Friday, March 29, 2013

Life's crucial ingredients

Last night I was up making my family's favorite guilty pleasure... banana bread! I hadn't made my famous bread in a long time and I was anxious to make it for many different reasons. The idea of baking again, making something with love and not out of necessity and also because I simply wanted to have some banana bread. The night before that I made another family favorite, spaghetti with homemade pesto sauce. I have a bittersweet attitude toward cooking but this week I was in a sentimental mood and the more I cooked the more I thought about my family.

As a child some of my fondest memories are of me and my mother making chocolate chip cookies just because my mom wanted cookies; or my grandmother making her homemade rolls that my mother, uncle and I would beg her to make on a regular basis. My family wasn't too big on cooking ALL the time but when they did cook it was always beyond amazing and made me feel so much comfort. So as I got older and had a family of my own I realized that my apron and I would become close friends. Now that's not to say that my transition to being the family cook was an easy one. In fact I fumbled quite a bit and did NOT cook on a regular basis. But once I realized that cooking is not only a necessity but a way to show my family how much I love and care for them, the transition became less of a difficult one.

So what's the point of this whole story? When we sit down as a family and eat dinner we are not just the three amigos anymore. There is another person eating with us, enjoying our family time and hearing the stories of our day. I can only imagine what Baby Z will feel when she is physically sitting at the table with us. Maybe this will feel like home to her, maybe she will hear our stories and eat our meals and encounter a sense of comfort and peace knowing deep down inside that she has been a part of our dinner table long before she was born.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Are we there yet?

To say that nothing interesting has been going on would be a lie but hey, life catches up and we found ourselves resting on our down time rather than keeping you all posted on what's been going on. But we are back and we got tons of info for you.

As of today S is 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant (for those that don't like weekly increments, she is 8 months pregnant). The countdown begins! The excitement in the house is beginning to bubble and as we begin to set up the house we keep looking at each other and saying "Wow, we're going to have a baby." While S's belly hasn't grown to astronomical sizes it is certainly obvious that she is pregnant. And if you were to ever doubt or question how pregnant she is, the numerous amounts of gas and heavy moans and sighs can be a sure reminder. At 5'2" she's more like the outer most Matryoshka doll (those are the dolls within dolls) with her wobbles becoming more pronounced. I comment on how her toes look like little Vienna sausages and she promptly pouts her lip and wonders why I would say such a thing. Bear in mind that I like Vienna sausages. Her hands look like little baby hands with noticeable dimples in the knuckles and plumpness around her wrists. Cute would not be the word that I would use to describe her at this point... adorable seems more appropriate.

At 20 weeks we found out the sex of the baby and we were all pleased to find out that we are having another GIRL! While a boy would have been a nice change we certainly feel more prepared for a girl. And no one was more pleased than Baby Z's soon-to-be big sister, E, who already has plans of dressing her up in cute clothes, hats and shoes. As Baby Z has continued to grow she has been letting us know who she is and what we can expect personality wise. She doesn't like to be bothered during her mommy's exam and can be rather uncooperative during the ultrasound. She even kicks the doppler when the nurse is checking her heart rate. She's also been known to turn her back to the ultrasound technician when we wanted to see her face. She loves to dance and makes her happiness known when her big sister plays piano. She even has certain songs that she moves around to more than others.

I am STILL experiencing Couvade syndrome and have been getting heartburn like you would never believe. As S becomes more tired and lethargic, so do I. When she gets dizzy, I get dizzy. Even my gas has been off the chain lately. But all of this only makes me appreciate her and want to take care of her more. Cause if I feel like crap, I'm sure she feels worse. My wife duties have expanded in new ways. I am a crane to help assist S in getting out of the bed and off of the couch. I'm a personal masseuse when her sciatica acts up and a manicurist when her toe nails need cutting. It's truly interesting to see how our roles have changed throughout this whole process.

Well now comes the time when I will share some pictures. Here's a glimpse of the small changes that we've made around the house and some of the clothes that we bought. Tell me what you think!

*I will post pictures of all of the gifts that we got in our upcoming baby shower post.
 
This is one of the first outfits E and I bought for S when we were still trying to conceive.







 This is one of my favorite pictures that I HAD to post.


We'll keep you posted and share more pictures soon.