, Gregg and I left in the morning for Paris.  We quickly learned the mantra “why eat tomorrow, what you could eat today.”  Our trip was marked by stinky cheeses, light-as-air pastries, countless bottles of wine, and even some late-night falafel.  Our high school French teachers would be disappointed in our conversational skills.  Luckily, we got by with smiling and pointing, accompanied by a “c’est parfait!” which means it’s perfect!

*We brought a couple cheeses back with us but now every time John opens the fridge, he gags from the smell*

*Thanks for the falafel rec Susan!*

We also managed to fit in some sight-seeing.  Highlights were the L’Orangerie Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tower twinkling at night.

Our favorite part though was a day-trip to Claude Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny, where Monet derived inspiration for his water lily paintings:

On Saturday, we returned to London and John promptly showed us his favorite part about living in London: a pub-crawl followed by some delicious Thai food.

We culminated our trip with a “Royal Day Out.” We started with scones from Harrod’s (shout-out to Dad!) for breakfast and then visited the Queen’s Gallery, the Royal Mews and Buckingham Palace where we got to see THE wedding dress.   John and Caroline have been amazing hosts—we’ve had so much fun exploring your new city with you and thanks for taking such great care of us.  You have made the trip “parfait!”

Charlotte (the youngest Daimler sibling) and Gregg

CANARY ISLANDS IN A PICTURE:

MOST CHEAP COST-CONSCIOUS MOMENT OF THE TRIP: While John was accidentally ordering a 13 Euro daiquiri (somewhere John’s Spanish classes failed him and his order of vodka tonic turned into a daiquiri), I channeled my mother. One of John’s first memories of my mother is when he was over hanging out and she rounded all of us up and piled us in the car to drive 20 minutes to the Farm Fresh where there was a sale on soft drinks. The catch was that it was only one per customer…so this is when having a big family and John came in handy…yup she gave each of us $10 and a shopping cart and let me tell you…we beat that system:) Fast forward 15 years…to get to use the spa if you weren’t getting a service you had to pay 35 euros. So I took a look at the services and there was a haircut for 32 euros….guess who got a haircut…

* Somewhere I can see my dad shaking his head horrified that this trait was passed down

MOST INTERESTING WAY TO SAVE A BEACH CHAIR:

* John would like everyone to know that topless is not always better….after seeing some topless water aerobics he was definitely traumatized.

JOHN’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: Relaxing! Adam told us to enjoy our sleep while we can and we definitely did that….averaging a solid 11 hours a night plus naps at the pool…not too shabby!

CAROLINE’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: Relaxing! We know our life is about to be turned upside down so we really tried to soak up every second of the trip.

It really was the perfect lazy beach vacation. Big thanks to Barb for all the free stuff (you know I like a freebie)….flowers, champagne, wine….it was great…well John might not thank you for having to drink it by himself…just kidding…he learned his lesson from the wedding…maybe;)

The bump is growing, time is flying, and I am entering my third trimester which only means one thing….Canary Islands here we come! We are heading out for a fabulous little holiday (as they call it here) hopefully full of sunshine and relaxation (thanks Barb for hooking us up!). We return on Friday to the best treat….Charlotte and Gregg show up on Saturday…can’t wait…can you say guest bloggers;) Hope everyone has a great weekend and can soak up a little sunshine as well. Talk soon. PS: My mom made that necklace…pretty impressive huh?

10. My Mom AND Dad wearing Kanye West stunna shades…need I say more!

9. You know a good time was had when the first words out of John’s mouth the next morning was that he was swearing off drinking for the next year.

8. Costumes make everything better!

7. Baskets of flip flops for the ladies and philly cheesesteaks for the gents…genius!

6. The Wheel of Stephen! We have been waiting a long time to roast Stephen and it did not disappoint!

5. Tequila shots brought out on trays like a champagne toast which directly corresponded with #9.

4. The wedding is so hot the fire department had to stop by!

3. Miracles happen: My parents danced the waltz, Stephen said his vows in Spanish, and Margot packed 2 weeks of honeymoon clothes in a carry-on! Way to go guys;)

2. Guatemalans sure know how to party…the hips don’t lie! The Maehrs taught them a few things as well;)

1. The smiles on Stephen and Margots face said it all! We love you guys and can’t wait to celebrate your anniversary with another party:) Thanks Margarita, Berkley, Mom and Dad for a great weekend!