I love April!

I am a total 'spring' girl! I love the puddles, the warm sunshine while still wearing a hoodie, the smell of bbq's being fired up after months stuck under snow. I just LOVE spring! Maybe it is because I was born in April? Anyway you dice it, I crave spring from the moment the snow falls, til the snow starts melting. And once summer arrives? I want FALL! haha I am not a hot or cold person, I like comfortable.

Which is why having a JULY baby is going to be hard! I am already starting the hot flashes and it is only April 4th. I am only (haha 'only') 26 weeks and 5 days preggo... which means I have a lot more 'warm' on the way, with an ever growing belly. Oh de-de-de-dear! Air conditioning, fans, bare feet and loose flowing dresses shall be my best friends indeed! (except for while I am at the dreaded Walmart)

Latest preggo pic

I am really hoping to get my dear friend to take some belly shots before this wee one comes out! Some professional like ones, while enjoying her amazing company :) Bliss!

Adorable Blogger Templates

LOVE the templates from Leelou Blogs! SO cute!

25 weeks!

Holy smokes! Where has the time gone? This lil Turkey is due to arrive in only weeks!! Thought it was time for some random preggo updates :)

21 week photo

23 weeks 6 day u/s pics

We also found out the gender of our lil one :) So very exciting! Of course we are not sharing the info at this point though. I like having it as 'ours' for a little while. So much of this journey has been very public, so having a lil secret of our own is fabulous fun... for now at least :)

I shall take a new photo next week, hopefully I can find someone to take it too! Self portraits and I are not friends these days. I actually got my brother to take the 24 week one.

Week 24 brought on some big changes at the end. For one, I woke up with a sore belly button yesterday morning! What is that all about? Plus all the sudden things that did fit at the beginning of week 24, don't now! For example my tank top is now about 3 inches to short. My maternity pants that used to fall off, are nice and snug. And my bra is no longer 'cutting it' as it was since my last growth spurt. I am spilling out all over. Guess a trip to Edmonton to the custom bra shop is in order!

Our lil one is getting way more active lately. Usually right on my bladder or sciatic nerve, but today I actually felt lots of movement up higher by my belly button. Which is a new and exciting development! Oh, I can not WAIT to meet this lil turkey who has stolen our hearts :) Hurry up July!!!

7 More Sleeps!

In 7 more sleeps I go in for my 18-20 week ultrasound, and I get to see my tiny turkey! I am still not feeling movement :( So I am very much looking forward to seeing him/her move around, hearing the heartbeat, and having that peace of mind that everything is fine!

So to keep my mind off the ultrasound and the possibility of learning if we are adding a boy or girl to the family, I am making Grandma's Chocolate Cake mini cupcakes, with pink and purple Cream Cheese Icing on them! Why pink and purple? Because my two adorable nieces LOVE pink and purple, so when I pop by today with mini cupcakes with icing in their fav colors, it will make their day :) Plus, it is February now and they are very Valentine's Day appropriate colors :)

Cream Cheese Icing -the recipe!-

4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened (125 g.)

1/4 cup Butter, softened

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 cup Icing Sugar

• Cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla
• beat in icing sugar, a little at a time
• Add color, if desired

Milk or cream can be added if to thick :) Delish on Grandma's Chocolate Cake!

A few tricks I have discovered for icing over the past year of making a boat load of cupcakes:

• Neon food coloring! It does awesome bright colors, with far fewer 'drops'

  

• Ziplock bag for piping, just tuck the tip you want to use through a tiny hole in one corner, fill using a wine glass to support it, and viola! You have a clean bag, with the tip in, that is cheap!

  

Grandma's Chocolate Cake - the recipe! -

1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs

1 cup Sour Cream

2 cup Flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 cup Cocoa
1/2 cup Hot water
1 tsp. Vanilla

• Combine Butter and Sugar, cream together. It won't actually 'cream' together, but be more of a fluffy mixture. Add Eggs, mix!
• Alternate sour cream with flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• Mix cocoa, hot water and vanilla into a paste of sorts. Add to above. Scrap sides to ensure even mixture.
• Bake at 350, 30 minutes for a cake, 18 minutes for regular cupcakes, and 12 minutes for mini cupcakes. (all times approximate, just gotta check with a toothpick, adjust time based on your own oven! )

Recipe can be doubled! :)

17 weeks!

Well, tomorrow I will be! So I thought I would at least post my 16 week belly shot. Finally am starting to feel like my belly is looking like a pregnant belly and less like chub :) SO excited! 2 weeks from today we get to see our lil turkey, and likely find out what gender we shall be expecting in July! I am just so in love with this wee one already! I can't wait to finally meet my little miracle that we have waited so long for! I am just so thankful for a faithful Father. Although His ways are not my ways, I wouldn't have changed anything about my journey to motherhood. I am so in love, so thankful, and so abundantly blessed!