21 Week Recap

Hello Big Mama!!!! Again, I would like to say that I do feel a lot smaller than I look, ha! I can't believe how fast my belly is growing. It's so surreal.......
I know that my belly has to get bigger, but seriously I can't even imagine it! The good thing is that most of my maternity shirts are all too big, so at least I have something to grow into it. I'm all about having goals.

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of Baby: 11 inches long, about a pound....about the size of a pomegranate

Weight Gain: 6 pounds!

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: Everyday, she's been moving a lot today! I love it!

Sleep: So much better! I love my body pillow, and have been sleeping really good!

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity pants, with normal shirts

Symptoms: Dry skin, crazy dreams

Aversions: none

Cravings: Food. Chocolate, desserts, anything unhealthy really.

What I miss: This week I really missed living close to my sister. This morning I called Sarah and told her that her niece was moving around all over, and she said "your niece is too!" It's fun that we are both pregnant with little girls, but I do wish we were closer to go thru it more together.

Best moment of the Week: My mom bringing us the cutest clothes!!!

What I'm looking forward to: Not sure?? Just continuing to feel our little girl move around and eating I guess, ha!

Since my mom has been here this week, I have never felt MORE in the baby bubble. She insists I hold on to someone when we're walking outside, and said when I get further along she doesn't want me to leave the house alone...she's afraid I'll get run over. I think the traffic here has scared my mom a little. But seriously, I'm lucky if she lets me carry anything heavier than a piece of paper. It's nice to be pampered, but I have to keep reminding her that when she's not here, I do carry my own groceries home :)

love

laura

Around Here

Here's a little of what we've been up to around here....

I did want to post about me and Daniel's date night a few weeks ago. We walked to this cute little area a few miles from our house and enjoyed yummy pasta and pool!

We didn't even finish the pool game because I struggle making the pool stick connect with the balls, so it was more of a one person game. But it was fun!

Mom's first full day here we took her to eat at our local noodle shop. They make the noodles right there.

Mom enjoyed the noodles, and we'll probably go back again soon!

We also took Mom to my favorite place to get breakfast...it's a Texas themed Western restaurant in our city that has the best french toast!! It is also the same place I would always go to skype my parents when I lived here before. It's full of memories...

In my mom's free time, she has been cleaning our kitchen tile and bathroom floor with a toothbrush. I wish I could say I was joking.

Outside our apartment building:

This morning we went to a walking street touristy area near our house. 

UMMMM...where did that belly come from???? Can I just say I feel a lot smaller than I look, ha! I looked at the pictures we took today and was shocked! Maybe I'm finally passing that 5 lb mark, ha!

Tomorrow is the 21 Week Recap!!

love

laura

Oh the cuteness

So mom flew in Sunday nite. Her flights went really smooth and we were SO excited to see her!

Mom has been busy since she's been here....which is of no shocker to anyone knows her.

She came in Sunday night....this is mom on Monday morning.

She has already reorganized our kitchen cabinets and cleaned the kitchen wall tile. I'm not sure what she's going to do for the next several days, but I have no doubt she'll find something, ha!

So.........mom brought 2 suitcases FULL of goodies for us! First, here is the baby bedding. I picked out Babydoll by Living Textiles, and I LOVE it! I love all the colors, and the bedding has stripes and polka dots...does it get any cuter than that???????

The answer is no. No, it does not.

Look at the goodies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost want to cry. I got 3 lbs of candy corn and Swiss cake rolls!

When I was in the States this summer, I had bought some fall/winter maternity clothes that Mom brought over with her, along with some new stuff from Old Navy.

Apparently I have a thing for stripes??

Then......mom told us to stay out of the living room to set up a surprise. 

Mom, along with my grandma and a family friend, decided to send us presents and we had a little baby shower. And yes, the presents are wrapped in cupcakes...my fave!

All the pink cupcakes and polka dots, oh my goodness!!!!!

I am in AWE at how much my mom brought us.....seriously I am overwhelmed at the gifts-both in food and baby clothes. I feel so spoiled, I can't even explain.

I need to do another post on what we've been doing lately, but I just had to share the cuteness that is going on in her house right now!!

love

laura

20 Week Recap

I just finished week 20! I'm halfway there!!!! My bump isn't really round yet, it's kind of annoying. I want the cute little round bump! I just got back from a week of travelling, which is why I didn't get this up yesterday.

How Far along: 20 Weeks

Size of Baby: Length of Banana

Weight Gain: 5 lbs.....I haven't gained any weight in the last 3 weeks, but I am trying!!

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: Almost everyday...mostly in the mornings and at night

Sleep: It's getting a little better. I found a body pillow at a local store, I'm going to try it out tonight. It weighs almost as much as I do!

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and shorts, but all tops are normal

Symptoms: Dry skin, hunger!

Aversions: none

Cravings: Anything that is food related, I am hungry a lot!

What I miss: Not much of anything.....again, eating lunch meat and hot dogs

Best Moment of the Week: Buying our first baby clothes!!

What I'm Looking Forward To: My mom is flying in tomorrow.....and word on the street is that she is bringing a lot of pink!!

love

Laura

Gender Reveal Party

Ever since I became pregnant, I knew I wanted to do a gender reveal party. I had seen blogs and things on Pinterest of people who had them, and they looked SO fun! And with this being our first child, I thought it would be a great way to announce the gender.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if the party was going to happen. I made my appointment this past Tuesday, and invited everyone over to celebrate on Friday nite. I was SOOOO worried that the doctor wouldn't be able to tell the gender and we would have to postpone the party, and that my mom wouldn't have enough time to get things together for when she comes to visit NEXT WEEK! Seriously, the past several nights I've barely slept. You would think my focus would be more on finding out if we are having a girl or boy, ha!

So.............

Here are some decorations:

We had a spot for people to suggest baby names for us....some suggestions were: Amelia, Nicholas, Caleb, Ruthabell Lee, Cameron, Gabriel, and the kid suggestions were: Mom, Cutie, AC, Rhoda, and Sweetie. I loved that the kids got in on it too!

We had a board where people could vote girl or boy with lips or mustaches. Lips won 8-7!

I copied this idea from a few different gender reveal blogs. It's a board showing the Old Wives tales and I circled my answers.

I printed my belly shots and hung them up for people to see the progress of the bump.

Food Table:

Cupcakes, mint chocolate chip brownies, veggie tray, and grapes.

I planned to make White Almond Wedding Cake, dye the inside pink, and then we would cut into it to reveal the gender. I've made this cake several times in the States. However, last night was probably by far, the biggest disaster I've ever had in the kitchen.

Here's the batter:

I put the batter into 2 round 8 inch pans. Again, this is how I've always made it. I should've taken an after picture....because when I took the cakes out of the pans, they literally just fell apart into pieces. I thought I might be able to salvage them and cover it with icing, but I had time to make it again, so I did.  The exact same thing happened again!!! So I tried to put it all together like a puzzle, and it did not go well.

So I panicked. And then decided to make mint chocolate chip brownies instead, and decided we would just use the cupcakes I'd already made as the way we would reveal the gender.

Since I'd used all our eggs on the cakes, I didn't have any for the brownies! So I sent Daniel to our neighbors, while I started making the brownies (from scratch people.) The brownies were just coming out of the oven when our guests arrived. In the midst of the Kitchen Disaster 2012, we just moved the cake and covered it up. 

This is how it looked after the party....

AND we received our very first baby present!!! It's actually the only thing we have, cos Daniel and I haven't bought anything......but hopefully soon!

(our friend who gifted this to us actually didn't even know the gender yet, she was just convinced we were having a girl!)

Yay for gender reveal parties!!

love

laura

It's a......

It's a........

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19 Week Recap

I just finished 19 weeks, and we found out the gender this morning!!!!!!!! We are having a gender reveal party tonight, then I'll post it publicly!

How far along: 19 weeks

Size of Baby: Mango

Weight Gain: 5 lbs

Gender: We know but will post tomorrow!!!!!!

Movement: I think I felt the baby this past week, but it's hard to tell. It's a new feeling so I think it's the baby moving, but it's not a lot.

Sleep: What sleep??? It's not going well.

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing maternity shorts right now

Symptoms: dry skin, leg cramps.....oh my word the pain!

Aversions: nothing really

Cravings: anything sweet or chocolately!

What I miss: Sleep

Best moment of the week: Finding out the gender today!!!!!!

What I'm looking forward to: The gender reveal party tonight and shopping!!!!

stay tuned.....what do you think we're having?!?!

love

laura

Some rambles

We've had a pretty busy week. And yes, I realize it's only Wednesday. Today and tomorrow are my catch up days, then life will get a little crazy for about 3 weeks, or maybe 5 months!

A few weeks ago we had a birthday party for a friend of mine. I made my famous (ha, not really) cookie cake. I was pretty excited about how the purple icing turned out. 

Monday- I got up early to run, but it was raining. I have a no running in the rain while pregnant rule. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I just laid there. I had class, studied, then we had dinner and hung out with some friends that were in town. We had so much fun, but it was a late.night. 

Tuesday- I woke up and made muffins. I've been holding onto this muffin mix for a while now, waiting for a good moment to use it. Baking mixes are rare treats, so I tend to hoard them until I know I'm getting more. And with mom coming soon, I figured it was safe to finally make them, ha! 

We were having friends over for our monthly UME meeting. So Tuesday morning was spent making cookies, going to the market, washing and preparing fruits and vegetables, making travel plans, calling the airline about a booking problem, and calling the dr. Tuesday afternoon was class, then we had a a quick dinner, and our friends came over. 

So I called the dr on Tuesday to see if I could come in this Friday to find out the gender. I had a whole list of arguments prepared in case he told me no. Before, he told me to wait until at least 20 weeks, but have you met me? I'm a planner.

Anyways, I'll be finishing my 19 weeks tomorrow, and he told me no problem. So as long as little Baby M cooperates, we'll know on FRIDAY if it's pink or blue. I'm kind of beside myself. And we're having a little gender reveal party that night! So if you're in town, drop by :)

I'm a little worried that we're having the party and for some reason won't be able to find out the gender. But I'm seriously praying that our little one isn't shy and we'll know without a doubt if we're having a little girl or boy!

Random, but Saturday night Daniel and I played Scrabble. We used to play it all the time during our first year of marriage. See anything wrong with this picture?

My first several hands I had all vowels, or 6 vowels with 1 consonant. Somehow I managed to be in the lead (by a lot of points) until the last round. I still claim that I won.

Also, my mom is coming to visit. She'll be here in less than 2 weeks. This will be her first time to EA! I am SOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!

I had a little moment earlier this week. I was walking back from the local vegetable market, and it really hit me, that this is my life. I mean to say, it's normal for me to walk to the market, buy my fruits and veggies, walk home, and wash and prepare them. Sometimes I'm in the middle of doing something 'normal' for where I live, and then realize how different our lives are here. Like how we have to put our toilet paper in the trash can. That might sound strange, but it's our normal. 

I know this post is just a ramble, but it's what has been going on!

I'll post my 19 week recap on Friday, then Saturday I'll share the gender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17/18 Week Recap

In case you can't tell, the baby bump has arrived!!!! I've heard people say that their bump always showed up overnight, and now I totally understand. Compared to 2 weeks ago, I'm huge! I started week 19 today, which is insane to think I'm about halfway there. I feel like I'm discovering all over again that I'm pregnant. I constantly keep looking and feeling my belly in awe, it's a very weird and wonderful experience!!

How Far along: 18 Weeks

Size of Baby: Sweet Potato

Weight Gain: 5 lbs

Gender: we MIGHT find out next Friday. My Dr. doesn't really do appointments, I just call and see when I can come in. I'm hoping he'll let me come next week, cos I'm travelling the week after. And just in case baby isn't cooperating to see the gender, I can go again before my mom comes to visit.

Movement: None yet, but I'm so ready for it to start!!

Sleep: It's okay. Some nights I'm pretty uncomfortable the whole time, and sometimes it's not that bad. I'm thinking of investing in a body pillow.....any thoughts???

Maternity Clothes: I wore my first pair of maternity shorts this week. They were SO comfortable!

Symptoms: The acne is getting better, low back pain, 

Aversions: Nothing really

Cravings: fruit, SWEETS!!! This past week dessert is all I think about! 

What I Miss: not too much, sleeping through the night probably

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing my belly grow!

What I'm looking forward to: Hopefully finding out the gender next week and feeling the baby move

I went to spin class this week. I let the teacher know I was pregnant so she wouldn't tell me to pedal faster, like she did last time I went. She was concerned that it was bad for the baby, but I told her the doctor said it was okay. 

I also ran again today. I tried to make myself go slower, but my heart rate was still in the 150's, any running moms out there ever dealt with this? I did enjoy my run and felt like I could've gone further. Maybe next week I'll try to add a little bit on. 

love

laura

Come Away with Me

Last Thursday, Daniel and I boarded a train (Daniel's very first train ride ever, my first train ride in-country). We took a little vaca to a city just a few hours away. We didn't have any huge plans other than eating and relaxing. I believe we were successful.

I missed doing my 17 week recap, but i'll post the 17/18 weeks together this Friday. I did weigh myself before we left and realized I had lost a pound, but don't worry after these past few days, I should definitely be back on track for putting a few pounds on!

Our whole goal for this trip was to just relax. Not to try to see everything in the city, but to really just take some down time. It helped, that it rained Thurs-Saturday. And by rain, i mean torrential downpour almost the entire day. Which was lovely for us. We had a gorgeous hotel room with a great view, and english movie channels. The hotel had an indoor pool that was heated, which we went to a few times. I was pretty excited that my bathing suit fit!

We slept in, ate out, watched movies, ate ice cream, read, and went to Starbucks almost every day. It was SO nice not to have a plan or anything to do. We did splurge one night and had a steak dinner. It was the best steak I have EVER eaten! 

On Saturday we did decided to walk to a "nearby" restaurant. The city is laid out with lots of hills, it reminds me of what I imagine San Francisco would be like. Anyways.....we walked for a few hours and finally found what we were looking for. I woke up the next day and my calves were so sore....lame I know. 

When we got lost, we found the river. 

 Our last day we were walking and we saw a guy with a GAP bag. Be still my heart!!!! We asked the guy where the store was and found out it was kind of far away. I could not believe there was a GAP in the city the whole time and I didn't even know it! We raced to the GAP, which was only about 10 minutes by taxi. 

The GAP was 2 levels.....i was so excited. It didn't disappoint like the one in Malaysia did.

I asked if they had maternity clothes, and they didn't, but insisted on helping me find something. They showed me all of the weird long loose shirts that I would never wear, and then their stretch pants. I wasn't too disappointed that they didn't have anything for me, it was a long shot. BUT Daniel did find some jeans on sale, and after arguing persuading him to buy them, we all left pretty happy. 

Daniel let me hold his bag. 

We had an amazing time and it was hard to come back. It was a wonderful low key vacation and i'm so thankful we did it!

We've already hit the ground running, and started back to class today. 

love

laura