NURSERY PICS!

I am so happy that I am currently writing this blog post, because that means that we have finally completed the nursery! I kinda thought this day would never come. Right after Christmas, I had a mini panic attack because I all of the sudden realized we had done absolutely NOTHING for the nursery. The room that the nursery is in now used to be Jono's office (he works from home) and my treadmill room. You know that room in your house that is basically the "junk room" where you just put all the stuff you don't have room for anywhere else in this house? Yeah, that was this room. Not too cute, but a room we used a lot! So anyways, we had to combine our guest bedroom with Jono's office (tight squeeze!) to give baby Lola her very own room, of course:). And after my break down after Christmas, my husband lovingly assured me that we would start right after the Holidays and that we WOULD get it done, and not to worry. So we started almost immediately, and I am thrilled to say it is ready for her arrival (mostly)!

So without further ado, here are the pics! Just so you can fully understand the transformation, I am including before, during, and after pics:).

BEFORE--nasty office/workout room, also temporarily storing some nursery goodies:)

BEFORE--Jono's work space

DURING--wainscot installed and painted, walls painted!

AFTER--adorable wreath on her door

AFTER-- ta da!!!

AFTER--in love with our glider chair, Baby Bliss bird painting, and Pottery Barn Kids rose lamp shade!

AFTER

AFTER--custom bedding by Love Bug Baby Bedding and wall decal from Etsy!

AFTER--more bedding/crib pics

AFTER--up close

AFTER--the TV is for mom:)

AFTER-- Pottery Barn Kids chandelier, obsessed!

And that's the nursery! It turned out better than I imagined and I am so happy. A BIG thanks to all those who helped and/or contributed in any way!

34 Weeks!

Can't believe I'm about to say this, but I am 34 weeks which means I only have 6 weeks (or less) left!!! Time is FLYING by right now, and everything is getting VERY real. This last phase of pregnancy has definitely brought with it some emotions, and I am very aware of it. I could easily cry at the drop of a hat for no particular reason. I would say I am very ready for my emotions to level out here pretty soon. But I am also getting very excited to meet the little princess and we love her so much already!! I had my 2nd AMAZING baby shower today, which I will blog about separately later.What a fun and special day today!! We are definitely feeling showered with love!

Here is my latest pic at 34 weeks!

Misery: Party of 2

Week 32 is definitely one that will be remembered, and not for good reasons. As all of you Dallas-ites remember clearly, last week we had 4 LOOONG days holed up in our casas because of the snow/ice storm that literally would not allow us to leave our homes because our driveways were iced over, among other reasons. But, alas, the sun came out on Saturday, again after 4 LONG days, and most of us set out to conquer the day with our to-do lists, looking for a cure for our cabin fever. However, on this special day, I woke up with a lot of chest congestion. But I though to myself, "Huh, that's weird. I haven't been sick with a cold in 3 years. My immune system is indestructible. This can't be right, I never get sick!". But as the day went on, and the next day came, I faced the reality that I do, in fact, get sick. VERY SICK. It started off with just the chest congestion, which then led to lots of coughing, leading to a chronic sore throat, and then nasal congestion, all accompanied by a FEVER! So, after 3 long days of this I finally went to the doctor today and found out that I do have:

1) Bronchitis

2) Upper Respiratory Infection

3) Sinus Infection

4) Again, all accompanied by fever

MAN! I knew I was miserable. Oh, and let me add that my husband went with me because he woke up with all the same symptoms this morning because he is now sick with all of the above! Lord, please help us.

However, there is a small silver lining: today my glider was delivered and I found out my baby bedding is in the mail and on it's way!! Thanks to both Grandma's for those 2 wonderful gifts!! The other silver lining is that I know that it could be a lot worse. Hey, at least I didn't have the stomach bug or the flu!

Oh, but one more down side is that now that I have antibiotics and should be on the road to recovery, we are expected to have another 1 or 2 snow days!! AHHH, get me outta this house!! It has now been 4 days since I have worked out which is the longest I have gone without working out this pregnancy. You would think I would enjoy the break, but I am sooo ready to be back at the gym again too! Hoping week 33 brings us better luck:).

31 Weeks in Hawaii!

This past week I was fortunate enough to get to spend my 30th/31st week of pregnancy in Honolulu, Hawaii! And what a fun time it was! What I didn't realize before leaving was that the Pro Bowl was taking place that weekend in Honolulu. So it was much busier than I was expecting, especially since almost all the football players (and Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnilo, whom I never saw, boo!) were staying at our hotel. But I still managed to find my peace and quiet and happy place amongst all of the commotion. It was so beautiful and relaxing--I feel so lucky that I got to go!

Here I am at 31 weeks in Hawaii:

I had my 31 week doctors appointment this past Monday and all is well, praise the Lord! Blood pressure is excellent, heart beat is strong, and as usual, she is moving around like crazy! In fact, at my 29 week doctor appointment, she had already moved into the head-down position. To which I thought, "Great! Check that off my list! She's already head down, no breech baby for me". But when I went back at 31 weeks, I learned that she had moved back into the head-up position!! Little stinker! I knew I felt something getting caught in my rib cage--just didn't know it was her head! But oh well, we've still got some time. As long as she is head down again by 36 weeks then I won't worry.

The nursey is also coming along, which is SOOO much fun for me! I will wait to post pics until it's all done, but in the meantime, here is a pic of Lola's adorable daddy putting together her crib-- a rite of passage for all dad's.

More pics to come as we progress!

Baby Shower #1

Well, this weekend I was definitely showered with LOVE! My best girl friends threw me an absolutely ADORABLE baby shower that was one for the books. I mean, they left out NO detail. It was completely precious and so sweet. Rather than describe it myself, I'll just attach some pics so you can see for yourself. Such a sweet day with friends and family! THANK YOU GIRLS ALL SO MUCH!!!!!

Taylor and I--she is due end of May with a girl too!

The Grandmothers and I:)

Opening my "Lola" ruffle panties--love them!

Cute onsies by the front door that Allison made!

Lola's "wish tree" where everyone wrote their sweet wishes for her

All the goodies!!

More goodies including hand-made birds nest cookies with pink jelly belly eggs inside

Mimosas for those "expecting" and those "not expecting". I believe the "not expecting" batch went much quicker:).

Amazing diaper cake!

All the beautiful hostesses! Love them all! You girls really know how to make a pregnant girl happy!

3rd Trimester: and The Nesting Has Begun!

Today is the official first day of my 3rd trimester, and I can hardly believe it!! I swear, the first few months of pregnancy were so long, and now the weeks are just FLYING by! I cannot believe that in 12 weeks (or less) we will have our little girl at home with us. She will be ours to care for and love, and our responsibility. Scary thought? Maybe. Still working on some of our fears, but I have to believe that is 100% normal. However, the fears seem minimal compared to the excitement! I CANNOT wait to meet her!! I can't wait to see what she looks like, know her personality, and learn what she likes/dislikes, because YES, this is a real person growing inside of me! It is all too much to comprehend at times just causing us to thank the Lord daily for this little gift growing inside of me.

Which brings me to my next point: I am definitely starting to get sentimental and emotional about everything! As we get closer and closer to the due date, the reality of everything is slowly but surely starting to sink in, which means my gushy emotional side is really making it's debut. Yesterday I got my first shower invitation in the mail and as soon as I saw it, what did I do? Tears. I also received her first clothing gift in the mail yesterday from Jono's aunt. So then what happened? More tears. Just imagining her actually WEARING those clothes?!?! Too much for me!! Makes me wonder how I am going to be able to get through opening gifts at my shower without crying like a little girl. Let's hope I don't do that--too embarrassing!

Now that the Holidays are over and the New Year has come, we have moved into full-on baby mode around here. Luckily, Jono got Monday off of work so we spent the WHOLE day moving things around in the house to make room for baby. We had to turn our guest bedroom into a bedroom/office combo (since Jono works from home), and the old office will now be the new nursery. So we spent the day moving furniture into the guest bedroom, moving some out that we don't have room for, and moving the baby furniture (though still in boxes) into the nursery. So now we are ready to install the beadboard wainscot, chandelier, and paint! I am hoping this gets done sooner rather than later, because we are pretty much at a stand still until that happens. But other than that, her rug should arrive this afternoon, bedding probably won't be here until some time in February, and same for her AMAZING new glider/recliner we ordered from Baby Bliss! So beyond excited to see it all come together!

I can definitely say that I have noticed some changes in my energy level and stamina lately, which is really throwing me off! First and second trimester were relatively breezy, in my opinion, and quite enjoyable! But lately, I am noticing a big difference in my comfort level as well as my ability to do certain things. For example: my workouts at the gym--can't do the same things I was doing anymore! Bending over to pick things up--quickly becoming one of my least favorite hobbies! Standing up-- takes me a few steps of limping before I finally feel comfortable and she settles into place! I am sure these are all normal things and something everyone experiences, but it's just throwing me for a loop! It's like my body is saying, "slow down, woman!" and I really wasn't ready to yet! But alas, I think my body wins out on this one and so there are certain things I'll have to take down a few notches. Maybe I should enjoy that before my life becomes crazy mommy-life!:)

I'll make sure I take a bump pic this week too--it is growing RAPIDLY!

Insomnia?

Well, here it is, 5 am, and I am awake and have been since 4am. Hmmf. This has been happening more and more lately the past couple of weeks. It is so odd for me because I am a hard sleeper and RARELY have ANY trouble sleeping in the least. If you have ever even met me you probably know that I heart my sleep....a lot. When I was working full time my goal was to get between 9-10 hours of sleep a night, and since I've been pregnant, I sleep more like 10-11 a night. I know. You just judged me. It's a lot of sleep so I would judge me too. But honestly, I don't really care, because I have been loving every minute of all the sleep because I know that is about to change....drastically. And maybe that is the reason I am ok with the insomnia lately because I know it is God's way of preparing me for all those sleepless nights. I actually appreciate it! Thanks God! You always know how to prepare us for big events coming up:).

So anyways, tomorrow I am 26 weeks! I am updating my bump picture because I feel like it has really come along these past 2 weeks and I'm so proud of it! Good job little bump! If you'll notice in the pic, it has become a lot more "bump-like" in the past 2 weeks. More round and pronounced. And for the first time, I have actually begun to feel more comfortable wearing tight shirts that hug the belly. See the progress??

We are getting there, right?? Holla!

Ok, so, things that are getting harder for me to do lately:

1) Bend over

2) Tie my shoes

3) Work out

4) Sit down/stand up frequently

5) Eat dinner without getting indigestion/stomach ache

6) Sleep through the night, apparently

7) Hide da bump!

8) Not buy everything I see for the nursery

9) Sleep on my stomach

10) Not cry at anything sentimental

11) Sit for long periods of time with out SOMETHING aching (upper back, lower back, sides, ligaments, etc.)

Though these things are getting harder, I still feel like I cannot complain about my pregnancy! It has been an overall enjoyable experience with little trouble. I would say that I recommend it! S0, all of my married friends out there (you know who you are)....c'mon go for it!!!! It will be fun, I swear:). Haha just kidding...mostly.

I have a feeling we will soon be making lots of progress on the nursery, so I'll be sure to update. As for now, the only thing I've done in there, besides make a bunch of purchases, is put up paint samples. PROGRESS! Haha, much to do before April 1st! So much excitement ahead of us!