{yummy avocado pasta}

I found this idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago and adapted it a bit.

It is sooooo good, especially if you love avocados like Thomas and I do.

Recipe:

1 and 1/2 or 2 medium/large avocados

1 lemon, juiced (and zest for garnish)

1-3 garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like it)

Salt, to taste

A handful of fresh basil leaves

1 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

6-8 oz of pasta, cooked (I used whole-wheat capellini)

NOTE: keep the avocado pits!

Instructions:

First, put water on to cook the pasta (everyone knows how to cook pasta, right?).

While that is happening, put the rest of the ingredients (except the black pepper and lemon zest) into a blender/food processor and and blend until smooth and creamy.

When the pasta is done, thoroughly drain it and then stir in the avocado sauce... top with freshly ground pepper and lemon zest... and serve immediately.

NOTE: This pasta does NOT reheat well because of the avocado, BUT if you store the leftovers WITH the avocado pits in a sealed container in the fridge, it will taste good COLD the next day.

Thomas and I like to eat it with portabella mushrooms.

I saute them in a little bit of oil (and salt and pepper) until the mushroom juices start coming out, then I pour in some red wine and continue cooking until the liquids are mostly evaporated.

And then, we eat :)

Also, there is another Congdon reunion post coming, I promise... there are just SO many pictures to sort through!

15 weeks

15 weeks seemed so far away when I was newly pregnant... now time is just rushing by!

How far along: 15 weeks today!

Baby size: A navel orange... 4+ inches long!

Total weight gain/loss: No gain or loss so far.

Sleep: Getting a little worse... I wake up with back pain. I need to get one of those body pillow things.

Movement: I think so! Just some little flutters :) Can't wait for more!

Food cravings/aversions: I've been really into bread this week. So much so that I made a loaf of French bread last night at 10pm. And then ate half of it... :)

Pregnancy symptoms: I've been getting headaches this week, which is unusual for me. I hardly ever get headaches. I really have to watch that I'm drinking enough water otherwise the headache kicks in and it's hard to get rid of. Also, I've had a couple of almost leg cramps... so far I've been able to catch them right before they happen and stretch out my calf.

What I miss: Sushi, and the occasional glass of wine.

What I'm looking forward to: More baby movement!

Milestones: I just think that baby is getting so big! 4+ inches seems huge to me... haha... I know he/she will get much bigger, but right now 4 inches sounds really big :)

Best moment of this week: I had my 15-week appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! It was really loud and strong (150bpm) this time, and the nurse picked it up as soon as she put the Doppler machine on my stomach. Last time I was only 11 weeks and it was a little harder to find. The baby is so much higher up now... no wonder I'm starting to get a little baby bump!

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Now that I'm feeling little baby flutters, Thomas is determined to feel them too... he keeps trying, but I think it's going to be a while before baby is strong enough to kick through my stomach! He was poking my stomach last night trying to get baby to kick back. Haha :)

13 weeks & 14 weeks

I'm a little behind, as usual. I can't believe how time is flying!


How far along: 13 weeks (on August 16th) & 14 weeks (on August 23rd)

Baby size: 13 weeks - a peach, 14 weeks - a lemon.

Total weight gain/loss: No gain or loss... finally got a scale at home.

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well.

Movement: Not quite yet...

Food cravings/aversions: I've had major cravings for Panera Bread broccoli-cheddar soup with a tomato-basil-mozzarella panini... I actually went and got it two nights in a row once. And I usually pick up a cherry pastry at the same time :) Also, their fresh-squeezed lemonade is amazing. I've been craving more carbs these days... I guess baby needs more energy for all the growing he/she is doing now.

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm feeling generally pretty good, just tired.

What I miss: Nothing much...

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out if baby is a boy or a girl! We're trying to figure out if/how much our insurance is going to cover the ultrasound... ugh. I could go on forever about how messed up and expensive medical insurance is these days (but we'll save that for another time...). Also, looking forward to feeling baby move :)

Milestones: Baby's little face can smile and squint and grimace :) Also, HELLO 2ND TRIMESTER! Yay :)

Best moment of this week: Just in general... thinking more about the baby and getting excited :)

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Thomas keeps trying to see if he can hear the baby's heartbeat through my belly... haha... don't think he's going to have much luck without a stethoscope or something :)

Congdon Family Reunion (post 1)

This post is about three weeks late, but very necessary!

Also, there are LOTS of pictures, so I'll have to do at least 2 posts.

So, I left England super early in the morning on July 29th and flew straight to Dallas, where I met Thomas in the airport, and then we flew straight to Portland. We arrived in Portland around 10pm, but in England time it was 6am and I had been travelling for 24 hours. I was pretty exhausted, but we had some exciting news to break to Thomas's brothers so I managed to stay awake a while longer!

Here's the video of when we told them... lots of laughter!

(Sorry about the bouncyness/jerkiness/sideways-ness, I was videoing with my phone)

In case you're wondering what the baby onesie said... "My Uncles Robert, Timothy, Stephen, James & Paul are AWESOME".

We spent the weekend having a mini family reunion with just Thomas's parents and brothers.

On Sunday evening, we went to dinner at Jon & Harriet's house ... Phil & Jenny and their family were all there too!

I count 4 computers/iPads in this picture. Haha.

The musical Congdons... piano and cello.

Ben and Bekah.

 

Playing games.

On Monday we drove out to the big family reunion at Camp Magruder, on the Oregon coastline near the Twin Rocks.

Figuring out where we were going...

We all eventually got there, but somehow the two different cars took completely different routes!

The first meeting.

 

Already yawning... tsk, tsk :)

 

The back of the room, where the babies and little ones played.

 

Mass chaos before the family pictures on Tuesday.

 

Each of the twelve sibling's families had a different color shirt. We were red. 

We are organized clockwise in birth order of the twelve siblings (starting at 12 o'clock).

Grandma Congdon is in the pink shirt sitting in the middle of the circle!

 

All the grandchildren (there are 59 in total, 3 or 4 were missing), and their spouses, and the great-grandchildren (13 in total... it will be 14 when our Baby Congdon is born in February!)

 

The twelve siblings with their mother.

The eleven spouses of the siblings :)

 

The four original "outlaws"... Harriet, Melody, Nancy, and Jenny :)

 

Being their crazy selves :)

 And here is Mama C doing the limbo under a wire as we walked over to get pictures of the outlaws :)

(Sorry, that picture just had to be posted :) )

With two more outlaws... Sarah and Angela.

The lovely ladies of the Jim Congdon family :)

I think I'll end this post for now... there were individual family pictures taken, but I didn't get any on my camera... I'll add them in if I ever get a hold of them.

Post #2 will also be full of pictures... swimming in the lake, archery, the MANY small children of the extended Congdon family, campfires and other fun stuff.

12 weeks

How far along: 12 weeks (on August 9th)

Baby size: Baby is the size of a large plum - over 2 inches!

Total weight gain/loss: According to my doctor's office, no gain or loss... I need to get a scale at home to keep track.

Sleep: Sleeping really well.

Movement: It'll be a while before that happens.

Food cravings/aversions: Craving salty, sour, and spicy foods still. LOVING Pinkberry frozen yogurt... I got a huge take-home container with my favorite flavors (mango and pomegranate) the other night so I don't have to keep going back! For some reason, I've been wanting eggplant parmigiana all week... but I'm kind of scared to eat it since I've read that it's one of those foods that you eat to induce labor. And I don't really want to go into labor right now, that would be bad. I should ask my doctor. And pasta... pasta pasta pasta... I want pasta! Fettuccini modo mio sounds soooooo good right now.

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm feeling generally pretty good, just tired.

What I miss: Nothing much...

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out if Baby Appleseed is a boy or a girl! I do not have the patience to wait until he/she pops out in February!

Milestones: Baby's facial features are becoming more defined, and he has little tiny fingernails! Baby is also developing reflexes this week, so if I poke my belly, he will wriggle in response (even though I won't be able to feel it quite yet).

Best moment of this week: We had told our families and a few other people about the baby already, but this week we told the rest of the world, and it was super fun! :)

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Normally when we were watching something at night, Thomas would fall asleep before it was over. Now it's me who can't keep my eyes open. Thomas was always the one to go to bed first as well, but I'm usually fast asleep before him. I think it's funny... he just thinks I'm weird because some nights I can't even wake up enough to move from the couch to the bed!

Our {BIG} little surprise

We thought it was about time to let the world in on a little secret we've been keeping for 12 weeks.

{It took us a good 8 weeks just to get over the shock!}

 Surprise! There will be a Baby Congdon joining our family somewhere around February 21st, 2012!

In shock, but happy!

{The Tusker shirt behind Thomas's onesie makes me laugh. Kenya people will get that.}

Our sweet friend Haley found this PERFECT bib for Baby Congdon!

We told my family while we were in England, and we told the Congdon family while we were in Oregon at the reunion.

Both sides of the family were thrilled :)

Baby Congdon even got his/her own mini Congdon reunion shirt!

{Speaking of the Congdon family reunion, that will be my next post! Or two posts, since there are lots of pictures!}

The month of travels has now come to an end and we are settling back into our Dallas home, and starting to think and plan more seriously for this next big stage in our lives.

Baby Congdon has turned our lives upside down! In a good way, of course.

We can't wait to meet him/her!

{I'm pretty convinced that it's a "him"... but Thomas is less sure}

For those of you who might want to know all the details... I started a little anonymous baby blog right when we found out about Baby Congdon and I have been writing updates over there :) Click HERE if you want to read more!

10 weeks & 11 weeks

Time is getting a little blurred with all the travelling going on... but we're finally back in Dallas, and tomorrow I will actually be 12 weeks pregnant!

So it's time for a little catch-up on 10 and 11 weeks...

How far along: 10 weeks (on July 26th) and 11 weeks (on August 2nd) 

Baby size: 10 weeks - a prune, 11 weeks - a lime.

Total weight gain/loss: No weight gain or loss so far! But I think I see the tiny beginnings of a baby bump...

Sleep: Sleeping really well... but with all the travelling across time zones I have been completely exhausted and sleeping around 12 hours a day!

Movement: It'll be a while before that happens.

Food cravings/aversions: Craving salty, sour, and spicy foods still... really loving my homemade salsa at the moment, with lots of lime juice and jalapeno peppers! I also had a random craving for salmon the other night, so I got some at Central Market and it was SO good.

Pregnancy symptoms: I'm feeling generally pretty good. Tired all the time, but I'm blaming that mostly on the travelling.

What I miss: Nothing much...

What I'm looking forward to: Announcing the pregnancy to the world, which we are going to do any day now!

Milestones: At 11 weeks, most of Baby Appleseed's organs and systems are fully formed! They will continue to mature and grow for the next 28 weeks! It's hard to believe that there is a tiny, 2-inch long, fully-formed baby inside of me right now.

Best moment of this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at our doctor's appointment last Friday! It was SO COOL! I took a video of it on my phone, but I haven't quite figured out how to put it into a blog post yet.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Telling his brothers together last weekend was super fun! Also, we were sitting in church the other weekend flipping through the bible index and picking out hilarious names for Baby Appleseed :)