Week 30: Homemade Apple Pie & Afternoon Naps

To kick off Week 30 of pregnancy, I baked homemade apple pie. With the help of Ken's excellent dough-rolling skills, I was able to create my favorite version using my Grandma Elsa's Apple Pie Recipe. The combination of red and green apples added a touch of diversity in taste - sweet, tart, and bright flavors paired well with the buttery, flakey pie crust.

Grandma would be proud of my handiwork. She taught me so much in her second floor, tile-lined kitchen, with its patches of sticky coating - most likely caused by flying bits of sugar and butter from all of our cooking and baking together. Grandma was such a strong woman - my mom's mom, she grew up in the Bronx, and loved telling inappropriate New York cab driver jokes and reminiscing about her travels growing up and into adulthood. In many ways, I think she tried to be a second mom to me, particularly when my parents separated and eventually divorced. I miss her wisdom, strength, and love for learning. As a young child, she'd point me to her large living room bookcase - where there sat a dictionary, a thesaurus, an almanac, and a hefty concordance of the Bible - any time I had a question about the world, or God, or the meaning of a big word. I can still hear her now: "Maile, go and get the book! Let's look it up." And we did. Every, single time. Until the days when Grandma got too weak and breathless, and prepared to leave us. Then, she just wanted to hear me talk and neither of us asked too many questions.

I still miss her. Often, when I catch myself reflecting on a favorite memory or recipe of hers, I start to cry. Grandma Elsa would be so excited that I'm pregnant. I hope that I can pass along some of her best attributes to my daughter. Along with her cooking, of course.

This week marks 30 weeks in baby girl's development. She now weighs 3lbs or more and measures roughly 15 1/2 inches from head to foot. She's the size of a large cabbage, according to my reading, and her bone marrow has started producing red blood cells. Her brain is forming ridges and growing steadily, and is helping to regulate her body temperature along with her increasing fat cells. Baby girl's eyesight is also strengthening. Similar to her ability to kick. I'm impressed by how quickly she is able to get my attention these days, particularly when I'm relaxing or sleeping. I believe that she is starting to recognize Ken's voice since I've noticed an increase in activity when he is close by. We are growing in anticipation of meeting our sweet little girl!

At my most recent doctor visit, my belly bump measured 31cm, which is right on track for healthy development. Her heart beat is also normal and thankfully, the only symptoms I'm experiencing in this stage of pregnancy are increased heartburn and occasional backpain. Last night, I woke up feeling very uncomfortable, as I'm struggling to find a good sleeping position that accommodates my growing belly! I go back and forth between using my giant body pillow and my normal head pillow, as I overheat quite easily these days. I'm trying to remind myself what a blessing it is that I can now take afternoon naps. Especially on days when I've gone without much sleep the previous night. Friday was my last day at my full-time job and I'm looking forward to lots more napping in my future (along with continued progress on the nursery!)

Speaking of which, I took a lovely hour-long nap this afternoon and am feeling refreshed. I suppose it's time to head back into the kitchen and tackle the remainder of yesterday's mess from my baking endeavors. Here are some photos of our pie making yesterday.

Enjoy!
Maile

K + M + Baby

We're having a baby!!!

Wow. What an adventure these past few months have been. To update readers, Ken and I announced a few weeks ago that we're having a baby! Baby Crewdson is growing quickly and my current due date is right around Easter 2015. 

Today, I officially hit 18 weeks in my second trimester of pregnancy. That means I'm completely over the hump of morning-noon-night sickness (cue applause) and enjoying an increase in energy, which means less midday naps and more motivation to hit the gym. Ken and I, along with Penny (our border collie mix), are excited to welcome the baby home in just a few short months. At my doctor's visit yesterday, the nurse practitioner said that the baby's heartbeat is 150 beats per minute and going strong. 

Our baby is about the size of a bell pepper and 5 1/2 inches long. Ken and I are tracking its growth on our DIY chalkboard, which Ken made for me using a thrift store picture frame, which cost roughly $3-4 and chalkboard spray paint we found at JoAnn's Fabric Store for $4. Originally, I planned to purchase a chalkboard this size from Amazon or Etsy but all the ones I liked were around $50. "Necessity is the mother of invention," as the adage goes, and I'm thankful for my husband's skill at building and creating things I sure enjoy. 

Along with the excitement of our baby news, Ken and I get to celebrate Penny's 1st birthday in a couple weeks, which falls right before Ken's 30th birthday. Nov. 3rd marks 6 months of owning our loving pup, who came to live with us in May. She's quite the rascal and honestly loves food more than affection, I'm pretty sure. One of my favorite things I've noticed about Penny is how much she loves swimming! And fetching large sticks, which are in actuality trees. For Penny, the bigger the "toy" - stick, stuffed animal, or bouncy ball, the better. This summer was the perfect example of how energetic and lively she can be, particularly when friends came to visit us. In owning Penny, we've tried all different forms of obedience training and are still teaching her that jumping up at people or running after small children is not allowed. Her adolescent stage, while completely normal given her background (she's a rescue dog), is a good opportunity for us to practice setting healthy boundaries and in turn, either rewarding or correcting her behavior. It's our goal to get Penny ready for the addition of baby come Spring.

She is a good dog, and a great companion in-training.

     

As I reflect on the last few months, I'm blown away by how God has met me (and Ken) in our decision to step out in faith and move to Alaska. I have a feeling that no matter where we live in the coming years (Alaska, California or Hawaii), God will meet us as we live faithfully and pursue His Kingdom above all else. And while we are here, I'm blessed by God's constant hand upon us. I want to continue to set down roots here, building community and living purposefully. We are so blessed to now be starting a family after four years of marriage.

I turned 29 years old a couple weeks ago. I still remember how I met Ken on the small island of Maui at the age of 22, just a few days before my 23rd birthday. That seems like forever ago now. And yet I'm thankful that we waited to have kids and got to know each other, ourselves, and experience a fuller picture of God's plan for our marriage. Call me selfish, but I don't think I knew myself well enough a few years ago to have brought a child into this world. Praise God for the unique journey He's had me on and how in coming to this place, wrought with many challenges and triumphs, I feel better prepared to be a mom. I want to be a great mom, and that's my prayer. 

Thank you for joining me in this new journey of parenthood. 

Now, off to get a snack. I seem to be much hungrier these days... ;)

Flying High on the 4th of July! {Photos of Denali National Park}

12,000 feet above sea level. 

That's how high up Ken and I, along with our friends the Halsne family, got on my first-ever flight seeing tour above Denali National Park yesterday. We celebrated the 4th of July with some of the most epic views of my life. Denali, also referred to as Mt. McKinley, has a peak measuring roughly 20, 237 ft tall. It boasts the highest mountain peak in North America and is the third tallest in the world. In the native tongue, Denali means "The High One." 

Our Seattle friends blessed us immensely with this opportunity to do something Ken and I have thought about for a while. (Thank you so much, Dan and Yoonjung!) 

Despite my sweaty palms and shaky nerves, I climbed onto the 7-seater bush plane and waved goodbye

to the tiny town of Talkeenta, as we took off on the runway around 4 p.m. The 90-minute flight was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences for me, and I'm so thankful that Ken and I got to share it with close friends.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots of the Alaska Range, which includes glacial rivers, icefalls, glaciers, Mt. McKinley, Moose's Tooth, Bear's Tooth, and many other peaks. God's handiwork is amazing. 

*Click on each photo to enlarge.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

their words to the ends of the world." 

Psalm 19:1-4

Denali National Park, Alaska