18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks - a sweet potato! I don't think we did our baby girl justice picking out this week's produce, she is probably a little longer than this particular sweet potato.
Total weight gain: 7 pounds (right on track!)
Maternity clothes? mostly yes
Sleep: Definitely, yes. Not nearly enough this week.
Best moment this week: Finding out we have a healthy baby girl! Seeing her arms, legs, heart, brain, kidneys, fingers, toes, and every other body part was so amazing. It was so clear that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Food Cravings: Mexican food and specifically a quesadilla dish at Casa Gallardo we got an ad for in the paper. I had to have it! I did, and it was disappointing, of course.
Movement: Little taps here and there still - I felt a bubble popping sensation a couple of times and I'm sure that was her saying "Hi, mom!"
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Margaritas. My mouth was watering last night when the table next to us ordered two of the biggest margaritas I have ever seen.
What I am looking forward to: Getting baby girl's room together and more daydreaming about our family of three.
Weekly Wisdom: Be in the present, not in the past or future. Realize how blessed you are at this very moment!
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

Little Lady

We found out this morning that we have a little girl growing! We've been thinking girl all along and it was so exciting to get confirmation. They measured so many things and she (we love that we can say she now!) looks great. Her heart, kidneys, brain, spine, legs, arms, and everything else is measuring right on track. She weighs 9.8 oz right now and she's a healthy growing little girl.

Profile of our little sweetie


Clearly a girl - you can see how she's laying with her ankles are crossed on the right - the white spots are her feet.


In the car after the appointment - what a proud dad!


And a proud mom!


Of course we wanted to pick out a little coming home outfit for her! The long sleeved onesie says "I love hugs" and there are pants and a little dress to go with it. No outfit is complete without the headband and hair bows!

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 6

Supplies are running low. I'm down to two full meals and frozen pot pies are geting old. I'm thinking I should have gotten plain spaghetti. I'm also realizing that I'm surrounded by delicious food and how blessed we are to have such bounty all the time. Here's what I have left for Friday.

1 Frozen pot pie
Small amount of cereal
One serving of milk
Several handfuls of trail mix
Few bites of squash

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks - an onion!
Total weight gain: 7 pounds (can I get a woot, woot?)
Maternity clothes? mostly yes
Sleep: Definitely, yes.
Best moment this week: Feeling some tumbling/tickling/butterflies
Food Cravings: Halloween Oreos
Movement: Little taps here and there and it's so exciting!
Gender: If baby T decides to be a little less modest, hopefully we'll know at about 8:15 AM on Monday the 26th!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Running - it's been so nice outside and so many people are outside enjoying the cool weather. I miss feeling that level of fitness, but I also love my nightly walks. Also, my full brain power.
What I am looking forward to: Clearly looking pregnant.
Weekly Wisdom: Sometimes we surprise ourselves and do some great things when we're feeling the most uncomfortable.
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

Food Stamp Challenge

In Missouri, the average individual on food stamps gets just $28.91 per week. In an experiment for one week I will try spending no more than that on groceries. Why?

- To see if I can do it

- Appreciate how blessed we are

- Solidarity with impovershed people living all around us

- Donate the money saved to a local food bank

I will try to preserve my normal staples, what I call the Big Four: ice cream, soda, beer, and OJ. I also decided any condiments or spices already in the house don't count, and any pre-planned meals with others don't count because I'm not buying any food for it. Also, any food scavenged from the workplace is free. I picked an easy week since we already have 3 meals planned with friends, and on Monday we are having pizza at work.

I was planning to forgo our usual Dierberg's and stretch my buying power by going to Shop N Save or Aldi's. But I found so many comparable deals this week that I was able to get everything at our usual store.

My Receipt

5 frozen pot pies

OJ concentrate

Frozen pizza

Can soup

Off-brand cheerios

Fudge cookies

6pk of Mountain Dew mini-cans

Trail mix (survial instincts kicking in)

6pk of Busch cans (a little embarressing, and probably not food stamp eligible)

Individual turkey tenderloin

Acorn squash (seasonal and cheap)

Hershey's bar

For a grand total of $28.50, 41 cents under budget.

You might notice the lack of fruits and vegetables, or any healthy food at all. The cheapest foods tend to be highly processed, and not exactly nutritous. I count 9 meals, plus breakfest. Without all of the free meals this week, I would be very hungry. I'll update during the week.

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks - an avacado!
Total weight gain: 6 pounds (I got a high five from my OB for holding steady - way to go exercise and eating right!)
Maternity clothes? mostly yes
Sleep: A lot of it! I've been especially tired this week, again. It's been dark and rainy outside every day and I'm sure that does not help.
Best moment this week: Seeing our growing babe on Monday. There was a lot of action going on and it was so cool to see!
Food Cravings: Another burger from Five Guys Burgers & Fries!
Movement: Some possible little taps and flutters, but I can't be sure yet.
Gender: Shy baby! Hopefully we will find out on November 2nd. Still thinking girl, a very modest girl!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: a clear complexion
What I am looking forward to: Getting out of the clothing transition - too big for regular clothes and too small for maternity clothes.
Weekly Wisdom: Be thankful for what you have. In the meantime, it won't hurt you to show a little patience. In doing so, rely on God and not the calendar.
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

Publish Post

Shy Baby!

Our little one is doing great and growing but was very modest! We tried and tried and we could see everything except what we were hoping to see! It was great to see that everything is looking good, though, since that's the most important thing. We have a pretty cute little one as you can see in the picture. We should be able to find out who we've got growing at our next appt on November 2nd.

Today's the day!

Hopefully Baby T will cooperate and we will find out if we've got a little dude or a little lady. Our appt isn't until 5:45 and then we're going out for dinner and shopping for a cute little outfit. It will be a fun night!!

We have a.................horse?

This is the best sound parents-to-be can hear! We rented a fetal heart monitor and listen in on Baby T every other day or so. This is from Wednesday night and if you listen closely you can hear our little one moving around! Right after we stopped recording we got a different angle and the heartbeat sounded so much like a racehorce - it was awesomely weird! I know the video isn't all that exciting, but I'm not quite comfortable with a bare belly shot yet.

Red Beans and Rice

Even red beans and rice with turkey sausage is gourmet at our house. Check out the hot sauce garnish.

15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks - an orange!
Total weight gain: 6 pounds
Maternity clothes? mostly
Sleep: A lot of it! I've been especially tired this week.
Best moment this week: Listening to a sweet heartbeat with our rented fetal heart monitor and not only hearing a heartbeat, but a swift kick/punch!
Food Cravings: caramel apples, licorice
Movement: Nothing I can feel (yet)
Gender: Will find next Monday!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: a margarita/good wheat beer
What I am looking forward to: next Monday's appt with Dr. F
Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your body. If you're feeling tired and about to go off the edge, take some time off and take a nap! Getting enough rest is always a good idea.
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

Greek night

We traveled to Greece for a night with the Shooks. We feasted on gyros, hummus, olives, salad, ginger beer, and baklava. Jamie even made an amazingly authentic version of the Greek flag and we listened to Mediterranean music. Lucas spoke in Greek nearly the entire night (not true) and Nate shared many thoroughly researched facts about Greek life and culture (partially true).

They look so Greek (and hungry).


Look at all of this food! Opa! And note the Greek artifacts - the vase and tablecloth. At least one of them is imported and could very possibly be Greek, maybe.

Taste of Saint Louis

This is our 3rd year (4th?) going to the Taste of Saint Louis. It's one of the first fall events of the year and we look forward to it all summer! It was a cool overcast day and about 60 degrees. It was perfect fall weather and there were even brief periods of sun.

Here's the main area with the restaurant booths set up.


We first had pommes frites (Belgian fries) with truffle mayo from Franco and they were delicious! (We ate them too fast for a picture)

We ate the pommes frites while watching the Iron Chef competition. Two local restaurants battled and it was fun to watch them cook. But, we were hungry and headed out of that area for more food!

Nate had the duck confit and goat cheese quesadilla from L'Ecole Culinary School. He said it was too creamy and he couldn't really taste the duck, but they were still good.


We took a time out and headed over to the breakdancing competition. It was so sick and tight and all of the other B-boy words I know.

Chicco going in for a power move:


Freedom doing some ridiculous head spin:


And the winner, Black Belt Jones, hitting a sick stall:


Watching the breakdancers really worked up an appetite (for us) and so we got more food! I had some tenderloin sliders and beignets from Vin de Set. I also had some sub-par orange chicken from Bamboo Bistro that smelled so good I just had to get it!

Nate enjoyed this sampler from Tigin Irish Pub. It's a corned beef slider, smoked salmon bite, and Bailey's mousse in a chocolate shell. He could not get enough of the salmon!


The big finish of Taste is always the Angel Wing from Hank's Cheesecake. It's a piece of turtle cheesecake on a stick dipped in chocolate. It's worth waiting for!