It's A ....

Today we found out what we were having!
So here is how it worked...
I had my ultrasound on Wednesday and asked the technician to not show or tell us what we were having but to write it down on a slip of paper I had provided. She did and also included a picture and sealed it in an envolpe. Because I knew I was going to peak if I had it for very long I drove straight to my sisters and gave her the letter.
Kelsey then opened it without looking and did a FaceTime with my mom and showed her the "word" (Ok Kelsey may have accidentally seen it...)
My mom came up today and threw together a little party...Ok she went all out!
It was just my immediate family at my house and my mom decorated everything in black and yellow. The theme was "What Will it Bee"

My mom had me play this game where I had to answer some questions and depending on my answer I would put a bee under boy or girl
Some examples:
Do you crave the heals of bread or the middle?       Heals: Boy Middle:Girl
Hands dry or softer?       Dry: Boy Soft: Girl
Eating more or sick?      Eating: Boy Sick: Girl
Which breast is bigger during pregnancy?       Left: Boy Right: Girl
Have you been crabby or happy?      Happy: Boy Crabby: Girl
Do you crave Salty/Sour or Sweet?  Salty: Boy  Sweet: Girl

Well the game ended in a tie!!! Although my mom did not read one question that was a little more PG-13 and might have been a little awkward to share but that answer did make it a win for the Girl side!

So it came time to reveal what we were going to have!
My mom had me open a bag of balloons first. Now they way it is supposed to work was if it was blue balloons it was a boy and pink for a girl. So the balloons where YELLOW!!!

Then she had me cut into a cake, which again was going to be pink or blue...but no it was also YELLOW!

So then FINALLY my mom had us open gifts.  Inside were some baby clothes and they were...PINK!

We are going to be having a little girl in April! We are so excited and David is already wrapped around her finger! James is still excited to be a big brother!

Halloween 2012

We had a great Halloween this year!  James was old enough that he understood and got the concept of Trick or Treating.  We all got dressed up and went to a few houses in our neighborhood.  He had so much fun and once we went to the second house he realized that he could leave the candy in his bucket instead of eating it right away.  He was so cute saying Trick or Treat and Thank you. He also loved seeing all the other kids walking around and would say "Hi Friend" and sometimes he would say "Oh Scary" and then laugh.
When we got home it was still early so James helped and out candy at the door which he also loved!
He was so tired though that when it was time to wash his face he fell asleep while I was washing it! I don't know how that is possible...

My cute little skeleton 

James loved that his face was painted 

The whole family

David and I are a white trash couple 

I'm sorry David makes one ugly woman

I had tap in certain places to make my "beer belly" look even bigger!

I'm 18.5 weeks pregnant in case you wanted to know...

16 weeks

-I can feel the baby moving more
-As soon has I'm done cutting my fingernails I have to cut them again!
-I shed worse then the dog! But I have a lot more thick long hair
-I still don't want to eat a lot but I have branched back out to trying to eat meat (still no chicken)
-I have crazy mood swings and I feel bad because the hubby gets to experience it daily...
     I love him in the morning, all day long, and even when he gets home from work, but as soon as it's 10pm I can't stand him! I still love him and I tell him that but I also tell him to stay away from me and don't touch me! At least I try to warn him and try to do nice things for him while I don't want to kill him...
-James tries to give his "platypus" to the baby every day
-I get those crazy sharp stabbing pains in my lower stomach every time I sneeze, cough, or move too fast
-I finally look more pregnant instead of looking like I ate a whole pie (I'll get pictures soon)

14 weeks

How far along?  14 weeks - size of a lemon 

Total weight gain/loss?     -6 

Maternity clothes? I need to get pants soon... 

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

Sleep? I now have carpel tunnel so I have to wear these wrist braces at night and I can't sleep with them on!  

Best moment last week?  We heard the heart beat again! (see bottom for the story...)

Movement?  I'm pretty sure I'm feeling little bumps... It's definitely not gas

Food cravings?  I hate food

Sickness? Hopefully it's finally gone 

Food aversions? Everything! 

Gender? The soonest we can find out is November

Labor signs? Lets hope not

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy and food

What I am looking forward to: Watching my belly grow 

Milestones: The baby can track light 

-(14 weeks 5 days) We had another doctors appointment this week and when it came to hearing the heart beat it gave me kinda a scare...

During my first appointment she couldn't find the heat beat but we did get quick little sounds of it so we new it was there. Because of that though she sent us to get an ultrasound and we saw the baby swimming around.

This time she searched for a long time and could not find it. And as the mother your excitement turns to worry pretty fast. I was literally holding my breath. 

She stopped with the doppler and said lets see where your uterus is and to her surprise it was much higher then she thought and where she was looking.  So she picked up the doppler again and started looking higher. Then there it was! But only for 3 short seconds and baby moved again and she couldn't find it again. But she was happy with what we found and said baby was healthy.

12 weeks

How far along?  12 weeks - size of a plum 

Total weight gain/loss?     -6 

Maternity clothes? I need to get pants soon... 

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

Sleep? Not really... I wake up every hour or so and just can't get comfortable 

Best moment last week?  well it wasn't last week but we got to see the the baby on ultrasound and "it" was moving and bouncing all around 

Movement?  I thought I felt something the other day while wearing my jeans that are getting tight....

Food cravings?  No

Sickness? I only get sick every other day... 

Food aversions? Yes! MEAT! meat totally grosses me out...and then some other things too

Gender? The soonest we can find out is November

Labor signs? Lets hope not

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy and sleep

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move 

Milestones: The baby can open and close its hands

Cooking

We are expecting Baby #2 in April!  (April 1st to be exact) And we are so excited! 

So I am 12 weeks and we already had an ultrasound so we got to see our baby moving and kicking around and that was so much fun! 

A little about the pregnancy...

I have been crazy sick! All day long! But I know when my head is buried in the toilet that it means things are going the way they are supposed to. So even though I'm miserable I'm thankful at the same time. And James as been so good. He will come in and rub my back for me and say "Ok Mommy? Ok?" but sometimes he will mimic me.  I also have been extremely tired, light headed and dizzy. 

But things are looking better.  I only get sick every other day or every 3rd day.  

I also have major food aversions. Meat, the main one being chicken (bleh!) The thought, look, smell and sound (yes chicken has a sound) of it makes me sick! Things that are overly sweet, anything that has a strong smell, veggies....

I still don't have any real cravings, it's just whatever sounds good that I think I can keep down. 

Other than that James is excited to be a big brother and David is excited to be a dad again. 

Edit:  I guess technically my due date has changed slightly... the baby is measuring big so the due date is March 29th...but for simplicity I'm sticking with April in general. (but I won't be sad if I go into labor early) 

Also I qualify for a VBAC which is my goal but the only way I can do it is if I go into labor on my own and of course there are no complications. 

Also, also...if you were wondering this pregnancy is a complete 180 from James.  I was hardly sick and felt generally good 

8 weeks

How far along?  8 weeks - size of a raspberry 

Total weight gain/loss?     -2 

Maternity clothes? Not yet. 

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

Sleep? I am loving that James has been taking 2 hours naps these last to weeks because I am so tired

Best moment last week?  We told our parents! 

Movement?  Not yet.

Food cravings?  Yes... but it comes and goes and changes every hour

Sickness? All day long! But James is so nice and rubs my back for me while I am sick 

Food aversions? Kinda like the cravings it changes all the time

Gender? The soonest we can find out is November

Labor signs? Lets hope not

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy and my lunch

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat 

Milestones: The baby is losing it's tail this week

We are Pregnant!!! We are so excited!  So my due date right now is April 1, 2013
I thought I would keep a little journal of sorts to help document the pregnancy and if I stay on top of things even add a picture or two.
(I stole this from my friend)

How far along?  6 weeks - size of a sweet pea

Total weight gain/loss? +5 (but that was all the junk I ate on vacation and it's already coming off) 

Maternity clothes? Not yet. 

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

Sleep? I don't sleep well anyways but I am getting some and I will sometimes put on Sesame Street just so I can take a quick nap

Best moment last week? I guess actually finding out we were pregnant and then finally accepting it! I just couldn't believe how fast it happened! And also calling and making my first doctors appointment (for 10 weeks) 

Movement?  Not yet.

Food cravings?  Nope.

Sickness? Yep! I am constantly nauseous and then I get "sick" but mostly just in the mornings and early afternoons 

Food aversions? Sweets like really sweet things

Gender? The soonest we can find out is November

Labor signs? Lets hope not

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat 

Milestones: The baby's heart is pumping this week

Cheesecake brownie

So I'm thinking this is more cheesecake then brownie...
But this was where I got my idea, here, I made it twice but it was just so dry! So then I started to add things and it turned out so tasty!

Ingredients:
5 oz bitter sweet chocolate
1/2 C coconut oil

4 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
1 C Sweetener (I used Splenda or Steviea, you can use sugar but maybe cut it back to 3/4 C)
1/2 C unsweetened coca powder
3/4 C greek yogurt
3 eggs
1 TB coconut oil


Melt bitter sweet chocolate and coconut oil over double boiler. Let cool for 5 min.
Cream together cream cheese, sweetener, cocoa powder, greek yogurt and eggs until smooth. Add 1 TB of coconut oil and mix till smooth. Mix is melted chocolate.
Pour into a form spring pan and bake for 30 min at 350

Chicken Nuggets (Paleo)

These are really really good Chicken Nuggets! And guess what they are healthy for you!

1 pound Ground Chicken
1 egg yolk
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup + 1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup unsweetend shredded coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375
In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/2 cup shredded coconut and salt and pepper
In another bowl combine chicken with spices and 1/2 cup coconut flour and 1 egg yolk and salt and pepper
In a skillet heat up coconut oil
Make 2 inch balls of chicken mix and roll in dry mix. Flatten slightly and place in hot oil. Cook on each side for 2-3 min until brown. Remove and place on wire rake (cooling rack) over a cookie sheet and then bake for another 5-6 mins until cooked through.
Best served with home made Ketchup (recipe to come soon)

Mint Ice Cream and Creme de Menthe Ice Cream

Mint Ice Cream

Makes 2 servings

1 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk
1/4 Cup Milk
1/8 tsp Salt DO NOT LEAVE OUT!
2-4 packets Stevia
1 packet Duncan Hines Mint frosting mix in
       (Ok I know that sounds crazy but I could not find mint extract anywhere! So I thought why not?!?)

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze for a couple hours.
When ready microwave for 30 seconds and then place into the blender for a few seconds.
Optional: Add a few chocolate chips when blending


Creme de Menthe

Makes 2 servings

1 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk

1/4 Cup Milk

1/8 tsp Salt DO NOT LEAVE OUT!

2-4 packets Stevia

1 tsp Creme de Menthe Flavoring (It is a really strong flavor so a little goes a long way)

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze for a couple hours. 

When ready microwave for 30 seconds and then place into the blender for a few seconds. 

Optional: Add a few chocolate chips when blending 

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 servings

1 3/4 Cup Coconut milk
1/4 Cup milk
2-4 pakets Stevia
1 tsp Vanilla
1-2 Tbl Coco Powder
1/8 tsp Salt DO NOT LEAVE OUT!

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Microwave 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds. Stir and then pour into ice cube tray. Freeze for a four hours
When ready to eat place tray in Microwave for 30 seconds and then dump into a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Optional: You can dump in a Tablespoon or 2 of chocolate chips to add a little crunch

Cake Batter Ice Cream

A healthy option for ice cream and it's also delicious!

This recipe makes 2 servings

1 3/4 Cup Coconut milk
1/4 Cup Milk *(almond, dairy, soy...or you can use all Coconut)
2-4 packet Stevia
1/8 tsp Salt DO NOT LEAVE OUT!
1 1/2 tsp Butter flavoring
1/2 tsp Vanilla flavoring
sprinkles optional
yellow food coloring optional (3-4 drops makes it really look like cake batter!)

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and pour into ice cube tray (or divide into a few small bowls) and freeze for a few hours.  When ready to eat place ice cube tray into microwave for 30 seconds and then toss into a blender. Blend for a few seconds or if you would like you can blend longer to have more of a "milkshake"
Enjoy!

*1 can of Coconut milk is a little shy of 2 Cups so instead of opening another can I just use whatever "milk" I have in the fridge to make a full 2 Cups. (Hope that make sense)

Note: I can not taste Coconut but David is a little more sensitive to the taste so he says he can always taste a small amount. But he loves it and I love it and it really hits the spot for that sweet tooth!
And if I remember correctly I think that 1 serving is about 80 calories?

I am such a slacker

I am slacking so bad on my blogs! I have posts written and I just need to put pictures with them but I just find other things that I need to do that it gets late and I don't get back on and finish them! I promise that I will post them within the next day or too! (I have a ton so I know I can't get them all done in one day!)

Valentines 2012

I made a Valentine just for you

Red white and lacy too just for you

I'll leave it at your door then I'll run

Hope you don't catch me because it's such fun

David and I celebrated our 4th Valentines Day together!
I stayed up the night before and made cookies for David that said I love you more than...(there were 12)

James gave this picture to David 

David come home for lunch and I made yummy decorated crepes 

For dinner I made our heart shaped meatloaf and mashed potatoes...

Then "people" kept knocking on the door and leaving little gifts for us ;)

Someone left this for David 

James got a Dumbo

and someone left me this awesome necklace 

I love our little traditions!

of course random people weren't doing this we would come up with some excuse to leave the room and quickly go knock on the door and then try to sneak in before they notice! It's fun and silly and I love it!

David also wrote me a really beautiful letter! He said I could post some of it...

"You make me so very happy sweetheart. I love coming home to my beautiful wife and my wonderful son. I know that you are my soulmate. I love that quote that says 'When I saw you my soul said "Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you!"' 

No one else in this world could make me as happy as you do, understand me as well as you do, or care for James as well as you do...."

Oh so cute and sappy! I love him so much!

school

Yay! I'm so excited that I can say I'm a student at BYU! I started class last week and I'm only taking 2 night classes.  Tap and Weight Lifting!
They are both going to be so much fun! Good classes to help me get back into the swing of things!

Our Christmas card 2011

donuts!

For Christmas I got an awesome babycakes donut maker! (Thanks mom!)
So I tried it out yesterday and I made some really good doughnuts!

I used a recipe that my family uses to make Danish Pastry Puff and I thought hey why not put in here and try it!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (has to be butter NOT margarin)
1 C water
1 tsp almond flavoring
1 C flour
3 eggs

In a large pot boil butter and water to a rapid boil.  Add almond and remove from heat.  Add flour immediately and stir till dough comes together.  Add one egg at a time and mix together.
I put the dough in a zip lock bag and cut the tip off and filled the donut makers and cooked them for about 4-6 minutes, or until golden brown.

Frosting:

1 stick butter
1 lbs powdered sugar
4 Tbl milk
1 tsp almond flavoring

Mix all ingredients together. Then frost the donuts and enjoy!

Goodbye 2011 Hello 2012

We were in St. George for New Years Eve.  We had fun just hanging out and playing games with my family.
The city decided not to do a party this year so David, James and I went to lower Denny's for some snacks and to have fun.

We got James a quesadilla, something he normally loves, but instead he decided that he was going to eat just the barbecue sauce.  Whatever floats your boat kid! Oh and we also got him his very own soda! A first for him!

We had the count down every shouted and cheered and James thought it was fun and joined in the fun!
After that of course he was getting sleepy so we went back home.

James fell asleep on the table cuddled up with Grandpa

2011 was a fun year and I really enjoyed watching James grow and seeing his personality really start to shine through. David and I have had a blast and can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!