It's COLD!

Just a little update. Not much to report. Friday we had dinner at church with all the other Sunday school teachers. It was a lovely meal and the cat is definitely out of the bag regarding Pumpkin. Surprisingly a lot of the other teachers seemed...well... surprised, haha. Our news has been public for quite some time but Peter and I have always felt a bit awkward just randomly announcing the pregnancy without a good "So what's new and exciting?" or "So are you guys next to have a baby?" lead in. Just our style I guess.

Saturday we slept in! Peter helped me clean the house a bit and then we did a bunch of shopping. Peter needed new shoes and pants and the cats have exhausted our scratch pad supply so we bought a few replacements. Sunday we taught Sunday school, got groceries then went to my niece Stevie's 12th birthday party. Good times.

Peter had off yesterday and I took a sick day to recover from a headache. It was tough going back to work today but we had a luncheon at one of my co-worker's houses so that provided a nice meal, a nice break and a chance to watch President Obama's speech! I taped it and may just watch it again tonight.

So 2 more days till the big u/s. Peter and I think of little else. I'll post my 19 week bare belly pic below for kicks.

Oh... and Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy New Year!

A bit late, I know. Peter and I had the longest week ever, starting December 31st. We spent the night at my parents' for new year's eve. I took a nap before midnight but I'm happy to report that I was indeed awake to ring in the new year. We spent new year's day with my parents and my mom hemmed a few pairs of maternity pants for me (for which I am eternally grateful).

Peter and I both went back to work Friday. Pretty much pointless as nobody was there and there was nothing to do. Peter's parents came to town Friday night and we had Neato Burrito. Saturday we drove with his parents to Dayton to visit Peter's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. It was good to see that side of the family because being in Dayton, obviously, we don't see them every day. We came home Tuesday, tired and so happy to be in our own bed. We missed our kitties too.

I was meant to have a Dr. appointment Wednesday but my Dr. canceled because of bad weather and I was rescheduled for Friday morning.

I had to jump right back into things at work because our big board meeting took place Thursday and Friday. Thursday night we had our first prenatal class at the hospital. We won't have any more till March. It was fun and very helpful. I've been on a health food kick ever since. Zucchini bread, veggie soup, whole grain bread, fruit juice... I'm all over it. Back to the board meeting, overall it went smoothly. Still, it's always a pretty busy and stressful time in the office.

Friday morning I had to go to my Dr. appointment by myself because of being rescheduled. Everything went very well. I've gained 2 pounds, my blood pressure looked good, baby's heartbeat was in the 150s. I got to schedule our big ultrasound for next Thursday so that's VERY exciting. Peter and I can hardly wait.

I'll leave you with my 18 week belly pic. Boy or girl guesses are highly encouraged!

Merry Christmas!

It's been an absolutely lovely week. Last Saturday Peter and I spent the morning in our old stomping ground, Camp Hill (I miss that place). We visited an antique shop, grabbed coffee and hot chocolate at Cornerstone Coffee House and then went to Creative Elegance (a boutique my aunt had given us a gift certificate for). We bought scone mix, jam and a few things for the baby (the alligator has a pouch for a little ice pack, the dog is sitting on top of a little blanket trimmed in satin and the elephant rattles!) Later that evening my parents and nieces came for dinner and we all had a great time.

Yesterday we spent the day at my parents'. Half the family stopped by during the day and we saw most of the rest of the family at my Pop-pop's later in the evening so that was really nice. We had great food - ham, mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, baked pineapple and veggies. Plus tons and tons of sweets. I gave away another 9 dozen cookies (I think that makes 29 dozen total so far and I'm not done!)

So we made out really well, haha. Actually, so did Pumpkin. As you can see, Pumpkin has his/her own section of the overall gift pile. I loved getting baby-related gifts. My favorites were probably the Willow tree figure from my parents and the blanket my great-grandmother made. And of course Peter and I love the Spamlet onesie I gave him.

I hope you had a satisfying and meaningful Christmas as well!

Lazy Saturday?

Not exactly but the day started that way (see pics below). It was quite the busy weekend, actually. Friday I met Peter at work and we headed straight to our family Christmas party. Good food, good company. Mom had a grand old time telling anybody and everybody that I'm pregnant. There was ample tummy rubbing.

Saturday we did enjoy some snuggle time with the kitties (separated by the Great Wall of Peter). We picked up groceries and then I spent most of the day baking oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. Then I baked a cake for Sunday's party. Grabbed an episode or two of Gilmore Girls and crashed early. The kids ended the day together on the love seat (a rare occurrence).

Sunday I got to help out a bit with a friend's newborn baby! Peter helped for a while too after Sunday school. Then we headed to Whitney's Christmas party with cake and Christmas cookies in tow. We had a fantastic dinner and a wonderful time hanging with my college roomies.

Last night I finally finished my holiday baking (assuming my freezer supply holds). I had to give out Christmas cookies to co-workers today instead of closer to Christmas because I had no more room in our freezer! I had a little fun with the extra chocolate (see below).

And just for giggles, my latest belly pic. 14 weeks! There's a little bump there... trust me.

NYC

Saturday we took a bus trip to NYC for the day. We met up with Ted and Becca (friends from college who we had not seen since their December 06 wedding in Florida) who now live just outside the city.

It was a really great day. No agenda, just aimless wandering. We landed in Times Square, had BBQ for lunch, saw the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, window shopped at Tiffany and Cartier on 5th, took a peek inside Trump Tower, had a sit down at Starbucks, checked out Lush and had a lovely Italian dinner. A fantastic (if tiring) day!

Today we had our 2nd official Dr. appt. Everything went very well. I've yet to gain any weight but the Dr. is not concerned. I now know that my blood type is O+. The Dr. was able to find the baby's heartbeat immediately and said we have a cooperative baby (just what we like to hear). We could hear the baby's movements on the dopler and he/she seemed to be quite active. A great appointment!

I've Been Tagged?!

My friend, Heather, tagged me so here we go:

Here are the rules:

* Go to your sixth picture folder then pick your sixth picture.

* Pray that you remember the details.

* Post it on your blog.

* Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they’ve been tagged.

I could have had a more interesting picture but this is what I came up with. This was a church across the street from out hotel in Athens. The bells would chime on the hour and it was so beautiful and relaxing, especially when we were lying in our bed for our daily afternoon nap. Oh to be back there right now in the 70 degree weather.

Thanksgiving

Yes, I'm going to start off with the mushy "what I'm thankful for". I'm thankful for our house, our jobs, our health, our friends and family, our cats, our baby-in-the-making and most of all... for my wonderful husband. Ok, enough mush.

Thanksgiving was a hit! It was overwhelming to make the entire meal but I had plenty of help from my Mom. On the menu: Hershey Kisses, Peppermint Patties, chocolate chip cookies, and cheese and crackers for snackers. My family loves chocolate. And for dinner: citrus turkey (stuffed with grapefruit, orange and lemon!) and smothered in lemon chive butter, cranberry almond stuffing, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy (thanks to Mom), garlic string beans, mac-n-cheese, baked corn (thanks to Gram), cranberry sauce, and cornbread muffins. And for dessert: pumpkin pie and homemade frozen chocolate mousse pie. What a great day for food!

I loved having my parents and my Gram at our place for the day. It was very laid back (once the cooking marathon was finished). We watched the parade. Dad assembled a bookshelf for us for the nursery. We took a walk after dinner. Mom and I played Grey's Anatomy trivia (and I kicked her butt). And my parents even spent the night.

Friday we grabbed breakfast then ran to Linens-N-Things. Yay going out of business sale! I got a salad spinner, flannel sheets and a fuzzy pink bathrobe. After a successful shopping trip, we went to see Australia. Really a fantastic movie. I'm a big fan of Nicole, Hugh and Baz so it was an easy choice. Definitely a departure from Baz's usual work. Not so much a chick flick like Romeo & Juliet or Moulin Rouge but an epic, to be sure. We had Bangkok Wok for dinner (I know, shame on us for not eating leftovers). Then my parents sadly had to go home. I promptly fell asleep.

The highlight of my day yesterday, well, there were two: the moment I woke up from my nap and my horrible headache was finally gone and my successful attempt at a new recipe for dinner. Peter and I went to Panera for breakfast and that was amazing too. Decaf coffee... yum. So, the new recipe, turkey and stuffing casserole! It was fantastic. We took some to Chris and Michelle since they are just 2 days away from their due date and I figured they weren't doing much cooking. I can't wait to have more leftovers tonight.

So that's the lowdown on the weekend. Right now Peter is on a "man date" with Josh seeing Transporter 3. I wasn't willing to spend money on a movie I had no interest in seeing so Josh is bringing Melinda over after the movie for pie. More my speed. Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and enjoy your holiday season. Not long till Christmas!