Belly boast

I've received a lot of requests lately for some new belly pics, so here they are. These were taken at our thirty week mark, which was actually two weeks ago. Since then I have discovered my first belly stretch marks - EEK! Actually, they were probably sneaking up on me for awhile, but since they are on the underside of my belly it took me a little while to even see them. I'm still convinced Justin saw them weeks ago and, knowing how poorly I would take it if he pointed them out, opted to keep quiet and let me enjoy my bliss of thinking that stretch marks were one pregnancy drag that I might get to skip out on.

I have loved the little table that my belly makes for my meals and drinks.And here I am demonstrating the funny "Binder women" perky head pose. My sisters will know exactly what I'm talking about.Only eight more weeks to go!!

Is it time yet?

I am not talking about if its time for this baby to be born, although we are eagerly anticipating getting to say the famous line "Its time!" in about two more months. No, today my thoughts are centering around another event that happens this time of year. For the last two weeks I have been wondering why I have yet to discover a little girl in a cute little uniform ringing my doorbell. Yep, its Girl Scout Cookie time!

And my little neighbor girl that has come ringing at my door for the last two years has yet to make her appearance. I am beginning to wonder if I need to break my loyalty with her and just go find myself another Girl Scout already. She certainly knows that we're good for at least 5 boxes, at least three of which this year will definitely be Samoas (yum! yum!). Honestly, if she new I was pregnant she probably would have come to my house first. Any assumptions she might make that I will be buying more cookies in my current state are absolutely correct! In fact, we discovered this year just how wonderfully the cookies keep in the freezer for use later in the year. I think Justin and I just finished off our last box of Tagalongs not two months ago. So I'm thinking 10 boxes sounds about right for this year. I'm giving her two more weeks to make her appearance, then I'll be looking for Girl Scout referrals.

The little alien inside of me...

This little guy is getting more and more active with each passing day, and I am loving it. He usually prefers to do his acrobatics while I'm at work, which is a nice alternative to keeping me up all night. I think he already knows I am a light sleeper. And Justin got to feel some kicks for the first time after the Superbowl the other night, which was such an incredible moment. Perhaps our little boy already gets excited over football like his daddy does.

Justin just loves taking pictures, and this pregnancy has only encouraged his hobby. Here is the latest belly pic from last weekend (I am 27 weeks along). In case you can't tell, Justin also enjoys playing with the color feature on the camera.

The Crib Champions!

After hearing a few horror stories about putting cribs together, Justin and I finally tackled the challenge ourselves this last weekend. Nobody suffered any injuries, no objects were thrown, and we even knew to assemble the crib in the nursery so we didn't have to suffer the realization later on that it would not fit through a doorway. Although we put the first few pieces together backwards (which we quickly discovered and corrected), and Justin did have about a 15 minute struggle with a leg that was being difficult, it all came together just right. We even timed ourselves at one and a half hours for completion. Even though I pretty much just held the pieces together for him, I like to think that my supervision skills came in quite handy. Yes, we are a great team!

On another note, the crib is quite beautiful and sturdy. Hopefully we will have our bedding by this weekend.

I am rockin my New Year's Resolution!

For those who aren't already aware, Justin is officially the chef in our family, and I thank my lucky stars for that. As he says, he is the cook because I am the baker. It is no secret that I LOVE to bake, and I do it quite regularly. I have had a sweet tooth for as long as I can recall. I'm not sure if my mom ate lots of sugar while she was pregnant with me or what, but I can eat candy and pastries until I'm blue in the face. In fact, usually within a few minutes after a regular meal my body is already craving something sweet as a finishing touch. And baking is a wonderful way for me to satisfy those sweet cravings.

However, I entered 2009 being 22 weeks pregnant and I suddenly realized that I am not only just months away from becoming a mom, but a mom who can't cook! How terrifying is that? Now, don't get me wrong, I know my little boy will love the fact that I enjoy baking him goodies all the time - and I pray he inherits a fast metabolism so he can fully enjoy my baking. But something about my child seeing his father as the chef of the family did not sit right with the traditional gender roles I was brought up with. Not to mention the fact that I'm planning on taking three months of maternity leave and have no doubt that Justin will come home from work during those three months fully expecting a nice meal for dinner. And so, the 2009 New Year's Resolution was born: I will cook at least one meal per week this year.

I know what you're thinking, one meal a week isn't quite rocket science. But we all know that New Year's resolutions, if too extreme, only fall by the wayside by mid-February anyway. Plus, with only two of us in the house one meal actually provides leftovers for lunches and possibly another dinner.

My first meal of 2009: Jambalaya. I kinda cheated since this is a rice mix from a box that you just add sausage to, but hey, it was a meal just the same. And it tasted delicious!

My second meal of 2009: Beef Stroganoff. This one I actually made from scratch, and from our beef that is still taking up our entire basement freezer. I used my sister in law's recipe and it was excellent!

My third meal of 2009: Who knows?! I leave for Anchorage tomorrow to see my sisters and Mom, so cooking is the LAST thing on my mind right now. Any meal ideas? Anyone?