Pics of Piglet

As promised, here are a few photos the doc snapped of Piglet while we were in for our ultrasound last week. She got some in 2D and some in 3D, but he was being stubborn (like his parents) and chose not to face the camera much, so we didn't get any full face photos. He gave the doc a very hard time with the final heart measurement too --- he stayed folded in half, with his legs up by his head (and hands playing with his cute little feet!) almost the entire 45-,minutes we were looking at him, which made it difficult for them to snag the seventh measurement.

We get to go in for another ultrasound in about 6 weeks and we hope he's more cooperative so we can get some more photos of our little man!

All folded up.

3D profile shot.

Cute little feet!

Newest (and best!) Nurse in Town

In front of her family and friends, Gina graduated from Shoreline's Nursing School yesterday! We are so proud of her for all her hard work over the last two years. And not only that, but she already has a job lined up on the Oncology floor of Swedish, where she's been working for the past six months.

We were so excited to be able to celebrate this exciting time with her and her family, and are looking forward to seeing her a whole lot more of her now that won't be spending her free time studying.

It's a...

Both of us were starting to feel that Piglet would be a girl, so we were surprised (but thrilled!) to learn today that Baby Moran will be a little boy! Yes, this likely means there will be LOTS more football in my future, but I can't wait to meet our little man.

The doc said everything looked great and that he weighs in at 12 oz., which is just above average for 20-21 weeks. Looks like we may have a beefy little guy on our hands in a few months!

Photos from the ultrasound to follow, but we wanted to spread the word as soon as possible since we know many of you are anxiously awaiting the news.

Turkey Day 2010

We're finally recovered from the food coma that occurred after Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and I decided it was time to document our lovely day.

We put the 18-pound turkey into the oven around 11 a.m., expecting it to take 4-4-/12 hours. In the early afternoon, my parents, brother, grandma and Joan arrived to enjoy appetizers (courtesy of our moms) while the bird continued to roast. To our surprise, it finished cooking in less than four hours, so Corey and I quickly got to work on the gravy, potatoes (mashed red with boursin --- YUM!) and Brussel sprouts. Shortly thereafter, dinner was served, which included Joan's delicious take on green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Even though we were all completely stuffed, we couldn't pass up the homemade pumpkin pie my grandma brought, which we topped with homemade whipped cream.

All in all, it was a great day with our wonderful family and we are so thankful for our entire family, for our friends, and for the mini Moran on the way.

Boy or Girl?

In just four days, we find out if Piglet will be a boy or a girl. We're so excited to find out - I just don't know how we'll get through the next few days!

We were originally hoping that we'd be able to find out before Thanksgiving so we could at least announce the big news to our family over the holiday weekend; however, the doctor's office wanted to wait until week 21 as they can more easily check things like the heart, to ensure that everything looks good.

That said, since we won't find out until Monday, we've been trying to figure out a fun way to announce the gender to our family and friends and we think we've come up with a decent plan. Here's the deal. We just posted a poll on our blog (look to the right of this post) --- vote for the gender you think Piglet will be and then Monday night, around 8:00 p.m., we'll make the big announcement on our blog. You'll need to check back on Monday to find out if you were right or not!

Cast your vote now. Good luck!

First Snow

Even though winter is still officially a month away, Seattle got its first taste yesterday with our first snowfall of the year. When we left the house for work, it was starting to snow but, at least in our area, it wasn't actually sticking.

The snow continued throughout the day and temperatures started to drop so many people at work left early. Even though I left at 4, my commute took double the time but that is nothing compared to poor Corey's commute, which clocked in at just under 4 hours! He ended up sitting on 520 before even reaching the water for over 2 hours. It wasn't so much the snow accumulation (most parts in Seattle / Ballard only saw up to an inch), but moreso the hills, traffic, ice, lack of 4WD / AWD vehicles and lack of experience many Seattle drivers have in the snow that caused the traffic mess. Ugh!

All that said, we both decided we'd be more productive and safer by working from home today, so we bundled up, got comfy on the couch and worked away. It worked out perfectly --- we both had multiple conference calls, but they were always at opposite times. And we were even able to sneak away in the middle of the day to pick up our 18-lb bird (we're hosting Thanksgiving at our place tomorrow). Even though we worked all day, Roxy seemed to love having us around, and by the evening it kind of felt like a Sunday since we were all together the whole day.

Bundle up and stay warm out there if you're headed out tomorrow!

My office for the day - dog, cozy blanket, laptop...I am ready to roll!

Baby Bump Photos Posted

Several of you have requested to see the photos Corey has been taking each week to track progress of my growing belly. This blog post if for those of you who have been asking (you know who you are) --- the wait is over.

A friendly warning --- most of the photos are not pretty. We usually don't remember to take the picture until late at night right before bed, when I'm in my sweats, my hair is up and my makeup has been washed off. But nonetheless, you can definitely see progress of Piglet's growth.

Most noticeable progress over the last 4 weeks.

And for those of you interested, I'll also try to keep the belly bump status photos updated on the right side of the blog so you can track progress each week moving forward.

In other Piglet news, we've started to feel little kicks occasionally, which has been very fun.

And this weekend, I dragged Corey around the U Village looking for new work pants since he told me I couldn't wear one of my few remaining pairs last week. (I haven't been able to button most pairs of pants, and when you don't button your pants, the zipper doesn't like to stay up, so my stomach was showing through the zipper area. To my credit, I was wearing a long tank top so you couldn't really tell.) We had success shopping and I did some major damage at the Gap (but with 40% off everything, how could I not??), but now I have a few pairs of maternity pants and cute tops to wear.

We only have 7 days left until we get to see Piglet again and we find out if it's a boy or girl...and we can't wait!

More later. Have a great short work week and a fabulous Thanksgiving!

New Recipe - #23

This weekend while we were in Yakima, I happened to flip through several of my mom's magazines and found some new recipes to try. I decided to tackle a few of the recipes tonight: Tortellini Amatriciana (from Redbook) and Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower (from Ladies' Home Journal). Both turned out really yummy and will be perfect for the upcoming winter months.

Jenny's rating: 3.5 stars

Corey's rating: 3.5 stars

Here are the recipes:

Tortellini Amatriciana

- 16-18 oz. package of tortellini

- Onion, chopped

- Garlic

- 4 oz. diced pancetta

- 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

- 28 oz. can tomatoes with juices

- Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, pancetta, and red pepper flakes. Saute 2 mins. Stir in tomatoes and kosher salt, to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 13 mins.

Meanwhile, heat a saucepan of water to boiling. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions; drain.

Mix sauce and tortellini together, tossing to coat. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower

- 1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled

- large head cauliflower

- Olive oil

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper

- 1/4 c. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (didn't have on hand, so we used basil)

- Pine nuts

- 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and pine nuts. Spread into a single layer and roast, stirring twice, until cauliflower is tender and garlic is lightly browned, 20-25 mins. Trasnfer to a large bowl and add olive oil, parsley and lemon juice. Sprinkle with additional salt, toss well and serve.

Baby Bump

After 17 weeks, it's finally here. It's been several weeks of my pants getting tighter and me feeling a bit bloated, and now people are starting to ask if I'm pregnant! Someone asked one of my co-workers earlier this week and then one of my co-workers (who I hadn't told yet) walked by me today, stopped abruptly and said, "You have a bump! Do you have something to tell me?!", so I think the bump is finally legit and I'm (hopefully) past the awkward beer belly-looking / looks like I just ate a huge lunch phase.

I'll let you be the judge, though.

Corey's been taking weekly "bump" photos and we'll get those posted soon to track weekly progress.

Happy Halloween!

Our little pup has spent the last few years as a lady bug on Halloween, but this year, my parents surprised her with a pumpkin costume! It's fitting, as I call her my little punkin', and of course, she looks adorable in it. (Never mind the fact that the hood is a bit big and may have covered her eyes the first time we tried it on her, which caused her to run into a few things.)

This afternoon afternoon, many of the shops in Ballard will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and in years past, there were tons of kids and doggies in costume, walking around in Ballard during this time. Joan is coming over and we're planning to take our pumpkin out to enjoy the crowds.

Whatever you are doing, have a safe and happy Halloween!