Meet Our Baby Girl

We have a big week ahead, and it all started with our 4D ultrasound!  Our little girl was being her usual, crazy wiggly self, so it was very hard to get a good look at her face.  She had one hand up by her eye almost the whole time, and then she decided to completely turn around and show us the back of her little bald head.  She was also very tightly curled up, so you can see her knee all the way up by her chin.  We did manage to get a few decent shots of her.  I think she's beautiful...

 This week, she's approximately 2.5 pounds and about the size of a butternut squash. 

On Thursday, we start birthing class, and this coming weekend is my first baby shower!  So much to look forward to and be thankful for. 

Baking

The cookie dough cheesecake bars were very interesting.  There's so much going on with this recipe that I could only eat a tiny bite.  I'm glad I attempted them, but they are pretty darn sweet.  Don't know if I'll attempt them again.

Pies have been on my mind a lot lately, so this week I'm going to try my hand at a peanut butter pie.  I found a yummy recipe on the blog Evil Chef Mom.  Looks pretty straight-forward, and check out how hers turned out.  I just have to try it!

New Things I'm Learning

Pregnancy is yet another way God is really stretching my faith.  Planning for the future, control, and fear are things I've discussed many times on this blog.  I have no idea how my pregnancy will continue to progress, what kind of labor I'll have, or how much (or little) this baby girl is going to sleep once she gets here.  I don't know if I'll be able to have any other children after she arrives.  I met with a great friend for dinner last week, and I was again reminded of the importance of giving up every day, every moment, to God continuously.  How important His truths are:

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

It is as if I need to tattoo this truth on my forehead so I see it all the time!  I am grateful for God's mercy as I stumble along, yet I know these experiences only make me more thankful that He's the one in control.

"Do no worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6: 31-33

Only 10ish more weeks until we meet this sweet girl!  Have a great week!

Hello Third Trimester!

The dreaded glucose testing is finally over. I should find out in 3-5 days if I'm at risk for gestational diabetes.  Just in case you're wondering what I had to ingest after fasting for 12 hours, here it is.  A small coke bottle-sized orange-syrupy-yucky drink.  Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Great news, though.  Baby Girl Elam is head down!  She may still do some somersaults before her arrival, but most likely she'll always return to this position from now on.  We're one step closer to delivery, and I'm very thankful she's decided not to be a breech baby. 

Most importantly, we're officially in the third and final trimester!  Check out how the belly's growing:

Harlan and I were at the grocery store and came across some eggplants.  She's a little larger than an eggplant now, but I just had to take a picture!  Check out the guy in the background.  He's not sure why we're taking pictures of produce...

We start our birthing classes in a few weeks as well.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, I feel very strongly about having the most natural childbirth possible.  By that, I mean not much intervention by a doctor (unless necessary, of course) or any pain meds, including an epidural.  The class we're taking will really help us learn some practical ways to manage pain and help Harlan coach me through the process.  We have some great friends taking the same class with us, so it should be a lot of fun!

Baking:

Over the weekend, I realized I had some blueberries I need to use right away, so I threw together some Lemon Blueberry Scones based on this recipe.  Here's how mine turned out:

This week, I've decided to go all out and make COOKIE DOUGH CHEESECAKE BARS!  My Baking Addiction is one of my favorite baking blogs, and when I saw these, I just couldn't resist.   I'll make sure to include a picture of how they turn out next week.

And lastly, my apologies.  I meant to get a pictures of the Maple Toffee Shortbread I made, but it's all gone!  I guess that means the recipe's a keeper!

A Countdown?

I get emails from thebump.com.  It just told me I had 83 days left of my pregnancy.  Why is there a countdown?  Yikes!

3D Ultrasound and Harlan's beard pics coming up next week!

A Day in the Life of my Ribs

Do you know what it feels like to be poked in the ribs from the inside?  Bizarre.  This baby girl favors my right side, and more specifically, nestling under my ribs.  I've tried pushing on my belly to move her, but her response is to kick me back and stay right where she is.  I've looked up this phenomenon online, and there are HUNDREDS of forums dedicated to the topic.  Kinda feels like the side stitch you get when you go running, except it doesn't go away.  I'm trying yoga poses and stretches, but so far, she's there to stay.  It's obvious that she's a growing girl, and as uncomfortable as it might be, she makes me smile.  I think she has some of her mama's stubborn genes.

She's officially the size of an eggplant:

We've also made quite a bit of progress on her nursery.  It's looking more homey and girly - It makes me more and more excited to meet her!  My bearded cutie designed the wall art behind our glider and also made an appearance in the last pic. 

Baking:

We spent the 4th doing a variety of things, including visiting my dad.  He's a real trooper who had knee replacement surgery right before we left for Chicago.  Hopefully he won't mind me showing you his crazy knee.  WARNING: If you get queasy, scroll past this pic really fast!

We thought it would be nice to go cheer him up since his life is focused around healing and physical therapy right now.  We went swimming, which is absolutely glorious during pregnancy.  I think I'll be in the pool a lot more before Baby Elam arrives.

We ended the night watching this movie.  Fitting, don't you think?

The pie I mentioned last week was a hit!  Here's the picture we took, and no, I did not have any Coors.

It was really easy to make, and you could use other things besides berries (chocolate, anyone?) to top the cheesecake.  I highly recommend!

I picked up some of these at the store last week:

There are 2 recipes I'm looking at to make good use of them. 

Maple Toffee Shortbread - Recipe here

Toffee Bits Triangles - Recipe here

If you're ever in need of a recipe using toffee bits, the Hershey's website has a bunch!  Both of these recipes make a TON, so neighbors and coworkers, watch out!  They're coming your way!

Other News: 

Next week, I have the dreaded glucose testing.  I'm really ready to get it over with and am praying all goes well.  We have lots to look forward to over the next few months, including 2 baby showers thrown by my friends and family, our 3D ultrasound, and a maternity photo shoot!

I always said I wouldn't be cheesy and get maternity pictures taken.  However, I think pictures of this journey are a great way to document the miracle this baby girl is.  Our photographer will also take her newborn, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month pictures.  Check out her amazing work!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Brooke Fraser songs:

Have a great weekend!

Baby Elam Visits Chicago

I'm seriously in shock that it's July.  June was so crazy busy it almost seems like it didn't happen!

We're just returning from a short trip to Chicago, and it will probably be the last trip we go on for quite some time!  We were trying to fit in some sort of vacation, knowing that life will be very different very soon.  Harlan happened to be going to Chicago for a work conference, so we decided to combine the two.  Here's a few highlights from our trip:

Millennium Park- Cloudgate (notice Harlan in the reflection, and my chubby cheeks from all that pizza)

Night Boat Architecture Tour and Fireworks

The Sears Tower

Chicago Stuffed Pizza

I think Baby Elam thoroughly enjoyed our culinary adventures.  I'm definitely a few pounds heavier, but thankfully Chicago is a walking city and I was able to get some exercise!

Here's a bump pic next to Sue the T-Rex at the Field Museum (Harlan made me take this embarrassing picture):

The third trimester is just 2 weeks away

Wow.  Somebody pinch me.   Everyone says I'll get used to being pregnant, the baby's kicks will become more routine.  Each time I feel her (and this baby girl is ACTIVE), I'm still in awe.  What an undeserved gift I've been given!

In a few weeks we're going to have a 3D Ultrasound, which will allow us to see our baby girl's face in a whole new way.  We've been on the fence about whether we want to see her features so clearly before she's born, but we've decided to go for it.  Stayed tuned for pictures!

A 4th of July Dessert

C'mon.  I can't resist holiday-themed desserts.  I found this awesome pie I plan to make in honor of July 4th.  

Unfortunately, Texas is experiencing a major drought, which means a ban on fireworks.  We've started a tradition of setting off fireworks since we bought our house, so it's a little sad not to be able to this year.  Maybe this dessert will keep us in the holiday spirit?

Berry Cheesecake Pie - Natalie's Killer Cuisine

I am really loving berries right now. Combining them with cheesecake and pie crust sounds perfect!  Check back next week to see how it turned out!

My husband is better than yours

Celebrating our anniversary was so special.  Harlan mentioned how hard our 5th year of marriage was, but I wouldn't change it for anything.  We watched our wedding ceremony video again - it's amazing how much more meaningful the pastor's words are after we've walked through some hard things together.  One thing's for sure:  He's going to be such a wonderful father.  Even writing this brings tears to my eyes!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19