28 weeks....

Taking a break from my regularly scheduled Disney posts (there are 3 more) for a Pregnancy update.  Isn't that the way it always goes... I either seem to have no inspiration for a blog post or too many things to blog about, lol.  Does anyone else feel that way?

Anyway, Pregnancy Stuff...

This picture is more like 26 weeks (girls trip), but I'll be 28 weeks in 2 days, so I am going to call this my 28 week post, since I had a doctor's appointment yesterday!

How Far Along: 28 weeks (almost).... hello 3rd trimester!

Size of Baby: About 2.5 lbs and around 14.5 inches long... she's a growing girl!

Total Weight Gain: Funny thing, this weight gain is.  I weighed in yesterday and the nurse informed me that I had lost weight again! lol.  Which is really funny, because I feel like I am always hungry and always eating!  I guess me and baby girl are just burning up all the calories!  My total weight gain so far is 9 lbs.  Dr. H said I looked great and was doing a wonderful job!  :-)  Yay!

Maternity Clothes: You bet!  I have developed a favorite pair of maternity jeans that I wish I could wear every day.  I still have some tops that aren't maternity that are longer that I can wear too, but for the most part I'm in all maternity stuff now.

Gender: GIRL!  And oh, the cute things I am tempted to buy!  And by the way, we finally named her!  She will be called Ava Grace!

Movement: All the time... she moves differently now... I can feel her flip and roll and her kicks and punches are a lot more distinct and sometimes quite forceful!  Yesterday she did some rapid leg movements that felt like she was running in place... or kickboxing... it's a toss up! lol

Sleep: Interrupted by frequent potty breaks, but other than that, I'm fine.  I miss lying on my back, but that's a small sacrifice to make for our sweet girl!

Symptoms: Heart Burn. lol.  And I hate tums, but I have discovered that a glass of milk helps.

What I Miss: The usual (wine). lol.  :-)  Again, small sacrifice.  Oh, and soft cheese... like bleu and gorgonzola...Mmmm!

Cravings: Milk.  I've never been a huge milk drinker, but I drink it all. the. time. now.  Usually a half a gallon will get me through the month because I just use it to cook with - Chris and Lily don't really drink it. EVER. This past month I went through 2 gallons and am working on my 3rd, lol.  I also crave sweets - not like me either.  I indulge every now and then, but for the most part we don't keep sweets and junk food in the house, so it hasn't been a major issue.

Best Moment This Week: My doctor's visit!  I love going and hearing Ava Grace's heartbeat and stats!  :-)

What I'm Looking Forward To: Holding this wild girl.  Watching Chris become a Daddy for the second time.  Seeing Lily get excited about a baby sister.   Lately I have been dreaming about her and I just can't wait to have her in our arms and to see her sweet face!

Disney Day Two... Animal Kingdom

On day two we woke up just as excited as we were on day one!  We couldn't wait to get to our next adventure in Animal Kingdom!!!

On day two, we also had a new game plan!

After doing some research prior to our trip, we had decided that the things that WE wanted to do in Animal Kingdom could probably be accomplished in half a day.  Soooo... our plan was to do Animal Kingdom Wednesday morning until around lunch... then we would go back to our resort for lunch/swim/nap (haha - we got to the lunch and nap part) and then we'd hit Epcot.  We very much enjoyed the mid-day break!

This Daddy was all about videoing (and the video of the trip turned out like a PERFECT 45 minute movie) and about navigating!  Here is a tip for future Disney goers... GET THE AP!  There is a Disney Ap that has interactive GPS maps, shows all the food and vendor locations with menus, shows the wait times for all the rides, everything!  As I am directionally challenged, Chris navigated and coordinated the whole trip!

On the advice of our dear friend, Lauren, a professional Disney vacationer, lol, we headed first thing to the safari!  She suggested this so that we would be more likely to see more animals... and boy did we!

We saw animals I have never seen in person before, and NEVER so close!  We saw both white and black Rhinos!!

Hippos!!!!

Different types of Giraffes - some of which walked right past our truck!

Check it out... the one with the fat horns is the boy and behind him with the skinnier horns are the girls!

Here is the male elephant of the herd (as if I have to point that out).  I was going to try a fig leaf or something to cover his, well, you know... but there wasn't one BIG enough! lol!!!  We enjoyed joking about this the entire trip!  Funny thing, not a single child (Lily included) even noticed his "5th leg"... sweet innocence!  We got to see the babies he'd been making two... a one year old and a six week old - so cute!

Pumbaa?  Is that you?

A warthog!

We have TONS more pictures from our safari, but I don't want to bore you.  The safari was "not recommended for expectant mothers" but after talking to Lauren and Megan about it and speaking with the attendant, I decided I would be okay.  Chris manned the camera, and I braced my belly, but it turned out to be just fine!  Basically the attendant told us it was like riding a school but on a dirt road and I figured that couldn't be much more bumpy/jerky than riding in a golf cart with Chris Hooper, lol, and I was right!  I was SO glad that I decided to go and didn't stay back - it was REALLY neat!

After the Safari, we headed to the Tree of Life for "It's Tough To Be a Bug!"

HOW FUN!

This was probably our second favorite in the Animal Kingdom!  It was interactive 3-D multimedia show hosted by Flick from A Bug's Life.  Complete with being sprayed by a stink bug, lol.  We laughed a lot and had a big time!

We also saw the Lion King.

What an AMAZING show!

I have to take a break here to tell you what Chris and I had decided about souvenirs!  We had discussed what we would do about buying things before the trip, because we were sure that Disney would be an overload to all the senses, especially the "buy me!" sense. lol.  So, on the plane ride, we explained to Lily her budget.  She got $10 each day of our trip to spend on anything she wanted.  She could save it over all four days and have $40 on the last day or use it up each day.  She is such a good little spender!  She had calculated each day how much she would have if she didn't spent it... she would look at something a deduct the price to see how much she would have left!  She put a lot of thought into it.  Day 1 she just looked, but Day 2 in the Animal Kingdom, she was ready to buy!  She made the best purchase of the trip, by far, as her first purchase!  An autograph/photo album with matching pen!  And wouldn't you know, right after her purchase we found a character...

It was Flick!  He was the first signature in her book!  This began a scavenger hunt for characters and was, by far, one of the most fun things about her trip!  Lily wanted to fill every page of her book and it was a challenge we were all up for!  :-)

Pocahontas got  the second spot!

Followed by Meeko!

While we were there at the Animal Kingdom we wandered through Asia and Africa soaking up the sights and sounds!  They make it so real, it's as if you have been transported!  We did a jungle cruise down the Amazon and walked some trails that led us to otters and fish and all kinds of little critters!

The Animal Kingdom was great, but by lunch we were ready to rest our feet, feed our tummies, and take a break before we geared up for a LATE night of Extra Magic Hours at Epcot!

(Day 2, part 2 coming up...)

Menu Monday...

Monday:

Cajun Chicken Pasta

(I ended up not making this Sunday because we went out to eat, so I am going to make it tonight)

Tuesday:

Chicken Casserole

Wednesday:

Leftovers

Thursday:

Breakfast Casserole and Cinnamon Rolls

Friday:

Popcorn Shrimp and Baked Potatoes

Saturday:

Spaghetti and garlic toast

Sunday:

Tailgate snackies for lunch and Pizza for dinner!

Disney Day 1, Continued...

... Ah, the Magic Kingdom!  :-)

We spent our entire first day at, what turned out to be, Lily's favorite park!  At the time we didn't know this, but we started our vacation here and ended our vacation here!

 We loved everything about the Magic Kingdom and all it had to offer...

 ...the castle being one of our favorite parts, of course.

 We spent the whole first day riding rides.  I think the Magic Kingdom has more "actual" rides than the other parks and more that is focused on smaller children.  It worked out great for us because Lily is pretty timid when it comes to rides and adventures and things that might "tickle her tummy," so the Magic Kingdom was a great "classic Disney" place to start to ease her in to the rides and then ramp up the adventure!  Everywhere we went, she would ask, "is this going to tickle my tummy?" lol.  Chris and I aren't big roller coaster fans, so we were content to focus on the interactive stuff and smaller rides and truth be told there are only a couple "big" rides at the magic kingdom!

 The first thing we did was the carousel of progress!  We loved it - even Lily - as we "rode" in the rotating theater watching one family grow through generations, starting at the turn of the century and growing to present day... it showed how "modern" conveniences of each period had changed.

 We rode the tea cups... this turned out to be Lily's 3rd favorite ride and over the course of our trip we rode 3 times... the first time in a pink cup, the second time in a purple cup, and the third time in a yellow cup!  Her three favorite colors, of course!  Chris doesn't like stuff that "spins" so he was happy to hold our bag and video and take pictures, but by the end of our trip we even had him in on the tea cups! lol.

 Lily's number one favorite ride was the Dumbo ride, we rode it 2 or 3 times as well over the course of the trip.  It's a two seater so she rode once with me and once with Chris.  :-)

 Lily's second favorite ride was The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  It was really cool because we could all fit!  In the front seat you control if you go up or down  and in the back seat you control if you tilt forward or back!  So fun!

 Other rides and attractions we enjoyed and recommend include The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (so fun, riding in a honey pot - but you MUST get a fast pass - we learned the hard way, lol), Mickey's PhilharMagic, Peter Pan's Flight (another fast pass ride - we loved it!), It's a small world - what a classic Disney ride, The Haunted Mansion, and Monster's Inc Laugh Floor - SO FUN and funny.  The only thing we wouldn't recommend, in fact, was Stitch's Great Escape.. it was rather dull.

The first day wore us all out, but we were just as excited about our second day!

Things we learned about Disney (within the first 2 hours):

1.  We agreed never to take a child in diapers... or a stroller.

2.  We decided that the only way to go is with a backpack (we had an over the shoulder bag - next time we will be taking a back pack for sure!

3.  You can bring as much food and drink with you to the park as you like.  :-)

4.  Use the FAST PASS machines when available!  AND they do run out, so you should get your fast passes in the morning when possible!  :-)  This saved a lot of waiting in line time.

5.  October is the *perfect* time of year.  It wasn't too crowded, the weather was perfect, and we couldn't have asked for a better time of year to go!  :-)

Day two to come!

The big surprise... (Fall Break)

Since before our wedding, Chris and I have been planning a BIG surprise trip to Disney World for our family.  When we started making wedding and honeymoon plans, we decided we would do a romantic getaway weekend to Biltmore for our honeymoon and then take a "big" trip with Lily in the fall.  This was for a few reasons...  (1) Our marriage, unlike a "traditional" marriage, wasn't just all about us... it included Lily and was the creation of a family and we thought she deserved a "honeymoon" or sorts as well.  (2) We really wanted to take her at this age!  She is at the PERFECT age of true belief in the magic of Disney and old enough that she'll remember the trip!  And (3) after we found out we were expecting, it became even more important to do this trip with just Lily... something special just for her!  Soooo....

On Tuesday, October 1st, early in the morning...

 ...Chris woke Lily.  He had her thinking we were getting up early to go fishing (lol) which she was totally on board with, but did have some complaints, since fishing is not exactly her favorite fall break activity, lol.  He carried her all sleepy eyed and bed headed into the living room and snuggled her in on the couch.  It took a few moments for her to notice that she was seated in front of Mini Mouse, who was holding something peculiar.  She finally focused her eyes, squinted up and us, and in a gravely morning voice, said, "what's that?"  We replied that we didn't know, and she should check it out and see...

Of course, Mini Mouse had good news to share!  We have the whole thing on video and it's really funny.  Lily was literally speechless... she just looked at Chris, then at me.... read it out loud and said, "really?"  It was too funny!  After it sunk in, the excitement began.  We got ready, grabbed our already packed bags, and headed to the airport for our 6:30 AM flight (yeah, that early, really... we didn't want to waste any time at Disney!!).

In the past few months Lily has mentioned that she wanted to fly on an airplane and, really, what better way to spice up a trip and get to Orlando in a hurry than aboard a plane!  She was SO excited... and a tiny bit nervous.  It turned out GREAT though and she loved it!  She looked out the window the entire time and loved that we sat just behind the wing... she thought was cool to watch the wing flaps (I am sure they have a more technical term) when we were landing!!  :-)

It took less than 2 hours to get there... 

 ...and when we arrived we were all so excited! 

When we booked, we did an entire "vacation package" through Southwest.  Let me tell you, this is the ONLY way to go!  Everything was included, right down to an upgraded "preferred room" and a Disney Dining Plan that provided more food than we could consume (literally, we came home with bottled drinks and lots of good Micky shaped, individually wrapped, lunch box treats!  We had 2 HUGE meals, and 6 (that's right SIX) snacks a day EACH!

Anyway, Disney picked us up at the airport with no wait!  Our bags were all transported for us and magically appeared in our rooms.  And when we arrived at our resort, it was to a red carpet (literally) and an enthusiastic, "Welcome Hooper Family, We are SO glad you are here!!"  I had to stop at that moment and text la, "OMG, Disney really is a magical place!"  Lol.



We checked in, grabbed a late breakfast/early lunch and were whisked off to the Magic Kindom.

To be continued...

Girls Trip 2011

Tis the season...

Every fall brings an annual girls trip that is much anticipated. This year was our 4th girls trip and we went to Asheville, NC and we loved every minute!

This first picture characterizes our trip to me.

It was sweet and indulgent.

This souffle is the single best dessert I have ever had in my life. No exaggeration. Not kidding.

This entire girls trip, actually, was characterized by really delightful dishes. We ordered carefully, enjoyed long, slow meals, and lingered over coffee, cider, and desserts.

As has become our preference, Megan found a wonderful mountain home to rent instead of a hotel room. It was tucked way back in the mountains of Asheville. Peaceful. This was the view from the front porch.

We of course had to document that baby girl was with us! Of all our girls trip, only one has been taken when one of the three of us wasn't carrying a baby on board! :-) A sweet part of this season of our lives... one day we will be taking girls trips and our babies will be grown.

It is so fun to get away with my two best girls and relax. We truly leave the world behind and spend our extended weekend focused on us. We talk very little of work and woes and more of life and laughs. We check in with our hubbys occasionally, but go largely uninterrupted on our well deserved vacation from everything.

It just so happened that while we were there, Kristah Lee (our most favorite and best of all photographers in the world - seriously) was there shooting a wedding at the Biltmore! We couldn't pass up the chance to see her, so we met for breakfast Sunday morning before she headed back to the boro. Fun side note - Krista and I got married the same weekend and are both expecting... she's due about a week before me, so it was fun to talk baby preparations with her and with advice from two of the best mommies I know, Moo and La.

It was another great trip with lots of love, laughter, and... pictures of course! Especially with Moo's latest purchase - check out that Rebel! (speaking of the camera, of course)

Next year, we will each turn 30 and we are planning and extra large, extra special version of our annual girls trip.

I. Can't. Wait.

Menu Monday

I know, I know, there are TONS of things to blog about this week like my girls trip and our family vacation to Disney World... but it's MONDAY!  So, I must post my menu plan!  (Plus I still have to download all my pictures and this buys me some time, lol!)

Monday:

Grilled Pork Chops w/

Sweet Potato & Pineapple Casserole

Tuesday:

Leftover Creamy Chicken Noodle from Sunday

Wednesday:

Poppy seed Chicken &

Green Beans

Thursday:

Loaded Potato Chowder @

My mom's Pampered Chef party!

(if you need anything, let me know and I'll tack it onto her show!)

Friday:

Eat out with Mama

Saturday:

Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup

w/ Cornbread

Sunday:

Cajun Chicken Pasta