Fancy Dinner

Last night Adam decided to spoil me and make a very fancy dinner. He got a duck from the local farmers market and spent the afternoon looking for the best recipe. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical, because he has cooked me wild duck several times, and although edible, it was nothing close to five star. This duck was fabulous and the meal ranked up there as one of the best I've ever eaten. Good job babe!

Also on the menu, fresh asparagus with romano cheese and quinoa with portabella mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

My addiction

Prior to getting pregnant, clothes shopping was my absolute weakness. When I first got pregnant, suddenly I wasn't interested in the cutest new pair of jeans or the great Frye boots that just came out. Adam celebrated, thinking perhaps that finally I had turned a new leaf and we would be able to put that extra cash to good use. Poor Adam—come to find out, I just switched obsessions. Now, I am constantly on the hunt for the coolest baby book, cutest little hat, and the most adorable outfit. Here are a few of my most recent impulse purchases—seriously, how could I say no? Etsy, you will be the death of me.

Baby Classes

We've recently started attending all of our baby classes at Carle Hospital. So far, Adam has taken the daddy class, we both took Care of a Newborn, we've started the Childbirth Preparation course, and just two nights ago, we took the Infant CPR course.

I had NO IDEA that giving a baby cpr could be so hard. I felt like I was going to break the little dolls chest and my fingers all at the same time. Needless to say, Adam did it effortlessly, so I guess he will be in charge of all emergencies with Miss Madison.

He was super annoyed that I was taking pictures, but he looked so cute practicing CPR that I just had to document it. :) He'll appreciate it one of these days.

Thanksgiving

I did a horrible job of documenting Thanksgiving this year. I had the best of intentions and realized the next day that I didn't get my camera out once. So, these are actually from the day after, and yes, we cooked another turkey. We had traditional roasted turkey on Thanksgiving and then Adam got to try out his deep fryer on Friday. The funny thing is, that is actually a 14 lb bird and it looks like a chicken sitting next to Adam :). 

My 32 week baby bump :)

Doby and Bella just wanted their pictures on the blog :)

31 Week Ultrasound

These pictures don't do justice to how cool our ultrasound was today. We got to see her suck her thumb, practice talking (ok, she was just moving her mouth a lot, but we imagined she was talking), and practice swishing her hair back and forth (that's right, the sonographer said she has a full head of hair, you could even see it flowing around in there!!) Ultrasounds have been one of the coolest experiences of pregnancy. I need one of these machines at home.

HOW International Design Award

I know this isn't baby or family related, but I'm sooooo excited about it I can hardly contain myself. My dad and I found out yesterday that we are being honored with an outstanding achievement award from the HOW International Design Competition for the catalog we created for Krannert Art Museum. We'll get a full page in their March 2011 issue which will include slides of the piece and an interview with us. Eeeeek, so cool. Pinch me!

More cuteness

 She's still in the womb and she is already a fashionista shopoholic :).

 Grandma Omie made these for us before she passed away. What a treasure.

 Thanks for the boots, Grandma Kate. A girl can never have too many pairs of shoes ;)

 She's got her Nebraska Volleyball warm-up outfit ready already. (thanks Aunt Pam!)

 Illinois is her back-up school since they are ranked #8 in the nation right now :)

 I found this elephant at an antique store. I had to buy it. 

Bella taking the bouncy chair for a test drive.

Family visit in Nebraska

We only manage to get out there a couple of times a year, but when we do, it's always a blast. This visit was jam-packed—a baby shower for Baby Ahlers, Mataya's baptism, Makinly's birthday party, and Adam's first duck hunt on the family farm—all in three days! I don't know how (I'm pregnant and forgetful), but I completely forgot to take any pictures of the shower. It was wonderful and we were thankful that we got to visit with so many family members, especially since we won't be able to get back there for Christmas this year. I did get some nice pics from the hunt, Miss Makinly's party and from Mataya's baptism...

Decorating her room

I've been busy collecting things that I love to decorate her room with—almost to the point of obsession. Baby stuff is soooooo cute, I can't help myself. We've already purchased the bedding, crib, poster, and curtain material, but I am still deciding on which vinyl cling to get for the wall and how I can hang the bird cages (Adam thinks they are ridiculous, but I think they are ridiculously cute :)). We compromised on those, because what I actually wanted was a chandelier! My mom turned the fabric into some beautiful curtains, but I don't have any pictures that do them justice. We've painted the room a light greyish pink with white trim. Mom also found an amazing frame for the poster that Joe and I are going to flock over Christmas break—adorable.