3rd Trimester is Here!

It's hard for me to believe that my FINAL trimester has arrived! I can't believe how quickly our little guy's birth date is approaching. We have started making a dent in all that there is to prepare for, and although there is still PLENTY to do we are getting SO excited. We have enjoyed the increase in our baby's activity lately. He has been kicking a lot more (and A LOT harder) We can even watch my belly change shapes as he wiggles around each night. The whole pregnant experience TRULY is a miracle and it really has made me appreciate and marvel at how amazing a women's body really is! Here are a couple photos for all of our far off friends and family...

That belly really has popped out in the last week! I still am feeling great and have enough energy for my normal work day, chores, and the gym 3 or 4 times a week. Some days I have the appetite of an elephant and other days not so much. I have had more heartburn in the last few weeks, and am keeping my fingers crossed that this means we will have a little baby with a head full of hair! :)

Who needs Burger King's Cini-Minis?

Tonight I was in the mood for something sweet. We haven't been to the grocery store for a couple of weeks and so I had to be creative. I found a can of crescents in the refrigerator and got an idea...what if I made some cinnamon rolls?! With a little help from cooks.com I found an easy recipe that turned out PERFECTLY! These little bits of goodness were DELICIOUS! Travis and I give this treat two thumbs way up and would highly recommend giving this simple treat a try!

MINI CINNAMON CRESCENTS
1 (8 oz.) can crescent rolls
1/4 c. butter, softened
4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins (we used craisins)

GLAZE:
1 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. apple juice or milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal. Spread with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; generously sprinkle over rectangles. Sprinkle with raisins (or craisins). Starting at shorter side, roll up each rectangle. Cut each roll into 5 slices, forming 20 rolls. Place cut side down in ungreased 8" or 9" square pan. Bake 17 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Drizzle over warm rolls. ENJOY!

Thank You...I'll take that as a Compliment!

Tonight at the gym I was in the locker room getting my bag and jacket after a great workout. A relatively- fit looking lady (probably mid-30s) came up to me and asked how far along pregnant I was. I told her 27 weeks and her jaw dropped.
"You're kidding right?" she said.
"Uh no...." I replied. (thinking to myself does she really think I would lie about this?)
She justified her comment by replying,
"I NEVER looked that great at 6 months pregnant...Heck, I didn't look that good at 3 or 4 months pregnant either!!"
I am pretty sure I was a million shades of red at that point as she had gotten the attention of about four other women who all were STARING at me now. After thanking the women I hurried out of the locker room. So far, I haven't had any experiences with random strangers and their comments on my pregnancy. It's flattering and all...I just hope that they don't start touching my belly now too!

26 weeks ALREADY?!

Here is a photo from last week at 25 weeks prego...that belly keeps on coming!

This week marks the 26 week mark! Seriously, where is the time going? We are going to have a little bundle of joy here before we even know it! We still have lots to get ready and if I think too much about EVERYTHING at once it gets overwhelming and stressful so I have chosen to take it one day at a time and get a LITTLE something done each week. Today we had our monthly appointment with the doctor and got to here baby's heartbeat again. It was holding steady between 145 and 150 beats per minute. Everything is still looking good and progressing as expected which is always a relief to hear :)

Iowa Christmas 2009

Travis and I had a fabulous time in Iowa over the Christmas holiday. It was so great to spend lots of quality time with my family and to get some well earned relaxation time. Every night we got a minimum of eight hours of sleep and every morning we woke up on our own instead of to the alarm clock blaring.

Here are my sweet parents on Christmas Eve. They are the most wonderful Mom and Dad and I appreciate everything that they do for Travis and I. My Dad is a goofball 95% of the time and keeps everyone laughing with all his witty comments. I just love that his sweet tooth can keep up with (and surpass' my own!) My mom is definitely a "hostess with the mostest" and goes out of her way keeping us comfortable. We practically have to fight her to help with the dishes or cleaning up after dinner! We love you both SO much!! Thanks for such a wonderful time!!

Travis, myself, and Matthew on Christmas Eve. We were so grateful for the time that Matthew took off of work to spend with us during this trip. Matthew's girlfriend Jana also was able to spend some time with us earlier on in the week before going back to Illinois to spend Christmas with her own family. I wish that we lived closer so that the four of us could hang out more...we had a BLAST!!

With a combined effort from the six of us we were able to put together a 1000 piece puzzle in only a day and a half! Who knew old fashioned fun could be so addicting?? Seriously, Travis and I were up until 2 a.m. the one night!!

Our last night there, we dug out Matthew's collection of K'Nex to build the big Ferris wheel. It was a bit easier building this masterpiece as an adult than it was when I was a kid, however it was still surprisingly challenging making sure that each piece was in place correctly to make the wheel go 'round. Travis has decided that our little guy will definitely have some K'Nex in his toy collection someday!

On our way to the MSP airport on Monday morning we decided to make a pit-stop at the Mall of America. That place is HUGE!! I have been through the entire mall before, but Travis never has. Our main purpose for stopping was to show Travis the Lego Land inside the mall. It is incredible all these massive sculptures that all were constructed by normal sized legos. They have dinosaurs, aliens, construction works, a pilot, and even a functioning clock tower!

There is just so much to see in the 4 floors and over 500 stores that they have in the Mall of America. Not to mention the indoor theme park complete with 4 roller coasters as well as an aquarium!! We decided on our next trip through MSP we are going to take a day or two to do some exploring in the area.

As always, all good things must come to and end. After nine days of vacation it was back to reality. Roxy and Noobie were very excited to have us home and it was nice sleeping in our own bed. Thanks again to my AWESOME family for making this another memorable trip!

Iowa Baby Shower

While we were in Iowa over the Christmas holiday Travis and I were spoiled by my mom and dad's families at our first baby shower. Despite the poor weather and driving conditions we had a great turn out and got a lot of great stuff for our little man.





Jana (aka Event Photographer), Matthew (aka Event Gift Scribe), myself, Travis, Mom, and Dad


Here is a close up of the CUTE table decorations that my dad's sister Donna made for the the shower. She is so creative! My mom took her a package of diapers, ribbon, socks, and teething toys and this is what she came up with! BRILLIANT! :)

A New Year...

...definitely calls for a new blog post!! Sorry about the drought lately to all my loyal reader's out there. I do have pictures to post and stories to tell. However, I only have my husband's undivided attention for a limited time more before he gets engrossed in the throws of another school semester so I am savoring every last second we get to spend together! :) Stay tuned for pictures from our Christmas in Iowa, our first baby shower, recent updates to our home, as well as my growing pregnant belly profile!