20 weeks...

woooaah - we're halfway there! I can't believe that my pregnancy is halfway over - I'm both counting down the seconds til we get to meet our daughter and petrified that I'm going to be responsible for caring for an infant.

the past week or so of pregnancy have been interesting - my two week vacation home from work have given me a lot of time to reflect on both being pregnant and the whole idea of having a baby - a daughter. I'm embracing my pregnant body and getting comfortable with it - this is the most I've ever weighed in my entire life and that was a struggle for me in the beginning but now I'm happy for every pound I've gained because this whole thing isn't about me - it's about creating life and our sweet daughter that is growing inside of me.  I'm still incredibly in awe of a woman's body and our ability to actually create life - there are so many moments that I catch myself just awed by the whole idea of pregnancy and how we all (as humans) were created by our parents and the science behind it all... I cannot wait to meet our sweet girl and get to know her and see what traits she gets from each of us (both physically and in her personality).

DJ asked me today in the car if I think about the fact that I have a baby growing inside me sometimes - my response, ALL THE FREAKING TIME. I then called our daughter a parasite.... he didn't like that very much. But seriously, it consumes my mind, I don't have many close friends that have kids/have had babies so I haven't been around a lot of pregnant women so I just haven't thought about it a lot. Especially since I spent a chunk of my life not wanting to have kids - it just isn't something I thought about... the science behind it, the miracle of it all and just the amazing ability and gift we have as women to give life. okay. enough of that... here are this week's stats:

• week: 20/40
• baby j is the size of a cantaloupe or banana depending on the email and is measuring 10 inches long!
• feeling pretty good, super stuffed up and congested but other than that no complaints!
• loving pre-natal yoga, I did it twice this week - which doubled last weeks whopping one time. my goal for next week is 3-4 times. I miss yoga and have felt really good after doing it, I'm excited to work it back into my routine!
• I lived in sweatpants and yoga pants this week getting dressed to go out in public a few times and I loved the sloth-like nature of my week... it suits me so well.
• number of courses in the dinner I made DJ earlier this week: FOUR. I'm so proud of myself for making six different dishes from scratch for our amazing asian themed dinner earlier this week! we've been loving the leftovers the past few days too, yum! my fave = homemade wonton soup from scratch!
• visitors: 2 - sarah & mike came to see us last night and we had a yummy crepe dinner in Athens and a relaxing night playing board games, great times with great friends! :)
• new cars bought: ONE! santa brought DJ and I a very special delivery this past weekend, a new VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI! We love our "family car" and can't wait to have a little baby to make it complete!

this week's styling bump --

*please note that I have my iPhone in my back pocket... but yes, my butt has also grown along with my bump... just not that much... or at least that's what I tell myself.

my 20th week in pictures...

our new car: welcome to the family, big red! ~ my handsome husband driving us down to Athens for lunch! ~ the best cake I've had in a really long time - yummy hot chocolate cake from Publix! ~ nightly cup of tea = new routine!

 cold cup of organic milk & brownies made from scratch = heaven ~ oliver cuteness x 2 ~ our fun menorah!

Ollie & I watching You've Got Mail - an alltime fave! ~ gave myself a mani/pedi this week ~ merry christmas morning with Ollie!

so that's that. so excited to celebrate two years of marriage this weekend with my love and work on convincing him to buy me a new iPhone 4s.... I mean, I'm carrying his child, it's the least he can do, right?! haha... love you jiggs.

oliver lately....

Ollie has been feeling a little neglected lately with all these posts on sweet baby j so I figured I'd let you all see what he's been up to lately... 

as you see, a lot of the usual - cuddling, sleeping, causing trouble and just plain lounging.

yup, he's my kind of dog.

lake laniers magical nights of lights...

last week my in-laws, mom and I ventured out to Lake Laniers Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier, it was a little pricey going the week of Christmas so I would recommend going earlier in the month and bringing a coupon - you can get them at a bunch of different places in the area including Publix, etc. The lights were great and it was relaxing to drive through the eight miles of lights and just listen to holiday music. My favorite part though was exploring Santa's workshop at the end of the light display and all the fun decorations.  Also, they had a smores pit, grilled corn, a carnival, a Santa kids could take pictures with and lots of other fun stuff! 

I just had a blast taking pictures of all of the fun displays of decorations inside Santa's workshop...

The Coke themed tree...

I loved this tree, it SNOWED, so cute!

loved this light colored tree with the fun lights on it!

more fun sparkly decorations...

four lovely ladies [don't forget about the little lady in my tummy] - my MIL, me (and baby j) & my mommy :)

can't wait to go back next year, I definitely recommend it if you're in the area! I really want to bring our little girl with us check out the lights at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens next year too!

merry [belated] christmas!

Merry [belated] Christmas! can you believe that Christmas has come and gone again? I swear, this year has flown by... 2011 has been a blast and I am so excited to see what 2012 will bring us! I'm not rushing this year though because I'm trying to soak up the next week of vacation and just lounging and relaxing. How long do you leave your decorations up? I typically let them stay up through the new year but this year I'm taking down all our holiday decorations tonight or tomorrow - which makes me a little sad, but let's be real, I want to get it done now before I go back to work.

So before it gets too far gone I wanted to share a few more of our favorite holiday photos...

love this picture of our blended faiths... capturing christmas & hanukkah all in one shot!

 our adorable new sock monkey ornament from Josh & Tiffani...

 the ornament I got DJ this year for the first night of Hanukkah...

 some other faves...

our new baby on the way 2011 ornament - can't wait to have a baby's first christmas ornament on the tree next year!

hope you and yours had a merry little christmas, now onto celebrating NYE - but more on that later in the week! 

19 weeks...

19 weeks is here! I can't believe we're almost at the halfway point (I know, every week I can't believe how far we are... get used to it). It's been a really great week as we had lots of quality family time, a great family hanukkah party and just basic sloth time relaxing around the house.  I got to spend time with my mom and my best friend - what could be better?! Our little girl has been fluttering around a storm in my belly and I can't wait to start feeling her kick and for DJ to feel her move!

19 week breakdown:

• baby j is the size of a mango! six inches long and weighs about 8.5 ounces.
• gender: bring on the five pointed crowns, we have a ZTA legacy! It's a girl! 
• I've been feeling alright this week, just having a bit of a sore throat, lots of coughing and general achey-ness... but I've enjoyed having lots of downtime just relaxing and hanging out with our sweet girl (in my belly, hah)
• We got the results of our second trimester screening test and everything came back normal, which is a huge relief! 
• current cravings: barbeque popchips, strawberry ice cream, fresh fruit, anything and everything. let's just say I've gained a bit [LOT] more weight than what I've been reading I should have at this point, oh well. that's life - pass the ice cream.
• time spent without DJ: three days/two nights. sad. he just got back from his business trip last night! Ollie and I are so happy to have him back!
• number of episodes of 16 and Pregnant Watched: 6 [all in one day. pathetic. I know]
• number of games of Phase 10 played on my iPad: 2093. seriously. a LOT.
• leg cramps: happening pretty much every night now, no fun. 
• hours spent researching strollers and infant carriers: 3244

19 weeks bumpin, bumpin - in my uniform of the week, sweatpants and tank tops... 

our 19th week in pictures...

 1. yummy mexican skillet from tin lizzies 2. ollie the big brother snoozing in his bed 3. OPI - Princesses Rule [appropriate for the night we found out that we have a little princess on the way] 4. ollie cuddling with his little sister

1. It's a girl! We were so excited to share the news with everyone! 2. Ollie loving on his grandmas 3. popchips... yup, I ate the whole bag. yum. 4. my new pandora bracelet! don't you love the baby carriage?!

so there it is - excited for christmas this weekend and a fun week next week spending quality time together, a fun night with friends AND celebrating our two year anniversary! 

rainbow cupcakes!

so last week I decided to make rainbow cupcakes for a few of my coworkers birthdays and I couldn't be more happy with how they turned out.

a lot of the instructions that I found on how to make them just called for a white cake box mix but I was too lazy to go to the store and buy a box - and I wanted to make them from scratch so I found a white cake recipe --

looks like fun, huh?

here's how you make them it's super easy!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Gel food coloring


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. 

3. Divide batter into six small bowls (1-2 tablespoons each)

4.  Add gel food coloring to batter (purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red/pink) - I did pink instead of red just in this batch.

5. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.

6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Frost and sprinkle away after cooled!

[white cupcake recipe adapted from allrecipes]

I definitely say go for the gel food coloring if you're going to make them, I've never seen batter or cake come out as vivid as this did and I'm excited to make a rainbow cake next and play around more with the gel food colorings!

In other news, it's gross outside and I'm currently in sweatpants, on the couch, eating fruit, drinking tea and  watching 16 and Pregnant - I don't have plans to do anything else today but be lazy and watch trash tv - sloth day at its best. Vacation is good. :)

holiday snapshots....

As I shared yesterday, this past weekend was our family Hanukkah party - it was a great time as usual and  of course mass chaos with all of the family at the house [aka two grandmothers, all three boys and their wives (which includes two pregnant women), four kids and four dogs -- throw in some parents, friends and heavy serving of booze and presents and that was our night]! Seriously though, this is why we moved to Georgia - to be around family and take in the holidays and just random weekends with all the people we love. This weekend was no exception to the random fun that occurs when we're all together. Here are some snapshots of our celebration...

Holiday decor...

a ridiculous amount of presents...

 my amazing momma-dukes...

the cutest kids around...

the best friend a girl could ask for...

cousins hanging out in utero...

this picture is entitled - "my husband is a perv..."

but seriously - I love him [and he is a perv]...

happy hanukkah friends!