Happy Holidays!

Well, baby has been very active this week now (after my worrying a few weeks ago), particularly Christmas night; he was doing all kinds of thrashing around in there.

I'm working on reading a variety of baby books now, and it's tough because they each tout a little different theory: I read Bringing Up Bebe before we were pregnant, from an American living in Paris on French parenting that she observes and her theories/observations on their techniques, which I liked. On Becoming Babywise suggests getting into a feeding/sleeping schedule, which sounds great in theory (to have a 4mo old sleeping through the night) but I feel a little overwhelmed trying to imagine how I'll feed and pump (so that I don't always have to be nursing him); then some say this is too schedule oriented. Happiest Baby on the Block discusses soothing techniques, though these seem to be more for younger infants, so maybe I could follow both books, one for the first few months then the other. I also was just gifted a book on breastfeeding, which will be good to read because I so far find it a little overwhelming to understand just how to gracefully pull it off. Plus there's What to Expect When You're Expecting and a smaller, very similar book my OB's office gave us, though I've read ahead enough in those that I haven't picked them up in awhile; yeh yeh, now I just get bigger and bigger and eventually deliver him, but THEN what? (I also started reading Les Miserables, since I had it and remembered very little of the story I read over 10yrs ago, without knowing that a movie of the musical was coming out... so now I better hurry and finish so I can see the movie too).

I asked Matt to read at least about what happens during labor/delivery. He keeps trying to get me to promise that I "won't be mean" to him; ummm I'm not sure I can make that promise without having experienced this ;) But I did tell him "well if I'm in labor and you start asking me questions that you should know the answers to, because I asked you to read about it, like 'what does 8cm dilated mean,' then I'll be really annoyed." He wants it to be just us (and the hospital staff) in the delivery room so I told him, "okay, then I'll need you to really know what's going on so you can support me." We're taking a childbirth/parenting class through the hospital in a few weeks, just a 6hr class... guess that's all we need?!

Looks like a real baby now!

Week 29: Baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. His bones are soaking up lots of calcium; this trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in baby's hardening skeleton each day.

And it's time to start planning some showers :) My dear friend Jenn is flying here all the way from Colorado to throw me a shower next month. I'm hoping to also pick some ladies' brains about things like swaddling and routines and if they followed a schedule.

One of the things I asked from Matt for Christmas was help with a little home improvement project I've been plotting for months, particularly since it's so cold and snowy outside and we had a whole free weekend. In fact, I'd already cut an inspection hole in the drywall... then just left it. We have very limited storage in our house in general, particularly in our guest/baby's bathroom, so I'd done some web searches to find photos and instructions and a video for building recessed shelving. We started off small this first time but since this turned out well enough, I want to see if we can build one more to hold towels, sticking out even a little more since it would be over a towel rack (vs right behind the door and sink).

tough toolman

trimming drywall

There's only 4" depth in the wall but we built this to stick out 2" for a little more room.

with stain; need to add trim still

obviously then it was nap time; note their cute sweaters

white Christmas

We ended up having a delightfully white Christmas, not just with leftover snow (like usual here if we have a "white" Christmas) but with actual fresh snow. It was beautiful.

Matt claims that his family used to open all their gifts on Christmas Eve except for largest items and what Santa brought, which were saved for Christmas morning. I may have to verify this with his mom, but either way, I'm not psyched about taking that on as our tradition. My family's tradition (based on my mom's family tradition) was to open one gift on Christmas Eve (chosen by the parents), which was usually something we could enjoy that night: movie, game, PJs, stuffed animal, etc. But, indulging Matt, he and I opened our gifts for each other on Christmas Eve. Matt had already bought himself a gun safe for his handguns, and he's very tough to buy for, but I think I found some things he can use. We tried to go a bit light this year, ya know, due to a little one on the way. We also watched several Christmas movies on the nights leading up.

As a HILARIOUS gag gift, my very sweet husband bought me a Big Show action figure.

Ellie was pretty funny with her stuffed wiener dog present, though she had a hole torn open and was ripping out stuffing within an hour.

Christmas morning, Matt made us all his famous biscuits and gravy; my parents came over to have breakfast with us and open their gifts. I finally had another special occasion to bust out the china. Aren't they cute?! Think they are still trying to finalize what they want their grandparent nicknames to be...

Mom's hideously ugly Christmas vest

My mom made an amazing turkey dinner that rivaled Thanksgiving. Honestly I may never attempt to learn to cook a feast because hers is so delicious! My contribution was cookies (though I think we have an oven issue because half of my batch were burned/ruined) and, not to toot my own horn, THE best apple pie I've ever made. I was inspired by a story I heard on NPR, though I found a recipe elsewhere. Check out the recipes below:

Dad's Fav Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Penuche Frosting

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown sugar penuche frosting:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix into the creamed mixture. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on wire racks.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly, then stir in the milk, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups confectioners' sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency. Spread warm frosting (it hardens) on cooled cookies.

Perfectly flaky pie crust

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon table salt
* 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, small dice
** or... 1/2 teaspoon salt & 6 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup shortening
7 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar until well combined. Using clean hands, add butter and toss until just coated. Rub butter between thumb and forefingers to incorporate into flour mixture until butter is in lima bean-sized pieces and comes together in quarter-sized clumps when squeezed in palm, about 2 minutes. Add shortening, toss until just coated in flour, then rub into flour mixture until mixture forms pea-size pieces (some big chunks should remain) and comes together in fist-sized clumps when squeezed, about 1 minute. Drizzle in half ice water and rake through mixture with fingers until just moistened. Drizzle in remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time and comb through mixture with fingers to moisten. It will go from being a shaggy mess to coming together. Dough is moist enough when it is moistened through but is not wet when pressed. (Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.) While rotating the bowl with 1 hand, push dough between other palm and side of bowl to gather into a ball. Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a flat disk, then close in wrap. Place in coldest part of refrigerator (usually back bottom shelf) at least 30 minutes before rolling out and forming into a crust. (I doubled this so I made two balls and wrapped separately)

Apple part of Apple Pie

(from Better Homes & Garden's cookbook)

6 cups thinly sliced, cored and peeled apples (I used seven apples: a few Granny Smiths because they are so tart, and a few other varieties to sweeten it more, I think maybe Braeburn and Gala, though one of them ended up being really too soft and juicy (also because I bought too early and didn't refrigerate). I wanted Pink Lady because they are a nicely firm and sweet but tart apple that seems to bake well but couldn't find. I cut each apple in 8s, then chunked them with just a few thin slices for variety/texture.)

1 Tbspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbspoon flour (needed more because my apples were so juicy)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (could've done more)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg   

In a huge bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. In another bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, then toss to coat apples. 

(I let the apples sit for a few mins here while I rolled my pie crust and the softer, juicy apples started... juicing... so that when I returned to the bowl, the apples were sitting in a puddle, which I drained. I should've tossed them with more flour/sugar/cinnamon mix because even when pie was baked, it was still way too juicy; when we took out the first piece, a whole puddle of juice gathered in its absence and I drained it again so that the bottom crust wouldn't get too soggy. It's really the type of apple I used because I haven't had that issue with other varieties).

Take chilled pie crust from fridge and press lightly onto floured surface. Roll out with floured rolling pin in an evenly-thick circle a little larger than 9-in (like 12in so you'll have room to roll over a nice crust edge). I found it easier to roll one direction, then lift and rotate or even flip over the dough before rolling again. That helped it from sticking so much to the counter because even though the counter was floured, the dough still picks up the flour as I rolled. I tried not to over-work it here too and just give nice, firm, even long strokes with the pin. Gently lift pastry and line 9-in pie plate. I left the extra dough hanging off.

Pour apples into pie plate. It's okay if they are bulging up because they will cook down to even with the top of the pie plate. Roll top pastry (I kept this dough ball in the fridge cold til I was ready for it) and top the pie. Take extra dough and roll inward (I tried to tuck the edges in so it had a nice clean look), pressing into the edge of the pie plate. Cut slits in the top. For a really lovely looking pie, do an egg-wash: crack 1 egg into a small bowl and whisk til smooth, then with a pastry brush, brush the egg onto the pie top. You can also brush with milk. Sprinkle with white sugar.

Gently cover top of pie with foil to keep the top from browning too much (not too tight or the crust will start baking to the foil). Bake at 375' F for 40 mins, then remove foil and bake another 20 mins or until golden brown and fruit filling is bubbling a little out of the slits.

Note the collection of toys and a rawhide bone surrounding her

Now (hopefully) a chill partial week of work before another four-day weekend for me! Then New Years... should I set resolutions? Maybe just make some hopes/wishes/intentions for the new year to come. Usually on Thanksgiving (or my birthday since they are so close), I like to take time to write about what I'm grateful for and really reflect on that; sadly this year, between coaching the Turkey Trot and baking, etc, I let Thanksgiving get away from me without adequately taking some real quiet, thoughtful time to reflect. I like to do something similar for New Years, not so much to set dieting goals, etc, that, let's face it, I probably won't keep all year because the time frame is a bit too long (I am, and I think studies show most people are, better with shorter term goals of a few months that lead up to a larger goal). But I like to think about what my intentions are for myself in the coming year and with such HUGE changes on the horizon (I'm assuming the biggest ever! ... marriage truly IS different than "being in a serious relationship" and it's even different than living together, but I'm guessing that becoming a parent is a bigger change ;) ), it would be good to take a little quiet reflection time. We'll see what comes of it.

The (Potentially) Last Days... SPOILER: not

Matt's been watching a lot of the Mayan end of the world on 12/21/12 programs on TV and while I doubt he believes anything will really happen, he thinks people may go crazy. People are already crazy; the horrible shootings we've had in the last two weeks are so sad and depressing to think about the destructive and cruel nature of man. It makes me feel guilty for bringing a child into a world like this. I keep hoping maybe, if there is any relevance to their prophesies, since their calendar was cyclical, perhaps after 12/21 will be a rebirthing/reimagining of mankind in a positive, healing way. It's a nice idea at least. Pregnancy makes me more emotional but who wouldn't cry hearing about the elementary shooting and hearing the president speak about it and thinking about all those broken families right before Christmas. It's a sad time in our world, in my opinion.

Though in our life, of course, things are moving right along and are happy. Oh, SPOILER ALERT, the world didn't end on 12/21 ;)

Last weekend, we headed over to Cottage Grove for the annual family Christmas party. Matt was pretty excited to discover a Justin Beib singing toothbrush and it's his new fav white elephant gift. We had a nice get-together and I took home a super cute soccer-ball-looking piggy bank for baby's room; and Jeff thought no one would steal that from him! It was great to see all the family!

Later in the week, Matt's office had a company holiday party at Cascade Lakes Brewery, which would've been much more fun if I could drink. Alas. I also noticed that my stomach must be smooshed because I get full pretty quickly. I barely ate anything (comparatively) at the party and was full.

Happy last Christmas without kids 

At 28 weeks, we officially start the third trimester: baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of head to heels.He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

We start seeing our OB twice a month now. This month, I'm still right on target for size and weight, despite the comments like "a baby for Christmas huh?" that I'm starting to get from strangers. Ummm... three months later but sure. Geez I'm not THAT big yet. Although I did see a woman at prenatal yoga who, no joke, was my size and due in two weeks. How does that happen?? I've heard that boys carry larger, but not sure if that's just an old wives thing. I'm also supposed to start gaining about a pound a week. Holy cow! I mean, I have been indulging on the holiday treats, so I'm gonna try to quit that so I'm gaining healthy weight, but that just seems like so much. I'm already at like 172lbs, which is at least 15lbs more than I've ever weighed.

I did find out from my glucose screening test that, while my glucose level was only 96 (apparently it just has to be less than 140), my iron level was 11.5 and they want it 11.7-15.5 so I have to take an iron supplement now. By the way, the glucose screening is not fun. I tried not to read much about it and didn't think much of it. Basically, I went after breakfast (not eating anything with sugar though) and had to quickly drink this sugar drink that tastes like a flat 7-Up, then wait an hour til they can draw my blood. I wasn't supposed to leave the clinic, which I thought seemed a little silly but where would I go in only an hour anyhow, so I brought my work laptop to do some offline work while I waited. What I didn't anticipate is that the stuff made me super light-headed and sleepy. That's really not a reaction I expected. I couldn't concentrate at all. I felt a little queasy but mostly just so light-headed. Even after an hour and after they drew my blood, I was wondering if I was really in a safe state to drive because I still felt super weird. In hindsight, maybe I'm glad I didn't read about that.

Jack and Ellie don't realize that my stomach is larger; they both try to share my lap

So after baby not moving around much last week, this week he's been much more active again. It's an interesting feeling: both cool and very strange at the same time. I can't quite figure out what I feel moving yet. Usually high on my left side, I feel something hard, which I think might be his butt because I feel him kick my ribs sometimes but whenever he hiccups, I feel it really low so I think his head is down. In fact, I tried to capture him on video moving around. He's fast though. I feel him a lot but I don't catch him moving around often because by the time I look down, he pauses for a bit. When we see it, it looks like waves across my stomach. Matt, my mom, and my friend Jasmine are the only other ones to feel him move; you really have to be there at the right time. On Friday late afternoon, I was lying down and listening to a Dave Matthews station on Pandora and, I kid you not, he moved during every Dave song but not the others. He must be a Dave fan like his mommy! ;) I've read that if we listen to the same music, or read him the same books, repeatedly while he's in the womb, he won't remember them per se once he's out but he may find the rhythm comforting subconsciously. So I've been reciting him one of my fav poems, "The Road Not Taken" by Jack Frost, since it's short and I have it memorized. Anyhow, here's my attempt at showing his movement, which is a little tough to distinguish from my breathing, but if you watch the lower left part of the video, you notice it jump a little:

His room is coming together... I finally hung the baby quilt. My mom had the idea to use a branch. I glued fabric to some clothes hangers, so I wouldn't have to sew tabs onto the quilt, then it's tied to the branch. I also put up a cute tree (which has already fallen off); I'm thinking of cutting out some family pictures and making it a little family/genealogy tree (Matt thought that would be weird but I think it'd be really cute).

We decorated so early for Christmas this year, I'm shocked it's still not here yet. And we've been getting a bit of snow all week. We'll see if it stays around for a white Christmas.

Holiday Recipes! Seriously... try them

I can't believe how fast the last two months have gone by... This week, 27 weeks, the end of the 2nd trimester: baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Baby hiccups may be common from now on.

And let me tell ya, he hiccups a lot, or it seems like a lot. After this week's lil freak out though, I don't mind feeling anything, even if he's hiccuping and it feels like he's so low in my pelvis that I feel his movements reverberating through my bones (which is very weird). He had been quite the kicker, but this week, he seems to have slowed down. I was feeling him very regularly and a bit vigorously, but in the last few days, his movements are less often and much more subtle, like shifting feelings than jabs. I was only a little worried until I mentioned it to Matt and he instantly suggested we immediately call our doctor. Then I started to obsessively worry. The odds of something being wrong, of a miscarriage (or, actually, now it would be considered a still birth), are very slim, yet... it does happen to someone. Think I've watched too much Long Island Medium lately; she is always talking to people who lost an infant and it's so sad. So all that night, I tossed and turned and couldn't stop thinking about how he wasn't hiccuping and kicking me in the ribs. I feel like I got no sleep and the next morning was super emotional. But I called my O.B. and the office instructed me to do a "kick test," for which I have to drink something sugary (28g of sugar in 8oz of O.J., can you believe that?!, vs 10g in hot cocoa and 20g in hot apple cider mix), then 15 mins later, I had to lie down somewhere quiet for up to an hour until I could count 4-6 movements. Well... he started jabbing before 15 mins of waiting, then I counted 10 movements in the first 10 minutes. So... he's fine.

It's a strange feeling, starting to become a parent. Both Matt and I feel this connection, this growing affection and care for this tiny little being who we haven't technically "met" yet, who we only get to interact with through kicks and jabs. Maybe more of it is our own projection and imagination about what he may be like as an infant, as a child, as our son, what our relationship with him might be like. And that's a very sweet thing to imagine. I had a very sweet dream about him a few weeks ago (think I was lucid dreaming) in which I was hugging my body pillow and thought "I wish this was my baby" and suddenly it was. He was probably a few months old in my dream, light brown and very soft hair, chubby cheeks. And in my dream, we just cuddled. It was one of those dreams that you don't want to watch up from and you hope you'll be able to recreate. I have this strange sensation of missing him, even though I haven't got to hold him (in my arms at least) yet.

Friends' holiday party

Great pic of me, Matt, thanks... He was excited to be able to balance something on my belly.

The holidays are in full swing and I've been doing some good baking; time to share some good recipes...

My ultimate holiday fav... I can't quit eating it...

Carrot cake "loaf"

(300 yr old recipe a la my grandma Georgia)

2 2/3 cups water
2 2/3 cups white sugar
2 cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
2 cups raisins
2 T butter
1 teasp cinnamon
1/2 teasp cloves
1/4 teasp nutmeg
1/4 teasp allspice
---
1 1/2 teasp baking soda
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350` F. Bring water, sugar, carrots, raisins, butter and spices to soft boil, about 20 mins. Cool to room temperature. Remove 1 cup and add the baking soda; this will bubble. Stir well and add back to rest of mixture. Add flour and mix well. Pour into two greased loaf pans (7" x 4.5" x 2"). Bake at 350` F for 40-50 mins until brown and pulling away from edges. Tastes best after it's cooled, and the flavor improves as it ages (I think). Serve with cream cheese, or for those needing a sweeter taste, a cream cheese frosting.

Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

2-3 Tbsp sugar

1 teasp vanilla

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature

pinch of salt

---

powdered sugar to coat (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 300` F and prepare a large cookie sheet. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl, then add vanilla. Add butter in little pieces and combine with (clean) hands until mixture looks like a coarse meal with nut bits. Form dough into small balls no larger than a walnut, BITE size would be easiest later, and place on cookie sheet at least an inch apart. Bake 35 mins. When still warm but cool enough to touch, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Cool completely. When cool, dust again in powdered sugar. Makes about 15-20 cookies.

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 teasp cream of tartar

1 teasp baking soda

1/4 teasp salt

---

Coating-- mix together in bowl:

1/4 cup sugar

2 teasp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400` F. Mix sugar, butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Shape dough into 1 1/4-in balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 in apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set (our oven cooked these REALLY fast, so I'd say 8 mins because these came out crunchy).

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Step by step directions on the link, with pics

1 box red velvet cake mix (plus ingredients required for mix)

----

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 teasp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

----

16 oz Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate

6 oz Baker's White Chocolate

sprinkles (optional)

Bake cake according to mix. Let cool completely, then crumble in large bowl. 

In separate bowl, cream butter and cream cheese til smooth. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, then beat until combined. 

Incorporate half cream cheese frosting into cake crumbles, then add more frosting until the cake crumbles just come together (too much and they will be soggy). Scoop by tablespoon then roll into balls and place on wax-paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate 1/2 hours.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate in microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments, stirring between, until smooth. Dip cake balls in chocolate using two forks, then place back on wax paper. Melt white chocolate and use a spoon to drizzle over cake balls. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles, then refrigerate until chocolate hardens. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Okay, one more non-dessert... from Matt's side of the family... 

Cheesy Potato Casserole

i.e. "Mormon" Potatoes

also referred to as "Funeral Potatoes" 

this is apparently THE quintessential potluck comfort food to bring to all occasions

8 medium potatoes (peeled or not), cubed (or shredded) and boiled til almost done

Mix in saucepan until cheese & butter melt:

1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream

1/3 cup diced green onions, diced chives or minced onion

Pour mix over potatoes in a 9x13 baking pan. Top with crushed Corn Flakes, and shredded cheese if you wish. Bake at 350` F for 45 minutes.

And in final news, I received my certification... now I just need to get a frame :)

Baby Registry

If anyone's interested...

We have a BabiesRUs registry (search by name) and a few things at Target baby registry (search by name). I don't care if people want to look at registries then buy that (or something similar) elsewhere; I'm not particular about brands or the particular things I picked out, just thought it would show what I'm leaning towards. BabiesRUs ended up being the easiest online registry to navigate and they had good selection, esp since we basically have no baby stores in Bend (Target has a super small selection and Carter's is an outlet).

Also, given that we are first-timers, those with more experience should feel free to get what they think might be best (I'm really just guessing on everything- brands, quantities; I'm not too particular). E.g. some other people mentioned stuff from Carters or Costco (like zippered sleepers, which I couldn't fine in the registries).

We'd love to build a baby/children's book collection (we have virtually nothing now). And these are a few other cute online things I've liked: Tuck-me-in book (for eventually) and Uncle Goose Braille/Sign Language ABC blocks.

We'd like to have a few cute boy things but also some gender-neutral things (in case, ya know, baby #2 is a girl). His room is 75% blue and 25% green, like this. There's no theme. We like all boys themes -- sports (basketball, football, baseball), automobiles/planes/trains, animals esp woodsy ones (like raccoons, moose, bears), western/cowboy, mustaches, space, cute lil monsters. I'm not crazy about monkeys (but I love giraffes), not that it matters. But again, some gender-neutral stuff is cool too. And I like all colors.

ALSO we welcome hand-me-downs (and lended items). :)

Babymoon!

Happy December! Can you believe it?!

We started off last weekend with a babymoon to Portland! It would've been amazing to go to some beautiful sunny beach (um, not that I have a beach bod anymore) but we did what we could comfortably afford, considering we're trying to also save for this baby. From all my work travel, I had some United miles and United (unlike Alaska) allows you to apply miles towards hotels or other things. So we were able to book a hotel room on Saturday night at the Hilton downtown for free!

Saturday morning, we leisurely got up and eventually got on the road for our three-hour drive over the mountains to Portland. Though it was the first of December, there was hardly a skiff of snow on the pass. We headed to Washington Square Mall for a little window shopping; Matt loves malls and is always complaining that Bend has no indoor malls where you can just stroll and look at stuff and enjoy a Hotdog On A Stick (or whatever other junk food). We'd actually bought most presents already so there was really nothing to shop for. We did buy ourselves a video baby monitor (that syncs with smartphones), although it ended up being crap and we have to figure out how to return it now. It felt like we just snacked all afternoon- split a little Panda Express, a little See's Candies, a little Orange Julius. Sniffed candles at Yankee Candles (Matt's fav, which I enjoy now being pregnant since I actually have a sense of smell). Played with some stuff at Brookstone. Then we headed to Matt's fav restaurant, Buster's BBQ, where our friends Spencer and Mary and their two adorable boys met us for dinner. Pulled pork... always right.

After dinner, we headed to our hotel in downtown, which (like the mall) was all beautifully lit up and decorated for Christmas. I joked that Matt should take me to where he proposed on the waterfront, but we saw it a few times from a distance while driving. At our hotel, there was some rocking company holiday party (seemed like a big engineering company) and I was tempted to try to crash it ;) So the first hotel room they gave us had two full beds (and a dirty glass bathroom door)... not that they knew we got the room for free (well, for air miles), they only knew we booked it through a third-party. So we had to go back to the front desk and get a room with a king. That room was fine enough except the shower floor was dirty (literally clumps of dirt) and we discovered that the shower drain didn't really drain (it did, but so slowly that after about 3 mins, I was standing in a pool of water). Nice. But they had a nice saline pool that we went and splashed around in for a few. Swimming while pregnant does feel really nice.

Having worked up a little appetite, we ventured down to the Bistro for some dessert. As we sat at our table, Matt noticed that he could see our dessert sitting on the counter waiting for our waitress to bring to us; it was an open kitchen, where you can see the cooks preparing the food. There were two cooks standing there talking with another waitress and Matt almost walked over to get our desserts himself; it was taking awhile considering there were hardly any other people in the bar and considering our desserts were already plated and just sitting there. I think Matt worried that the people just standing around our desserts were just breathing on them. Then, he saw one of the cooks reach over, then put something in his mouth. At first he thought maybe the cook had his own food near our desserts, but then he noticed the guy again picking at our desserts then putting his fingers in his mouth, scooping something up on the plate and eating it. Several times. I kept turning around but didn't see anything. I suggested that maybe when they cut our desserts, there was extra and the waitress gave it to the cooks. Nope! Our waitress finally went over there, picked up one of the plates and brought it to us. The tip of the pie was missing and in the caramel sauce on the plate, there were obvious swirl marks from his fingers. Matt began to tell her what he saw when we all looked over at the cook, and he did it again to the other dessert! I don't think the waitress could believe it. She took the dessert back over and talked to him, then came back to us and said he'd told her he was just taking a wilty looking raspberry off the plate. Ummm sure, and that's why he ate it?! And multiple times kept picking at the plate?! Needless to say, we didn't get dessert. I was super bummed. We complained but all they gave us was two free continental breakfasts (which were valued at $15 each but all it consisted of was coffee, juice, oatmeal and some dry looking muffins), gee thanks.

Look how cute Matt is

Well, we made the best of it anyhow. The next morning we took advantage of the free breakfasts and then some. Then we checked out, headed to Clackamas Towne Center for a little more browsing, had some yummy lunch at Panera Bread (man, I wish we had one in Bend), and went to visit my grandma before heading home. It had actually snowed overnight in the mountains so it was a pretty drive home. Though when we did get home, we noticed that our house was totally dark... and the garage door wouldn't open... and in fact the entire street was dark. Power outage. Fortunately it had just gone out a few minutes before we got home so the house was still warm. We lit some candles, ate some terrible fastfood since I couldn't cook dinner, and were more appreciative of the pleasure of power when it finally came back on. I wish we'd have taken more pictures... oh well.

So, at 26 weeks, I'm really showing. Strangers are now asking my due date. It keeps catching me off-guard because obviously I've known about this for 5 months but no one else I haven't told has. Now it's clear to the world. Which is also cool because it means now that I just don't look like I need to do situps.

The network of nerves in baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both Matt's and my voice as we chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. His testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

He's been kicking a lot, multiple times a day though I can't figure out any pattern. I've also started to notice his hiccups. It's very rhythmic and feels like when your heart is racing (like you can really feel your heartbeat) but in my abdomen. It's not painful but it's not exactly comfortable. Ugh one night this week, I got up at 2am to pee and when I got back into bed, he started kicking me in the rib and hiccuping for the next 20-30 minutes. Getting kicked in the ribs does not feel good. It feels like someone poking you in the ribs but from the inside (not jabbing, not necessarily painful, but uncomfortable). He's also gotten big enough to start kicking me in organs, like my bladder. So I'm both grateful to feel him moving, because sometimes it's cool and because I'm always glad to know he's in there healthy, but also not enjoying the ways in which it's unpredictable and uncomfortable.

Also this week, I tried to make Matt an ugly sweater to wear to work for their annual photo. I would think that Goodwill would have some but they hardly had any holiday clothes, and I didn't have time to go elsewhere so I bought this ugly Santa shirt and sewed on some hideous stuff from The Dollar Tree. I think it turned quite... ugly!

And I officially found out that I'm in the CMP directory now, so yes, I really passed my certification. I am now a Certified Meeting Professional, which I suppose means I should be able to plan a conference or event, though in my current job, it means very little except that it may seem impressive to clients being that I have a certification in our industry, even if the work I actually do is not planning work. My clients are the meeting planners, not me, but whatever. I studied quite a bit for it over the last 10 months, and ended up having to take the exam twice, so I'm proud to have passed.