Growing!

Denver must be growing, because I am!

This picture was taken almost a week ago. D and I could tell that I was growing (some) but it seemed like the day before Easter, I woke up and it kind of had happened overnight.

It's exciting because I actually feel more like a pregnant woman now! It is uncomfortable after I eat - I feel like everything is squished and I get short of breath, but I'm enjoying it!

Wordless Wednesday

20 Weeks

I'm 20 weeks (or 5 months pregnant today). Right at the halfway point. For the most part, this pregnancy really has gone by pretty quickly. I hope the 2nd half does as well. I'm ready to meet my little man!

This week:

We're halfway through the pregnancy, and the Denver sleeps as much as a newborn baby.

His testicles have begun their descent from the abdomen to their ultimate destination — the scrotum. And while he is definitely getting bigger (weighing in at about ten ounces and measuring six and a half inches), there's still plenty of growing room in there, which allows him to twist and turn (and allows you to feel his acrobatics!).

Denver's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill his first diaper after birth.

Making Progress

Last week, I went into Denver's room (which is pretty much used for crafting and storage right now), and started to dive into some stuff and try to start getting organized. We've had some stuff put up for awhile and then we've bought some stuff in the last 5 months (a little at a time) so I wanted to get rid of all the shopping bags and hang stuff up to see where we are with things.

This is where we are at right now.

A few of these have been given to us, but more than anything - D and I just got excited and starting buying! We have both agreed to stop, because other people are still buying! And we've been told by a couple of people that they have lots of stuff to pass down to us (we adore hand me downs by the way).

Then, I started putting up some of the books that we've bought for him.

I can't find all of them, but I think he's off to a pretty good start. We get his furniture over Mother's Day (a gift from my family), and I can't wait to put it together and get it set up. We're making progress - slowly, but surely!

Happy Easter!

From The Fountains!

Miss You!

4 years ago today my Dad passed away. It's been really hard to think about (and I've been thinking about him a lot lately). I so wish that he were here to see Denver and watch him grow. I know that he would be excited about another grandson. He just adored my nephew Matthew, during the short time that he got to spend with him.

Gosh, how I miss that man!

I know that he is smiling down on us and it watching out for us. I just hate that my children will never know him the way that I do.

My thoughts are with him today, and anyone who has ever lost a parent. For those of you that haven't - don't take them for granted. Spend as much time with them as you can! It will go by faster than you think!

Good Friday

I saw this on Facebook this morning:

Today we recognize the day that Jesus was crucified and died on a cross to save humanity from ultimate death because of sin. What makes it a Good Friday is that the story doesn't end there.

Easter Blessings!

Nursery Decor

I feel like we've been waiting forever to find out what we're having. We've talked about various themes and decor ideas - I didn't think it would be so hard to pick!

We've finally decided that we're going to try to do something a little "different" so we've decided to go with baby forest animals.

Last week, when we couldn't tell anyone else but were excited about (finally) knowing that we're having a little boy, I started buying a few things for his nursery.

My favorite, so far:

I found this boutique through Kelly's Korner. She ordered something similar for her new little girl's nursery and I just loved it!

We prayed for this baby for so long, I am so grateful for this miracle and that God is allowing us to experience this, and to be parents. I can't wait to meet my sweet boy!

Even though we're having a boy and there is not nearly enough cute stuff to chose from, he already has a good bit of clothes and I know that there are a lot more on the way, so I bought these:

Aren't these adorable? I had her change them up a little and I did 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 12, 18 and 24 months. Mainly because I have already bought a couple of 24 month things and I wanted to make sure I could separate those out.

I can't wait to start getting things in and (somewhat) start figuring things out and putting things up.

Wordless Wednesday

My sweet nephew getting ready to see the Easter Bunny!

19 Weeks

I'm 19 weeks pregnant today! I have my 5 month check up next week. Can you believe it? The last time we had a Dr's appointment (a little over two weeks ago) everything was looking good. Denver's heartbeat was 147 and the Dr. was very pleased with the way that he is growing and the way that I'm doing.

Things have been pretty good with me other than my anxiety is back. I'm sleeping ok, but not great. I'm getting up a LOT during the night. Sometimes 7-8 times a night! Our mattress is firm and killing my back so I talked D into putting our air mattress on top of our regular mattress and I have to tell you - every time I walk in our room or get in bed, I just laugh. It's so ghetto, but so much more comfortable! Since he works nights and I work days, we are rarely in bed together at the same time, but we do get to sleep together Sunday nights (our favorite night of the week). We talk and cuddle and watch movies like we used to when we were on the same schedule. Sunday is when he put the air mattress on and I kid you not we laughed for a good 30 minutes. We were both afraid that we would fall off the bed, its so high now!

Anyhow, I know this munchkin is growing because he is the size of a mango now!

Here's what's up with him this week:

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells now coat his skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. You might actually see the vernix at birth, especially if he comes early. The placenta is continuing to grow and nourish him!

What Will Baby Bee?

Baby Fountain's Gender Reveal Party was Saturday. I was pleased with how it turned out and I think everyone enjoyed it. It is definitely a day that D and I will always remember!

The drink table

Goodies for the kiddos

I made an ice ring out of lemon slices and lemonade (so it wouldn't get watered down when it melted), to keep the lemonade cold.

The party favors!

And up close!

The label said

"How sweet of you to buzz on by

Baby Fountain's Gender Reveal

April 16, 2011"

The Food Table

These are the Pesto Cheese Puff Pastries I posted the recipe for on Friday.

I had little bowls of Hershey Kisses on the table, with little stickers I had made from a lady on Etsy.

What will Baby Fountain Bee?

The Dessert Table

Cupcakes!

My sweet friends helped me and put on all of these cupcake wrappers I bought on Etsy!

My mother-in-law made this diaper cake for us!

After everyone ate, we went outside to take a few pictures and bust the pinata!

Some people thought Baby Fountain was a girl!

And some people thought Baby Fountain was a boy!

And some people couldn't decide!

The Bee Pinata!

Sweet little Kyle taking a turn.

Somehow, I missed pictures of Kennedy and Kadence taking a turn.

Our nephew, Matthew taking a turn. He's a t-ball player, so we let him use a real bat! :)

D taking a turn - and busting it. He hit it pretty hard, that's why you can't see it in the picture!

And the reveal! We're having a baby boy!

Summer Clothes

I found this little outfit online the other day at The Children's Place and couldn't pass it up. Denver will be 9 months old before he can wear it, but isn't it adorable? Plus, it was on sale!

Then, I stopped by Old Navy and found these little sandals. Aren't they adorable? I can just picture the little chubby baby feet in them! I think I'm going to get them for him. :)

I do have to say as the mother of a little boy - I am disappointed in the selections out there (or lack there of rather), so I will constantly be on the look out for cute things. If you find any - send them my way!

It's a...

Much to everyone's (at least D's and my) surprise we are expecting a precious little boy!

We couldn't be more excited and have FINALLY chosen a name (for sure, no changes). Denver Ray Fountain

Pesto Cheese Puff Pastries

I got this recipe about a year and a half ago when I was selling Pampered Chef. Every time I have ever made this - they have been a HUGE hit. Everyone loves them. I always get asked for the recipe and there are never any left - the plate is clean every time I make them!

I'm getting ready for the Gender Reveal Party tomorrow (woo hoo) and am getting my recipes and shopping list together and this one was a no brainer. Since I was thinking about it, I'd thought I would share it with all of you.

Remember: This is not a personal recipe it is from Pampered Chef.

Ingredients:

• 1 box frozen Puff Pastries (in frozen section, by pre-made pie crusts)
• 2 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tbsp prepared Basil Pesto (buy the kind in the square looking jar, it's usually on the very top shelf by the spaghetti sauce - it's way better than the other kinds (sorry, don't know brand but I think it has a red and gold label)
• 2 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Now, because I'm not trying to sell you anything - I'm going to tell you how I do it instead of how they tell you to make these.
3. You need the pastry to thaw out, just a little. Enough that the dough is pliable without tearing.
4. Put down some parchment paper and flour it just a tad. Put a little flour on your fingers while you un-fold the pastry dough.
5. With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough.
6. Now, I buy the tub of sour cream and then just take a spreader of some sort and spread cream cheese over the entire dough.
7. Then I spoon out some of the pre-made pesto and smooth it out over all of the cream cheese.
8. Then, I take the deli ham and lay it flatly over the pesto. I over lap some pieces so that you can't see pesto through the ham.
9. Then, I take the tub of grated Parmesan (that you can find in the deli, not the kind in the green can), and sprinkle that (liberally) over all of the ham.
10. Then, I roll it up (and use the parchment paper to cover it up, and then I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so. You don't have to do this, but it makes it a lot easier to cut without all the goop running out PLUS when you cut it into slices - the slices actually look like the picture, and they are pretty.
11. Then, I put them on a baking stone or baking sheet and bake them for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown.
12. I go ahead and make up both sheets of puff pastry like this, because everyone loves them!

Enjoy!

Bumble Bee Pinata

We finally decided that we wanted to announce the gender of Baby Fountain with a pinata. Easy enough, right? Wrong!

We went to Party City, Card & Party Factory, Fiesta, and searched a million places online. I finally found a pinata and ordered it last weekend. I wanted to make sure that it would be here in time, so I paid for 2 day shipping.

Then, for 2 days, I obsessively checked online and it said that my order was "processing". I called the store and they told me that their website was a bit out of date, but the item was backordered and they didn't know when it would be in stock again.

So, frantically I searched for another one without much luck. I finally decided that I either had to make one (I can't believe that this was even a plan), or come up with Plan Bee.

Thankfully, when I called a dear friend to complain about the situation, she suggested another party store that I hadn't even thought of. I found a bee pinata on their website, and called the store to make sure they had them in stock.

They told me they had about 4 in stock but that I couldn't purchase one over the phone or have one held for me (lovely, huh). So, she was getting off work early for the day so she offered to drive all the way down to the store (which isn't close) and pick it up for me, so that by the end of the work day - I would know if I needed another plan or not.

What great friends I have!

Guess what she got...

Yep! I am now in possession of a (kind of ugly) bee pinata and I think I'm the happiest momma-to-be ever! I can't wait to fill this thing and see the reactions of everyone when it busts open and literally throws our baby's gender in their faces! What a great party it will be!