Monday, December 30, 2013

Baby-mooning in Asheville

We hit the road mid-morning the day after Christmas and set off for Asheville, North Carolina for a little baby-moon. Brownie was happy to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's for a few days so her parents could enjoy some QT and sleeping in (no licks first thing in the morning=winning).

Grove Park Inn entrance (not my picture)

We stayed at the lovely Grove Park Inn. A historic resort hotel on the western side of Sunset Mountain which is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Enjoying his and her cocktail and mocktail hour on the heated patio overlooking Blue Ridge Mtns

This year, the Grove Park Inn is celebrating 100 years so there was a lot to see and read in the hotel about its history including all the famous folks who have stayed there throughout the years (everyone from President Obama, Olympic figure skater Oksana Baiul, NFL star Calvin Hill and rapper Ja Rule).

Other notable guests at the Grove Park Inn include yours truly....

...and the hubs! 

The resort was gorgeous and totally decked out for the holidays with beautifully decorated Christmas trees everywhere.


The peacock tree was one of my favs

Hotel lobby had huge stone fireplaces on each end

I think the old people slept in those rockers because they were always full



Our time in Asheville was mostly a food and beer tour (food for the pregnant lady and beer for the hubs). We checked out a couple of the local breweries including Lexington Ave Brewery and Asheville Brewing Company and Raymond was able to sample beers from a number of other local places during out time in Asheville and was pretty happy with the offerings.

Enjoying a flight at LAB

We also indulged in a couples massage at the resorts renowned spa. Neither the hubs nor I had ever had a massage and it's safe to say we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I don't think it will be either of our last! The spa was amazing and we had access to all the spa pools, hot tubs, etc all day long so we spent a few hours after our massage relaxing in the water and came back later in the afternoon for more lounging. While I couldn't enjoy many of the pools because they were too hot for a pregnant lady, the hubs took one for the team and tested them all out. In case you were wondering, they all passed inspection in his book!

Stolen internet photo of one of the spa pools because no cameras allowed, obvi

Another stolen spa photo

The rest of our time in Asheville was spent exploring the cute town and all it's little shops and neighborhoods. It's definitely a laid back place which was nice in comparison to our usual NOVA (Northern Virginia) stomping grounds. We agreed it won't be our last time in Asheville! 



Friday, December 27, 2013

Baby Wotring - 27 Weeks!

Merry Christmas and happy 27 weeks, Baby Girl!



As we celebrated Christmas and 27 weeks, our little girl has been sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her little eyes, and maybe even sucking on her fingers.  She weighs almost two pounds and is roughly 14 1/2 inches long - about the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is)!


27 week/Christmas belly

I slept much better this week so hopefully last week was a little bit of a fluke and we still have a few weeks of good sleep left before things start getting uncomfortable. Not sure what I'm weighing this week since we were away from home but I enjoyed lots of goodies the last few days and I think Little Miss enjoyed them too :)

This week there is really nothing to complain about. I felt good, was happy, and had lots of energy! All four of us (including Baby and Brownie) were spoiled for Christmas by family and friends and we enjoyed giving some special gifts to our loved ones as well. At my in-laws on Christmas Eve we spent some time setting up a pack-n-play they received from a friend who's child has outgrown it. It was exciting to set-up and think that in just a few short months our little one will be visiting her grandparents at the lake!

Brownie giving her baby sister some love! 


Monday, December 23, 2013

"SANTA! I know him!"

First of all, I want to wish my SIL a happy 29th birthday!



We were lucky enough to have De and her fiance, Alec, stay with us this weekend and help celebrate her birthday on Saturday. It's been quite some time since the two of them have been to DC and done the touring thing so we spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon checking out the monuments and sights.  Of course, no day of touring would be complete without afternoon drinks on the roof of the W Hotel overlooking the White House and National Mall.

Impromptu dance party on the steps of the Lincoln Monument

Birthday girl enjoying a birthday beer with her man

Us and the Washington Monument

After an impromptu dance party with Santa, Buddy the Elf and some of their friends at the Lincoln Monument, we met up with Ray & De's cousin and his wife for an early dinner at PJ Clarke's before catching Elf the Musical at the Kennedy Center.  The hubs has been to PJ Clarke's before and recommended it for the evening and it did not disappoint. We were all very happy with our meals. The table shared some parmesan tater tots and braised beef spring rolls to start and for my entree I went with the Classic Cobb Salad -- what can I say, the baby still wants lots and lots of vegetables (and bacon).

While it didn't quite compare to the movie, Elf at the Kennedy Center was great and we all enjoyed the show!

Illegal photo inside theater

On Sunday, the four of us headed out to Haymarket to reunite with Evan and Lauren after saying goodnight to them less than twelve hours earlier for some gift exchanging and to get in some QT with the adorable Benjamin! I think it's safe to say Christmas is so much more fun when there are little ones and it was great to watch Ben with his new toys.

Gift-time for Ben

Auntie De helping Ben with his new toy

More new toys

I struggled through my one day work-week today but am excited for the next nine days off and spending Christmas with family at the lake!


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Baby Wotring - 26 Weeks!

I just about had a panic attack this week when I realized my second trimester is almost over and we are fast approaching the third and final trimester....EEEEEEK!


This week the little nugget measures about 14 inches long and weighs approximately 1 2/3 pounds -- about the size of a head of lettuce. Baby girl is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid which is essential in the development of her lungs. Her eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, have started to open this week too! Her brain is also more developed and sophisticated (just like momma), so if she spots a bright light or hears a loud noise I may begin to notice an increase in activity from her. Basically, she's trying to let me know she's in there and that she wants in on whatever fun is being had.

The bump at 26 weeks

As of this week, I think it's safe to say I can say adios to a good nights sleep. I've been waking up throughout the night and having a hard time getting comfortable. I think my restlessness is contagious because the hubs said he's had a few nights of poor sleep too. Guess it's good training for what we have to look forward to in 14 weeks when our little girl is here!

 BFF Randi loaned me this exact pillow but sadly I'm not sleeping as soundly as this lady

The bump definitely got bigger this week but somehow, despite all the holiday party leftovers in our fridge and pantry, my weight stayed the same since my last check-in. Maybe it has something to do with all the fruits and vegetables I was craving. It didn't seem like I could get enough spinach, brussels sprouts, fresh pineapple, veggies and dip, applesauce and strawberries. If you think I sound like I'm eating too healthy for a pregnant lady, don't worry. I had plenty of leftover chocolates and cookies this week to balance out all those fruits and veggies!

Biggest container of spinach I could find. Call me Popeye. 

Otherwise I'm still dominating, much to my husbands displeasure I'm sure, in the emotional pregnant lady contest. Just when I thought I was leveling out, I lose my ish over things like traffic preventing me from making it to my prenatal yoga class. Oh the joys of hormones. The good thing is, when I'm not crying, I'm so happy and excited about our little girl and feel amazing otherwise. No aches and pains, lots of energy and love feeling our little dancer inside me!

So thankful these two put up with me even on my bad days! 

Little Miss got a special gift all the way from India this week from a close friend of ours too.

Such an adorable dress -- I know our little girl will love it!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Weekend Rewind

Oh how I wish there was a rewind button for weekends! We had our big work holiday party on Thursday afternoon and the federal team placed second in trivia earning us each a $50 Visa gift card!!

#winning

With a win under my belt, I started my weekend a little early since I took Friday off to get ready to host our holiday gathering on Saturday night. I cleaned and cooked the day away and even snuck in a good workout before the husband arrived home from work. Brownie wasn't much of a helper and spent the day rotating from sunning herself to burrowing in our covers.

Her life is pretty ruff

"Mom, please don't bother me when I'm trying to get my beauty rest." -Brownie

After some additional prep on Saturday it was finally party time! We had tons of food (and even more leftovers so stop on by Casa de Wotring if you're hungry and in the neighborhood this week) including bacon wrapped dates, two kinds of pizza rolls, guacamole boats, crazy feta dip, veggies, fruit, chex mix, dark chocolate bark with pistachios and cranberries, crispy peanut butter truffles and more! 

Party snacks

We had a blast eating and drinking with our wonderful friends and were sad to miss some others who couldn't make it due to travel, sickness or work. There's always next year!



Pretty ladies and their lucky men! 


A late bedtime meant a tired puppy who let us sleep till 8:30am on Sunday which felt nice -- especially considering it was almost 2am by the time I shut the lights out. We ventured out in the late morning for some Christmas shopping before resuming our normal Sunday routine of football and laundry. A perfect pairing if you asked me!

Now time to get to wrapping so I can ship some gifts to Maine tomorrow for some special people!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Baby Wotring - 25 Weeks!

Welcome to the 25 week update!



This week, our little nugget is measuring about 13 1/2 inches long and weighs 1 1/2 pounds -- about the size of a cauliflower. She's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for a little baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more like a newborn. Our little girl is also growing more hair -- and if we could see it, we'd be able to discern its color and texture. I'm thinking she's going to be a brunette like her mama but there's always a chance she'll be a little ginger darling like her Grandma!

25 week belly

Little Miss was being playful at the doctor's last week and kicking up a storm when we were trying to find her heartbeat. After making her presence known, the doctor found her heartbeat -- it was 140 -- and said that's right in the middle of the range they like to see.  Aside from "a little jump" in my weight over Thanksgiving, the doctor said I'm measuring exactly where I should be and told me to keep doing what I'm doing.

Pregnant candy cane

I'll get screened for gestational diabetes at my next appointment -- 28 weeks for those of you keeping track -- so when we were going through my vitals the nurse gave me a choice between the orange and fruit punch sugar drink. I asked what people seem to prefer and she said orange. She described it as similar to Fanta orange soda with an extra cup of sugar in it. YOWZAH! Makes me really look forward to chugging it in another three weeks. I've heard some women complain about the GDM screening and even heard some get sick from all the sugar but I'm actually oddly looking forward to it. Gestational diabetes is part of my issue portfolio at work so it will be interesting to actually experience the screening which I talk about on Capitol Hill all the time.

Sugar drink for 28 week screening

I continued to feel good this week and think/hope some of the moodiness from the last several weeks seems to be subsiding. Little Miss is becoming more and more active and one of my favorite things is for me and the hubs to just sit and feel and see her move around. It's so crazy to see my stomach move when she gives a good kick! I'm sure when she gets a little bigger her break dancing and karate practice will start to become uncomfortable but at this point I absolutely love it.  I'm up another 1/2 pound from last week and have been craving applesauce and kalamata olives -- not together though!

Ornament from BFF Randi

Last weekend we were really productive with baby stuff but this weekend is reserved for hosting our annual holiday party which I'm really looking forward to! 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Nursery Progress

Painting is done! We spent a good chunk of our weekend painting the nursery while listening to the Mariah Carey Christmas station on Pandora. I have to say, it was a pretty enjoyable way to spend our weekend and the hubs and I both agree working on the nursery has made us even more excited to meet our little nugget. 

Painting like a pro

With painting complete, Ray felt motivated to tackle another project for baby girl -- assembling the crib! We went with the Olivia crib from Baby Mod and love it even more in person than we did online!

Brownie instructing her dad on crib construction

Testing it out for her baby sister

After some cleaning and organizing around the house, I got ready to meet some girlfriends in DC to check out our uber talented friend Preeti's winning design on display at the Corcoran Gallery. Preeti was part of a team participating in the International Interior Design Association's Cosmo Couture competition.  Cosmo Couture fosters a direct collaboration between local Architecture and Interior Design firms and their manufacturing partners in the Washington DC area, to create garments reflecting a given theme.  The garments are judged during a runway show and awards are given to design teams in different categories.  Out of twenty-six teams, Preeti and her team won Most Creative! 

Super talented friend and her team's winning design

On Sunday, we had plans to join our friends Evan and Taylor for the Redskins - Chiefs football game. If I had to describe this game in one word, it would be TORTURE! Not only did the Redskins play horribly, but it was 30 degrees with a steady mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. We were all freezing and decided to jet outta there at the end of the third quarter when the Chiefs went up 38-10. Despite the weather and bad football, we had a fun time with our friends and enjoyed some good laughs...mostly at the Redskins expense! 

Lots of empty seats at snowy & cold FedEx Field

Don't let the smiles fool you, we were freezing and sorta miserable

Another weekend gone in a flash!