First year anniversary weekend

Yesterday was mine and Todd's first year anniversary!

I have to admit, sadly, with our first baby on the way neither of us had really thought too much about our anniversary.  We've been pretty consumed with baby prep and not so much how we would celebrate.  

In fact, the trip we took to Denver this weekend was initially set up to do some baby shopping.  Then we put two and two together and realized it was also our anniversary weekend, so we modified our trip to fit in some couple time.  Kinda sad, I know!

We had dinner at a fabulous restaurant in Cherry Creek, Denver called North.  It serves modern Italian cuisine that is just de-lish!  We both had the salmon filet with faro and it...was...perfect!  I'm salivating now just thinking about it.  

Afterwards, we went out for a drink.  Well, Todd had a drink.  I had a club soda and lime...

The next day we got down to bid-ness with baby shopping.  Denver was pretty much a bust.  We didn't find a single thing we needed there.  Ft. Collins, Colo., however, was a total win!  We found everything we were looking for there!

We also attended a "diapering class" for cloth diapers, which is something we're considering.  I'll chat more about this in the future, but to ease your minds - we are not doing it the old school way with folded material, pins and a plastic shell.  Those are still out there...but cloth diapering has come a long way since then and we're considering a different route.  But - more on that later!  Here's a pic of the instructor demonstrating some of the diapers...

The one big item we've had trouble figuring out is a nursery chair.  While Casper has many furniture stores to choose from, none of them have anything I would use for a nursery chair.  A big, fatty, Lazy-Boy recliner is not my ideal baby chair, though Todd would be thrilled with that!  

So, we've been looking for something that a) looks nice, b) is super comfortable, c) Todd fits in, and d) is that magical low price.   

Not surprisingly, this doesn't exist.

Several friends have chosen the Dutailier brand chair; one that, I have to say, doesn't meet my aesthetic or price point requirements.  But everyone has said these chairs are super comfortable and one girlfriend, whose husband is even taller than Todd, said it is perfect for them.  

The only place we could find that had them on the floor for trying out was BabiesRUs.  I have never been in this store before.  Honestly, I don't even remember shopping in a ToysRUs either.  I must have been pretty young if I did and it wasn't a place we ever went shopping as kids.  So, this was a new experience!  

I didn't take full advantage of my maternity status, but thought this was a nice touch for moms-to-be who can't or don't want to hike from the nether regions of a parking lot into the store...

We tried the various brands of chairs out and decided the Dutailier is indeed the most comfortable. And...we decided for the money we are probably getting a better, (hopefully) longer lasting product than the "knock-off" versions they had sitting nearby.  Todd fit in the chair, which glides and reclines - something I know he really wanted in a chair.  It's not exactly pretty or cute, but at this stage in the game, I don't care so much.  I just want it bought and in the room.  I want to be comfortable in it.  Check and check.

We didn't walk out with one, but instead decided to see if we could find it cheaper online.  Todd did!  By a couple hundred dollars, no less!  It's not the color combo we wanted (dark cloth to hide our black labs' hair and light wood to match the rest of the furniture in the nursery), but again - I've ceased to care.  Let's just get the darn chair at the better price and be done with it!

The chair and footstool will look basically like this, only with dark brown cushions...

So, that major purchase is off the list!

Next...we DESPERATELY needed extra storage for Little Kittel's room.  It is currently in such disarray you can't even walk through it.  That's because we have no place to put half the stuff we have for her!

I've been looking and looking for a cool vintage piece, but haven't had any luck finding something.  Leave it to Ft. Collins and their Antique Row to help us get the job done!

We saw several pieces for a decent price and finally narrowed it down to this...

It's a 1920s pie safe.  It's been refurbished some, but was in pretty darn good shape.  I'm very happy with it and can't wait to get it in the baby room!

We got home that night with just enough time to warm up our wedding pie and have our one-year anniversary bite.  We used the forks Linds C. got for us to eat with at our reception...

The rhubarb pie that served as our "wedding cake..."

Happy first anniversary!

A whirlwind anniversary to celebrate a whirlwind year!

Fall fun - with two recipes

For the first time, as I understand anyway, Casper had a corn maze outside of town!

It's a great story...this farming family is involved in FFA (Future Farmers of America for those who may not know) and they decided to create a corn maze, not just for the community's enjoyment, but to raise funds for the local FFA Alumni chapter as well as the Natrona County ARC.

I have been dying to go!  Look how cool it is - designed with Wyoming's bucking horse and rider!

The Snyder family and I went last weekend (Todd went hunting) and we had a great time!  It wasn't fancy, just good ol' fashioned fall fun with a pumpkin patch, corn pit, farm animal petting barn and hayride.  Oh, and caramel apples which were quite tasty!

On our way in...

An idea of what we were getting ourselves into...

 The Snyder fam...

Samuel, their oldest boy, leading us through...

Hmmm...a fork in the road...

My twin in the corn maze...

The maze was not at all as scary as you would think from the picture above where it was green and HUGE looking.  It took us 36 minutes to make it through.

On our way to the petting barn...

I think some of these were baby turkeys.  Saved from Thanksgiving tables this year!

These chickens crack me up with their Tina Turner "hair"...

Hog heaven...

This little piggy was too cute.  Look at those ears! And that pink snout...

And we're pretty sure this rabbit thought it was a cat.  He was huge!  And so soft.  And he just let all the kids pet on him.  If he could purr I'm sure he would...

Green Acres corn maze is a lot of fun.  I think they've got one last weekend open - so get out there!

Ok, want a couple fall recipes?

I made these pumpkin cranberry muffins yesterday and are they good!  The candied pecans you could technically have any time of the year, but they seem especially fall-ish for salads.  Yum!

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
(Recipe says it makes 12, but I got about 20 out of it.)

These are awesome right out of the oven with a teeny bit of butter smeared on them.

2 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. allspice
1/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
3/4 c. canned unflavored pumpkin
2 c. chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen) I used fresh and gave them a whirl in my

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Beat oil, egg and pumpkin together until well blended.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture all at once.  Stir until moistened.

Fold in chopped cranberries.

Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups.  Bake 15-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Candied Pecans
These are SO easy to make and SO super tasty!

1 c. pecans (I prefer pecan halves, but you could use chopped)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Bring all ingredients to a low boil in a small saucepan.

Add nuts and simmer 2 minutes.  Stirring until well coated.

Line a cookie sheet with a bit of foil and spritz with cooking spray.

Pour nuts onto sheet, drizzling with any remaining sauce from saucepan.

Bake about 10 minutes or until toasted.

Remove from oven and let cool.  The glaze will harden around the nuts.

Toss in a salad with sliced pear or apple and some blue cheese or goat cheese!

DELISH!

33 weeks and counting

Little Kittel's due date is Dec. 9.  That still sounds far away, doesn't it?  We haven't even had Halloween or Thanksgiving yet, so Dec. 9 is forever away, right?  

Not really.  We are at week 33, which means if Little Kittel comes right on schedule we only have SEVEN weeks to go!

SEVEN.

There is a big mix of excitement and gravity in this realization.  

Certainly we are excited.  We've wondered what she will look like (we're betting on blue eyes after her mama and daddy), and how she will behave. What will she sound like?  I think about how good of a daddy Todd will be and how sweet he'll look holding her.  I imagine all the fun family things we'll do together and the girl things just she and I will do.  

Then there's a reality check where I know having a baby won't be all smiles and sweet coos.  When I think of all the responsibility and all the things we don't know I start to feel overwhelmed.  

How do we know what we're doing?  How tired will we truly be?  What is breastfeeding really like and how do you do it?  How do we know what she's crying about?  Is she too hot?  Too cold?  How do we know if something's wrong - like if she isn't feeling well?  What do we do about it? 

Now, I've got a lot of experience babysitting kids of all ages, which I think has helped me feel comfortable around children, but I'm guessing no matter how many babysitting hours I've logged I'm not truly prepared for having my own kid.  

Most upsetting to me lately is that for everything I imagine our life to soon be, I feel like that's what it is: imaginary.  

Me having a baby seems very, very surreal.  No matter how many baby clothes I wash and fold, or how many times I go through all the gear we've now got, I sometimes can not get my head around it even as I'm about to cross the finish line.  It's not that I didn't want a baby because I did - very badly, in fact.  But going from that desire to start a family to actually starting one is a big reality pill to swallow.  

I've worried that this surreal feeling is keeping me from connecting with Little Kittel like I should.  However, several girlfriends have told me the feeling is normal and I've got nothing to worry about.  They would look at their baby after it was born and wonder when its real mom was coming to pick him or her up!  

These seven weeks (if she doesn't come early) are filled with holidays and events and are going to go quickly, I know.  Before we know it she'll be here!  

I can't believe it.  

Best dressed

If there is one thing we won't have to worry about - ever - in Littel Kittel's first year it's clothing.

We have piles for every three month interval!

Here's a quick peek at the baby room and how much work is left to be done...

Another look...

Yet another...

0-3 months, 6-9 months, and 9 months...

There's 3-6 months on the chair...

There's 6 months, newborn, and 12-18 months...

Here's a whole pile not separated or folded yet...

And there's a bit more in the dryer that has yet to come upstairs!

Every stitch was given to us too.  We haven't bought a single thing!  Can you believe that?  There are so many adorable pieces too.  Todd loves the Carhart and pink "real tree" onesies and bib we received.

We've got outfits, onesies, shoes, snowsuits, University of Wyoming gear...you name it, I'm pretty sure we've got it.

Little Kittel will be the best dressed girl in town!  

Baby transportation

Our stroller and car seat...I mean travel system...arrived last night!

I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival.  I put so much thought into this choice that I couldn't wait for it to show up.  

Would we love it?  We better.  Would Todd love it?  He better!  Would it be comfortable for both of us to use?  We're both tall, Todd being very tall, would the handles be a good height for him?  Is it relatively lightweight?  I didn't want to heft a massive stroller in and out of the car.

Turns out we do both love it!  It will fit both of our heights due to the adjustable parent handle; and while I wouldn't want to pack it on my back and hike Everest...the weight is just fine.  

Personally, I love the modern, streamlined look of the neutral colors - a simple black and gray.  I like that we can get our money's worth out of it with a second baby sometime down the road.  It's not pink, it's not blue, it's neutral - and not yellow or green neutral.  I also like that it doesn't have a design on it like so many do.  No circles, dots, stripes, animals...just sleek.  

Todd pulling it out of the box last night...

And becoming a little frustrated as he put the stroller together.  It was kind of like doing the lights for our Christmas tree.  It puts him in a bad mood and kind of takes the excitement off the event at hand!

But it was relatively easy, and it got done.  And afterwards he was pretty happy with the choice.  And I am too!  Here I am with my 31 week belly giving the stroller a whirl...!

We just need a second car seat base for Todd's truck and we'll be all set to take Little Kittel everywhere we go!