Welcome back to the Piece of Cake monthly update!
If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you remember that I was doing monthly updates the past two years. These consisted of happenings in the Burken household, my life personally, three things I was loving that month, and the recipes you, as readers were enjoying.
Well, during the pandemic, while spending a whole lot of time at home, I honestly started to feel like I was getting super repetitive with those monthly updates.
So, in 2021 we’re going to test out quarterly updates! They’ll be jam-packed with what’s been happening the past three months. Hopefully this will help keep things fresh and exciting…for you AND me!
At the end of 2020 we left off with 20 things I was grateful for that year. I felt like there was so much doom and gloom in 2020, it seemed like there needed to be a bright spot and remember all the good things that did happen.
Now, there seems to be a bit of a sense of renewal. Vaccines are happening, the weather is getting nicer, and somehow it just feels a little bit lighter this year.
Since I’ve moved to more of a quarterly update, I had to start writing things down to remember what actually happened in three months time. So, here’s what’s been going down!
SURPRISE! WE’RE PREGNANT!
If you don’t follow me on social media (which if you’re not, what are you doing with your life? Instagram is the best place to stay up-to-date) you likely missed the announcement.
But, WE’RE PREGNANT!!!
It happened naturally this time around, which is also even crazier. If this is your first time here, I’ll just give you the quick lowdown on why this is so exciting for us.
I have PCOS (read about that here) and it caused us to struggle to get pregnant. After five failed IUIs (treatments to get pregnant prior to IVF) we ended up going through the IVF process in 2019. We got pregnant on the first try and had our beautiful baby girl, Kennedy, at the end of February 2020.
Around Kennedy’s six month mark I decided to stop breastfeeding so that we could start trying for a second. Knowing how long it took to get pregnant with Kennedy, we thought we’d try earlier. I honestly wasn’t sure that my cycle would come back, but it did, naturally!
Because this was my first time getting my period without any assistance, I had no idea how long my cycle was. So we figured we’d give it a couple of months so that we could really start tracking the ovulation window.
Around Christmas time I kept having all of these baby dreams, and my mom was wondering why it seemed like my cycle was so incredibly long. After Christmas I had another baby dream and decided it was time to take a pregnancy test. I was convinced it was going to be negative.
It obviously was not.
There was a whole lot of excitement, disbelief and gratitude that came along with that positive test. And then a whole lot of anxiety.
It’s hard to fully explain, but with Kennedy I had no anxiety about being pregnant with her or that much thought around miscarriage. With the second, it’s almost all I could think about.
I am so grateful for my doctor who saw me any time I needed reassurance that our baby was healthy and doing well. And he or she is. We’re now into the second trimester and I’m feeling movement, which is so encouraging and helps keep my anxiety at bay.
Our due date is September 6, one day after Burken’s birthday. Which to me is just a sign that this baby is one of the best blessings.
Kennedy turns One!
Speaking of babies…Kennedy turned one at the end of February!
It’s hard to believe that our babes is actually now a toddler. I know so many parents say that, but as you know, time seriously just flies by and all those big milestones happen so quickly.
She’s walking, but it’s not her favorite mode of transportation just yet. It’s essentially a mix between crawling and walking (and being picked up) that gets her around.
She loves to explore and when she’s really happy just babbles all day. This girl gets easily hangry and loves her snacks. You usually can’t say ‘snack’ around her without her getting super excited for what’s to come.
Just like with Burken, I’ve had to get creative on the veggie front with Kennedy. Cheese covered broccoli usually does the trick.
Bath time and the water are probably one of her favorite things in the whole world. Which just makes me so excited for this summer and boating on the Mississippi with her and my family.
She knows a few sign language words like ‘more’ and ‘all done’ and knows what it means to put on her socks and mittens and points to everything she wants.
Overall, we have a very happy, beautiful and smart one year old on our hands. She’s going to make an amazing big sister come September.
Home Updates
We moved into our new house about a year and a half ago, and it seems like we’ve been making a lot of upgrades around here.
Burken has painted many of the rooms in the house, making it feel warmer and cozier. Which is obviously so helpful considering how much time we spend here right now.
We got new carpet in our basement and upstairs and it now feels like an adult home. The carpet before was basically apartment carpet and so worn down by the time we moved in. This new squishy and fluffy carpet is just the upgrade we needed.
We also upgraded our guest bedroom. Burken found out from his place of work that remote working is basically going to become the norm. So we figured with a baby on the way, that it was time he have his own office space. We converted the guest bedroom into an office/guest bedroom, and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
What I’ve been loving
Believe It by Jamie Kern Lima – you guys…this book was absolutely incredible!!! I seriously can’t stop gushing about it. I got it on Audible and finished it so quickly. There are such amazing stories and lessons to be learned in this book. I initially got it for the business lessons, but honestly it’s way more than that. It’s about resilience and a true belief in yourself. This book is an absolute must read or listen!
Chefman Digital Air Fryer – I know I’m totally late to the air fryer game, but I’m super glad I hopped on! When I used to work for a small home appliance company and develop recipe for them, the air fryer was one I developed about 40 recipes for. The reason I never got one back then was because Burken’s a stickler for “less junk”. Well, I finally convinced him we needed one. A friend on IG recommended this brand to me. We seriously use it almost every day for literally everything. Roasted veggies, reheating pizza, making meatballs, you name it. If this isn’t already in your cabinet, it needs to be!
These purple tassel earrings – there’s something about wearing pretty earrings that just make you feel good. I can’t wear them when Kennedy’s around, but I sure do love them to spice up an outfit and wear to “work”. Work being my home office, but that’s what video calls are for!
What you’ve been loving
Homemade Kind Bars – I came up with this recipe when Kennedy was still a baby. It came to me during a 3 am (or sometime around there) feeding. I was eating Kind Bars each morning after feeding her because I would get so light headed in the morning after three night time feedings. Creating my own homemade version just made sense. I make these bars a lot now and love them crushed up over yogurt as a granola as well.
Homemade Toaster Strudel – another breakfast classic I decided to turn healthy. And since so many of you have been upping your baking game during the pandemic, these were perfect for you to make at home! Brown sugar cinnamon was always one of my fave Pop Tart flavors, so I recreated them with this healthy, gluten free version.
Pink Champagne Cake Roll – this was an amazing Valentine’s Day recipe, but also so great to make literally any time of the year. The spongy cake is filled and rolled with pink champagne frosting. Which, how could you not love that? Cake rolls really aren’t as complicated as they look. I provide step by step instructions on how to make this beauty.
That’s a wrap!
And that’s it for this quarter’s rendition of a “monthly” recap.
I’m looking forward to sharing again at the end of June, when I’ll be a lot more pregnant and hopefully have some fun vacation to talk to you about.
Until then, make sure you’re subscribed to my email list where you’ll receive updates, recipes and health tips straight to your inbox!
