Fruits of the Garden

Did you know that my wonderful husband is also a superb gardener? How lucky am I to reap the fruits of his labor and feast on fresh herbs and vegetables! This year he planted tomatoes (roma,cherry, beefsteak), cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers, rhubarb, parsley, lemon balm, chives, rosemary, and 3 varieties of basil.

MARINARA SAUCE FROM THE GARDEN

Fresh ingredients are the key to great flavor

First, blanch the tomatoes by bringing to a boil. Remove tomatoes as the rise to the top.

Rinse in cold water. Remove skin and seeds.

Carmelize onions and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes

Add basil and cook a few hours until flavored and reduced. Add salt to taste

Enjoy!

Camping at Custer

Back in July when our youngin was 16 weeks old, it went on its first camping trip. We drove out to Custer State Park in South Dakota, which is THE hotspot of the Great Faces, Great Places state. The state park is located in the Black Hills national forest -near Mount Rushmore, Crazyhorse, and most importantly - Sturgis. We slept all 5 nights in a tent, had a great time with the Meyers and Kit West families, Chad went fly fishing, and we hiked the famed Harney Peak (the highest point in the US east of the Rocky Mountains).

Sunday Night Party

OK, it must be the football because Sunday nights are the babys weekly kick fest. Last night was even harder and more frequent than last week! Its fun and exciting because Chad can really feel the baby move now too.
This weekend I cleaned the attic and closets upstairs so I can start moving stuff up there in the transition from "office" to "baby room". I also made a pumkin pie to satisfy a little craving I was having :) Who says pumpkin pie is only for Thanksgiving?!

Week 25

Only 15 weeks to go! I can't believe its only 15 now. I do feel like I have been pregnant for a long time - not because I don't like it, I'm just so excited and waiting 9 months is a long time! I still feel great - being pregnant has not been a burden at all and I feel very blessed for that.
Reading about what the babe is doing in there is the cutest thing ever! Its hands are now fully developed, although some of the nerve connections to the hands have a long way to go. Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and clasp objects placed in palm. Exploring the structures inside your uterus may have become baby's prime entertainment. Fascinated by the amount of tactile stimulation a fetus gives itself; it touches a hand to the face, one hand to the other hand, clasps its feet, touches its foot to its leg, its hand to its umbilical cord.

Active weekend for all 3

Sorry I don't have a belly pic yet, but I do have a kicker! I don't know if it was all the football watching or all the delicious food I ate this weekend, but a certain someone has been kicking up a storm! The normal activity is usually around 10 pm, almost immediately after I lay down in bed. Saturday night the kicks were much stronger and I could actually distinctly feel 2 feet. Today Baby West has been up and about since 5 am! I love feeling this movement and watching my belly jerk around.
We had a WONDERFUL weekend with so many great people! Friday we had double date night on a budget with our friends Tammy and Kevin - proof that fun doesn't need to be expensive. We went out for pizza then saw a movie outdoors at the UofM - right next to my old dorm! Saturday we went to Eloise's 1st birthday. She was such a happy birthday girl and loved all the festivities - another gorgeous day with a great bunch of friends. Sunday we went to church and breakfast with Uncle Dan and Auntie Belle. I really enjoy spending one on one time with family because family events can get so big you don't really get to talk to people. I am so lucky to have the sweetest god parents! We watched a little football before heading of to Joel & Jessica's wedding at Lake Nokomis. It was a beautiful, intimate ceremony in the park followed by dinner and bowling at Elsie's. We are so happy that Joel & Jessica found each other - they make such a great couple!
It is almost 8:30am and the baby is still wiggling around in there! I better start baby-proofing the house because we've got an active one on our hands!

Status Update

If I was on facebook, or had a facebook, or a wall or whatever I would "update my status" to: My arm hurts. Then all the world would know that my arm hurts and we would have a great relationship. I wasn't sure what you call the part of facebook where you write a sentence about what you are currently doing so I tried to find it on wikipedia. I think its called a status update. I learned a few other randoms about the social media: it was started as a site to post pictures and rate and vote on who is "hotter", its banned in china - what if I have a friend in China? how will we ever be friends???, at first it was only available to ivy league schools. So you will not find me on facebook, but it is my goal for my child to have a page by the time he or she is 2 weeks old :)
Anywho, the reason my arm hurts is because I got a flu shot today. I never remember flu shots hurting this much, but delicate is not the word to describe the nurse who administered the shot. I had my monthly appointment which consisted of: waiting 40 minutes for the doctor, finding out my blood type is B+ (beee positive), hearing the hearbeat (still amazing), and the doctor asking if I had ever had an eating disorder (after I asked why I am not showing much for 6 months). No, I do not have never "held back" on food. I love food and love being pregnant and eat all the time and buy more than 1 tub of icecream at a time. I also went to the farmers market on nicollet mall today and got tons of produce for $15: honey, cilantro, onions, mangoes, grapes, strawberries, and squash.
24 weeks today! - I'll try to remember to take a belly pic when I get home.

Date Night

Unfortunately we have been slackers on date night. But of course we went out for our anniversary :) It is tradition to treat ourselves to a nice night out at whatever fancy restaurant we want for each year of marriage. Last year we went to Fogo de Chao. This year we chose the Alaska Eatery because we heard the crab legs were good and we usually don't splurge on crab legs. The crab legs were FANtastic! SO delicious! The atmosphere on the other hand was not the best. So to make up for that we made another stop at Cafe Lurcat (my favorite!) for dessert. Chad got to select a scotch from their long list and I ordered the most AMAZING pineapple almond cake to share. It was a gorgeous summer night so we were able to sit out on the patio - it was perfect, I couldn't have asked for more. It was a lovely evening with my honey:) So lovely I overslept this morning!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 2nd anniversary to my wonderful husband! I found the best when I picked you out of that crowd and have enjoyed 9 great years with you, 2 of them as your wife :)

I posted a lot of pictures of our wedding day because I never want to forget how special it was. Tonight we are going to celebrate our anniversary by going out for crab legs at the Alaska Eatery

Baby's First....

FOOTBALL GAME!

We snuck our little bug into the first Gopher football game at the new TCF Stadium on campus. He/She was a part of history as one of the fans at the sold out game. It was a beautiful night and the excitement and energy gave me goosebumps! It was unbelievable to see the beautiful outdoor staduim filled with Maroon & Gold and MN fans filling the space that was an old parking lot when Chad and I were in college. Being from WI, football is not football unless it is outdoors so I didn't enjoy the Gopher games at the Metrodome when I was in college. We have supported the outdoor stadium movement from day one, watched as the Big Ten stadium was built, signed up for the season ticket waiting list and got tickets! We were so excited for the season to start!The game started with the Air Force F-16 flyover which was amazing seeing the planes come from the downtown skyline. The UofM football legendary history was honored with honorary captains which was really emotional - these men were so proud and happy to have a proper football field on campus again. And to top it off the Gophers even won! It was great to be back on campus, the nostalgic place where Chad and I met almost exactly 9 years ago. And this time with our first child going to its first of many football games :)

...BLESSING!

Our family got a special blessing on church on Sunday from Canon Richard who married us. Our little miracle is lucky to have lots of prayers to be a healthy baby :)

...And, better late then never.... 24 week belly pic

my funny Valentine

Valentine in her sexy underwear

A new addition!!!!

Hello,

I'm Chad West, Katy's hubby. As many of our loyal readers know, I was in Budapest, Hungary over the weekend. I drank and ate fine Hungarian food and hung out with close friends. When I got back home I felt a little funny in the morning. I turned to Katy and said "grab the tester!"

Katy grabbed one from the dwindling stash and in a building frenzy I took the tester out of its packaging. I read the instructions and started the test. I was so excited that I could barely keep my hands dry! The result: POSITIVE!

I had almost given up hope to never think it would happen. I was just on perfect cycle of beer, meat, and other unhealthy behavior that it finally worked. I wasn't even really trying that hard. It goes to show that good things come to those who wait.

I plan on telling my office tomorrow and thus instituting paternity leave there. 5 weeks off should be sufficient. I know I'll have my hands full!

So, yes, I already have all the details. I will have an underground birth. I expect to have about 1 to 1 and a half doctors in the room, but never at the same time. The lighting will be sans florescent with a peace candle lit a safe distance away, cared by a peace candle peacekeeper. I will also have another highly specialized person in the room who will solve many problems. The position I will take during delivery will be the All-Limb Method. This method was inspired by natural animals and basically means that I'll be on all fours. I just have to be sure that my face doesn't get too red for the photographer.

Well, there are just too many forward-thinking considerations and too little time to write them all down right now. Make no mistake though: I will tell you all of them and have a reason for all of them. The point, really, is that I'm pregnant. And you, my friend, have permission to touch my belly.

Love,

Chad (& the little one!)