Busy times preparing for Sprout!

There has been quite a bit going on around the F-S homestead these days.  A week or two ago, my dad came over and painted the nursery walls with a gray color we had picked out.  I know gray sounds a little sombre for a nursery, but we are using it as a neutral backdrop for a mural and lots of colorful furnishings so it won't be sad at all.  Plus, the gray was called "porpoise" and really, what could be sad about a dolphin?  (Well, except for that whole tuna fishing issue, but that's neither here nor there...).  Speaking of the mural, my mom came over yesterday and spent the whole day (and night!) painting it!  It came out beautifully but I think I'll wait to post pics until the nursery is cleared out of crap and all the baby stuff is moved in (I'm a tease, I know... ;)).

Meanwhile, we had an amazing baby shower on November 10th.  Many family and friends came and gathered at my parent's house for great food, drink and company.  On the car ride over, Andy and I were remarking to each other how truly incredible it was to be going to OUR baby shower after spending so much time thinking we would never get here.  It was a day we will never forget!  Many thanks to my parents and sisters-in-law for planning such a wonderful day for us!  Unfortunately, I currently don't have any pictures of the shower so I can't post any...  If any one has any, please pass them on!  We have been floored by the generosity of all of our friends and family!  Particularly incredible were these handmade gifts that I can't stop pulling out to admire and pet:

AMAZING sweaters by Jen (left) and her mom (right)!  I can't get over these!!!  Are these not the best looking sweaters ever?!  LOVE!

The most beautiful nursing shawl I've ever seen, also by Jen's mom!  I have to admit to having worn this a couple times already (not to nurse, obviously :)).  So in love with this!

Not one, but TWO amazingly detailed hats by Andrea!  That girl can KNIT and I can't wait to put these beauties on Sprouty!  Totally in love with these as well!  Below a beautiful heart drawn by Oliver that will be prominently displayed in the nursery!  Thanks to Oli for more gorgeous artwork!

We have so loved all of the gifts, handmade and bought and just can't get over everyone's generosity, so thanks so much to all! (Proper "thank you" cards are on the top of my "to do" list, so hopefully those will be forthcoming in the near future...).

I've also finally been working on my baby quilt and I'm getting to the point where it's actually looking like it might actually be done by the time Sprout comes!  I think this will be another post in the not-so-distant future... (that "to do" list keeps getting longer and longer!).

We haven't been getting many photos of me lately, but I made Andy take some yesterday!  Here are a couple to show what 31 weeks pregnant is looking like these days :).  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I'm a big dork... err... baby :). Halloween!

We didn't have any big plans for Halloween this year.  No parties, no gatherings, no nothing.  But, I've dreamed of being pregnant on Halloween and wearing some creative costume so I decided to go ahead and get dressed up anyways.  Unfortunately, I was on a budget of maybe $10 and seriously lacked in forethought so I had to go with what I had on hand.  Then it came to me: I would be Sprout for Halloween!  Babies sometimes have that little belly, so I thought that could work.  We had the black curly wig from a past last-minute Halloween costume, and since I was born with a very full head of hair I figured that fit.  Then I have these beautiful footsie pajamas that Andy LOVES (um... not so much) but they fit the bill as well.  I have baby toys lying around so I added one of those.  I purchased a pacifier (figured we may use it anyways) and tied it to my zipper with some string and there I was- a big baby!  

 

Gotta show off the side view... :)

Hot, right? :)  Then I thought I would make a nice Halloween dinner.  In another "make it work" moment, I looked around and saw that I had a chicken, onions and celery in the fridge, some rolls sitting on the counter and some fresh sage and thyme on-hand so I got ambitious and made homemade stuffing and roast chicken (yes, we have a decent amount of roast chicken around here :)).  I cut up the rolls and toasted them in the oven.  I sauteed some finely chopped onion and celery and mixed it all together with fresh chopped sage, thyme, chicken broth and melted butter. 

 Then I stuffed the bird's orifices, seasoned her up with some paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper and olive oil, sat her on a bed of sliced onion and lemon, and let that puppy roast away!

I made an onion gravy from the drippings (not pictured) and I have to admit that the results were rather tasty.  Not a bad Halloween meal!

So, that was our Halloween.  We got disappointingly few trick-or-treaters while the house across the street got TONS- what's that about?  When I was that age, crossing the street wasn't that big a hassle... ;)  Just when we figured that the upside was that we'd have plenty of candy left for ourselves, a group of kids, teenagers and their parents came to the door at 9:30pm and all of them (adults included) took the rest of our candy from a dumbfounded Andy.  He returned to me on the couch clutching a completely empty candy bowl.  Sad. 

Hope you all had a great Halloween!  Since there haven't been enough pics of our beloved Zuzu Puppykins lately, we will end with a look at our sweet first born: