Baby showers and fun decorations

I have so many friends due in February! It's been exciting to watch them progress in their pregnancies and celebrate their awaited sons and daughters through baby showers. I had a ton of fun making banana bread cupcakes for my friend and co-worker Janine. Ignore the platter they're on; it's just for easy transport, and I got lazy when I decided to take some pictures. The little boy bums spell out a nickname Janine has given to her son, so we'll set them out in order. The diaper bundles are a simpler variation of the amazing diaper cakes that are all the rave right now.Yea for all of these friends for our little one!

27 weeks and growing!

Last time I spoke to my sister, she asked me to send her another "baby bump" picture. I felt a little guilty not actually posting the picture for all of you out there who keep asking, so here it is.

27 weeks pregnant - a lot changes in a month!

I admit that when I looked at these pictures after Greg took them, I gasped! Am I really that big?! What a shock! haha I can't believe we only have three months left until we get to meet our little guy! How amazingly grateful we are to God for this gift of life inside of me.

Cloth Diaper Sadness

I have been seriously looking into cloth diapers the past week or so. I have really really really wanted to make it work. And I know if I were willing to make some major time and money sacrifices, it could work. Greg and I cringe thinking about all of the diapers we'll be adding to the environment. But here's where we get in trouble with cloth diapers -- we use a laundromat (and they are not cheap in this area), and our future has so much unknown as to in what part of the world we might even be living. So I bore down this afternoon and did the calculations. Hands down, for the first six months at least, cloth diapering will be extremely more expensive, almost even double the cost (mostly due to having to use a laundromat and thus needing to buy more in quantity as well as pay more to wash each time). And that's why I'm sad. Should we find ourselves in an apartment with an option to buy a washer and dryer (or even better with one included) after baby boy is born, I will definitely recalculate and hopefully be able to make the switch. But until then, we'll be making our awfully large contribution to the diaper waste in our country... *big sigh*

Of course, if you have figured out a way to make laundromats and newborns and cloth diapers work for you, I would love to hear about it (unless your solution includes a cheap laundromat, going more than twice a week, or being okay with the excessively higher cost)!

Baby pictures and random musings

My mom posted a baby picture each of Greg and me on her blog. If you're wondering what our son may look like, these should give you a pretty good idea. We still have about 100 days, but Greg and I CANNOT WAIT TO MEET HIM! We will wait though.

In other news, Greg preached in church this morning. He did a marvelous job. I was inspired. Our church posts sermons on our website; I have no idea if the quality is good, but it should be there soon - http://www.hopefellowshipchurch.org.

And Greg and I watched the movie Julie and Julia tonight. As a blogger, someone who enjoys cooking for pleasure, and one who dreams of writing one day as well, I was thoroughly entertained by it. A warning though -- it is slow. Greg wasn't sure he'd make it through the entire movie. Oh, and DO NOT watch that movie hungry!

King Family Christmas

Greg and I packed for our trip to Baltimore in somewhat of a rush. On the way to the airport, I knew I had forgotten something. THE CAMERA! Ah! So I sadly do not have any grand pictures to share. This was my first time in Baltimore (that I can recall) and my first time to meet some of Greg's relatives. Definitely my first time to spend any significant time with them. (Our wedding didn't quite provide that.) It was really special to celebrate Christmas together in both his Grandmom and Granddad's homes, hear stories from Greg's childhood and his parents' as well. We enjoyed sharing a few hours with some uncles and aunts and cousins and just relaxing with family. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to be with the King family before welcoming our little son to the world. I have a feeling he might be the center of attention the next time we're able to visit Baltimore...

To all of our friends and family around the globe, we wish we could have spent significant time with you as well!

(The flight attendants are telling me its time to get off the computer now.)

Greg and I wish you all a belated merry Christmas. May the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives be your sustenance and your portion. In Him is the only true Life.

Winter Guide to Parking-Spot-Savers in Boston

Greg and I laughed quite a bit at this article from the Globe. Make sure you scroll through the pictures. This is most definitely what it is like in our neighborhood all winter. Enjoy!

Shameless plug for Tufts

Some of you may have watched an episode of two of the NBC show, The Sing-Off. Well, The Beelzebubs, Tufts' oldest all-male a cappella group, have made it to the finals, and it would be awesome if you would vote for them. Here they are singing "Sweet Caroline"...



Vote for the Bubs!

• Call 1-877-6-SING-01 (1-877-674-6401)
• Text 1 to 33088
• Cast your ballot on NBC.com

You can vote 10 times per phone or e-mail address (30 times total). Voting ends Sunday, Dec. 20, at 9 a.m. EST.