9 months of Joshua

Since our Joshua could really arrive any day now, I thought I would do a picture timeline of the last 9 months. And I'm completely stealing this idea from my sister-in-law, Steph, who had her own little babe last month! Amazing to see how he has grown and so much fun to re-live the pregnancy through these pictures (except for the ones when I was sick!) We absolutely cannot wait to meet this precious boy! WARNING: LOTS of pictures in this post!


December 2012: Weeks 4 - 9 (We're Pregnant!)

The BEST Christmas gift EVER!

Shocked!

Telling the news to Daddy

Traveling to Charlotte at 8 weeks for Christmas (sick sick sick)

January 2013: Weeks 10 - 13 (finally the end of morning sickness!)

Our announcement that Baby Brown was on the way!

February 2013: Weeks 14 - 17 (Hello 2nd trimester!)

16 weeks along and getting a belly!

March 2013: Weeks 17-22 (Gender reveal and halfway mark!)

Halfway there!

April 2013: Weeks 23-26 (6 months and officially in maternity clothes!)

May 2013: Weeks 27 - 31 (Hello 3rd trimester!)

28 weeks at the beach!

29 weeks!

This is when we started wearing daddy's t-shirts!

June 2013: Weeks 32 - 36 (3D ultrasound, Maternity Pics and Baby Shower!)

32 weeks!

Hello Joshua!

33 weeks

34 Weeks - Maternity Pictures!

One of our personal favorites from the shoot :)

Week 35 - nearing the end!

36 weeks and large!

Baby shower!

 July 2013 : Weeks 37 - 40 (Joshua's birth month!)

Week 37 - 4th of July

38 weeks and trying to walk the boy out!

Week 39 - more walking! 

And Josh is officially done cooking! Won't be long now!

Our sweet Joshua Holt,

Mommy and Daddy cannot WAIT to meet you! This little person that we so earnestly and desperately prayed for and hoped for. You are going to be SO loved by so many people! We look forward to the years ahead with you. We know that you are not ours, but ultimately belong to the Lord and our desire for you is that you would know Him, trust Him, and love Him with all your heart. God is so faithful to bless us with you - our little miracle! Despite our best efforts, we as your parents will fail you many times. We will get angry, frustrated, make poor decisions and sin against you daily. But, the Lord YOUR God will never fail you son. Our hope and prayer for you is that even now as you are still being formed in Mommy, that your heart would be drawn to the Creator that placed you there. That you would be a strong warrior for the Lord's purpose and kingdom, and that you would not swerve from the hope that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we waited for you and prayed for you, the Lord led us to this verse, which has become "Joshua's verse" to Mommy: 

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23 

I pray your life speaks the truth of this verse. He who promised is faithful. I pray that you would know this to be true. That you will know His love for you, which far surpasses the love of your parents. I pray that your life will reflect the meaning of your name: "God saves." I love the simplicity of this. God saves. No one else. Nothing else. Only God saves. Oh how we pray for your salvation! 

Mommy and Daddy are so eager to meet you little man! We are trusting the Lord's timing that He has picked the perfect day for you to join our family. We can't wait!

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Zucchini Banana Muffins

Still no baby. So I'm still baking! The other day I thought I would try out zucchini bread and it turned out pretty yummy! I decided to make these as muffins to make them last longer (or at least theoretically last longer) but you could make this as one loaf also. They aren't super sweet and I liked that the recipe didn't call for refined sugar and only uses one kind of GF flour. Slap some schmear on these babies in the morning for a delicious breakfast, or serve warm with butter and a cup of tea (for me these days it's raspberry leaf tea all day long). The next time you have zucchini on hand whip up a batch of these and enjoy any time of day!


What you need (adapted from inspired-housewife.com) 
(Makes 1 loaf or 18 muffins)

- 2 C sorghum flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 C melted butter
- 1/2 C honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 C grated zucchini






Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Line your muffin pan or grease your loaf pan and set aside

- In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir well (flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt)

- In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients except for the zucchini (bananas, eggs, butter, honey and vanilla) and stir well (I used an electric mixer to break up the banana)

- In 1/4 C increments, add the dry mix to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Be careful not to over-mix or your bread will turn out tough

- Gently fold in the grated zucchini and stir

- Pour batter into loaf pan or evenly separate into muffin tin.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (loaf) or 18-20 minutes (muffins)

- Serve and enjoy!

Peach & Nectarine Cobbler

What do you do when you are 39 weeks pregnant in the dead heat of summer and your doctor lovingly tells you there's nothing you can do to encourage your unborn child to make his appearance?

Drown your frustration and grumpiness in brown sugar coated peaches and nectarines. With vanilla ice cream on top. That's very important.

Since I'm at the end of this pregnancy and all I can really think about is getting this child out of me, I'm trying to distract myself with different activities each day. I've never attempted a gluten free fruit cobbler before and since I had a bowl full of organic peaches and nectarines I figured it was a good activity for this pregnant lady to try out. Plus, I got to pig out on the results afterwards. Score!

This turned out wonderfully! The husband and I each had a bowl before dinner and I had another for breakfast the next day. I'm sure you could easily substitute other fruits depending on what is in season.

What you need (forgot to take a picture - sorry!)

Filling:
- 4 C sliced peaches/nectarines (I had both so I used both)
- 1/2 C cold water
- 1/3 C unpacked light brown sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1 T unsalted butter

Topping:
- 1 C all-purpose GF flour (I used my usual blend found here)
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 C milk (I used almond)
- 4 T (1/2 stick) softened butter
- Cinnamon & Sugar for garnishing


Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder.

- Add the milk and butter and beat with a mixer until smooth

- Over medium heat in a large saucepan, combine the filling ingredients and cook until bubbly (5-10 minutes)

This will smell AMAZING!

- When the filling is bubbling, pour into an ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking dish

- Spoon the topping over the filling. This didn't work out too well for me so I ended up kinda swirling it in and it came out just fine.

- Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on top if desired

- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown

- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (or whipped cream would be good too!)

Mmmm so good!

Enjoy! I'm gonna go try and have a baby now!

38 Weeks

Well here we are only a short 2 weeks (now a week and a half) away from our Joshua's due date! For the most part, this pregnancy has really flown by and I can't believe we are at the end! Of course those first few weeks were rough being so sick, and I'm now feeling anxious and uncomfortable but the months in between were wonderful! We are so eager to meet our little boy and finally hold him in our arms!

This past week went really well. Jon and I went out on a date (which was wonderful!), all of Joshua's things are set and ready, and I started walking every day to try and get him out!

We also had a sonogram the other day to check his size and measurements! It was so fun getting to see him again! Our doctor said everything looks perfect and he's measuring at 38 weeks and 4 days. We probably have a bit of a chubby boy on our hands! He weighed in between 7.4-8.4 lbs but it's still anyone's guess at this point. We got to see his cute little cheeks, nose, lips, hands and feet and checked to make sure all of his organs are there (they are!)

Mommy is gradually making progress and our doctor said we are going to push for delivery next week (!) I go back on Monday to see where I'm at and then we will make a final decision. I can't believe he might be here by this time next week! Until we know for sure, Jon and I are going to enjoy these final few days as a family of 2.

Here are some pictures from our week!

Out with my man for a fabulous date night! 

Getting ready to go walk!

How far along: 38 weeks + 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: + 28 lbs (holy moly!! But I didn't gain any weight this week in between appointments so hopefully I'm done!)
Maternity clothes: I'm really wearing whatever fits at this point! Some maternity clothes and also gym shorts and Jon's tshirts :)
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Sleep is hit or miss. It's very uncomfortable to roll from side to side now and I'm up at least twice. I am able to take a 1-2 hour nap during the day though and am definitely enjoying those while they last!
Best moment this week: Date with my hubby and seeing our boy!
Miss anything: Comfortable sleep and normal sized feet (although they are better this week)
Movement: He is still moving a lot! I definitely feel movement lower but he still digs his feet into my ribs a lot!
Food cravings: The other night in the grocery store when we walked by the popsicles I immediately wanted one. Other than that I'm just enjoying food :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn sometimes and a couple of nights of bad cramping/contractions.
Have you started to show yet: Ooooooh yes! I look like I'm going to pop any day now!
Gender: Baby Boy!
Labor Signs: I'm feeling occasional contractions and getting cramps every day. 
Symptoms: Heartburn, swollen feet/ankles
Belly button in or out: Out
Wedding rings on or off: Had to take my rings off :( My fingers are just swollen enough to wear my rings are uncomfortable and tight.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! Although I'm definitely getting anxious and excited!
Looking forward to: Our final days as a family of 2 and (hopefully) celebrating Josh's birthday next week!

Black Bean Soup

You all know I am a huge lover of soup. There really is no designated "soup weather" for me, I can eat it and love it anytime of year. The other day I had a serious craving for black bean soup and since it was a "healthy" craving I decided to oblige.

I'm going to have a serious wake up call when I'm no longer pregnant and still have these "cravings."

Anyway, the husband is not the biggest fan of black beans. He usually prefers pinto beans if given the choice but because he's the best husband ever and knows not to argue with a pregnant lady by now, he happily ate this (and said he enjoyed it and would want it again!)

I served this over yellow rice (another craving) so it became a bit thick. You don't have to serve it this way if you want it "soupier." Hope you all enjoy it!


What you need

- 2 cans black beans, undrained
- 2 C chicken broth
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- yellow rice (optional)







Directions

- In a large pot, heat 1 T oil (I used my trusty coconut oil) over medium heat

- Add the onion, pepper and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes

- While the vegetables are cooking, add one can of black beans and the chicken broth to a blender

- Puree for a few seconds. You don't want it completely smooth

- Add the pureed beans and the other can of beans to your vegetables

- Add in the spices and cornstarch and bring to a boil for 2 minutes

- Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. If you want it to be a bit spicy you can add some crushed red pepper flakes.

- Serve over yellow or white rice and top with sour cream. Yum!

This is a great and filling meatless meal and the leftovers are great too!