New Tradition

I was determined to make homemade cinnamon rolls this year for Christmas morning. Our original plans for Christmas of going to my parent's house changed when I was put on bed rest, but thankfully they were able to come to us for the weekend (except my brother Tyler who was supposed to work- we missed you!). My sister put the dough together Christmas Eve- she is quite the master baker- and we let it rise overnight. Christmas morning I broke a few rules and was on my feet long enough to roll out the cinnamon rolls while my sister made the icing. These rolls were delicious and its kinda embarrassing to think how many we consumed that day and the next... and I wish we had even more leftover because one would go perfectly with this cup of coffee I'm sipping. Needless to say, homemade rolls have been declared a new Christmas morning tradition. Anyway, here is the super simple recipe for the rolls, and the icing we used. Maybe you'd like to make some for New Years day?

p.s. when I rolled them out, I got 12-14 one-inch rolls out of each half of the dough so we had almost 30 smaller rolls which were perfect for us.

Rest. Lots of it.

One thing I appreciate about the blogs I take time to read is the honesty with which they are written. No rose-colored glasses or watered down truths about parenting or pregnancy or life. In the same vein, I've tried to make this blog a place that readers can know the nitty gritty about us (whats appropriate of course) while also celebrate our joys and successes. In that mindset, let me tell you about bed rest...

So for the past 3 weeks or so, I've been having daily, sometimes constant headaches that range from mildly annoying to pretty intense. As someone with a chronic pain disorder, I think I have a pretty high tolerance for pain overall and can usually get by without people noticing. I've also gotten fairly frequent headaches for years so this was not something new. However, headaches during pregnancy, especially the end of pregnancy, can be a symptom that something is wrong so I felt that I had to mention it to my OB. Headaches and high blood pressure often signal preeclampsia, so while my blood pressure has been good she ordered some tests as a precaution. Some blood work came back elevated so she had me do a 24-hour urine collection over the weekend to test for elevated protein. These urine collection contraptions were clearly designed by men and while I've gotten pretty skilled at peeing in a cup over the past 9 months, it was a difficult undertaking to say the least. Too much information? Sorry.
I was told to "rest" while we waited for results. I kept up with things around the house but tried to not be overly active, though I did have some last minute Christmas shopping to finish up. Its a good thing I got that done, too, because Monday when I called to find out my results, I was put on bed rest. My blood work was still slightly elevated though not concerning but the protein levels in my urine where high. Thankfully, they were not high enough to indicate preeclampsia and my blood pressure was still good so that was ruled out, but as a precaution and to take any unnecessary pressure off my body, I've been put on bed rest until this baby arrives. Meaning, I'm supposed to sit/lie at a 45degree angle and only get up to use the bathroom. Let me tell you -- its not as glamorous as it sounds. Not only is it *slightly* boring (how much reading and tv watching can someone do day after day?) but I feel completely useless and guilty for making my wonderful husband take care of himself, me, and the house. It only took me 2 days to have a breakdown about this and while I've come to accept it now, it hasn't been easy. Geoff has served me lovingly and been such an encouragement, and helps remind me that my job right now is to take care of this little one- the dusting and floor scrubbing can wait. This experience has also pointed out some of the pride in my heart as I've struggled to accept help from others... wanting to maintain my independence... and feeling inadequate as I lay around all day. However, God has reminded me to find the joy in every circumstance, to be thankful for this time of rest, this quiet and calm time with my husband, and especially for a job that allows Geoff to mostly work from home right now so he can keep me in line :)
I know that many have been on bed rest for a lot longer than 3-4 weeks and I don't want to minimize that, or make myself out to be some kind of martyr, as if I'm looking for pity or anything. I simply wanted to share whats been going on with us as we approach the end of this pregnancy journey, and to also remind myself in writing of the goodness of God so that I don't forget later on. And well, I've got lots of time on my hands right now so what else is there to do?!

37.4

According to my daily reminder from BabyCenter.com, we've got 17 days to go until D-Day! Of course being 37 weeks and 4 days pregnant actually means that our little one could arrive any day... or not for 3 or 4 more weeks. I'm not so uncomfortable that I'm begging the little one to come early, but I'd be quite happy to not wait the whole 40 weeks (or beyond) to meet baby. While I hear they are easier to deal with inside your belly, I'm anxious to get into the next phase: motherhood! Remind me of that when I'm sleep deprived, will you?

We completed 2 birth classes at our OBs office, which were both informational and practically useful. I may not remember my breathing or imagery during labor, but its helping to keep my blood pressure down in the meantime :)

The car seat is installed in the backseat. The stroller is folded up in the trunk. The diaper bag is packed and ready to go, and my hospital bag is basically ready besides those last minute items you really can't part with ahead of time (i.e. eyeglasses). And as Geoff likes to focus on, we have everything we need to keep baby alive for the first 24 hours at home. After that, he can run to the store :)

Home

As we've been preparing baby's room lately, I realized I have never shared pictures of what our new place looks like, since we moved in April. We are renting a 2-bedroom duplex in Alexandria, Va. I'm only including pics of the living areas because (1) the kitchen is a mess right now and awkward to photograph anyways, and (2) our bedroom and other areas just aren't that interesting to see. I'm also reserving photos of the nursery until its more complete, but we did a lot of work in it this past weekend so its getting there! I suppose its time since baby could be here any day :) A little sneak peek of the crib:

~living room decorated for Christmas~

the blank wall over the couch is obviously a work in progress but I have great plans to put a photo collage up someday, preferably before we move again...

~dining room~

We upgraded from our tiny 2-person table to one that can expand to seat 10. To be honest we don't eat at it all that often yet but it sure comes in handy to hold a buffet spread for 20+ people!

Christmas plates that Geoff received as a little boy surrounded with some holly from the back yard

Geoff's favorite decoration may be the candle arrangements I make at Christmas. I'm glad he is so easily pleased :)

Belly Pictures

Many of you may have already seen these, but here is a link to the professional maternity shots we had done a few weeks ago around Capitol Hill. The photographer is a sweet gal we know from our church, and if you are in the area and looking for a wedding or portrait photographer, we highly recommend her! She made the experience so much fun and spent time finding out what we wanted as well as incorporating her own creative ideas. It was a blast, and a great way to remember this special time in our marriage while we wait for out little peanut to arrive :)

Showered by Love

October and November have brought into our home many blessings in the form of baby items. Lots of baby items. Thanks to friends from church who put together a fun shower for me in October and my mom and sister who threw a fantastic shower for us last weekend, our nursery is overflowing with both cute and practical items to help us welcome baby into the world (and then clothe, feed, clean and entertain him or her). As we have almost hit the 7 week countdown mark, its becoming more and more real that baby really will be here soon. Everyone is talking about the holidays coming up and the dwindling time left for gift-getting, and its a reminder to us that possibly during or hopefully right after all of the holiday festivities, our greatest gift will arrive. Wow. How did those 30+ weeks pass by so fast?!

Here are a few photos from both baby showers...

Church friends

Friends from William & Mary who also live in the area!

Since my shower, 2 baby girls have been born to ladies in these groups. Yay for mommy friends.

They decorated onesies for Baby; this is Geoff's favorite one:)

***

The spread at my family shower ~ mom made amazing coffee punch and my sister made delicious cupcakes which we are still enjoying :)

My grandma with 3 of her sisters~ these ladies make our family what it is today and I'm so blessed to be bringing another life into this loving family

Decorating wooden blocks and fabric book pages for baby!

Me and dad, the grandpa-to-be!

October Snapshots

Whats been happening lately...

Celebrated with friends at their wedding in Newport, RI

Built baby's beautiful crib, thanks to Geoff's generous parents

Baby belly at about 29 weeks (feels like I get bigger every day!)

Our good friends from church had a sweet baby girl 2 weeks ago. Holding this beautiful little bundle made us oh so ready to meet ours!

- - - - - - -

* We've chosen our pediatrician and will be pre-registering at the hospital this week

* We signed up for baby classes at our OB's office for December

*I passed my 3-hour glucose test meaning I don't have gestational diabetes (praise God!)

Anatomy of a Dresser

Last weekend, Geoff and I built the dresser/changing table for the nursery! We're super happy with how it turned out, and anxious for the nursery to start taking shape. Somehow baby's due date is only 3 months away and we're sure with the holidays fast approaching, those 3 months are going to fly by!

examining the 400 pieces...

Ok its starting to look like something now!

looking good... just need some drawers...

finished!

The cheesehead will not be a permanent fixture...

Sweet Blueberry

I've been meaning to share this sweet story for awhile now but am just finally getting it down on "paper." We enjoy the "what fruit or veggie is baby this week" updates from babycenter.com- I think because its a more tangible way to understand where little baby is in the development process, size-wise anyway. I've never been good with measurements so being able to visualize what 8 inches or 12 oz. looks like isn't easy for me. Anyway, back when baby was 7 weeks, he/she was the size of a blueberry. Geoff surprised me with breakfast in bed: a blueberry muffin from our favorite local coffee shop and a big decaf coffee (mmm, remember when I used to like coffee!?). He's so thoughtful that way.

26 weeks today, and baby is as tall as an English cucumber (14 inches) and weighs one and two-third pounds. Heard baby's strong heartbeat on Wednesday, about 120bpm. We know 3 couples who have had babies recently without finding out whether they were having a boy or girl -- all 3 have been boys. What do you think that means?!

Google Chrome on Fatherhood

As fatherhood rapidly approaches (t-minus 100 days and counting), I am noticing signs that I'm turning into a big sap. For example, this is my favorite commercial on TV right now, and not just because I like Google Chrome:

This ad resonates with me in several ways:

• Holding: Dad admits that he's still getting used to holding little Sophie. Yeah, I have no idea how to hold a baby. Or change diapers. Or get one to stop crying. There will be a lot of things to get used to.
• Giggles: The quick clip of Sophie laughing at her 1st birthday party is amazing. I can't wait to hear my baby laugh and melt my heart.
• Helpless: Sophie has to go to the hospital with a fever, with Dad acknowledging how helpless he feels. So many things are completely outside of my control as it is now, and it's hard to think about how little I'll be able to control once Baby Peck arrives.
• Model: The Dad in this ad is completely unlike most dads portrayed in popular culture today. That is to say, he's not a complete moron. This Dad is a loving, caring, sentimental, humorous, providing, protecting, family man. I hope I'll be that kind of Dad.

Corn Cob

24 weeks and Baby Peck is about as long as a corn cob (~12 inches) and weighs just over a pound. Baby's lungs and brain continue to develop, as well as taste buds which I find kinda funny. Baby will begin to plump up this next week and fill out some of those skin rolls, which is probably why I'm so hungry...

A few things I'm noticing lately:

• Baby is moving a lot more (or I can feel it better)- no dramatic kicks yet that Daddy can feel but he still enjoys knowing that I'm feeling our little one regularly doing acrobatics
• In the last month I've had more swelling in my legs and ankles but it seems to be mostly weather related if I'm on my feet too long- this cooler weather has made a difference!
• My appetite has definitely increased, especially around lunch time. In the evenings I tend to get full faster, but am hungry again an hour or so later. Many days I eat 2-3 apples with peanut butter as a snack.
• My food aversions are slowly but surely getting less and less. I made myself a cup of coffee this morning which makes 2 in the past week, quite an accomplishment! Even bigger than that, I made turkey burgers this past week which is the first time in, oh, probably 4 months. I even have plans to make chicken tortilla soup this week which will be my first chicken recipe probably since June. Geoff will be happy for something other than spaghetti or pizza! (By the way, I made individual pizzas last week on flattened Pillsbury Grand rolls and they were delicious! Mmmm that flaky crust!)

Oahu: Day 5

Our final full day on the island was very bittersweet. We tried to soak in as much as possible without dwelling on the fact that tomorrow we would be leaving... Throughout the week we could see planes leaving from the airport, flying out over Waikiki, and we would comment "so glad we're not on that plane!" but we knew our time was almost up. :(

Anyway, on Day5 we had planned to beach hop along the Windward coast, but after our sunburn experience from the previous day, we really had no desire to punish our tender flesh with more direct sun. So, we drove along the coast and got out to enjoy the views as we wanted to. We were once again overwhelmed at the beauty God has created on Oahu. How beautiful He must be to be able to make something like that!

After our scenic-spot hopping, we made it back to our hotel beach in time to enjoy one last dip in the Pacific (once the heat of the afternoon sun was gone) before watching the sunset from the beach. The perfect way to end our final day on Oahu.

Oahu: Day 4

After a busy Day 3, we decided to spend our fourth day just relaxing. We went to a local drive-in for breakfast: Geoff got sunny side-up eggs over fried rice, and I got sweet bread french toast. We spent the morning eating breakfast out on our lanai, reading, enjoying the breeze, etc.

Then we hit the beach! We even spotted a sea turtle swimming with us in the small cove by our hotel. Having spent the morning lounging around our room, we were on the beach during the sun's most intense time. In other words,we made it until day 4 before getting fried. We're still enjoying the peeling skin...

After the beach, we found another way to relax: massage! We got a couples massage at the spa in the Hyatt Hotel downtown. It was bliss, and thankfully our sunburn really didn't start to hurt until later in the day. We enjoyed saying goodbye to all those knots from the long flight (and could probably use another one...). Here we are in the spa's "relaxation room," enjoying water flavored with mint and ginger, and tasty treats of pineapple and chocolate.

After our spa treatment, we spent some time regrouping in the lobby of the Hyatt (the one with the waterfall in it) and enjoyed some Mochi ice cream. This was something we'd read about in the travel books and decided we had to try- its ice cream after all! Mochi ice cream is cold ice cream wrapped in a soft, fluffy rice dough and dusted with a white powdery coating. Its quite an interesting texture experience... probably a good, not great treat in our opinion.

For dinner, we went to Dukes. We had heard this place was worth checking

out for its outdoor seating, right on the beach. We had to wait awhile for an outdoor table to open up, but the reviews were right! We enjoyed good food in a beautiful setting, and Geoff bought be a beautiful fresh lei. We enjoyed another Hawaiian sunset and the shimmer of the tiki torches on the ocean. A great end to a perfect, relaxing day!

(well, the perfect ending might have been the aloe we applied to our burnt skin before bed, but that's far less interesting...)

Oahu: Day 3

Friday we visited Pearl Harbor. They have a great museum on site that we had plenty of time to look through as we waited 3 hours for our timed ticket out to the remains of the USS Arizona. It was a very hot day so we spent some time walking around the outside exhibits, but quickly decided our time was best spent indoors!

Looking thru the periscope out to the harbor

Geoff testing out the big guns

One of the remaining turrets from the Arizona, which lays beneath where Danielle is standing

Behind Geoff is the USS Missouri which stands guard over the sunken Arizona

*****

After spending all morning and early afternoon at Pearl Harbor, we went back to Waikiki to cool off in the ocean for the afternoon. Then we walked downtown Waikiki to get dinner and watch the sunset over the ocean. Beautiful ending to the day!

20 weeks

Baby is doing well and we're so thankful. Doctor says he/she has a "beautiful" looking heart, and everything else baby needs. Counted 10 fingers and 10 toes. Amazing. God is good!

Oahu: Day 2

Thursday we drove along the other side of the island from Waikiki to the North Shore. On our way, we stopped at the Dole Plantation. We learned the history of the pineapple and how James Dole used the unique climate and soil of the Hawaiian islands to build a pineapple empire. Most importantly, we got pineapple ice cream (mine was also topped with fresh pineapple) which was delicious and the perfect treat for a hot day. Tried to figure out how to bring some home with us, but I guess we'll just have to go back... :)

Leaving Dole, we kept heading towards the North Shore. We stopped in Haleiwa for some shopping and to get lunch. Geoff got another plate lunch, this time with pulled pork, and I got a hot ham, pineapple and cheese sandwich. yum. (I managed to have pineapple in some form every day while in Hawaii). From Haleiwa, we drove to Sharks Cove where we went snorkeling

(no Sharks spotted). We weren't in the water 2 minutes before we came face to face with a sea turtle! We saw at least a dozen different types of beautiful, brightly colored fish. This was one of the highlights of our trip for sure! After snorkeling, we left the cove and walked to the nearby beach to do some swimming (the cove was very rocky). The North Shore is where all the surfing competitions happen in the winter, but thankfully the surf is much calmer in the summer so we amateurs could enjoy the water.

For our return trip to Waikiki, we drove down the other side of the coast and enjoyed spectacular views of soaring mountains and jagged cliffs offset by crystal clear waters. Please excuse the pictures since they were taken from the moving car and don't do the views justice at all.

Oahu: Day 1

With baby on the way, Geoff and I took the opportunity to have one last big get-away together (i.e. "babymoon") by spending about a week in Hawaii. It was fabulous. So fabulous in fact that I plan to take you through our trip day by day, because its just too good to fit into one post :)

So, here comes Day 1: we got to our hotel late on Tuesday night (which felt like 4am to us) and after checking out our sweet lanai (balcony), we crashed. Wednesday was our official Day #1, and we packed it full! Since our bodies were still on EST, we were up and out the door by 7am to enjoy some delicious breakfast at the beachfront restaurant next door. Then we walked into downtown Waikiki (about 10mins from our hotel) to check out what was what. And to find a Starbucks of course. Here's the view of downtown from our hotel...

For lunch, we went to a "locals" spot where Geoff got his first plate lunch. Basically, its some type of meat served with rice and either a green salad or macaroni salad on the side. Its the standard lunch fare on the island. This place also had amazing iced tea (with pineapple and mint in it).

After lunch, we decided to drive along the Windward side of the island. It was breathtaking. If you go to Oahu and only see Waikiki, you are missing out! A few snapshots from our drive...

National Pali Lookout

Halona Beach Cove

Hanauma Bay (popular for snorkeling)

We did some more exploring and decided we'd need to come back to this side of the island later in the week. You'll see more pictures of that to come! Check back tomorrow for ice cream and snorkeling adventures :)