West Coast in the Winter

We really enjoyed our time in Oregon visiting Kenny's family and enjoying God's creation...even if that did include a winter storm with 115 mph wind gusts off the coast. ;-) It was a rainy and windy week, but we loved visiting with family, eating delicious fish, and drinking lots of (decaf, sigh) coffee!

We spent one day just driving up the coast and I finally had a chance to see Cannon Beach, which was spectacular. I could seriously move to Cannon City if I could pack up the fam and take them with us! It is the coolest little coastal town with tons of great restaurants and vibe-y stores, etc. Love.

We also stopped in Tillamook, OR to tour the cheese factory. I heart cheese.

And purchased some awesome blankets at the Pendleton outlet store, which was super exciting. Pendleton wool blankets are so cozy and we had been hoping to invest in some for a while...we got 3 blankets for what less than ONE would have cost. I was pumped :-)

Isn't the Oregon coast stunning?

Leah and Auggie, Jeanett's labs, came along for the ride!

Jeanette threw us a beautiful baby shower while we were there, too! I just loved meeting her friends and visiting with everyone. I was truly overwhelmed by their generosity and kindness towards us...it was a great night!

Melody MADE me this awesome tote bag for baby things!

Kenny was so excited about this Oregon Duck's sweat pant-suit...can you tell? Micah has a pretty sweet Duck's wardrobe now...

Grandma Ione and Aunt Karen (Kenny's dad's mom and sister)

We also spend a great afternoon with some of our favorite people, Jason and Kara Enright...oh, and their too-cute-for-words little boys: Trey and Brohdy! We ate at the Portland Bagel Co., and Kara and I had panic attacks watching the fathers of our children walk to the edge of tall cliffs during a storm to take pictures. gulp. We drank coffee in the car ;-)

Kenny took a couple of 24 week photos of me (and Micah) on Sunset Beach in Coos Bay, his hometown.

And this one on Cannon Beach at 25 weeks :-)

It is always such a treat to visit Oregon...it really is God's country! We're looking forward to visiting again later this year...with Micah in tow :-)

What Glucose Test?

Cookie Dough Dip

I may have a glucose test coming up this week, but that won't keep me from indulging in this recipe I came across today - I plan to make it for Super Bowl Sunday. AND...I can eat it, because it doesn't actually have raw eggs...major bonus! Thought I'd share the chocolate-y goodness:


{Ingredients}

• ½ cups Butter
• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 block (8 Oz. Block) Cream Cheese, Softened
• ½ cups Powdered Sugar
• ¾ cups Chocolate Chips

{Recipe}

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool, and whisk in vanilla.

Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar for 60 seconds. With mixer on low speed, add in brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined. I added the chocolate chips at this time so the mixer could break them up into pieces. You can so that, or just fold in the chocolate chips.

Garnish with additional chopped chocolate. Serve with fruit, cookies, graham crackers, pretzels or a spoon.

{24 Weeks}

{Month 6}

How Far Along: 24 weeks!

Favorite Maternity Clothes: GAP maternity jeans I bought this week – what was I THINKING trying to stretch the use of the bellaband?! They are a-mazing.

Best moment this month: Putting together the nursery! Kenny and his mom painted it a light earthy peach-ish/brown over Christmas vacation ...and I enjoyed purchasing some artwork on etsy.com, helping kenny put together our white Jenny Lind crib, and sitting in the rocking chair day-dreaming. :) We also spent week 24/25 of the pregnancy with Kenny's family in Oregon...hence, the beach photo above. No, Cincinnati did not acquire a lovely beach-scape ;-)

Movement: Micah moves a lot! And the kicks and punches are getting stronger (ooff!). I love feeling him, it’s so reassuring.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Zero aversions. Major appetite! At my 24 week appointment, I put on some weight, so I’ve gained 12 lbs so far…I don’t know what that means, but they said it was “good weight gain”…I plan to just keep eating ;-) I’m doing my best to pick healthy choices for this sweet boy!

What I miss: Spicy tuna sushi rolls!

Sleep: Sleeping great, so thankful. It’s just a matter of time before my precious sleep is interrupted by a MORE precious baby boy!

What I am looking forward to: Starting our Bradley Method birth classes on Feb 6th, and finishing up our registry. Every detail of preparation is such a sweet reminder of the precious gift of this child!

Belly Changes: Behold, the bump!

Symptoms: Back aches, especially in the morning and nighttime…realizing my body gets sore doing things I always used do and that’s a little frustrating because it’s hard to admit you’re needy! Some Braxton hicks, but not many (usually when I overdo it – oops).

Prayer for this month: Lord, you know the cry of my heart: that Micah would come to know you personally at an early age. I pray, Father, that his heart would be bent toward you, even now- and that he would have a deep love for Your Word and desire to follow after you all the days of his life. Give Kenny and I the power, through your spirit, to shepherd his little heart.

Third Annual {Brunch of Joy}

Well, I'm catching up on some blogging now that the holidays are over. It was such a wonderful season for us, and so special being pregnant over Christmas! Since we moved into our home in 2009, we've hosted a Christmas Eve Brunch each year that we like to call the Brunch of JOY! As we continue to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ's birth, we love to gather around the table with family and start the day off laughing, sharing...and of course eating! Here are some snapshots from our brunch...

The Master Chef preparing his mascarpone stuffed french toast with Strawberry compote!

Not the best picture of us...but you get it: we were there ;-)

Jeanette stayed with us Christmas week - we had so much fun!

The girls always get their gift on Christmas Eve morning after brunch!

It was a JOY filled morning, indeed :-)

It's a BOY! {Gender Reveal Family Party}

Wednesday, December 21st, Kenny and I found out firstborn child will be a BOY! Our 20-week ultrasound was two days earlier, but we had the tech keep it a secret by putting "boy" or "girl" in a sealed envelope and not telling us at the appointment. We took the envelope (immediately) to our favorite local bakery (Bluebird Bakery, where our wedding cake was made) and had the owner bake us a very special cake for the party. Until Wednesday night, only the ultrasound tech and Jenny at Bluebird bakery knew whether baby Sinclair was a boy or girl! :) We invited over a small group of family (and a little extended family) to join us in revealing BOY or GIRL! It was so fun and memorable. Mom and Abigail put so much work into making the event special for us...

Abigail made this sweet box with little cards for each family member to write a little word of encouragement or just babble with excitement! (My mother-in-love wrote WOW!!!! on hers...I think she was excited...)

She also had a space for everyone to guess BOY or GIRL before we cut the cake...they would tally their guess on a chalkboard, and then wear either a bow or tie pinned to their shirt :-) Abigail made all these - thank you, sister!

Sweet banner :)

Tally board... there were a lot of wrong guesses....me included!

The cake of mystery ::insert dramatic music here::

Reaction photo {shock meets joy meets hysteria}

It's a boy...TOUCHDOWN ;-)

Grandma Nettie was right...it's a little boy!

Mom's beautiful spread of yummies:

We are so in love with this little boy of ours! I REALLY thought baby was a girl (not necessarily because I had a preference, I just thought it was!) but once I found out he was a boy, I thought, "Of COURSE it is!!" It was just so perfect and right. :)

::BLUE booties::

Thus begins a slew of photos involving Kenny, myself, the banner, and our sweet family :-)

Sports pose...to symbolize a boy, of course.

Kenny took this photos just before we left for the party (20 weeks along).

Micah, we are SO GLAD you are our SON - exactly what God planned for our family! My heart is full as I think about God's goodness in bringing you into our lives in HIS perfect timing. Oh, how I love you, my sweet son, and look forward to the day I will hold you in my arms. For now, your daddy and I continue to pray for YOU, Micah Daniel, by name, as we lift up your precious life to our heavenly Father...who loves you even more than we do. But I'll tell you more about that when you're here...

{20 Weeks}

{ Month 5 }

How Far Along: 20 weeks - halfway!

Favorite Maternity Clothes: This is such a fabulously awkward clothing stage. :) So, my pants all fit with the BellaBand…and I have some cotton maternity shirts…but I can’t find dressier (think: attractive) maternity clothes that I really love. I’m going to hit up some non-maternity clearance racks for larger sizes and baggier styles (i.e. Gap, Fossil, Anthro) in hopes to find some nicer shirts/tunics to wear with leggings.

Best moment this month: There were TWO!

{1} Our 20-week ultrasound! My heart was full to overflowing seeing the answer to our prayers for a child on the ultrasound screen – what a miracle, and what a God we serve! We watched baby reach for his/her toes, yawn, and kick. The ultrasound tech had one hand on the wand, and the other was handing me tissues ;-)

{2} Our baby gender reveal family party! We’re having a sweet baby BOY!!



Movement: Kicks, swooshes, rolls and flips…this baby loves to move! Kenny felt the baby kick for the first time last week (19 weeks) and that was a sweet moment to share together…I wish I could have photographed the smile on his face. Mom (Nana-to-be) was so hoping to get to feel a kick, and FINALLY got a good hard one right in the palm a few nights ago…those of you who know her can imagine her expression, I’m sure. ;-)

Food Cravings/Aversions: Hello, appetite. My only serious craving has been Kashi’s Berry Blossom cereal…like, 3 bowls a day. Still averse to Indian. Boo.

What I miss: A Jersey Mike’s Club Sub this month ;-)

Sleep: Still sleeping well, used to getting up at night…except when I’m coooooold. I can’t wait to get up to a BABY!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting/holding/kissing/squeezing our sweet little BOY!

Belly Changes: I love watching my tummy grow, imagining the precious one in side! Enjoying the journey of pregnancy…not freaking out about the lbs and enjoying every minute :)

Symptoms: Easily overwhelmed (bawled all the way through the movie “Eight Below”), hormonal, over-the-top maternal instincts, HUNGRY!

Prayer for this month: Lord, is it really possible that You, the King of Creation, came to earth in the very form you are fashioning inside me…a tiny baby? How we worship at the manger of the King of Kings this advent season, so thankful that you became GOD with US…Emmanuel! What a mystery...I am more in awe than ever.


Here we are soon after finding out we're having a SON!


Then today, Kenny's mom and I hit up some baby consignment stores for boy clothes and Buybuy Baby to put final touches on our registry. I was rather proud to finally be able to park in the special "Expectant Mother" spot ;-)

Um...we went crazy. All this for under $100!!
I heart bargains. And tiny things. And my son :)

Kenny and I are overwhelmed with JOY!
Micah Daniel Sinclair

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." {Psalm 127:3}