Baby Piglet: Weeks 32-34

With the start of week 35, I’m just about done with month 8 of pregnancy! Here’s how the last couple of weeks went:

The Belly

Here’s the belly at the start of week 33 – I’m up about 20 pounds from pre-pregnancy at this point, and it’s definitely getting harder to get around. According to Ovia, Piglet’s the size of a cabbage and may be around 5 pounds. Keep growing, baby!

Symptoms

A lot of the same 3rd trimester symptoms from before – I’m urinating more frequently (I get up ~two times a night now), I feel hot all the time (especially at the office…), and my hands and feet feel swollen at times. I live in my allbirds, and ended up buying another pair in charcoal gray to wear to work. On the plus side, I think my immune system is better than before; I’ve barely gotten sick the last eight months, and any time I feel cold symptoms, they’re typically gone within 24 hours!

Piglet feels really big now and her movements are almost painful at times, but I don’t mind since it lets me know that she’s doing okay in there.

Workouts

My workouts are starting to drop off – I think I only worked out three times this week. It’s getting harder to wake up in the mornings, so I’ve missed Body Pump for nearly two weeks now :( I’ve been doing some online prenatal weight/ barre classes, but I miss Pump so I’m going to try to go back this week. Peloton classes are still great – I do the low impact classes and put the handlebars up as high as they go so I don’t have to bend over. I think I’ll continue to work out for another couple of weeks, and then just focus on walking around the neighborhood/ stairs in the house for the last week or two.

Eats/ Sleep

Ah, eating. Because Piglet is pushing my stomach up more as she grows, eating anything feels pretty uncomfortable these days. It isn’t quite heartburn – just feels like my food is sitting too high in my stomach/ esophagus. I find myself reaching for acidic foods like fruit (mentally, I feel like they digest faster), opting for smaller meals, and craving liquids over solids. My sweet tooth is still pretty strong, but I’m trying to be smarter about what will feel good 10 minutes after I eat it.

Puffle from Iron Ice

Sleep has actually been improving – probably because my stress level went down a lot after we submitted a major project in December. I’m sleeping ~7-8 hours on average; most nights I get 8-9 solid hours of sleep, and other nights I wake up around 2 and don’t fall back asleep till 5 (or not at all). But the days I don’t sleep well, I usually end up napping that afternoon or on the weekend to make up for it, so overall I’m getting a decent amount of sleep, hooray!

Pregnancy-Related Purchases

Our nursery is finally finished, and the dresser is FULL of baby clothes. I bought a bunch of 0-9 month clothing off of Facebook Marketplace, and then coworkers/ friends/ family bought us a bunch – so much so that I had to return several newborn outfits since I knew she wouldn’t get the chance to wear them. We also stocked up on all essentials – baby wipes, shampoo, diaper pail liners, baby meds, baby thermometer, etc.

I ended up buying TWO more strollers – a jogging stroller (found a great deal on a used BOB on FB marketplace) and a travel stroller that I can already tell will probably be my favorite stroller since it’s lightweight and easy to use. We also found out that the carrier I bought earlier in pregnancy was way too complicated for us (it’s an older model of the Ergobaby with too many snaps/ steps) so we re-sold it and bought a Tula carrier instead. I think that’s pretty much the end of the baby purchases till she’s born!

Here’s a few pics of the nursery:

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Thoughts/ Stories

Week 32: This was the week of Christmas, which seems like so long ago already! Jamie and mom were here, and we did a bunch of activities that I apparently took zero pictures of, lol. I loved that they got to attend my doc visit on Monday, and my doctor conducted an ultrasound so they could see Piglet for the first time! It was really blurry, but I definitely saw her nose, which looks just like Mike’s to me.

Week 33: Our small group threw us a surprise mini-shower with great food from Taco Jalisco and cupcakes by Chae! Again, I took zero photos, so pic below borrowed from Cake and Compassion’s FB. So gorgeous and tasty.

Week 34: We finally did our tour of the hospital this week, which gave us a good idea of what to expect and where to go. I didn’t realize that you give birth in one room and complete the rest of your stay in another. Sadly, our hospital doesn’t believe in putting the baby in a nursery (she’ll be by my side every night/ all day) so I don’t think I’ll be getting much rest till I get home, lol.

Next up, we have birthing and breastfeeding classes to take, maternity photoshoot with a friend, and final last minute preparations like washing all the baby clothes/ bottles, etc.

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Baby Piglet: Weeks 28-31

The time continues to fly by! Can’t believe we’re well into 3rd trimester already – and we’ll be meeting Piglet in about two months (less if she decides to come early ;).

The Belly

Here’s the belly at the start of week 31! I feel like I’m getting bigger every day, and people are starting to ask me when I’m due ;) I’m up about 19 pounds from pre-baby. According to my Ovia app, Piglet may be about 17.5 inches and 3.5 pounds at this point – about the size of a head of lettuce.

Symptoms

I have probably all the normal 3rd trimester symptoms – I have to go to the bathroom pretty frequently, although I sometimes don’t feel the urge until I stand up from my desk (and then it’s a very fast walk to the bathroom, lol). I’ve also gotten a lot clumsier throughout the pregnancy and am much more careful moving around and going up/down stairs, especially since my ankle is on the mend but not 100%. I’m also SO much thirstier than before; I used to have trouble finishing my 64 oz hydroflask at work, but now I fill it up twice and drink more fluids when I get home!

To my surprise, I don’t feel really tired or anything yet. Somehow, I thought that as soon as 3rd trimester rolled around I wouldn’t want to leave the bed all day, but my energy levels are pretty normal. I’ll take it!

Piglet feels bigger and bigger each day, and her kicks have started to concentrate towards the top of my belly, close to the bottom of my ribs. I wouldn’t say her movements hurt yet, but its definitely more uncomfortable than before. I can’t believe she’s going to more than double in size from where she is now…

Workouts

After taking most of weeks 28-29 off to let my ankle heal, I slowly started to get back into my workouts with a short Peloton spin class at the end of week 30, which felt okay. By week 31, I was back into the swing of things and I managed a Body Pump class and a couple of spin classes throughout the week. Pump still feels great, but I’ve had to modify spin quite a bit by raising the handlebars because I can’t really bend over anymore lol.

Eats/ Sleep

My sweet tooth is in full swing! I’ve been craving hot chocolate, eggnog, and cookies at night, but I try to balance it out with healthier meals/ snacks throughout the day.

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I also ate a ton of Korean food the last couple of weeks because my mom came up and cooked for me while Mike was out.

Sleep is on and off these days – I had a stressful couple of weeks at work so I was waking up around 2-3 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m back to sleeping around 6-8 hours a night now; I often wake up at 2 to go pee, and it’s 50/50 whether I can go back to sleep right away. I’ve found the best routine is to go downstairs with my book, make some stress-relief tea, and hang out on the futon. Sometimes after an hour or two I’m able to go back to sleep. The worst thing is to get on the computer right away, because I definitely can’t fall asleep after that. Oh, and my Snoogle is so essential to sleeping that I brought it on the plane for a work trip in early December.

Pregnancy-Related Purchases

The nursery is nearly finished – we put up some nursery decorations over the last couple of weeks, and now we just need to put the dresser together!

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I also bought a bunch of used baby clothes off of Facebook Marketplace, so we’re all set for 0-6 month clothing. I didn’t buy anything after that since I don’t know what season we’ll be in once she’s ready for the next size. For 0-3 months, I bought only the long sleeve zip-up sleep-and-play type outfits, since I figured we’d be changing diapers very frequently and too tired to care about cute outfits. 3-6 months though – ALL the cute summer dresses.

Thoughts/ Stories

Week 28 – Mike left for a three week work trip this week, and I left for a shorter one down to Tampa (see: pregnancy pillow on plane above). This began a crazy couple of weeks at work for me, but the week ended on a fun note with our company holiday party in DC! I was pretty tired, so the only pic I have is the one below from before the party. The dress is PinkBlush from Poshmark, and I’ve already worn it several times and gotten a bunch of compliments!

I also put up all our Christmas decorations before I left! I don’t usually decorate a lot for the holidays, but because we’re hosting this year (and my nesting instinct has probably kicked in), I got a little craftsy and had some fun. The mason jars were hot chocolate mix gifts for co-workers/ neighbors.

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Week 29 – Mom came up early this week to make me some food and keep me company, and I got to go on a White House Christmas tour over the weekend, thanks to a friend who knew a Secret Service agent that got us in on short notice. I have many, many issues with the current administration’s politics, but the place was beautifully decorated and we enjoyed the tour.

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Week 30 – I submitted the biggest work project of the year on Friday, Mike came home on Saturday, and Elizabeth came down to visit us for the weekend, so we celebrated at Del Mar in DC! It was our first time visiting the Wharf, and it was so pretty with the Christmas lights outside. Food was fantastic; our selections included paella, a couple of tapas, Iberico ham, and several desserts (churros were insane – crispy, hot and filled with nutella).

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Elizabeth and I also took a cake decorating class that I won through the missions auction at church! This was so much fun and very inspiring – I will be making all of Kira’s bday cakes for the next 18 years (and they will all look identical with roses on top since that’s all we learned, lol). Two of the cakes below are mine and Elizabeth’s, and one is Chae’s (our instructor’s). Guess which is which…

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Week 31 – Mom and Jamie came to stay with us for Christmas, so on Saturday the three of us (minus Mike) went to go see Miss Saigon at the Kennedy Center! It was so fun, and really brought back memories for my mom because it was the first musical she watched with my dad years ago. Think this might become an annual tradition.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! I’ll be back in a few weeks with more updates on Piglet.

Baby Piglet: Weeks 25-27

The end of second trimester has flown by, and I have a feeling the first month or so of third trimester will do the same. I’ve had a bunch of stuff on my to-do list for the third trimester, and I guess it’s time to start checking them off!

The Belly

Here’s the belly around 26 weeks – I’m 16 pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight. According to my Ovia app, Piglet may be about 15 inches and over two pounds at this point – close in size to a bunch of bananas :)

Symptoms

No real new symptoms over the last couple of weeks; I did have a week where I had a bloody nose a few times, but it’s been fine after I treated it with Vaseline. I definitely feel hot at work now, especially since my office is right near the HVAC and gets the brunt of the heat. I think I’m going to need to bring in a fan this winter…

Piglet is moving a LOT everyday, especially after eating, anytime I’m sitting, or in the evening when I go to bed. Her kicks feel bigger than they did a few weeks ago, and I can see her kicks moving my belly now! I’m a little scared about how hard her kicks are going to feel as she approaches eight pounds O.o

Workouts

Ha, so workouts were going great until I sprained my ankle a week ago :(

It’s recovered to the point where I can walk without limping using an ankle brace, but I have a feeling I’ll be resting it at least one more week before going back to Body Pump and cycling. It hasn’t been the worst – work has been busy anyway so it’s given me a chance to go in early and catch up a little without much stress.

Eats/ Sleep

Eats are still pretty normal, although I’ve been indulging my sweet tooth in the evenings! I recently got a KitchenAid mixer and it has CHANGED my baking game forever.  My favorite cookie to bake right now is the shortbread cookie (Ina’s recipe is the best).

Sleep has been a bit rocky – over the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten into a pattern of waking up early every other night (sometimes as early as midnight…) and not being able to go back to sleep.  I’ve realized the worst thing I can do when I can’t sleep is to jump on my computer, so I’m trying to develop a new routine of drinking some herbal tea/ water and reading until I go back to sleep.  It’s amazing how much sleep I need now – I used to be able to function pretty well on 5-6 hours of sleep but not anymore.  Hopefully this tea will help!

Pregnancy-Related Purchases

We’ve picked up most of the big stuff at this point, so I’ve just been browsing Facebook Marketplace for good deals on things like swaddle cloths and baby towels.  We picked up a bunch in the last couple of weeks, and Mike put up an over-the-door storage thing to hold all the random linens and to dampen sound a bit through the door.  We also got a cute pink fluffy rug for the floor, a bookcase, and a diaper pail.  The nursery is starting to come together!

Thoughts/ Stories

Week 25 – I discovered the best pregnancy perk this week; I voted absentee! Yup, pregnancy is a covered symptom, friends.  I also started going to an aesthetician for my back acne and she recommended a couple of small changes to my skincare routine that seem to be helping. I’m planning to go a couple more times before I give birth just to keep the situation under control.

Week 26 – DC got its first snow of the season on Thursday – very early for this area; we don’t often get snow in November. It was not a good day to go out, but I had to take my car in for maintenance and inspection. Thankfully, I got to the auto shop safely and they even paid for my ride home – I’m a customer for life! I also had my glucose test at the doctor this week and I passed :)

Week 27 – Saturday is when I sprained my ankle; we were at the movie theater, I was in a rush to leave at the end (had to pee!) and I missed a step in the dark. I landed and rolled my ankle hard and thought I heard a crack. I couldn’t get back up again because of the pain and was sure I had broken my ankle, so Mike took me to the Urgent Care clinic right away. Thankfully, the x-ray showed no broken bones and the doctor diagnosed it as a bad sprain. He also checked Piglet’s heart rate, which was normal (I didn’t land anywhere near my belly).  So I hobbled my way into Thanksgiving week – we celebrated down at my mom’s place with Jamie! My pictures of the table and family didn’t turn out too well, but here’s a picture of the apple tart we brought (looked better than it tasted hahaha).

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving filled with tasty food and time with friends and family.  I’ll write back in a few weeks to report on the beginning of third trimester!

Five Things We Did in London

After we booked our Paris trip, we decided to take a short jaunt to London on the recommendation of several friends.  It’s so easy to travel in Europe – it was just a 2.5 hour train ride from Paris to London.  We had about 48 hours in London, but I fell in love with the city’s character and we saw a lot in our short time there.  Here’s a few of the things we did:

High Tea – we knew we couldn’t go to London without experiencing high tea! Mike booked us a table at Ting at the Shard, and it was a fun experience.  The views were amazing and the tea was delicious (food was just okay, TBH).

Churchill War Museum – this was a huge highlight for both of us! The Churchill War Museum is located in the actual underground bunkers that were used as Churchill’s headquarters during WWII, and it contains a lot of artifacts from Churchill’s life.  He was an eccentric and brilliant man who deeply cared for his people and making a difference in the world.

Ate amazing Indian food – several friends recommended Dishoom for Indian food, and it did NOT disappoint! The food was so flavorful and delicious, that we ended up going back from brunch another day :) I can’t remember everything we tried, but I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.  The restaurant itself has a really fun, retro vibe and apparently they have live jazz music most evenings.

Tower of London – we knew that we only had time to fit in one tour, and decided on the Tower, which is rich in history.  The tour guide here was fantastic and told us some interesting stories that really added color to the whole experience.  We also got to see the changing of the guards.

Saw Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross – the last thing we did during our short time in London was to (try to) see Platform 9 3/4 since we both love Harry Potter – but apparently everyone in the station had the same idea at 9 AM in the morning ;) We took some pictures from the side, bought a few key chains from the gift shop, and called it a day.

While Paris was so beautiful, London felt like such an approachable but interesting city – I get the sense that there’s a mish-mosh of cultures and styles happening, which Paris has made such an effort to keep the overall feel of the city and architecture very consistent.  I would love to go back someday – there’s still so much we have to see!

Five Things We Did in Paris

Mike and I took a babymoon to Paris and London last month, and I wanted to talk about some of the highlights of our trip! I’ll cover Paris/ France in this post, and London in the next.

Versailles bike tour

Hall of Mirrors

Gardens of Versailles

This was one of our favorite parts of our trip to Paris – we knew we wanted to see Versailles, but the grounds are large and difficult to cover in one day.  We decided to do a bike tour instead of walking, and it was the perfect way to see a lot in just one day.  Our tour guide Jean-Paul told us a lot of interesting stories about the palace’s history throughout the years as well, especially during the lunch picnic. Bread and wine everyday

I don’t think we went one day without going to a boulangerie for bread or croissants in the morning or drinking wine (or juice, in my case) at night.  The wine was crazy cheap – about 6 euros for a carafe (2-3 glasses) of really good wine, and the grape juices were surprisingly good!

Met the Korean President

No, not really.  But we noticed Korean flags all along the Champs-Elysees and found out that the Korean President’s visit coincided with ours! One salesperson asked if we were with the Korean delegation, and upon our denial, commented that we might not be able to tell him anyway even if we were, haha.

Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, and Musee de l’Orangerie

In our short week in Paris, we managed to visit all the museums on my list – it helped that we bought passes ahead of time and followed custom itineraries using apps to hit the highlights.  While I loved the architecture of Musee D’Orsay and some of the landscape paintings as well as the huge Monet murals in the l’Orangerie, the Louvre with its sculptures was our favorite.

Ate at a Michelin-starred restaurant

Mike really wanted to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, so we made reservations at Le Relais Louis XIII one night.  It was a fun night with lots of creative courses and very attentive wait staff.  The food was amazing, from the cheese gougeres amuse bouches to the fig dessert course.

But my favorite meal in Paris was at Les Fables de La Fontaine, a seafood restaurant where I had the most amazing fish dish of my life.  I think it was some kind of cod encrusted in a black batter or something? Mike’s favorite meal was duck confit – once he tried it at a bistro, it was pretty much the only thing he ordered the rest of the trip ;) The french onion soup (which is apparently called just onion soup in France) was quite good too.

And now I need to eat something, after looking through all our food pics :)

Second Trimester Faves

With second trimester nearly behind me, I wanted to share a couple of favorites that helped make the last couple of months a little easier!

Snoogle – Ah yes, the ubiquitious snoogle.  To be honest, I bought this during my first trimester when I was having difficulty sleeping and didn’t end up using it at all because I found it too hot and uncomfortable.  But in the last month or so as my belly got bigger, I pulled it out again and it is MAGICAL.  It improves my hip alignment, prevents my arms from falling asleep (if I don’t have it, one arm is usually tucked under me), and helps me sleep on my side vs. back.  It’s replaced the wedge pillow I slept with all first trimester, and I think Mike is eyeing it for after my pregnancy’s over…

BellaBands – another first trimester purchase that’s getting a lot of use now that I’m wearing pants! I bought two in black and white on Poshmark and use them everyday with my Banana Republic Sloan pants during the work week and jeans on the weekends.  It looks like a layered cami if you can even see it and feels really comfortable over the bump (although the button from my jeans do start to dig into my skin after a couple of hours of wear).  I’m wearing the black band with my black jeans in the picture below.

Amazing Grass – I have experienced a little bit of constipation during second trimester, but it really hasn’t been that bad and I’m giving this green powder the credit.  I drink it almost every morning and it helps me hydrate, gives me some vitamins/ minerals, and keeps me fairly regular ;)

My chiropractor – Mike and I have been regularly going to The Joint Chiropractic chain for a while, and the chiropractor at the Fairfax location we started going to is awesome! He always does a great job cracking my back and neck, even with the pregnancy modified positions I need to use, and he’s also started massaging my round ligaments to forestall future pain.  I think weekly chiro visits has really helped keep my spine healthy and prevent back pain so far.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume – I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but the skin on my back and chest was really damaged after all the chemicals I used to treat my acne.  I picked this lotion up in France with low expectations, but within days of use, my skin was completely healed! I’m using a much gentler salicylic acid lotion now during the day, and I apply this at night to ensure my skin stays healthy.

Mamas, what were some favorites that helped you get through your pregnancy?

Baby Piglet: Weeks 21-24

And just like that, we’re solidly in month 6. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been pregnant for a really long time, and other times I can’t believe I’m going to meeting Piglet in a few months. I have a feeling that November and December at least are going to fly by!

The Belly

The pic above is from the start of week 24 – my belly has definitely gotten big enough that strangers ask when I’m due.  Surprisingly, I don’t mind the few occasions where people touch my belly – I think I understand the impulse to connect with the new life inside.  Weight-wise, I’m up 15 pounds as of last week.  According to the app, Piglet is over a foot long and weighs nearly two pounds – wow!

Symptoms

The good period continues! My acne is somewhat under control, and my face/ chest/ back are continuing to heal. I do occasionally get the weirdest pimples – I got one behind my ear and one inside my nose over the last two weeks…why Piglet, why? Towards the end of week 24, I started to feel tired during the day, but I’m not sure if that’s related to a couple of nights of poor sleep or close-to-third trimester fatigue.  I’ve started to experience tailbone pain over the last couple of weeks as well (sitting for long periods of time is really hard), so I’m using a donut pillow and alternating between sitting and standing at work.

On the fun side, I’m definitely feeling more movement from Piglet, particularly when I’m stationary for a while or leaning against something.  She kicks a lot when I lie down in bed; I think she’s trying to get comfortable too ;)

Workouts

I haven’t posted much about workouts during pregnancy, but I’ve been working out regularly during second trimester – about 4-5 days a week. I typically go to BodyPump twice and cycle/ other cardio the other 2-3 days. Lifting still feels great and I haven’t decreased the weight very much (e.g., my previous squat weight was about 40 lbs and now I use ~35-38), but I take more breaks when I need them.

Eats/ Sleep

Still no strong aversions or cravings second trimester. My appetite has definitely increased but my stomach space has shrunk, so I’m eating more frequently throughout the day. I try to make sure I’m getting at least a little protein during my main meals, and typically eat yogurt w/ granola or fruit for snacks.  My love for seafood continues – this seafood paella from a recent party was bomb.

On the sleep front, I was getting 6-8 hours a night and have no trouble falling asleep for the most part, but about two weeks ago I started waking up every once in a while around 1 or 2 and being unable to fall asleep again.  I thought it might be because my body was uncomfortable, so I pulled out the snoogle I bought during first trimester and gave it another shot.  LIFE. CHANGING.  Good sleep is back!

Pregnancy-Related Purchases

Ha, I’m definitely nesting now.  I’ve spent the last two weeks getting my registry together and scouring Facebook Marketplace for baby items.  I’m trying to buy as much used stuff as possible since I figure the baby won’t be using most items for very long.  We’ve picked up a crib, pack ‘n play, some baby books (came free), and a combo scale/ changing pad.  I also picked up some blackout curtains and pictures for the nursery, as well as a few Halo swaddles in newborn and slightly larger sizes.

For me, I bought a few more maternity items on poshmark/ thredup – a nice dress for the holiday parties coming soon, warm leggings, and a few tops.  My work uniform consists of a sweater and my usual Banana Republic Sloan pants with a belly band every day, so I haven’t had to buy much for work yet.  Hopefully my sweaters are long enough that they’ll cover the belly through third trimester! I also picked up the donut pillow I mentioned before to help with my tailbone pain.

I did end up buying a bunch of skincare items in France to help with my back acne situation; I’m using Avene Cleanance (body wash), La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume (lotion), and hexomedine transcutanee (spot treatment) regularly, and the combo seems to be working.  The cicaplast in particular has been amazing – my skin was pretty damaged after all the strong chemicals I used before to try to treat the acne, and the lotion healed my skin in less than a week, and may have helped a little with the acne as well.  I also love using Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre for my face during the day as a winter primer under my BB cream.

Thoughts/ Stories

Week 21 was our babymoon to Paris and London! The trip was absolutely amazing, and the only thing I’d change about it was the weather – Paris was much hotter than we were expecting with highs in the 70s and low 80s every day.  We had packed for much cooler weather with sweaters and long sleeve shirts, so we took lots of walking breaks and tried to spend time indoors during 3-5 PM, when the sun was the hottest.  This was also the week I started living in bellybands, which are an amazing invention for wearing normal pants while pregnant.  I’m not sure I ever want to button my pants again.

Week 22 was a lot of travel for me; we got back home from Paris around 11 PM on Monday, and I was out the door by 5 AM the next day to catch a plane to Tampa for work.  Thankfully, the work trip wasn’t too arduous, and we ended meetings on the early side so I could go back to the hotel and crash.  On Saturday, we went to a seafood fest held at a church member’s house to raise money for missions.  The food and decor were amazing and it was such a fun night! The baby also kicked Mike’s belly this week – he was giving me a hug, and she kicked my belly so hard that he felt it.

Week 23 was another doctor’s visit – no ultrasound this time, just the doppler for the heartbeat.  Our doctor mentioned that Piglet may be sensitive to loud sounds, as she kept running away from the sound of the doppler.  This wouldn’t surprise me, as both Mike and I were *ahem* sensitive babies that didn’t eat or sleep well :”(

We spent Saturday at the church helping out with fall festival by helping with setup, manning the bouncy slide, and handing out candy during the trunk or treat.  The weather was chilly but a lot of church and neighborhood families came out and had fun.

Week 24 was my baby shower! I had thought about throwing a housewarming party at our new place, and some of the small group girls offered to combine it with a baby shower.  It was so nice – just a bunch of close friends and small group girls, and Sister J flew down from Boston as well.  Alexa and Andrew timed their visit around this weekend too, which was really special – thanks guys!!

I wish I had gotten a picture of the group, but I totally forgot.  We had delicious brunch-style food and played fun games like a baby food taste test and decorating cupcakes to look like pigs.  My example is in the corner above and looked horrendous but tasted delicious ;) I felt so loved on by this group of ladies!