Garden of D and D: February 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Happy Bark-day Sasha

Today's post is dedicated to our four legged fur baby, Sasha Fierce.

Today marks her 2nd Bark-day. When we adopted her she was estimated to be 2 years old. Since we'll never know her true birthday we celebrate the day she came into our home calling it her Bark-day. When we first got Sasha she was scared, timid and withdrawn and my how she has blossomed into to the sweet, comforting, extremely loveable princess that she is today. We can't believe how fast a couple years have gone by, not to mention how much has happened. We went from just being engaged and planning our wedding, to getting married, selling and moving out of the townhouse, living in the rental house where she was next door to one set of grandparents spoiling her even more than normal, moving into our new house, celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary, finding out we're pregnant (she was the one with me the night I found out and she loyally licked away my tears of joy and helped me keep the secret until I could tell Dennis in person). She's the one who keeps me company when Dennis is on the road, listens to both of our random chatter, lets us know when a storm is coming, accompanies us on errands (she loves car rides) and she will be the first pet to Baby E. We both grew up with pets and I'm excited to offer Baby E the same gift that she'll bring to our growing family. We're working on preparing Sasha for the big change headed her way later this year. Some tips we're either working on or plan to introduce are:

Teaching her to only get up on furniture when asked to. She usually comes and goes wherever she pleases but this will help her understand that she can't jump on our laps if we're holding the baby.
Giving her spaces that are "hers". We've added a dog bed in our closet and she's already starting to go there on her own every now and then. She's also crate trained. That way if she wants a place to escape to she has a few options.
We will be adding the baby gate upstairs prior to Baby E's arrival so she won't relate or blame the limitation on the baby.
Once we get noise making toys and smelly things like diapers, baby lotions, Dreft etc. we'll let her get used to the new items ahead of time. We also plan to send home something from the hospital with Baby E's scent before we come home so she'll have a heads up on who is coming home.

Does anyone else have any tips or advice on prepping the fur baby for the real baby?

Checking out her new house while being built

Loves getting belly rubs

Who wouldn't love a car ride with your favorite blanket and heated seat?

She thinks she gets the whole bed!

Have a great week! Happy Bark-day Miss Fierce!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Week 14

This week has been a busy one for us so we're barely making the cut for the 14th week! On Tuesday we went to the doctor for our regular check up. All my lab work came back good, we scheduled our anatomy scan for 4 weeks from now and then the very best part - we got to hear Baby E's heart beating loud and clear!! We heard it for the first time at our 9 week appointment and it was just as wonderful to hear for the second time. Dennis counts to music in his head while we're listening and guessed it is about 136-140 beats per minute.

Over the past week or so I've really gotten my taste buds back in order. I have a bigger sweet tooth than normal (including chocolate-yay!) and I will gladly put sour cream on anything I can. I also love anything citrus: drinking orange juice, extra lemons in my water and an all of a sudden high interest in Key Lime pie! I think that partly has come on from researching Key West for my work's upcoming team building trip later this spring. I can't wait to try a frozen Key Lime pie slice, frozen and then dipped in chocolate! For now I have found a couple restaurants that serve it to hold me over until April :)

I ordered this Bobby maternity pillow and it came in Tuesday. I start out with it at the beginning of the night but by morning it's in the floor. I think further along it will become more useful. Sasha likes it so we'll definitely keep it!

Baby E is about 3 1/2 inches long and weighs about 1 1/2 oz this week. I've added a bible verse this week as it's message is something I think about daily.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)

May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

When I told Dennis we were pregnant the week of Christmas he very sweetly ran out last minute to get me a special gift to open on Christmas. In a baby bag came the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting", my favorite Pandora charm a dangling pacifier, and a journal with bible verses listed at the bottom of each page. He knew I wanted to journal during our pregnancy and this was the perfect journal to do so. I find I can relate almost every verse to this special time - and this one in particular has really hit home. Writing there keeps me focused on what a blessing this really is for us. Especially the days that I get morning/afternoon/night sickness, I like to take the positive spin on it and remember this verse. God knows that I worry too much and I truly believe He gives me reminders that Baby E is growing and everything is working out as planned to help reduce my worries. Since we don't get to have our own portable ultrasound machine (like we do in my crazy dreams) I think the symptoms lingering on are His way of giving me peace and reassurance that all is well with Baby E and my changing body. In a weird way I'm glad that some of the first trimester symptoms are continuing so that I know everything is moving forward as it is supposed to.

TGIF - Have a great weekend!
Love,
Dennis, Denisse and Baby E

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Just peachy!

In honor of the new fruit of the week comparison, I tried this new recipe via Taste of Home for Peaches 'n' Cream. It turned out even better than it looks so I'm sharing with you all. It is SUPER easy and although not exactly "healthy" — it does have fruit in it :) Here's the recipe with a couple changes I made.

Peaches 'n' Cream

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 peaches, peeled and sliced (Hint: I didn't end up with normal shaped "slices". Dennis usually slices and chops things for me :) Since he wasn't home, I opted to just chop away and in the end was happier with the smaller, thinner pieces verses the couple thick slices. They baked better and had a better texture.)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I added a little extra than the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°
In a small saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Place peaches in 2 small baking dishes (try to get them in a single layer).
Add syrup and stir gently to coat.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until peaches are tender. (I went for 33 and they turned out perfect!)
Add cream and serve warm. (I ate the leftovers from the fridge the next day and it was good chilled too!)
The recipe says 2 servings; however, I along with both of my parents ate plenty plus had extra so I think it's more like 4 servings.

ENJOY!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day - 13 weeks

First - thank you for following along to check in on us! We're having fun with the chalkboard and picking little tidbits to share each week.

Second-I heard something on the news the other night that got me thinking. News anchor says something like "so and so opens in August-which is only 6 months away" and I thought - No way! Well, I counted and sure enough Baby E's expected arrival is only 6 months from this Sunday - we're due on August 19th! :) Time is quickly passing for sure, hard to believe we're already 3 months in with only 6 to go! So exciting!! Trying to savor every day of being pregnant.

Week 13:
Onto another positive note, this week my taste buds seem to be getting back to normal! I had a tasty steak this weekend and even a few bites of a yummy smores - chocolate and all! As far as cravings go (besides my regular sweet tooth) I love pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, oranges... pretty much any and all fruits. On a less healthy note: I've frequented McDonald's for their tasty chicken nuggets a few times over the past few days. It's weird because I haven't had those in ages but they sure do hit the spot lately.

Hope you all had a very Happy Valentine's Day today!
xoxo,
D, D & Baby E

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Welcome - 12 weeks

Welcome to our new attempt at a blog! As our family is beginning to grow (hence our garden) we thought this would be a fun way to keep family and close friends in the loop rather than sending multiple emails out. We are so excited about our little bun in the oven and plan to share weekly updates here.

To start out, we found this fun idea on Pinterest to track my bump during our pregnancy.
WEEK 12:
This week Baby E has confirmed that he/she doesn't want me to eat chocolate (makes me sick instantly) and the thought of spicey foods and cheeseburgers make me queasy as well. Baby E is now approximately 1/2 an ounce and the size of a plum! I can tell I'm getting some of my energy back which is great. Welcoming the 2nd trimester with open arms! We'll post an update every week on here - stay tuned.

Love,
D, D and Baby E

Garden of D and D