Monday, September 30, 2013

The Countdown is On!

We have one month - four weeks! - left in this baby countdown. I never thought October would arrive, but things are getting real. Here's a birthday pic from last week. I turned 34 on week 35 AND celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss! We're going to sneak this baby in before I hit "advanced maternal age". Although, to be fair, I feel like 29, so that should count for something.


Things are progressing nicely. My blood pressure has remained low at ~92/58 this entire pregnancy, the heartbeat is going strong at ~140-145 bpm, the fundal height is creeping along right about where it should be, aligning with the weeks. My doctor had a slight concern with weight gain, in that I basically did not gain any weight between weeks 25 and 35, which is obviously less than ideal. Through week 34, I was only up about 14 pounds. Even though Adam has been practically force-feeding me high-fat dairy, avocados, more meats, and Stillwater sweet treats, my body has been craving mostly fruits. I probably eat about 5-7 servings a day of apples, oranges, peaches, plums, grapes, and berries - whatever I can get my hands on. We/I ate about 20 pounds of peaches in one week after we/I thought it would be a great idea to buy a case of Michigan peaches. Then we/I immediately followed it up with a full peck of apples. I don't know what you would eat with winter babies. Frozen cranberries, maybe?

We had an ultrasound today just to check on the baby's growth, and (huge sigh of relief!) everything is fine, although I will likely not be delivering a 10-pounder, or even an 8-pounder for that matter. I'm not entirely sure on the ultrasound stats, but it looks like we're tracking at about the 34.5 week mark, plus or minus 2-3 weeks. Obviously, we know our due date (and implantation date), so we're not too concerned overall. Interestingly, the baby is right on track with femur length and his little feet are huge at 3 whole inches! (That explains the kicks.) I really wish we had photos to show, but ultrasound photos at 20 weeks are far superior to the pics we saw today. Adam and I had a very difficult time locating his face, even when the tech was right on it. The fluid gets in the way, I guess. His little wiggly butt has been hanging out in the upper right quadrant of my uterus for weeks now (which I already assumed), and he's thankfully head-down. Let's hope he stays that way. I had a few rough days with Braxton Hicks contractions last week, but things seem to be back to normal now.

So the goal is full-term and then some, just to add a little more weight to this guy. He's likely just a hair over 5 pounds now, so best case scenario would be adding half a pound per week (quite ambitious!) to arrive at 7 pounds. I think that's do-able. I'll be laying off the apples on my end and switching to all the fine protein products that Adam has stocked in the fridge. I'm already up almost 3 pounds just this week!

Here are a few wedding photos from last weekend, followed by some sweet maternity pics shot during week 35. We like to wait until the last minute whenever possible.



I can't say enough good things about our photographer, Krista, from The Moments of Life in Rochester. Adam has been friends with her husband, and then of course, with Krista, from their days in Mitchell, and it's always a blast to catch up with them again. I got to hear a whole new round of high school stories about Adam the last time everyone was home, and trust me, I couldn't make them up any better if I tried. 

We headed to downtown Stillwater for some of the photos, and then across the highway to TJ's favorite park for the rest. Here's a small preview of her work. (And I should mention that, yes, my belly button has fully popped up. Nowhere to go but out.)







There is another sweet photo floating around Facebook, too. I'm sure it won't be hard to find. 

Full-term in one week, baby!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

A Brew Day With Jake and Ryan

In advance of our fun trip in Minneapolis, Jake and Ryan came over early for a good old fashioned brew day. Ryan felt most comfortable behind the camera as Jake and I worked our magic. 


It was great that Ryan was there as I almost consumed the Fermcap instead of adding it to the beer.


Here is a top shot of my Dogfishhead Raison D'Etre clone.


Jake brewed a brown ale. 


Brewing beer never ceases to amaze.






Jeremy and Molly brought a local celebrity over to help shake the yeast.


Jake made his own wort chiller that worked pretty well.


Nicole was able to give the day her stamp of approval.


Everything went great on my end. Jake brought the wrong yeast, but I assume he will also have beer in a few short weeks.




Sunday, September 22, 2013

Bikes, Beer, & 'Bos

Six souls traveled from all corners of Minnesota to experience the sights, sounds, and beers of Minneapolis while on two wheels. 

The Nice Ride program was an incredibly convenient and affordable travel method. We were able to mobilize quickly and experience the city in a whole new way. The journey started downtown with Rob, Wade, Jake, Ryan, and myself.


The first official stop was at Boom Island where @therealedawg met up with us. We spent time speaking with the head brewer/owner Kevin Welch and sampled his fine Belgian beers. The favorite was definitely the Thoprock IPA. 

After some parking lot disc, we moved to Dangerous Man.



My favorite beer here was definitely the Chocolate Milk Stout.


It would be disrespectful to not acknowledge the 7th member of our group, The Belt. 


Ryan 


We took a short intermission in Logan Park for more disc throwing and a had a nice chat with my old landlord, Brian. 


Erik had to make an important appearance at a local Oktoberfest, but the rest of us made haste to Indeed. Their beers were definitely beer.


The party was only just beginning. 


More fun was available at 612 Brew. Thank goodness there at least one person without a shaky hand who was able to take a picture for us.


Rob and Wade either both lost or both won the trivia contest. 


We were able to steal Erik back around 8 PM and hit Kramarczuk's for sausages and sauerkraut.


After failed attempts at mini golf and lawn bowling, we invented a new game around the fountain on the Saint Thomas campus. 


Rob then guided us toward The Butcher and The Boar where we had the best tasting old fashioned in the Twin Cities. From there we moved to O'Donovans and enjoyed some wings and Smithwicks.


The night ended back at the hotel for a little ping pong and foosball.


Good times were had by all. 






Sunday, September 8, 2013

An Evening With Surly SeVIIn








A few months ago I tried Diminished SeVIIn and was very underwhelmed. Diminished was created after the wort for 7 was completely drained and the brewer ran additional water through the grains. Diminished was a very light Belgian ale that had subtlety and nice flavors, but never felt like a true Surly product. It was satisfying to finally try the real thing. When I consider Surly, they really have to go big on flavor and alcohol or it isn't worth the price. 7 is this year's anniversary offering in the form of a 12.5% Belgian Strong Ale. The alcohol is very warming and even though I taste fruits, I have a hard time identifying flavors. The grains really shine in this one with a fantastic blend of barleys, wheat, oats and rye. The only thing that got in the way of my enjoyment, was one small hole that was not drilled properly for the crib. It should have only taken me 20 minutes to set up, but one hole tested me until I eventually brought out my own drill and re-formed the hole. I felt all 12.5% by the end of the process.

In conclusion, SeVIIn is great, Diminished SeVIIn is meh, and the crib is up.