Sweet Treats!

I decided to break out the cake decorating kit and tap into my creative side today for Jon's 19th birthday. It has been a while since I have made and decorated a real cake (I don't count the ones I throw together at the last minute). I am pretty satisfied by how the iPod cake came out. It makes me want to practice my decorating skills more (if only I would have paid attention to my mom making those thousands of cakes throughout my childhood.) This cake would have looked better had I have followed through with my original plan to cover it in marshmallow fondant (easy to make and tastes great!), but I got lazy and decided to just go with the buttercream.
Here is the final product (click to enlarge):

The icing and piping are all buttercream; the white screen and wheel are made of white chocolate that I poured into molds (i.e. tupperware lids), and the ear buds are made of Twizzlers and mini marshmallows)

26 down, 14 to go!

I can't believe that we have really made it this far! I am days away from entering my third trimester, and this whole thing still seems surreal. It is hard to believe that we will have a baby in this house in a mere three months!
We have started our weekly childbirth prep classes and will continue those until our final class on March 31st. (It is a twelve week class) We really like our teacher and hope to get to know the other five couples in the class.
Chris and I have been busy busy around the house. We will hopefully have some pictures to post of the changes in the next few weeks (including the baby's room!)
Here is a picture of the belly at 26 weeks: (sorry I always look crappy in these; we always remember to take them when I am either already in bed or just out of the shower)

Hello 2009!

Oh 2008! How I will miss you...we had some good times! Alas, a new year is upon us and promises to offer even more exciting things! Chris and I have been enjoying our holiday time together, and I am sad to see him go back to work on Monday, but hey, someone has to pay the bills around here.
We enjoyed being able to spend time with our families and also enjoyed the time we had to work on house projects. We welcomed the new year with a visit to our midwife on January 2nd. Everything is looking peachy; baby is moving around well, and I am measuring right on track. My weight gain is right on track now (12 pounds total) so that is good. It was nice to hear the little one's heart beating away with the doppler again!! Here are some more belly shots from the last few weeks. I am posting these more frequently because I am seriously growing bigger every single day!


On another note, Chris and I are celebrating our 4 year anniversary today (January 3rd). I can't believe that 4 years ago we walked into the Brazos county courthouse in Bryan, Texas wearing jeans and flip-flops and said "I Do!" in front of a Justice of the Peace and her secretary! (We didn't even have wedding bands to exchange!) It was more perfect than anything I could have imagined; we really needed nothing else to make us happy! This morning Chris surprised me with breakfast in bed complete with fresh flowers, homemade blueberry waffles, fresh strawberries, and a McDonald's iced coffee (my favorite secret indulgence...I only allow myself one every month or so)
Here is my beautiful spread:

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2009! Ciao :)