He Flipped!

Good news kids! I had the first of my now weekly doctor's appointments today and it appears Piglet has flipped! By feeling my stomach, the doc thought he was still breech but after an internal exam, she thought that perhaps he had flipped and decided to do a quick ultrasound to confirm. As soon as she started the ultrasound, she excitedly told me that she was right --- he had made the big move south. Even better, is that she thinks he's far enough along that it'll be pretty tough for him to flip back and he's facing my back, which is the position they'll want him in for labor and delivery. (In addition, she confirmed again that Piglet is indeed a boy.)

This means things get a whole lot more interesting and nerve wracking --- while I could have gone into labor at any time, even if we had scheduled a c-section, I still felt more like things would be very scheduled; however, now knowing that we are truly waiting on my water to break and / or contractions to start, it kicks things up a notch. I guess I had really been assuming I'd have a c-section so I hadn't started to worry about things like my water breaking at work (though Corey did the quick math and believes there is only a 3% chance of this happening based on the percentages of woman whose water actually breaks, how much time I spend at work, etc) or about having to do all the work that will come with pushing this babe out. Eek! Sounds like I'm not dilated at all yet though (and he's still 'high' or at '-2') so hopefully we have a bit of time for me to get used to this idea. But don't worry - Corey is ready to roll. Tonight, he showed me a contraction timer app he downloaded to his phone and also tried to have me practice my breathing, though I was laughing too hard to do much good. Better practice that some more this weekend, as well as get my hospital bag packed stat!

Fingers crossed that he stays in this position between now and whenever he decides to make his grand entrance into the world.

Girls Night at the Ballet

I had the pleasure of joining Jennifer and her sister Melissa at McCaw Hall for the Contemporary 4 ballet on Friday and had a blast. I'd never been to the ballet before and after seeing Black Swan, I wanted the opportunity to see a ballet in person so Jennifer's invite several weeks later was perfect timing and has been something I've been looking forward to for quite some time.

What I really liked about this show was that it wasn't what you'd expect with a traditional ballet --- the costumes, the choreography and many of the song choices were very unique, and obviously much more contemporary that what you'd expect from the ballet. This is what I found most exciting, especially in the third (The Piano Dance) and forth (Concerto DSCH) sets.

We had a great time, and though I didn't get any photos of the three of us, here are a few photos of the show, courtesy of various sites local sites.

Surprise Shower

[By Corey]

Working in a small office, it can be hard to surprise someone, but that's exactly what the HMG team did today. They threw me a baby shower and I never saw it coming. Not only were their Cupcake Royale cupcakes--lots of them--and non-alchy libations, but it included two great gifts for Baby Moran. And, for a change, I got to do the opening.

After yards and yards of wrapping paper, I got to an Exersaucer and Swing & Seat. Two things that a year ago, I had no idea I'd need, but a year from now I'm sure we wouldn't have wanted to do without--Gotta keep baby entertained. (The ultimate goal is that by his first birthday he can throw a ball for Roxy to fetch and we can keep them both entertained.)

Thanks, HMG! A special shout out to Natalie, who I have a feeling was the driving force behind the shower.

Welcome Spring...

...you've been dearly missed!

With today being the official day first day of Spring, there are a few things I am so looking forward to over the next three months:

• Flip flops
• The smell of flowers on my and Roxy's daily walk
• Blooming cherry blossom trees on my drive to work
• Opening the sunroof for the first time in months
• Green trees lining the streets
• Being able to start opening the windows and enjoying a breeze throughout the house
• Leaving to go to work when it's light out, and returning home while it's still light (though, to be fair, this has been the norm over the last few weeks, and I am thoroughly enjoying it)
• Putting my peacoats away and knowing that soon, I won't have to wear a coat at all
• The need to wear sunglasses
• Attending Mariners games (it would be a lie if I didn't mention that this is mostly for the yummy hot dogs you can get outside the stadium)

But most of all, Spring means anticipating the arrival of Summer (my favorite season), and all the fabulous things it brings.

Get Your Guesses In

With less than one month to go before Piglet's due date (OMG, really?!?), we thought it would be fun for everyone to start placing their bets in regards to the date and time he'll arrive, along with his stats.

Using the 'Comments' section below, feel free to leave your guesses:

• Date
• Time
• Weight
• Length

Couple things to keep in mind: my due date is April 18 and he's currently breech, which may mean a c-section.

Whoever comes closest in all guesses will win a special prize (now we just have to think of something good...).

New Recipe - Salmon Noodle Bowl

In a quest to find something new to make this week, I started going through my recipe binder. I've had this binder since high school and I use it to file away recipes I find in magazines or online, get from friends, etc; however, I often find that I don't make many of these recipes since I tend to stick with things I've made over and over before out of sheer laziness.

This week, though, I decided to choose a recipe that had been in my binder since April of 2008, which is the date of the Better Homes & Gardens magazine I tore it from: Salmon Noodle Bowl.

It was super easy and very quick and overall, it was very yummy - definitely something we could make quickly after work in the future. I'll be adding this to our recipe rotation moving forward!

New Recipes - Southwestern Salad with Chicken Taquitos

I find that Corey and I often continue to make the same things over and over - it makes grocery shopping and cooking quicker and easier, but then we eventually get sick of our go-to dishes.

I recently saw a few new recipes on an old high school friend's blog that I thought sounded both easy and yummy. And with our love for Mexican food, how could we go wrong with southwestern salad with cilantro lime dressing and chicken taquitos?

Both turned out so yummy and were very easy to prepare. Thought I'd share in case these recipes strike your fancy as well.

Happy (Early) Birthday Dad!

We packed up and headed over the pass on Friday to celebrate my dad's 57th birthday with the fam. His birthday is technically tomorrow, but we wanted to spend some time with family and celebrate with them before they head to Hawaii for two weeks (so jealous!) next weekend.

We had a great time in Yakima - lots of quality time with the family, lots of celebrating, and lots of relaxing (including a pregnancy massage that my mom scheduled for me as a surprise!). Roxy had a blast with all the attention and with lots of fetch, both indoors and outdoors. It's crazy to think that the next time we make it to Yakima, we'll not only have Roxy with us, but a Mini Moran as well!

We celebrated my dad's birthday dinner last night by heading to Creekside West Bar & Grill, which just opened a month ago or so, and it was super yummy. We were also excited to see that it was packed - gotta love when new restaurants seem to be doing well. After dinner, we enjoyed presents, cake and ice cream at my grandma's house. At my dad's special request, my mom and I make a double layer chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and chocolate shavings on top - YUM!

Happy birthday, Dad!! You are the best dad a girl could ask for - I am so incredibly lucky. I can't wait for you to become a grandpa in a few weeks!

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

And this photo isn't technically from Yakima, but was taken the night before we left...and I just love it and had to share.

Joshua Radin

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Joshua Radin was going to be in town again so we quickly bought tickets. He's one of our favorite artists and we're constantly listening to his albums at home - they're perfect for relaxing, enjoying with dinner, while cooking, etc. He definitely didn't disappoint the second time around.

He was at the Showbox this time and I think our location was a little closer to the stage with better visibility than last time at Neumos, which was great. Again he shared stories about many of the songs he performed and again, he walked out into the audience to play his final encore song, which I just think is so cool as it's not something many artists do.

It was a great date night together, especially because we hadn't been to a show in forever, and because it'll likely be one of our last big date nights before the baby arrives. And to top it off, we got to witness a major catfight between two sets of girls happen RIGHT in front of us halfway through the show - names were thrown, DRAMA ensued and security was pulled in. Who knew Joshua Radin would bring out the crazies???

We highly recommend going to see him if you ever have the chance (and not just to try to witness your own catfight)!

Nursery is Complete!

We are excited to announce that the nursery is 99.9% complete and just about ready for a cute, little boy to move in.

I am really happy with how everything came together and turned out --- the surfboard rug fits well with the beach / Hawaii photos we've taken on our trips and with the bright bedding, the light blue walls are fun and inviting, the white furniture makes the room feel very clean and calm, we have plenty of storage for books and toys between the shelves and cubies, and the glider recently arrived (which we LOVE) and looks good with the other brown accents in the room.

But my favorite part of all might just be the cute little clothes that are hanging in the closet, just waiting to be put on Piglet.

Thanks again to the Reeders for their helping with painting, my parents for the crib, and all of our friends and family for helping stock the room with countless toys and cute outfits that will be put to good use in the very near future.

Here are a few photos; the rest can be found here.

Celebrating Piglet x2

Yesterday, the gals on my work team (Stacy, Stephanie and Siiri) planned a super fabulous baby shower for me and I had a blast. Between this shower and my first shower, we have been so completely spoiled, it's ridiculous!

Everything was perfect: from the adorable rattle balloon, the 'Boy' mints scattered on the table, the delicious cupcakes (homemade by my friend Linda (who is my boss' wife) but looked like they were purchased in a specialty bakery), the fruit platter and juice options, to the presents. We received all kinds of cute new outfits, a super fun turtle nightlight which casts stars on the ceiling, a stroller, changing pad and cover, cute burp cloths, sleepers of all sizes, and the list goes on.

It was so much fun to take time out and celebrate with all the girls at work, including 3 of the other 4 preggo gals in the office!

We are absolutely stocked up and ready for this baby to come!

Below are a few photos from the shower, and the rest are here.

The lovely hostesses - Stephanie, Stacy and Siiri.

Homemade, personalized cupcakes in both chocolate and vanilla bean flavors - YUM!

The delicious spread.

This adorable "rattle" is now decorating Piglet's room.

"Older Chicks Dig Me" --- LOVE it!