Seven Years

David and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 6th. Sometimes it's hard to believe that it's been that long and other times, it seems way too short. I feel like David and I have always been together. Strange to think there was a time when he wasn't in my life. 

David's parents have been offering for months to spend the night with Zara and Adelaide so we could have a whole day and night to ourselves. As much as I relished the thought of a whole night away from the girls, we just never did it because of David's work schedule or my anxiety over leaving the kids. But finally, I declared to David that I must have a night off and it should be over our anniversary weekend. So I forced him to take Friday off from work and finally commit to some plans. 

After bouncing a few ideas back and forth, we finally settled on nice dinner at a great restaurant and we snagged the last remaining reservation for what is considered Atlanta's best restaurant, Bacchanalia. David and I are both secretly foodies at heart and we love going out to good restaurants and eating well-prepared and plated food though we obviously don't get to do it too often. I was looking forward to Bacchanalia for weeks. 

But Thursday morning, I thought my dreams of culinary bliss were to be completely devastated by a particularly ill-timed case of food poisoning. I'm not sure what did me in, but I went to bed on Wednesday feeling rather queasy and was not surprised to awaken early on Thursday morning feeling even worse. I'm particularly fortunate to not be a frequent vomiter (I never throw up during my pregnancies) so I was both horrified and relieved to empty the contents of my stomach that morning. I felt pretty awful and slept through much of the day. I only ever managed to eat two popsicles and a piece of toast. Friday I had more luck eating but I was barely able to choke down the smallest amount of breakfast and lunch so I didn't have high hopes for relishing my entire 5 course meal that evening. 

In any event, David's mother arrived around 1pm and after finishing our last minute preparations, David and I took off to our first destination -- a nail salon to get pedicures. After our pedicures, we headed to our hotel to check in before getting ready for dinner. We had debated between staying at a hotel in downtown Atlanta where we'd be closer to the restaurant/nightlife, but ultimately decided to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn that was minutes away from the Atlanta temple. In addition to being much cheaper, we also wouldn't have to pay for parking. It seems a little silly to pay $30+ dollars to park downtown. 

With Friday traffic in full swing, it took us nearly an hour to get to the restaurant from our hotel, but we still arrived 10 minutes early for our 5:30 reservation (the only time slot they had left), but we were the first patrons to arrive and so we got the best seat in the house, a cozy corner table with an excellent view of the entire dining room and kitchen. The dinner service was impeccable and lasted 2 hours from start to finish. In addition to the 5-course tasting menu, they bring a lot of little sides and supplemental dishes. It was an incredible culinary experience and I'm grateful to say that my stomach behaved itself and I got to enjoy my entire meal. (I did have to take it slow and didn't get to eat everything.) 

This was our menu for the night and David insisted that I list what we had so we remember. I really wanted to take pictures of all our plates, but I thought that might be a little tacky so I resisted. 

Extra - Cheese puffs and Summer Squash Soup with Radish

First Course - David ordered the Chilled Maine Lobster and I ordered the Berkshire Pork Lonzino. I couldn't order most of the dishes from this course because most of them were raw, but I did love my thinly sliced pork with pickled vegetables. David liked his lobster. 

Extra - Bread 

Second Course - David got the Gulf Crab Fritter and I got the North Georgia Rainbow Trout. I think both of these were our favorite dishes of the night. I think David's crab fritter may have just nudged out my trout for the top slot, but both were really, really good. 

Third Course - I got the Wood Grilled Prime NY Strip and David got the Jamison Farm Lamb prepared three ways. These were both really good but not as stunning at the previous course. 

Fourth Course - For the cheese course, David got the Goat's Milk Feta with strawberry, cucumber and oats which was delicious. I ordered the Consider Bardwell Rupert which was a little disappointing. It was a very strong cheese and used a little heavy handedly and I couldn't finish my salad. This is the only course I wish I had ordered differently. 

Intermezzo - Strawberry buttermilk smoothie with chocolate shavings

Fifth Course - David ordered the Almond Tart while I got the only chocolate dessert on the menu, the Warm Valrhona Chocolate (which was very brownie-like) with gelato and toffee. Excellent dessert but very rich. 

But after that, they brought us a brown butter cupcake with cream cheese frosting (pictured above) as an anniversary extra. And THEN they brought out a selection of cookies. The cookies nearly did me in. For the first time in our marriage, David had to finish dessert because I couldn't do it. 

We left feeling very full and very satisfied. It was a very expensive but very delightful dining experience. There's nothing like good food and excellent service to make you feel content and happy. We loved our dinner. 

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. We had planned on going swimming in the hotel pool, but I was too stuffed and still a little sick so we opted just to lay in bed and watch TV. The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel before heading for the 10am session at the Atlanta temple. My next planned stop was lunch at The General Muir, a Jewish delicatessen near Emory University. We even drove all the way down there, but David and I were still so full from dinner and breakfast that we couldn't even bring ourselves to order anything and so opted for dessert. I'm still a little mad that I couldn't fit in a few latkes or some pastrami. 

We had a wonderful anniversary and I'm grateful to David's parents for watching the girls for us. I've never gotten to spend the night away from the kids and it was a such a treat to have all that alone time with David, just the two of us. I hope we get to do something like it again someday. 

32 Weeks

I figure that since this is probably the last time I'll be pregnant (barring some divine intervention or faulty birth control) I should try to document this pregnancy a little better. Not the greatest picture, but this is me at 32 weeks. 

I'm always surprised how often random people see me and know just by looking at my stomach that I'm having a boy. I know it's supposedly in how you carry, but honestly, I don't think there's really been a difference in how I've carried the girls versus this boy. And though many people say their pregnancies feel very different depending on the sex of their child, this has felt very similar to my previous pregnancies, though I'm maybe a little bit more tired. I do, however, feel gigantically huge, but I have to assume that's all in my head. Still, it's always disconcerting when you can't see your own feet.

I feel very fortunate that (so far) my pregnancy has been healthy and relatively easy with no unexpected complications or risks. I'm always anxious that something somewhere could go wrong, but so far, everything is proceeding as it should. Since Atlanta doesn't have any birth centers and I didn't feel quite comfortable with a homebirth,  I'm working with a group of midwives that deliver at one of two hospitals in metro Atlanta hospitals that offer waterbirths and have more natural childbirth friendly policies. Their practice and the hospital are both in Midtown Atlanta so it's a bit of a drive and I can only hope I don't go into labor at the height of rush hour traffic.

We have absolutely no idea what we're going to name this kid and I'm feeling rather uninspired by even the small list of candidates we've created so far.  Naming kids is hard, but I know we'll figure out something once he's born. The girls--especially Zara--are excited for their baby brother to arrive. I am too, until I remember how much I have to do still to prepare for his arrival and when I think about the actual process of giving birth. Again.

And don't even get me started on how freaked out I am about having 3 kids.

Happy Second Birthday to Adelaide!

This little girl had a birthday two weeks ago. I can't believe how fast two years have gone by and how much has changed in those two years. 

I often call Adelaide my mini-me and it's true in more ways than one. Not only does she look a lot like me at the same age (I seriously need to scan some of my baby photos to prove this) but she's inherited a lot of traits from me too (both bad and good). This little girl packs a big personality. She can be sweet and loving and easy going, but she can also be stubborn, demanding, and full of attitude. 

We kept her birthday celebrations pretty low key. I don't see the point of making a big fuss for babies/toddlers. David was able to leave work early to join us for dinner (though he unfortunately had to go back afterwards) and we had alfredo pasta bake which is always a winner.  

We opened up presents. (David seems to think I went a little overboard.) She got a new set of Duplo Legos, a writing board, play-doh and some new books and stickers. My mom bought her a new outfit and pajamas.

Of course, she seemed to like her $1 balloon the best. Go figure.

She wasn't so interested in opening her presents.

And she mostly just wanted to read her new books. 

After presents we had cake and ice cream. I was pretty proud of how my cupcakes turned out. (Mostly because I finally bought a big enough tip to make pretty swirly frosting.) Unlike her mother, however, Adelaide definitely prefers ice cream to cake. She gets that from her father.

And now a list of some of Adelaide's favorite things: 

FAVORITE FOOD: yogurt, chocolate milk

FAVORITE ANIMAL: cats and dogs

FAVORITE CANDY: cookies

FAVORITE BOOK: Brown Bear, The Spooky Old Tree

FAVORITE COLOR: Pink and purple

FAVORITE SHOW: Curious George

FAVORITE MOVIE: Frozen or The Lego Movie
FAVORITE SONG: Popcorn Popping, Once There Was a Snowman
FAVORITE PHRASE: I want _____ now. 

FAVORITE TOY: Stuffed animals, Noah's ark, and vet clinic (basically anything with animals), Legos
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Play on the Kindle, hop on pop
FAVORITE PLACE: Anywhere she can run, the park, nursery
NICKNAMES: Ladybug, Lady, Adelady

Spring Break 2015

Spring Break this year coincided with my nephew's 8th birthday. Since 8 marks the age when most Mormon children get baptized, the majority of my family descended on Virginia to celebrate James' birthday and his baptism. Zara, Adelaide and I drove up to Newport News on Monday, April 6th. (David stayed behind to work. He's saving up his vacation days for the baby's arrival and a hopeful Christmas vacation in California.) My mom flew in from California on Monday to watch the kids since Cassy and James went on a mini-trip to Boston. My brother and his wife and daughter drove down from New Jersey on Thursday and my dad flew in from California the same day. Several of my brother in law's family came for the weekend as well so it was a full party. 

We spent the week playing with cousins and generally having a good time. We visited the Mariner's Museum in Newport News where we learned all about ships. (Sort of.) We played in the backyard in the dirt and at Chick-fil-A. We had a big picnic at a park that overlooks the James River and a big birthday dinner for James. And on Saturday morning, James was baptized. 

I wanted to get home on Saturday so I could have Sunday to recover from the long drive, but we didn't get on the road until 11:30. Luckily, my mom made this half of the drive with me which was a huge help since Adelaide decided she hated the car on this trip (my girls are thankfully good travelers in general) and we had a little throw up to contend with. 

Still, we all made it back alive and enjoyed our trip immensely. Now for a ton of photos. 

At the Mariner's Museum

Zara and her cousin Anna in matching dresses at James' baptism

The picnic at the park

The grandparents

The birthday boy

Star Wars cupcakes made by my brother Jason and his wife Elisa

Adelaide LOVED this balloon

She stole this cupcake from somewhere. I'm still not sure from whom.

A Crack in the Windshield

Nearly two years ago on our cross country drive from Utah to Virginia, the very corner of our windshield was hit by a rock. It must have happened somewhere in eastern Utah or Colorado, but it rained through most of the drive that day and so we never noticed the small chip. But when we woke up the next morning to start the next leg of our long, long journey, a small crack had begun to spread up the passenger side of the windshield. 

By the time we got to Virginia, the crack had spread up the passenger side of the windshield in a small arch but it stayed that way for some time. It didn't bother us since it only obscured the passenger side. (I know you can't really see the crack very well from the picture above.)

Not having the money to repair the windshield right away, we left it as it was. A few months later, however, I was driving on a rainy day and a huge splat of rain fell right on the crack on my windshield and immediately caused the crack to spread even further, until it stretched right through the middle of the driver's view. 

It was low enough on the windshield that it didn't completely obscure the view and so we kept driving with a cracked windshield. I forgot it was even there. And even when we did have the money to fix it, I kept putting it off for one reason or another. 

We had earmarked some of our tax return to replace the rear shocks of my car (which were in desperate need of fixing) and I finally inquired about having my windshield replaced at the same time. When I was finally connected to the glass guys at the dealership, they said they'd come to my house, it would take an hour to replace it, and it cost way less than I expected. 

Now I feel a little foolish that I waited so long. I'm so happy to have a crack-free windshield once again. (Just in time to sell my car and buy a mini-van. Oh yay.) 

Scenes from the Day

It was a good day.

Frozen in Dance

At her dance class last week, Zara got to try on her outfit for her dance recital in May. Their routine is set to music from Frozen (of course) and Zara is super excited about both the dance and her Elsa dress. The only trick will be keeping her out of her new sparkly dress before the recital.

Pi Day

Our Pi Day celebrations were postponed by a day so we indulged in all things pie today rather than yesterday. We had pizza for lunch (leftover from last night's dinner), chicken pot pie for dinner, and apple pie and banana cream for dessert.

Since David works late during the week, we've taken to having our version of Family Home Evening on Sundays. The girls love singing songs, playing games and eating treats together. Since the weather was so nice today and the sun still up, we held our FHE in our backyard. We played duck-duck-goose and Adelaide pulled weeds with such pride. It was a lovely day. I hope this means spring may finally be here to stay.

Oh Boy.

It's upside down, but here's the baby's head.

Yup. We're doing this again. 

Only this time it's a boy.

I have no idea what to do with a penis.

(That's really not supposed to sound dirty.)

I'm 20 weeks along, due on July 23rd, which is my dad's birthday.

Everything looked great at our ultrasound, which is good because I was convinced that there was something terribly wrong with this baby. Zara and Adelaide were both extremely active by this point in my pregnancy, and I've barely felt this little boy move. I'm going to pretend that means that he's going to be calm and easy going and sweet.

A mom can dream, can't she?

Sisters

It's often really hard to get a good picture of Zara and Adelaide together where one is not blurry and both are looking at the camera. It's pretty much the rainbow unicorn of family pictures. But I managed to get ONE such picture recently which I had to share. (And a few others.)

Sisters are awesome. And despite their squabbles, they do love each other a whole ton. I'm so glad they have each other and I love seeing how they are both so similar and different from one another. My sister is one of my best friends and I only hope that these girls will become lifelong friends as well.