Don't Forget About Val

Val watching out for us

My bed mate when Brian was on a trip

Keeping baby Kenney warm and trying to get me to stop working

Soaking up the rays

Ever since I found out I was pregnant I have been having these emotions (that bring me to tears) about how Val will feel when the baby arrives. It may seem ridiculous to some of you, but Val has been our first baby for over 5 years and has become the love of our lives. I remember when we arrived at the house with the litter and picked Val out of the bunch. I got to hold her and fell immediately in love with her the moment she entered my arms.

Sure she left her mark by chewing up many pieces of furniture and carpets - but of those pieces we kept, we live by my grandfather's words that it only adds character and memories. She has gone with us everywhere - family visits, vacations, and we are not embarrassed to admit that she shares the bed with all three of us (Brian, me, and baby boy to be). We made it through one surgery for her, have cried our eyes out for fear of losing her to a disease, and now pray the Prayer of St. Francis every night with her. We know what she loves, what makes her happy, what scares her, and what makes her sad. And when you look in her eyes, you know there is this perfect little being that just gives back love to you. She is a beautiful dog both inside and out.

I know I will fall instantly in love with this new baby and that is part of the reason I feel this way. I just want to make sure Val feels just as loved amidst all the attention of the new baby. I know there is a lot of love to give, but I'm kind of in awe at how mothers are able to bring another baby in this world after their first based on how I feel.

So if you come over to see the baby - please don't forget about Val. Give her lots of love too.

And The Winner Is...

Brian and I have been calling our baby to be, "Brayden" since we saw the name (we opted to change the spelling to 'en' instead of 'on'). Not sure what it is about the name that caught our attention, but if he can hear us in there, he knows there is someone around us with that name and may be looking around for him if he doesn't hear it when he comes into this world.

But just because we have loved the name Brayden from the start, we are still contemplating the name Matthew. It is a strong, traditional, masculine name.

So the winner will be decided the day he is born - after we get a good look at him. It will either be Brayden Matthew or Matthew Brayden. Or you never know - it could be something totally different. We thank you for voting.

Homework

One of the principles in our company is to learn new things and teach others - so we are always trying to make ourselves smarter while making our customers smarter in the process. We are a small group - only 9 of us. While we were unsure why, we were each asked about something we wanted to learn more about. I had chosen cooking/baking - others chose everything from US history, psychology, business, and Renaissance art. The president of our company bought us each a book on that topic and we were asked to read about it and come to the next meeting with an overview of what we learned so we could all learn something as well.

I chose to learn more about making puff pastries. It seemed a daunting task due to the technique and time it took to make it (hours), but the journey was enjoyable. I started by talking to Jimmy - who walked me through the entire process and encouraged me to give it a try. I watched youtube videos, and studied the recipes. While the ingredients were pretty simple, it was the process of making it that was so fun and interesting. The first picture is the dough with 1 lbs of pliable butter in between (yep, 1 lb of butter). The second picture is the folding process to create the multiple layers of butter and dough that turn your pastry into a flaky masterpiece. The trick is keeping the butter cold, so you have to keep putting it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes (which is why it takes so long). After stuffing it with sweet treats, I eagerly waited to see how they would turn out. The last picture is the final output. They were delicious and everyone at work loved them. So much fun and I look forward to the next brunch I attend so I can make some more.

Our First

We got our first gift from the registry from my parents - our stroller for all the long walks we plan to do. Brian and I decided to put it together this afternoon so we can stay ahead of the many more contraptions we will have to read directions for and put together. We made it through this one with no damaged egos or bruises until we got to one of the final steps - snapping the bottom basket thingy on. Probably the easiest step left us perplexed. I reread the 3 sentence paragraph 10 times, Brian another few times, and we studied the bottom of the stroller. We debated not attaching it, but after about 30 minutes on that one step, we finally figured it out. Very exciting.

Birthday Celebration

The Kenney crew joined us this weekend to celebrate my 32nd. Brian recommended and I obviously agreed that for dinner Bob and Mary bring out these amazing hoagies they introduced us to. My mom also made me a delicious cake. It was a lot of fun - inhaling hoagies, visiting, and playing with the kids.

Belly Time

Brian recently told me that he is going to get in the best shape of his life before the baby comes since he doesn't think he will be able to make it to the gym when he's here. So as I sleep in on the weekends while my belly continues to grow, Brian wakes up early to pump iron and slim off all the fat he can. He looks great as always. As you can see, he can barely make a belly.

Christmas Eve Raviolis in March

My mom knew how jealous Brian and I were that we missed out on the Christmas Eve feast of homemade raviolis (my Nonnie's recipe) and fried shrimp, so she froze some for the next time we were together. Those special raviolis traveled all across Pennsylvania and luckily for us, ended up in my belly. Brian and I were very happy we got to join in part of the feast - even if it was a few months later.

Best Birthday Present EVER

My parents decided to come in for my birthday this year and it was the best birthday present ever. I haven't seen my parents since October when we were all vacationing in Stone Harbor - before I even knew I was pregnant. So seeing my big belly is a big "welcoming" change for them since they are very excited to meet a new grandson in June. We enjoyed a birthday dinner at the Chestnut Hill Grill and finished the evening playing Wii bowling, where my mom ended up the big winner.

Bigler Brunch

While Jessie is my good friend from home, we also continued our life-long friendship at PSU where we roomed together for our first year. We lived in East Halls and met an amazing friend in our Bigler dorm who continued to be our friend post college. Laurie lives very close to Brian and me and while she is a busy mom with two little ones, she had a Food Network worthy brunch for all of us before Jessie and Craig headed out on the road home. Pictured above - Jessie, Me, Laurie and the boys - Chad, Brian, and Craig.

Jessie & Craig Visit

My best friend from home (Jessie) and her husband (Craig) came in to visit us last weekend. We hadn't seen them since July - which is just way too long. We spent the majority of our time eating and visiting which was a perfect agenda for catching up. Devon and Tim came over for dinner and games.

Brian planned to grill since it was finally nice out, but after flaming up the grill for the first time of the season, the flames took over and burned the front of the grill off after he walked away. So we cooked burgers inside - which ended up delicious.

Big Mama

I am currently 26 weeks pregnant and this is what big mama looks like. I will upload more at a later date, but wanted to share this now since some of my Pittsburgh family have been requesting. I wanted to put it in writing that Brian has said I look beautiful and pretty pregnant - says it more now than ever before. While that is a bonus, don't let the smile fool you - I still hate being pregnant, but I do feel much better!