Christmas In Kansas

Well we made a last minute decision to change our trip back to Kansas so that we were there over Christmas. It was nice to be back home for the holidays and next year we will be back to celebrating our own traditions with the baby!



Jennings Family Portrait on Christmas Eve

Snyder getting spoiled at the Collins house!

Apparently he prefers beds that are too small for him

As always our trips back to Kansas our hectic as we have both families to spend time with and friends to try and see as well. But somehow we always make it work! We even had time to go to a K-State game (thankful they were playing in Kansas City that weekend) where we watched them beat the 8/9 Florida Gators!! Great win for our Wildcats!! 

Treating a friend to the K-State v Florida game for Christmas

 

Christmas morning at Tara's house

Christmas morning at Reid's house

Also while we were back home and I had the help of Reid's mom to make his birthday cake. It turned out super cute and we were even able to keep our tradition of eating pizza for dinner. Happy Birthday Reido!!

Reid with pizza for his birthday dinner

A mountain themed birthday cake complete with "Dad" snowman

Hopefully I'll have more frequent blog posts in the upcoming weeks as we plan to go hiking on New Years, have my 20 week baby post, move into a new place and then have the 20 week ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby!! Lots of fun coming our way.

 

Happy Holidays

Well it's the most wonderful time of the year!! It is finally starting to get that crisp, cold feeling in the air but we are still waiting on the snow! Reid is missing "home traditions" this year so we decided next year we will be back for the holiday festivities. But as for this year, we are both excited to continue our own family traditions and hope the week goes by quickly.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Baby J 16 Weeks

I hit the 16 week mark yesterday and think I can officially say I have a bit of a baby bump coming. Our next doctor's appointment is on Wednesday to check in on baby and see how he/she is doing. Still I have been feeling fine (after a minor set back of catching a bug), but I can sense my body becomming more achy and tiring a lot easier. Let's just say workouts have been fun!

How far along: 16 weeks
Best moment this week: Eating for two on Thanksgiving! So thankful for my growing family
Miss Anything: I actually miss being able to go for a good run
Movement: nope
Food cravings: Thankfully these have subsided for the time being and I've just been trying to eat healthy!
Have you started to show yet: I think I can see a bump coming, finally! Still just feel "fat" though
Gender prediction: I still don't know. Most think it's a boy!
Looking forward to: My doc appointment next week. Seeing baby on the screen makes me happy and actually feeling "pregnant" at this moment.
Fun fact this month: Reid nicknamed baby and likes to call him/her Booger and me cookie pants!

In other news, last weekend Reid took Snyder out hiking with some friends. This time they hiked Mt Sherman which is another 14er Reid can check off his to-do list. As always they had fun and Snyder ran around like he's never been outside before. I just can't tag along on those bigger climbs anymore. My cardio level has taken a big hit and it's also a lot harder for me to catch my breath at times.

Also we have started taking tours of some houses to move to. We found one we are going to submit our application for but are checking out a second one today to compare. I'm excited to move and finally let Snyder have a yard to play in.

Friendsgiving

I've seen alot of people posting on Facebook about "Friendsgiving" this year. While I'm sure we all wish we could find the time and money to travel home to be with our family, at least we have good friends to spend our holidays with and that was just how it was for Reid and I this Thanksgiving.

We have a lot to thankful for this year from Reid graduating law school, to passing the Colorado Bar, finding a temporary job and us finding out we are having a baby. It has been a year of changes and growth and we are blessed each day to have each other.

My Thanksgiving started with an Email from my bosses last Wednesday saying we could leave work 2 hours early! I'm also thankful to work for such wonderful people who really truly care about family. That evening we went to work on our Thanksgiving dinner task of desserts. We decided to make Bavarian Apple Tort and Pumpkin Pie. Both turned out oh so delicious and we were happy to take the leftovers home :)

Bavarian Apple Tort (from Reid's mom)
crust
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 cup flour
* Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Blend in flour then spread mixture onto bottom and sides of 9" spring-form pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400.

filling
8oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
* Combine cheese and sugar, blending well. Mix in egg and vanilla and pour over crust. (you can make double filling for a "thicker" appearance)

topping
1/3 cup brown or graulated sugar
4 cup peeled and thinly sliced apples
1 tsp cinnamon
*Toss sugar and cinnamon over apples. Spoon apples over cheese mixture. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes. Cool before removing from pan.

Pumpkin Pie (from Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook)

1 15oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk

*Preheat oven to 375. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate (we just used a store-bought crust).
*For filling, combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a bowl. Add eggs; beat lightly with a fork until combined. Gradually add half-and-half and stir until combined. Pour over pie crust.
*Place pie in the oven. (to help prevent the crust from overbrowning, you can place foil over the pie and cut hole in the middle so only the crust is covered) Bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil. Bake additional 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and cover and chill within 2 hours.

On Thanksgiving morning I met a friend from Spokane and ran the Turkey Trot with her and her family that lives in Denver. This was really fun and I'm glad that I went out and ran. The weather was a bit chilly, but perfect for running. Great morning exercise before pigging out on yummy Thanksgiving food later in the day. Reid met up with a friend from law school and played some overdue golf. He said for not having played in so long, he did pretty well. He was just happy to get out and play! That evening we went over to Reid's friends brothers house, who invited us over for dinner. We had a great time, ate some delicious food and even all our dogs ran around and played.

Friday, we found out some friends from college were in Boulder and so we made a day trip up there to say hi. Reid went biking with his fraternity buddy and I went shopping with the girls. We also got to meet their two adorable boys. Saturday was time for more friends as a couple from law school was in town (whom I ran the Turket Trot with). We met them at a park to catch up and decided we need to head to Billings, MT sometime to see their new house and dog they are getting. When Sunday finally rolled around it didn't feel like it should still be the weekend but we now had a day at home and life felt like it was back to reality.

We hope everyone else had a fun-filled holiday weekend. Bring on the Christmas music, decorations and hopefully some snow for a white Christmas!!

First Trimester Check-Up

Well Baby J and mom had their first trimester screening today and both checked out great! Baby J was a wiggle worm and we had to patiently wait for him/her to sit in the right spot so we could get the correct measurements. If Baby J keeps up this squirming later on I'm going to be in trouble!! But it was so fun to see him/her moving around and we even saw baby have the hiccups. And best of all we got to hear the heartbeat. It was crazy to see how much Baby J has changed in 3 weeks. We did leave the doc with one piece of disappointing news and that was that we probably won't find out the sex before we head back to Kansas for Christmas. Sorry parents! Here's some pictures of my ultrasounds over the weeks...




7 Weeks



9 Weeks



9 Weeks



Touchdown: 13 Weeks

Lounging with a leg up: 13 weeks

13 Weeks

Other news in the Jennings household is we gave the official word that we will be moving out of our current apartment in January. There is just not enough room here for three and they did not have any available three bedrooms in our complex. So on we go, just to where is the question. Reid has been applying for jobs like a mad-man so hopefully he hears something sooner rather than later.


Baby J: 12 Weeks

Well I have made it to the 12 week mark and only a few more weeks and I'm free of the first trimester. Not that mine has been horrible or anything but still a big stepping stone! I've been fortunate to not experience any sickness and only an occassional nausea feeling after dinner. The big change for me is eating did not sound like a good idea at all and no food really sounded appetizing but as soon as I took a few bites of something those thoughts went away. When I first found out I was pregnant I quit doing my crazy workout videos and my cardio took a big hit! But in the past month I've been doing one every now and then (in moderation) and am still trying to run but it is a lot harder. Gotta get my cardio back up for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving!

How far along: 12 weeks
Best moment this week: having more energy and not needing a nap after work
Have you told family and friends: yes, we shared the news on Halloween. My best friend cried and my dad was in complete shock and had to call me back later to say congrats, lol(http://reidntara.blogspot.com/2012/10/spooktacular-halloween-surprise.html)
Miss Anything: enjoying a beer during football games. At least now I get plenty of water in :)
Movement: nope
Food cravings: french fries! my husband says I'm craving junk food because we deprived ourselves from it for so long
Anything making you queasy or sick: salads and frozen turkey burgers. they use to be my go-to lunch
Have you started to show yet: if you call the bloated, fat belly showing then yes!
Gender prediction: I really have no predection. I would say girl but I think that is because I'm secretly wishing it is a girl :)
Looking forward to: not feeling "fat"
Fun fact this month: to date, baby j has hiked/climbed the following... baby j has also made a trip to Manhattan, KS to watch K-State beat Miami!
     1. Challenger (14,081)/Kit Carson (14,165) and part of Shavano - 2 weeks (Sept 2-3)
     2. James Peak (13,294) - 4 weeks (Sept 16)
     3. Pikes Peak (14,110) - 6 weeks (Sept 29)
     4. Part of Quandary - 7 weeks (Oct 7)
     5. Vasquez Peak (12,947) - 9 weeks (Oct 21)
     6. Mt Lindsey (14,042) - 11 weeks (Nov 4)

I'll finish this post with my craft project to document the belly and baby growth. I have seen plenty of people using the chalkboard technique on pinterest so I thought it would be the easiest. However when I went to Hobby Lobby to find a board they were all sold out. So I wandered through the isles and stumbled across what looks like a slice of a tree stump. Perfect for this outdoor-loving gal. I grabbed some chalk-paint and after a few coats it was ready to go! I am not using chalk-pens but just your average chalk (found for 99 cents at Target). The wood wipes clean with water and a rag so you can re-write all you want.

Mt Lindsey

Well another weekend passed by and another weekend we went to play in the mountains. Reid, still on his quest to climb all the Colorado 14ers, had a trip planned to go down near Pueblo to climb Mt Lindsey. I still have this fear of going up steeper terrain so I wasn't planning on going, but Saturday night about 8pm I changed my mind and decided to come along.

This was a good weekend for daylight savings because we got up at 3:30a to get ready to head out for the 3+ hour trip to the mountain. Reid had invited some of his hiking friends along so on the way out we stopped and picked up someone and his two dogs. Snyder wasn't thrilled about sharing his beds with other dogs but I think he enjoyed the dogs company on the trail.

When we finally made it to the trailhead, Reid's other hiking buddy met us there to join our hike. Off we went into a beautiful basin with mountains towering above us. I'm never un-impressed by the beauty the mountains. Over the past few months my cardio workouts have taken a hit (doctor's orders) so this hike was a workout for me. Not to mention one of the other people hiking with us lives at 9,000 feet in the mountains so this was nothing to him and he was walking like it. But I eventually found my own pace and made it to the next basin.

Sign for the trail as we entered the basin

At this point we could finally get a glimpse of the mountain and that's when I decided I might just hang back and let this be a boys summit. There are times where I put my fear aside and will summit, but this mountain looked a little more daunting than others I've stood before. So after a short rest we were off to the saddle where I would wait and watch the boys push to the top.

Mt Lindsey is the pointy guy on the very left of the picture

Hard to see in the small picture but I could see Reid and his friend climbing the gulley and his other friend near the top walking the ridge line

The weather was pretty nice the whole hike up but of course as soon as I stop moving the sun decided to go away and that mixed with some winds around 13,000 feet elevation made it quite chilly while I patiently waited. But it was pretty cool getting to see Reid and his friends climb up the face of the mountain toward the summit. The dogs were also along for the summit and Reid said there were a few times Snyder didn't quite know what to do and had to be hoisted to the next rock. Poor guy, but what a trooper!

Hanging out and waiting for the boys to come back from their summit

Snyder coming back. I'm sure he was glad to be back off that mountain

When the boys (and dogs) made it back down, we had a nice hike out and even pondered some nicknames for the baby on the way out. I suggessted Reid should give it a mountain name and he came up with Calebra "because it's the coolest Colorado mountain name." I suggested KC because the first big climb for our little one was up Challenger and Kit Carson. I don't now why, but for some reason no nicknames are still sticking with me.

Glad he convinced me to come out for the trip

Well usually after our hikes we stop for a burger and beer (maybe I should start having burger and dessert :) ) but since we were farther away we made a quick trip to Wendy's instead, lol. Still enjoyable after burning all those calories! We made it back home in time to watch the BCS show before bed to see K-State still at #2 in the country. Way to go 'Cats!!

Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more hikes in before I'm out of commission for a while.

Spooktacular Halloween Surprise

Well Reid and I are so happy to finally be able to share with everyone that we are expecting our first child in May! We have been keeping our little secret for a long 7ish weeks and have finally made it to the point where we can share our exciting news. So of course I drug Reid out to take some pictures to share the great news and here is what we came up with...

Baby J coming in May

 

My edited version to celebrate sharing the news on Halloween

The news came as a big surprise to us but that is exactly how we wanted it to happen. For me, it took a while to sink in that I was actually pregnant, but now that some time has gone by for the news to digest we are both very excited for the future and to meet our little one. For a funny side-story, if the date on the pumpkin (5/23/13) sounds familiar this happens to be our anniversary date. Hopefully Baby J decides to come a bit before so he/she doesn't have to share a birthday with mom and dad's anniversary.

Of course our parents were the first to know and living away from them we weren't exactly sure how to share the news. So Reid calls his mom (this will be her third grandchild) and just threw it into the conversation. "That is how you are going to tell me," was her reaction! I think she was looking for a little more creativity. As for my parents (their first grandchild) I asked if they had their grandparent names picked out yet. My dad was so shocked by the news that he called back about 30min later to tell me congrats and that the news finally sunk in. Like father like daughter I suppose because I took 4 pregnancy tests and still didn't believe it was really true. But as all good grandparents do, they have begun the spoiling of a grandchild and are getting him/her ready to be a future Wildcat!

Future Wildcat on board

Well I will leave you all with a final picture of our latest ultrasound. This was taken at 9 weeks and we could see the outline of a spine, the division of the brain hemisphere's and the little arms and legs starting to poke out. Baby J also decided to do some dancing for us which was very cute. Oh and for those of you that follow me on Pinterest, beware of the baby posts that will be added over the next few days. I've had many weeks to find and save good posts to be added at a later date.

9 week ultrasound image

Pumpkin Sunday

Well we had planned to set out to climb another one of Colorado's 14ers this weekend (Quandary) but the weather altered our plans. We decided that 25mile winds with 40+ gusts creating sub zero temperatures just wasn't our thing this weekend. Sure we have all the gear to go out, but living so close allows us to choose more favorable weather to climb in. So Quandary, you will wait!

Instead Saturday we met up with my sorority sister and watched K-State win another game!! So so proud of my alma mater and what they are doing this season. It truly is a dream come true. Sunday was what I called my "pumpkin" day as I made another pumpkin recipe and we carved our pumpkins that evening.

First up my Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate which I found on Pinterest (surprise)! I altered slightly (adding nutmeg instead of cloves) but it still tasted pretty good. And I have extra for the week ahead.

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate
Servings: 4

3 cups whole milk (I used almond milk)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon cloves)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces white hot chocolate (roughly chopped)

Heat the milk, pumpkin puree, spices and vanilla in sauce pan until it starts to simmer. Remove from head and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Pour into mugs and enjoy!

Now on to our pumpkins. To no surprise one of us had to make a K-State pumpkin. That ended up being Reid which left me undecided and debating between an owl or a flower. I decided to be different (owls seem to be my go to) so found a sunflower. One minor flaw but it turned out pretty cute.

I would say these are our "ode to Kansas" pumpkins

 

Another Great Weekend To Be A Jennings

Well we had quite an eventful this past weekend. First and foremost a big congrats to K-State and the amazing season they are having. I am having so much fun following them.

Photo courtesy of a Facebook friend

Before the game Reid and I headed out to a pumpkin patch. We must have been very spoiled growing up in Kansas and having the Greenbluff area in Washington because I was looking forward to a place with a hayride, some apple cider, maybe some pumpkin donuts or apple pie but there is NO WHERE like that in Denver :( The only pumpkin patch I found that was open for more than a weekend was about 40min away from us. Seems all the good pumpkin patches are up north toward Ft Collins. It might be an trip we have to start making because I love going to the pumpkin patch. So we got our pumpkins and passed a Smashburger on the way back home. Apparently this place is suppose to rival In-and-Out Burger so we gave it a try and I'll admit it was pretty darn tasty.

Pumpkin patch in Thornton, CO

For the game we met a friend out at Earl's (which happens to be the same establisment as in Bellevue, WA and is one of my favorite places to go). We grabbed a few drinks and watched the first half then headed back over to our friend's place to cook some chicken fajitas for dinner (yum!) and finish the game.

Sunday we finally convinced our friend to come out hiking with us! We decided to hike Vasquez which is a peak we have seen on previously but never made it up. One thing different about this hike is there is no direct trail to the summit so we were finding our way through the woods until we got above treeline and could see our destination. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a great hike. Snyder even had his friend Banks along for the hike.

Snyder and Banks taking a break on our hike

Reid and I at the summit

Reid and his friend Chris who we finally got out on a hike

Date Night and Pumpkin Bars

Well we are very happy that Reid has passed the bar and for the past few weeks he has been busy working on a contract project. Unfortunately he was stuck in the office all weekend :( so Snyder and I had lots of together time.

Saturday night Reid and I went to Breckenridge to attend one of the North Face Speaker Series. This particular one was about Cory Richards who is best known for becomming "the first American to summit an 8000-meter peak in winter. (Pakistan's Gasherbrum II)" He has combined his love for climbing with a passion for photography and it was the perfect speaker for us to see. He talked about his life story and how he got to where he is today and along the way showcased his photography and videos from many climbs.

View of the river running through the heart of Breck

Reid and I took a walk around some shops before the speaker

I think the world was coming to an end on Sunday because I decided to bake something! If you know me, I'm not one to spend much time in the kitchen, let alone bake anything. But I have had the urge for a few days now and today decided to try something out. My treat was pumpkin bars, modified from the Better Homes and Garden, New Cookbook Bridal Edition. I haven't tasted them yet but they smelled heavenly when I pulled them out of the oven.

Pumpkin Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmet
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 of a 15oz can of pumpkin
1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I learned after combining all my ingredients I had no oil)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
**15 caramel squares

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Stir in eggs, pumpkin and yogurt  until combined. Mix in chocolate chips if desired. Spread into ungreased baking pan.

2. Bake 25-30 minutes (or until toothpick comes clean). Cool for two hours.

3. While baking, I melted the caramel squares with 2 teaspoons of water over low heat and poured over bars after cooked.

When Friends Come To Town (Part 2)

Last weekend we had a couple friend visit and for one of them it was their first time in Colorado! Downside is the weather took a turn for the worse and it was in the 30s all weekend long but we still have fun and they enjoyed their time here.

Friday night we went out to eat at the Tavern at the Uptown location and it was tasty! Saturday morning we went on a distillery tour at Stranhan's Distillery in downtown Denver. I've only been on brewery tours so it was interesting to see how whiskey was made. After the distillery tour we went home and watched the end of the Sunflower Showdown: K-State v KU. All I have to say is GO CATS! We showed those Jayhawks who owns football in Kansas!

Some of the whiskey barrels aging

Sunday we took our friends on a hike on Quandary outside Breckenridge. The sun finally came out that day but the temps were still a bit chilly. Once got hiking though, our friends were shedding their layers because they were working hard to hike up the mountain. Of course, I brought my camera (like I always do) and go to turn it on and realize the battery is in the charger. For once I was smart and charged the battery and forgot about it. So sorry, no pics to share from the hike :( Afterwards we went to eat at the Breckenridge Brewery and had a lovely view of the mountains.

View from our table at Breckenridge Brewery

Our friends enjoyed their time in Colorado and we hope next time they bring their adorable kid and we can take him to all the fun kid stuff around. But now on to some very exciting news....drum roll please...REID PASSED THE COLORADO BAR!! Big congrats to him and he is very relieved to get that good news. Now on to the fun part of hassling potential employers until he finds a job!!

We may have had some crummy weather last weekend but it sure did get nice again during the week. I'll leave you with a picture I took on my daily lunch walk with Snyder. Enjoy and Happy Fall!!