Hot Man Parade

Bumpdate Week 17

Can you believe Christmas is already over and the new year is next week? Nuts! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, ours was so busy and fun. I think I'm still stuffed even! It was nice to see all of the family and everyone rubbed and talked to Baby L, they want him/her to know their voice now that the baby can hear. It was so cute!

 

16 Weeks 4 Days

 
How far along? 17 Weeks! (Each week's bumpdate is a review of the past week)

Total weight gain: -1.5 lbs. My doctor wants to keep an eye on my weight, he said at this point I should have gained 5-10 pounds, especially since I haven't been sick at all. At my first appointment he advised that based on my height and weight, 36 pounds would be a healthy pregnancy and anything more would be unhealthy for me or cause the baby to be too large. We went over how often I'm eating and what I typically eat and he said he wasn't too worried then since I'm eating healthy. He also said that he doesn't want to regret having this conversation and I'm a blimp the next appointment. LOL.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet, Almost everything still fits meet, there's a few items that are too tight for comfort. I've been on the look out for something, because I know it's only a matter of time before I need it, but there's really nothing cute out. Any mothers/preggers out there? Where do/did you shop??

Sleep: Still going strong, but I'm beginning to miss not being able to lay on my stomach. I never sleep on ,my stomach, but sometimes it's nice to relax on your stomach. Or you know, lay on it in order to make the bed properly.

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby at our 16 week appointment. You can see their entire spine, hands, feet, toes. He/She is so cute! He/She was lying in fetal position head down, and would move to scratch their face. The baby is so precious I can't wait to be able to feel their movement!

Worst moment of the week: Having to eat my Christmas Prime Rib well done. That's not how steak or prime rib is supposed to be cooked, and really, I should have just skipped it altogether.

Have you told family and friends: Yep! Everyone knows.

Miss Anything? Same as last week; rare meat, brie and blue cheese, and also sushi now.

Movement: Nothing yet, but the doctor said  any day I'll start to feel fluttering and I'm about two weeks away from feeling a real kick. Each day I try to relax and see if I feel anything, and there's a few times I've felt something, but I don't know for sure if it's movement or just digestion.

Food cravings: French fries, but regular skinny fries, not crinkle cut.Tons and tons of fruit, still pomegranates and cuties, but also raspberries and my favorite Dreyer's Mango popsicles.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, still going strong!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely. I'm not surprised though, I have the shortest torso in the world, so the baby can really only go out. I'm assuming my bump will be gigantic by month 9.

16 Weeks 1 Day

Gender: We shall see soon! Our doctor tried to see the gender at the 16 week appointment, but little Baby L wouldn't budge from fetal position. Our radiology appointment is soon, so we'll have to wait til then to find out for sure.

Symptoms: Ok, are you ready for TMI?? What the books tell you about your nipples is true. A boy told me once in high school that if it wasn't for nipples, he wouldn't like boobs and it's always stuck with me. Now, I like my breasts and nipples. They had good color, shape, and size. They were pretty! Now, I don't even recognize them. They're darker and larger. My mom and mother-in-law assure me that this will go away and will go back to how they've always been, but they will never be the same after breastfeeding.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! Not as nearly as cranky as last week.

Weekly Annoyance: This woman at work keeps bringing up weight to me, things like "Don't eat for two now", "You know you're not eating for two right?" (mind you, it's not like I'm in the buffet line with several plates piled up, and even if I did, what does she care??). Each time she says it, I want to strangle her. One; I don't remember asking her for diet tips, Two; if I gain 100lbs it's none of her business, Three; how rude is that?? I just nod and smile and tell her how I haven't gained any weight yet and still weigh less than before baby. That doesn't appease her though, she then tells me that "it's" coming. The next time she says anything, I think I'm just going to tell her that what she's saying is offensive and I don't appreciate it. IDK what else I can really do but ignore her, but we sit closely to each other and I don't want to hear it for the next 5 months from her.

When I talked to other women, it seems like complete strangers remark on their weight like it's OK. Things like "Oh, were you a big girl before?", "This obviously isn't your first if you're so big already". It's so rude! When is commenting on someone's weight ever OK? I don't get it.

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender so we can start shopping, registry, and referring to the baby with the names we have chosen.

Reading: The Baby Book by Dr. Sears. I just picked it up and haven't had a chance to crack it open, but I'm really interested in reading it. Attachment parenting is something I'm interested in learning more about, I think most parents do it naturally without realizing and I'm interested in the foundations is sets. We'll see as I actually read it. I'm also planning on reading The Happiest Baby which I've heard a ton about. What books did you like reading when pregnant?

Thank you again for reading and all your support and comments. Please, let me know if you have anything you'd like to know more about or see in future posts!

Hot Man Parade + iPhone Case Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Tin Tree Gifts iPhone Case winner is.... 

#25 Caiti!! 

Thank you Tin Tree Gifts and everyone who entered!!

Bumpdate Week 16

Pictures taken  15 weeks 3 days 
(and before getting my hair done)

Thank you again for all your wonderful words, comments, supports, emails, texts, etc. They've all meant so much to me and I'm thrilled to share this journey with you guys. I'll be posting weekly about my previous week's pregnancy (today I'm 16 weeks, but will review week 15). Let me know if you have any additional questions or things you'd like to see in these posts. I'm using the standard set of questions, but am leaving some out until they apply to me. I'll also do separate posts for bigs things like the nursery, what I've bought, the gender, etc. 

Well, I'm happy to report that I must be having the most boring pregnancy ever. No morning sickness/nausea, no superhuman skills like a bionic nose (except at the most inconvenient times, not when I'm passing by a bakery or something delicious), and no food aversions. Woohoo for me! However, before I pouched out a bit, it was like I wasn't preggo at all. 

How far along? 16 Weeks!

Total weight gain: -6 lbs. I weigh less than before I was pregnant, but everything on my body is larger. Go figure. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow and I think I've gained a bit back of what I've lost, but won't know for sure until then.

Sleep: I've always slept like a baby, but I wake up in the middle of the night  nearly every night to use the restroom and get a drink of water. I also sleep on my side naturally, so no big change there either. I'm trying to soak it up, because I know it's downhill from here. I'm also super tired and go to bed around 830 every night (I wake up between 430-5am for work).

Best moment this week: All the texts, phone calls, and hugs when people found out the good news!

Worst moment of the week: When my pajama shorts couldn't fit over my new big booty. It was a sad day. Then, my husband really likes it so I guess it's kind of a win? Only my pajamas pants fit and workout shorts, I have no cute pjs short bottoms. Target, here I come!

Have you told family and friends: Yes! We told my in-laws, sister, dad, and grandpa right away, but waited to tell my mom (she can't keep a secret to save her life) and extended family until I was 12 weeks. 

How we told everyone: Thanksgiving was the official 12 week mark and at our family party everyone was asking me how baby making was going and I had to pretend to be disappointed and bummed out. Then, after dinner we were relaxing by the fire pit outside and went around in a circle to say what we are thankful for. When it got to me, I named off a few things and then said "and the baby we're expecting in June!" everyone screamed and jumped up and down. It was so much fun to tell them! 

After we told the family, we did our best to tell friends and family either in person or over the phone. Then we sent out our Christmas card announcement (check it out here if you missed it and read about our pregnancy journey here too) and the rest of our loved ones found out from the card or the Facebook picture of the card we posted. 

Miss Anything? Meat medium rare and bloody, brie, and blue cheese.

Food cravings: Pomegranates, cutie oranges, lemonade, popsicles, grilled cheese. However, I don't know if these really count as "cravings" because I enjoy these all the time or when they're in season.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing. Although, my carsickness has worsened. I get car sick super easy and have since I was a child and I've noticed that it's gotten worse now with the baby. 

Have you started to show yet: Yep. Not full bump mode, but I can no longer "suck it in" as they say and have huge boobs and butt now. Which is weird to me since I still weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy. Ummmm, I obviously wrote that sentence early in the 15 week period. I have a small bump, but you can really only see it with tighter clothing.

Gender: We find out in January! I have no "gut feeling" one way or the other and neither does Matt. However, the whole family thinks it's a girl. Then, also, since we found out we were pregnant on my Grandmother's birthday, some think it's a sign that it's a girl. I like that idea too, it's comforting.

Symptoms: Giant boobs and butt, slight cramping from my body making room for baby, and a rash on my stomach/chest from the hormonal changes, and pimples. 

Workouts: Christmas shopping counts right? 

11 weeks 6 days

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, emotional, and easy annoyed/irritated. Before I had a lot of patience for people and nothing really ever got to me. Not anymore. I have yet to rip someone's face off, but it's only a matter of time. 

Here's an example:

Stupid person: Have you picked any names? What are they? 

Me: ___ for a boy and ___ for a girl.

Stupid person: ___? I don't like that name. They're going to get called _____ (enter string of weird things they came up with on the spot). 

My train of thought: I don't remember asking your opinions on the names my husband and I have already chosen. When you have kids, you can name them whatever you want. Couldn't you have just lied like I did when you chose ____ for your kids name?

Me (what I actually say): Well, we like them and so will anyone else who gets to hold my baby. 

Maybe I'm the stupid one for sharing my names already? I don't know. It's not what they have to say about the names, just how rude I think it is of people.

I've also thought about writing a weekly post with the annoyance of the week. When I talk to other people about it they get such a kick out of it. Haven't decided yet.

  

Looking forward to: Our doctor appointment tomorrow and seeing the little one again with the ultrasound. Finding out the gender in January! 

Thank you again for all your support! Again, love me know if you want to know any additional info in future posts!

InstaLately Link Up 9

I love sparkling cider, and now that I'm preggers I have an excuse to drink it whenever I want. Usually I only get to drink it at weddings and my sorority recruitment. LOL. I found a variety pack from Costco that I've been loving and the Apple Peach was delish! 

Two of my favorite snacks! Dreyer Fruit Bars are my favorite popsicles and I've been obsessed with their new Mango flavor. Another favorite snack of mine is popcorn doused in Tapatio. It's so good and I crave it all the time (pregnant or not). 

I went with my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law to get pedis and it felt amazing! I haven't had a pedicure in forever. Can't wait for my next one! I chose Essie Stylenomics, a gorgeous dark green color.

My OOTD: Forever 21 top and jeans, Nordstrom BP flats, necklace from Groopdealz.

My "ugly" holiday sweater for work. It's from the boys' department at Target and I love wearing it! 

My new toothbrush holder (also from Target). It makes me happy every time I reach for it. 

There's some things you can only buy in certain areas, one of those things is fresh pine nuts. My dad usually sends them to us each year, but this year I put in a request for Costco brand salted caramels. I'm OBSESSED with them! They're so delicious and my heart was crushed to find out they've stopped selling them in Utah too. I've had yet to find something to take their place, but I either don't like the texture of the caramel or it's too salty. 

One of my sweet, sweet co-workers gave me my first baby book and I'm so excited about it! I know this gem will come in handy plenty in the future! 

My new hair color! Monday, I went a bit darker on both the brown and the ombre. I also had my hairdresser add more brown to the underneath so the ombre wouldn't be so much. I'm kind of over the look for myself, although I still love it overall. I'll post better pics soon. 

Don't forget to enter my Iphone giveaway from Tin Tree Gifts, a winner will be chosen on Friday.

Recipe: Candied Almonds

So this is totally a re-post, but too good not to share again. I made these delicious nuts last year after finding them on Pinterest and my husband has been bugging me to make them again for him. I've decided that the nuts are a Christmas only treat so he'd have to wait. Sometimes, goodies are only special because you get them at only one time a year. 

Bavarian Vanilla Almonds via My Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract if you are using regular granulated sugar instead of vanilla sugar)
1 tablespoon water
1 pound almonds or pecans (I used raw almonds)
3/4 cup of vanilla sugar (if you do have vanilla sugar, simply substitute regular granulated sugar)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons of Vanilla Fleur de Sel (if you do not have Vanilla Fleur de Sel simply substitute fine grain sea salt- I used regular table salt)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (I covered mine in aluminum foil).

2. In a large bowl, combine egg white, vanilla extract and water. Beat mixture until frothy. Stir in almonds and mix to coat.

3. Gently combine sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt and stir into almond mixture, thoroughly coating all nuts.

4. Evenly spread nuts onto prepared baking sheet and place into oven.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

Our friends and family have already started putting in orders. You really can't have just a handful, you have to have several!

What do you like baking around the holidays?

Tin Tree Gifts IPhone Case Giveaway!

When I finally joined to cool kid club when I got my Iphone 5 I knew I wanted to get a super cute case. I had been looking all over the web and Etsy and knew I found "the one" at Tin Tree Gifts. 

What made me choose a case from Tin Tree Gifts is all of the options available. You get to choose your own font, color, and pattern and can mix whatever you want. The options are endless! The cases are thin, plastic, and you have your choice of black or white for the case. There are so many choices, it took me two weeks before I decided what I wanted! 

Tin Tree Gifts is generous enough to provide one Iphone case (for the 4, 4S, or the 5) to a lucky reader! I'm so excited for this giveaway because I LOVE my case and know you will too! 

To enter leave a comment below with your email! Easy as pie!

A winner will be chosen Friday December 21!