22 Weeks

yet another awkward picture... it's the best I can do...

Everyday, I wake up and I swear my belly is bigger. It is getting harder and harder to suck it in, but I can still feel my "ab" muscles :) At a little over half way... my life is changing already. I try to pick things up off the ground and I clearly don't have any graceful way of doing it anymore... Ty gave me the run down - he said, usually girls bend down very daintily, with their body straight and their knees together and then jump back up. Me on the other hand has the more butt out, grunting, struggling to get back up strategy. If men only knew what it felt like...

What I love about being preggo so far:
1. Feeling the little baby move inside me... and having Ty feel it too (priceless!)
2. Being able to "indulge" a little more
3. Taking walks all over the neighborhood
4. Finally having people notice that I'm pregnant and not fat
5. Reminding myself that everyday is one day closer to May :)
6. All the positive support from our family and friends (we love you!)

I still feel like the luckiest pregnant girl there ever was because I feel pretty normal other than the weight gain and belly popping out. I still sleep pretty well, there aren't any foods that bother me, no body aches or pains aside from the normal back pain here and there, my energy is good, no nausea or sickness and I still laugh and smile a lot. I probably just jinxed myself but hopefully things will stay this way for a few more months... AND I count my lucky stars because I know the next baby - yes I hope there will be a next baby - could be a totally different pregnant experience.

I had another check-up with our doctor yesterday... short as always but I got to hear baby P's heartbeat, which is always a treat :) And ask a few questions.... I was worried that I was just too big at this point... the doc laughed, measure and assured me that I was right on track... It is just really hard to see your body morph into this other pregnant version of you. I am just happy that I have a healthy baby! We go in for another check-up in a month or so.. then every two weeks already! wow... time flies. I swear it was just yesterday that I found out I was preggo! ahh

Everything Bars

Ok, my sweet tooth is back I'm pretty sure. I decided I wanted to make something on the sweet side and this is what I come up with. I started with a brownie batter, and then found anything and everything I could in the pantry to put on top of them (hence the name...). The only recipe part is the brownie.

Everything Bars:

Brownie Bottom:
1 c. melted butter
1/4 c. cocoa
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

In a bowl, mix butter, cocoa, eggs and sugar. Stir in flour, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fold in walnuts. Spread mixture evenly into a greased 13"x9" pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
-Remove from oven and carefully spread on the toppings... pressing into warm brownie. Place back in the oven for about 8 minutes so the marshmallows can brown on the top. Remove and cool. Cut into desired bars. I couldn't eat them fast enough :)
*thanks to cooks.com

Toppings...
-semi sweet chocolate chips
-white chocolate chips
-chopped walnuts
-marshmallows
-heath bar pieces

This was all done by personal preference... so go wild :) Not sure if this even counts as a "recipe" but they were mighty tasty. Living with 3 boys... I didn't even get a picture of one of the bars... so I cheated and found a picture that would give you sort of an idea of what they looked like.

Orange Picking

It has been sooo beautiful in Santa Barbara lately that Ty and I just HAD to get outside. Hope you did too! We went up to property in Goleta that his family owns and enjoyed the breathtaking scenery! We are still trying to figure out the new camera but it is working out well so far :)

On the property, there is lots to do. Ty's cousin lives on the property and his family owns horses and there are TONS of orange trees that make the BEST ever fresh squeezed orange juice. We got some bags and loaded them up with fresh oranges. We also said hello to the horses and Kayda got a little more familiar with them...

hiking

yummy oranges

Kayda and her friend "star"

Such a great morning and we were home by 10am... early start = great day!

Kayda got a little too familiar with the horses and decided to roll in some of their droppings so she naturally had to be bathed.... she was NOT happy about that!
Kayda is clearly embarrassed...

Ty was taking full advantage of the situation and practicing his baby "Mohawks"
Kayda was the cleanest dog in the whole world and we gave her lots of treats!

Boat Ride

We recently took the new "toy" out for a spin. It was a gorgeous day in Santa Barbara and we simply couldn't resist. We loaded up the boat with a couple friends (Eddie and Max) and not to forget Kayda... and headed out to the open water.

First Mate Eddie

A little boat magic...

Kayda is officially a boat dog :)

We had a fantastic time and hopefully we will go out again very soon! Maybe a little weekend to the Islands...

20 Week Update

Baby Perkins is half baked :)
We just had our last appointment with Dr. Soffici for our 3D ultrasound. I look forward to these appointments because we really get to see our baby! At the check up appointments, the most we ever get is maybe listening to the heartbeat. This time we got a real treat... a DVD of what the doctor saw. We have watched it maybe 5 times since we got it, trying to see if we can guess boy...or girl :) I was amazed at how much our baby's face has developed.... looks more like an alien to me but for sure has my cheek bones and Ty's nose! Unfortunately, this will be the last time we see our baby till he/she is born... so I'm sure that will be a BIG surprise! Here are some updated pictures...

Boy...Girl? NO... that is the umbilical cord in between his/her hands!

Baby Spine

And because some of you are asking... here is a belly photo. Oh I hate awkward self shots! But there is a little baby in there :) 2o more weeks to go...

A new toy...

Ty has wanted a boat for suuuuuch a long time and he finally found the perfect fit. Introducing the 19 1/2 foot Radon. It is in excellent shape and cared for by a very knowledgeable man in San Francisco. He was nice enough to drive it down here and hand it off. He was glad it was going to a good home :) Can't wait to experience a trip out at sea with my husband!

Colorado Adventure

The cold weather around Santa Barbara left and itch for snow in the air. I know some people don't think snow is that cool... but for some who rarely see it EVER... we thought it would be fun to visit a little white winter wonderland. So, off to Colorado we went. My "aunt" Alexa and the Kowalczyk family live in Arvada, Colorado. We hopped a plane and in a couple short hours we had landed in Denver. Only problem... NO snow in sight. Everything was nice and brown.

After arriving, we headed to the restaurant they own called, "The Old Neighborhood Restaurant."
It is very loved by the community and little to say, they have many regulars that attend. With filled bellies, we were then off to Breckenridge to finally see the snow :) We were already a mile above sea level but then we drive an hour or so and we are at 16,000 feet. Its a little dry up there.

The view of the mountain

SNOW!

A little shop I found :)

A couple days in Breckenridge, and we were ready to be back in double digit weather. Little did we know, there was a snow storm back in Arvada... single digit weather.
I was determined to play in the snow if I couldn't actually ski or snowboard. So snow angels it was!!!

I felt more like the little boy in "A Christmas Story"

Ty's Snow Angel

My Snow Angel

Final Product :)

After lots of snow playing... we went to visit our friends Vanessa, Kurt and their 2 year old son, Asher. They were in Colorado at the same time for Kurt's knee surgery :) Sooo glad we were able to see them on our adventure. We spend New Years with them and had dinner at The West End Tavern in Boulder.

This is the dessert I ordered. A cookie baked in a small cast iron skillet with mounds of ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and powdered sugar... yes it was followed by a severe coma :)

Then Ty was getting a little dad practice in... yes Asher has toilet paper wrapped around his head like a bandanna :)

And we made one last stop before heading home....

And guess who was the one deep into the candy bins.... not I :)

We had an amazing time in Colorado... I think next time we will go somewhere a little warmer though...