Pumpkin Fluff Dip.... and 23 weeks!!!

So... I mentioned in a previous post that I LOVE fall because I LOVE all things PUMPKIN!!! Well... here's one of my many pumpkin loves! It's Pumpkin Fluff Dip.

It's sooo easy and sooo yummy! I eat it with cinnamon graham crackers.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

In other news.... I'm 23 weeks pregnant today! There's not a whole lot new going with baby this week. At this point, baby is mainly putting on weight. Baby is accumulating a layer of fat under his/her skin. Baby could possibly DOUBLE in weight over the next month!

Hubs and I start Bradley Method birth classes tomorrow! I'm excited! I interview another midwife on Thursday... hopefully this is the one I want to go with! I have a feeling that it is. I've heard great things about this group of midwives... so pray that I love them as much as I hope I'm going to!

A side note.... I feel like all I want to blog about lately is FOOD! That may be because I am hungry ALL THE TIME now!!!! So please excuse me if there are endless posts about food in the upcoming weeks! :o)

Much love!

Oh Holy Heavenly Goodness!

Today I tasted one of these heavenly beauties. A cupcake from Cold Stone Creamery. I got the Cake Batter Delux ones.

O.M.G!!!!!!!!

Hands down one of THE MOST DELCIOUS things I have EVER tasted!

I died and went to heaven for a little while today.

The one bad thing about them.... they only come in a 6 pack! So guess who is probably going to eat one of these sinfully delicious sweet treats for the next 5 days??? Yeah, that's probably me. Unless I give a few to someone... which um YEAH RIGHT! They are just too good to share! I suppose the hubby can have one if he asks reeaaaaal nice.

Sorry Baby Taylor for the sugar rush. This is BY FAR the worst thing I've eaten since you've been living there in my tummy! I promise to be good when they are gone!

So... all of you bloggies... MUST GO TRY THESE! You'll thank me and curse me all at the same time! :o)

Goodbye Summer... Hello Fall!!!

So even though I love love love the sunshine of summer... Fall brings a lot of my favorite things!
And we woke up to fall this morning! It's 30 degrees cooler today than it was yesterday!

Things I love love love about fall:
One of my fave meals ever.... Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.
Football! Both SOONER football and the hub's fave Detroit Lions.
Sweatpants and hoodies!
Pumpkin everything! - lattes (although these are way limited this fall since I'm preggers), pie, cookies, ice creams, candles, cheesecake, I love it all!

Breaking out the crock pot.

The changing of color of the leaves.
State fairs... which means fair food... which is sooo BAD but sooo GOOD!

and I'm sure that I am going to LOVE the cooler weather the bigger I get! :o)

Welcome Fall!

22 weeks!

Hello hello!

What's going on with Baby Taylor this week???

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash or papaya) and almost 1 pound, our baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His/her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and (s)he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his/her gums. His/her eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside the womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his/her body and the deep wrinkles on his/her skin, which (s)he'll sport until (s)he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his/her belly, the pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Baby Taylor will be about the length of a papaya/spaghetti squash for the next month but will be putting on weight. I'll keep the weekly updates coming but the 'fruit/veggie updates' will only be monthly from here on out. The belly pics will be monthly too.

Baby is also settling into regular sleep cycles and is sleeping 12 to 14 hours a day. I've noticed that this sweet tiny is awake at about 9am and at about 10pm because I feel lots of kicks and punches then!

We're doing good! I'm meeting/interviewing a couple midwives this week and next week and will hopefully like one as much as mine in Dallas. I'll be due for my next prenatal appt at the beginning of October! I get so excited to hear the heart beat every time!

Talk to you soon!
The Taylors

Goin' Bananas! (& some pics... FINALLY)

So... I found the long lost camera cord and am getting the hang of the new computer! So that means WE'VE GOT PICS and a Baby Taylor update! Yay!

What's Baby Taylor up to this week?
Our baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a banana. Mom may may soon feel like (s)he's practicing martial arts as the initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. Mom may also discover a pattern to his/her activity as she gets to know her/him better. In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now and his/her taste buds are functional. Baby is swallowing a lot of amniotic fluid these days for both hydration and nutrition. The amniotic fluid will taste like what mom eats.... so it looks like this babe's tasting a lot of peaches and steak! Some studies show that these are the tastes that the baby will take a liking to after birth as well.

I'm feeling good! I'm feeling lots of baby movements. Last night was the first night that it was actually distracting as I was trying to fall asleep. Up until last night I would only feel a flutter or kick or punch here and there... last night it felt like there was a whole breakdance routine going on in there!

**** and now for pics!****

This is the belly a week ago (20 weeks).... not much of a belly yet. I think I just look like I ate too much so my tummy's poochin' over the pants a little! :o)

This is me at 8 weeks for comparison.

And this picture just makes me smile. This is the first 3 (of many many many) pregnancy tests that came out POSITIVE! :o) and yes... that's a cup of pee! My best friend came over and was so excited that she wanted to dip a stick too (this may seem weird to some.. but we've been besties since the SECOND GRADE!) so I peed in a cup for her! HA HA! That's when you know you're close!

Until next time!!

The Taylors

It's the MOST Wonderful Tiiiiime of the Yeeeeaar!

(aside from Christmas, of course)

College Football Season! even more so.... SOONER football season!

Something you'll learn about the Taylor household is that there are FIVE seasons at our house.... winter, spring, summer, fall, and FOOTBALL! :o)

Despite our oober crappy start to the season... I am still soooo excited that it's here!

Our starting quarterback, the adorable Sammy Bradford, was injured during the first game with a acromioclavicular joint sprain. (aka: AC joint sprain, or shoulder sprain to really break it down). BUMMER!

We ended up losing the game to BYU by one point. Sad day. Oh well... better to lose and get silly mistakes (a false start penalty on 3 plays straight for the first 3 plays of the game) early in the season than late in the season.

Hopefully the team comes together and pulls off a beautiful remainder of the season and hopefully Mr. Sammy gets well soon!

So the point of these ramblings??? oh nothing really... just that: I LOVE SOONER FOOTBALL! :o)

Shame on me...

How has it possibly been a month since the last time I posted???? That's just ridiculous.

Well... then I guess we'll play catch up for a minute!

I am OFFICIALLY.... drumroll please.... DOCTOR TAYLOR!

I'm a year older than my I was when I wrote my last post.... my bday was the day after my graduation. It was quite possibly the best bday gift EVER!

I am now blogging from my graduation gift from my amazing hubby.... my new MacBook Pro! I love it!

I am finally starting to get a little baby bump.... pics will come soon. I have to find the camera cord.

Oh yeah, we are all moved in back in OKLAHOMA! so I still can't find lots of stuff like the camera cord.

I went to Denver a couple weekends ago and worked in the Medical tent at the Susan G. Komen 3Day Breast Cancer Walk. Myself and 9 of my Chiropractor buddies adjusted the walkers all weekend. It was a pretty cool experience.

And now I'll give you all a baby update!

We're HALF WAY THERE! 20 weeks already! Can you believe it?!?! This is flying by!

Our baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. (S)He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel--- about the size of a cantaloupe! (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his/her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his/her head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, (s)he's measured from head to toe.)

(S)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his/her digestive system. (S)He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his/her bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

I'm feeling pretty good. I don't have quite the endurance I used to. We've been running errands and trying to get this house together and you'd think I've been running a marathon a day considering how wiped out I am!!! However, this house is FINALLY starting to look like a home. We've got all our furniture... even Baby has furniture now! :o)

I'm starting to be able to distinguish baby movement from tummy grumbling. There have been three occasions when I knew FOR SURE that it was baby moving! So fun!

That's all I've got for now... time to get back to the To Do List!

Much love!
The Taylors