31 Week Update

How Far Along:
  31 Weeks

Size of the Baby:

Baby is the size of a Pineapple.

Maternity Clothes:

I am slowly growing out of my early pregnancy tops,

but luckily I still have a few great late pregnancy tops

with some growing room still in them.

Weight gain:

I may have had a growth spurt this week...

or lets just say that Baby Girl had a growth spurt. :)

I'm now up a total of 29 lbs.

Sleep:

Can you tell by my eyes in this picture?

I'm pretty much tired all the time.

Sleep is pretty off and on all night,

which causes me to take tons of naps during the day.

Like today for example,

I'm kinda embarrassed to say how long my nap was.

Best Moment of the Week:

Celebrating my very first Mother's Day!

Micah took me to breakfast at one of our favorite local restaurants

and then we went to buy me a huge hanging flower basket as my Mother's Day gift!

I think we're going to make that a yearly tradition.

Movement:

  She is still moving like crazy

and since she is getting so much bigger,

I can definitely see those movements very clearly.

Food Cravings:

I have been craving sweet desserts after dinner

(which may or may not be the reason for the weight gain).

Gender:

Baby Girl.

Belly Button in or out:

It's so close to being an outie!

I'm giving it another week or two before it pops.

Wedding ring on or off:

On

Anything making you queasy or sick:
Not really, but I have been getting a bit sick to my stomach a certain times of the day again.

Nothing too bad and no throwing up, just not pleasant.

What I miss:

Being able to sleep on my back.

That will be a glorious day... or I should say, night.

What I am looking forward to:

My Mom is coming to visit in 2 weeks.

I'm so excited!

Nursery:

No new progress this week.

But I have slowly started washing clothing and bedding

so that its all ready for when Baby Girl arrives.

Ways to Relax:

My friend Annie and I went to see The Great Gatsby this week (so good btw!)

and immediately after seeing it I had to start reading the book again.

30 Week Update

How Far Along:
  30 Weeks

Size of the Baby:

Baby is the size of a cucumber.

Maternity Clothes:

Nothing new this week.
I did buy this tank top that I'm wearing a few weeks ago
and it's finally warm enough to wear it!

Weight gain:

Gained a pound this week, so now I'm up 26lbs.

Sleep:

Still not much of a change,
but I have been having some crazy dreams.

Best Moment of the Week:
I have two highlights from this week...

1. We had a few BBQ's with friends over the weekend.

It is seriously the best time of the year when we start to eat outside again.

2. I was able to sit outside and begin to weed my flower garden.

I say "begin to weed" because it literally took me 3 days

to weed what normally would have taken me a few hours...

but hey, it was fun to get outside!

Movement:

 She's been super active lately,
probably because she is bigger and I can feel her more now.
Recently she has begun to shift her weight
(or maybe she is just pressing really hard)
to one side of my belly,
which makes my tummy look super uneven.

Food Cravings:
Nothing new this week,
but still loving my Iced Vanilla Lattes and Root Beer
(not mixed together... that would be gross).

Gender:

Baby Girl.

Belly Button in or out:

In... but it is on it's way out!

Wedding ring on or off:

On

Anything making you queasy or sick:
Nope (except the egg thing still).

What I miss:

Being able to sit outside for a short amount of time

without getting ridiculously sunburnt!

What is it with being pregnant and my skin being more sensitive... geesh.

What I am looking forward to:

Finally being able to celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday!
I never thought this day would come for me.

Nursery:

A few more amazing gifts came in the mail this week from friends and family!

Thank you all so much!

Ways to Relax:

So, even though I only have apx 50 pages left in Les Miserables,

I decided to put that book down for a second and focus on reading a birthing book.

I bought "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth"...

and it has been amazing!

My Week in Instagram

I had a bit of a pause in my Instagram postings a few weeks ago,

then this week, I feel like I practically photo bombed the site everyday. :)

There was just so many fun baby items to share with you,

a few garden prep photos...

and of course, Silas.

Have a great weekend!

Animal Kingdom

I've been slowly collecting cute little outfits for Baby Girl.
Scouring the racks of Target, department stores, and even a few consignment stores
that are absolute hidden gems here in NW Montana,
all to find great deals on the cutest little things.
I even brows the web sometimes in hopes to finding great sales...
which leads me to this post!
I am completely in love with these
animal inspired outfits created by Seed Heritage.
 Foxes, bunnies, fish, racoons, owls, deer, squirrls... even Sophie the Giraffe
(which I already bought Baby Girl a Sophie teether on amazon the other day!).

Samoa Cookie Cake

 

I think we can all agree that when Girl Scout Cookie season comes around
we all do a little happy dance.
Except, anyone else notice that it's a bit hard to find them?
Maybe it's just me and where I live,
but I never get them knocking on my door
or setting up tables outside of grocery stores.
Therefore, I guess I'll have to try and
recreate one of my favorite cookies... but into a cake!

Well, that's exactly what I did yesterday and it turned out to be AMAZING!
Beware, this cake takes pretty much all day to make, but it is so worth it... trust me.

Samoa Cookie Cake 

via: BetsyLife

For the Brown Sugar Batter:

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk
 

 For the Chocolate Batter:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 T cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup boiling water
 

For the Frosting:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk **Or substitute canned dulce de leche
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 T vanilla extract
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup toasted coconut
 

For the Topping:

1 1/2 cups toasted coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted
 

 

Instructions:
1. First thing you'll want to do is make the dulce de leche out of the sweetened condensed milk. There are two ways you can do this. The first way to make dulce de leche is to submerge the can of sweetened condensed milk (unopened) into a pot of boiling and let boil continually for 4 hours (you'll need to keep adding water to make sure the can stays submerged. The second way is to place the whole, unopened can of condensed milk in your crock pot and submerge in at least 3 inches of water, then cook on medium for 10 hours or on high for 7.
 

2. Once you have done either method in making the dulce de leche, let it completely cool.
 

3. While the dulce de leche is cooling, make the brown sugar batter. 

 

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

 

5. Add eggs, one a a time, beating well after each addition.
 

6. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

 

7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and whole milk to the butter mixture, one at a time, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Set batter aside.

 

8. In a separate bowl, make the chocolate batter. 

 

9. Cream sugar and oil together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
 

10. Beat in egg, vanilla, and milk.

 

11. In a medium bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
 

12. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined.
 

13. Carefully stir in boiling water.

14. Grease and flour a bundt pan well and begin to pour the batter in. To get the marble effect of this cake, pour some of the brown sugar batter into the pan, then top it with some of the chocolate batter.
Alternate until both batter bowls are empty.
 

15. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick come out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. 

16. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool entirely.

17. While cake is cooling you can make the frosting. 

 

18. First step in making the frosting is to toast the coconut (toast both the frosting coconut and the topping coconut together to save time). Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven on the "broil" setting until desired color is reached (this literally only take about a minute). Set aside to completely cool.

19. Beat cooled dulce de leche, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt for 3 minutes. So that it's nice a fluffy. 

20. Add in 1 cup toasted coconut.
 

21. Chill for 1 hour.

 

22. Frost the cake with dulce de leche frosting.

 

23. Top the cake with the remaining toasted coconut.

24. Melt chocolate chips on the stove top, stirring frequently.

 

25. Drizzle melted chocolate onto the top of the cake, but beware not to drizzle too much or else it will melt the frosting.

 

26. Enjoy!

29 Week Update

How Far Along:
  29 Weeks

Size of the Baby:

She now weighs almost 3lbs and is about 15 inches long.

Maternity Clothes:

Remember the fabric I mentioned I bought last week

to make a maternity maxi skirt...

well, it didn't turn out so well.

I would show you pictures but I am WAY to embarrassed.

I realized that I lack a few very important qualities

when it come to sewing clothing...

1. Paitence

2. The desire to follow a pattern.

 

 Weight gain:

Baby Girl must be growing a lot... because I am now up 25lbs!

Sleep:

No change there.

Best Moment of the Week:

My Baby Shower!!

I was incredibly blessed this Saturday from friends and family

who threw me my very first baby shower,

came to show their love and excitement,

and sent gifts to celebrate Baby Girl!

Movement:

 I swear she had the hiccups the other night.

That was a crazy feeling.

Food Cravings:

Still loving the Iced Vanilla Lattes,

but Root Beer has been pretty amazing lately as well.

Gender:

Baby Girl.

Belly Button in or out:

In

Wedding ring on or off:

On

Anything making you queasy or sick:

Fried Eggs.

For about two months I was eating

a fried egg on toast with avocado a couple times a day, but now,

just the thought of eating that makes me a bit nauseous.

What I miss:

Micah has started prepping the garden for the summer

and watching him do that makes me realize

how much I am going to miss being able to

play around in my flower garden this year.

(But I will have something much more fun to do!!!)

 

What I am looking forward to:

We have our first birthing class this Wednesday.

Nursery:

I have been doing a ton of organizing since the baby shower.

Putting things away, finding spots for toys and clothes... it's been SO FUN!

Ways to Relax:

Thankfully the weather has warmed up and the sun decided to come out!

So I have been spending a ton of time relaxing on the lawn chairs outside,

watching Silas play and the chickens run around the yard.

Salt City Emporium

I've been realizing two major things recently...

1. Maternity clothes are overpriced.
2. Baby clothes are just as equally (if not more) overpriced.

But no matter how much I complain about these things,
especially baby clothes being way to expensive,
I just can't get over how cute they are!!!

Like these baby leggings from Salt City Emporium.
The cuteness scale on these are way off the charts.