12 Weeks

12 Weeks!

Baby is the size of a clementine

I have a bump, it may be half food bump, half baby bump. But it's always there. The doctor said I'd show sooner since I'm so little and there's not much room for things to go and I had a completely flat stomach before. I'm not complaining...even though I may look like I've just eating to many donuts :) 

(these are from my iPhone and I plan on using a better camera soon!)

How far along? 12 weeks!
Total weight gain: Before I got pregnant I weighed 105. At my last appointment I weighed 102..so three pounds due to sickness. I'm sure I've gained that back. I'll find out this week.
Maternity clothes? Not yet, I just prefer more comfortable clothes. 
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Sleep is okay, but I wake up a few times to pee, or I'm starving. 
Best moment of this week: Not sure, I've been battling a cold all week. But I will say having a stuffy nose while pregnant is awesome because you don't smell everything! 
Miss anything? My energy, and not being so grossed out by food.
Movement: Not yet, but I can't wait to feel little movements!
Food cravings: I prefer sweeter foods, and fruit.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Any kind of meat, veggies, potatoes, if you mention avocado I will gag, my straightener, I can't straighten my hair anymore because the smell is just awful.
Gender: Not sure!
Labor signs: No way!
Symptoms: The morning sickness(well all-day sickness) I just can't get rid of a gagging feeling I have. And if I start to get hungry, I feel sick. It's a real struggle to beat the nausea clock while figuring out what to eat. Fatigued is still pretty bad, but I think it's slowly improving.
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Overall happy, but I do have my moments when I'm emotional. Or when I don't feel good.
Looking forward to: My doctor appointment this week! I can't wait to see my baby! And the second trimester. 

Thoughts About Pregnancy (4-12 weeks)

During the first two months when we were keeping this a secret. I was filled with so many thoughts, so I figured I would write about it. And maybe post later on. I'm seriously so glad I did this because even a month ago, is already a big blur to me. This is one post I wrote during the first month that I wanted to share. 

So this post is about my current/past thoughts about pregnancy  Most likely as I type this I'll probably feel emotional because I can't control my emotions right now. But pregnancy to me is very emotional journey. You are filled with excitement, joy, happiness, worried, fears, and anxious ALL at once. Hormones play a big role but I feel like just knowing you will have a baby in about 9 months is a lot to take in. 

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I was shocked. Followed by happiness and excitement. Then the fears and worries set in. Which I think is completely normal. My entire life I have always wanted to be a mom. Seeing my older brothers have their own children always reminded me that one day I would have my own. My first neice was born when I was only 5 years old, but the first moment I held her I just loved babies. With each niece and nephew that came along throughout the years my love for children only grew. Everyone in my family knew how much I wanted my own, so now that my turn has finally come. I just feel beyond blessed. Everyday, multiple times a day I pray for this baby and I know God has his protective hand over me and my baby. When my fears set in, I just pray. Because when it comes down to it, I just have to trust God.

I'm still early on, and with dealing with days that I don't feel well I just pray for better days and focus on the day where I finally have a little bundle of joy in my arms.

My husband is my biggest supporter. I take all of my fears to him and he always knows what to say to help calm me down. He will even get me what I ask that I want to eat, without asking..or judging. I just know he's going to be such an amazing father. And seeing the excitement on his face when we talk about the baby is just heart melting. 

 I wrote weekly posts for weeks 4-11, but I have decided I'm not going to make them public. Only because they are more for me to reference back to when we decide to have a second baby(which will be years from now, so please don't ask!) And also, I really didn't experience to much early on. Except for being pretty sick and exhausted. I know pregnancy isn't a glamourous thing, and I defiantly haven't had it easy. But reading week after week that I have only been sick and tired isn't to fun. So I'll spare you those details and I will have weekly updates starting with 12 weeks. 

Stay tuned for my first weekly pregnancy document...and maybe a little baby bump! 

How we told our parents

As soon as we found out we were expecting, we kept it to ourselves..for a day and a half...

Of course I was super early and anything can happen. But I really felt that having our close friends and family know would be nice to have their support no matter what. 

Before our parents found, My sister-in-law, and two best friends all came over the Tuesday after we found out to catch up and have girl time. I wasn't planning on telling them but...they found out because 1. Jenna just blurted out and asked if I had gotten my period and 2. I can't lie to them! So Becca (sister) burst into tears which made me cry. And then Sierra who came over a little later just knew I was. The next day we made it a point to tell our parents.

How we told our parents: 

We told our both parents within the same evening.  It helps that we live about 5 minutes from each! I wrote a letter to them, from baby: 

Of course they are all excited and happy! 

 Everyone that found out early on, already showed their love and support for this little one. Which was just an amazing feeling

<3

How I found out I was pregnant & How I told my Husband

This post may defiantly be more for the ladies since I highly doubt guys want to hear about monthly lady things. You're welcome :) 

Trying to think back two and half months ago is hard because they have been a blur. I think it's my brains way of trying to forget how I felt. 

It was a Sunday towards the end of January. I can't remember the exact date. The week before I wasn't really feeling the greatest, but I didn't think anything of it since my period was coming and I typically get all of the pms symptoms. Once my period was a couple days late I still didn't think much of it because I was sick(or so I though) with some stomach thing the week earlier. Usually if I get sick it delays it. But there were a few signs that I got that I NEVER get with my period. Usually my boobs are just sore. But this time they hurt so bad and felt like they were on fire. Also, I didn't mention any of this to Caleb not because I didn't want him to know. But I just didn't want to be one of those people who thinks every little thing meant that I was pregnant. 

So that weekend, I took a THREE hour nap...I have never been that tired in my life(apparently my body thought that was funny because now I'm even MORE tired) and I had no appetite. I did really want pizza and that Sunday my parents were having pizza at their house so I was pretty excited. Well I felt extremely sick after eating it...which rarely happens these days since I have a good control over my stomach. All Sunday I decided that I was just going to test because it was driving me crazy and if I wasn't pregnant then my body needed to really calm down. So that evening I drove to the store, picked up a test and planned to take it the next morning. But on my way home I got a pretty bad stomach cramp, so I just prayed. I can't remember what I prayed but I know I did. And as soon as I got home I ran inside to take the test...there was no way I was waiting til the morning. Caleb was on his way home from work at this time and I wanted to take it before he got home. Well as soon as I set that thing on the counter, two bright lines showed up. I was defiantly shocked...freaking out...half crying..half wanting to throw up. I only took one, I know some people take a lot but one was all the proof I needed. 

Once Caleb got home, I said nothing but to go up into our bathroom. So he did and he looked all around until he spotted the test on the sink. He was defiantly shocked but came over to me and smiled and hugged me. Of course then I started crying a lot. I wanted to tell him in a cute way..but with this being our first, there's no way I could keep that from him. So maybe our second I'll do a cute way. 

Up next, how we told our parents!

Big News!!!!!!!

 We are setting the timer to welcome a little bundle of joy this Fall!!!

I have been keeping this a secret since January! Well if you follow me on Pinterest...my pins were pretty obvious ;) 

Well not to family and close friends of course. We told them the week we found out. Even though I was super early, I wanted them to know because I know we would have their support. 

Ever since I started my blog years ago, I always knew one day I would want to document my pregnancy. I would spend WAY to much time reading other pregnancy blogs. But it's a way to look back and remember things that you might forget. So I'm not going to turn my entire blog into pregnancy...but I will be posting updates and things I find a long the way. 

Once I found out I was pregnant. I started writing drafts on here and just saving them. Just so I would remember everything I was experiencing. I was pretty sick and that's something I'm sure I won't forget. I've been pretty quiet on social media because I couldn't be on my computer or phone for more than a few minutes without feeling really sick. Now that I'm reaching my second trimester I've had days where I feel better and I cherish them! Because I know the next day might not be so good. 

So stay tuned because more updates will be coming!!! 

Cheers! 

Pillsbury Gluten Free Funfetti Cake & Cupcake Mix Review

I finally got to try Pillsbury's gluten free cake mix. And I'm super thrilled they made funfetti! i can't remember the last time I had funfetti cake. 

I made cupcakes using the mix. And I followed the recipe according the box. 

They turned out AMAZING!

Seriously, they are so light and fluffy. And totally can't tell they are gluten free. They actually taste like REAL cupcakes. 

The only thing about the mix is it isn't dairy free. It does contain whey. So if you're super sensitive to dairy just be careful.

The texture is not grainy, rubbery, or crumbly. It's perfect. 

So good job to Pillsbury for making this mix and I can't wait to try the others! 

Cheers! 

Spring Fever Funfetti Cupcakes

Happy first day of Spring!!!! 

and it's snowing here...Mother Nature, you sure are funny. 

But I'm ignoring the snow because I certainly have spring fever and that's all I care about. To celebrate spring I made cupcakes that sure are colorful and make you "think Spring" so you can forget about snow! 

While shopping at the store this past week I noticed something new. Pillsbury had gluten free mixes out! Of course I had to try one. And funfetti caught my eye. 

Read my review here.

Of course I just followed the recipe and ingredients on the back of the box. And it was super easy! So I defiantly recommend following their recipe to make the cupcakes. 

They turned out so light and fluffy! I have to say...they are probably my favorite quick mix for making cupcakes and cake now. 

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

1 Cup Crisco Shortening
1 1 lb Bag Confectioners Sugar
Water
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Beat the shortening for 1 minute. Then add 1 cup of the sugar and beat. Add water and rest of sugar until consistency becomes light and fluffy. Then add vanilla. 

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a sincere love for chocolate chip cookies. But I'm so picky, they have to be soft. I hate hard crunchy cookies. Making gluten free cookies soft is a challenge. Until now. I discovered Betty Crocker's Gluten Free All Purpose Rice Flour Blend. It's amazing! From pancakes to cookies to biscuits. You can use it in so many different ways. I've tried Betty Crocker's gluten free cookie mix and it does make good cookies, but it doesn't make a lot. The baking mix made about two dozen cookies and they are medium sized. 

I was craving cookies today, and my amazing husband took it upon himself to make me cookies. Seriously, he's so sweet. Just like his cookies! The recipe is from off of the box. And it can be found on Betty Crocker's website.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2 1/2 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Rice Flour Blend

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Butter(I use Earth Balance) 

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

1 Cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Directions

• Heat oven to 375°F. 
• In large bowl, beat sugars, butter and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy.
• 
  
  In medium bowl, stir rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
• 
  
  On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. 
• Bake 7-9 minutes. Until cookies are just golden brown. Center should be soft. Let cool then transfer to cooling rack.