ANZAC Day

I was a bit tired this year and couldn't fathom making the usual meat pies for ANZAC Day. My next thought was sausage rolls, but I quickly remembered that making those was somewhat labor intensive as well. Then I decided on the perfect compromise. The American version of sausage rolls: pigs in a blanket. They are way easier to make and one of Nic's favorites. In addition to those, I used the spaghetti squash from our 22 week photo to make Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash. It was delicious. Of course, ANZAC Day wouldn't be complete without ANZAC biscuits, so I whipped some of those up. They were delicious. We ended the night by watching the Essendon vs. Collingwood AFL game.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest we Forget

23 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Papaya

Baby’s Milestones: Baby is about 8 inches and slightly over a pound. This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Baby's weight should double in the next four weeks. Baby's skin is a reddish color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath his still thin skin. The skin is also hanging loosely at this point because the skin grows faster than the fat. By the time baby is born though, he should be nice and plump.

My Weight: 154.2 (Even with the Coldstones on Friday and a bunch of mini cupcakes on Saturday, my weight stayed exactly the same as last week)

Symptoms: My back is starting to hurt. I am still having trouble falling asleep and I'm also having trouble staying asleep. I've been waking up at least once a night (usually around 2 or 3), but luckily have been able to fall asleep relatively quickly again. My stomach skin has also been really itchy. I put cream on it every night, but it still itches like crazy. As far as physical changes go, my very inney belly button is getting flatter and flatter. I'm nervously waiting for it to pop out! Eeek! I've started to get the linea nigra (dark line) from my belly button down to about my bathing suit line, although it is very faint.

Cravings: I was really in the mood for some ice cream on Friday. It was a really hot day and it sure was delicious! Honestly, I almost wish I would have some strong cravings. I think it would be so much easier to absolutely have to have something. With me, the majority of this pregnancy, eating has almost felt like a chore (which is a huge difference from my normal love affair with food). I often wish I just didn't have to eat because nothing ever sounds good or the things that do are bad for me and the baby, which ends up making me feel guilty for eating them. I never knew eating could be such a challenge!! lol.

TP: 10

Measurements: Waist: 34   Below Belly Button: 36½

Emotions: I had a bit of a melt down this week over Picnik closing (actually I had two). I spent so much time searching for a site that is comparable and finally found one (It doesn't make any of the really cool collages Picnik did, but it can at least make the most basic collages so I can keep my weekly photos in the same format, but it constantly has technical errors. I repeatedly get errors when trying to upload photos. It randomly only saves half the collage I've made (cutting half of it off). Last weeks weekly photo took me over an hour to create because of the constant errors, when I could do it in 5 minutes on Picnic. Anyways the frustration over the constant problems pushed me right over the edge and on numerous occasions I have broken down in tears over it.

Feeling the Baby: What I'm feeling hasn't changed much. The intensity seems to be about the same (maybe slightly stronger). When I wake up in the middle of the night I can usually feel him moving around (maybe that is what is waking me up in the first place). I felt him moving pretty strong during a meeting the other day, which was very distracting. I really like feeling him move, it is always comforting, so I hope I continue to feel him more and more.

Diaper Bags and Registries

My new diaper bag arrived on Friday! It is so cute!! I love it!

I drug Nic out with me Friday night to get Coldstones and start our baby registry at Buy Buy Baby. So far anytime I go into one of those huge baby stores I get completely overwhelmed and leave. This time, as a cliche pregnant girl with my Coldstones in hand, I finally faced my registry fears head on. The girl walked us around and gave us tons of great information and recommendations, which made the process seem a whole lot easier. We didn't end up scanning a single thing in that night, but we left feeling much more confident that we might actually be able to do this.

On Saturday, we went to Pottery Barn Kids to start our registry there. We picked out our bedding along with a few other things. That night we went to Rachelle and Brandon's for a BBQ. We had such a great time!

On Sunday, I sent Nic back to Pottery Barn because I noticed that most of our bedding was on clearance, backorder, or was no longer available. (This is a pretty good indication that our bedding collection will be discontinued soon). So I decided that we couldn't wait until after our shower and hope that things would be available and sent Nic back to the Pasadena Pottery Barn kids (on his way to a basketball tournament~I'm not that mean) to have him buy all the backordered and sold out items. Meanwhile, I ventured over to Babies R Us to start a registry with them. This registry stuff is absolutely exhausting and very overwhelming, but at least we have made a start.

Washington D.C.

Nic went to Washington, D.C. from April 15-April 19 for his work trip this year. If you don't remember, last year I forced him to write an entry about his Chicago work trip. Since it was so hilarious and well-receieved last year, and I would never want to deprive you of so much entertainment, I am going to have Nic write the entry about this year's trip as well. I hope you enjoy!

After being coaxed out of retirement by my wife I am here to write another post. My time away from blogging has been nice, but I had to keep my fans happy and a comeback was the way to do this. I want to take a moment to again praise Crystal for her upkeep on this site. I know a lot of people love receiving updates on our lives and it helps people afar feel close. We have had a lot of things happening lately and some even bigger changes coming in the near future. I know it will be great to look back on these posts in the years to come.

From April 15^th through 19^th I went on a work trip to Washington DC. This was my first time visiting this nation’s capital so it was nice to check out some new scenery and a bonus to get out of the office for a while.  

Myself and a work colleague caught the redeye from LA to DC leaving Saturday night and getting into DC about 6:30am EDST on Sunday. We hit the ground running and caught a cab from Dulles, VA into the city. It was about a 35 minute ride with no traffic. We checked into our hotel and set up our booth for the tradeshow/conference. The show was actually at the hotel so that made things easier. After we were done setting up we grabbed some food and then started a day of sightseeing. We jumped on the subway (which is really easy and convenient) and went to the ‘Mall.’ From here we visited 4 of the Smithsonian Museums (Air and Space, Natural History, American History, and the Holocaust). You could spend a day in each of them so we kind of did the abbreviated visit. The Natural History was probably my favorite and to my surprise all museums were actually free. The guy I was travelling with is Jewish and his father escaped Poland during the Holocaust so we were able to find some information on him which was really interesting. His dad’s 7 siblings as well as both parents (his grandparents) were all killed during that period so that made it hit home a little more. While at the Mall we also checked out the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. From here we walked to the Tidal Basin. This time of year is supposed to be the perfect time to see the famous Cherry Blossoms. Unfortunately the city had unseasonably warm conditions in March and the blossoms came early, and by the time we had arrived were already on the ground. We walked all the way around the Tidal Basin and checked out the Jefferson Monument, then the Lincoln Monument. Next we checked out the White House, which I thought was a little under whelming. We covered a ton of ground and after a long flight grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel.

The trade show took up Monday, Tuesday and the morning of Wednesday. Not much excitement here…. I did get to meet Larry Holmes (who coincidently came out of retirement a few times) who was the keynote speaker, and they had an open bar the first night, so these were probably the highlights.

Tuesday night we went to a Nationals V Astros baseball game. We had great seats about 10 rows back from 3^rd base. It was a pretty low scoring game with the home side winning 1-0 but still fun.

Wednesday afternoon we visited Arlington Cemetery, the Korean War, Franklin Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King monuments. They were also all very interesting and contain a lot of history. Wednesday night we ate at 2100 prime which was a higher end Steakhouse. Was a really good meal and I even had a glass of red from the Barossa Valley.

Our flight out on Thursday morning was at 7am out of Baltimore (about 50 minutes form DC). We had a extended layover in Dallas and eventually got back into LA about 2:30pm.

I really did enjoy DC and would like to go back at some stage as there is a lot to see and a lot to learn. I can see how it would be a great place to take teenage kids.

Until the next time I come out of retirement,

Nic.

Kings Home Game 2

On Wednesday April 18th, my mom, dad and I went to the second Kings Home Game. We were hoping the Kings would sweep the series, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The Canucks ended up winning 3-1. The first period was amazing though and I ran into my first boyfriend, Zach, so it was still a really fun night. Hoepfully the Kings can head back to Vancouver and get that last win they need to move onto the next round.

22 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Spaghetti Squash

Baby’s Milestones: Baby has finally broken the 1 pound mark and is about 8 inches long! This week baby's sense of touch is developing. In fact, our little one has developed quite a grip by now. Since there is nothing to grab onto in utero he may sometimes hold onto the unbilical cord. The sense of sight is also getting more developed. The eyebrows and eyelashes are well formed and even more hair is sprouting atop baby's head although at this stage of fetal development hair has no pigment, so it's bright white.

My Weight: 154.2

Symptoms: I have trouble falling asleep, but I also have a ton more energy, so no complaints!

Cravings: None.

TP: 10

Measurements: Waist: 33 ½   Below Belly Button: 36

Emotions: My emotions were normal this week.

Feeling the Baby: I'm still feeling our little baby. I'm starting to see some patterns. He is really active every afternoon around 2-4. I can usually feel him after dinner and I almost always feel him from about 10pm until I fall asleep (lately sometime between 11:30pm and 1am).

Kings Home Game 1

On Sunday, April 15th, my mom, dad, Tyler and I went to the Kings Game. It was the third game (1st home game) in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings (seed 8) were up 2-0 against the Vancouver Canucks (seed 1) in the series. We ended up winning the game 1-0!! It was so exciting!! Only 1 game away from advancing to the next round! Way to Go Kings!!

Dinner with Vivian and Kate Spade Event

These photos are courtesy of the Americana Facebook page

On Thursday April 12th, Vivian and I went to a Kate Spade event for blogger Joy Cho. Vivian and I went to Granville first for dinner, then went over. On a side note, I had it in my head that the event was on Saturday despite many texts and e-mails about the event being on the 12th. (I am totally blaming pregnancy brain for this one). On Thursday morning I was so tired, I decided not to shower, threw on my comfiest clothes (including my sweater that has about 30 safety pins holding it together because I don't know how to sew) and put my greasy hair in a bun. When Vivian texted me at work about the event that night I almost died! It was so embarrassing. Everyone looked so cute and I looked like a disaster and they of course had a photographer and took tons of photos! Despite looking awful, I had a great time. Joy was so sweet and I bought my diaper bag that night at a discount!

21 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Banana

Baby’s Milestones: Right now baby is about 7 inches long (crown to rump) and weighs about 11 ounces. Baby swallows amniotic fluid every day for hydration, nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what I've eaten. Baby's taste buds are already very developed and research shows that babies who are exposed to certain tastes in utero are more eager to eat foods with the same taste after birth.

My Weight: 153.2

Symptoms: This isn't a symptom, but I have been sick all week! I had a Dr. apt. last Tuesday and I was feeling great. My doctor mentioned that this is when I will feel my best and the next month or two is when I should get as much baby prep done as possible. I left all happy to be in the feeling good zone, but by that night, I was feeling terrible! Such a bummer, but as long as our little baby is healthy, that is all that really matters to me.

Cravings: None, although I've been dreaming of cake batter rice krispy treats ever since I inhaled the first batch I made. ;)

TP: 10

Measurements: Waist: 33 ¼  Below Belly Button: 36

Emotions: Considering I was sick and my external hard drive crashed this week, I think my emotions were pretty normal.

Feeling the Baby: I've felt my little man way more this week. Sometimes it feels like flutters and sometimes it feels like little love taps (they are too soft for me to call them kicks although I'm sure that is what they really are). I feel him the most at night before I go to sleep. I love feeling him and I can't wait until Nic can feel him too.

Easter

Last year, I waited until the last minute to buy an egg decorating kit and when Nic and I went to the store to get one, there was hardly anything left. So this year, I bought a kit weeks ago to avoid that problem. Unfortunately, during the Gender Party planning it somehow got misplaced or tossed, so the night before Easter when we went to decorate our eggs, the kit was no where to be found. We drove over to Walmart at 10pm and the choices were even worse than last year! The choices were camo eggs or sports eggs. I was not impressed! I searched and searched the bare aisles and finally found a very basic kit hiding behind a few other unwanted Easter items. While we were there, I decided I wanted to start an Easter DVD collection, so we picked up a few movies. Since it was really late by the time we got home, we decided to finish the egg decorating and peanut butter egg making in the morning.

On Easter Sunday, while we were decorating the eggs, I suddenly got very shaky. I guess I wasn't completely over being sick yet and was probably trying to do too much. I ended up watching Easter movies on the couch for most of the day, instead of going to my grandparent's house or the Mercier's. Since we had decided it wasn't a good idea to go anywhere, Nic bought some plastic eggs and candy and hid the filled eggs in the backyard so I could do an Easter egg hunt. It was really sweet of him and I had a great time searching for the eggs. We had a pretty low key day in general and being sick on such a beautiful Easter day was a bummer, but Nic still found a way to make it special for me. :)

Easter Treats

I made a few delicious treats for Easter at the last minute this year. I finally made cake batter rice krispy treats. I have seen these all over pinterestand have been wanting to make them forever, so when I saw a friend post on facebook that she had made some I decided I needed to as well. They were just as easy as regular rice krispy treats to make and they tasted incredible! Nic and I ate the entire batch in two days! I seriously could not stop eating them and have been thinking about them ever since.

Cake Batter Rice Krispies Recipe(Adapted from How Sweet Eats)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/4 cup yellow cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!)
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Method:
Melt butter in the microwave and add marshmallows. Microwave until the marshmallows melt.  Add in the
(dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting.

I also made peanut butter eggs. I made these last year, but tried a slightly different recipe this year. I used candy melts instead of chocolate to make them colorful, but Nic decided that he would have liked them better if they were chocolaty. If you like white chocolate Reeses, use the candy melts, but if you like traditional Reeses than I would suggest using regular chocolate and decorating with colorful sprinkles. Either way, they will still be delicious and I'm assuming healthier than the store bought Reeses (and obviously way more fun!).

Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
(Adapted from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/)Yield: About 15 eggs

1 cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup light brown sugar
1¼ cups powdered sugar
2 cups milk chocolate chips (or 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped) Or Candy Melts
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (if using Candy Melts shortening isn't necessary)

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat. Heat until completely melted and starting to bubble a little, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time, stirring until completely combined with the peanut butter mixture after each addition. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

3. Using a medium cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon, scoop out peanut butter mixture and shape into eggs. I found it easiest to roll the scoop into a ball, and then roll it into a short cylinder. I placed it on the baking sheet, and then used my fingers to shape the ends into an egg-like oval. Refrigerate to allow the peanut butter eggs to set, about 30 minutes.

4. Once the peanut butter eggs are set, melt the chocolate chips and shortening together in the microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted. One at a time, dip a peanut butter egg into the chocolate and, using a fork, flip it over so it is completely covered. Remove it from the bowl, letting any excess chocolate drip off. Return it to the baking sheet, and repeat with all of the peanut butter eggs. Sprinkle with decorations, if desired. Return the chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs to the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set, about 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.

 cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting.

Clippers vs. Lakers

Unfortunately, I didn't end up making it to this game because I've been sick. :( I have been looking foward to this game since I missed the last Lakers vs. Clippers game because of a ticket incident. Nic ended up going to the game with Amy, Angel and Shauna's husband Mitch. They said it was a really exciting game. It was really close, there were tons of great highlight worthy plays and it had a playoff atmosphere. I'm bummed I didn't make it, but I'm glad they all had fun.

20 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Small Cantaloupe (most likely smaller than the one pictured)

Baby’s Milestones: Right now baby is about 6½  inches long (crown to rump) and weighs about 10 ounces. Baby's gender is now visible from an ultrasound.

Mom’s Milestones: I've reached the half-way point of my pregnancy! I have a feeling the second half is going to go a lot faster than the first half. We also found out we are expecting a little boy!!

My Weight: 153 (up 3 pounds from my starting weight)

Symptoms: My belly keeps growing and I love it! I had some bad leg cramps this week, but other than that it has been a breeze of a week. 

Cravings: None

TP: 10

Measurements: Waist: 32 Below Belly Button:  35½

Emotions: I had the worst day I've ever had at work Friday and even though I handled myself very well in the moment, as soon as I got in my car to head home I lost it. I started crying uncontrollably and couldn't stop. Then I got in a fight with a guy at Costco who ran his cart into my door while I was sitting in the car. All I wanted was an apology and he refused to say sorry. It amazes me how rude people can be! On Saturday we had our Gender Reveal Party which was a blast. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I loved seeing our friend's and family's reactions when they all found out we are expecting a boy. It is a moment I hope I never forget.

Feeling the Baby: I'm still not feeling him much. I had another doctor appointment today and she said not to worry. He should grow a bunch in the next few weeks and I should start feeling him more and more.

Gender Reveal at Work

On Monday, April 2nd, I took the left over cake into work. We still had the entire top piece so after I announced that I was pregnant. I cut the cake to reveal the gender. Even though the people at work didn't seem overly excited, I still had fun doing a mini-reveal. Nic took cupcakes and candy into his work to celebrate with his overly-excited co-workers. 

Sunday Brunch

On Sunday morning, April 1st, we went out to breakfast with the family, Laura, Amy and Angel. I sure wish my family lived closer because it is so fun spending time with them. After breakfast my mom and I went and bought some baby boy scrapbooking stuff. Nic and I spent the afternoon celaning up.

Gender Reveal Party

On Saturday, March 31st, we had our Gender Reveal Party. I've been getting things ready for weeks and was beyond excited to share our exciting news with our closest family and friends. (As a side note, if I wasn't able to invite you-I'm so sorry. I tried to keep the party small since I knew I would be hosting it pregnant and thank-goodness I did keep it small because with all the bed rest I've been on it would have been difficult to have more people. Do know that if I could have invited everyone, I would have. Nic and I appreciate all the love and support we have received from everyone and you all mean the world to us!). Sabrina came over in the morning and we went and got our nails done. It was really nice to spend some time with my sister getting pampered.

After that we came back home, had some lunch, and got back to the final touches for the party. Amy came over and helped too. While I made tissue pom poms (in record breaking time) Amy and Sabrina blew up balloons, decorated the stairs with tissue and pom poms and made an adorable back-drop for the photo booth. Lindsay also came over and helped out a ton. She helped Melinda from CakeGoodness set up the dessert bar. She hung up some of the poms. She even blew my hair dry for me while I did my make-up. While she was doing my hair and I was sitting there in my white dress, I had flashbacks to my wedding day. I was wearing white, getting my hair done, and felt extremely happy and excited for the future.

My parents showed up a bit early too thank-goodness. My mom decorated the TV area, my dad made the punches and they both made all the food while I frantically finished getting ready. Tyler and Laura got there a bit early too so they helped out as well. It was so nice to have so much help and I don't think everything would have come together so perfectly if they hadn't all been there.

We had so many details to make our party special. We had a Gender Poll where everyone wrote down their guess, everyone filled out wish cards for our baby. We had pink and blue props for our make-shift photo booth. (This was a HUGE hit with the kids). We had all our baby's ultrasounds hanging up for people to take a look at. We had pink and blue punch, pink and blue barefoot (the one with the baby footprint on it) chamapagne. We had themed food: ta ta's (chick-fil-a nuggets), hamburgers (how they sometimes describe girl parts during gender ultrasounds), weenies under the covers (pigs in a blanket), and balls (risotto cheese balls). We also played an old wives tale game. Sabrina had a bunch of old wives tales that we went through and for each answer she either put a blue or pink onesie on the poster board. All along way more wives tales had pointed toward girl, so I was surprised when most of the ones that I had never done before like the ring on a string test said boy. Girl ended up winning by only one.

After the game, we gathered everyone around and Nic got his family on skype for the big reveal. A bunch of people had complained about us knowing before hand what the gender was saying that the whole fun was seeing our reactions. We originally found out before the party because Nic wanted the moment to be private. I wouldn't have minded either way, but if I had to do it all over again I would do it the same way. It was really special to find out in a more intimate setting and have a few days to take it in on our own, but mostly, I liked doing it this way because instead of dealing with our reactions, we got to take in every one else's. I so wish I had taken a photo because that moment was priceless. I hope I never forget that moment when everyone first found out we are having a boy. It was one of the best moments of my life.

After the reveal, we took Team Pink and Team Blue pictures and enjoyed all the delicious desserts. Then we all talked, took more photo booth pictures and Nic and I opened some presents. We also caught up with Nic's family who celebrated the news in Australia. Nic and I ended the night by reading all the wonderful wishes for our little baby and talking about how much fun we'd had. It really was such a special day!!

Anatomy Scan

Nic, my mom, Sabrina and I went for my anatomy scan on 03/28/12. I was really nervous for it, especially since we had had that down syndrome scare, I was praying constantly that the baby would be healthy. First we had a nurse take some measurements of the baby's head (which looked huge), then she took measurements of the baby's leg and arm (both looked really long), then she checked a few other things before leaving to get the doctor. He came in and went through a few different measurements of his own before trying to get a few good 4D shots of our baby. Our baby had its hand in its face again! We now have months worth of hand covering the face ultra sounds. I will be shocked if this baby doesn't always sleep with it's hand in it's face considering that is the position baby is in at every single ultrasound. While the hand thing is kind of cute, it wasn't for this particular ultrasound because it really affects the image they are able to get of the baby's face. So after those few failed attempts of face shots, he told us the baby passed the test and was healthy. THANK GOODNESS!! Then he asked if we wanted to know what baby was. We said YES! He quickly scanned down and said there's the rocket! Sabrina said what and the rest of us all looked a bit surprised and confused. He said "It's 100% a boy!" Then pointed out his boy parts. We all thought it was going to be a girl and were pretty shocked. Especially Nic, who had been guessing boy the whole time. He said, he felt like he was just finding out I was pregnant for the first time. He also admitted that deep down even he must have thought it was a girl. I thought it was a girl until the last few weeks when I became convinced it was a boy, so I was actually more prepared than Nic.

After the appointment, we went to Pottery Barn Baby, the Children's Place, and Baby Gap to do some shopping. This is the first shopping Nic and I have done (although to be fair, Nonna technically still did all the shopping) and it was a bit overwhelming. The entire first trimester, we just focused on not getting too attached in case something happened. Then we had the down syndrome scare to focus on, so this was the first time we both realized there is a very good chance we are actually going to be bringing a baby home in a few months and we need to get prepared. We have a TON of stuff to do to get ready for baby and it sort of all hit us at once yesterday.

After our shopping spree, we met my dad for dinner at Roys. It was delicious! We talked about the appointment, about how almost all the Old Wives Tales were wrong, how most people who guessed were wrong, and just about what our little boy will be like. At the end of the meal, they brought out a plate that said, "Congratulations It's a Boy!" on it. It was thoughtful of them to do that and we all really appreciated it. Then my dad suggested we smear the Boy part and put it on facebook as a tease, so we did.

After dinner, we dropped Beena off at the airport and my mom and I went to Babies R Us. Now that store is REALLY overwhelming! I didn't even know where to begin! We are so excited about our little baby boy, but boy do we have a lot to do in the next couple of months!