Bigger Bump and Baking

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  This is one of the only free weekends the hubby and I have for a long time, so we're going to try and soak it up!

I promised a belly shot last week, so here it is!  Definitely growing, growing.

She has been kicking up a storm lately, but she's very shy around Harlan.  This week, he was finally able to feel her kick.  It was a precious moment I wasn't sure I'd ever get to experience.  We both already love this little girl so much!

Last week, I also shared with you 2 banana recipes.  I ended up going with the tongue twister:  Brown Butter Banana Bundt.  The bundt cake itself was really moist, but it mostly tasted like banana bread.  It was the brown butter icing that took it over the top.  If you've never made anything using browned butter, you must try it.  Absolutely delicious.

I think I've mentioned one of my favorite new blogs, Sweetapolita.  Everything she makes is so darn cute.  One of these days I'm going to have time to make one of her creations.  Maybe for our 6 year wedding anniversary, coming up in a few weeks!  Sweetapolita often refers to other blogs in her posts, which has opened up even more baking blogs and potential recipes.  I'm in heaven! 


For a staff member's birthday, I decided to make a few breakfast treats.  I wanted both sweet and savory, so here's what I decided on:

Mini Vegetarian & Bacon Quiches - Allrecipes

My coworker is a vegetarian, so half of them were cheese, green onion, and mushroom.  The others were yummy bacon.  They are really easy to make and just the perfect serving size.  Highly recommend for your next fancy breakfast!

Chocolate Chip Espresso Scones - Piece of Cake

Piece of Cake is one of the new blogs I discovered, and I couldn't pass up chocolate, espresso, and scones all in one.  These came together so quickly, and I got to use my KitchenAid mixer, which I don't always pull out for quick baking projects.  These turned out really yummy.  Sometimes you can't taste the coffee flavor when recipes call for it, but it definitely comes through with these.  Great with a cup of coffee (decaf for you preggos, including me).

And If I Had A Million Dollars

I would get a few of these things:

Oh, my.  That's just the tip of the iceberg...

A reflection from this week: 

"Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion, 
who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
-Psalm 103:2-5


Have a safe weekend!

We're Halfway There!

It was doubly confirmed at our 20 week appointment - We're having a baby girl.

I'm sure my baby girl's really going to appreciate me posting that pic, but I think it's too cute!  I've been told there's not a chance it's a boy now, so we're no longer holding back.  Bring on the pink!  Here's a picture of our baby girl saying "hi" to us:

According to The Bump, she's the size of a cantelope and weighs about half a pound. Growing, growing!

Speaking of growing, Harlan has decided to continue to grow his beard until the baby's born.  He says it's his way of empathizing with me as I spend some of the third trimester in the hot summer months.  Here's his progress so far:

Do you think a red-headed baby girl is in our future?  I think it's a pretty good possibility...
 
We've made a lot of progress on the nursery and are pretty excited about the results.  We were waiting to put all the pink birds on the wall until we knew for sure we were have a girl, so it's not quite finished yet.  What do you think?

We're currently storing all of her gifts in her crib until I make room for all her cute things somewhere else. 


Infertility from a Guy's Point of View

I read a great article on CNN called Husband: What to Expect When You're Not Expecting.  While I don't agree with the video entirely (I'll gladly give you my opinion, just ask me), I really appreciate seeing men open up about their experiences on the infertility journey.  It's so hard for both men and women for different reasons, and I hope this article is just one of many that will continue to shed light on the subject.  

Baking:

I have a bunch of very ripe bananas I need to do something with, but I'm really fighting against making banana bread or muffins.  Boring.  I'm still searching for recipes, but here are a few I'm thinking about:

My Baking Addiction - Banana Bars

Baking Bites - Browned Butter Banana Bundt Cake - Say that 5 times fast!

Belly pic coming soon!

Stop it, Pampers

Okay, I admit it.  I've DVR'd a few epidsodes of TLC's A Baby Story.  I'm in the baby business.  I've been a birth coach, and I've seen lots and lots of births on video.  It never gets old seeing a baby born.  However, now when I see a birth, I just cry and cry.  Crazy hormones!

Pampers made a commercial that comes on during A Baby Story.  DVRing (not sure that's a word) the show means I don't have to watch them, but this one gets me every time.  Nice job, Pampers.  Stop making a hormonal pregnant lady cry, please.

 

And now, on to our Powder Blue nursery

Yes, you read right.  Our baby girl's nursery is blue.  You see, we were going for light gray.  We tried several different sample shades before finally deciding on the color.  However, once we really got it on the walls, it just looked blue.  At that point, it was too late.  We're hoping it will look fantastic once the trees and pink accents are in the room. 

And speaking of trees, they're here!  I showed you a picture of our dream nursery last week.  We found out the trees in the picture were actually vinyl decals, not a painted mural.  If we ever get sick of them, we can easily take them down - sounded like a win-win for us!

They look a little complicated though....

My first child, Lucy the dachshund, decided to make a guest appearance in this shot.  Wish us luck.  I'll post an "after" picture once they're up on the wall!

On the Baking Menu

Cobbler.  My father-in-law loves cobbler.  Harlan's parents are coming for a visit this weekend, so I thought I'd make cobbler for the occasion.  Harlan isn't a fan of peaches, so I think I'm going to make blackberry cobbler.  Here are a few recipes I'm considering:

Betty Crocker - Always a contender

The ever helpful Allrecipes

Can't wait to dive into a piece with some vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Next week, we're half way there!

Eek! We have our officially 20 week anatomy scan next week to double confirm we're indeed having a girl.  Stay tuned for a 20 week belly pic and hopefully a picture of our sweet little girl.  

Faithfulness and 18 Week Belly

Hi everyone!  I'm still settling in to the idea that we're having a baby girl!  Knowing what we're having means we can now decide on a name, register, and get started on a nursery.  All of the sudden, I feel like I have a crazy amount of stuff to do with very little time to do it in!  I'm 18 weeks - Check it out!

I know the baby will sleep next to our bed for a little while after she's born, but there's something about decorating a nursery that helps me to mentally prepare for this new little life.  It's exciting to set aside a space just for her!  We had her crib delivered today, thanks to Harlan's sweet family.  I can't wait to assemble it!

Harlan and I have very modern taste.  We're definitely not traditional and shy away from super ornate, lacy, or fussy.  I found this picture of a nursery I absolutely love, so we may try and recreate elements of it.  Obviously, ours would have little girl colors and walls that aren't quite so dark, but I love the tree/bird theme.  What do you think?

God's Faithfulness

I just completed an almost year long study of the book of Isaiah through BSF.   2010 was definitely the hardest year of my life to date, and there were many times I almost quit the study because of infertility.  I felt surrounded by young moms or soon-to-be moms, and it seemed cruel that every week I was purposely sticking myself in an environment that seemed mentally unhealthy for me.  However, I heard God encouraging me to stick with it despite these challenges, and I am so glad I did.  Today, I was able to reflect on numerous themes in the book of Isaiah, many of which have to do with God's faithfulness in the midst of suffering.  He has taught me so much, and I'm really going to miss all the young moms I learned so much from this year. 

This past weekend I was able to spend time with two of my besties from college.  Even though we don't see each other near as much as I'd like, we always seem to pick up right where we left off.  I love that kind of friendship.  The beautiful women I spent the weekend with have also experienced God's faithfulness, and I feel doubly blessed to have witnessed it.  I hope to be able to share more about their stories soon, because  there is nothing more rich than seeing His faithfulness play out in two ladies I love to pieces!  Here they are, to the left and right of me, on my wedding day.  Such amazing women, inside and out.  Andrea, I love you and miss you!

My Favorite Dessert - Ever

Strawberry Shortcake.  I love it.  Love it.  Love it.  Somehow, I can justify that it's "healthy" because it has fruit in it.  With summer almost upon us, I thought I'd try a new recipe.  It was delicious, and I totally cheated and used Bisquick! This recipe is fantastic for outdoor BBQs or the 4th of July!

Mmmmm!  I want more right now!

Whew!  Long post - thanks for reading!

"If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39