New Addition

We've been looking for a little side table to put next to the rocker in the nursery...we've been scouring the flea markets and antique shops. Travis came across this little table yesterday on his lunch break and so we went today to look at it. I thought it'd be really cute painted so we bought it for a whopping $20!!! Here's a really crappy before pic..it was painted white, yellow, and green with flowers on it. This is what it looks like now...Trav painted it the pale pink that is on the walls and added a fancy pull. I think it's adorable and a great find! I'm still looking for a cute lamp to put on it. Travis even mentioned that when she gets a little older it would make a cute vanity/dress-up table if we just added a mirror to it!

27 Weeks

Hello month 7 and third trimester!!! Unbelievable how fast this is going now! Essie Claire now weighs over 2 pounds (like this head of cauliflower). She's almost 15 inches in length from head to toe. We've had some new excitement lately. We got to actually see her movement the other day. We just sat and watched her bounce and kick all over the place. I think we sat there for about 30 minutes just watching my tummy! I've also felt her hiccups for the first time.

I had my dr appt yesterday. Everything looked really good...my blood pressure was excellent and I'm measuring right where I should be. I weigh one pound less than I did when I got pregnant. I had my glucose test...it wasn't' too bad. The drink itself didn't taste bad...it just made me a little jittery and then I had a headache the rest of the night. I've not heard back so far...which is good since they'll only call if I don't pass it. I start going every 3 weeks now rather than every 4 weeks.

We have our 4D ultrasound on friday and I'm so ridiculously excited about it. The ultrasound tech warned us that my placenta placement may prevent us from getting a good shot of her. But we're going to try anyway. I feel a little guilty blowing all that money on a frivolous ultrasound...but I want to see her soo badly. If we don't do it then we won't see her again until she's here! I know realisticly we should spend that money on a stroller or something more practical but I'm kinda thinking that getting a sneak peek at our little girl is priceless! :)

chubby legs

One thing that I LOVE about lil girls are their chubby little legs. Just wanna squeeze 'em! There's nothing better than seeing those little legs sticking out of a cute bubble outfit. Look at the precious, sweet, gorgeous outfit that my friend/coworker Jane made for Essie. I can just picture her wearing this next year! I cannot wait to put her in this!

curiosity

Travis' parents came down this weekend for a nice visit. They brought us the mattress they bought for us as well as two sweet outfits for Essie. Tucker was the first to try out the crib. He seemed a lil worried that we might make him stay in it! We also dug out one of my old dolls to begin introducing to the dogs so that they can get used to a little one. At first Maggie kept poking at it's head trying to make it squeak I guess. Then when I put it in the crib she got verrrry curious. She kept standing up to look at it and pawing at it!

some bedding

I picked up some of our bedding today. Lori had our blanket and bedskirt ready for us. I LOVE them! She did such a wonderful job on them both! She's still working on the bumper and pillow but we got a sneak peek at those and they look soooooo good!!! Travis' parents are bringing the mattress they bought for us tomorrow so we'll work on putting the crib together somewhat. I can't wait til it comes all together!!!

What...too much?

I'm so wanting to buy a "Twilight" onesie for Essie. I mean my girl has to represent, right? I found these two on a website and I might totally be buying one of them soon...Travis opposes but I LOVE 'em!

Thanks Ashley!

Ashley gave me these sweet gifts...this little outfit. Just look at those little ruffles at the bottom. What is it about ruffles that make my heart swoon? And this precious frame. I can't wait to put a pic of E.C. in it when she gets here!

Pray for Stellan

Hey everyone! I'm asking all who read this to please pray for this sweet little baby Stellan. He was diagnosed with a serious heart condition in the womb and his parents were told he wouldn't survive. He was born healthy and fully healed. It seems recently he has fallen ill with the same heart problems and has taken a serious turn for the worse. Please keep him in your prayers. To read his story completely, go here.

26 Weeks

I've reached the end of the second trimester! Next week I will be in my 7th month and in my last trimester! Crazy how fast this has gone! Essie Claire supposedly weighs almost 2 pounds and is 14 inches from head to toe...as long as this english cucumber! That's long yall! I can't believe it! Her eyelids are no longer fused shut and she can detect light. We like to put the flashlight on my belly to see if we can make her kick. In fact all 5 of her senses are now fully developed!

Next week we will have our next appointment (complete with glucose screening) on Monday and our 4D ultrasound on friday! I can't wait to get a better look at her! :)

Girlie Things

We've continued to work on Essie's nursery. The pictures above are the view you get when you first walk into her room. This sign hangs right as you walk in under her chandelier. We added the feather boa to it to make it stand out against all that pink!

We found this great frame on 90% off at Hobby Lobby. We had a mirror cut for it and painted it to match her furniture. It now hangs above her changing table.

We also got these two little shelves for a steal at Hobby Lobby...they were originally black so we painted them to match as well. I found some plates which surprisingly matched her blue at Target. I had originally planned on hanging them but kinda like the way they look on the shelf.

Haley painted this unicorn for the room...she is so excited about Essie. So it proudly sits on her ladder shelf now!

My dad made these gorgeous blankets for her...they are super soft and I can't wait to wrap her in them!

Here are a few pictures of her closet. I am still working on organizing it. I've got most of her outfits hung up...hanging baby clothes is hilarious to look at! :) Her closet is really big so I'm looking for a shelf or some other organizer to put on the bottom left side. She's got a lot of room to grow in there right now! I also picked up this shoe organizer at WalMart that I'm using to put her headbands, pacifiers, shoes, & other small items in right now.

Haley's visit

Haley came and stayed with us for 2 nights. We did Chuck E. Cheese, shopping, art projects, etc. She and Tucker seemed to have a lot of fun in the bathtub. It made him very nervous that she was splashing around...he watched very carefully the whole time. She left this afternoon. We had a great time but I'm exhausted! :)

holy smokes!!!

I just realized that my pregnancy ticker says I have less than 100 days left in this pregnancy! Holy Smokes! It's sure zipping on by!

not too shabby...

Travis installed Essie's shabby chandelier today. It is soooooo cute! We love it! We need to put a smaller watt light bulb in it but I couldn't wait to go ahead and snap a few pics of it! Here is also a pic of a bow holder that I made for her.

letters

We have her letters finished and hung on the wall! They look a little lost on that big empty wall but I'm hoping that once we put in the tall ladder shelf and bedding it'll make them pop out more. We are also looking for some sconces to hang next to her name. So anyone out there keep your eyes open for some shabby chic sconces or candleholders (just for decoration). Yes, we covered her letters in the main fabric we are using in the room. I love how it turned out. We weren't sure how they would work or how well we would be able to cut them out. They weren't the easiest to make that's for sure! But I think the end result was well worth it! :) By the way I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that we are going to have a child named Essie. It's soooo wierd! Putting her name up felt so foreign to me...I think it's because we don't have much to associate it with yet! It kinda blows our minds!

Good News!

I got my preterm labor results back and they were negative. Which means I won't (well shouldn't) be in preterm labor during the next few weeks! It's a big relief to us of course. I'll get to go back to work tomorrow...and tomorrow is the last day before Spring Break so I'll be off work again for a week! Tomorrow is also parent-teacher conferences so it'll be a loooong day (until 8:00) but it'll be nice to come home tomorrow night knowing I'm on break for a week! Haley is coming to stay with us again as usual. Click here to check out her vacation with us last spring break. Major changes since then!

Also, we got these great $3 and $5 coupons of Huggies so Travis ran to Walgreens to take advantage of them. They were on sale there as well. And he got $10 rebate for spending $25!!! We need to exchange some of the bigger sizes for smaller ones (they were out). It's really wierd buying diapers...I'm sure we'll be very used to it soon! :)

25 Weeks

We've made it to the 25 week mark! She weighs as much as this rutabaga. The books say she's supposed to weigh a pound and a half this week (she weighed that at our appointment 2 weeks ago). She's 13.5 inches from head to toe...that's long! The other night I felt her move on both sides of my tummy at the same time...I figure she was stretching her arms and legs! :) I went back to the doctortoday since I've been still having problems. He checked me to make sure I wasn't having preterm labor symptoms...he said everything looked good. He took a swab that will tell if I'm at risk for going into preterm labor just in case. I'll get my results back tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear about that! He did say that I was really dehydrated and for me to take it easy the next few days and to drink lots and lots of water.

Maternity Swimsuit...yay

I've been searching for a maternity swimsuit for awhile and I finally found this one that I loved (as much as one could love a swimsuit that is). I loved the ruffles even though Travis says it looks like a Christmas tree! What does he know??? :)

http://www.target.com/Liz-Lange-Target-Ruffle-Tankini/dp/B001K31N3E/ref=sc_qi_detaillink?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=0R9XRH9GXXQQNMN3VY6V&pf_rd_p=436115101&pf_rd_i=B001K31N3E&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_m=A1VC38T7YXB528&pf_rd_t=5101

I must confess...

I really need to go grocery shopping! I've not really restocked the fridge/freezer since the big winter blast of '09. Our freezer has a bag of biscuits and some juice concentrate...that's it. The fridge is not much better. Pretty much just condiments! I tried to go yesterday but only got a few things...I still feel pretty crappy from the kidney stones so I didn't make it long. So hopefully this week I will get it done...we'll see!

Thanks to all the great mommy advice! Really comes in helpful...purchasing items for someone you've not met yet is quite stressful!

Almost complete...

Travis surprised me this morning by having the nursery almost completely put back together. Here is what it looks like currently. These pictures don't do it justice!!! We still have to paint the ladder shelf and put it back. So far we love how it's turned out. He made the cornice board and hung it up. We hung the curtains (ignore the wrinkles, they need to be pressed). I've begun organizing her clothes. I've sorted them into sizes and put away some of the stuff in her dresser. We still have to accesorize and find some stuff to hang on the walls. Lori is working on the bedding (I can't wait to see it!) And we are working on her letters for her name that will go above the crib. I can't wait to put it all together!

More advice please

Okay...I'm needing some more mommy advice. We are having a rediculously difficult time deciding on a stroller/car seat. There are just too many options out there. We know we want the carseat that has the snap-in base that stays in the car. Is it better to buy the stroller/carseat/base travel system combo? Or would you buy the carseat/base and get a smaller lightweight stroller? How much will we really use the full size stroller? We've been considering getting a more lightweight (not umbrella) stoller that the carseat snaps to as well. What do you moms out there recommend?

nursery update

Here are a few new pics of the nursery. We didn't get as much done this week as hoped (mainly because of my recent illness). Travis is currently working on the chair rail...he painted the bottom last night. The cream didn't cover the the brown paint as hoped so it's going to take a third coat. I'm hoping to get the painting complete tomorrow so we can put the furniture back. I'm ready to start organizing her clothes. A question for you moms out there...what is the best way to organize their closets/dresser? What stuff do you hang/what do you put in the dresser?