I have eaten such an insane amount of milk (in the form of ice cream) during this pregnancy! Every week I've told myself, you've really got to stop eating so much ice cream, hot fudge sundaes, frozen yogurt, Blizzards... you get the idea. Yet, every week I couldn't seem to resist just one little bit... so here we are at the end of the pregnancy and I gave up. In fact, I'm eating ice cream right now.

I have been craving a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake the whole nine months. But, being me, I decided to make ice cream cakes with an Oreo crust myself. My best friend and her son have birthday's a day a part, and they were having a party! The perfect excuse to experiment. I made a vanilla ice cream cake for the kids and an espresso ice cream cake for the grown ups! I headed into the endeavor having absolutely no idea what I was doing, but also with the knowledge that with ingredients like Oreos, fudge, ice cream and whipped cream, I really couldn't do anything too disastrous. The results were, "I'll have a third slice", kind of amazing.

This recipe makes once cake.

Gigi is totally ready to be a big sister. We got her this wonderful book called, I'm a Big Sister (there's a version for big brothers too) and G has been reading it to her baby doll a lot. It was actually surprisingly hard to find a completely thoughtful, positive book about becoming a big sister. A lot of them portrayted the big sibling as getting spoiled and bribed, and frankly, being awfully bratty! So, if you're looking for a sweet one, this is it. It mentions ways she can be helpful, what she can do, and points out how very special she is.

The other day she asked to get in the baby's crib with her doll, tucked her in and proceeded to read the book to her. It was heart-melting. My favorite is when she reads, "Look at me! I'm your big sister!" She's going to be such an amazing sis. We also have a few little presents tucked away for her from her baby sister. One thing she can use to "play" with her sis (an old school Fisher-Price doctor kit), and something just for her (a Melissa & Doug sticker book), and something silly (a bright purple calculator since she loves "doing calculations with my Dad")!

She's been cuddling my belly, and is more and more interested in feeling the baby move. And at our doctor appointment this morning they let her find the heartbeat all on her own, her eyes lit up and she was so excited and said, "That's a silly baby!" She plays "midwife" all the time at home. Using a measuring tape to measure my belly, listening, and she even gets a little towel wipe the imaginary gel off my tummy... and today she put on her (imaginary) gloves and said, "Okay, Mama, I need to check your 'gina!" Maybe she's come with me to one too many appointments...

As ready as we are to welcome this little one, I'm also enjoying all of these moments.

I just can't stop baking cookies. This baby girl is sure to be made completely of cookies and citrus fruit when she makes her debut. Lucky for me, Gigi loves making (and eating) cookies as much as I do. I'm spending lots of time baking, cooking, playing, cuddling, reading, visitng the park with her. Pretty soon we'll be cooking together while a baby sister is strapped to my chest!

My recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies is here... and in case you missed it, our cooking video for them is here!