Baby Caden Avery is here!

Wow- it seemed like it would never happen, but it finally did-
Caden Avery Beyer is here!
Our little angel was born Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 5:55 pm. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 21" long. He came via unplanned C-section due to a few complications- a long labor that wasn't progressing quickly enough, his sunny-side up position, and his dramatically dropping heartrate upon every contraction (poor kid was wrapped too tightly in his cord!)

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Let's Hear it For the Boy!

Let's hear it for my man!

My darling dearest painted my toenails for me! Wasn't that sweet? Since it's pretty uncomfortable to try to bend over and do it myself at this point. He did a pretty nice job, too, dontcha think? (at first I wanted purple to match the outfit I wore on Easter Sunday, but I had to rethink that decision...a light pink worked great for his first time ever! =)

So, now I have to apologize for making you look at my bloated ugly feet. Hope you haven't eaten yet today...

=)

A Supermarket Secret

Hey, I found something out at the grocery store the other day and I decided I'll share it with you. 'Cause that's what friends are for, right?

It has to do with pickles. So, if you like pickles, read on. (If not, you know you're not going to stop reading anyways, so haha!)

Before I get down to the nitty-gritty, let me just preface this by saying please don't write me off about pickles just because I am pregnant. I like pickles all the time. In fact, once, at a restaurant that had unlimited fries, I asked for a refill on my pickle. No lie. (They actually did it!) And you can also ask my friend Trish, who I once almost throttled because she threw out a large container of perfectly good pickles because she didn't have any room for them in the fridge. Senseless waste, I tell ya.

Okay, so, I have always wondered at the difference between a pickle on the side of your burger at a restaurant and pickles in a jar that you buy at the grocery store. The pickle from a restaurant is so much better- crispy, crunchy, completely yummy. And pickles in a jar are good, too, they are just...different. (In a less good, but still okay way. Did I mention I like pickles?)

So, at the grocery store last Thursday I picked up a jar of pickles and thought nothing of it, until later on, I passed by the refrigerated section, where I spied a sign- "Refrigerated Pickles." Well, before I had always chalked that up to people needing their cold pickle fix in a hurry- nothing I would ever pay extra money for- sort of like refrigerated jello and pudding- I'll eat them at room temp or wait a while before I lay down 50 cents to scratch that itch.

Anyhow, when I got closer, I could see that these pickles looked just like the ones from a restaurant- more white in color than yellow. So, I decided to splurge the extra 35 cents from my other pickle purchase and try them out.

I think you know where this is going...

I will never buy the other kind of pickle again!!!!!

They taste just like the ones from the restaurant. Yum, YUM , yummy yum-yum! So, if you're like minded- make sure to stop by the refrigerated pickle section at your store!

(And, okay, okay, I will admit, that even though my pregnancy hasn't created my love for pickles, it has caused me to eat 2 jars of them since I found them less than a week ago. Fear not, though, I have another jar waiting in the fridge).

Off to eat a pickle! =)

Drum Roll, Please....

Are you ready for this?

IT'S A BOY!!!


Yeppers, a little darling boy is coming on 7-11-09.

(What am I going to do??? I will be outnumbered in my own house by Beyer boys!!!)

Here's a few pics for those of you who are interested:

What a sweet profile:
It looks like he's sucking his thumb in this shot:
A shot of his legs all bunched up:


And... of course, since I have to start embarrassing my children with pictures on the internet as soon as possible- I give to you...
THE MONEY SHOT

ONLY 7 MORE DAYS!!!

That's right- in just 7 days, we will be going in for our 1/2 way point ultrasound!!!

While we're there, we definitely plan on finding out the sex of the baby! (And until then, it's the battle of the sexes around here- I am all for a darling little girl, and hubby is dying for a little man. =)

So... you wanna weigh in on the issue?
(You got a 50/50 shot- the odds are pretty good!)

And, I don't care if any of you all decide to put some money on it- so long as you split the pot!

Go ahead and vote- in the right bar at the top of the blog.

Good luck- I'll keep you updated!

Where did my baby go???????

My virtual baby, that is!
(Hope I didn't scare you)

For the past week or so, my baby widget down at the bottom has been broken. (At least, I am hoping it is broken. I keep stuffing down the irrational pregnant side of me that thinks it may be an omen.)

The day countdown is right, but there is no baby showing up in the "womb." What is up with that?

Unless I missed the chapter in "What to Expect..." that details the stealth mode of babies during the 16th-17th weeks.

I can't seem to find any information about it anywhere. Evidently, no one else is having this problem, or it was bound to show up on a message board somewhere in internetland. Oh dear.

I tried reloading.

I tried just getting a whole new one.

I tried praying for my baby to come back!

Where is my baby???

Any helpful ideas or comments of reassurance will be duly appreciated.

AMAZING AVGOLEMONO!!! (Greek Lemon Rice Soup)

So... up until this point(16 weeks preggo), I haven't gotten TOO many cravings. The ones I did have were easy to get (popsicles, coleslaw, mint chocolate ship ice cream).

UNTIL... I craved Avgolemono.
If you've never heard of this, it's a Greek soup, with a creamy lemony broth and rice, and sometimes chicken. It is so delicious!

However, here in West Michigan, we do not have Greek restaurants (just one little gyro shack, which is decent, I'll admit, but no soup!) If you are unaware, I grew up outside of Chicago and now since I live in Michigan have had to deal with intense pizza withdrawls, but that's another story.

My favorite Lemon Rice soup comes from The Commander, a Greek mom and pop restaurant back home. Their avgolemono does not have any chicken in it, and yet, EVERY recipe I looked up, included chicken. I was afraid that if I tried it, I would be disappointed that it wasn't the real thing, and I knew I didn't want to disappoint a craving pregnant woman (especially myself).

So... I held out until this past weekend, when we were coming into town for my cousin's high school graduation party. On our way back, my hero, the hubby, ordered 2 QUARTS of the stuff and we picked it up on our way home (as well as a pizza- I will make a heartburn exception for Chicago pizza)! That was Saturday. It is now Monday and I am down to the last drop of the first quart container. 2 quarts may seem like a whole lot of soup to you, but in actuality, it's really only about 6 bowls.

So, now, with the end in sight, my fabulous grandfather has saved the day! He just sent me an email with the chicken-less recipe from Epicurious.com. Thanks, Gramps!!!

And now... in case there is anyone out there, pregnant or not, who cannot get lemon-rice soup... here is the recipe!

• 4 cups basic chicken stock
• 6 tablespoons (90 g) Carolina or other long-grain white rice
• 8 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (65 ml) fresh lemon juice
• coarse salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Stir in the rice and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a large bowl.

When the rice is tender, slowly ladle half of the hot broth into the yolks to temper them, whisking constantly. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the broth and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, just long enough to thicken the soup. Do not boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MOMS- I need your ADVICE!

Calling all experienced mothers out there!

I need some advice,
(being pregnant with my first child and all =)

Firstly, Greg and I are planning on stocking up diapers slowly as we prepare for our darling. So, I would like to know:

*What brands are the best deal/work okay? (I've heard store brand Meijer is cheap but leaky and Target's are pretty good)

*What is a good price?

*What sizes/how long are they in them? I want to buy a few sizes so I can be prepared, so let me know what you think is smart!

Next, (this might be TMI for some people) certain parts of my "upper region" are getting really dry and lotion does not seem to help. Anyone had this happen and know a good cream or something?

Thanks for all your help! Don't forget- I have an awesome and fun Mad Libs Valentine GIVEAWAY going on right now- click here.

Wow, it all seems so real now!

On Friday, the hubby and I went to the OB-GYN for our 14 week appointment.

Here's how it all went down:

We were running late and of course, it's snowing like crazy out, but that doesn't deter Greg, AKA Mario Andretti, from driving like a maniac to get us there. But, we made it in one piece (well, two pieces, really) and while registering with the grumpy receptionist, I realized I neglected to bring my urine. Well, since I don't know the meaning of the word propriety, I pretty much shouted, "Oh no- my pee!" This completely mortified Greg, whom I sent on another hair-raising trip back to the house to retrieve said pee. The ever-cheery receptionist was quick to point out that we were already late, but I assured her we only lived 3 minutes away, since my husband is an aspiring stunt driver.

Okay, so if you're wondering why I am bringing my pee there in the first place, it's because (I am told) that urine first thing in the morning is the best to test. (Guess it doesn't matter that I get up 4 thousand times in the night nowadays). So, they give you a little container that you are to "collect" your offering in and bring it in. What they didn't tell me at first is that I have to reuse the container!!! Yeah, the nurse rinses it out and whatnot, but then I have to bring it home and do it all over again next month. I find this repulsive. Anyways, back to the story-

Well, "Bulldog" showed me to be late, by having me wait and wait and wait (in the meantime, Greg made it back with the urine safely in hand, which of course, he immediately pawned off to me, as if it were radioactive or something). But FINALLY, we were able to wait in a room forever and ever.

We were very excited at the prospect of hearing the baby's heartbeat. Our last appointment at 10 weeks was too early. I really wanted to feel more connected, like there actually is a baby in there! Well, our fabulous doctor (Grumpypants could take a lesson from her) placed the doppler on my tummy and we could hear so much! My heartbeat, my placenta whoosh-whooshing, and our baby kicking! In fact, all the kicks were making it hard to hear the heartbeat. So, the doc told me she'd do an ultrasound.

As we waited (so what's new?) in the ultrasound room, I was so nervous and excited. I guess even though I know I am pregnant (boy, do I know!) it still felt pretty surreal that there is a life inside me. Well, when the moment arrived and we saw our little miracle, I was amazed. I didn't cry like I thought I would, just grinned so hard and stared in wonder. Our little darling was kicking with it's long legs and tiny toes and it's arm was draped behind its head, like it was just chillin'. We thought this was cute, because that is exactly how I sleep. Well, we didn't get to hear the heartbeat, but we got to see it, and that was breathtaking, too.

Here's what we saw:



Pretty amazing, huh?

You oughta read this!

'Cause we want everyone to know!!!!

We are going to have a baby!

Yay!

This is our first child, one we have longed for and prayed for and are super excited at the prospect of being parents.

As of right now, I am almost 14 weeks.
We are due July 10, 2009.

Holy cow!!!

I've added a pretty cool widget at the bottom of the page to track my pregnancy, if you're interested.

Never, EVER Make This Huge Mistake, People!

Warning: Rant coming.

Last weekend I had something happen to me that is the absolute worst! No, I'm not talking about running out of chocolate, having a fight with the spouse, or missing an episode of the Office.

Worse, people! (I know right now you are thinking, "What could be worse than running out of chocolate?" Trust me- read on.)

Here it is in all it's gory splendor-

I traveled 3 long hours (in a car with my mother, sister, aunt, AND husband driving- but that's not what was awful...I digress) in order to go to a Couple's Wedding Shower. Yeah, the hubby was thrilled about being dragged to that, let me tell you.

Anyhow, we get there just fine, say hello, bring our gifts, mingle, etc. I hadn't seen my family in a while and I've been doing the whole Weight Watchers thing- lost about 25 pounds, actually. (Go me!!!) So, you know I have dressed in a cute, flattering outfit, so that the compliments from my relatives who haven't seen me in months would just come rolling my way.

Wrong. Nothing. Absolutely no mention of how good I'm looking. Until.....


Relative: "Congratulations!!!" Well, it's about time people!

Me: "Thanks." Long Pause "Ummm...for what?"

"You're Pregnant!!!!"

"Uh, no."

"You're trying?"

"Nope, just fat." I don't have much tact, if you hadn't noticed.

"Oh....(trailing off)... I thought I heard you were pregnant.

And...cue the ego deflation.

Please, for the love of chocolate and all things holy, NEVER mention pregnancy to a person unless-
A.) They've told you flat out that they are pregnant.
or
B.) They're in labor.

Rant Over.