Day 56 - Sam-I-Am

A couple of weeks ago I ran out of thread while crocheting a blanket for Baby Girl.  I desperately sent my mom the following photo asking her to go buy me some more thread since I had bought it in Utah and I had no idea where to get it in Austin.  

Today my thread came along with a the book Green Eggs and Ham for my little own little Sam-I-Am.  I handed it to him in the car and he immediately started reading it to me. When we came inside, he insisted that I sit down and read it to him.  Once we were done, he snuggled into the chair with his blanket and juice and proceeded to read it himself.  Obviously he can't read all the words but he knew enough to make due.  

Thanks for the fun book Grandma and Grandpa!

Day 55 - Bed

Yup.  This is the time that we went to bed last night. Unfortunately, a certain little person decided it was time for a dance party in Mom's belly so Ben was the only one who went to sleep.  I think he might be having sympathy exhaustion.

Day 54 - Salvation

My child has figured out that he would rather be in time out than be obedient.

I'm 35 wks pregnant and I can't sleep when I'm in my bed but fall asleep in the middle of the day while watching TV with my child.

My house is a disaster and the baby's crib hasn't even been moved into her room.

However, yesterday I drank three of these babies and everything seemed a little bit better.

Day 53 - Frank

There is a hot dog restaurant in Austin called Frank the Ben has been wanting to try for the last year.  A couple of weeks ago we were talking about it and the next day there was a Google Offer for it!  Hooray!  We used tonight in preparation for being homebound by the baby.  While a little overpriced, it was pretty stinking good.  

We got an order of fried pickles called the "Britney Spears". Some of the best fried pickles we have had in town.  Their bacon ranch was killer.

I had the Franko Cristo. "A 100% Vienna Beef dog split stuffed with white American, wrapped with bacon and deep fried, dropped in a bun with strawberry jam and ham, dunked in French toast batter and grilled till golden brown."    Yes, it was delicious. No, it was not diabetic approved.  However, my blood sugar was under the "bad number" when I tested it.  Woohoo! 

Ben had The Southern Boy. "A blackened hot link split down the middle and grilled. Served in a pretzel bun dressed with caramelized onions, crispy pork belly, pepper jack cheese and our Dublin Dr. Pepper bbq sauce."  He said it was spicy but really good.

Sam had waffle fries.  I didn't take a photo because he ate them way too fast.  :)

After dinner I told Ben places like this are yet one more reason I'm going to cry if we ever leave Austin.

Day 52 - Pesto Cream Sauce

Before I say anything else, this is some seriously bad food photography.  However, it was dark outside by the time I made dinner so you are getting the lighting in my dining room.  Not good.  

Ben's sister called me tonight as she is preparing for our nephews baptism.  She's doing a pasta dinner afterward and she was looking for some sauce ideas.  This is one of my favorite dishes.  The only problem is I just eyeball it so when I tried to give her ratios I drew a blank.  Because I love my sister-in-law (and this pasta) I decided to make it tonight for dinner.  Not because I desperately wanted pasta.  Because she needed the recipe.  Right. 

Oh and Mags, remember that Dreamfield pasta that you were telling me about that is diabetes friendly?  Yeah, that's what I had in my pantry.  My blood sugar was 127 after I at this tonight.  Take that gestational diabetes!

Are you ready?  It's sooooooo hard.

Pesto Cream Sauce
( Loosely based on Noodles and Co.  Pasta Cavatappi)


Servings:  We are guessing 8-12 servings depending on how much pasta you make and how greedy you are.  :)

• 1 7oz container of  Buitoni Pesto.  The green stuff.
• 1 16oz container of whipping cream.
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes in oil (finely chopped)
• Some acid. Like 1 TBSP.  Ben says do it to taste.  We use either balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.  Whatever floats your boat.  Or whatever you have in the cupboard.
• 1 tsp of kosher salt 
• 1 cup (or more) of parmigiano reggiano (the freshly grated type)

Dump everything but the parmigiano reggiano in a medium saute pan over medium heat.  Bring it just barely to a boil.  Turn down the heat and let it simmer until reduced by half.  Add the cheese.  Add pasta.  Add chicken, steak or whatever.  Done.

I usually just start my pasta water at the same time as I start my sauce. Then when I dump my pasta in I reduce to a simmer.  I like to add the pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.  Top with cheese and you're set.

(P.S. Ben marinated the chicken.  Olive oil, garlic, herbs, lemon juice and some chili flakes. I couldn't give you the ratios if my life depended on it but it was REALLY good.)

Day 51 - Climbing

This post is purely for us and the grandparents.  We have been trying to get Sam to climb the playscape at McDonald's for MONTHS but he has just lacked the confidence to do it.  Yesterday, he climbed a similar playscape at the bouncy place.  This video doesn't show it, but the first time he went down the slide he was so excited.  He jumped up and down and yelled, "I did it!!!"  A big moment for our little guy.

I love how he uses his feet!

Day 50 - Quiet time

Sometimes you just need to snuggle in and enjoy some quiet time.  It works best if you steal your mom's pillow.

Day 49 - In the Tummy

As previously mentioned, we are really trying to prepare Sam for the baby.  He often pats my stomach and tells the baby, "Hi."  We talk about where she is going to sleep and how he is going to help take care of her.  Overall, he seems pretty cool about the whole thing.  We'll see what happens when she gets here.  

Today I told him that we had to go to the doctor.  He kept telling me that we were going to see Baby Sister on the TV.  I had to explain that this week we were only going to listen to her.  Of course, we had to take a stuffed animal with us.  On the way out to the car, Sam insisted on putting Donald "in his tummy" because duh, we were going to the doctor.  

Hopefully he likes Baby Sister as much as he likes Donald. 

Day 48 - Family Photography

We gave Sam a little digital camera for Christmas.  He loves taking photos.  After church we were hanging out and he took some pictures of Ben making different silly faces.  I took pictures of Sam taking pictures of Dad.  Then the tables turned and I became Sam's subject.  I love looking at the photos on his camera and viewing the world through the lens of a 3 yr old.

Day 47 - Hula Hut

Yesterday Ben took me to one of my favorite Austin restaurants for lunch.  The Hula Hut is a mix of Polynesian and Mexican cuisine.  I love it.  The baby loves it.  Ben loves it.  My sister-in-law Kristy ADORES it.  It was one of those lunches that you leave feeling completely satisfied.  

The highlight of the meal was when Ben took Sam out to look at "the river"  aka Lake Austin.  He loved watching the ducks pop up and down.  I loved watching my cute boys interact.  

And my chicken enchiladas.  I really loved them.

  

Day 46 - Kids

Here is Kid #1 chilling on Kid #2.  

I wish I could say that we did lots of productive things today but the truth of the matter is the highlight of my day was when Buddy called me this morning and said, "They are giving away free food at Whataburger.  Get over here now!"

If you every want to see a pregnant woman "run" try offering her free fast food. 

We have officially entered the portion of the pregnancy that I refer to as the "Pregnancy Grossies".  You know on Sundays when you go to church and then you sit at home and start to feel gross near the end of the day?  Or when you've been traveling for a long time and feel gross?  We refer to that feeling as The Grossies at our house.  Well, now I feel like that ALL THE TIME.  Kinda tired. Constantly uncomfortable. Super unmotivated. (Hence the lazy Instagram photos these days.) More than slightly irritable.  After consulting with Siri on my iPhone I learned that I have 37 days left until my scheduled c-section. 

I'm just hoping that Baby Girl feels like coming a little bit earlier.

Day 45 - Mickey Love

I wish I had more to say but after a crazy week at our house, today we just hung out.  Sam played with Mickey  and pals all day.  The kid is in love. 

Day 44 - New Beginnings

At the beginning of every year, our youth group at church (Young Women) has a evening where we talk about our values and introduce the program to the girls that are turning 12. Last night was our New Beginnings program.  Our girls have been working hard for weeks to get ready.  They worked together to write a skit that was hilarious.  I took lots of pictures but I try to not to post other people's children on our blog unless I have their permission or they are my family so I'll just post the cutest cake that one of the girls made.  She's 15.  It was super impressive.

Day 43 - Pluto (and Valentine's Day)

For the past two weeks Sam has been asking for Pluto.  Coincidentally, plush has been on BOGO at the Disney Store. Hooray for Mom!  We bought all of them last week but Sam only got to pick one.  He chose Mickey.  The rest went in Mom's stash.  Then he received Donald and Daisy as a gift.  So he had three characters.  I was trying to hold out on giving him the rest but today when we went to the mall to buy Ben's Valentines gift (a belt) Sam was ADAMANT that we needed to go to the Disney store.  Of course, he wanted Pluto and Goofy.  I kept telling him that he needed to wait until dinner time to see what he got for Valentines Day.  

Sam's card for Dad

Opening his Valentine's Day gifts.  SOOOOO excited.  

Happily snuggling the much anticipated Pluto.

Snuggling the ENTIRE gang.

It is now impossible to go anywhere without a couple of friends.

Day 42 - Yawning and Dimples

We had an ultrasound today to determine how big this kid is going to be.  A month ago she was measuring HUGE.  Today she was nice and normal.  Apparently Mom's diet is helping both of us out.  They figure she is about 4 lbs 12 oz right now.  If she gains 1/2 oz a week like she's supposed to that'll put her at 7 lbs 12 oz on March 26th when my c-section is scheduled.  At that point she will only be 5 days early so not too bad.  All of her measurements were right around the 50th percentile.  Hooray for an average baby! 

My blood pressure was great. I've gained 1.3 lbs in the last 2 weeks. No swelling.  My blood sugar is good other than a few incidents involving baby shower cake and a Cinnamelt from McDonald's. 

The best part of the day was that she finally decided to show us part of her little face. Her head is pressed up against the placenta and  the umbilical cord was floating around by her face,  I'm not going to complain though because usually she has her hands in front of her face. It looks like she might have the same dimple in her cheek that both Ben and Sam have.  She even yawned so we know she has a tongue. I'm sure Sam will be teaching her to blow raspberries before we know it. 

Day 41 - Love

I know I'm a little early on the love post but I've got a lot of love flowin.

Yesterday I was sick all day.  Contractions, nausea, pregnancy grossies.  It stunk.  Ben cared for Sam, picked up the house, and fixed a bookcase.  He played Fruit Ninja with Sam and tolerated his bump on a log prego wife.  Towards the end of the day Ben said, "Why don't you check your blood sugar?"  Sure enough it was low.  

He told me to eat some M&M's. 

I love that man.

 He didn't even complain when I decided that I only wanted soup and PB&J for dinner and he was on his own.  He happily made hot dogs and Doritos for himself and nuggets and yogurt for Sam. 

Then he cut my sandwich into a heart.  

My point is love isn't what you see in the movies.  It's the sweet little acts of kindness that you perform for one another.  

That and hilarious snide comments about Taylor Swift during the Grammys.

According to Ben, even though she seems catchy and harmless, "That's how Satan sells sandwiches." 

Day 40 - Drawers

Ben has been amazing today. (As always)  He got us all caught up on laundry AND he put the new hardware on Sam's bed while I worked on Sam's new quilt.  Sam was VERY excited to have functioning drawers.  While Dad was relaxing, he immediately went to his old dresser and started transferring his clothes to his bed.  I'm pretty sure they aren't folded but I'm not about to complain that my 3 yr old wants to put away laundry.  

Day 39 - Buddies

Ben took me out for a fancy dinner last night at Austin Land and Cattle. We figure it is probably our last nice night out for awhile since this baby is going to be here before we know it.  The food was AMAZING.  Hands down one of the best steaks either Ben or I have ever had.  The sweet potato clam chowder was fabulous.  Even the spinach was really good.  That's saying something.  Unfortunately, my prego body took over half way through our lovely meal and I started feeling sick.  Obviously I wasn't going to be sick at a nice restaurant so we asked for a box, Ben finished his meal and then I made his drive me over to his office so I could be sick.  So romantic and classy.  Not to worry, I immediately felt better so he took me for ice cream and I ate the rest of my amazing steak later.  Hooray for pregnancy.  Ugh.

We were lucky enough to have Logan's big sister Jordan (who we LOVE) come babysit for our night out.  Sam had a lovely time with her even if the first thing he said when she walked in was, "Where's Logan?" They played Fruit Ninja and made a darling Valentine for Ben and I.  Love love love that girl.  As I was getting ready to take her home, Ben went in to check on Sam and found this cute little sight.

For Valentine's Day, Aunt Karen gave Sam a Donald Duck and Baby Girl a Daisy Duck. Sam is taking really good care of Daisy for the baby. He was quite excited to have them join Mickey.  Even tonight he took all three of them to bed and lined them up around his pillow.  It'll be interesting to see what happens on Valentine's Day when we add Goofy, Minnie and Pluto to the mix.

Day 38 - Reading with Dad.

The other night Ben said, "Trace, I think Sam is reading more than we think.  We should get out the BOB books and see."  

Today we got the BOB books out.  Sam picked out one that we hadn't read in a very long time.  The last time we had it out he could just recognize the numbers.  Sure enough, the kid knew a bunch of words that I didn't even know that he recognized.  Obviously, he still needs helps with some words.  He is THREE after all.  However, we are VERY proud of our cute boy. 

 Our cute boy who didn't even start really talking until last May.

Day 37 - Love

This morning Sam hugged my leg, batted his eyes and said,  "Mom. I loooooove lunch . . . with Daddy."

Obviously, we went and had lunch with Daddy.

Before we could leave, Sam needed his "super cool" hat and his Mickey.

 Mickey had to be buckled in with Sam in his car seat.  

He said, "Mom, I loooooove Mickey."

I'm just glad that later this afternoon I got a snuggle and a, "I looooooove Mom."

Mickey and lunch with Daddy are good company.

Mother of The Year Bonus Photo

Whataburger fries at 8:00 pm. No plate. Mother of the year.

Day 36 - Expressions

Sam is really into emotions right now.  He tells us when we are happy, sad or angry.  My favorite is when he goes potty.  He says, "Sammy pooped on the potty.  Mommy, Daddy and Sam are SOOOOO happy!"

Recently we have started working on recognizing exaggerated facial expressions.  Sam really likes us to guess what face he is making.  Sad and happy both involve using his fingers move his cheeks.  Angry is accompanied by a growl.  My very favorite is surprised.  I love that he imitates my surprised look which involves putting my hands in the air.

Day 35 - Underpants

Thank you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for providing my son with his new favorite word.

Underpants.

And so the boy humor begins.

Day 34 - Super Bowl

While Sam was busy terrorizing Logan's cat, Logan was wearing my bowl on his head.  It was the Super Bowl after all. Haha.  I'm so witty.  

Day 33 - Saturday

After weeks and weeks of craziness it was so nice to have a relaxing Saturday.  We only left the house to get meals and groceries.  Then last night I got to go with Buddy to dinner (without children!) and then to see Jordan in her musical.  Such a perfect day.  

Day 32 - Prego Feet

I wish that I had a picture of my feet from when I was pregnant with Sam.  They were the feet of a Cabbage Patch Kid.  After wearing my flip flops tonight, I noticed my first mild swelling.  I'll be interested to see if my blood pressure is up.  Feet kinda weird me out so I'm not really sure why I'm posting this photo.  We'll just call it pregnancy documentation. 

Day 31 - Exhausted

Sadly, Kara left to hang out with her Texas cousins today.  I loved having her here and I already miss her.  My photo for yesterday should have been Kara outside the Kate Spade Outlet. She was in heaven. Seriously.  Like taking a kid to Disneyland. Sadly I missed my opportunity.  Next time she comes I'll do better. Hopefully she makes it back soon so I don't have to go through Kara withdrawal again.  Love you babe!

My poor little (by little I mean hugely pregnant) body (and house) has finally succumbed to the cold I've been fighting since Sunday as well as all of the excitement of the week. My house may be a disaster, my child may be naked and I might not be able to breathe but I have had a pretty AWESOME week.

Day 30 - Friends

Tuesday night was my baby shower.  It was AMAZING!  My friends Buddy and Minda did a beautiful job putting it together. 

As an extra special treat, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Kara was able to fly in from Denver this week and attend with me. Seriously, so wonderful that she could be here and spend a couple of days with me.  Sam LOVED her and is still asking for her. The kid has good taste.  To top it all off, Kara acted as my official shower photographer.  

The theme was "She's Going to Melt Our Hearts"

Kara and I are in agreement that it is the BEST shower we have ever attended.

Let's talk about the food first.  'Cause I'm pregnant and we know that puts food at the top of my priority list.  

Menu:

Muffalettas 

Brocolli Salad 

(Peanuts, bacon, cauliflower, craisins and dressing) Broccoli never tasted so good.

Empanadas de Minda 

(That was my feeble attempt at Spanish) I seriously think I might have had five.

A chocolate fountain with various goodies including the most amazing pound cake from the most amazing bakery in Austin that Minda introduced me to last year.

The HEB Cake.  

Buddy and I had this white cake with raspberry filling at a YW Christmas party.  To say that we are obsessed with it might be putting it lightly.  It is ridiculously good.

Minda punch.  

Cranberry goodness in the most beautiful punch bowl you have ever seen in your life.    

Buddy Sugar Cookie Favors

My VERY favorite sugar cookies.  I think the dozen that I ate at Christmas may have caused my Gestational Diabetes.  No joke.

 Buddy's daughter Jordan (who according to Jordan is practically Baby Girl's sister) made my banner.  It will be hung above her crib.

I think the rest of the decor speaks for itself.  So cute.

(Hi large pregnant lady in the background.) 

We received lovely gifts including tons of darling clothes and the cutest shoes you have ever seen.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am for all of my friends in Austin for giving us such a lovely shower and wonderful gifts.  

And yes, this may be the ONLY picture you will see of me from the shower. The rest are for my private collection.  :)  Kara got a SUPER awesome one of me laughing and eating.  Let's just say that pregnancy has not made me more photogenic.