Emma- One Month!

Here is the first photo of a project I will be doing every month. I got the idea from the blog Young House Love . This is my first attempt, but thanks to Brandon's amazing photoshop skills I think it turned out ok! I have her on the back drop of moving boxes because aside from Emma, moving is the first thing on my mind right now. We will be moving into Brandon's parents in about 2 weeks and there is still so much to do! It's easy to get distracted though with the cutest little bean always ready to cuddle.

It's been a while...

So much has happened the past month and a half, where to begin? The baby and I are still doing just fine despite me continuing to gain more weight than the doctor would like and being on the verge of getting the scary pregnancy-related diseases such as pre-eclempsia and gestational diabetes. I'm fine though, nothing has come of my tests and in fact thanks to my strict no-carb diet I have actually lost 4 pounds in the past two and a half weeks! I've also committed myself to exercising every day and keeping a food journal. I'm proud of how I've been doing and hopefully will continue to stay strong until the day that Emma joins our family.

Oh yes, I haven't mentioned yet that we have decided to call her Emma Grace. There's nothing really meaningful about the name except for the fact that it's the first name that popped into my head before I even knew she was a "she".

With all my attention to eating well and working out I have not been able to stop thinking about all the bad things I really wish I could be eating but can't! So without further ado here is my top ten foods I wish I could eat but can't... (sigh, if only I was one of those pregnant woman that could use pregnancy as a time to eat more!)

10. Whole wheat toast with Nutella

9. Auntie Anne's pretzel with cheese dipping sauce

8. Lou Malnati's or Giordano's deep dish pizza

7. 600 lb. Gorilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

6. Starbucks Java Chip Frappachino with LOTS of whip cream

5. McDonald's french fries

4. Biscuits and Gravy from Butterfield's Pancake House or Egg'Lectic

3. French toast 

2. Movie theater popcorn (especially from the Tivoli in Downers Grove because it's free refills and the best popcorn of any movie theater!)

1. Oberweis Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake! (I told B he should bring one into the delivery room as motivation to get this baby out of me)

Wow, that list just made me really hungry. Stay tuned for my next installment, "Foods that I am eating now and can't get enough of because they slightly satisfy my true cravings".

Because We Can

Thursday Brandon and I went on an impromptu date just "because we can". We had a nice dinner at Panera (mmm, sierra turkey sandwich) and saw Source Code at the cheap show. It was really nice to just go out and enjoy an evening together what with Brandon being so busy with homework, resume prep, job hunting and all. It was also really nice to get out and do something spontaneous and last minute, something we won't be able to do much longer. Pretty soon we'll have to arrange baby sitters and plan our dates out weeks in advance.

Thursday was also the first time I can confidently say that I felt the little girl move, not just kick. I was sitting at my desk at work and I felt an arm or leg go from one side of my belly to the other. Just like that I can no longer say "I think so" when people ask me if I've felt the baby move yet. Just like that it is very real that there is a living being inside me experiencing the first bit of life.

On Thursday I also got the good news that my high blood pressure has gone down thanks to the help of a low dose of blood pressure medication. And the results from my test came back and I don't have to worry about preeclempsia right now. Yay! I felt weird being put on medication however the doctor told me that it would be worse for the baby for me to continue to have high blood pressure. I tell you, if there's one thing you can say to a pregnant woman to get her to do something (or not do something), tell her it's good (or bad) for the baby. It's my achilles heal I guess.

The End is Near

What a great start to a blog, "the end is near". Well, by the end what I really mean is the beginning. Brandon is almost done with his 18 month long program called Animation Mentor and we are only a few months away from our first baby girl entering this world. Brandon has been super busy these past 18 months in school and I am so proud of all the hard work he has put into this program. His talent is really shining through and his demo reel has gotten great reactions out of people. I only hope that a job quickly follows his graduation and that we can put all the stress of late nights and job hunting behind us. I can't wait to get on with our new life as a family of three when our little princess joins us in September. And so the end is near, but new beginnings are imminent.