Cuteness Overload!

On Monday Della gave me the best and sweetest surprise!

She MADE this beautiful diaper cake.

I am in love with the Born in 2011 onesie.

The adorable bear slippers.

Pink and green pacifiers that match Miss Pip's room.

And aren't the receiving blankets and flower headbands precious?

Della is seriously talented!

Seriously, she is a woman of many talents.

She is an awesome Language Arts teacher, a part time motivational speaker (anytime I need a pep talk), a technology guru, an out of the box thinker, and a financial whiz.

THANK YOU SO MUCH DELLA!

It's Saturday! (Time for a baby update)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Just 4 more to go!

Size of baby: Pippa is around 5 lbs

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am hovering around a gain of 10.5 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing only maternity jeans and pants, but can still fit into dresses and tops. The stretch maxi skirts that Old Navy is selling have been my LIFESAVER!

Gender: It's a girl!

Piper Jayne Martin

(We are going with the Y)

Movement: She is a kicker. She moves the most at night from 10PM - 3AM.

I also feel her a lot during the day mostly in my early morning classes and around lunch.

What I miss: SLEEP!

I have no problem falling asleep, but staying asleep does not seem to be in the cards right now.

Cravings: Sweets!

Fruit, cupcakes, sweet tea, and cereal. Just to name a few :)

Symptoms: My roller coaster blood pressure is still reeking havoc.

Best Moment this week:

Today my best girlfriends (Danielle, Kristin, & Betsy) put on the most AMAZING shower for Piper (and me). Pictures to come soon!

TGIF!

1. Labs make the day fly by. It's even better if the lab is virtual, requires no clean-up, and is completely finished BEFORE the dismissal bell rings.

2. A school sponsored happy hour. Arranged by me, paid for by the sunshine club.

And the smiles on my coworkers faces, are in response to the end of a VERY long week and the fact that state mandated test week is OVER!

3. And a date night with my favorite husband.

I wanted to go to the movies, but there really isn't anything worth seeing.

Mr. R. suggested we watch the original movie Arthur from 1982, that Russell Brand remade.

We have heard the remake is pretty awful.

So on that note, I am off to queue up Netflix, make grilled cheese, and eat s'mores. Yes, Pippa has turned me into a meat-eating-chocolate-craving s'more eater!

Three Things on Thursday:

1. Tomorrow is tax day. We finally filed ours last weekend and wrote the government our check. I know we are to render to Caesar what is Caesar's... but I feel like we seem to render more and more each year. Perhaps the government can take time from arguing with each other to cut the little guy (or really just me) a break.

Random Photo #1: I made chicken, strawberry, orange, blue cheese, and pecan salad for dinner.

2. We had Lamaze class tonight and we went over birthing positions. I think the birthing ball is my new BFF and I suck at squatting. Also, I CANNOT figure out how Pippa's is going to fit through my pelvis. Yes, I have seen the video and yes, I know it will work out in the end, but holy goodness! What if she has a big head?

Random Photo #2: I made these muffins during my Tuesday morning insomnia and they were an awesome carb addition to my salad.

3. The BIG P! Mr. R. and I picked up this giant ode to Piper at Joanne Fabric two weekends ago. I finally got around to painting it tonight. Four weeks until she arrives! Just a few more things left on our to-do list.

Random Photo #3: I think I want to paint the P the same color as Pip's nursery chair. But yellow sounds good too. Decisions, decisions.

Stick a fork in me 'cause

I'm done.

But dinner was another winner.

Thank you allrecipes.com

I have been up since 2: 15 AM. Trying to find a comfortable bed spot while 8 months pregnant is seriously impossible. In fact, I think I would have better luck finding a leprechaun, or big foot, or Nessie. The upside is that I washed 4 loads of laundry before school and prepped a few dinners for later this week.

It's currently 7PM and I am ready to hit the hay. Perhaps Pippa will cancel her dance party tonight and let me sleep? A girl can dream right?

Awesome Dinner:

Tonight I made my new favorite dinner.

SPANIKOPTIA BURGERS

(with sweet potato fries)

Ingredients:

• ground chicken
• sauteed red onion
• 10 ounches of frozen spinach (thawed)
• 2/3 cup of feta cheese
• 1 Tbs. of grill seasoning
• 3 cloves of garlic

Combine ingredients, form into patties, and grill for 4 minutes on each side.

I served our burgers on baguette slices, with roasted tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.

FYI: TJ's has the best tzatziki, but since they are too cool to come to Florida we settle for the Costco brand. Perhaps that would be one of the highlights of moving back to DC.

Four boxes arrived at our house on Thursday night.

And I opened each one like it was Christmas morning!

Each box contained gifts, cards, and the sweetest messages from our friends and family up North.

The gifts are beyond amazing and generous, but more than that the messages in each card were so heartfelt. And of course we can use and are thankful every prayer being said over us.

It is amazing how BLESSED we are.

When Jeff and I were just dating we didn't plan on getting married. In fact I was convinced I would be living in Africa, digging wells, and teaching English. Once we were married we said we WERE NOT going to have children. We had careers to start, campaigns to run, people to meet, and places to see. And then God gave us Piper. We really really prayed for this baby. And announcing her arrival to our friends and family was the highlight of my 2010.

As we opened the many gifts, stared in awe at our talented friends who made the diaper cake, and read and re-read the cards... we can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. How did we get so lucky? How did Piper get so lucky? (I think she will easily be the best dressed baby on the block!)

With all of my heart I want to say thank you to our mothers for throwing the shower, our friends for attending, and our families for continued love and support.

And a big thank you to Uncle Mike. Who introduced Piper to her first brand name outfits.

If Piper turns out to be a glambino fashionista, I am totally blaming you! :)