I feel like all I've done on this blog is talking about our little Chip in the oven! Oh, wait. That's because it's true. And it's not stopping anytime soon. However, we actually do fun things other than sit around and dream about our baby. (But we still do that most of the time.)

Ruthie and Hank continue to keep us on our toes. That's a nice way of saying that they're driving me up the wall.

We celebrated Alysa's 27th birthday on January 10! After dinner at Rosebud we headed to Dark Horse Tavern for a few drinks. (They still didn't know I was pregnant. Sneaky, sneaky.)

I headed up to Asheville for Maria's bachelorette party on MLK weekend. I told Natalie and Anna that I was pregnant, and we hid in a closet the whole first night discussing it. (Seriously. This is a picture someone took when they opened the closet and found us.) I think it will forever be one of my favorite memories.

The bride!

My babes.

I coordinated and attended a Publix Cooking Class with Ford Fry. Tex-Mex…so good.

I hung out with my Jude! I hadn't seen him in way too long, and he is just getting cuter and cuter! He even showed off and rolled over for me. And also fell asleep sitting up in my lap.

Alysa asked me to be a bridesmaid in her May 2016 wedding. I'm so honored! And could this be any cuter? People are so creative these days.

I also told these gals that I'm PREGNANT! I got to Alysa's first and told her/asked her if it was ok for me to tell the other girls. After all, it was her party and I certainly didn't want to take any attention off of her!

Adam made a weekly development calendar of Chip. It's one of the cutest labors of love I've seen.

We went baby browsing at Restoration Hardware with Nonna and Papison. They were really into this crib. (I was not.)

We also stopped by Babies'R'Us and mom could not leave empty-handed. Since there are no neutral clothes options (seriously, there aren't) - we received our first box of diapers!

Adam and I attended Team Hidi 3.0 on Sunday, Jan 25. It's the annual benefit for The Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit I love love LOVE! Google it, peeps.

K. Back to Chip.

Celebrating four years

Adam and I celebrated four years of marriage on January 15. Four years. That's real, people. Or as Adam said, "We're really established!" I'm not going to go on and on about how much I love him and how marriage is the hardest/most rewarding job, etc, etc. I think me carrying his child proves that enough, right? Right.

Here's to the most amazing year we could ever imagine, my love! I wouldn't want to be doing life with anyone else.

As if he couldn't be any more amazing, Adam received a job offer with Nestle Waters on our anniversary! Yes, we will both be working for the same company - but doing completely different things. I'm so excited for him! Nestle is a pretty amazing company!

10 Weeks

We finally got around to taking our first "belly" picture this week! We've been meaning to, but never got around to it - I didn't know what to wear, I wanted to take it in the morning, I wanted to have makeup on, blah blah blah.

Anyway, 10 weeks on January 20 - yay! Finally in the double digits.

How far along: 10 weeks (January 20)

Baby's the size of a: Prune and he/she is swallowing and kicking!

Total weight gain: Nothing, yet!

Sleep: Just a casual 12 hours a night. I blame part of it on this bebe and part of it on the Diclegis that's keeping me from getting sick.

Best moment of this week: Finally having enough energy to walk the dogs.

Miss anything: Sushi. Alcohol still looks pretty gross to me, so haven't missed that.

Food cravings: Wendy's Frosty, FroYo, PB&J sandwiches and sometimes queso. Not exactly mangoes and celery like I was hoping for.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Changes daily, but thinking about casseroles makes me want to throw up.

Symptoms: Slowly starting to have more energy! Still a little sick now and then, but only throwing up about once a week. Get up at least once or twice a night to pee, but otherwise don't really notice.

Have you started to show yet: See above. I'm gonna go with a no.

Gender: TBD! Everyone thinks it's a girl, but I still don't have a gut feeling. It changes daily.

Happy or moody most of the time: Maybe ask Adam on this one. Haha.

Looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment next week!

Baby's First Photoshoot

(Written January 6)

Adam and I were so excited for our first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, Dec 30! It was probably the longest three weeks, ever. Only two weeks away! One week away! 100 hours away! Tomorrow! TODAY!

Up first was our transvaginal ultrasound (sorry for the TMI!). We immediately saw our little Chip! It was very surreal - mainly because we were in the room for a total of 90 seconds. Seriously, it was a pretty big let down! We got to hear the heartbeat ("good, strong 139") for maybe 3 seconds. We were sent to another waiting room when it was over and we kind of stared at each other. It all happened so quick we didn't even have time to really process it… or ask the technician to grow a heart and be a little excited since it's our first PREGNANCY! Whatever - moving on.

There's our little chip!

After waiting in another waiting room, we finally met our Doctor. I picked a new OB-GYN office closer to our house so it was our first time meeting her. So far, we love her! She was hilarious and very straight forward about everything. And I quote… "I'm tired of pregnant women thinking they're china dolls! I was 37 and 40 when I had my kids and all I gave up was sushi and alcohol. I still had my big ass cup of coffee every morning and I ran 3 miles a day." Amen, sister! (Except for the coffee and exercise part.) They also moved my due date to August 18 - I'm measuring a week later than we thought. Kind of a bummer, but my lucky number is 8… so how perfect is 8/18?! She also prescribed me Diclegis for my morning sickness. LIFE SAVER.

Let's move more into "morning" sickness, shall we? The first week and half or so after finding out, I had no symptoms. I'm pretty sure I said I had heartburn or indigestion, but it was barely anything. I just wanted to sound like I had some proof that there was a baby in my belly. I feel very at peace with this pregnancy and am loving growing closer to God during the process… but I still prayed every night for some sort of symptoms so I would know it was real. Especially because our doctor's appointment felt so far away.

We-eee-eee-eeell, ask and you shall receive. Morning sickness came on full force about the end of the fifth week - two days after we got back from New York and two days before I was flying to Texas to drive back with Katie. And "morning" sickness is a cruel joke - it is all day long. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, for real, and this brought me to my knees. (Well, technically my back. On my bed. All day.) At first I basically just felt mildly hungover all day, everyday. I flew to Texas and the drive back was doable. A little nauseous when I wasn't driving, but I tried to keep something in my stomach. The day after Christmas it showed its REAL ugly face. I was miserable all day - think your worst hangover - and throwing up about every other day. As we got closer to the doctor appointment, it was the worst. The two days leading up to the appointment I couldn't keep anything down. Throwing up nothingness and bile all day. I lost about 5 pounds in a week. Normally, that would make me feel very hair-flip-worthy. It was miserable and I felt like I was starving my poor bebe! Well, Diclegis saved my life. I still get very tired, very fast and have had a couple days where I feel meh and throw up. But for the most part, I feel fine! And might I add - even if I didn't have the meds, the sickness would be 110% worth it!

Also, I found my new pregnancy mantra. I'm reading Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please, and just finished her chapter about her pregnancy. "Good for her! Not for me." Everyone's pregnancy/delivery/etc. is different. Not my place to judge anyone else's journey - you're growing a human and that's pretty amazing… GOOD FOR YOU!

Ok, that's it for now. I'm now 8 weeks - only 32 to go! (Haha, right around the corner?)

Week 5

When I lived at home my first year after college, my mom would always have a drink waiting for me when I got home (why did I ever move out?). So needless to say, my mom and I have always been drinking buddies. Not drinking during our visit to NYC without spilling the beans caused me a little anxiety, but I pulled it off!

Lunch, Day 1
My mom went to the bathroom and asked me to order her a glass of Pinot. As soon as she got up, I flagged down the waiter.

Me: "Hi! My mom wants a glass of Pinot and I'm pregnant. I'm not telling my parents until Christmas, so can you bring me a tonic water with lime and say it's a vodka tonic when you bring it back?"

Waiter [with big eyes]: "Yes! Let's do a cranberry juice with tonic water so it looks like there's vodka in it!" (He then proceeded to tell me how his sister just found out she's pregnant with twins and maybe I'll have twins! I appreciated his enthusiasm.)

When he came back with the drinks.... "Here's your glass of Pinot and here's your VODKA cranberry." When I finished my drink... "Do you want another VODKA cranberry?" Hahah, he was too cute. Then we got the bill and of course my mom noticed we weren't charged for the vodka. I made up some ridiculous story how the waiter smirked at me when he dropped off the check, so maybe he gave it to me for free because I'm cute. (Making that story up almost caused me to have morning sickness - so dumb! haha)

Dinner, Night 1
We walked into Tribeca Grill and headed for the crowded bar. I told my parents I wanted to buy the first round of drinks (so I could order myself a non-alc drink without them knowing). Of course, my mom says she'll help me since I can't carry three drinks by myself. UGH. I ordered a vodka tonic and kept pretending to sip it. I excused myself to the bathroom and made a bee line for the hostess stand.

Me: "Hi, I'm pregnant and my parents don't know yet. I'm going to keep ordering vodka tonics, but can the waitress just bring me tonic and lime?"

I knew this one had a lot of room for error, so I was pretty nervous. When we sat down at our table, I told our waitress "I think the bartender accidentally gave me a vodka club soda - is there any way you can bring me a vodka tonic?" She came back with a TONIC AND LIME and we made eye contact and smiled. It worked! I ordered two more "Vodka tonics" at the dinner table and it went off flawlessly. However, I knew it would look weird if we weren't charged for the vodka (again), so I went to the bathroom and thanked our waitress profusely - and asked her to charge us for the vodka. (Sorry, dad! I think it was worth it.)

Drinks, Night 2
The Carlyle Hotel bar was so packed, there was no way I was going to be able to find someone to tell my story to. I ordered a Pellegrino to start out (because I was "so thirsty". But really, I was.) and of course Christine arrived and said "What is this??? Are you PREGNANT??" Thanks a lot! However, the man upstairs was clearly looking out for me. I ordered a vodka tonic, and the waiter came back with a small glass with the vodka in it and my own bottle of tonic! I drowned that bad boy in tonic water and kept topping it off. I'm sure I did have a sip or two of vodka, but I think bebe will survive!

Dinner, Night 2
I ordered a glass of red wine and took a few sips. But I really was so exhausted at that point that I couldn't even fake to drink it anymore. Dad saved the day and downed it for me.

Overall, I DID IT and I don't think there's anyway my parents knew otherwise. So sneaky. :)

5 WEEKS 
(as of Friday, Dec 19)

Total weight gain: None. Well, probably a few from all the food I ate in NYC.

Stretch marks: Still nope.

Sleep: Same as always. The dogs take over the bed, and I work my way around them.

Best moment of this week: Baby's first trip to NYC (in my tummy, of course).

Miss anything: Not yet.

Food cravings: Nope. I still don't have much of an appetite.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular. Just feel like I have a little hangover on and off throughout the day. Fun times!

Symptoms: Starting to feel sick here and there. Nothing too terrible.

Have you started to show yet: Nope.

Gender: TBD! I think it's a boy, Adam thinks it's a girl. I thought I would really be hoping for one or the other - but I honestly am totally indifferent! I'll be thrilled with either.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy! But I have my moody moments.

Looking forward to: Telling our parents on Christmas Eve!

There's a Bun in this Baker's Oven!

WE'RE PREGNANT! Which means this blog is officially the "Baker's Bun in the Oven Pregnancy Journal". I want to be able to look back and see what each week was like during this crazy period of time! Get used to it, or stop reading. :)

(Disclaimer: I wrote this on Tuesday, December 9 - the day after we found out.)

The Day We Found Out

A little (TMI) backstory first… I went off birth control in November because our insurance suddenly decided I could only order it through the Mail Service, not by picking up at a local pharmacy. Obviously, I thought all those reminders in the mail were just spam. (Oops. Best oops!) I've gone off birth control for a month or so at a time before (just to give my body a break), so I didn't really think twice about it. My period has never been regular (hence why I went on birth control to begin with), but it just never came in November. Again, pregnancy wasn't really on my mind - I figured it was my body getting mad at me for throwing it off. After a week with nothing, I decided to take a pregnancy test on Monday, December 8 with the thought "I'll take one, so when I call my doctor I can tell her I already took a negative pregnancy test." I took the test, got ready for the gym, let the dogs out, etc. and when I came back to the bathroom I was shocked to see it said PREGNANT! My first feeling was absolute terror. I just started shaking. Total shock.

I headed off to the gym (in a daze/state of shock) and spent a solid 30 minutes on the elliptical just chatting with my man, Jesus. Thanking him for this amazing blessing and assuring Him (and myself) that I know everything is in His hands, and His plan is far greater than anything we could imagine. (I know this is totally natural, but I obviously think something is going to go wrong. I'm still so early.)

I came home and took another test, just to make sure. Same results. But this time I just smiled and kept saying "Thank you, thank you!"

I guess this is real!

Might I suggest not taking a pregnancy test on a Monday? Can you guess how much work I got done? None. I also tried to walk the dogs, but felt super sick so I literally had to run home with them. (Not morning sickness, I didn't take a meal with my prenatal vitamin. Lesson learned!) After getting my act together, I headed to Barnes and Noble, because I obviously had to pick up some reading material on this bebe in my tummy. (Debbie - This was when I called you about Rosetta Stone! Little did you know…) Being the planner I am, not only did I buy books (What To Expect When You're Expecting and The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy) and prenatal vitamins - I made my first doctor's appointment (Dec 30!) and obviously downloaded an app.

Telling Adam

I spent all day trying to figure out how to tell Adam. I knew he would DIE of happiness when he found out, and I wanted to make it super special. According to all the internet scouring I've already done, I'm due in August 2015… right before college football season. Adam is a huge UGA football fan, so I decided to play off that. I went to Target and bought the only UGA onesie they have (a set of three and they're all really dumb, actually). I was making dinner when he came home and when I heard the door open I suddenly got really nervous. I waited for him to shower and sit down at the bar before I snuck into our room for the onesie. Let me set the scene for you….

Me (walking down the hallway): Guess what? I finally found someone to watch the Georgia games with you next year!

Adam: Oh, yeah?
(He later told me he figured I had met some restaurant manager who likes Georgia football and that I was trying to make him new friends. Basically a big eye roll from him.)

Me (walking into the kitchen with the onesie): Yeah. I'm pregnant. (This is also the first time all day that I actually teared up. I do have human emotions!)

Adam probably said "WHAT?" a thousand times. He totally didn't believe me, so I brought him the pregnancy tests. Needless to say, he is so incredibly happy and excited! He didn't sleep at all last night. haha. (Meanwhile, I probably had one of the best nights of sleep in a long time!)

About five minutes into his "WHAT?" episode.

Baby Bulldog!

Our first picture as a family of three! (Or five, if you count Ruthie and Hank.)

My babes and me! (Ruthie and Hank just can't even stand the excitement - can't you tell?)

We've decided to tell our families on Christmas, when we'll be almost 8 weeks, which seems like forever away! Especially since I'm going to NYC with my parents next week and we have Debbie's birthday dinner on Sunday. Most fun secret, ever!

5 WEEKS (UPDATE: Turns out we were only 4 Weeks!)
(as of Friday, Dec 12)

Total weight gain: None. I've actually lost a few pounds because I've cleaned up my diet and haven't had any alcohol all week. That's probably a record for me, since I've turned 21. Kind of embarrassing!

Stretch marks: Nope. Already purchased the cocoa butter to avoid this at all costs!

Sleep: Pretty amazing, except for the anxiety fits I had for a couple nights after reading those dumb discussion boards!

Best moment of this week: I think this one is pretty obvious. WE'RE PREGNANT!

Miss anything: No, but it did hit me last night that I won't be having another drink for quite some time.

Food cravings: Nada. I'm actually having to force myself to eat. I don't know if it's a symptom, or if I'm just still in shock, but don't have much of an appetite.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No. I don't feel sick - just a little off.

Symptoms: Nothing really. A little cramping, a little queasiness, a little indigestion, a few forgetful moments (Hank enjoyed his entire day out of the cage, though). Pretty sure I would have no idea other than the three positive pregnancy tests. Oh, yeah. I took another one during the week, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy.

Have you started to show yet: No. Wouldn't that be a fun 8.5 more months if I was already showing!

Gender: TBD! We will definitely find out, though.

Happy or moody most of the time: So happy! Unless Adam annoys me. (Sorry, honey.)

Looking forward to: Our first doctor's appointment! I'm trying out a new practice since my current one is based at Northside Hospital and I'd rather be at Kennestone (literally 2 miles from our house). So far I have a good feeling about this place. When I called, I said I was a new patient who just took a pregnancy test and didn't know what I was supposed to do next. The super sweet receptionist started off with "Well, congratulations!"

UPDATE: It's now Friday, December 12. Can I give one piece of advice to all first time pregnant people - DON'T READ DISCUSSION BOARDS. I've spent a good part of this week analyzing everything. I don't really have many symptoms, try Googling that. NOT FUN. I stopped reading the message boards (and those books I bought) and I have felt much more at peace.

Needless to say, we are beyond thrilled for the baby! Thank you, Jesus, for always having such a better plan than we could hope to dream up! We can't wait to meet you, little one!

New York at Christmas

There is nothing like New York at Christmas. The word magical sounds very juvenile, but it's the only word I can think of that describes it perfectly! My dad was headed up to New York for work this week, and I happened to be at my parents' house when my mom was buying her ticket to join him. I still have a few extra vacation days for the year, and my mom really wanted me to join her - so I did! (Thanks for the ticket, mom and dad!)

I arrived Monday night and headed straight to the hotel to get a good night's sleep for the next day's activities.

Tuesday morning, I woke up and met Anna in the hotel lobby. I haven't seen her since her wedding (January 2013!), but it felt like we hadn't skipped a beat. I walked her to work and then we sadly had to say goodbye again. Good news - I'll see her next month!

Our hotel was right by the World Trade Center and the new Freedom Tower, so I had to stop for a quick pic.

While my dad worked, mom and I headed to the Christmas market in Bryant Park and spent some time looking at the little stands, drinking apple cider and watching the ice skaters. (The weather was about 50 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday - so nice!)

Up next, we had to stroll down 5th Avenue and see all the window displays!

The stores don't kid around with their Christmas decorations - so beautiful! Here's Saks...

And the World Famous Macy's Herald Square! (It's 9 floors, insane.)

No trip to New York is complete without a trip to the Rockefeller Tree!

We passed on ice skating, but it was fun to watch other people struggle. Ha!

After a quick lunch at Benjamin Steak House, our adventures continued! We spent more time walking around and stopping into fun shops, then headed back to relax before dinner. All that walking is exhausting.

The happy family on the way to dinner at Tribeca Grill! (Of course, the only picture I got of the three of us is blurry. Mom has the good ones!)

I was asleep by 9pm (really living it up in the city that never sleeps!) while my dad hung out with his worker bee friends in the bar until about 11:30pm. How embarrassing am I??

Wednesday morning, mom and I decided to figure out the fancy subway system to meet Candace for brunch. We had to switch trains and still survived (and on time, might I add).

We ate at a cute little restaurant called Jack's Wife Freda in SoHo. It's always fun to catch up with one of my old college friends! Plus, SoHo is my favorite area of NYC.

Here we are standing in front of live Christmas trees for sale!  They're only about $200...

Mom and I then braved the Subway again to head up to Times Square. It's probably my least favorite spot in New York, but always a must see. Plus, we had to pick up our Nutcracker tickets. Which leads me to....

Lincoln Center for The Nutcracker!

I was like a kid on Christmas morning! It made me feel like a little girl, again. Speaking of which, there were so many little girls in fancy dresses with their hair all curled. They were the cutest, EVER!

Champagne for The Nutcracker. Aren't we fancy?!

Cheesin' from our seats!

We had such a great time! A childhood dream fulfilled!

Watching impossibly thin dancers for two hours sure makes you work up an appetite, so we headed to Levain Bakery. A must, according to the Baker gals. After standing in a quick line, we were the proud owners of 7 cookies! (Three of which came back to Atlanta for Debbie, Kelsey and Meagan.)

Chocolate Chip Walnut.... oh my heavens! This thing was not a cookie - it was a mini-pie! SO DELICIOUS!

After chowing down on our cookies, we walked through Central Park just as it was getting dark. Tavern on the Green was lit up so beautiful, but of course my stupid phone did it no justice.

We walked through the little markets outside Columbus Circle, then made our way past all the ritzy hotels and condos (Hello, Plaza!) to FAO Schwarz. I always have to stop in when I'm in town! When I was about six, on my first trip to NYC, Aunt Frances took me to FAO Schwarz and told me I could pick one thing out. I started crying because I was so overwhelmed! How is a six-year-old supposed to pick out one thing out of four floors of the most amazing toys!?

I do remember the Big Piano being....well, bigger.

We then headed up the other side of Central Park to meet Christine and dad for a drink at the Carlyle Hotel. The bar was packed, but we were able to score a table after a pretty short wait.

Then it was off to Betony for dinner! One of my old colleagues runs Taste of the Nation NYC and also works on the New York Wine & Food Festival, so I asked her for the recommendation. Thanks to her, they kept sending out more and more food! It was all very good and very fancy. (Of course, I forgot to take pictures.)

Before we fell asleep in our plates, it was back to the hotel to pass out. We turned on the TV, but I'm pretty sure we were all asleep before the first commercial!

On our last day, we spent the morning in the hotel before venturing out for lunch at Adrienne's in the Financial District. Christine works nearby and recommended it. SO GOOD and such a cute little restaurant! Highly recommend it. Check out this bad boy....

After walking around for about an hour, it was time to head to the airport. We ran into a little trouble with an angry police woman after our driver went the wrong way down a one way street - straight toward the World Trade Center. But we all made it out without a ticket and eventually made it back home to Atlanta last night.

It was such a fun trip and I am just so very lucky to have these kinds of opportunities! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!