it's december - other festive activities

girls' holiday dinner
christine, amy, elaine, lena and i got together for some mexican food over the holidays.  we hadn't had a girls' night in a long time!  i brought little gag gifts for the girls, who were headed to the bar next door after dinner.  holiday hats, glow stick bracelets, and silly gloves.  they were such good sports! they all immediately donned their gay apparel and even wore it over to the bar! love these girls.

and in exciting news, amy got engaged practically just days later

brunch club gift exchange
we held our annual gift exchange at natalie's pick, the little branch cafe.  it was a perfect spot for a group of six ladies who were in no particular rush.  we found out that natalie is expecting a baby in june!

office parties
part of the holiday season is the office work party.  patrick's team went go-cart racing.  which is no place for a pregnant lady.  however, patrick took home first place and chose the harry&david pears prize over the french wine prize, figuring that i can't drink wine right now anyway.  thanks honey!  i do love harry&david pears.  my office party was nice, really big, and really crowded, and i split early.

team calendar exchange
thought it was a cute idea that my team at work does a calendar exchange, and you HAVE TO pin your calendar up at work all year long.  makes for some awkward calendars.  i got peanuts characters, so not too bad.  i seriously would just not put fluffy kittens up on my wall all year long.

office holiday video
are you kidding me???  how corny is this?  it sounds like a bad episode of the office.  each team at work had to lip sync to the song CELEBRATION to be compiled into an office-wide music video to be shown at the holiday meeting.  i said i'd wear the shamu costume if i didn't have to show my face.  so i was shamu. 

when i laid down on the cabinet, my head popped out of shamu's mouth, whoops.

and yes, our office looks like a kindergarten classroom.

santa pictures
we scooped up uncle ryan and headed down to macy's on state street.  if you know this store, you know it's monstrous.  we marched up to the santa wonderland on the 5th floor and waited.  ryan, piper and i ran around macy's while dada held our spot in line.  we got food from marcus samuelsson's burger place and rick bayless' mexican place on the 7th floor.  mmm, makes waiting in line better. 

bonko nye party
we were invited to the bonko's new year's eve party.  last i heard, they are going to have a serbian band playing in their living room. even though they kindly offered to let piper sleep in their bedroom during the party, the late night just isn't in our plan this year.  but i'm still excited that they are having a big party in their new place!

christmas eve

ryan came over for christmas eve, and while i didn't get many photos, i did get this picture of the mussels in white wine and shallot broth with garlic crostini that he and patrick made. 

our afternoon appetizer

they were amazing.  we researched whether mussels are ok for pregnant ladies to eat, and while they are, i was still slightly worried that by some chance, there still could have been a red tide where these mussels were harvested, which would would have brought a bacteria to the shells that could affect the baby.  if i weren't pregnant, i probably would have eaten everyone's.  these were better than most of the mussels i've had in restaurants. 

piper and i were in charge of the cookies.  we kept it classic, with chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.

don't try to interrupt her while she's baking

for dinner, the boys had some kind of large meat roast. patrick made me not one, but two 7oz lobster tails.  i guess he took the pregnant appetite to heart.  i couldn't finish that much lobster, though not for lack of trying. but i could have lobster every night.  just saying.

we had roasted brussels sprouts for good measure, and also the nunes christmas tradition cheesey potatoes. calls for 1 pound of cheese. so good. 

it was a day full of cooking, and we were good and tired by the end.  we left cookies out for santa on the cooling rack and decided to save gift opening for christmas.  and all in all, it was a good christmas eve.

me oh my - a little guy!

if you didn't see over on facebook, we're having a boy! 

i had a gut feeling it was a boy, but i was letting myself believe it was going to be another girl.  i reeeeally wanted to be able to use all of piper's clothes again.  i know that sounds so stupid.  but i also only know what it's like to have a little girl.  i don't really know what to do with a boy!  but of course, i'll just love him and the rest will [have to] come naturally. 

and now that i know it's a boy, i get weepy (come on, i'm pregnant! i cried during the NPR phone drive!) when i watch piper at this incredibly adorable age and thinking to myself, "this is the last time i am going to have a little girl who is 17 months old!"  but it makes me appreciate her all the much more!

way back when i didn't know if piper was going to be a girl or a boy, i found these prints at anthropologie that i thought would be cute for a boy's room.  they aren't available anymore, but were outrageously priced anyway.  they aren't even as cute as i remembered! maybe it was the idea that i liked more than anything, but perhaps they can be some sort of inspiration.  eh and maybe not.  so for the sake of putting some boy-ish images in this post:

 does this monster have blue armpit hair? sick.

--

which brings me to the touchy question that i will only bring up briefly: where are we going to live?  true, our tiny loft is not ideal for two little ones; even though the baby will be in our room at first, yes the cries will carry over our walls.  every two hours.  all night long.  we'd like to be in a new place, but there are many moving pieces to that equation.  including the fact that we bought our home nearly at the height of the housing bubble.  i actually started looking for new places a long time ago, before i was even pregnant again, but the news of a second child in daycare really messes with our budget. sell our place? rent our place? buy a place? rent a place? short term? long term? it's all enough to drive a pregnant girl crazy.  i took a break from it all for the month of december.  my sanity has slowly started to return.  so for now, we have been, and still are, working through living options and arrangements, and i just can't let it stress me out too much. 

--

17 weeks

(about two weeks ago. and i am reeeeally awkwardly plump right now. ugh.)



now as for the new little guy that will soon be in our lives, he's growing well and is kicking up a storm these days.  he kicks his mama when she is trying to go to sleep.  as for his big sister, she just got a toy stroller and is really good at pushing her bunny around in it.  she's going to go nuts when she sees a real baby in this house.  she has recently become hyper-aware of babies on tv, in photos, and on packaging, calling out "babb-y, babby!"  but she's still too young to understand the idea of a baby in my tummy.  she has no problem plopping herself on my stomach, climbing on my belly, or headbutting me in the gut.  thanks piper.  i'm sure your little brother also appreciates it!  hmm, or maybe she DOES understand!?!!

we're very excited to meet him!

christmas eve eve

it's christmas eve eve.  i've been off of work all week, and am off next week too, making for a two week vacation.  it was a busy week, not at all relaxing like i had hoped, but has finally slowed down:

• piper's day care was closed this week, which meant for good piper time, but which also makes errands all the more difficult.
• i had three doctor's appointments downtown this week.
  -> piper came with me to two of them
  -> one of them turned into a TWO HOUR wait. with a now 17 month old. are you kidding? she did so well, i couldn't believe it.
• i checked in on work all week, mostly in the mornings, with a few odd emails to send and receive, and a few items that i've pushed off til next week. which of course weighs on my mind, but i guess that's what procrastinating is all about.
• we ventured downtown on patrick's day off yesterday to visit santa, which means a total of 4 trips downtown this week, which is no easy feat considering all the christmas shoppers
• while our replacement order of christmas cards arrived quite quickly (first order was stolen), it was hard finding the time this week to address all of them - they'll be going out "better late than never" style
• today's doctor appointment was our ultrasound!!  ryan babysat piper, for which we are very grateful.  downtown was actually EASY to navigate today since so many offices are closed.  and we are now the proud owners of a sealed envelope that simply says GENDER on the front.   

baby girl or boy larkin behaved for the ultrasound, and we definitely have a gender written down inside our envelope. we were asked to turn away as the cameras headed to the baby's pelvic region, and the technician could easily tell right away due to some fantastic cooperation on the baby's part. we got some pictures and a video to bring home. my guess? i think it's a boy!

this afternoon was supposed be for baking, but one of my "pregnancy headaches" interfered with my planned schedule.  did you know it starts to get dark here at 4:30?  nothing like waking up from a nap at 4:45pm and thinking you've slept well into the night.

while piper and i were sleeping, ryan and patrick headed out to get goodies for christmas eve dinner.  they went to a meat market and picked up a rib roast.  then headed to whole foods together.  i can just imagine them walking the aisles, hanging out at the fish counter, and sipping their matching beers (this is one of those stores that has a bar, which i personally think is fantastic for helping to ease husbands into doing the grocery shopping).  they must have looked like a cute little gay couple shopping together. 

tangent: speaking of the drink selection at whole foods, while the beer bar is at the front of the store, a little deeper into the store is the wine bar, where i have been know to head DIRECTLY after working out at my gym across the street.  nothing like a white wine flight and fish tacos post workout? this might be a reason i can't seem to join a different gym.

since i'm not a meat eating kinda gal, the boys got me a lobster tail for christmas eve. they also picked up some mussels, which are LIVING in our refrigerator right now. no joke. as long as they live through the night, they will end up in an aromatic white wine and shallot broth at some point tomorrow.

 thanks, that's MY favorite bath towel

aww, we thought piper was so cute helping to unpack the groceries. we turned around for one minute and she had opened up an egg carton and was dropping eggs on the floor!

however, for tonight, christmas eve eve, the boys picked out steaks for themselves (steak has been cooked in our house maybe three other times, so it's quite a treat), and made for me and piper some delicious sole with a thyme butter sauce.  piper ate it up.  so did i.

it felt amazing to have the boys make such delicious food, while looking forward to yet another scrumptious dinner tomorrow night.

and while the boys cooked and cleaned, i caught up on some blog reading.  particularly christmas appropriate are these two posts from my dad:

• dad's sleigh ride post: http://frankinnorway.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter-weekend-in-mountains-kanefart.html
• dad's christmas market in roros post: http://frankinnorway.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter-weekend-in-mountains-christmas.html

sneaking into christmas presents?? uh oh piper!
don't you know that elf on the shelf is watching you???

and so with a full, happy belly, i go to bed, excited for a christmas eve day ahead!

it's december - o christmas tree

blurry, but she doesn't stop moving.

she finally started showing some interest in the tree!

sorry our tree doesn't have a skirt.

it's december - holiday visitors!

hey there scippsies, look who passed through chicago - it's dave levitt from mudd!

holly happened to text us right while we were having tea, so we sent her this pic!

dave is in the states from pau, france for the holidays and decided to pass through chicago to visit a few friends on his way from texas to new york.  the last time i saw him, i was pregnant with piper but didn't know it yet. 

dave came over to our place, met piper and we walked to lunch at big star. by lunch time, piper was all hugs.  we went into a few shops in the neighborhood, then hopped in the car to run a few more errands.  couldn't believe that dave wanted to come along! 

playing with dave's iphone

by dinner, a plan came together for patrick and ryan to join in, along with dave's friends mike and mariel, at piece pizza.  while i was a horrible 'host' and had nothing in particular planned for the day dave was in town, he definitely got to see the bucktown/wicker park neighborhood. 

we're really hoping that dave lives in pau long enough for us to visit him one day!

it's december - holiday markets

to carry on with our holiday cheer, we headed down to the christkindlmarket - a german outdoor holiday market that runs from thanksgiving to christmas in daley plaza.  downtown was big time bustling, even on a sunday evening.  which meant that the market was packed beyond belief.  we walked around, decided the lines for schnitzel and potato pancakes were too long, and opted for peppermint mochas at starbucks instead. we walked the crowded streets, eyed the christmas ornaments at the market, eyed the holiday displays at field's (now actually macy's), and took in the smells of garrett's popcorn wafting through the streets. christmas was definitely in full swing.  and as i was busy watching piper take in the holiday excitement, i only quickly snapped a couple pics:

she's saying, "cheeeeeeeeese!"

time to cast your votes!

it's almost time! friday is our ultrasound! and if you missed the earlier note, we're going to ask the technician not to tell us what sex the baby is, but instead hide the answer in a sealed envelope for us to open on christmas morning.  so cast your votes in the poll on the right! 

big sister

telling the family that there's another one on the way:
1. sew the letters for 'big sister' on a shirt. be careful with the 't' otherwise it will kind of look like 'big sisler.'
2. put shirt on the big sister. make note that cuter scrap fabric would have gone a long way.
3. invite dad and brother over for thanksgiving.
4. wait for reaction.


dad arrived a little bit before ryan did, but the shirt slipped by him without notice. a few minutes later ryan came in and spotted it after about 22 seconds.  he, of course, said something like, "what's that about?"  then it was congratulations all around! i kept the news a secret from them both for a looooong time so that i could tell dad in person!


the big brother or big sister t-shirt is probably one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it was fun! 

it's december - our tree is up!

turns out piper really isn't that interested in the big tree in our living room.  it was much more interesting to her when patrick and ryan brought it home and were sawing off the lower branches. now that all potential baby-chopping tools have been safely stowed away, and the tree is adorned with out-of-hand's reach lights and ornaments, it's just really not that big of a deal to a 16-month old with more important things to do.

i guess i thought she might oooh and ahhhh over it every night, like i do, curled up on the couch.  but who am i kidding? first of all, piper stays curled up on the couch for about as long as it takes ol' saint nick to give mommy a kiss on the cheek. but she does like christmas music. so even if she lost [rather: never really had] interest in the sweet piney fir perched in our family room, at least she's a darned cute dancer.

it's december - holiday markets!

i've been meaning to explore the dose market for awhile now.  specifically, since june when it first opened it's pop-up  market doors. the market has been held once a month ever since, in the very river east arts center where cousin kiira and nate wed this october.  so you'll recognize the venue!

  
the idea is to feature select vendors under one roof, with a focus on food and fashion.
as for me, i went for the food. please.
ok, and to see if there were any holiday gifts i could pick up from the extra holiday vendors.

the local artisans, chefs and bakers at dose were definitely great picks from around the city.  but it was crazy-crowded. so i am very glad i went by myself.  i don't think i would have done well with another person; we'd have to shout and wouldn't be able to converse comfortably, let alone walk side by side, ever.  so even with another person, it would have been like being alone, if you ask me.

 
however, it would have been nice to comment on all the pretty and yummy that was going on around that place.  the gin cocktails they were handing out from a local maker. the festive displays. the milk glass. the bow ties.  the ghost pepper mustard.  the mediocre granola. the surprisingly fantastic toasted marshmallows. 

the

F R I E D

C H I C K E N !!

yes, devon lorraine larkin just exclaimed "fried chicken!" in a good way.  the girl who hasn't eaten fried chicken since she was probably eight years old.

i loved it. maybe it's because i am pregnant.

or maybe it's because i actually tasted a piece of heaven. dipped in honey butter.

"Honey Butter Fried Chicken, a counter-service spot (probably) opening next spring or summer (probably), serving seasonal sides, simple desserts, and lots of fried chicken (definitely). They will reveal the location as soon as they sign the lease." 

and, because i am now obsessed with it, i found even more on the internet:

picture 1 + picture 2 = picture 3

+

=

"Telling the story of a restaurant from conception to opening night is always interesting, and so Anthony Todd at Chicagoist has decided to chronicle one of the businesses which first hatched at the Green City Market and has continued to incubate on the foodie circuit. That's Honey Butter Fried Chicken, an offshoot of Sunday Dinner Club which grills burgers at the Green City Market and which hopes to open a shop sometime next year. They made their debut at the Dose Market on Sunday, and Todd was there to shoot and take notes on the whole process beginning at 7 a.m. ("Speaking of Dose, the lovely people there must think I'm a crazy stalker, because I've been pacing back and forth in front of the entrance for about 10 minutes"). Check out his humorous account of how you fry and sell 750 pieces of chicken in a hallway in about four hours, and watch for future installments."

it's december!

and christmas is coming!

does that look like christmas joy or what?!

piper got to open up her christmas present from grandpa frank and bestemor (tove)
a little early this year.  she happened to be wearing a winter hat at the time..

the holidays always fly past, so i want to really make an effort to savor december this year!

today we are picking up our tree; we are getting it from a restaurant this year. a restaurant? that's weird.  it's a restaurant that sources a lot of local ingredients and they randomly bought some christmas trees when they were at a farm in michigan.  so we signed up and we get it today.  i'm hoping it will be a little fresher than the ones on the tree lots.  i really miss going into the santa cruz mountains, hunting for the perfect tree and chopping it down ourselves, but doing something a little different for our tree this year makes it fun. we'll be eating at grange hall before picking up our tree, so i'm excited. check it out:

 can you see the old school high chairs against the wall?  they were great!

Grange Hall Burger Bar imported six-foot Frasier Firs from Badger Evergreen Nursery in Allegan,

you've got questions. i've got answers.

how far along are you?
i'm 15 weeks

when are you due?
may 21!

how have you been feeling?
ugh. i was not feeling well at all for a good two months.  nauseous all day.  no food sounded good at all.  but almost every time i ate, i felt better, so i made a point to eat.  and then i made a point to eat every two hours, and that helped too.  my energy level has been low, low, low.  i've been exhausted.  i started taking naps on the weekends.  and i HATE napping.  i've been working long days and long weeks, and have no energy when i get home. at all.  oh and the headaches.  i swear, i am drinking plenty of water to combat.  with all of it, i have been so unproductive.  which has been hard to deal with, because now i have more than ever to do.  we have a lot to figure out with regard to our housing situation.  and with the holidays coming, i never got the head start i was planning.  on anything.  so behind.  BUT the good news is that as of last week, i started feeling a little better!

how's everything going?
with the baby?  good!  we've done a few ultrasounds and have done tests, and everything looks good!  i brought out my maternity jeans last week.  at 14 weeks!!!  i don't know when i started wearing maternity pants last time, but i KNOW it wasn't this early!

were you pregnant in that race photo? did you know in that race photo that you were pregnant?

yes i was pregnant in that photo, and it was my little secret when i pointed to my "number" as the photog came up to me.  he loved it, he thought i was so proud.  i kind of was, but not because of the paper pinned to me!

why no facebook comments?
i just haven't told all my co-workers/team yet.  i'm telling them tomorrow, then i'll probably put something on fb.


belly pic?
blahhhh um, here's what i've got.  12 weeks.  i probably have a better belly now though.

will you be finding out the sex? {this temporarily disappeared from this post}yes! in just a few weeks we'll have "the big" ultrasound and we're asking the technician to seal the answer in an envelope.  we plan to open the envelope on christmas morning!

scenes from thanksgiving

 

snacks - nothing very interesting, just some munchies for the afternoon

piper's two favorite things: the ipad and a spoon

and when it was time, patrick and i started putting out the much-anticipated thanksgiving feast.

besides the greenbean casserole, cumin roasted cauliflower with pomegranate and mint, cream braised brussels sprouts, cranberry orange sauce, and stuffing that we had here, ryan brought some kick-ass mashed potatoes and my dad made alton brown's corn bread pudding.  and then the turkey and gravy turned out beautifully!

i started arranging the spread

and setting the table,

while wendy kept piper occupied,

and patrick carved the bird.

it was a wonderful family thanksgiving!

the cranberry chess pie that i ended up waiting an hour for from hoosie mama pie co just didn't hold a candle to the CHOCOLATE pecan pie that patrick made!!  patrick also made me a pumpkin pie, since hoosier mama sold out.  not only that, but ryan and wendy brought delicious cupcakes.  there was definitely no shortage of dessert.  we were all very full as we thought of the many things we have to be thankful for!

thanksgiving helper

this year we were thankful to have such a good helper on hand.

piper helped by making sure the strainer tasted ok,

by styling half her hair herself (not saying which half),

by leading us in a relaxing session of yoga,

and by supervising the guys.

couldn't have done it without her.

thanks pipes!