So throughout this pregnancy, I've tried really hard to maintain a regular schedule of physical activity. Okay, so it's nowhere near what I was used to before in terms of the types of activity or the duration, but it's helped me kind of maintain a sense of "normal". Even if it's just 30-45 minutes on the elliptical or walking for an hour, I make the time to go and do it! I thought I was doing this mostly for me and my well-being, but this past week I was reading through my daily "What to Expect When You're Expecting" email update [they're fantastic... highly recommended], and look what I stumbled upon:

Exercise Scores Points

You're not the only one who benefits from pregnancy exercise — your baby does, too!

Don't just take it from me — scientific research shows that you're not the only one who benefits from pregnancy exercise. Apparently, babies of moms who exercise throughout pregnancy score higher, on average, on general intelligence tests by age five. So, at 23 weeks pregnant, not only will your workout boost your muscle power but baby's brain power too!

Woo hoo! Hopefully this means our kid is going to be all sorts of smart!

A quick bragging moment about my man...

I'm just going to take a second a brag a little bit about my man. Chad is currently in the process of applying to PA schools, quite the process for anyone who's done applications for grad programs. Who knew how time consuming/expensive it could be? It is seriously been practically a part-time job between all of the essay-writing and forms to be filled out. He's finally to the point that he has sent out almost all of the applications and now it's the waiting game. Last week Chad got his first interview! He's officially interviewing at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN on November 10th. I could not be more proud.

We're still waiting to hear back from a couple more schools, but for the time being, Chad has an interview in Tennessee in just a couple of weeks! Congratulations Chad!

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes

One of my favorite recipe finds of the week was this one for baked pumpkin donut holes. They were consumed faster than is considered respectable when it comes to dessert consumption. Delicious and highly recommended!

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes
Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:

For the Donuts:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup milk

For the Coating:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.

I'm loving all of the fall recipes!

22 weeks and Nesting

22 weeks and growing... in the words of my sister, "that alien is sure gettin huge." Not too much new/different to report, just a picture for now.

I'm currently in the "nesting" mode. Because a nursery is not really an option right now, I may have had a little too much fun picking out fabrics at JoAnn's to make a baby quilt. Here' s a preview of my fabric selections and my most recent project:

Hopefully I'll have some updates soon!

BYU Homecoming Game

Have you ever watched a BYU football game from a real-live seat? You know, I'm not talking those oh-so-comfortable bleacher seats, but one with a back and arm rests? In those sections where people don't feel so inclined to stand for the entire game? We were lucky to get Mr. Mac's 5th row tickets for the game on Saturday and I felt entirely spoiled. I loved it. We bundled up and spent the game with the Saltzmans, watching the cougars reign victorious!
Chad even indulged in his first ever Cougar Tail, a 2 foot maple bar that he's wanted to get since we first went to a BYU football game. Needless to say, it was a night of fulfilled dreams.

GO COUGARS!

20 weeks

Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound and are pleased to report that baby boy is healthy and everything is normal! It's amazing to see how much he grew in just 3-4 weeks since our last ultrasound... this time we got a profile shot of his little face. As my dad put it, "He's a handsome devil already." Plus we got to see him move around a little bit inside there... it's kind of crazy to think how much he moves around and I can barely feel it!

The shot of the baby is much cuter than me, but here's a belly shot just for kicks:

20 Weeks:

• I'm just barely starting to feel him every once in a while. I've been waiting for weeks to feel the little flutterings of life and they've finally arrived. Every once in a while, when I'm not expecting it, I will feel a little movement, butterflies... and it makes me smile that he wants to remind me that he's there.
• In the last week or so, my belly has just kind of popped out. It's still nothing to write home about, but it is definitely there! I guess its not such a bad thing that when I tell people that I'm pregnant, they seem surprised and then are like, "oh yeah, I see it now..."
• I have one pair of jeans that I can wear buttoned. Thank goodness for low-rise jeans.
• Chad and I have a hard time sharing the bed at night because with the pillow behind my back and the one between my legs, I tend to take up a little more room than normal. Apparently we should have got a king-sized bed when we had the chance.
• Overall, I've been handling the pregnancy thing pretty well. The only big complaint of late is that my pelvis feels so sore! I've gotten such bad lower abdominal pain and sometimes when I stand up it feels like my pelvic bone is going to burst into a million pieces. The OB said it's just the muscles stretching... hopefully that will go away soon!
• After working a 12 hour shift, I pretty much feel like collapsing from exhaustion. I sleep so soundly after a work shift that there have been a couple of times that my alarm will go off for half an hour before I am even slightly roused from sleep.
• My internal thermostat is out of control, one second I'm burning up, flushed, and sweating up a storm and then next I'm freezing! People were right when they said that your body does crazy things during pregnancy.
  
• I've got the urge to nest and have about a billion sewing projects I want to start working on... I just need to go find myself some fabric and get started!
• Chad is the sweetest husband I could have ever asked for. He's so kind and affectionate and when I'm so tired, emotional, and worn out, he loves me more.
  

Overall, baby boy, Chad and I are doing great. Hooray to getting to the halfway point before we get to hold our little boy!

Glimpses of the last week..

It's officially October... you know how I know? There is now a pumpkin sitting outside our door.

Who knew you could find so many baby name books at the Provo Library?

Went on a walk around Provo in between sessions of General Conference on Saturday. Someone had a horse in their yard. In the middle of Provo. There are some things I just don't understand.
Yesterday the rain clouds came rolling in and today the rain came down. I love it when it rains. Of course, I had to take a picture of my favorite puddle in Provo. 2230 N and University Ave. Love it.
So what to do after a long, rainy day? Bust out the Stephen's hot chocolate and cuddle on the couch.
Our 20 week ultrasound is tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have pictures and an update tomorrow!