New Mom Apologies

Whoa, it's been a couple weeks. Oops.

I promise I'm not going to disappear.

Adjusting to being a new mom is more time consuming than I thought... even though Annabelle is a GREAT sleeper.

Forgive me for the sporadic posts... I do have a big list of posts to share, but I just haven't gotten around to writing them yet.

Birth story is coming soon... I need to get that all typed out before I forget details! Luckily, Dan took notes throughout my labor for me, so that should make it easier.

In the meantime, here's a picture of Annabelle and me when she was just FOUR DAYS old... now, she's already 25 days old... HOW???

    

Bump and Baby Update: Weeks 39-40

I know I had Baby Cookie over a week ago... but I am NOT the type of person who can just end incompletely or on an odd number of weeks. Nope. So that's why you're reading today's post - I didn't want to leave off at 39 weeks. Plus, it was super special taking my 40 week photo with Annabelle on the outside rather than on the inside.

If you missed my previous bumpdates, you can check out weeks 5-12 here, weeks 13-14 here, weeks 15-16 here, weeks 17-18 here, weeks 19-20 here, weeks 21-22 here, weeks 23-24 here, weeks 25-26 here, weeks 27-28 here, weeks 29-30 here, weeks 31-32 here, and weeks 33-34 here, weeks 35-36 here, and weeks 37-38 here!

How far along? Not pregnant anymore! She's here! :)

Size of baby?

39 weeks: pumpkin

40 weeks: watermelon

Total weight gain? I ended up gaining 13 pounds total. Somehow, I have already lost 18 pounds... not sure where the other five came from or went, but hey... I won't complain!

Gender? GIRL! You can read about it here! 

Maternity clothes? Not anymore! I am fitting into my regular jeans and shirts again - thank goodness! I was so sick of only having a few go-to outfits...

Sleep? I wasn't sleeping well up until her birth, but since then, I've been back to my old self... which is great! But it also sucks because that makes it even more difficult to get up and feed her in the middle of the night...

Work outs? We went for a family walk the other night, but other than walking, I'm taking it easy until I'm cleared by my doctors... I don't want to worsen the recovery period.

Cravings? Not really anymore! But hey - vegetables sound good again!! That's a bonus. Salad is delicious... one of my favorites... and I couldn't stomach them while pregnant.

Aversions? None.

Best moment of this week? The moment we met our sweet little Annabelle - the feeling when they placed her on my chest after delivery (although it was a short time due to her complications) is indescribable. I was so overcome with emotion in that moment. 

Worst moment of this week? 37.5 hours of active labor with Pitocin... yeah... worst moment of the year, not just the week. That was rough.

Looking forward to? Bonding with and watching Annabelle grow! 

    

Easy Pasta Salad: Recipe

Let me start this post by saying that no, I have NOT been cooking since our sweet baby arrived last week! However, the weekend before we had her, we attended a pot luck dinner for the Boy Scout troop Dan volunteers with.

It was an award ceremony / rank promotion, and it was really cool to talk more to the people he works with each week and meet the high school student he has spent so much time with helping him achieve the special God and Life award!

Everyone was supposed to bring something, and not knowing when I would go into labor, I opted for this SUPER easy pasta salad that my mom (and many others, I'm sure) has been making for as long as I can remember.

The only thing you have to remember is that the noodles will have to cool after being boiled before you can add the other ingredients. 

I doubled this recipe for the event, but in hindsight, I wish I hadn't. There was SO MUCH food there. 

And now for the good part... the recipe!

Do you like pasta salad?

What is your go-to dish for a pot luck?

    

Behind Her Name: Annabelle Kathryn

So, there actually isn't much of a story here. Sorry to disappoint. I think we had a far easier than average experience when choosing a name for our baby than most couples do. I'm actually shocked. And let me add that we definitely have similar tastes in girl names but complete opposite taste in boy names... so had Baby Cookie turned out to be a boy... well... I probably wouldn't have bragged about how easy it was to decide. ;-)

When we first found out I was pregnant, I automatically went to my list of names that I love. I wanted to be ready when Dan wanted to start talking about names.

We started talking about names pretty early. We wanted to solidify a name for both sexes so we were prepared no matter what. Let me just say - it's a good thing she's a girl because we never could agree on a boy name we both LOVE.

One night, we were laying in bed, and Dan says, "What about Annabelle?" I instantly knew that would be her name (and remember: I just KNEW she was a girl even though Dan doubted me). I said, "I love it. It's actually on my list." (Side note: he hadn't looked at my list yet.) I was only five weeks pregnant when we chose Annabelle as her name.

The middle name, Kathryn, was much easier. It's my middle name, as well as my mom's. And guess what Dan's mom's first name was? Catherine. Crazy, right?! So we rolled with it.

I have a feeling I'll be calling her Anna Kate at times, but that's okay because it's absolutely adorable.

Did you have an easy or hard time agreeing on a baby name?


    

Introducing... Baby Cookie!

She's here! Baby Cookie is FINALLY here!

Annabelle Kathryn Cook was born at 11:38 AM on Saturday, September 5th, 2015 at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, weighing in at 6 pounds 3 ounces and 19.5 inches long... after 37.5 hours of labor.

She is just as cute as can be, and we can't get enough of her! I'll share the story behind her name soon!

    

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins: Recipe

It's Friday again, and since it's finally September, I am sharing this super awesome pumpkin muffin recipe with you all!

Recipe is subjective, though. I feel pretty silly even sharing this one. It's all over Pinterest, though, so I had to give it a try... and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't share my results with you? ;-)

I'll admit it. I thought they were going to be dry and dense... and not very good. Luckily, that was not the case! The canned pumpkin turned these bad boys out just right!

This recipe made 12 muffins for us. We ate them ALL within a few days. I totally meant to freeze some for easy snacks for after Baby Cookie gets here... but that went out the door when we tasted how good these are. Plus, they're so easy, I'm sure I can whip up another batch soon!

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package cake mix (any kind - I used butter pecan here, but I've heard spice, carrot, and yellow all work really well!)

• 1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

• OPTIONAL: chocolate chips / cream cheese frosting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and the pumpkin.

3. Use a beater to mix until batter is consistent.

4. Add chocolate chips if you are using. (I used the mini ones in mine!)

5. Scoop the mixture into muffin liners.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine needed 22 minutes exactly).

7. Try to let them cool before digging in... but we couldn't wait that long!

Are you a 'pumpkin' person?

What's your favorite kind of muffin?