Week 32 - 8 Months Pregnant!!

WOW - time is continuing to fly by at a rapid pace! I can't believe that we are already in month 8 of pregnancy! On one hand, it's hard to believe that in a few short weeks Baby B will *finally* be here & we can begin the next phase of PARENTHOOD; however, on the other hand, I've felt every bit of these last several months & am oh-so-ready baby's arrival!

This week I've been under the weather - not sure if it's seasonal stuff, or if my body is just exhausted from a combo of the holidays & pregnancy. Sleep is getting more & more difficult, which makes the work day more & more difficult... I'm still feeling a lot of movement from Baby B at all times of the day. I've noticed a loss of appetite in the last week or so - probably due to the lack of space in my tummy these days :)

I go back to the doc for another appointment on Thursday for an ultrasound & a NST (non stress test) on Baby B. Can't wait to see how big Baby B has gotten since we last saw him / her!! At my last appointment, my doc measured Baby B's heart rate at 134 - it has been right on the borderline for the last several weeks, so I guess that Baby B is going to keep us guessing right up until D Day!!

We are so excited about this weekend as we have another baby shower hosted by some of our very best friends!! Can't wait to see all of our friends & celebrate Baby B's arrival!

We still have lots to do to get ready for Baby B's arrival next month - here's what's on my "to-do" list for January:
>organize nursery
>pack hospital bag for mom & baby
>install car seat

Here's what's going on with Baby B this week...

Your Pregnancy: Week 32 (www.parentsconnect.com)
Your Body
There is something surreal about watching a tiny foot move across your belly (and something uncomfortable about getting jabbed by a tiny elbow in the dead of night). Now that your baby is nice and big and mobile, you'll be getting kicked and prodded in all sorts of unexpected places. Oooof! Did you feel that one in the ribs?

If you're feeling sudden, jerking movements, then your baby probably has the hiccups. Or he could be practicing his routine for So You Think You Can Dance. Changing positions, taking a walk, or drinking a cold glass of water or juice can sometimes get a very active baby to chill with the kidney shots for a while. You could also try telling the baby if he kicks you one more time you're going to come in there and give him a time-out. OK, that won't help ease the discomfort, but mentally it'll make you feel like you're still in control.

You can also take heart in the fact that in a few more weeks, your Karate Kid will be running out of room for the kind of athletic displays he's so fond of these days. In other words, he'll be too cramped in there to haul his foot back 6 or 7 inches to give you a swift kick in the ribs



Your Baby
Although your baby will still remain active, his days of trying out for Cirque du Soleil are nearly over. About this time your baby will settle into the head-down position in preparation for birth. Other fascinating facts:

Both you and baby are putting on some serious weight at this point. You'll probably gain about a pound a week for the next few weeks, with half of that poundage bulking up baby. He'll likely double his weight in the next eight weeks.

Ever wonder what your baby is doing in there these days? He's busy blinking, looking around, grabbing things, making faces, practicing his breathing, peeing and listening to everything around him—pretty much exactly what he'll be doing for the first three months of his life, sans the adoring audience and the flashing camera.

Your baby may (or may not) have a full head of hair now. If she's a baldy, don't worry. You can always buy a Baby Toupee or some adhesive barrettes.

By the end of this week, your baby will weigh about 4 pounds and measure over 17 inches long—about the length of a hot pair of above-the-knee boots. Christian Louboutin? Manolo Blahnik? We're thinking Isaac Mizrahi for Target—you've got a nursery to furnish!

Weekends for the Baker Bunch & 18 Week Update

Hi All - realizing that it's getting harder for me to keep up with my weekly blog updates! A lot has been going on for the Bakers -- here's a quick recap of what we've been doing...

We finally got the house projects complete {with the help of our amazing families!!!} & the Baker abode is getting closer to being ready for the arrival of Baby Baker!!! All of JD's music & home-brewing equipment is tucked away in its new home, thanks to JD's dad's incredible carpentry skills!! {I promise to post pictures soon of the beautiful cabinets he built for us!!} We now have new hanging cabinets in our screen porch for JD's homebrew equipment & we have two GORGEOUS cabinets in the guest room for JD's music equipment!! We also installed a kitty-sized pet door so that Aja is free to travel between house & screen porch. It took some time for her to get compfortable with the new set up, but she has finally come around & seems to be a much happier kitty overall! (For those of you who know Aja, I think she's really started to come out of her shell - a few mornings this week, I've gotten up in the morning & spotted her sitting in a window sill out on the porch just watching the yard & flicking her tail!! JD & I joke that she is out there enjoying her morning coffee, watching the world go by...)

We hit a couple of bumps in the road during work week, but we *could not* be happier with how everything has turned out!! AND - with JD's stuff out of the third bedroom, we were able to start making progress on the NURSERY!!

No pictures of the nursery-in-progress yet, but here's what we've done so far:
>painted the room (walls, trim, closet, etc...)
>put in new crown molding
>purchased new blinds for both windows
>picked up dresser & crib from furniture store - dresser was already assembled
>bedding arrived & is ready to go in the crib, once assembled

It's got a long way to go before the baby comes, but it's definitely coming along!! We ended up going with a nice, neutral color for the walls (Martha Stewart's 'Alpaca Brown') with white trim - it's amazing what a difference a couple of gallons of paint can make!!

JD & I find ourselves stopping by the *nursery* most nights just to look around & think about what it will be like when Baby Baker arrives & is living in his / her new space! It seems like so far from now, but at the same time, I know it will be here before we know it!! I get so excited thinking about it!!


Last weekend we spent some MUCH NEEDED R&R time at Smith Lake with some great friends! We enjoyed the sun, games, good food, football, & baby Caleb! Here is a quick picture I snapped of the view of the lake from our room at the GORGEOUS house:


(Sadly, this is the only picture I took all weekend... must have been having too much fun??)

Other big news for the Bakers this week is that we met with our mortgage broker & are going to be able to refinance our home loan & save 3 points off our current interest rate!!! We couldn't be more excited about this - it's going to save us over $200/month, which will definitely come in handy when we have to start paying for daycare next year!

Although this week is nearly over, here's an update on our baby's progress...

Your Pregnancy: Week 18 (www.parentsconnect.com)

Now that you're in the full throes of the second trimester, you're feeling—and looking—fabulous. So don't waste it! See friends (they've missed you since you moved your bedtime up to 7:00 p.m.), plan romantic dinners with your partner (you will miss those when junior arrives) and get active. Waterskiing might be a little too much but swimming and taking long walks are great for you and your bambino.

Your Body
At about 18 weeks, you might begin to feel a suspicious flutter in your belly. The professionals call it "quickening," we call it "baby's makin' waves!" Within the next few weeks, those tiny bubbly feelings will become more obvious. And soon enough they'll be unmistakably identifiable—especially when you (and anyone within 10 feet of you) can see tiny feet, elbows and knees moving across your belly.

>>>SIDE NOTE: I felt this for the first time on Sept 20!!!




Your Baby
Your baby's ears are now facing forward and are completely formed so she can actually hear you talking now. You don't need to abandon your potty mouth just yet, but you might want to start thinking about it! Other highlights this week:

This week is also the beginning of ossification. And while that sounds like some long and involved paperwork you'll have to fill out, it's really a fancy medical term for the hardening of your baby's miniature bones. And that's a good thing.

Your baby's nerves are making more and more complex connections. Her sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing are all developing. A substance called myelin, which makes nerve connections travel faster, is now coating your baby's nerves.

Your baby now weighs between 5 and 7 ounces and is about 5½ inches long—about the size of a pickle from the corner deli. (You're familiar with pickles, right? Your regular accompaniment to a big bowl of ice cream?)

14 Week Update

Good Morning! Just a quick update on the Baker family today... we spent the weekend down in Mobile for the 16th annual Dauphin Street International Beer Festival! As always, it did not disappoint; however, my experience was somewhat different from years past :) It was so good to spend time with JD's family & good friends - some of them were thoughtful enough to bring some O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer for me to drink so that I wouldn't feel left out, ha! On our way home yesterday, we stopped in Alabaster to check out the maternity section at their Old Navy store. Fortunately, I was able to find a few pieces (dresses & tops) that should get be through to winter!! I'm starting to "show" a little more each week & am probably wearing maternity clothes every-other day! This week is full of appointments - JD & I both are getting our teeth cleaned & then I have an appointment with my OB on Wednesday!! No ultrasound this week, though - boo :( Just hoping for a good report on BB's development!!

Speaking of, here is this week's update:

Your Pregnancy: Week 14 (www.parentsconnect.com)
You're officially in your glory days: the second trimester. Energy levels come back up, nausea levels go down and you may have a cute little bump that's beginning to show. It's a great time to celebrate the happy news ... if people haven't guessed already


Your Baby
Think of it this way: You're a third of the way through and baby's a third of the way cooked. Now that the "big stuff" (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, your baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work. Highlights this week include:

Your baby now has fingerprints! Book 'em, Danno! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? Baby's arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison.

Meconium, that tar-like, sticky first baby poop, is now loading up your baby's intestines, which means you might want to set aside a bottle of olive oil, one of the few things that will get the gooey poop off of baby's bottom.

Your baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). Your tiny dancer's movements are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yore—he now moves with graceful control.

Your baby is now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, you haven't done the same.




Thursday night we are heading to Regions Park to see the Birmingham Barons take on the Tennessee Smokies! Hope everybody has a great Labor Day weekend - we are looking forward to staying home & relaxing! JD's big band (Dangerous Cousin) has a show at Tannehill State Park on Monday afternoon, but other than that, we'll be around the house!

12 week Update

Hello all! Just another quick update on what's going on with the Bakers. Since my last post, one of my very best friends gave birth to her first child!!! We are so happy to welcome Caleb Joseph Giesen to the world!! Congrats to Natalie & Joey - he is absolutely perfect & the most precious baby I've ever seen!!!

As I mentioned before, we traveled to New Orleans this weekend for a long weekend getaway! It was so nice!!! Lots happening in the Crescent City this weekend - Saints pre-season game at home Friday night; Red Dress Run Saturday morning; Dirty Linen party on Royal Street Saturday night. JD's sweet mom & dad came to spend the day with us on Saturday!! We had great food, saw all of our favorite spots in the city, hung out with old friends, & did LOTS of walking around - which I was nervous about in the beginning, but I ended up feeling great!! It has inspired me to pick back up on my exercise routine back home! We knew while we were there that we wanted to get some unique art from an artist on Jackson Square that we could use in the nursery - we were able to find a couple of the most *precious* pieces!! The cute little artist even signed them after we told him it was for our baby's nursery :) I will post pictures from our trip later...

On our way home, we swung through Foley, AL to stop at a place to look for supplies for our upcoming house addition project! We were able to find a new back door & wood for the cabinets that JD & his dad are going to build to hold his music & beer brewing supplies! We were able to get some really good deals - definitely worth the trip over to Foley!

In other news, I hit the 12 week mark over the weekend!! I am continuing to feel pretty good & can start to feel my energy coming back (finally!). Here's an update on what's going on with Baby Baker this week:

Your Pregnancy: Week 12 (www.parentsconnect.com)

What You're Thinking:
"Finally I can tell everybody that I'm not getting fat, I'm just pregnant!"

Your Baby
Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray! Other amazing fetal highlights this week:


Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!

This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.

Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.

Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost ½ ounce. He's also now around 2 ½ inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.

Other Projects Around the House

Well, our biggest project was all of the work in the bathroom, but we were able to get a few other things done around the house:

*JD & his dad insulated & put "walls" up in our laundry room / storage room (this was really special for me as I am the one who spends the most time in this room & can REALLY APPRECIATE insullation & organization)
*They also built up new shelving for extra storage!
*Pam & I went through everything in our outdoor storage unit & threw a bunch of stuff away & organized what was to remain
*Pam & sweet Aunt Denise really helped us out with our outdoor areas (patio, yard, & porch) - lots of pictures below...

>>>WE ARE SO HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING & CAN'T THANK OUR FAMILIES ENOUGH!!!<<<
















We kicked off our Spring / Summer entertaining by hosting Supper Club last weekend! We had 11 people over for one of our favorites, Mexican! We had a taco bar with all the fixins', beans, rice, grilled chicken, ground beef, queso - JD even made a cerveza home brew for the occassion! It was delish! A lovely evening with great friends :)

I also want to share a recipe I tried for beer-margaritas - really easy & super yummy! For those who don't like margaritas, the beer cuts the sour / tangy taste of the margaritas...

(my recipe was for 16 cups, the size of my drink dispenser)
4 cups 7up
4 cups Corona Extra
4 cups silver tequila
3 (12oz) cans of frozen limeade concentrate (thawed)

Mix together ingredients & serve over ice with lime for garnish!

over. the. weekend.

This was a pretty nice weekend for the Bakers...

Friday we went to Big Blue Bagel to see JD & the Man perform! My sweet friends {Katie, Tonya, & Leah} came to keep my company! We even made friends with the bartender, Todd.

Saturday morning we got to catch up & hear all about Katie's recent vacay to Puerto Rico with her boo Dwain! {Katie B spent the night at our house Friday night :)} WOW. After hearing her talk about their trip, I am so ready for a beautiful, relaxing, tropical vacation! Her pictures are incredible - check them out!

I also made a cake for JD's birthday {coming up this Wednesday} - I saw the recipe in last month's Southern Living magazine & knew that it was something I had to try: Key Lime Pound Cake! Here's the cake when it came out of the oven, but before I poured the glaze over the top:


...and here's the picture from Southern Living:



Yumm-O!!

Saturday afternoon we grabbed a little lunch in Crestline & then got ready to meet up with the Knechts for the Boil in the Hood crawfish boil!!

Sunday was really chill around the house - JD didn't have to work at Mellow, so we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. JD ended up brewing a new batch of beer & bottling another one (a CERVEZA) that we'll serve at supper club this month! I hosed off all of the patio furniture & started to spray paint the wicker furniture. Keeping it the same color, but just patching up some chipped places from where we painted it last summer.

There was also a lot of this going on this weekend:





We are looking forward to next weekend when we start our big house projects!!! JD's sweet parents are coming up to help us - I'll post progress pictures soon!

Kate + Nate :: Wedding Pictures

a few of my favorites from their big day...

itchin' for a hitchin'

I love the title of this post becuase it was what Katie's sweet grandfather (Daddy Woody) said before the blessing at her wedding rehearsal on Thursday night... and he couldn't have been more right.

This past weekend we attended the Davies / Kivett Wedding in Nashville, TN. What a beautiful wedding it was - Katie really did an excellent job in planning every last detail for their big day. Everything was so beautiful, & so personal, & reflected both Katie & Nathan perfectly.

This weekend was also really special to me because it was a chance for me to catch up with all of my *favorites* from high school & all of my *favorites* from college! I thought my head was going to spin with excitement! Seriously, how lucky am I?!?

I want to go on & on about how much I love my bestie & her terrific *hubs*, but I'm afraid that little sensitive / emotional me won't be able to hold it together long enough to get through the post... hopefully my pictures will be able to do it justice.

Katie & Nate - You both hold a very special place in my heart & I am so very happy that you have found one another. You are the perfect compliment to one another, & I can't tell you enough how your love for one another radiates to everything that you do. I know that you will have a lifetime of happiness together! MUCH LOVE & CONGRATS!

I'm going to load some more of my pictures from the weekend this week to share - but until then, here's a sneak peek...

bestie

this past weekend I traveled to one of my favorite cities to celebrate one of my favorite people, Katie Davies.

Katie & I have been best friends since high school & after graduation, we even lived together for a year in college.

Katie moved to Nashville the same year I moved to Birmingham, 2007. We worried about the distance, but it's a straight shot up 65N from Birmingham right in to Nasville!

Katie is marrying her absolute perfect match, Nate on April 1 in Nashville. This past weekend we celebrated Katie by having a "GNO" = Girls Night Out. Friday was a fun night out on the town at her favorite watering hole, Robert's; Saturday was her linger shower, in the fabulous home of another bestie, Sarah Flory; Sunday was Katie's Bridal Tea at her aunt's home. Three fun days of celebration!!

Here are just a couple of photos from the weekend:





I can't wait for the wedding day & feel so honored to have been asked to be a part of it! JD & I can't wait to make many fun memories with the Kivetts in the future!

catching up

Hi all - things have been busy around the Baker house, so I haven't had a chance to post lately {oops...}

Since my last post, I helped to host a wedding shower for my good friend, Leigh Ciarkowski! Leigh & I met in our bunco group in 2009 & we quickly bonded over our mutual love for dogs! Leigh & her future hubby have 3 dogs: Bettis, Maggie, & Peanut. Here are a couple of shots from the wedding shower, which was held at Leigh's friends' BEAUTIFUL home in Avondale - please note the LOVELY cake that our friend Emily made special for Leigh (www.primecakes.com):







After Leigh's shower, JD & I went out to celebrate {valentine's day} with dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! JD stumbled upon a gift card at work & when nobody claimed it, we thought it must be fate! Dinner was lovely & we had fun getting all gussied up for a night out!



Over the weekend we tried to spend as much time outdoors in this beautiful spring-like weather as possible! I met some friends from the Phi Mu Alum group for an officers' brunch on Saturday while JD stayed home to bottle some more home brew! Sunday we palled around with our friends, Liz & Richard, after their return from their Las Vegas vacation! The group indulged in lots of al fresco drinking, per the usual...

This past Wednesday we celebrated my 27th birthday!! Sweet JD was so excited to give me my presents bright & early that morning! My most favorite was a special edition of the book The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. The thing that makes this book special is that it is part of a collection with beautiful, unique cover art done by Penguin Books Senior Cover Designer, Coralie Bickford-Smith. Here is what my new book looks like - can't you just imagine it on a bookshelf?!?


{yes, this picture was taken in bed - I was that excited to start my collecting!!}

There are several other beautifully designed classics in the collection - I can't wait to collect more of these beauties!!

After work, JD & I met up with some sweet girlfriends at our favorite neighborhood bar, Parkside Cafe, for a couple of drinks, followed by dinner with my sweet sister in law, Katie All in all, a great birthday all around - I'm looking forward to what year 27 has in store!

Last night I did something totally fun & different with some fun girlfriends from work - Sips n' Snips!! You may be familiar with a similar concept, Sips & Strokes, where friends can get together to "sip" a beverage of choice & paint a picture under the guidance of an instructor. Well, Sins n' Snips is a little different ---- still sipping beverages, but instead of painting you are MAKING A FLOWER ARRANGEMENT!!! I was sooo excited to do this as "learning how to arrange flowers" was on my bucket list - and this way was much more fun as I had friends by my side! Here are a few pictures from the night:







and the finished product:



I LOVE them!!! And I can't believe that I did it! The really great part about doing Sips n' Snips is that the fabulous instructors (who own & operate Helena Florist) give you ideas & techniques for creating different arrangements at home!

This weekend we are heading back to GA to visit my parents & attend 2 wedding showers for my bestie Katie Davies! I'm sure to have lots of updates from that visit!

Until next time,

peace & love.

the bakers.