Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I simply adore pumpkin, especially in the fall.  I love almost anything pumpkin: pie, bread, Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. :)  So, when Matt mentioned that our neighbor had made these delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, I was sold without even tasting them.  Even better, the recipe had three ingredients: a can of pumpkin, a box of spice cake mix, and a bag of chocolate chips.  That's it.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the pumpkin and cake mix and then add in the chocolate chips.  I stuck my dough in the fridge for a little bit so it could solidify some as it was pretty soft and sticky.  The dough tastes pretty delicious too--and there's no raw egg to worry about!

Drop dollops of the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake!  I didn't grease my cookie sheet but it may not be a bad idea--some of the cookies stuck just a bit to the sheet.  I left mine in the oven for roughly 10 minutes and the insides were still a little soft, just how I like em!  You may need to adjust the time if you try these, I'm not sure what exact effect the higher altitude may have on bake times.

These easy cookies are great for fall and I got about three dozen out of my batch...way more than two people need to eat so I'll probably take some to work and send some to class with Matt.  Once they're done baking, grab a glass of milk and enjoy!!  :)

Yum!

First Snow.

We got our first snow of the season last night with more expected tonight and into Friday morning.  We took a moment last night to stand outside, watch the snow fall, and just listen to that amazing silence that a fresh snow fall brings.  :)

Fall Break and Four Months.

This last week marked the end of Matt's first session of his MBA program and that meant lots of studying for, and taking of, finals.  However, it also meant a much deserved Fall Break!!  It's been great to have Matt home for a couple days without having to worry about school.  We drove into Boulder on Thursday to hike at Chautauqua Park which is a national landmark and quite beautiful (you can click the link if you'd like to know more about it).  I love hiking out here in the fall and seeing all the colors and breathing in the crisp, fresh air.  Unfortunately, I'm a bit slower than I used to be and seem to get out of breath much quicker than I used to which is incredibly frustrating...I was told to expect that with pregnancy but it doesn't make it any less irritating.

The Flatirons.

Looking out a CU's campus from our hike.

Stumbled across some unexpected red in a field.

We planned to hike on the McClintock trail but had Cooper
with us and well, we're kind of fond of our dog and didn't
want him to possibly become bear food.

I mentioned in my previous post that we planned to spend a day and night up in Ft. Collins but plans changed and we ended up driving down to Golden instead yesterday for a nice day-trip.  Matt had been to Golden a few times but it was my first.  It only took us about 20 or 25 minutes to get there and it's a beautiful little town.  It reminded me a lot of Old Colorado City where we used to live in the Springs.  The leaves on the trees were nice and colorful and there's an awesome creek that runs through the middle of the town.  We had lunch and then walked around the shops downtown and along the creek.  If we did end up staying out here after Matt's graduation I could see us living in Golden as it just has such a better feel to it than where we are now and what I've gathered from Boulder as well.

I just loved this creek!!

There were a number of old building from the Pioneer days and the "M"
on the mountain is for Colorado School of Mines.

Another view of the creek.

There were statues all along the creek...Matt really enjoyed this one.

Today marks week 16 of my pregnancy, or four months.  I'm still feeling great, just tired sometimes but it's hard to tell if that's from the pregnancy or just the fact that I work nights.  Baby J is definitely growing and is approximately the size of an avocado and weighs about 3.5 ounces.  While Baby J is doing plenty of growing, I still don't feel like I look very pregnant...more like I've eaten a bit too much lately and have a food baby going on.  I've noticed that my waist and hips have gotten wider and my middle looks softer, but I'm looking forward to the day where the bump just "pops" and people will be able to tell that I'm actually pregnant.

Not much of a bump...and please excuse the fact that the
flash illuminated my undergarments! Opps!

Hope everyone has had as great a weekend as we have...now it's time to settle in on the couch for some football! Xoxo!

Weekend in St. Louis.

We're back home safe and sound after a quick trip back to St. Louis for our good friends' wedding.  We landed a little later than expected Friday but made it to the rehearsal dinner just in time for the actual dinner.  It was wonderful to see all of our friends again and to celebrate Tim and Megan together.  We were able to watch that intense Cards-Nationals game as well...there's nothing like cheering for your team with your friends with the Arch in the background.  I have to admit, it made us miss St. Louis even more.

Matt was one of the groomsmen in the wedding Saturday and he looked quite dapper in his suit...he cleans up very well. :)  I was able to squeeze into a dress I already owned--I'm really trying to avoid having to purchase too many maternity items so I'm putting it off as long as I can.  The wedding itself was simply lovely, as I knew it would be, and the weather was perfect for a fall wedding.  We danced the night away with our friends and just had an amazing time.

We clean up pretty well. ;)

Not the greatest picture of us, but the bride and groom look lovely
and you can see the baby bump (it grows after meals, haha). :)

We took a little time on Sunday to enjoy the weather and the beautiful colors of the changing trees.  There is just something wonderful about fall in St. Louis: the smell, the crispness in the air, and the colors.  As amazing as Colorado is, you just don't experience fall like you do in the Midwest.

Prime example of amazing fall colors!

In other news, we're into week 15 of the pregnancy with Baby J roughly the size of naval orange.  It's hard to believe we're less than a week away from the four month mark.  I'm still feeling great which is wonderful.  Our next Dr. appointment is the 24th so we'll get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat again on the ultrasound.  Pretty exciting stuff!!

Matt has finals this week so most of his time will be devoted to studying.  He has Thursday and Friday off after finals as part of a Fall Break so we're hoping to head up to Ft. Collins for a day and night or so.

Hope all is well with everyone!! Xoxo!

Snuggles.

This was the sight in our house this morning after a rough night at work for me:  I worked the two previous nights, had difficulty sleeping during the days between shifts, and was on call last night only to be called in at 0100 this morning.  Oy.  Sometimes you just need a quick nap on the floor snuggling with the dog. :)

Not the most flattering picture, but Cooper snuggling is a rarity.

We're getting ready to fly back to St. Louis this afternoon (yay!) for a wedding but I'll be sure to post an update picture of my baby "bump"...it seems to have had a minor growth spurt these last two weeks!!

And Then There Were Three!

I'm sure that many, if not all, of you have already heard our big news, but we have a big announcement:  Matt and I are expecting our first child!!  Baby J's due date is April 6th, 2013 which puts me at roughly 14 weeks pregnant currently--just barely into the second trimester--and Baby J at the size of a lemon.  We don't plan to find out the gender of the baby until he or she is born, so we've got a pretty big surprise awaiting us come April!

Such a cute kid already...and look at that little hand!! :)

We found out in early August that I was pregnant and I have to be honest, it was a bit of a surprise.  We anticipated that it would take a few months of trying before those two little lines would show up on that stick.  However, that certainly didn't turn out to be the case for us!  And, it's funny how things work out as the timing really isn't too bad:  Matt will be finished with classes in May and we'll have had 4 months to settle into a routine before his second year of grad school starts.

It's hard to believe that I'm 3.5 months pregnant as I really don't feel much different from my pre-pregnant self.  I must say that I've been very lucky thus far:  my first trimester was pretty easy.  So much so that I often forget I'm pregnant.  I didn't have any morning sickness, just occasional bouts of queasiness, and I've yet to experience any sort of crazy cravings (though, there's still plenty of time for those I'm sure).  In fact, I didn't even have any of the "typical" symptoms to indicate that I was pregnant, I simply had a persistent headache which was out of the norm for me.

Of course there have been some changes and adjustments already.  I've had to tweak my workout routines as I can't work out as hard as I used to.  My doctor nixed the second half-marathon we had planned on running last month.  I've had to get used to the fact that I'm not working out to lose weight and that it is expected and good that I gain weight.  I really don't feel as though I look pregnant yet and am very much looking forward to the time when I have a noticeable baby bump as opposed to simply looking bloated/having eaten a large meal.  There's a pretty small bump at the moment though it really isn't visible under my clothes yet.  In fact, here's a picture to show my current "baby bump":

13 weeks with Baby J--just a small bump.

As I said, not much to see yet but I know it will be soon!  We'll try to take a picture weekly to show the baby's growth and progress.  We didn't take one for this week, 14 weeks, but there really isn't much of a change yet.  Our next doctor's appointment is October 24th and we'll get to see Baby J on yet another ultrasound--such an amazing experience to see the little guy or girl moving around and hear the heart beat!

We're heading back to St. Louis next weekend for a whirlwind trip for our good friends' wedding but I'll be sure to update once we're home again.  Hopefully at 15 weeks there will be more of a bump to see! :)