30 weeks & 1 day --- Baby Jack's Bedroom

Here are the long overdue furniture pictures! We love how everything turned out and couldn't be happier with our choice. We searched and searched and then waited many weeks for the arrival of the furniture, so when it was delivered and we still loved it, we were very happy!! These are pieces that Jack will be able to use for a very long time. The crib converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed. The idea behind the furniture is that we will not have to buy anything else for a long, long time. :)

We still need to make/find/create a window treatment, find a small side table and also find things for the walls. It's just nice knowing that if Baby Jack decided to appear right now (please, no!) that we would at least have his furniture ready to go!

James opening the crib box to put it together. The delivery men laughed and said, "This is the hardest crib in the entire store to put together. Good luck." I stared at him and said, "James can handle it. He's handy." And he did! He had that thing together in about 45 minutes and without frustration. I love how handy he is and that he doesn't get frustrated and upset with projects like this. I am super lucky!!

These drawers open at an angle. They are supposed to be for easy diaper changes. We'll see!!


James and I had a lovely visit with Jan & Richard this weekend, too. We shopped and visited and it was very nice (as usual)!

How far along are you? 30 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom!
Best moment this week: Our visit with Jan and Richard and the weight being lifted about the car seat! Thanks Nene (Nini?) and Papa!
Any Movement? All the time! All. The. Time.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: While shopping with Jan, I kind of missed shopping for regular clothes. Everything seems so cute when you can't wear it! :) It's all worth it, though!
What are you looking forward to: Getting Jack's room finished.
Weekly Wisdom: Mmmm....I don't think there was any.
Milestones: I think that Jack has turned head down. ALL of the movement and pressure is at the top of my stomach and under my ribs. That's exciting! We'll see if he stays that way and I will ask at my appointment in a couple of days!

28 weeks & school shower

Yay! 28 weeks! Can you believe it?! The seventh month...

This past Monday the wonderful first grade teachers threw Elizabeth and I a joint baby shower at school. It was perfect and so much fun! They really outdid themselves. James was able to come and he was a great sport with all those ladies. ;)

The team had a cake made for each of us - one with a train on it for Baby Jack and one with a monkey for Baby Liam. Both in the shape of a onesie and both adorable!!! The people that I work with really are overly generous and the best to work with. After the shower, James said, "I don't want you to stop working there! Everyone is so nice!" And he's right -they are. I will really, really, really miss them. :(

We ended up getting some really wonderful gifts. A couple of grade levels went in together and got the SnugRider, which I mentioned in my last post. We also got the space saver high chair from our Babies R Us registry, the hamper and tons of other stuff. Oh! One teacher, that I love and is hilarious, got us Pee-Pee TeePee's! They are for little boys....so we don't get an extra bath! They are so cute and have airplanes on them! So exciting and overwhelming. Here are some pictures:

Elizabeth and I at the shower!
Here is our super cute and very tasty onesie train cake!! A parent made it (she has a catering business).The changing pads for our changing tables from Genie, our former principal. So sweet of her to come! She came to our wedding, too!

James and I with our awesome diaper cake that Natalie & Katie put together as a gift from our team. It is full of diapers, washcloths, blankets, onesies, bibs, pacifiers...all kinds of wonderful goodies and it's so cute! Very creative!

Elizabeth and I opening our Pee-Pee TeePee's. Her mom is on the far left!

Natalie & Katie - two of wonderful hostesses.Here are the Pee-Pee TeePee's!


And finally some new side view pictures!! James thought the second one was hilarious and it kind of is!!

I am still feeling good and feeling lots of movement. Feeling tired is starting to make an unwelcome comeback, but that's okay... I am tired but still want to always be on the move doing something. I just do everything a lot slower than I used to! I always have to ask James to walk slower now. :) And yes, it did finally warm up here! Shorts and flip flops are exciting! It has actually been in the high 80's. What strange weather we've been having!

Here is the survey!

How far along are you? 28 weeks.
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom!
Best moment this week: Making our first clothing purchase. We had to return a couple of things and this was the first time we've bought any clothes for Baby Jack!
Any Movement? All the time!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still pretty much in, but stretched to capacity!!!
What do you miss: Sitting in whatever way I wanted to on the couch.
What are you looking forward to: Getting all of the clothes washed, sorted and put away.
Weekly Wisdom: Mary gave me some good and interesting nursing advice today.
Milestones: Knowing that I go to my last 4 week appointment on Tuesday. After that, I will go every two weeks!

Stroller!! (27 weeks 2 days)

As some of you may know, I was having a really, really hard time deciding on a stroller...there are so many options and I was trying to avoid having 423123578 strollers, all for different purposes. There are umbrella strollers, Snap N Go strollers, travel systems, joggers, lightweight...wheels that are rubber, wheels that are plastic, wheels that are plastic but foam filled, air filled tires. AHH!!! What to do?!

After much deliberation, shopping, mind changing and discussion, James made the ultimate decision and was it ever a great one! He surprised me one day after school with a gift that was supposed to be for when the baby was born. We are not so good at holding onto presents that we have for each other!!

Well, that surprise gift was a stroller! And it was the one that I really, really wanted but didn't ultimately register for! It was the B.O.B. jogger that I loved! I was so excited and shocked that he thought I didn't like it at first! Oh no...I loved it!! It is going to be so great for walking in our neighborhood and doing all the hilly, outdoor things that are around us, especially in the fall.

It is in our dining room right now and I keep going in there to collapse it and then make it upright again. It's so easy to do!! So yay! One more important item checked off the list. We did get the Snap N Go stroller at my school shower (yay!), which will be great for the beginning. We may have to get a smaller stroller when Jack is a little older, but that is definitely in the future. For now, I am so excited!!!!

How far along are you? 27 weeks and 2 days
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part.
Best moment this week: School baby shower. So much fun!
Any Movement? All the time. He doesn't like it when I sit at a table at school because it's right at my belly level. He always seems to push out at that time!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still pretty much in, but stretched to capacity!!!
What do you miss: Getting in and out of bed without having to roll out.
What are you looking forward to: Our furniture coming so that we can put away all of this new stuff!
Weekly Wisdom: No wisdom from others this week, but I am trying to remind myself that everyone has their own opinion and not to let that change how I feel about things or upset me.
Milestones: Entering the 3rd trimester and hopefully passing the gestational diabetes test. I didn't hear anything from the doctor and it's been over a week...I think I am in the clear! Yay!!

25 weeks 3 days & a train!!

While James and I were at Michael's looking for fabric, which they don't have...but we obviously thought they did...James spotted these adorable magnetic train letters. I found him pondering over them in the aisle. I finally convinced him to get them and paint them! So, we picked out some other pieces and were off to find paint. Who knew that would be an ordeal? We picked primary colors and were off...

They began as a pine color, I just didn't get a picture before James primed them. He worked diligently for his little guy all Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago. The train name turned out SO CUTE!! He has an artistic streak like his mom and apparently their great minds think alike!

Also, for anyone that doesn't already know, the name will be revealed in this post!

Here are some pictures:

So handsome!!!!

How far along are you? 25 weeks and 3 days - 1 more week until the 3rd trimester!
Maternity clothes? For sure.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain for sure...
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part.
Best moment this week: Kids at school are starting to notice. One little girl asked if I was "growing a baby in my belly". It was very cute.
Any Movement? Tons and tons. He has found a home under or near my ribs. It's lovely.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? No, but there is a cabbage cook-off at school tomorrow that I am a little concerned about...
Belly Button in or out? Mostly in but on its way out...it's so weird!
What do you miss: Regular pants that don't constantly have to be yanked up!
What are you looking forward to: My belly continuing to grow!
Weekly Wisdom: No real wisdom, except that someone told Elizabeth and I how cute we are pregnant when we were literally griping about how un-cute we feel!! Granted, I had just taken in my reflection in a window...not exactly accurate!
Milestones: I am having my glucose test on Friday to check for gestational diabetes...keep your fingers crossed!

23 Weeks

I just cannot believe that we have known that we are expecting since October. That is crazy to me and so exciting! We still have a long way to go, but we are on our way there!

My What To Expect book says that 23 weeks is in the 6th month...I'll take it! Pretty soon I'll be in the 3rd and final trimester. Hard to believe!

James and I picked out a chair today. It is an upholstered glider with an ottoman. We ordered it in navy blue cotton and it should be here in about 4 weeks. We found it at The Comfortable Chair Store. We think that another furniture store sales person told us to go there and we are so glad that we did. I honestly was skeptical, thinking that everything in a "specialty" store would be totally overpriced but they had really, really reasonable and competitive prices.

The sales woman said, "Now, I know you are not going to love the look of this chair, but just sit in it and see what you think." Well, she was right. I thought it was ugly and belonged in an unstylish Grandma's house. But, I sat down anyway. OH MY GOSH! I am so glad that I sat down! That was BY FAR the most comfortable chair in the entire store. It was made for me! The top hit my neck in the perfect spot, it has lower back support, I don't have to constantly scoot back in because I'm so short...it was perfect!

Now, it wasn't appealing to look at right away. Then she handed us the 237325237987 swatches that the chair comes in. Woah, that was overwhelming! We finally decided on navy blue cotton and are so excited! I looked for a picture online but couldn't find one. When it comes in, we will take a picture or a video and you can decide for yourselves about whether or not you think we like Grandma furniture. :) Regardless, it's the perfect feeling chair for James and I.

We also bought the crib skirt a few weeks ago and Pottery Barn Kids. It is part of the Shooting Star collection but we only bought the skirt. We are going to mix and match everything else.

My wonderful Mother-In-Law brought me a baby bag when they were here a few weeks ago. I love it!!! And I love that I didn't even have to add that to my mental list of things to do! It's super cute and will be great a summer baby boy!

And now, onto the survey:

How far along are you? 23 weeks
Maternity clothes? Pants for sure. I can still wear a lot of my regular shirts but they are becoming too short. I have a lot of spring/summer clothes. I need it to warm up!!!
Weight – Loss or Gain? I think between 8-10 pounds total.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: I am doing my best to sleep on my left side, but I seem to roll around in my sleep and wake up on my stomach. I am trying to sleep with a pillow tucked under my stomach now. It seems to help.
Best moment this week: Having James feel the baby kick!
Any Movement? All the time now. He is very active around 7:30 in the morning and after dinner each evening. If I've had a busy day, then anytime I stop moving around, I start to feel him.
Food Cravings? Not really. Chocolate cake sounded really good for a really long time. Good think Katie's birthday came and I baked chocolate cupcakes!
Food Aversions? No, thank goodness. Luckily, I am still able to eat whatever I want. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this remains the same!
Belly Button in or out? In.
What do you miss: Being able to sit up quickly, or get off the floor quickly at school.
What are you looking forward to: The furniture arriving! I can't wait.
Weekly Wisdom: Someone that I really like and respect just confirmed that nursing is the way to go. She was so supportive and positive when all I hear are the hard times that people had. I was so thankful to have that good conversation with her!
Milestones: Someone said as I passed by, "Oh look at that cute pregnant lady!" It wasn't the cute part that I liked, it was the pregnant part! I am happy to actually look pregnant!!

22 weeks 6 days

Here is the furniture that we picked out! We ordered all three pieces, but not the hutch piece on the long dresser. We love it and are so excited! It should be here in about 6 more weeks!

Also, here is a picture at 22 weeks exactly. Sorry it's a week late!

20 Weeks

Yay! Officially 20 weeks today! I cannot believe that we are halfway through this pregnancy. Crazy!

We will go to the doctor on Tuesday to find out if it is a boy or a girl. Not much else to post so we made a short video of what will be the nursery. We will hopefully take several videos so that you can all see the progress!

I feel good still. Pretty much fully out of regular clothes except shirts. That's really all...