Baby Update: Week 33

How far along?: 33w3d
How big is Baby?: Can you believe I have a 4-pounder in my belly? It gives new meaning to a "quarter pounder" burger. This kid's way bigger than that! He's also about 17 inches long.
Maternity clothes?: Yes. Yes. Yes.
Sleep?: Ugh. I've had some rough nights recently-- Ray and I both. He is waking up with bouts of anxiety (You mean this kid is going to be ours? Forever? Like, soon?) and I am just waking up. A lot. I can't seem to get comfortable no matter what I do. I sleep a lot but none of it feels restful. {Shrug} Preparations for not sleeping much in the coming weeks? Perhaps.
Best moment of the week?: Ding-dong ditching a fun romantic basket on our friends' doorstep, receiving flowers from my wonderful husband, and going for a walk/coffee with my friend Jessie.
Movements?: Yes. He likes to remind me that he's hanging out in there.
Food cravings?: No, but I did cheat and have a bit of ramen. Of course my protective husband walks in as I am cooking it and encourages me to eat half. Fine. Compromise can be brutal. I discovered Snickers ice cream bars yesterday though. Yikes.
Aversions?: No... not in the least!
What I miss?: I miss restful sleep (what a joke... that's about to leave me forever) and some of my LA friends and family.
What I'm looking forward to?: I am looking forward to this Saturday ending. I know this is pathetic, but I am actually dreading the "marathon" baby class we're taking this weekend. I signed us up for a class this weekend (9-5:30!) and one next weekend (9-4). Not looking forward to the forced relationship-building, but feel as though we are obligated to take these classes as new parents. So, here we go. Weeeeee.
Anything else?: I get emails every week from various spammers but open the ones related to baby development on the weekly scale. This week, I had an entertaining one... Baby W is about the size of a pineapple and looking "less alien-like" and more "human" -- phew. Hah. The funny thing is that I just bought a pineapple this week. It's kind of hard picturing that thing in my belly, but I'll have no problem consuming it. Mmmmm.
This week in history: Some planes have been suspected of having "suspicious materials" on board. Winds in the Midwest have been gnarly and knocked down pretty large pieces of trees. Wind speeds were around 65 mph for a few days... and now it's just plain cold. Thank goodness we at least have the bright, beautiful sun.

What's going on this week (with us)?: Ray just arrived back home from a business trip in Charlotte and I have been spending a lot of time with friends (as the pictures show). He has volleyball this evening and we have that lovely baby class tomorrow in Plainfield (aka farmfields). The lovely ladies from my small group are throwing me a shower on Sunday and that should be fun. They're so creative. :) Baby W, you are one loved kiddo.

Weekday Adventures

I have been subbing a lot lately... but on the times I'm not keeping busy at various schools in the 'burbs, I'm usually having a good time with girlfriends, and my awesome husband of course.

Our small group had an idea to take over a fun package to our friends, Alli & Tommy, since they've been struggling to find time together lately. The majority of us are marrieds in the group and understand what it's like to be disconnected or without our significant other... so the basket came about. We started at Kristi's house, moved on to Jessie's house for the passoff... then it was my turn! At the time I received the basket, there was fruit, wine, a candle, and cookies in the basket. When I received it, I promptly made a trip to Trader Joe's (of which I love, so not tough to visit...) where I purchased my favorite French truffles, chianti-infused salami that looked quite fancy... and off I went. I also included my favorite crackers-- Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil. Try them if you haven't. I should really be endorsed by these people. I have turned so many people onto them. Delicious. I added in some fun Burt Bee's and Body Shop items and met Liz in downtown Naperville for her additions and the dropoff. We ding-dong-ditched the basket and had a blast doing it!

Ray was away on business this week and I found these on the doorstep one of the days... it's such a blessing to have him. I'm thankful everyday.

Yesterday my friend Jessie and I walked from my house to the Grounds of Hope Cafe located at our new church site. They've turned the entire front of the building into a coffee shop with an awesome selection and super affordable items. To the left when you walk in there's a huge kid's jungle gym and an enormous fake tree and to the right is this huge coffee shop complete with a fireplace and flat screen TVs. It doesn't look churchy and it's not really meant to be. The proceeds from Grounds go to World Relief and patrons actually can choose which relief effort the money gets donated to! For my tea and amazingly delicious chocolate muffin, I paid $2.47. Not bad. Considering it's only a mile from my house, I may be frequenting the Grounds a lot-- especially when Baby W is a bit older and needs to let some energy out at an indoor jungle gym (great for winter-- which has apparently already started here in Chi-town with 28 degree weather! Brr!!).

Awesome Weekend!

Our weekend started off on Friday night when Ray played volleyball with a bunch of friends in the co-ed league he joined. They won 2 out of 3 games! They've played a total of 9 games so far this season and won 5 of them. I usually go watch his games and cheer them on. After volleyball, we headed over to our friends' apartment, Tommy & Alli, where we everyone but me helped them moving the last major items from their current place to their new place in downtown Naperville. We had a great time though it took us about 15 minutes to find the place (oh, the north and south indicators on streets actually mean something? Haha). Sure, we knew that. We just weren't putting it into practice as Liz and I walked all around the streets carrying boxes and pillows. Oh, and a bottle of olive oil. You know... just in case. Their place is sooo cute and reminds Ray and I a lot of our first apartment together (though this will be their 2nd apt. together since they married in early 2010). The walls are painted similar colors, the rooms have similar flow, the house is old (the live on the top level), and the wood molding in the house is all original and so charming. Needless to say, we loved the place!

On Saturday morning, we woke up and headed off on the 9:30 train downtown to see my cousin TJ's soccer game at Moody-- where he attends college. The forecast for the entire weekend was set to be rainy and thunderstorms. Well, they were right about that rainy part! We were decked out in our jackets, rainproof shells, and umbrellas. It rained for about 1.5 hours of the time we were downtown and then stopped. We decided to have lunch downtown before his game and found the address on the Blackberry to Frontera Grill. If you watched Top Chef Masters or are familiar with who Rick Bayless is... he's basically THE chef in downtown Chicago. He's all about using unique, sustainable, organic ingredients in his dishes under the Mexican food genre. In the summer, they serve "rooftop salsa" made from ingredients organically grown at the top of that skyscraper in a garden. There are 3 restaurants he runs that are all connected on one street: Xoco (lower end, cheapest), Frontera (middle), and Topolo (high end). We walked right past them on our way and had to trek back about 2 blocks. We had no chance of eating at Xoco because of the crazy lines going out the door in the rain but checked out Frontera. They sat us outside (though rainy, still in the 60's, warm and covered). Ray ordered the chicken tortilla soup first and another entree he loved. I ordered some veggie enchiladas and did not enjoy them. I loved the sauce and homemade corn tortillas, but the filling was eh, gross. Collard greens and beets, basically raw, inside my tortillas. No cheese, no beans, no normal vegetables. Blah. I would go back because the quality was great, but would not be ordering that meal again. Here we are and here are the meals we consumed...


We headed on foot (Moody is about 2 miles from Union Station) to TJ's soccer game. My aunt was already there along with TJ's awesome girlfriend, Pauline. We had a great time catching up, watching them win, and watching TJ score a goal. It was parent's weekend at Moody and all of the players gave roses to their parents.

 The team being recognized before the stands at halftime.

After the game, we hung out with TJ, Pauline, and Robin for a bit longer and had dinner with them in the Ukrainian Village. We tried a restaurant called Shokolad and had some wonderful foods. I had some pierogies, others had borsch (beet soup) and pelmeni (dumplings with meat). We shared a few desserts and hung out for awhile before heading back.

After saying goodbye, Ray and I checked the train schedule and realized that we didn't have another train to catch for two hours! We walked over to Michigan Avenue and down State Street to check out this sign in all its glory...

Then we headed into a mall on Michigan Avenue and walked around the Lego store. Baby W may have a few legos... I'm a fan. Here I am with Lego Woody from Toy Story. Ray had his moment below, too. Yes, he has his hand on that man's thigh. Oh my!

f

On Sunday afternoon, we carpooled to an Orchard in Malta, IL (DeKalb area), about 40 miles from our homes in the 'burbs. Here's the group in a photo...

Above are photos of Ray & Derrick holding Luke and Joel-- friends' kids. Below are photos of Kristi and Joel (mom & son) at the pumpkin patch where we attempted to find nice pumpkins without completely covering ourselves in mud.

Some great friends hanging out on the "hayride" wagon (no hay to be seen).

Post hayride shot of my amazing husband holding our iced cider (just like it sounds... basically a cider slushie... it was delicious and so were the donuts and caramel apple we bought to go with it!).

Llama.

A few fun and cheesy shots of the cutouts... Joel's is quite classic.

Our wonderful friends, Derrick & Liz, with Joel.

And finally... we bought a 1/2 gallon of fresh cider and hopped up in this chair for a photo before making the drive back to the 'burbs with our friends. It was a nice fall outing in some pretty nice weather! Like I said... the forecast said thunderstorms ALL weekend and we didn't have a single one until we got home that evening. It made for a great weekend to explore. We're excited to take Baby W back next year!

Baby Update: Week 32

How far along?: 32w2d
How big is Baby?: Around 3.75 pounds! They say the size of a jicama... as if I've ever seen one of those (outside of a salad all sliced up).
Maternity clothes?: Yes, and desperately wishing that I could fit into my normal clothes as winter approaches. I will buy a maternity jacket. I can still zip my North Face jacket, but that will all soon change. I am limited to about 10 shirts and 4 sweaters. That's no fun!
Sleep?: Not as wonderful lately. I do wake up quite a few times and I've been having nightmares-- not intense ones, just nothing positive and nothing baby-related. Like last night for example...I had a dream that I was in possession of marijuana-laced trail mix! I've never touched the stuff in my life, have no recollection of recently seeing anything marijuana-related, and haven't watched any TV shows in awhile. How on earth could I have dreamt of something so bizarre?
Best moment of the week?: Hmm... working? Although I am not loving my currently 7-day assignment as a one-on-one aide at the elementary level (1st grade, no less), I am enjoying the steady call to duty. I like being productive, busy, and making a difference.
Movements?: Yes, but they're getting more difficult. He does less poking and more positioning.
Food cravings?: I want everything! I am actually trying to control myself more as I could literally eat an entire box of cookies.
Aversions?: Not much.
What I miss?: Having more clothing options?
What I'm looking forward to?: I am looking forward to spending another weekend with my husband and friends! We are having a fall outing with our 20's/30's group this weekend along with heading downtown to watch my cousin's soccer game and visit with my aunt. I love weekends now that we've slowed down on all the housework!
Anything else?: Baby W is just growing away, gaining about .5 pounds every week-- that means I am gaining the other .5 pound. Argh. I haven't reached the scale change yet (where they move the bottom bar from the 100 to 150), but I'm getting close. It would be nice to avoid that and just barely make it under that 150 mark. But again, I'm not a calorie counter and this baby will get all he needs... and still a brownie, cookie, ice cream bowl... everyday. :)
This week in history: Gosh... not much? I just read about 3 hikers missing on Mt. Whitney. We hiked that about 3 years ago and it says they've been missing for 3 days. It's a very open path, but there are fall risks. Not good news...

What's going on this week (with us)?: We are having a fine week. Ray spent some time up in Michigan at the beginning of the week as there was a visitor from Switzerland (the same one we visited when we were in Germany just before returning to the States). We had small group this week, we're both full time (this week), and the weather is definitely getting cooler. Today was a high of 58 I believe... brrrr!

Comparison photo shots:

Month 1, Month 2, Month 3, Month 4, Month 5, Month 5.5, Month 6, Month 6.5, Month 7, Month 7.5

and here is Month 8!

Leaves, Leaves Everywhere!

Last week, our friends Alison, Nic, Gab, and Scotty came to visit. We had dinner downtown with them one evening and they came to stay with us the next evening. While Nic worked in the city (after they visited the Chicago sites in our amazing 78 degree weather, the rest of the clan came to stay with us in the 'burbs.

It's fall here. Like... no-more-leaves-on-trees fall. They're ALL on the ground. Literally. Here's Gabby playing in the leaves as Ray raked them to the curb for pickup.

We also received a fun fall package from Ray's family... which included Sprinkles cupcake mix, sprinkles, a fall spatula, chocolate, and socks. Very fun and festive...especially since Gabby opened every individually wrapped present for me! She enjoyed that!

I made the cupcakes on Sunday night and took them to our small group on Monday. These were some seriously decadent pumpkin cupcakes-- like a whole stick of butter decadent--for 12. Yeah, I know!

 End result... minus two which made their way to Ray's belly. :)

I stole borrowed this photo from Nic's picture site to add here... partly because Alison and Scotty didn't make it on the blog otherwise (well, neither did Ray or Nic), but also because I was spotted obviously pregnant in this picture... with really fancy hair I might add.

We had just finished breakfast at Tangerine here in downtown Naperville where we had pancakes the size of basketballs... and were headed for a river walk. It was so nice having them out and sharing our fall leaves and this beautiful time of year before it turns so cold we won't even want to go outside with them.