20/21 weeks

Well since I have been not so great at updating this and now that I am almost 22 weeks pregnant, I figured I would combine the past two weeks into one post! 

How far along: 21+ weeks

Gender Prediction?: Girl!


Baby is the size of?: A banana ( 7inches long!)

Weight gain: 15 ish lbs... give or take ;)

Maternity clothes: Yes...still need to shop for some summer clothes!


Stretch marks: None yet! 

Belly button in or out: In...slowly making an appearance though!

Sleep: Still great so far! Still waking up every few hours and also starting to have trouble rolling over/getting comfortable.

Best moment this week: Had a great day off on Monday for Memorial Day. Had people over for a cookout and made THIS amazing strawberry & blueberry trifle for dessert!

Miss anything: Clothes that fit! Feet/toes that don't look like  mini sausages .. ;-)

Movement: YES!! FINALLY!! Very faint, tiny flutters ..Chris hasn't been able to feel them from the outside yet but I have definitely noticed in the past few days. Best feeling ever!

Cravings: Hmmm... nothing in particular lately... I can tell you I am NOT craving cookout food anymore haha! Also as the weather gets warmer I am loving sprite mixed with raspberry lemonade ....it is heavenly!

Queasy or sick: Neither ..feeling pretty good!

Looking forward to: Getting another ultrasound on the 13th of June...The techs had trouble getting a good picture of baby girl's spine and hands at the last one so we have to go back in a few weeks. Trying not to worry and just looking forward to seeing her again! :)

19 weeks

How far along: 20 weeks today! half way there! always a little late posting these ;)

Gender Prediction?: GIRL! confirmed again at our anatomical ultrasound last week 

Baby is the size of?: Mango .. found out she weighs 11 ounces at last appointment 

Weight gain: lots

Maternity clothes: Yes..need to go shopping for more things for summer though..  I am so lucky to go an ENTIRE summer being pregnant :(

Stretch marks: none yet

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: great! waking up every few hours to pee is annoying but i'm sure it will only get worse!

Best moment this week: Our 20 week anatomical ultrasound last week which confirmed again baby girl is infact a GIRL...and also all body parts/organs are in place! all is looking good! Also Chris and his Dad put in the nursery lighting yesterday which I am SO in love with :) 

Miss anything: Nothing in particular lately! As I get bigger by the minute..bending down gets more difficult for sure! 

Movement: STILL nothing for sure...Ultrasound tech said I have an "anterior" placenta which the baby kicks and it serves as a "cushion" so I may not feel movement for a little while. wah :( 

Cravings: Rootbeer floats !

Queasy or sick: Neither! feeling great ! I haven't been getting such nasty headaches either. I was reading up on it and read that yogurt and a lot of dairy can cause headaches? Haven't been eating any more yogurt and surprisingly I haven't had a bad headache since! not totally positive that was the cause but hey we will see!

Looking forward to: Picking out carpeting for nursery soon and things coming together in there. 

19 weeks.

 Baby girl at last weeks Ultrasound. Always has her hand

by her face like she is way too exhausted ;) little diva!

Baby girl's foot. I think tiny little baby feet

are the cutest!

Nursery lighting went in yesterday! I am in LOVE with 

how it turned out! 

HALFWAY THERE! and so in love with her name<3 

Note: We went back and forth between this one and a few

  other names until one day I came home and Daddy had ordered

 a blanket with "Ava" embroidered on it. Okay then, Ava it is! 

;) we both knew this was the name but that made it official! haha

18 weeks!

How far along: 19 weeks 1 day

Gender Prediction: Girl! who better not have grown any boy parts when we see her at our ultrasound later today ;-)

Baby is the size of: Mango ( 6 in, 0.5 lbs) 

Weight gain: 10(ish) lbs thanks for asking 

Maternity clothes: you bet. 

Stretch marks: Nope

Belly button in or out: In..but slowly coming out.

Sleep: Great! feeling more energized lately and much better overall. 

First Trimester = 3 month hangover that I am SO glad is over :-)

Best moment this week: Got to spend 3 days with my Mama while Chris was in Vegas for a Bachelor party. We went out to eat a few times, celebrated Mother's Day, shopped and had so much fun :)

Miss anything: Hmmm...nothing too much! 

Movement: STILL nothing....Although I have felt little "twinges" or "cramps" a few times I can't say for sure if it is baby movement or just my stomach ?? 

Cravings: Still loving fruit lately! and I may or may not have eaten a double cheeseburger for the first time in ( my entire life?) the other day and it was heaven. disgusting greasy heaven. don't judge me.

Queasy or sick: Neither. Feeling pretty good and haven't had any headaches in awhile! woo! 

Looking forward to: Spending the day with Chris who has been gone since last Thursday, going to lunch and our ultrasound appointment later this afternoon! yipee! Can't wait !

17 Weeks!

How far along: Wayy late with this post! currently 18 weeks :(

Gender Prediction?: Girl!

Baby is the size of ?:  a sweet potato! ( this is a new category I am adding into my weekly updates ..I should just replace the weight gain question with this one ;-)

Weight gain:  stop

Maternity clothes: you bet. So comfy!

Stretch marks: none so far..  I'm sure they'll show their ugly face soon enough with this ever- growing belly!

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleep is good this week! 

Best moment this week: Went to a yummy dinner at one of our favorite authentic italian restaurants La Fiamma over the weekend..I live for good food!!

Miss anything: Nope..although I could have really gone for a glass of wine with our dinner on saturday! boo! oh well..shirley temples are my fav ;) ( how can I order those without sounding 5 ?) 

Movement: NONE. I am soo anxious for it ! They say anywhere from 18-20 weeks you feel the first little flutters but so far nothing for me :-( 

Cravings: loving grapes lately! also cheese/cheese covered anything ( but that is nothing new )

Queasy or sick: Feeling great this week..besides bouts of heartburn at night but nothing too terrible

Looking forward to: Feeling baby girl kick for the first time! hurry it up girlfriend!

Chicken Divan

I am not lying when I tell you Chicken Divan is my favorite meal of all time. I seriously make this once a week in my house and it has become one of Chris' favorites too! I made this tonight for dinner and decided to share this gem with you all! 

Please make this. I'm serious. You won't be sorry ( unless you are on a diet ;) ) 

Here is what you need..besides 1 pound of chicken breast( I forgot to add that to the picture) and salt & pepper of course.

First you want to cut up/cube 1 pound chicken breast and sauté on skillet in some olive oil until paper bag brown.

Meanwhile, cook up your bag of frozen broccoli and layer in the bottom of a 9x13 pyrex dish.

Once chicken is done cooking, add that as your second layer on top of broccoli.

Take entire can of cream chicken soup and mix with about 1/3 cup mayo

Spread soup/mayo mixture over top of chicken/broccoli as your third layer

Sprinkle 1 bag  shredded sharp cheddar on top of soup/mayo mixture

( You can use 3/4 of the bag or less depending on your liking..we like ours really cheesy so we just use the entire bag )

Melt 1-2 tbsp. butter in microwave and mix with 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs ( Again you can add more or less bread crumbs depending on your preference....we like ours really crispy!) 

Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Broil on High for last 2 minutes to get the top crispy and brown :)

While casserole is baking, cook up some white rice ( we like jasmine sticky rice! ) 

Cut up, season with salt and pepper and serve over rice. 

ENJOY!

SO delicious!! 

Nursery Updates !

As early as it is, yes the nursery is already painted! I know. I can't believe it either. I am such a procrastinator that if it were up to me ( luckily I am not able to paint ;-)) I would have ended up probably getting around to it a few days weeks before baby was born. I am super lucky to have Chris who is a tad OCD when it comes to house projects and wants to get things done! He recruited his Dad and they painted the entire room over the weekend while I was working. I am a lucky gal! 
Anyway, We already decided on the color of the nursery before we even knew what we were having.. GRAY. Duh. Problem was, finding the perfect shade of gray, because a lot of gray paint may look gray.. but once you get it onto the wall,  it looks more like a blue/green or another color you had not intended on! I wanted a gray that actually stayed gray when you put it on the wall and after searching ( pinterest of course ) and reading what others thought of particular shades, we decided on Benjamin Moore Gray Owl and couldn't be happier with the outcome! It really is the perfect shade. Although major paint retailers like Lowe's and Home Depot do not sell this brand of paint and we had to search/travel for it, plus the $60 price tag on ONE can, we are still super happy! 

Here is a before picture of the room. (Pardon the poor lighting and accumulation of baby things piled up people have given us and we have acquired :-) ) This was the guest bedroom for when our family from Maryland would come stay ( which has now been moved to the tiniest bedroom downstairs ( sorry Dan and Nicki! haha) 

After picture. ( Again pardon the ladder and poor lighting) 

I will try to get better pics once we install ceiling lighting :)

Loving it so far!

Can't wait to add some cozy carpet and lighting in here soon!

Here is what I am thinking for a light fixture. I am obsessed with that quatrefoil design!! 

Will post more once we keep updating!! :-)

16 Weeks!

How far along: 16 weeks 4 days 

Gender Prediction?: GIRL! 

Weight gain: Do I have to answer this?! 8 lbs according to Dr's visit on Tuesday!

Maternity clothes: Yes. love them..the long/stretchy shirts are most comfortable on my ever-growing belly!

Stretch marks: None so far

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleep is good this week! 

Best moment this week: Easter with the family on Sunday and all the yummy food! , sad I had to miss Easter with Chris' family :( Also we went to Babies R Us and bought a few things which is my new favorite thing to do ! ( I know its early and I should wait but I just can't help myself! its addicting! ) have heard so many good reviews on the 4moms MamaRoo so we decided what the heck! cashier even gave us 15% off because we forgot our coupons. sahweet!

Miss anything: Not really. Would LOVE  a VENTI iced caramel latte right about now ;)

Movement: None yet :( I hope within the next couple of weeks I get to feel those first little kicks! I can't wait for that!

Cravings: Nothing specific as of right now..trying to be better about my eating habits lately. I know I have been a jerk and eating terrible :( yogurt, english muffins, cheese and crackers have been on my love list the past week :)

Queasy or sick: Neither! Although I'm not sure why I keep getting these AWFUL tension headaches/migraines but they are the worst ever! Past 2 days has been rough. Who has a cure since this chick can't take any meds!?

Looking forward to: Taking spare bed and furniture out of baby girls room and slowly getting started on that!

I am in love with the old school Jenny Lind cribs that I have seen all over pinterest!  I have read awesome reviews and for that price you really can't go wrong!