1. Holy crap. We're having a baby THIS MONTH. I'd say I've been waiting for this for forever, but in reality, I feel like this pregnancy has flown by. We're at the point where we're about as ready as we can be and now we're just enjoying these last few days or weeks of selfishness and sleep! I've read and reread 10 True Things About the First Year of Parenthood, although I know it won't hit home until we're deep in the throes of it ourselves! Here goes nothing....!

(our swaddle practice at childbirth class--hopefully our real baby is happier swaddled!!)

2. Speaking of Baby McLaury's impending arrival, I have a lot of blog posts scheduled to go up over the next few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll definitely see an announcement once baby is here. As for the rest of you, you'll be living in ignorant bliss until I get my act together enough to get an announcement up on the site. So if it's Feb 27 and you still haven't seen anything, odds are I've had the baby, I just haven't gotten to posting yet! 

(image source)

3. I've loved not knowing the gender of this baby and we've had so much fun speculating (and listening to others speculate), but boy am I ready to do some shopping for non-gender neutral baby clothing! I actually have some Gap cash that needs to get used this weekend so I'm going to make a wild guess / go with my gut and pick out some baby clothes...if I pick the wrong gender, I'll just hit the stores in a few weeks to make some returns! See above for some of the things adorableness found at baby Gap...baby clothes kill me with their cuteness!

Spinach, Bacon, and Cheese Calzones

4. And while we're on the topic of all things baby, I've tried to stock our freezer a bit for those days when cooking just isn't going to happen. As much as I would like to think I'll be up for making dinner while on maternity leave, I know it's going to get a little time to get the hang of things. In our freezer so far? Curried sweet potato shepherd's pie, spinach bacon cheese calzones (this time I added artichokes too!), hot ham & cheese sandwiches, kale & bean enchiladas with pumpkin sauce, plus homemade cinnamon raisin bread (recipe coming!), eggplant parmesan, and pizza dough! 

One Year Ago: Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Red Onion Pizza with Goat Cheese
Two Years Ago: Skillet Black Beans with Sweet Potatoes and Tortillas
Three Years Ago: Homemade Marshmallows
Four Years Ago: Snobby Joes (Sloppy Joes with Lentils)