Cheesecake conquered!

I spent Madeleine's morning nap yesterday making my first cheesecake. I had always been intimidated by cheesecakes. They have this aura about them that made them seem beyond my cooking abilities but thanks to a Good Housekeeping recipe, I tackled and conquered that fear! Here's the proof.

And I didn't eat the part that's missing, I promise! I only had one piece but left the rest with our friends with whom we had dinner last night. Technically the cake was supposed to be in celebration of Cody and Justin's birthdays which were last month but really I was in a baking mood but didn't trust myself with a whole cheesecake sitting around the house. And, by the way, I did make homemade strawberry sauce to go with it! Yum...I think I'll go have some now!

17 weeks and counting

I know I haven't been in the latest videos or pictures for you to see the progress Junior has made. Sorry about that. While we can tell I'm pregnant, I'm still in the "I just look like I've let myself go" stage so not everyone else can tell. But these are to show that yes, my belly has grown and it's doing so much faster than it did with Madeleine.

The disappearing feet shot is always a favorite. And, by the way, I was an "innie" for 27 years but I may be destined to be an "outtie" for the rest of my days thanks to the wonders of pregnancy.

One Week to Vote!!!

This is your last chance to guess the sex of Junior, a.k.a., the noodle. One week until the ultrasound. Hooray!!!

A great day!

Madeleine and I had a great day today. We spent a lot of time outside hiking (I'm trying to get better at identifying local wildflowers and wildlife), then played in the grass in the nearby softball field, walked to get the mail, and finally took Maggie for a family walk. As you can see, Madeleine enjoys sporting her sun-proof attire, which she usually chooses to keep on. She's a funny kid!

Spreading Phlox (on Waterworks Hill)

Male Mountain Bluebird (on Waterworks Hill)

Funny kid (in a stroller on the sidewalk)

Proof!

Here you have it...the proof you've been waiting for!

(This happened this afternoon before we went for our family walk.)

Cline fun

Here are some pictures of the fun we've been having over the last week.

Hiking Waterworks Hill

(Justin skipped a class last Friday to come hiking with us.)

Just us girls out for a hike again on Monday

Checking out our neighbors' spring flowers

She can walk!

Madeleine took her first unassisted steps today! She walked 3 steps all on her own in an attempt to get closer to her daddy. We both witnessed it and practically scared her with our excited reaction. Over the last two weeks or so she's become far more comfortable just holding onto one of our fingers and walking so I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. I look forward to the freedom (and chaos) this new discovery will bring to our family.