Dallas Shower and Baby Shep's Name

Earlier in December, Rachel, Jill, Molly, and Tori graciously threw me and Baby Shep a fabulous shower in Dallas. It was at Rachel's house, and everything was adorable!

Speaking of the adorable, the cute decorations had Baby Shep's name on full display....so I guess it is time for me to announce her name on the blog...

Ava Elizabeth Shepherd

Everything was so cute, and the food was delicious!

And this adorable wreath is now hung on the door of Ava's nursery.

Ava was definitely showered with love and lots of fun baby stuff.

I had to get a picture with Ava's grandmothers, Grammie and Bunny :).

After the gifts were opened, everyone made onesies and burp cloths. It was such a fun baby shower activity!

Take a look at the finished products...

Thanks so much to the beautiful hostesses.

Ava is one lucky lady!

Baby Gifts from Josh's Office

Josh had his office holiday party last night, and I unfortunately had to miss it because I was sick all day yesterday (I thought I had escaped all "morning sickness" during this pregnancy!). I was especially sad that I missed the party when Josh came home with these two gift baskets from everyone in his office, which were filled with classic children's books and movies.

I can't wait to read these classics with Baby Shep...

And I definitely can't wait to watch one of my all-time favorite movies with her :). "Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens"....

Thanks so much to everyone at Curtis Castillo!

32 Weeks

With all that has been going on the past few weeks, including Thanksgiving and my two baby showers (which I will post pictures of soon), I missed taking my 30-week belly picture.

So, the 32-week picture will have to do (and technically, I will be 33 weeks tomorrow).

With how large my belly is, I am very curious to see how big Baby Shep is going to be...I just hope she isn't 10 pounds like her Dad was :).

As of tomorrow, I only have four more weeks until I'm full-term and seven more weeks until my due date! So exciting!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays...what's not to love about family all around, football on TV, and lots of delicious food.

This year, we had Thanksgiving at my Mom's house. It was nice to not have to cook anything this year, especially since being on my feet that much at 7.5-months pregnant would probably not have been pleasant (although I really do enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner).

This year was also the first time I got to enjoy the great combination that is Thanksgiving food and maternity pants :). I felt like Joey from Friends with his "turkey pants."

We had a great time, and my Mom's dinner and my Uncle Ryan's pies were as delicious as ever.

Here are a few shots of the family...

My Mom and Aunt Laura

My Cousin Grace, who is currently a Freshman at Pratt in New York, and her boyfriend.

Me and Mimi. This is not a great picture of either of us, but I had to include it. Mimi has had a tough couple of years dealing with Parkinson's as well as other health issues (not to mention the death of her husband, Jack), so we were all very thankful that she was with us to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

Josh watching football and being silly.

Hanging out after dinner.

My Mom and Bonnie.

Jesse and his girlfriend, Nikki. Such a cute couple!

Me and Josh (and my preggo belly).

My lovely sister Charlotte, who is a Freshman at College of Charleston (and loving it!).

Charlotte can't wait to meet her niece :).

Not pictured are Jimmy, my cousin Isabel, and my Uncle Ryan....sorry guys!

Childbirth 101

As rookie parents, my doctor recommended that we sign up for a "Prepared Childbirth" class at the hospital. Luckily, they offer a one-day class on Saturdays, but the downside is that it lasts from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Can you tell how excited Josh was to be there that early on a Saturday...

There were about 15-20 couples in the class, and the instructor was really good. She went through a bunch of information, including the various stages of labor and what to expect throughout the whole process.

We really got a kick out of the cervical dilation chart...

One of the best parts of the class was the tour. She started off by showing us where to park and check-in...very important information! We then got to see the labor and delivery rooms, which are super nice (photo courtesy of the hospital website)...

Although, I have a feeling that I won't be enjoying the room that much when I am actually in labor :).

We also toured the operation room area (in case of C-section), NICU, and the rooms where you move to for the remainder of your stay at the hospital (which are pretty similar to the labor and delivery rooms).

I really enjoyed the tour as well as the class, and we definitely feel a lot more prepared...as prepared as you can be for the birth of your first baby.

Chocolate Icebox Pie: The Filling

I've always loved Luby's...the macaroni and cheese, the rolls, and especially the chocolate icebox pie. Something about stepping into the restaurant brings back so many childhood memories.

So, when Luby's came out with a cookbook a while back, I knew I had to have it. To my delight, it had the chocolate icebox pie recipe, which you can use with the crust recipe I posted previously. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :).

First, get the ingredients together...

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 7 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 extra large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup minature marshmallows
• 1 pre-baked 9-inch pie shell
• whipped cream
• chocolate curls, shavings, or other garnish

Then combine 2 cups milk, sugar, cocoa, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil.

While this mixture is heating up, mix together the cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup of milk until the cornstarch is dissolved.

Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until well-blended.

Just before the chocolate mixture on the stove gets to a boil, gradually whisk some of the hot mixture to the cold egg mixture so the eggs don't scramble.

Once you have warmed up the egg mixture a bit by adding this in, whisk all the egg mixture into the hot chocolate mixture.

Cook, stirring constantly, about two minutes or until mixture is thickened and smooth.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the marshmallows until melted.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell and cover immediately with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap directly onto the filling (which prevents a skin from forming on the filling) and refrigerate for at least four hours.

Once you are ready, remove the plastic wrap and top the pie with whipped cream and whichever chocolate garnish you prefer.

When I made this pie last Christmas, I used chocolate shavings (which you can make using a vegetable peeler and a chocolate bar).

But this time around, I decided to use chocolate chips because I was in a hurry :).

Sorry I didn't get a picture of the pie once it was cut, but this pie was donated to the "pie day" fundraiser at work...so I couldn't bring it with a piece missing :).

I can't wait to make this pie again for the holidays...it is calling my name.