38 Weeks

I'm 9 days away from my due date as I write this. I don't know where the time has gone over this last year. It's been the best year of my life, with just a few months left that will give even better moments.

Coming in to this week of pregnancy was rough. I was exhausted, my blood pressure was high at my last appointment and I'm experiencing major fluid retention. In the prior weeks I'd simply overdone it. I was told to stop pretending I'm not pregnant and to restrict my activities. It's hard, but I'm making it work. No sign of our handsome man as of now, but that's ok. I'm huge and uncomfortable, but he's been asked not to come early (we had a talk!). I'm finishing up last minute nesting and trying to enjoy work as much as I can in these last couple weeks. It's going to be great having a long maternity leave, but I'll miss the job.

I don't know what this whole parenting thing will be like, but I'm sure looking forward to the challenge.

To my fellow blog friends expecting, I hope you're all well. Kate, I hope the new baby girl is just wonderful. Leah, I'm hoping your little man makes his appearance soon. Care, I'm hoping all is well with you and you're feeling good! December isn't far away for you!

Weeks 34 - 37

I hit 37 weeks yesterday and I have to say, I think I'm done. My little body has expanded to it's limits and I feel like my belly is going to pop every time that baby boy moves around. I still love the movement, and I know I'll miss it, but I'm also getting anxious to shed a little weight and feel lighter and more flexible.

34 weeks

35 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

It truly amazes me how big one's belly can actually get once I put all the pictures together in order. It's too weird. I have started to feel this week like I don't know how I got here. I feel like I literally just found out I was pregnant. Now my little boy is full term and will be just fine making his entrance from here on out. Oh baby boy, please spare mommy and don't get too much bigger! I'm getting tired!

In other news, we've finally completed the master remodel enough to move in. It's an amazing space! So much larger, it has a bathroom of it's own and the laundry is right there. We still have some finish work to do in the bathroom and a sink to plumb, as well as the last of the trim and beadboard in the laundry. Two more days of work maximum at the rate we're able to work together right now. My husband has been a complete joy to spend time with and he's worked so hard. The guy definitely deserves something special for creating me such a great space! I always mention how I'll share "after" photos when my projects are done (who remembers the kitchen that's never been seen?), but I do fully promise on this one. I'm far too excited not to share.

Just 20 days until my due date. I'm still working on the last minute stuff like installing the carseat, packing the hospital bag and finishing up the baby laundry. Wish me luck and this whole journey starts coming to a close!

The Baby Shower

I was treated to the most beautiful shower I've ever had the pleasure of attending. My mom and her friends are absolutely amazing when it comes to planning. The decor was gorgeous and the food was delicious. I'm lucky enough to have cousins who bake like professionals and they provided the most amazing cake and cupcakes.

Myself, my mom and my sister.

The shower theme was nautical. We love living on Whidbey Island, we love the ocean that surrounds us and we love our boat. We are so excited to introduce the northwest island life to our son and nothing fits us better than all things nautical.

The afghan on the left with the anchor was hand made by my cousin, Rachel. She did an amazing job. The quilt on the left was made by our close friend and neighbor, Uschi. The quilt was one of my very first gifts for the baby. I completely skipped a bedding set because of this quilt. The rocking horse is from my friend, Alison. She stained it to match his bedroom.

Poms, eyelet lanterns and stars hung above the food table. They've all come home with me to hang in his bedroom. The giant frame was held chicken wire - I took photos early so you don't get to see all the adorable photos that were attached of his ultrasounds, my weekly belly photos and a few of me as a child.

The shower was at 11:00am, so we had a brunch spread. It was delicious. Mini crustless quiches, strawberry spinach salad with the most amazing dressing I've ever tasted and fresh bakery bread.

There was a great sparkling fruit punch along with lemon water. We drank from mason jars and each little straw had the cutest little striped red and blue flags on them.

The cupcakes were made my the Cupcake Queen herself, my cousin Rachel. She knows how much I love fondant and she made marshmallow fondant star toppers for each cupcake. I'm also a frosting girl, and she totally outdid herself on the frosting for these cupcakes. I was in heaven.

My cousin, Brynn made the blue velvet ruffle cake. I'd come across a picture of one on Pinterest and had to have it. This is the absolute best velvet cake I've ever eaten in my life. The frosting was cream cheese and sadly didn't like the sun. But I don't care, it was delicious! My sister came across this adorable whale topper and my brother colored it for her. It was pretty sweet of him!

The blessing table was incredible. Each guest wrote a sweet note to our baby boy and hung it on the line. At the end of the shower they were collected in a small album for me to take home. I'll get to read each blessing and prayer to him as he grows.

Pinwheels made the center pieces on each table and were the favors for our guests to take home. My mom let me help with these, which I loved. I'm a crafty person so I was happy I got to help with something!

The little guy was spoiled rotten!

Carrie, Jennifer, Mom & Lisa

These are the ladies that made it happen. Carrie hosted in her gorgeous back yard, making for one heck of a garden party. They all helped my mom collect and implement ideas. They set up and took down the entire thing and also helped prepare the food. They're amazing and my mom is so lucky to have the best friends.

There are more pictures floating around on other cameras. When I end up with those I'll post more of the fun. A big thank you to everyone who made the shower so incredible special. I felt beyond blessed. From those who helped plan and put on, to those friends and family members that attended. It was an amazing day I'll never forget.

A project! Baby Boy's Cradle

I am so excited to be sharing this before and after. I couldn't be bothered to take any better pictures, but they still show just how beautiful this piece of furniture is.

I was searching Craigslist several months ago for a dresser for the baby's room. I had no luck with a dresser, but I did find this great cradle! I sent a picture of it to my husband who immediately replied that we must have it. The next day I picked it up from a darling military family in town. Her very last little boy had outgrown it and she was (not so ready) to part with it.

We wrangled it in to the back of my sister's Volkswagon Beetle (boy was that a task!) and went on our merry way. We made a pit stop at the grocery store on the way home, and while inside a woman spied the cradle in the back seat of the car. She was in the process of leaving us a note about it when we came out. Her daughter-in-law was due in September and she wanted to know if we were selling it. Nope! Sorry! She was bummed, but wished me well.

It's an old piece that had obviously been modified and that was just fine. I'd take it apart to paint it and put it back together ensuring it's stability. It also came with a brand new mattress, off white sheet and set of bumpers (only 3 months used). I'd started pulling it apart to prep it and realized I should probably take a before picture.

I absolutely love the way it turned out. It took some sanding and wiping down to prep it. Then it took a tedious 4 coats of paint with a foam brush. I actually chose to pick up a quart of Martha Stewart's Wrought Iron (the lighting doesn't really do the color justice) rather than using spray paint. Baby boy's color is a dark muted navy blue. There just weren't a lot of options in spray paint matching what I really wanted for this piece and it would have been far more expensive for the amount of cans I needed. I didn't even use 1/4 of my quart of paint and now I have more left over for other projects for his room. I did pick up a can of spray paint matching the hooks the cradle hangs from for the rest of the hardware.

This picture doesn't show the completed project. The eye bolts currently on the cradle are old and rusted. We weren't able to find the same size at the hardware store so we attempted to spray them to match the hooks. Problem was, we can't tighten the bolts at the bottom any farther up. This means the stop on the cradle (the function is there, but we have to create a new stop) won't work. Can't have the baby unsecured while sleeping and unattended. We've picked up some marine rope that we'll be replacing the eye hooks with, keeping with my nautical feel. We can then adjust the height to ensure the stop works properly.

The stop is a small dowel that I painted the same color as the hardware. We picked up a small crystal knob to attach to the end of the dowel to place and remove the stop. It will be attached to the frame with a piece of marine rope so that it doesn't get lost. If I don't attach it, I'll lose it for sure. That's just how I am! I am overall pleased with the quality of this old piece and the stability after modifying it. I can't wait to have baby boy sleeping in it!

Total project cost:

Cradle: $40

Paint: $13

2 foam brushes: $1

Spray paint: $8

Dowel: $1

Decorative knob: $4

Rope: $5

Total: $72!

Still less than half the price of a brand new cradle and the bedding was included! I love to restore old peices and I know that as we use this for our son and future children, that mommy and daddy made it just for them. Love that!

The cradle will be decorated with a custom pillow that I plan to make, along with two very adorable blankets I've crocheted for my little man. It will all be ready for his arrival so I'll have pictures posted of it in it's final resting place before he gets here!

Weeks 29 - 33

Life is good here! Time flies by at the speed of light and sometimes I find myself overwhelemed at the things I feel need to be done around here. Time, please slow down just a little!

My pregnancy is still progressing beautifully. I'm down to the last 7 weeks before my due date and I'm starting to finally understand what uncomfortable is. I was just asked last night if I "turtle" out of bed. I gave a quizical look and realized exactly what they were talking about - yes, I get stuck on my back when trying to roll from one side to the other or trying to sit myself up out of bed - turtling is a great description of that!

29 Weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

(I love the roundness of my belly from the front!)

Baby boy moves constantly. It's the one thing I will miss the most about pregnancy after he's born. It's so nice having him with me all the time. Getting to "take" him to work with me, rubbing my belly to wake him and "spend" time with him. I love all of that. My husband and I were discussing the other day how we know we will be so tired and sleep deprived, but we've just waited for him for so long, that we kind of feel like that won't matter. We'll just want to spend every waking moment we can with him.

I'm now attending appointments every 2 weeks. We're getting down to the wire. As of right now we have 6 weeks and 3 days until my due date. Friends and coworkers are starting to place their bets on when the little man will make his appearance. At my last appointment a week ago his estimated weight from measurements was 4lbs 3oz. He looked incredible. I'm so blessed this pregnancy has been problem and complication free and that my boy continues to grow as healthy as possible.

My baby shower is on August 20th and I'm very exicted to get together with family and friends to celebrate my son. I can't wait!



Nursery Inspiration

I was asked to share pictures of little man's nursery. I'm so sad to say that we won't be finishing his nursery until after he arrives. We are currently working opposite schedules and it's hard to get everything finished around here that needs to be done prior to his arrival. Since he'll be rooming in with us for a the first few months we decided we'd put off any serious nursery work until my maternity leave.

But all of that doesn't mean I haven' started buying things. I have a great collection of baby stuff going thus far. So I figured I'd let you all in on the things that will be going in to his room when it's time.

The white Jenny Lind crib. This was the same style crib both my sister and brother had as babies. I remember it being the most beautiful piece of furniture ever. I even had a twin Jenny Lind in my room in middle school. I loved that bed. I knew it's exactly what I wanted for my own baby one day. It was the very first baby something I bought after we found out we were expecting. I searched and searched Craigslist and found the most perfect deal. Brand new, bought only 4 months prior and never used. She sold it to me for a whopping $80 including a Pottery Barn mattress. Amazing.

{via}

The Expedit shelving unit. I got my way immediately with the crib. However, my husband has not been so agreeable to everything else. We finally agreed on utilizing the Expedit unit like in the photo above. Dresser, shelving, changing table in one. Done deal.

The Dorel Monaco Bentwood Rocker. It took a long time for us to agree on a rocker. He wanted a glider, I wanted a rocker. He wanted a regular glider, I wanted a vintage rocker. After lots of searching I finally came across this piece. It had great reviews, a mix between old and new, and it was the right price! My mother-in-law so kindly gifted this piece to us for baby's room. Thank you so much Mom!

His room will be lots of navy blue, whites and grays. We knew navy blue was our color well before I was even pregnant. I'm not color biased. If I'd been having a girl, it still would have been blue. His room will carry a a light theme of classic nautical. Old maps and ships will be added in to the decor. Along with his giraffe collection. Mommy's favorite animal has been the giraffe since she was little and she was nice enough to make sure he has plenty of stuffed giraffes to cuddle.

Like I mentioned before, until his room is completed he will room in with us. He has a faboulous vintage cradle I'm in the process of finishing up - it needs to be painted and reworked for safety - that will be downstairs with us, along with his dresser and rocker. We'll move it all upstairs when we're ready to set him out on his own :) Getting closer every day and I couldn't be more excited!

28 Weeks! It's a busy one.

Hello gratuitous bathroom shot of my pregnant belly. 28 weeks has been a really fun one so far. I hit 28 weeks on July 1st, turned 28 years old on July 3rd and today celebrated Independence Day with my extended family. I haven't been to our family 4th in years! It comes with my line of work, sadly.

Not a ton has changed pregnancy wise except getting bigger. Baby boy is a mover and a shaker. He has the ability to contort my belly now based on how he chooses to hang out in there. He's not shy to spread out from side to side, making my belly look like a football and causing some serious hip pain. But I still love him.

I've been becoming increasingly more stressed about my age the older I get. I tried my hardest to embrace my 28th birthday with open arms and it was rather successful. I feel like this will be my greatest year yet. I spent a wonderful sunny day out with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin. We went shoe shopping and treated ourselves to manicures. We followed up with lunch at my favorite cafe in Coupeville and Coupecakes from the cupcake shop. It was super fun.

This coming weekend we head back to Winthrop for our last trip sans baby. We stayed in an adorable cabin there last year and decided it was too great not to go back. 3 nights just the hubby and I out in the warm Eastern Washington woods and weather. Can't wait!

Hope everyone had a safe and fabulous 4th!