Pregnancy 18 weeks!

This is the start of week 18 for Baby Supan #2. I cannot believe I'm almost 20 weeks pregnant and I have an 11 month old. ;) BUT, God has been so good to us and this pregnancy has been fairly easy compared to my first.

So far:

• No weight gain yet, though I am showing. I think I'll be able to wear normal jeans for a few more weeks.
• No morning sickness the entire 1st trimester (or 2nd)- what a blessing!
• My exhaustion has eased up and I can feel my energy coming back.
• I've been doing a prenatal Pilates DVD and I seriously look forward to it every day!
• We find out in a few weeks whether Cassidy will have a baby brother or a baby sister. I'm DYING to know this time. I seriously don't know how people wait to find out!
• I have had no food aversions or cravings this time either, so that's been nice.
• I am drinking half-caf coffee every morning but I'm still well below my allotted pregnant caffeine intake.
• Acid reflux has already started - this didn't start until well past week 30 with Cassidy so that makes me nervous! Mexican food may be off until July.

So we're just cruising along waiting for our big ultrasound to make sure this little one is healthy and perfect. Chad and I are both pretty open about our desire for a boy just because one of each would be nice. But we also see lots of benefits to another girl, like hand-me-downs, similar interests so they can play together, etc. Ultimately we hope for a healthy, strong baby!

Little Gym = Happy Girl

This past Tuesday I took Cassidy to the nearby Little Gym. They offer a free class as an introduction before you decide to sign up. Cassidy's friends Jackson (Lindsey) and Grant (Lori) came too! I cannot tell you how much she LOVED it! Most of the babies were pretty clingy to their mommies at first, which is normal. Ahem...except my child. She was off and running, leaving the circle and ready to explore!

(that's Jackson in the background doing his thing)

I'm pretty torn over this place. It's only about 5 minutes from my house, and I know she would love it so much. But you can only attend one class per week, you have to sign up for the whole semester, and it's pricey! I would gladly pay $25 per class to even go once a month, but they just don't allow that. :( If any of you have done this or Gymboree with your kiddos and have a great argument for how it's totally worth the money, let me hear it! I'm also not sure I can keep up with her the more pregnant I become - it's a workout for mommy too.

In the meantime, Lindsey and I are hitting up our local Gymboree next week for their free intro class. :)

What Cassie Beth's Been Up Too

Last Friday she found her diaper bag and thought she hit the jackpot! Mommy thought it was great - 20 minutes keeping her busy - I'm in!

She climbs on everything now, and loves her dresser. She was trying to put her ball in the drawer.

Since it's finally February, we wore our Valentine's dress today. Here she is loving on Pink Bear (how's that for a creative name?).

And coming to get the camera!

I'm not sure what to call this one. Maybe "Lady Like"? It cracked me up! Check out those thighs!! At what age is that no longer cute? ;-)

Gonna Party Like it's 2010!

I found Cassidy an adorable birthday dress back in October at the church's craft show. I just had to have the perfect bow to go with it, so I ordered a custom one from a girl on ebay. Her samples were super-cute. I sent her pictures of the dress and told her what I wanted. I did mention this was for her 1st birthday. Well, this is what we got:

Now don't get me wrong, she did a great job. It matches perfectly. But FOR REAL, do people seriously put bows on their kids that are bigger than their heads?! Yes, they do. I've seen the blogs. I'm just not that girl. And I'm a bow girl! Just not a ginormous-big-as-your-head bow girl. I have another one that will look cute, and I definitely plan to have this monster on her for her party - who needs a princess crown when you've got this thing?!

And in case anyone is interested, here are the plates I got - it's a butterfly theme, although I'm not emphasizing butterflies beyond the plates and napkins. My mom is having an incredible cake made and the lady is supposed to try to incorporate this somehow so we'll see how it goes!

6 teeth means time for Chicken Spinach Lasagna!

The title was really just my way of trying to tie two topics together.

First topic, teeth/molars: Holy cow! Nobody tells you about this part. My poor, sweet almost-11 month old is getting both her bottom molars, PLUS she's getting all 4 "fang" teeth (top and bottom). 6 teeth at once. Her little nose doesn't stop running and she's so obviously miserable! I just want it done and over. But I am excited she's getting more teeth since she's had the same 8 teeth since she was 6 months old. Yep, that's right, my not-quite-1-year-old is about to have 14 teeth. Crazy.

Second topic: Chicken Spinach Lasagna! This blog is mostly baby pictures, but occasionally I like to share things with y'all that I think are exceptional, like the Chicco Walker, Cassidy's bath tub ring, etc. Well this recipe is exceptional! I also made it last weekend when our vegetarian neighbors came over for dinner (C&R!) and just made half of it with artichoke hearts instead of chicken. So if you or your friends are vegetarians, just substitute the chicken for artichoke hearts and it's still pretty spectacular (I may have even liked their side better!).

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (or 1 rotisserie chicken)
• 7 ready-to-bake lasagna noodles (or pre-boil regular lasagna noodles)
• 1 package of fresh spinach leaves
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (can use reduced fat)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 (26 ounce) jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from saucepan, and shred. (or buy one rotisserie chicken and shred - much easier!)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dissolve the bouillon cube in hot water. In a large bowl, mix the shredded chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

3. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with the chicken mixture (just use your hands - it's easier), layer spinach leaves on top of chicken mixture, and top with 3 lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. (I usually have some gaps so I break apart one noodle to fill in spaces as needed)

4. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Enjoy!