Mama’s Gettin Crafty!

Yesterday I made two trips to our local craft store and one trip to Michael’s. Upon my entrance to the local craft store for round two the women at the fabric counter said, “Twice in one day, huh?” -and- “Are you trying to craft that baby out?”  To which I replied an exuberant, “YES. That is EXACTLY what I’m trying to do!”

It hasn’t worked yet, she’s still hangin in there… but here’s what I’ve made so far!

For months now I’ve been all googly-eyed over the vast array of tiny tutus and headbands used in newborn pictures on Pinterest and Etsy and while I had planned on purchasing one of the many adorable items available, my crafty self said- hey, you can do that!

So that I did. (All for less than the cost of one Etsy tutu!)

First up: Headbands! I had originally planned on making only one headband, but Michael’s had all of these super cute flowers that I simply could not pass up. So, I did what any sane pregnant woman would do and made seven. 

Next up: Tutus! I had also only planned on making one of these little fluff balls but got all indecisive-y while picking the color of the tulle and figured that the only thing better than one tutu is two tutus! I left the front parts un-tutued (yes, it’s a word.) since she’ll be laying on her belly for the pictures and I didn’t think a pile of scratchy tulle sounded very comfy. 

I. can. not. wait. to take pictures of the babe in these! I’ll certainly melt to a pile of gooey mush at the sheer sight of them.

Here’s the tutu/headband combos that I’m thinking… 

As for the rest of the headbands, they’ll probably be used in other non-tutu photos because let’s be honest here- I’ll be taking 6,758 pictures… a day.

And now… I’m off to craft some more. Let’s get this baby out! 

*(Yes, I fully understand that neither crafting, nor breastmilk bribery, nor any amount of coaxing will have any influence whatsoever on the time at which my child chooses to make her entrance into the world. Still, a very pregnant mama can dream…)*

37 weeks!

Hey, remember yesterday when I couldn’t believe that I was 34 weeks pregnant? Yeah, me too. Except that it wasn’t yesterday, it was three whole weeks ago!

Seriously, where is the time going? I love it!

Size of the Baby: Not too sure… my app is just guessing at this point. Let’s see here, she’s probably… oh I dunno… the size of a baby? 

Cravings: Salad, strawberries, bread pudding (still waiting to satisfy that one!)… not too much really. I’m probably having more aversions than cravings these days, not very many things sound appealing.

Sleep: HA. HA. Can I just pass on this one? Really though, I got two hours of sleep last night. (and a three hour nap today…) Bring on the newborn.  

Gender: Beautiful baby girl!

Weight Gain: I’ve lost track… pretty sure I’m around +15lbs but I’ve lost the ability to care at this point.

Movement: So much… I think she’s doing yoga in there. Mainly Warrior 3 pose most likely.  

Symptoms: Holy sciatica, batman. Such a pain in the ass (full pun intended). I’m either super sleepy and have a hard time accomplishing anything, or I’m nesting like a mad-woman who can’t be stopped. There is no middle ground. Swelling has started, but it’s not bad at all (unless I’m super over-heated) and goes down pretty quickly if I get in the pool or put my feet up. Lots of sharp/stabby pains in my pelvis and lower half of my belly. I think it’s falling apart. Doc says pain is our friend at this point, so friend it has been. (A mean friend, but everyone has one, right?) And well, we’ve already discussed that I don’t sleep.

Pondering: I’m due in 3 weeks. Three. Weeks. Trois semaines.

This is actually happening!

I swear I’m trying to enjoy this.

The simplicity… the quiet… the free time… the alone time… the R&R… long floats in the pool… sleeping in… nesting… all of it.

And I think I’m doing an okay job; but the weeks are starting to go by slower and slower and I’m just plain ready. I’m ready for labor, ready to be a mom, ready for breastfeeding, sleepless nights, ready for it all- bring on the challenge! I thrive on being challenged (it’s why I’m a procrastinator! ha.) and while waiting for our girl to decide that she’s ready to come out is a challenge on my patience, it’s just a little too easy for me to sit here and watch time pass by until the real challenge begins.

I’m sure there will come a point where I will long for the easy days of being pregnant and my body automatically doing all of the work for me, but right now, here… I’m ready to move on.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being pregnant. I love looking down in awe of this crazy new shape that my body has taken, feeling her wiggle around, having her all to myself, imagining what she will look like, preparing our home and lives for our little bundle… all of it. But I love her even more.

Mama’s ready when you are, baby girl. Until then- I’ll do my best to savor these last few weeks of simplicity with you.

nothing going on over here…

thus, i have nothing to blog about. but, here’s a picture of me with a basketball to hold you over.

oh wait… that’s not a basketball. 

i’m having a baby.

(no, not right now… calm yourself.)

But soon… very soon. I mean, it could still be a solid 7 weeks away (let’s hope not!) but that’s still very soon in my book. Really though, I am having a baby. A little human. A child thing. A little munchkin. A tiny version of myself. You would think that I had realized this already, and to a certain extent, I did… but not to this degree… not even close. 

Last night as I was laying in bed trying to think myself to sleep I was imagining, as I had imagined hundreds of times previous to this, the first time that I get to see my little babe. I don’t know if it was because of our hospital tour earlier this week (giving my brain a solid location to imagine) or just the fact that I’m now 35 weeks along, but last night it became so real to me. Like, this is actually happening… not only am I pregnant, but in a few short weeks a tiny little amazing miracle of a creature is going to come into this world and be mine. I don’t have to go visit her, or hand her back to her parents, or daydream about what it would feel like if I had my own, or wish I was the mom laying in the hospital bed gazing starry-eyed at my baby… none of it… it’s me, it’s us, I get to take her home!

So many things in life are so surreal to me (don’t even get me started) but this… this tops them all.

My mind is officially blown and I don’t know what to do with myself. 

The Nursery!

*special thanks to Kitty for modeling on the changing table… silly cat loves that thing.

34 weeks…

Am I really 34 weeks pregnant?! How did this happen?! Where is the time going?!

It’s quite magical, really… I was certain that the third trimester would feel like a decade but it’s going by wonderfully fast.

Size of the Baby: Around 18 inches long, though I suspect she’s closer to 20 based on her long (ahem- daddy’s) legs, and 5 pounds!

Cravings: Nothing specific that I can think of… just the usual sweets!

Sleep: Some nights are better than others, but it’s still quite a struggle to fall asleep no matter how tired I’ve been all day.  

Gender: Beautiful baby girl!

Weight Gain: +13 pounds.

Movement: Lots. Not so much kicks anymore, but a lot of rolling, wiggling, and stretching going on. Sometimes she pushes on my left hip and my right ribs at the same time like she’s trying to make more room in there- sorry baby! Mama’s got a short torso! 

What I Miss: Being comfortable! Not having back pain for 80-100% of my day. Bending over without feeling like there’s a cement brick between my hips and ribs. Eating how ever much I want without burping it back up (TMI, I know).  

Pondering: Her arrival! So exciting to think that she could be here in 4 weeks! Or 5! Or 6! Though honestly, I’m expecting to go 7-8 more weeks, but a surprise would certainly be nice. 

Favorite Moments:

-Finishing the nursery! (I know, I know… I’m lagging on that post! But you can see a little tiny sneak peak in this week’s picture…)

-Getting our car seat from my wonderful parents and putting it in the car… we’re all ready to go!

-Washing the first load of little tiny baby clothes, it was such a surreal feeling I couldn’t get over it!

-Being 100% prepared for our little babe to come whenever she’s good ‘n ready (with the only exception being a packed hospital bag, but I’m not worried about that)

-My baby shower definitely, but even more so just having my mom, sister, and niece here for the weekend was amazing. Can’t wait till they come back for T’s arrival, along with the rest of my family that I’m dying to see! 

The Baby Shower!

Have I ever mentioned how amazing my sister is? She’s pretty amazing. Pretty, really, amazingly amazing, actually. This weekend she drove down here from Stockton to throw me a baby shower… I can’t imagine planning and throwing a baby shower at all and yet, she managed to do it from 350 miles away, and it was super cute.

My mom (left) and Hubby’s stepmom (right)… aren’t they the cutest?! Pretty sure they were sisters in another life ;)

My silly niece… she helped me open all the gifts!

I had so much fun showing the hubs all of our gifts later that night and putting everything away! I managed to snap this pic of just some of the amazingly generous gifts we received before my nesting took over and everything found it’s designated location in Baby T’s room… 

Peg Perego carseat, moby wrap, travel boppy pillow (didn’t even know they made those!), dresses, onesies, fuzzibunz diapers, organic toys, swaddle blankets, baby bathtub, organic bath goodies, owls, and more- oh my!

It feels so good to know that Baby T could come right this minute and we’d be ready for her!

Our Best Anniversary Yet

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again- and probably a million times more: I love him way too much!

I know that there is no such thing as loving your husband too much, but some days I just feel like I’ll explode if my love for him grows even one tiny little bit more.

Thursday marked four years of being married, and we both agreed as we pulled in the driveway after dinner that this was our best anniversary yet. It was relaxing, fun, easy and perfect.

It’s both weird and exciting to think that this was our last anniversary before the adventure of parenthood begins. I like to imagine what our conversations will hold on our next anniversary as we reminisce about our first year of marriage with the little bundle of joy added to our family. We’ll probably be sitting at dinner missing her and asking for our dessert to go so we can get home to smother her with kisses before her bedtime, at which point it’ll become just the two of us again for a few sweet hours.

I feel like that first picture is the perfect vision of where we are right now… hand in hand, running off on our next adventure together… and there’s no one that I’d rather do it with.

holy packed weekend, batman!

-we finished the nursery!

-my mom and sister came to visit!

-we celebrated our four-year wedding anniversary!

-my sister threw me a beautiful baby shower!

more details to come in a blog post near you!!!

Oh the places she’ll go…

Last night as I was laying in bed, not sleeping- as usual, I was thinking about some of my favorite destinations and how much I want to share those places with little T. Three came to mind instantly, all of which I daydream about on a daily basis. I know that she’ll grow up to have her own favorite places in the world but if she grows to love these places even a fraction of how much I do, then I’ll be a happy mama (because that’ll mean that we can journey there together!)

First up…

Aruba  “One Happy Island”

This little island captured my heart over a decade ago when my family first started going there every year for the week of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately due to all of our current situations we haven’t been there in a few years, but I’m always hoping that that will change and soon we’ll find ourselves back on the white sandy beach, eating at our favorite restaurants and diving with the tropical fishies. Even if I only get to take little T there once, I’m sure it’ll be enough to capture her little heart like it did mine. When we were on our honeymoon in Cancun we met a couple that had been everywhere, like literally so many places I couldn’t even comprehend how they had the time or money to do so, and they said that the only place in the entire world that they would ever visit more than once is Aruba. Yeah, it’s that good. I mean, just look at it- how could you not love it there?!

Magical destination #2…

Venice, Italy

Unlike Aruba, I’ve only been to this magical place once, and only briefly, but it still keeps me daydreaming about my return on a regular basis. I went on a trip all over Italy with a group in high school and Venice always stands out as the most wonderful place that we went to. I can not wait to go back one day and spend more time there- hopefully with little miss T!

And last but not least… mine and the hubs dream retirement location:

Lahaina, Maui

We went here a couple years ago on a family vacation and have been aching to go back ever since! It feels so so similar to Santa Barbara but with an added “you’re on an island” kind of magic to it. The plan all along has been for a repeat of this family vacation in 2013 (we all laughed and said that our calendars were already booked when this trip was announced in 2009, but 2013 is already less than a year away!!) and if all goes according to plan T’s first venture to this magical place will be before she turns 1! Of course she won’t remember it, but I have a feeling it will make an imprint on her little heart forever anyway.

I can’t wait to further explore the corners of the world, especially with my growing little family. There are many places yet to be seen! Thailand… France… Costa Rica… Fiji… Bora Bora… The Maldives… oh the wonder! Until then, these three will continue to pull at my heart constantly, and without fail, like gravity. (Although I have a sneaky suspicion that they’ll always be my top three!)