Nursery Board

1. Color inspiration for baby girls room. I love how it has the few pops of colors. I found this on pinterest via a friends blog, but it originated from Design Seeds. A great site for color pallet ideas. Since we are renting we will most likely keep the room a neutral color. I am thinking something along the lines of the taupe color shown at the bottom.

2. Glider! I like this one from Room & Board and it comes in a nice pop of magenta. Stephen is very into the glider so I need to take him to the store to sit in it and weigh in. If you haven't heard of Room & Board you should check it out. It is a great modern furniture store.

3. I kind of like the idea of a floor poof instead of an ottoman. I am not 100% sure on this idea still, these ones came from a diy site using Ikea rugs. Of course we would want different colors. Possibly a grey or navy chevron would be nice.

4. I like the feminine touches on this dresser. This is one I found on pinterest. We plan on looking around at resale stores to try and find something with nice touches like the scallops that we can paint and change out hardware on. I might want to paint it a fun color or one of the purple/navy tones.

5. Crib! This is the exact crib we are going to get from WalMart. I fell in love with a crib that looks very similar to this one from Land of Nod. Biggest difference is that the Land of Nod crib is $900! This WalMart dupe is $200. Great savings and I still like the look.

6. I love this etsy poster and you can have the colors changed. I am not sure what colors I want it to be yet, but I am pretty sure we will order this print.

7. Another etsy item. I love the idea of a ven diagram with the three of our names in it. Again not sure on the colors we would have. We might try out a home made version of this print or just order it.

8. One more etsy print I like.
9. Curtain inspiration. These ones are from Land of Nod I fell in love with about 10 nursery ideas ago, when I was obsessed with yellow and grey. hehe. I like the idea of doing a solid curtain with a print thrown in. I currently cannot remember what the window situation is in the baby's room, so these might get scrapped for something else. We get the keys later this week though so I will be able to remember more about the room very soon! :)
10. I like how this fabric uses the magenta color with a bit of the green thrown in. Found it on fabric.com and it is a little pricey, but a good start for an idea. I plan on going to the fabric store to get some swatches and more ideas in the coming weeks. I like the idea of maybe pairing it with a solid navy for the curtains. What I am not sure is would something like this also look good as a crib skirt or would it be to busy? I have a wonderful seemstress lined up to help me out with the crib skirt :)

Week 20 - Half Way!

Where: University of Washington Library, Seattle, WA



Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +10 lbs
• Sleep : Off and on good and bad sleep. I slept hard a lot of nights, but still get up 3 or 4 times a night to go to the bathroom.
• Best moments : Having an ultrasound this week and finding out the sex of our little one! We also had a good time at our cloth diapering class. It was very informative and Steve is now fully on board with it (not that he wasn't before, it is just better with him fully educated on it)
• Movement : Pretty sure I am feeling something now. Everyone describes it as butterflies or gas bubbles and I haven't felt either of those, but I feel like the baby is moving around especially when I am too full.
• Symptoms : Nothing new this week
• Maternity clothes? : Yup! I also ordered two dresses I hope work out cause they are really cute. 
• Food cravings or aversion's? : Nothing new here either. 
• What I am eating : Oh boy I can't even remember. I have been trying to eat smaller portions and we have a lot of healthy snacks around, carrots, celery, hummus. On Saturday we went out for Chicago style pizza in celebration of the half way mark. It fed us for a couple meals and was delicious. 





• Exercise : A few good walks this week. We walked around the University on Saturday after our cloth diaper class. We also took the dogs on a great walk one weekday. They were very appreciative and even slept in the next day. 
• Gender : We are having a baby GIRL!
  
  We celebrated with pink balloons and used them to tell many people our news. We texted the above picture to our sisters to let them know and used it to announce the news to the world.
  
  
  
  We had two smaller balloons we showed Chewie and Yuri. Yuri was scarred of them, but Chewie jumped up at them. We also took these balloons out to a bar and let them out of a bag to show some of our Seattle friends that we were having a girl. It was a fun evening.
  
  
  
  We topped the night off with picking my parents up at the airport with a car filled of pink balloons. They were very surprised and excited!
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : I can't think of anything this week. 
• What I am looking forward to : Hanging out with my parents, who are here for my 30th birthday. :) Also, we are going to register for the little baby girl this weekend.

More happenings:

We are starting to get our move out of Ballard underway. 

I spent some of Sunday playing pitch/keep with my closet. Getting rid of two large shopping bags of clothes.

While I was in the bedroom working on my closet, Stephen packed up all our camping and outdoor gear. Yes it takes up 3 large boxes. 

Yuri helped me pack up the baby's belongings. He is VERY interested in the cloth diapers, but only the ones that have been used by Lou. He has no interest in the new ones. He sniffs and looks at them with a lot of curiosity.

After all that packing Chewie and Stephen took a break on the couch with the snoogle. Chewie loves that thing. 

Week 19

Where: Suson Park, St. Louis, MO



Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +10 lbs (big gain week!)
• Sleep : Pretty decent this week. I wake up a lot to go to the bathroom
• Best moments : Spending last weekend with my bffs, still reeling from it. Also, talking baby names with Stephen. Oh an hearing the heart beat. Baby is sounding good!
• Movement : Still none
• Symptoms : Been a little tired lately, had some long work weeks. I also cannot eat full size meals, the food doesn't sit right. I still can't seem to stop eating too much sometimes at lunch or dinner.
• Maternity clothes? : Yup. Loving my flare jeans (seen in the picture above)
• Food cravings or aversion's? : Same old same old...mexican, fish & chips. No big aversions..taking it easy on spicy foods.
• What I am eating : Greek yogurt parfait (from the grocery store and they are amazing), turkey salad wrap, pickles, sausage with rice and broccoli, bananas, spicy beef & broccoli, breakfast for dinner. fish and chips, meatloaf, oranges
• Exercise : A nice walk in the park with the kiddos. The sun is finally shinning here in Seattle, hope it stays over the weekend for some walks.
• Gender : We find out in 6 days!
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : Hmm not sure this week.
• What I am looking forward to : Diaper class tomorrow and my parents visiting! They get in next Thursday evening and are staying till Tuesday (some people have birthday's coming up! Chewie and I!)

St Louis Weekend Get Together

Last Thursday I took off work and headed to St Louis for a much needed long weekend with friends. 12 years ago I headed to the University of Missouri - Rolla and made the best friends I could ever imagine having (I also met my husband, added bonus). These ladies below, plus a few that aren't pictured, seriously are one of the best things in my life. We have been through everything you can imagine, good and bad, together. I know no matter what I need, a laugh, a cry, someone to just listen to a rant these girls will be there to do it. Not only have we all been friends for 12 years, not a day goes by that we do not talk. We have an insane email history since graduating and each day at least one person is sending out an email - from just saying hi to needing advice to what we are eating. I could go on and on and on about them. Instead let's just recap a great weekend.

 Some of the lovely ladies of my life + a few of their little men.

I have mentioned that all of my college friends have boys. Here are 4 of them, from left (youngest) to right (oldest): Lou (Leslie), Desmond (Nickie), Phillip (Kara) and Hudson (Lauren)

I love to see how they interact with each other. 

Most of our weekend was spent hanging around Kara and Steve's house (Thank you again for having all of us!). We made lots of food, ate, drank, played with the kiddos, chatted and played some games. I never laugh as hard as I do when with them. We did venture out of the house one day. A couple of us hit up some baby stores and then we all convened at lunch for Mexican. 

Bumps at El Mags! From left to right: Bethany due July 2, me due July 6 and Amber (Stephanie's sister) due July 17. Can't believe how close together all our due dates are!

Park time after lunch with the guys. Hudson and Phillip tolerating more of our picture taking of them. Lou was there too, but sleeping. Phillip had his first swing experience and we all took a nice walk around the park.

Later in the evening we had a surprise baby shower for our friend Molly. Molly lives in Virginia. We all sent gifts to a friend of hers there and her husband snuck around getting them wrapped and setting Molly up to the computer where we were all waiting on Google+ to have her shower. She was so surprised  It was super fun. Technology really is amazing. 

Then the boys got in their St Pats gear and we made them do more photo shoots. :)

Baby K went home with quite the loot as well. He or She got some sweet gifts from his fraunties (friend+auntie). Spoiled already :)

And I purchased some cloth diapers. A small selection of the types I like to make it easier when I am searching around town here or online. Leslie also is letting us borrow her stash of infant size ones and Yuri has been sniffing at them and trying to figure out what they are. Wonder if it is cause they smell like a baby? 

It was such a great weekend. I am glad I was able to take the time to go for this long weekend. Being with them really does something for the soul. Looking forward to the next get together already!

Week 18

Where: The Ballard, Unit 504, Super Bowl Sunday - Go Chiefs! :)

Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +7 lbs (no change)
• Sleep : Better, still waking up a few times a night to go to the bathroom
• Best moments : Taking 2 vacation days and spending them with my friends. I think I will just do a separate recap post on how awesome it was. :)
• Movement : None still. I wish it would come soon!
• Symptoms : I have had some pains in my side. I am pretty sure it is just my round ligament. It is infrequent, so I am not concerned. We go to the doctor this week, so I will double check there.
• Maternity clothes? : I'd say I am wearing them 90% of the time, not that I fit into them all that great yet.
• Food cravings or aversion's? : I have mostly been wanting Mexican still or fish and chips. I never turn down either of those.
• What I am eating : I am a few days behind in this post and after spending the last part of week 18 on vacation I really cannot remember what I had. I do think I did fairly well on vacation. We had a ton of food out all of the time and I snacked a lot but I had a ton of fruit and veggies(with dip) most of the time.
• Exercise : I finally did my yoga dvd! It is a little slow for me and I can still do a lot of the poses without the modifications they are doing, but I am still going to try to do it a few times a week.
• Gender : ? getting closer to finding out!
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : Being close to the people I love. This includes family, but after an amazing weekend with friends I hate being so far from all of them. A good number of my close friends live in St Louis now and I wish I was around to visit with them more. Do not read the above and interpret this as I want to move back though. :) If asked, I can say with certainty that I do not want to move.
• What I am looking forward to : Doctor's appointment this week, we love getting to hear the heartbeat and this weekend we are taking a cloth diapering class. I know quite a lot, but when I talk to Stephen about it it is like I am talking a foreign language. So I thought it would be a good idea for us to go where someone else can explain it to him. It will be our first baby class.

Old Wives Tales

I thought it would be fun to look up some old wives tales on gender and pregnancy. Let's see what they think we are going to have.

#1. If you are moody, you are having a girl because of all the extra female hormones : GIRL

#2. It's a girl if your left breast is larger than your right breast. It's a boy if your right breast is larger than your left breast. : Umm what are you having if they are the same size? haha

#3. Dark nipples are signs of a son. : Are these questions going to get tmi? haha GIRL

#4. If you eat garlic and the odor seeps out of your pores, then you're having a boy. : Gross. I haven't had any garlicky foods so who knows.

#5. If your urine is bright yellow, it's a boy. A dull yellow means a girl. : With the amount of water I am drinking (& you are supposed to drink) how is it supposed to have any color? Guess we are going with GIRL again

#6. If you experience heartburn or indigestion during pregnancy your baby will have a full head of hair.: I definitely have some, not terrible but this kid will get some hair

#7. No morning sickness, it’s a boy.  A girl if you were sick or nauseous during your pregnancy.: None at all? Well that would be nice. GIRL

#8. A heart rate over 140 beats per minute(bpm), it's a girl. A boy's heart beat is slower. : Ours has been in the 150s and then 140s. GIRL

#9. If you crave salty foods it's a boy. If you crave sweets then it's a girl. : I always want sweets, pregnant or not. I am not sure this one can apply to me. haha. GIRL

#10. If you eat the ends of bread, it’s a boy. If you eat the middle of the load, it’s a girl. : People eat the ends of bread? We never keep bread around, we just do not eat it. I have been really liking to have a slice of bread with butter at lunch though. GIRL

#11. If dad gains weight, it's a girl. If his weight stays the same, it's a boy. : Stephen would be happy to report he is not gaining BOY

#12. It's a girl if you get acne due to the increased levels of the female charged hormones. A girl steals her mother’s beauty. : Never had acne, glad it isn't starting up now. BOY

#13. If the linea nigra stops at the belly button, it's a girl. If the linea nigra goes all the way to the bottom of the rib cage, it's a boy. : Don't have one yet. 

#14. You got dry hands; it's a boy. : There isn't enough lotion in the world to get these hands moisturized. BOY

#15. More hair on your legs than normal, count on a boy. : I think it looks the same. Does this mean girl? GIRL

#16. If your nose gets bigger and wider, expect a boy. : What? I think my nose is the same. GIRL

#17. If your nose swells, it's a girl. Same pre-pregnancy nose, it's a boy. : How is this one different that the one above? Seems like they cancel each other out. BOY 

#18. If your face swells and gets rounder, it's a girl. Long and narrow face, a boy. : Well my face isn't swelling, but I do not have a long and narrow face. I doubt it is going to change to be so, so GIRL?

#19. Cold feet, a boy : They are always cold, pregnant or not. BOY

#20. If your legs get really big, means a boy. If your legs stay in shape and lean, a girl. : Umm what are lean and shape legs and what if they were big to start? haha BOY

#21. If you find yourself clumsier with pregnancy, it's a boy. : I am generally pretty clumsy. I would say it has gotten a little worse. BOY

#22. If you remain grounded and still in control of your body, it's a girl. : I am not really sure what this means. haha. I still have "control" of functions. ha and I haven't gained much weight, so I guess we will say GIRL 

#23. If you're carrying low, it's a boy. If you're carrying high, it's a girl. : I would say its low, but I am only 18 weeks so it has a lot of room to be growing and moving still. BOY

#24. If you're carrying in front, it's a boy. All around your middle, it's a girl. : I think it is distributed throughout, so middle. GIRL

#25. Loop your wedding ring in a piece of thread and let it dangle over your belly. If the rings swings in a back and forth motion, it's a girl. If the ring moves in a circular motion, paint the room blue. : GIRL

#26. If you hold a necklace over your hand and it swings back and forth, it's a boy. A circular moving necklace, stock up on the pink. : BOY

#27. When asked to show your hands and you immediately show your palm, it's a girl. Palm down = a boy. : Well I don't know and once you read this it's impossible to do it without being aware of what you are doing. I think we have to skip this one. 

#28. If a toddler shows interest in you, you are having the opposite sex of the toddler. For example, a girl toddler expresses interest in you means you are having a boy. : The only toddler I have seen since being pregnant is my niece. She likes me but is usually more interested in Uncle Steve when we are around. He is the more fun one. haha Not sure this one gets a decision either. 

Totals : GIRL - 13, BOY - 9

Old wives tales think we are having a GIRL

I also checked out the Chinese Gender Predictor, which takes into acount your Chinese lunar age when you got pregnant and the Chinese lunar month in which you got pregnant. And this 700+ year old chart thinks that we are having a....GIRL

Looks like all signs are pointing to girl. We will see :)

Week 17

Where: Lake Union, from South Lake Union. It was a really gray day, a little harder to tell the bump in this week's picture.

Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +7 lbs
• Sleep : so so, some nights were restless and others I slept really hard. 
• Best moments : Scheduling Stephen and I for some classes. I spent a lot of time reading over all the options here in Seattle and after talking to a Seattle friend that had her baby this weekend, I decided to just go with a package of many classes at the hospital. I have us signed up for a couple of those right now and I also found a class on cloth diapering we are going to in a few weeks. I know a lot about it, but when I talk about it to Steve I can tell it sounds like gibberish. So I thought it would be a great idea for us to take a class where he can learn and ask questions. 
• Movement : I still think none, but I have been trying to convince myself that I am feeling stuff when I am laying in bed at night. Pretty sure it us all in my head right now though. :)
• Symptoms : None really. I was fairly tired later in the week, but it was a long work week. 
• Maternity clothes? : Same as last week. Friday I did wear maternity jeans to work. I love that I have a pair of flare jeans again, it has been a while. I did not love that every 30 mins, even if I was sitting, the crotch would wind up half way down my thigh. haha. My stomach just is not big enough yet to keep them up. I know people wear the bella band with them, but I think it would just be too much stuff on my stomach. So until I pop I will just be yanking them up!
• Food cravings or aversion's? : None this week
• What I am eating : I can't really remember a lot this week. Like I said it was a really long week. I know I had a salad, soup, fish & chips, mexican and one night we cooked butternut squash gratin and honey balsamic chicken. Both super yummy. I was not very healthy this week I do know that. 
• Exercise : None
• Gender : ? We have a date to find out, 2/21! I scheduled the ultrasound this week. 
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : This isn't pregnancy related, but I am missing the sun! It peaked out some on Friday and it just made me want it to stay! Everything you hear about Seattle weather is true, but generally very over exaggerated  It hasn't rained for a couple of days, but it has been foggy and gray out quite a few days in a row lately. I am very happy that this baby will be born in the summer and we can enjoy the best months of Seattle weather together. 
• What I am looking forward to : Next Thursday! I am flying to St Louis for a girls weekend. Fourish days with the best friends a girl could ask for. Plus there are quite a few babies around now, some I haven't had the chance to meet yet. It will be fun to see everyone's kids together and interacting. One of the best things that ever happened is meeting these girls. We all went to college in Rolla together and have been the best of friends ever since. These days we are scattered all across the country, but we still find ways to see each other throughout the year, as well as email each other daily. Thank goodness for technology! That is enough gushing for now, I am sure I will do even more next week after being with them. :)