39 weeks update

On Friday, I went to the doctor and I am now at 3.5 cm. She didn't have any guesses on when the baby would come. She said it could be anywhere within the next 7-14 days. My due date is on Tuesday but she wants me to come in Wednesday morning (if I haven't had Jack by then) so they can monitor the baby. She said by the information they receive we could possibly talk about inducing. We're ready to meet our little boy, so stay on alert!!

36 weeks

We are in the home stretch...Yippee!! I've started weekly visits with the doctor and this past Saturday was our first one. Alex and I found out that our little guy is measuring a little bigger than average. I wasn't too suprised because for weeks I have felt like he was 20lbs. My body has defintely felt it as well as my feet they look like Fred Flinstones.


I was very impressed with Alex this weekend! He has done so much to help me get the house ready for the baby. The baby furniture arrived and the crib needed to be put together so Alex got out his tools and away he went. He did a great job, and I love him for all that he has done.

Texas Baby Shower

Cowboy Up...There's a new sheriff coming to town!! My good friend Shannon, my sister Britt and my three aunts, Alicia, Beth and Lisa all hosted my baby shower in Texas. My aunt Lisa was so gracious to host it at her house and all the ladies did a wonderful job making this such a special day for me.

The food was delicious and they each item was labeled with a cute cowboy name. Everyone knows that I when I come into town, I have to make a special stop at Chick-fil-a so they made sure to have plenty of nuggets there for me...good call! Another favorite of mine is cupcakes, and my Aunt Alicia made homemade lemon cowboy cupcakes for everyone including little Jack - they were so tasty.




Shannon was in charge of games and we had such a fun time playing them. For example, she had a spool of twine and made everyone guess how big around I was. They then had to cut a piece of twine that they thought would measure all around me and my big ol' belly. Everyone thought I was much bigger than I was which cracked me up. Tunrs out the big winner was Mrs. Gresham as she was the closest. Shannon knows that I know a lot fo TV trivia so she made a list of different t.v. shows and you had to fill in the names of each child in the TV family. Fun, Fun, Fun!!





I was blown away with all the great gifts that Jack received! It's funny because my mom got a little nervous because I didn't know what some of the things did - I guess I need to start reading up some more in the baby books :)




The bassinet that Jack will be sleeping in is a family heirloom dating back to 1925 when my grandmother first used it. Her dad made it from an old laundry basket and then made a base for it. My grandmother, great aunt, my mom and her brothers and sisters, my cousins, me, my sister and my cousin's kids have all used this bassinet. We recently embroidered each baby's name in the bassinet that has used it with their birth dates.




This was such a great day to be with my family and close friends and I truly felt blessed!!

Chicken Cobbler Casserole

Before I start updating all my latest posts I thought I would share a recipe I found. I am starting to get ready for Baby Jack and I wanted to make recipes that I could freeze ahead. This is one I found from Southern Living.

P.S.- To make this recipe creamier - use 1/2 c of white wine and 1/2 c of buttermilk instead of a full cup of white wine.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Cobbler Casserole

Yield
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
6 tablespoons melted butter, divided
4 cups cubed sourdough rolls
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 medium-size sweet onions, sliced
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup white wine
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup drained and chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Preparation

Toss 4 tablespoons melted butter with next 3 ingredients; set aside.

Sauté onions in remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add mushrooms, and sauté 5 minutes.

Stir in wine and next 3 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until bubbly. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 9-inch square baking dish; top evenly with bread mixture.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

New Post Coming Soon!

Things have been crazy busy with this Christmas Season but I have lots to post! Hopefully this next week I can sit down and add all my recent post and pictures!

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!!

31 weeks and Nesting

On Friday, I went to my 31 week check up and everything is looking great. Right now my doctor appointments aren't the most exciting - they check my weight and blood pressure and that is about it. That said, the best thing about my appointments is that I get to hear the baby's heart beat which is very cool. The doctor noticed that our baby is very active - he's always jumping around and it's hard for the doctor to get him still enough to hear his heartbeat. Of course, there are still the restless nights and soreness during the day due to the lower back aches and sore hip/pelvic bones. Everyone I talk to says welcome to the "Third Trimester Club". I am excited the end is near but I'm definitely not quite ready for Baby Jack as there is so much still do do around the home.

Speaking of that, I am in the infamous nesting stage. I think it started early on with me but now it is in overdrive. As you know we finished our complete renovation of the kitchen about a month ago...which by the way I love. Well, now I have decided to paint the entire house and then to top it all off, we've decided to re-do our bathroom. O.k. just so we understand, I haven't even touched the baby's room yet besides having it painted. There are only 8 weeks left - yes, I know, pretty crazy. The good thing is that I have ordered the baby's furniture and my mom has graciously offered to make all the baby's bedding (which I'm so excited about).

I'll let you know how we do...the countdown is on!!

Mexico

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Alex and I went down to Texas for less than 24 hours to spend Thanksgiving with my family and then we jetted off to Mexico. Alex's brother Michael and his long time girlfriend, Rachel, of 10 years were married in Puerto Vallarta. We arrived in Mexico on Friday afternoon and it was beautiful..80 degrees and sunny. The wedding was at the resort Golden Crown Paradise, where the 17 of us all stayed. During the afternoon, everyone pretty much did their own thing and then we would meet up for dinner and Sexy Spanish Coffee!! You could usually find Alex and I out by the pool - we were soaking up as much sunshine as we could before we had to go back to snow-filled Chicago.










On Saturday night, the Brieles hosted a gorgeous dinner at The Kliff, a restaurant that was absolutely breathtaking. The restaurant was on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and was surrounded by mountains on each side. The ambiance and food couldn't have been any better for this festive occasion.






The happy couple was married beach side on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.. The joyous ceremony was filled with Jewish and Mexican traditions. The biggest bummer was that Alex got major food poisoning and had to miss the ceremony but his spirit was definitely there.










We were sad to leave Mexico, but we both left with great memories and a tan!