Happy, Happy Birthday!!

...to my sweet, sweet husband! 

He turns the big 30 today!

 

I fall more and more in love with you each and every day. The past (almost) 5 years have been 

the best of my life. This year has been quite the eventful one for us - a wedding, pregnancy, soon-to-be new home, and your dirty thirty! I look forward to where this next year takes us and of course the many more birthdays we'll spend together. I love you, forever and always.

I hope you have a wonderful and special day, Pumpkin!!

xxoo 
Love, Your Baby Mama

Stay tuned for super awesome and totally obnoxious pictures from his Bar Golf Birthday celebration!
I can assure you, the pictures (or outfits) won't disappoint. :)

Hello BABY!

We had an appointment with Dr. Reuss today. It went really, really well!!!

Here's out sweet little Baby Bear as of today. He/she is measuring right on schedule at 10 weeks 3 days. The heartbeat was 170 bpm! Baby was sleeping in relaxing, but it didn't take long for her to gain a burst of energy. She started kicking her legs like crazy and then I swear she was waving to us with both hands. Melt my heart. We both (sorry to throw you under the bus, pumpkin) teared up, it was truly incredible. So, without further ado, here's our beautiful baby!

Here's the profile view. You can see the umbilical cord attached. Look at how large the head is compared to the rest of the body! Don't get too excited. I promise, I'm not growing an alien baby.

 This is what the baby is supposed to look like at this stage. 

Here, we're looking at Baby head on (no pun intended). You can see her sweet little (BIG) head, 

her hands, part of her body, and feet down at the bottom. Part of her body looks transparent

 simply because of the position she was in.  I can assure you, her body parts are in fact attached and not floating around in my uterus. :)

 

I think it's absolutely fascinating that she's about the size of a prune, yet she already has all these 

features, including all of her primary body organs. Simply amazing!!

Look how much our little Bear has changed in just a few weeks. Just three short weeks ago at 7 weeks 1 day, Baby M looked more like this. It's heartbeat was 136 (that a bean!) beats per minute, which was right where it should have been at the time. I know it looks like a little blob of nothing, but it's our little blob of something! :)

!

There you have it folks. We no longer have a little bean and instead a BABY!


**Disclaimer: It's too soon to know the gender, however, I feel pretty strongly that Baby Bear is a girl. Therefore, you may or may not see me referring to the baby as a girl more and more often. Poor thing, I may have to go back and edit all the old posts if I find out it's really a boy!

Fish Tacos

Since I've had a tough time eating meat, especially chicken, fish has been making quite the appearance in our diets. Although I have to limit it to twice a week due to the mercury content. These tacos are the bomb.com and have quickly become a healthy favorite in our home. They're super simple to make and oh-so-delicious.

Step 1: Salsa! This simple mixture is really what makes this dish.

2 mangos

1 cucumber

2-3 small tomatoes

about half of a red onion

1 can of jalapenos or green chilies

salt and pepper

Chop up all of your ingredients and mix! The amount of jalapenos or chilies you decide to use depends on your desire for spice. We I like spicy food, so I use a 7oz. can.

Step 2: The Fish

white fish fillets (we like Tilapia)

olive oil

seasoning (I use salt, pepper, and cayenne red pepper)

seasoned breadcrumbs

Cut your fish into small chunks. Place your fish into a bowl and toss with the rest of the ingredients. I don't use a specific amount of each, it just depends on how many fillets I'm making.

Broil the fish on high for about 5 minutes. Flip the pieces over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Step 3: Final Touches

all of which are optional depending on how awesome you are your preference

white corn tortillas

cabbage or lettuce

shredded cheese

sour cream

guacamole

lime

Wrap the tortillas in a wet paper towel and warm them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

Top the tortilla with your fish, salsa, and any additional toppings. If you're a Sriracha fan like I am, you might enjoy a dab or two (or ten in my case) in each of your tacos. Enjoy!

10 weeks

Hallelujah! We've reached double digits people - 10 WEEKS! 30 more weeks to go. I'm a 1/4 of the way through this pregnancy. I don't know that this makes me happy or sad.

How far along? 10 weeks

Baby's size? a prune or kumquat, whichever you prefer!

Total weight gain: 2.5 pounds (up to 5 in the 1st tri is normal)
Maternity clothes? Not yet!
Sleep: I've been sleeping well at night, but I've been waking up by 7:30 every. single. morning. I'm on summer break, can't my pregnant body cut me some slack?! Annoying.
Best moment this past week: date night last night :)

Miss Anything? my flat stomach
Movement: nope!
Food cravings: anything sweet, especially fruit! Oh, and bagels. I have bagel preparation down to a science. No joke.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken! JP made some earlier this week and not only did it just about send me over the edge, but I swear the smell lingered for at least 4 hours after he finished his meal.
Labor Signs:  nope

Gender: We still have a while to find out, but I'm beginning to feel like you're a girl.
Symptoms: My body has been really achy the last few days. However, my symptoms have mostly faded over the past week and those that have over welcomed their stay seem to be fading.  Getting ready for 2nd tri I suppose? I hope my energy comes back in full force!

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: very happy!
Looking forward to: Our appointment on Thursday!

Alright, as long as NO JUDGING takes place, here's the first picture!

9 weeks

I'm 9 weeks as of yesterday! The baby is officially a fetus, rather than an embryo. Knowing that there's an actual baby growing inside of me is such a relief. Much to my husband's dismay, I am happy to report that my little bean no longer has a tail. His/her gender organs have started forming, although they won't be distinguishable for a quite some time.

How far along? 9 weeks

Baby's size? an olive; baby is about an inch long!

Total weight gain: I'm not even going to lie,  I ate so much food and without any reservations while on our staycation this weekend. Therefore, I do not dare step on a scale. Hopefully I'll have the courage to share next week. :)
Maternity clothes? I have purchased a few items, however, I don't plan on wearing them anytime soon.
Sleep: I've been so busy, that my daily naps have somewhat dwindled. Boo! I'm sleeping about 10 hours or so each night, which is uh-mazing!
Best moment this past week: Spending the weekend at the Ritz with my sweet husband. He goes out of his way to make me happy and comfortable, even when I act like a complete nutcase!

Miss Anything? still missing sushi!
Movement: nothing yet
Food cravings: anything sweet, especially fruit!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm still struggling with meat.
Labor Signs:  nope

Gender: Although we can't wait to find out, we don't have any intuition one way or another at this point.
Symptoms: I'm still tired and would be perfectly content sleeping 20 out of the 24 hours in a day. My face has cleared up - hallelujah! Some body parts (I'll leave this up to your imagination) seem to be growing at a rapid rate. I still get nauseous from time to time, but it usually goes away after a bite or two of anything. Honestly, I feel very fortunate because I think I've had it pretty easy so far. (knock on wood)

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: very happy!
Looking forward to: Our appointment next week, we're hoping to hear the heartbeat.

Here is the long awaited chalk board (inspiration, here) I'll be using to help document this pregnancy. As I've already mentioned, the amount of food I ate this weekend was ridic, therefore, I'm holding off just one more week before posting a baby bump picture. The picture isn't the greatest, which simply reminds me how much I want a new camera (it's on my birthday wish list for this year!). :)

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful daddies out there!! 

While our bean is changing from embryo to fetus as we speak, I can't help but think of how wonderful of a father JP will be. I can't wait to officially celebrate next year and I look forward to many more wonderful Father's Day celebrations with my husband, best friend, lover, and baby-daddy!

After all, he's had quite a bit of practice with our furbabies, Lily and Lola. For example...

 He lets Lola pretend she's a lap dog even though having a 100 pound puppy on your lap can't possibly be the most comfortable thing in the world. He'll be giving up a whole lot of comfort (and naps, as pictured above) in a few short months!

This picture was taken the night he brought home Lily. I'm pretty sure the night we bring home the bean, his shirt may or may not look as clean. I wonder if he knows how much babies spit up?

 Aww, look at that firm grasp on a 2lb. puppy. He's got this one in the bag.

Lily and Lola, best friends. If our baby is as cute as these two, I'd say we hit the jackpot with the best looking children around. :)

Staycation

This, my loves, is where you can find me this weekend. Tomorrow we're heading to the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain nestled within the Tortolita Mountains in the Sonoran Desert. It's about an hour and a half drive South of here, which is just far enough away to make me feel like we're on vacation, yet it won't take long to jet back home to our puppies.

To be more specific, I can probably be found here the majority of our stay.

I may or may not try to recreate this exact image, only book in one hand and virgin something-fruity-and-delicious in the other. This little gem beats daily naps on my couch any day of the week!

Have a fabulous weekend!!

8 Weeks

I planned on starting to document this pregnancy with pictures this week. However, my picture board (inspiration, here) isn't quite ready. Sparing you all with the not so pretty baby bump (aka bloat...food baby...FAT!) for another week is probably best for everyone anyway.

How far along? 8 weeks (as of June 11)

Baby's size? raspberry

Total weight gain: 1 lb
Maternity clothes? I plan on wearing my normal clothes for quite some time!
Sleep: I take a nap every. single. day. I've never been so tired in my life. Sleeping through the night is okay, although there are a minimum of 2 trips to the bathroom each night, which is obviously fabulous.
Best moment this past week: Seeing baby bean's heartbeat (136 bpm) was absolutely amazing!

Miss Anything? sushi!
Movement: Other than my bloat continuing to move outward, it's too soon to feel the baby moving (it's still an embryo until week 9).
Food cravings: Small little snacks - cereal, bagels, crackers, and anything sweet!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've having a tough time eating meat or full meals in general. My diet pretty much consists of small frequent (and mostly healthy!) snacks at the moment.
Gender:  according to last night's dreams, girl
Labor Signs:  not even close
Symptoms: Fatigue! I may or may not be breaking out like a 13 year old going through puberty, I feel nauseous every morning although I've only gotten sick twice (knock on wood!), and frequent trips to the bathroom.

Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy (and tired)! :)
Looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat at our next appointment

And because I know you're dying to know what our precious, sweet little bean looks like right now, this here my friends is for your viewing pleasure.

A New Adventure

I've thought about creating a blog for quite some time, although I was never quite sure what to blog about. Surprise, surprise! I finally have a topic - A BABY!

JP and I found out on Mother's Day that we were expecting a baby. We couldn't be more thrilled and we're so excited for this new journey. As Newlyweds, some were surprised and we heard more than once, "A baby?! So soon?!" Well, yes, my friends, a baby so soon. This little bean was most certainly planned and we're excited to begin this new chapter.

This blog will likely be about our little bean the majority of the time, although I may post other topics from time to time. Our (read: my) main purpose is keep our family and friends updated on the current happenings in the life of these excited (nervous), loving (sweet), and happy (awesome) soon-to-be-parents. Enjoy!