The Verdict is in on Baby Koenig

and it's a GIRL! Surprise!

I know most of you are thinking, hey it's a 50/50 chance, boy or girl, but deep down I think Jeff and I really thought it was going to be a boy. With my family tradition and the fact that Jeff's side already has 3 girls, we thought for sure it was time for a boy. So when the doctor said "Girl" we were like, "huh?" - well not exactly, but it was pretty funny because both of us said it may be a girl and we still both acted surprised! ha!

But we are super thrilled (obviously) to have our little girl - and personally, I can't wait to see how Jeff handles her, he's going to be great and it's going to be so cute!

I think today has been pretty surreal in the sense that okay, this is really happening now. At first, you think, sure I'm pregnant (but you don't feel much), then you go to your first appointment and you see your baby and it's a great feeling, but it's still new and your still not feeling much and you don't have a name for the baby because you don't know what you are having. But today....it was like, not only are you pregnant, but check out all the cool features she has now and hey, by the way it IS a she. So now the daydreams of what you're going to do with/for your baby start become reality. So crazy! You'll see!!

Here are some pics they took of her today - pretty neat stuff.

Here's the proof - I'm not sure how they can tell, but they say GIRL!

Full body, she already looks scrunched in there

So this shot is pretty cool! It's her arm with hands and fingers - I count 5!

And look at this little foot!! I love it!

Taylor Jo Sprinkle: The Photoshoot

So, as you know, my niece was born last weekend on 9.12.2009. I asked Jenny if she wanted me to take some shots of her and to be honest, I wanted the practice/experience. I had a few lighting issues, and poor Taylor Jo didn't like being naked for that long. But I got in what I could in the amount of time we had. Overall happy, but I want to do some more practice with lighting. I'm still 1 month out from my first wedding (NERVOUS!).

Here's some of the shots:

All shots are on my Flickr site!

The Good, The Bad & The Cravings: Baby Koenig Update

Greetings family and friends. I haven't posted a Baby Koenig update in awhile, so I thought I'd take this time to share updates.

The Good

Well, to start, I think I've got the exercise thing under control. I've been pretty persistent in going to yoga. I shoot for 3 time a week and, though I never thought I'd say this, but I really enjoy the class. It's a great way to destress. Plus, there are a lot of women who are expecting around the same time I am, so we get to share our experiences. Plus, it's a great workout - who knew yoga cold make you sweat? I"m also trying to do the treadmill twice a week and I mostly have that under control.

Although I haven't felt the baby yet (I hear that may be around week 19/20) I have definitely noticed 'growth' in my midsection. I think about 5 more weeks and I'm going to be round. So, there's DEFINITELY something going on inside there even if I can't feel or see the baby.

The Bad

I just can't seem to get my diet under control. I am a wimp at sticking to a regimen and I give in to WAY to many cravings. One day I'll do awesome, the next three days I do horrible. I want to slap myself, but that can be harmful to the baby and may cause unnecessary stress ;) - so instead I'm mentally scolding myself. I need to get control over this and SOON!! It's not healthy and will only be harder to burn off post-baby.

I also mentioned the growth under the good category, but I wanted to also put it here. Psychologically, gaining this weight is a hard thing to handle. Maybe not for all, but my stomach has always been my 'problem child' and seeing it grow bigger and bigger is distressing me as far as the weight thing. But I'm trying to look at all the positive things and keep this issue at bay. Trying hard!

The Cravings

Salt. Salt. Salted Salt. Saltiest Salted Salt. Like, I want to lick a potato chip or french fry to death, salt! I want it and I can't get enough. And that is HORRIBLE for someone who has HBP, though, I've been on top of my medication. This is one of the things I need to get under control!! It's a little insane right now, but I'm determined to fight it!

So that's it for now. Nothing too crazy yet. We find out the sex of the baby at our next appointment on September 30th! So that will be exciting, and of course I'll share the news on here for all of my loyal readers!

I also put a timeline countdown for my due date on the left side of my blog. See the baby elephant? :)

Taylor Jo Sprinkle

Jeff's sister, Jenny, and her husband, Ryan, had their baby girl this morning. Taylor Jo Sprinkle came into the world at 7:42 am, weighing 8lb 2oz and measuring 19 inches. Jeff and I did a quick unplanned day trip to Houston to see her and we are back again next weekend so I can take some pictures of her. This is our THIRD niece (no boys yet) Here's a picture of mama and baby:

More pics on my Flickr site!

Pause

I couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging 9/11. I remember. I will always remember. And I hope you will to. I think about all those who lost their life. And I thank all of those who are help defending our country, to all the men and women serving in our armed forces!

God Bless the U.S.A.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

As we head into the fall season (thank goodness), I wanted to share a delicious, and relatively low-calorie recipe that I found earlier this year from an old Cooking Light magazine. It's simple and delicious - even Jeff loves it! The full recipe makes a LOT, so I usually half it - be warned. The nutritional info is posted at the bottom.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (I use 1-15.6oz can)
1/2 cup canola oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding (I use 1 vanilla snack pack, sugar free)
4 large egg whites (I use 1 cup, Egg Beaters)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I just poured them in till it looked good :) )
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bow, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8x4 inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray (I only have on glass loaf pan I use when I make 1/2 the recipe, the other is an 8x8 glass pan that I used when making the full recipe).

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick (or spaghetti noodle :) ) inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 32 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Calories: 152; Fat: 5g; Iron: 1mg; Cholesterol: 0mg; Calcium: 10mg; Carbohydrate: 26.5g: Sodium: 137mg; Protein: 2g; Fiber: 1.1g

30's Goal No: 2 - Getting over it

Stop living with regrets. Put it in the past and move on. It's well past time.

I love college football season. I probably don't rant and rave about it like some for fear of being called out on something I don't know a ton about, but I love absolutely love it. But with every college football season comes a sense of dread for me.

My last entry had to do with getting over things in my 30's. And I have one huge regret that I live with every year, though the wound inevitably widens in the college football season and the scar just refuses to heal. Self-inflicted, I full admit, but a wound none-the-less.

What's this huge regret? It's that I regret not staying at Texas A&M. There. I said it. Out there for you to judge me. But it's true. And, admitting it and telling the true story may help me get over this part of my life. And Lord knows, Jeff is sick of hearing about it.

Texas A&M was the only college I thought about attending. So, it was the only college I applied to and I knew I'd get accepted considering I was in the top 10% of my graduating class. So with all the awkwardness of a small-town girl and someone who didn't really know anything about college, I took off in the Fall of 1998 for my freshman year. I was an Aggie. I was super proud of myself and I had made it.

People always tell me that I have no problem making friends, and that may somewhat of a true statement, but just like even the most introverted people, I have a lot of thoughts swimming around in my head when I meet new people and they almost solely have to do with the fact that this new person might not like me. I was a big fish (at least in my mind) from a very small pond. And I was joining other big fish from larger ponds and some of them brought their fish friends with them. I didn't bring any fish friends with me to college. All my close girlfriends went to other schools.

And so, meeting and making new friends was a new experience for me. Entirely. It was fun. But it was scary and I want to re-emphasize the awkwardness factor. As much as I loathe to admit it, I am somewhat a creature of habit. And I like my comfort zone. And this was entirely outside of that zone. Entirely.

Friends came, as everyone said they would and I formed a pretty close friendship with Meghan, whom is amongst my closest circle of friends to this day. One of the largest mistakes I made in my Freshman year was not joining groups/extra-curricular activity - not a one. (Okay, I played intramurals. I will admit that part, but it was with my girls dorm.) Why? I have absolutely no idea. Maybe I felt I had already exhausted myself with making friends in the dorm, having to do it in a social circle was just too much. Whatever held me back, was just evil. And stupid. So I went to class. And I came back to my dorm. And I hung out with another girl who never got involved in anything either and was seriously committed to her boyfriend and her long-distance relationship.

I tried things, going to Cut (for Bonfire), I even made overalls for Bonfire. But everything was done within the safety of my dorm. There was NO BRANCHING OUT. I could kick myself for that today.

After my first semester, grades came in. I will admit the following: I did horrible. HORRIBLE. Like nothing I have ever seen in my entire life horrible, I can't believe these grades came out of an honor roll, high HS GPA, academic team athlete horrible. But, I didn't fail out. Close, but no cigar. I got an ass-chewing like nothing I have ever seen that Christmas, and I came back the next semester determined to do better. And I did. Much better. Turns out college is nothing like HS? Who knew? Not me. Turns out you have to actually STUDY for class. New concept for me. Turns out Mom isn't there to wake you up to make it to class on time. New concept for me. Turns out you should probably take this pretty seriously as it can affect your career. New concept for me. So my second semester, I studied. And I got better grades. But I felt defeated. And did I mention poor?

Another pill for me to swallow. I am from a great family, let me first admit that, but we are not a wealthy family. We are your typical middle class American family. We have to work to make money and there wasn't a lot left over after the bills were paid. Particularly for frivolties such as tanning, pedicures/manicures and going out to eat with friends (oh, and let's not forget belly-button piercing). But, for a lot of girls in my dorm, it seemed like they could afford such luxuries. So I tried to keep up with the Jones' (if you will) but it put me in the poor house. And I refused to get a job even though my parents were 'nagging' me to get one. "Why should I have to work when other girls didn't?" "It's not fair" - Gah, what an idiot I was. And if I could go back in time to my 18 year old self, I'd slap her and tell her to get real. Texas A&M wasn't cheap. And living on campus with a meal plan to boot was even pricier. How could I even THINK I didn't need a job or to help my parents out?? Again - what an idiot.

So, after my Mom suggesting maybe I should come home and save up some money, I gave an honest thought to leaving A&M. For a year, maybe. So I went to UTSA for a year - and I talked to everyone about A&M. Everyone. I'm sure I made a 'ton' of friends there.... I'm sure I can't count the number of people who wanted to slap me and tell me to shut up.

And then, Bonfire collapsed. And I was devastated. One of the girls that was injured in the accident lived in my dorm. So I felt a relation, if only a weak one to the event. But I wasn't there. I wasn't there for my fellow Ags. I wasn't there to mourn with them or bond over or join the camaraderie. I wasn't there. I reapplied the following week to A&M for the Fall 2000 semester. I was accepted. It was awesome!

So who was at A&M that I could live with? You? No...you've already made plans to live with other people? You? Oh, you've made plans too. No room at the inn for me? Nothing. I had to start from scratch all over again. And I was overly intimidated. This is the party of the story, where not only do I want to SLAP my 19-year-old self, I want to punch her. Tell her, get over it, and just go. Get out of your comfort zone, and maybe good things will happen. But my 29-year-old self never descended to punch me. I had some friends attending Southwest Texas State University. So I visited. And it was nice. They were involved. And looked to be having a great time. That's all I wanted. Instant friendships, not alot of effort. Sad, but true.

So in the Fall 2000, I transferred to Southwest Texas State University - and the rest is history so they say.

But my mind is always filled with the memory of what if. What if I would of gone back to A&M? There are pros and cons to both sides. Would Jeff and I have stayed together? Would my career path be better? Would I have any of the awesome friendships that I share today with girls I met at SWT? Would my cousin and I have gotten close?

I work/have worked with a ton of Aggies. Some of you will never understand how it feels for someone (particularly an Aggie) to look at you like you are crazy after you left the school. As if I didn't feel crazy enough? Now I have several others making me feel that way (not everyone, but some). Some will tell you because you never graduated from there you can't truly 'support' the school. Some will scoff at your SWT degree and tell you it was just a party school, a school that doesn't have the tradition and camaraderie of A&M or UT or Tech. I will always love A&M and I can root for them if I damn well please. So back off to the non-believers and the hardcores!

So there it is. Spelled out in full color. This has been a VERY tough pill for me to swallow over the past 11 years. Huge. And obviously, it's still not gone down. But, I am determined to let this go in my 30's. I spend way to much time holding on to this regret. I need to be proud that I have my college degree. Many people can't even say that. I need to move on and be satisfied. And stop living with this huge regret on my shoulders. I need to let you slide, A&M.

I wish at age 18, I had the confidence I have at age 29. Maybe things would have been different. But I can't help but think that the experiences I've had over the past 11 years have made me the person I am today. And I like that person.