Getting organized

This morning was filled with a fun-filled trip to one of my favorite stores: Home Depot! Luke and I knew we wanted to do some work in the nursery (since for once we had nothing planned) so we went and picked up some shelving for the baby's room. We decided to take the doors off the closet, because I plan on whipping out some mad sewing skills and creating a cute, printed, curtain-like cover for the closet. 

Here's some pics of our progress:

This is what the closet looked like prior to all of our hard work

Then came the measuring, marking, and drilling

. . . annnd hammering

Then came the actually hanging of the shelves, and the filling with all of baby Harvey's clothes. 

We absolutely love how it turned out and it is ONE more thing that we can cross off our list of things to do. We still have some work to do: obviously the curtains, I have some home-made art work that I want to complete, shelving that I want to hang to hold books, and the READ letters that I have already painted white and got the ribbon to hang. And of course, photos on the wall of both Luke and I as babies. We are having so much fun decorating, and organizing things and I am lucky that my mother gave me her mild OCD and need for everything to have its own special place. It has really been contributing to my nesting. 

Also- I just wanted to post this video of belly movement because its a little crazy how you can see her moving around in there so much already. 

Welcome 3rd Trimester

I am officially in my 3rd trimester and I'm feeling good! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. It seems like we have so much left to do! I found a pregnancy work out that I absolutely love so I have been doing it about 5 days a week. Pregnancy pilates! I look forward to working out every day, strengthening my body, and preparing for labor. Luke and I had our first baby class through Amma Maternity: Baby Care basics. It was 2 1/2 hours of intense information about diaper changing, feeding, swaddling, soothing a crying baby, preventing/treating illness, and everything in between. We started off the class writing our names and due date.

We then introduced ourselves to the 8 other couples and then the info started getting hurled at us. We watched videos, saw some demonstrations, tried things, and got to work in groups with some of the other couples. The most interesting thing we learned was probably the 5 S's for soothing a crying baby, which is a technique in "The Happiest Baby" book by Harvey Karp. The 5 S's are: Swaddle, Side (or Stomach-your baby's feel-good position), Shhhh (baby's favorite soothing sound), Swinging (or Swaying), and Sucking. The instructor did a demonstration and I definitely think its a technique we will use. I was so impressed with my husband. Honestly, he was contributing to the discussion and learned things that he thought would be extremely valuable. Our friends just had a baby last week, (Congrats again Sara & Charlie!) and Luke and I had the pleasure of visiting her. Oh-My-Gosh she is absolutely beautiful and precious. I walked in an immediately cried. Because, yes-I'm hormonal, but I also couldn't get passed the fact that she was in my friends belly one day, and out in the world the next day. She was so tiny, made the most beautiful little noises, and when she opened her big blue eyes, my heart melted. I just HAVE to post some of the pictures on here.

Luke and I both came home after visiting them ready and excited for the arrival of our baby. Luke even said, and this is a direct quote, "I'm ready to meet the baby growing in your stomach." I melted and realized how excited I am. It all seemed so real to have a little baby in my arms and see a little baby in Luke's arms. So my belly is growing, the baby is about 14.8 inches and 2.25 lbs. Kicks are constant throughout the day, and I'm used to feeling a tumbling session in my belly. Its something I look forward to; knowing that eventually I will get to see those wiggles. I'm looking forward to working on the nursery this weekend. I hope to get the shelving in the closet, taking down the closet doors, and trying to sew (what will eventually be curtains).

Growing belly

Its official! My belly is growing, growing, growing. Thought I would share some pics documenting the growth. When I first found out I was pregnant (About 5-6 weeks)

12 Weeks

14 Weeks

18 Weeks

20 Weeks

23 Weeks

27 Weeks

Nursery progress

Welp- Its official. We started the nursery! I will wait patiently for the applause, or the gasps at the fact that it took us this long to even get started. Better late than never, though- right? We have some time. The nice thing about the whole decorating process is that Luke and I were on the same page in terms of the colors and style. Our first step was to head out to Home Depot to pick out paint colors. We ended up choosing a light gray color for the walls, a deep chocolate brown for the tree, dark and light pink flowers, and light green leaves.

We chose this picture as our motivation only minus the pink wall and $149 price tag for the decal. We decided to free hand it because all of the little imperfections will make it more personal and filled with love :)

My loving husband started by doing all the taping. He's like a professional now and can tape a whole room in about 20 minutes!

We started painting the gray color on Friday at about 5:30, and by 7:15 we are officially done with the first coat. We rested up and on Saturday, as I drew the details, Luke worked on all of the touch ups. I was extremely nervous to draw on the tree, because- let's be honest, I definitely don't consider myself an artist by any means. However, I read that the best way to tackle a mural, is to draw it on first with chalk, and then paint over it. So that's exactly what I did. I used the decal in the pic above as a visual reference, but basically what you're seeing is all us.

Saturday basically consisted of the tree, and our crawl space hole is actually covered by a big square of wall. I had the idea to use chalkboard spray paint on that and make it a big chalk board. It turned out great!

The flowers and leaves were Sunday's project. What do you think?

We also snagged these awesome cubby storage bins from Home Depot: A home owner's favorite store!

So- I'd say we made quite a bit of progress this weekend. There is obviously a lot left to do, but painting was the first thing we needed to accomplish. It already feels so much like a baby nursery in there already and I'm convinced that Baby Harvey is going to feel right at home.

Creating a plan

Well, I am still trucking along strong. I am feeling energetic, working out about 5 times a week (and loving it) eating healthy, and dreading the time where I revert back to 1st trimester symptoms. We finished our registry at Target and Babies-R-Us and I feel like there is just SO much we need. My sister-in-law and her husband assured us that all we really need is the necessities and that every thing else will fall into place (especially since we have a good 4 months before we officially get to meet our baby. I am convinced that he is spot on, which eliminates a great deal of my anxiety. We also registered for prenatal classes through Amma Maternity. There are so many classes and so many options, but after communicating with those of our friends who have children and have been through this all, we landed on a package deal: Preparing for Childbirth, Breastfeeding, and Baby Care Basics. Preparing for Childbirth: This comprehensive class covers everything you need to know to prepare for childbirth, including: The final weeks of pregnancyThe birth process, including the different stages and phases of labor, Back labor, Labor support techniques, Basic breathing and relaxation for labor, Supportive technologies and induction, Cesarean birth, Postpartum recovery and the adjustment to parenthood Breastfeeding is pretty self-explanatory, and Baby Care Basics: Care procedures in the hospital Pediatric visits and immunizations, What to expect for appearance and behavior, Bathing, Diapering, Detecting illness and when to call the doctor, Umbilical cord care, Sleep safety, Soothing a fussy infant, and swaddling I'm really excited to learn these techniques and finally feel like I'm prepared and confident. So, I know- I know. I'm sure you all can NOT believe I still have yet to start on the nursery, but my husband is gone this weekend and I refuse to start all that man-labor by myself. I decided that while he's gone and I have already done laundry and cleaned the house, that I would come up with a detailed list of things we need to accomplish. *Paint the room (a light gray) *Paint a tree on the wall (Brown with pink and white flowers)

*Remove closet doors *Hang shelving in the closet *Sew curtain for closet *Sew curtain for window *Home-made baby mobile

*Find pictures, frames, and create a photo wall

*Create a READ corner

*And last but not least hang cabinets in our laundry area to create more storage. This is not directly related to the nursery but it will help get things organized in there. It seems like we have SO much to do, but once we get the walls painted, everything else will fall into place. I have to get my creative juices flowing. I also got my mom's sewing machine, and I have to figure out if I REALLY know how to sew well enough to make my own curtains, otherwise, my wonderful sis-in-law has offered to lend her helping hand (much appreciated). Another thing we HAVE to do in the near future is choose a pediatrician for our unborn baby. This never really even crossed my mind but at our first prenatal appointment they asked if we had a doctor selected for baby. I have no idea how to choose, or where to look. Any advice?

New Years Resolution

So. . . I have been thinking a lot lately about creating a list of attainable New Years resolutions. Not one of those resolutions that I make and get sick of and forget about 1/2 way through the year, but a set of good, realistic goals that I can set for myself and my family. This is why I have set a list of things I would like to accomplish within 2012. Some things are maybe not going to be difficult to attain, but they are things I said I've done and just haven't gotten around to. So. . . here's my list: 1. Run at least 2 5Ks and 1 10K 2. Learn how to sew (and sew well) 3. Learn how to play my bass guitar (and play it at least every week) 4. Get serious about being a wedding singer 5. Lose the baby weight (once it's fully on) 6. Continue to date my husband at least once a week 7. Plant a vegetable garden 8. Attempt my grandma's home made salsa and mole de pollo all on my own 9. Tell the people I love, just how much they mean to me as often as possible 10. Wear my glasses more 11. Cherish every moment 12. Spend less time being stressed and angry So I will continue checking in on here and following up on my resolutions. Wish me luck in 2012, and Happy New Years everyone!