Weekend in Photos

I couldn't help but laugh at my husband, who was practicing his funny faces in anticipation of an uncooperative child. 18.5 weeks pregnant. 

After touching up the paint and returning the fixtures in the guest bath, it's almost like we never had to cut a hole to access the plumbing upstairs as part of the upstairs bathroom remodel.

George picked up a new set of allen wrenches. 

A year and a half later, we finally have curtains (and privacy). I'll iron them when I have a bit more time, but for now we're just enjoying the hardware and curtains we picked out sooo long ago.

This is all that was left from making this recipe, adapted by adding some kale for extra nutrients. Yum. Of course, I found it through Pinterest. All of our dinners this week came from Pinterest, including buffalo chicken bites, Swedish baked potatoes, beef and broccoli,  avocado dip, mushroom and marsala pappardelle, smashed potatoes, and Sriracha chicken.   

Squirrel Parenting

If my interaction with our backyard squirrels is any indication of my ability to parent and discipline, I have a lot of work to do on my willpower.

Today, one of our squirrels perched up on her hind feet and stared at me for about fifteen minutes. That was all it took for me to dig through the pantry and feed her some roasted peanuts. Our squirrels are so spoiled...but so loved.

How do I say "no" to this?

Progress

I'm very happy to report progress on our house projects. Check this out:

Laundry room: electrified, plumbed, insulated, drywalled, and primed

Bathroom: drywalled and primed with updated plumbing and electrical

This means that we only have a few more steps to complete before we have a new laundry room, a newly remodeled bathroom, a reclaimed closet (where our laundry has always resided), and new flooring in the entry way. These are projects we started imagining shortly after we moved in nearly five years ago, so it will feel particularly good to have them complete. I'll provide more detail about each project when they are complete and we share the reveal.

Anatomy Revealed!

A glimpse into my past:

Approximately five-year old Amanda with "Joanna," who went everywhere with her

We were originally scheduled for the anatomy ultrasound next Monday.  However, we learned this week that my stepdad, David, will be having heart surgery next week, and I'll be going to Ohio for it.  So, in this bittersweet turn of events, the ultrasound was rescheduled for this morning.

Without any hesitation, the ultrasound technician showed us baby's lower parts and announced that we are expecting a baby GIRL.  I truly did not have a preference about the gender of this baby, though I have always said that I hope I eventually get to have a baby girl.  I know that George is going to be an amazing parent and role model for our daughter.

Perhaps this is a glimpse into our future:

YouTube

**Update**

Another baby revealed its gender recently: baby otter. Isn't she cute?

Big Day

I completely and totally forgot to take photos this weekend, so there will be no "weekend in photos" recap tonight or tomorrow. It was a really fabulous weekend, too. Wa. Wa. I blame the snow week for getting my weekdays and weekend days mixed up.

Nonetheless, today was a big day for us. After starting the day with a tasty breakfast at Lola, we ordered Thumper's crib and dresser, chose the fabric for the nursery chair (though the model is still TBD), completed our first recon mission to Babies R Us (a great place to touch, feel, and try out things that you can buy elsewhere for less money, less hassle, and better karma), and selected a stroller (which we'll eventually buy from either the least expensive or most local/small business source). We also found these totally adorable socks on sale:

George and I have such a good time (nervously) laughing about our ability to be parents and (more confidently) anticipating the great memories we'll make with our child. I hope he/she knows how much he/she is loved and anticipated even though he/she is only the size of a small burrito.