Snow, hail, and food!

Pictures from the Thanksgiving snow (covering our new car):

 We had a thunderstorm with hail Wednesday evening. Then it froze overnight and the hail still hasn't melted.

 And I'm really enjoying cooking and baking. Bacon cheeseburger pasta...

 What to do with extra bananas and pears? Make banana pear bread, of course!

Banana Pear Bread

2 cups mashed bananas/pears

3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cups cooking oil

2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, bananas, sugar, cooking oil and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and a bit of salt. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until it’s well moistened but not too well mixed. Spoon batter into the loaf pans, filling about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

24 weeks!

 

How big is baby?

He is about 12 inches and 1.5 pounds. The fruit of the month is still papaya, but his weight is going up more quickly than his height at this point. 

What is baby up to?

His skin is becoming more opaque as he is packing on the fat layer underneath. His lungs are beginning to make final preparations for breathing air. 

Movement?

He really likes kicking me in the ribs on my right side.

Best moment of the week?

Spending all day with Jared on Christmas and talking to family. 

Looking forward to?

Seeing how long I can keep running. Still going. Just really slow. My goal is to make it to Superbowl Sunday. My running group is holding a 5k and I hope to run the whole thing.

23 weeks!

I noticed I was wearing the same shirt, so I had to do a side-by-side comparison.

Here is the 23 week picture:

Don't mind the running clothes. I'm officially on a 2-week vacation and don't plan on looking nice unless I have to.

How big is baby?

The average 23 week baby is 11.4 inches long and weighs 1.1 pounds. The food size only changes every month now, so he's still the same size as a papaya. Just a little bigger one.

What is baby up to?

His lungs are developing rapidly this week, preparing for the outside world. He looks like a baby, just without much body fat. This is the earliest he could be born and have a chance of survival. I vote he stays inside for 17 more weeks.

Movement?

Making my belly jump. My new favorite hobby - watching my belly bounce all the time. This little guy loves to move. Jared caught me watching my belly. And apparently giving him an angry look as he took the picture.

Belly button?

Eerily flat.

Cravings?

Nothing specific. Just a lot of food. I am very excited to cook for the next 2 weeks - much more time to prepare food when I'm not working. 

Best moment of the week?

Hearing the heartbeat again yesterday. 158 and strong. He did enjoy running away from the doppler. My OB laughed at how active he was.

Looking forward to?

Christmas. Even if we're far away from everybody, I still love this time of the year.

Here's a rare photo of both cats cuddling with Jared. 

And cuddling with each other.

The cats had a vet checkup today and came home with the most adorable bandanas on.

Guess I'm not very good at this...

-5 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

Scoring:

0-24 - Very Poor (Failure)
25-41 - Poor
42-58 - Average
59-75 - Superior
76+ - Very Superior

Jared took the test and scored +7 points as a 1930's husband. Looks like we both have some work to do!

22 weeks!

Simon's paw... :)

How big is baby?

Papaya! Baby is about 10.5 inches long and weighs a whole pound! His face is fully formed. His senses are developing, including touch, sight, hearing, and taste. He can grab onto the umbilical cord and can even perceive light and dark.

Movement?

All over the belly.

Belly button?

Still in.

Cravings?

Orange juice.

Best moment of the week?

Homemade guacamole. It was amazing.

Jared even enjoyed it. 

Our trip to Portland was very wet. It was pouring most of the day, thanks to the Pineapple Express from Hawaii. It looks like a nice city from the outside, and we even had a chance to enjoy Buffalo Wild Wings before we left. We passed the exit for Highway 12 to Aberdeen - drive east or west, you'll reach one eventually.

More fun baby clothes!

Jared's parents sent some fun baby clothes, so Jared and Simon had to show off a couple of them. Hooray for our little Vikings fan!

21 weeks!

 

How big is baby?

A BANANA! 10.5 inches, 12.7 ounces. That's 3/4 of a pound! 

*From week 21 on, he is measured from head to toe. Before week 20, he was measured crown to rump.

Movement?

Punches, kicks, twists and turns. I may have felt hiccups, but it could have been a kickboxing class. Jared can definitely feel movement with his hand on my belly. I haven't seen my belly jump yet, but I'm sure that is coming soon.

Belly button? 

In.

Cravings?

Eggnog (don't worry, it's pasteurized), Wendy's new fries, and guacamole. Just not together...I hope.

Best moment of the week?

Jared and I had to go shopping for a baby gift for one of my co-workers. We went to Babies-R-Us, and I had to get sometime for our little guy. I thought this was adorable, and possibly an outfit to come home in depending on the weather. It's size 0-9 months, so no matter how huge this baby is, it should still fit. Jared keeps telling me he will be over 9 pounds. I hope not! 

Since Jared hasn't had any belly photos (good thing), I thought he should be in charge of showing off baby clothes:

Looking forward to?

Portland on Saturday. Jared is going to a card show to decide if it's worth the trip to set up in the future. Sounds like a great time to do a little sight seeing before I don't want to sit in a car for 2 1/2 hours.

Race photos!

The first 3 are near the finish line, at a high school stadium right by the space needle. The next 3 are the result of me looking through 6200 "Lost and Found" pictures that couldn't be identified because the bib numbers were blocked. No worries, it only took an hour and a half to look through. Worth it for a couple extra pictures. They were taken in the I-90 tunnel. Yay for running on the freeway! Good luck finding me...

Thank you, Action Sports International, for the photos.

 We made homemade pizza tonight. Just had to brag.

Sleepy Simon says Goodnight!

 

20 weeks!

Half way done!

Kitty decided to pose with me in this one...

How big is baby?

Our little guy is the size of a cantaloupe, about 6.5 inches long and 10 ounces.

Movement?

Still kicking, rolling, and twisting all the time.

Belly button?

Still in. Whew.

Cravings?

Oranges. I also ate a lot of pasta to get ready for the race yesterday. I read that he's already tasting what I eat through the amniotic fluid, so I'm going to make sure our little guy LOVES fruits and veggies, unlike his father (sorry Jared)!

Best moment of the week?

Finishing the Seattle Half Marathon in 2:21:58. Faster than I thought I would run. It was a beautiful course. I had been warned about the hills, and must have talked them up so much to myself that they didn't seem that bad when I actually ran up them. They were definitely steep, but this pregnant lady didn't stop running. The above picture is with my medal.

I went to the race with a few friends from my running group and had a lot of fun all day. The half marathon was first, so we cheered for the marathon runners after we finished. I'm usually running the marathon, so I never get a chance to cheer at the finish line. It was pretty exciting to see so many different people finish. Between the marathon and the half, there were about 17,000 participants. 

After everybody finished, we went out to lunch in West Seattle at Talarico's Pizzeria & Lounge, home of the 14-inch slice of pizza. One runner in our group decided to order an entire pizza (and try to eat it all). It was bigger than our table. The waitress set it up on a stand, and they had to eat with their plates under the pizza. He ate 5.5 pieces. I was impressed after getting full off of a single slice. I took a picture on my phone (apologies for the blur and all...). 

Looking forward to?

Three weeks left of work until winter break. I had a long Thanksgiving break due to snow days. No work on Tuesday or Wednesday (hooray for snow in the northwest), Thanksgiving break Thursday and Friday. It was really hard to convince myself to get out of bed so I could work at 7am today. But that winter break will be wonderful.

19 weeks!

How big is baby?

The baby is the size of a mango, about 6 inches long and 8.5 ounces.
Movement?

All the time. And not just movement - I'm getting a few jabs here and there. I guess the baby really wants me to know it's in there.

Belly button?

Getting really shallow...

Cravings?

Chicken noodle soup? Probably because I'm so thirsty. Otherwise, I haven't had much luck with food, especially meat. I'm hungry all the time, but nothing sounds good!

Best moment of the week?

Several comments at work of how "cute" I am. I must finally look pregnant to someone other than Jared and myself.

Looking forward to?

Early release from work on Wednesday. Another OB appointment on Wednesday. A relaxing 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. Running the Seattle Half Marathon on Sunday.

 

If you haven't heard, Western Washington is getting hit with a "blizzard." It is amazing how a little snow makes people crazy out here. But the snow is SO beautiful!

It is a lot more hilly here, but it appears as if nobody has ever seen snow before. People are (1) really aggressive and end up in the ditch, (2) afraid to drive faster than 20 mph, or (3) frightened beyond belief - these are the people who literally stop their cars on the road and walk home. Not off to the side, not necessarily on a side street. Just wherever they decide to stop. I can't imagine that would ever be the most logical choice in this weather.

My drive home on the freeway wasn't bad, but I drive opposite the majority of traffic. Once I got off the freeway, I was going about 5 mph on the main road leading to my apartment. Traffic was THAT backed up. Maybe a little slush on the road. Not slippery at all. Not even snowing. The good news is that I didn't have to touch the gas pedal for at least a mile!

They closed many roads during rush hour due to ice on bridges and ridiculous backups from accidents. Here are the snow totals so far according to KOMO 4 NEWS:

The wind has really picked up in the last few hours, and it makes quite a noise with our fireplace. Simon is easily spooked by this (well...pretty much all noises). I can't wait to see him with the 50 mph gusts we are supposed to have tonight.

18 weeks!

A little late ... Jared's car died last weekend, so we were a bit preoccupied.

More ultrasound pictures!