#389 - baby card

I think I'm forgetting how much a baby cries in the first months of life...this card reminded me!

#388 - Baby O stuff

picture taken at a weird angle b/c it is hard for me to bend down, but perfect for my blog :)

Baby O is growing so fast, so just want to document 9 more things he says/sings/does:

`says "a bug" or "ewwh, that's a bug" - he loves to find bugs so that Pepe will zap them with this
`says "baska hoop" - he's trying to say basketball hoop which he calls any type of ball (football, baseball, basketball, tennis ball)
`says "i wanna go outside" - it could be 9pm at night, but he still wants to go outside to ride his bike and play with his shovel

~sings "Farmer Takes a Wife" over and over (he's singing Farmer in the Dell)
~sings the Elmo/India Arie version of "ABC's"
~sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" and his new favorite "Happy Birthday" a lot!

+loves to wear hats...especially the one he's wearing in the picture (it's from my work)
+loves pineapple, strawberries, cheese, chicken and "cake" (ie: anything sweet)
+loves to be cuddled up next to someone when he sleeps...just the other morning I woke up to him tickling (softly) my neck...too cute!

His favorite and only adjective he uses, "GREEN". (ie: what color is that? what shape is that? what type is that?...)

#387 - free cupcakes

The night before Kar and BT left, we were walking through the mall at closing time. I saw a Cinnabon employee (he must have seen my big belly and my cute sister) wave me and my sister over to give us free cupcakes.

Did you even know that Cinnabon does cupcakes? Honestly, I don't think I will buy one in the future, but for free...sure this pregnant woman will take one!

#386 - "ewwh, baby turd"

The other day we were flipping through this book with Baby O to try and explain to him about the new baby coming to our family.

When he saw this page (above), he said, "ewwh, baby turd" - he was talking about the dried up umbilical cord. I laughed...but then I want to know who taught him the word, "turd", cause I sure don't use it...

#385 - i scream onesie

In case you didn't see this on my shared items, just had to share the cutest onesie!

via...via...via (am I allowed to have 3 "via's"?)

#384 - Chocolate Therapy

Last month I went to Ben & Jerry's for their free scoop day...I had the best flavor, Chocolate Therapy! I think it is the pudding that makes it so yummy.Unfortunately, they only sell it in their stores, so no going to the local supermarket to stock up on this...bummer...

#383 - Can you guess?

Can you guess who this is? And where we were yesterday?

Answers and more tomorrow...

#382 - Mommy bag

Cute mommy bag.

#381 - favorites from my reader

1...this coconut lime banana bread looks way better than mine....got to try
2...love this diy edible paint for baby O...also, really loving this blog
3...perfect combo...mac with canon camera decal
4...love this envelope idea
5...cool idea for pictures
6...love these space saver headboards

more of my favorites

#380 - flying baby

happy Sunday
this picture above reminds me of this
picture taken by my lovely sister, Kar

#379 - morning thoughts

photo of my belly and lovely feet

i woke up this morning...too early for my liking because I had to use the bathroom (i wake up at least 4-5 times a night to do this)...and my first thought was, "i can't wait to not be pregnant so that I can (and I thought of at least 10 things right off the bat that i want to do)."

so, thought i'd list off some thoughts about my pregnancy....

things I'll miss when I'm not pregnant...
1...feeling the baby move/kick
2...eating whatever i want and not feeling as guilty
3...pregnancy sympathy (ie: people open doors for you, carry things for you, etc.)
4...wearing maternity clothes (they are comfy...i'll still wear them after i have the babe)
5...pepe rubbing my back for longer than 30 seconds
6...having a reason to have a big belly
7...great hair and nails

things i won't miss...(k...it's not really 10 things - as of 4/28 it's 10)
1...having to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes (at least it seems like that)
2...not being able to sleep on my stomach/back
3...remembering to take my vitamins
4...swollen body parts
5...not being about to bend down easily
6...having to catch my breath
7...being so tired
8...not being able to hold Baby O for very long :(
9...having too much of this :) (hope that's not too graphic)
10...heartburn...i didn't have it that bad with Baby O, maybe this baby will have lots of hair?

#378 - Deceptively Delicous Banana Bread

Here's another recipe I love from the book Deceptively Delicious. We try to make it at least once a week with all our ripe bananas. I of course tweaked it just a little, so here's my recipe:

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil (I usually use olive oil)
2 eggs (the original recipe just calls for 2 egg whites)
2 cups well mashed banana (the original recipe calls for 1/2 c cauliflower puree, but I just put more banana)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.
In lg bowl, mix the sugar and oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in eggs,then banana puree (it's about 4-5 bananas), and vanilla. And flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until just combined.
Pour batter into pan, bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool before serving.

It's our new banana bread recipe! And Baby O even helps me mix it all together...we're making progress in the kitchen.

#377 - Obama poster in DC

Last summer when my sister was here, she found the coolest Obama poster, but never was able to take a picture of it (it's really not a great neighborhood.) Well, Kar and BT are visiting and guess what one of their first photos was? Yep, this poster. Seriously, if you go to this location to see the poster, you'll get it.

View Larger Map
And for the tech savvy folks, here's a interactive map to view this location.

*Note - no political statement here, just like the coolness of this photo and the location it is in...(keepin it neutral for the new baby coming.)

#376 - baby pics and announcements (not my own)

Really liking these birth announcements...

and this baby picture.

#375 - lilacs and butterflies

Recently Baby O gets really excited when he sees a flying insect, especially butterflies (he even thinks moths are butterflies). Sometimes I'll catch him staring at a plant for a long time and then I realize that he's looking at a bee/butterfly/moth.

Picture above is of our lilacs in bloom . . . i love lilacs, they remind me of my grandpa.

#374 - Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Every time we fly somewhere, Pepe always has to buy a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll...and they are expensive...like $4.00 for one roll :)
So, I decided to try this knock off recipe and it was amazing! Usually I just use my favorite roll recipe to make cinnamon rolls and it works out good, but this new recipe is even better. I think the secret ingredient is vanilla pudding with lots and lots and lots of sugar and butter.

Here's the recipe with a few small tweaks I made:

ROLLS

• 1/2 cup warm water
  
• 10 teaspoons dry yeast
  
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding (plus 2 cups of milk to make the pudding)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved; set aside.

In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions.

Next, add butter, eggs and salt; mix well, then add yeast mixture; blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap until doubled. Punch down dough and let rise again.

Next, roll out on floured board to 34 x 21-inch size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over top (see picture above.)

Roll up very tightly - This is key, I didn't do this and the rolls were flat.

Cut into 20 rolls (start from the center and cut out.)

Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart; lightly press down on each roll (if you roll them tight - I forgot to do this. Cover and let rise until double again.

Make frosting - combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.

Bake rolls in a preheated 350F oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they just start to turn golden (ie: don't overbake.)

Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I made 10 and froze the rest, so we were able to have these rolls for 2 weekends...yum!

#373 - tryin'

Since the weather has gotten nicer and I get home when it is still light out, Baby O and I have been "tryin'" to go on walks down our street. We both love it!

Some things I want to remember about this photo:

~Pepe brought Baby O back his hat from a conference he attended~

~Baby O's "smart cookie" shirt from Aunt Wendy~

~Wagon we got from Freecycle~
~Sportin' a bib since he had a runny nose that day~

#372 - Rice to Riches

Next time I go to New York City I want to eat at Rice to Riches...it's just a store full of rice pudding...yum!

#371 - chocolate candle

Hershey Candle - a lot less calories :)

#370 - Easter egg hunt

baby O with his Opa and Oma searching for eggs...he got to use his Opa's Easter basket from when he was a kid...also notice his monkey pants and shovel (2 of his favorite things)

the boys were having fun trying to do this

a few of my cute nieces and nephews (pepe took these shots)

#369 - egg photos

Just some of my favorite egg photos I took on Easter.

I loved Michelle's idea of dying letters onto the Easter eggs, so I did the first initial of each of my nieces and nephews, plus Baby O's for our hunt.

I used painters tape (we've been remodeling) and cut out each letter (my cousin's way is much faster.) The tape wasn't super strong, so it left a cracked/tie dyed look on the eggs...I sort of liked it.

Most of the kids found their eggs, but Baby O seemed to have a lot of eggs with "O's" on them. Turns out that when other people dyed their eggs and left them to dry, they created a circular pool of the color...making an "O".

Pepe hid this egg up in a tree (wait, of course you know it is a tree.)

Just sharing the above picture of me taking photos of the eggs...this is probably the closest you'll get to seeing me 8 months pregnant :)

#368 - frosting and saltine crackers

One of my favorite treats. My dad taught me how to make them when I was a kid and I've been a sucker for saltines and chocolate frosting ever since.

Do you ever make these?

#367 - zip & dry apron

I really think this apron could come in handy. Maybe I could make one?

#366 - Easter Links

1...In case you don't want to make s'mores with your peeps...here's another fun idea.
2...Love my cousins idea on making "ABC" eggs . . .this and this are cute ideas too.
3...I think Baby O would love this tool box from the Easter Bunny
4...Can the Easter Bunny please bring me this chocolate bunny and one every week thereafter, until the baby is born?
5...Cute lamb pillows seem so Easter to me.
6...Totally loving this Cherry Blossom Family photo for Spring. I'm trying to talk Pepe into going downtown to take a family picture like this before I get too big with child.

#365 - old school pregnancy picture

Isn't this an awesome picture? It's my dad carrying my pregnant mom across a river/stream while they were out on a hike/picnic back in the 70's. Mom, let me know if I missed any of the details.

I doubt Pepe could carry my pregnant self anywhere (not that he's not strong enough, I'm just too big!) :)