Getting Ready for Baby

We have 9 days to go until the arrival of Baby Brother. We have a few names picked out but we cannot decide what his name should be! I think it might be kind of fun to wait to see what he looks like! Braylen keeps saying his name is Frosty Shoes. Goofball.

Braylen and I took a walk to the park this morning. It's climbing into the 60's today and I am hoping to walk this baby right out! Hasn't worked yet, but I did love my time with Braylen. We held hands the entire way. He said things like mom, you're my best friend. I love you so much! He also tried to protect me from the barking dogs of the neighborhood. He said you stay over here and I'll walk here because you don't like dogs and I do. ha! I just treasure this time with him! I wonder how bringing a new baby will change the dynamics of our family but I'm excited too. Bray says he is going to help change his diaper and teach him to play baseball.

We've been working these past few months around the house getting everything ready for the baby. Back in December we switched Braylen into Guy's office/guest bedroom and moved Guy's stuff down to the unfinished basement. Braylen's old room is the nursery again. Braylen's room is awesome! We finally have a place to store all of his toys and he loves playing up there. He spends at least an hour or so every few days just playing by himself. And he's sleeping in a twin size bed. He's so big!

The nursery is coming together. We have everything ready for him. Clothes washed, diapers and wipes ready, blankets folded.......Just waiting on his arrival. I still need to hang up some picture frames and buy a lamp. I found this really cute, very big picture frame from Babies R Us. It was originally $40 and marked down to $8! It was an FAO Schwartz theme so I just removed the weird picture and will add something of my own. The matting is a cute blue and white stripe. I decided on a yellow/gray theme for the nursery but really it's turning into whatever I have around the house and whatever I see in the store that is cute and cheap. There are some teals, light blues, and and navy's mixed in too. I recovered a few pillows in yellow and gray fabric, and I'm hoping to sew some curtains but I'm not going to worry about it. I still need to finish the ones for Braylen's room! I finally finished my nursing cover. I had bought the material from JoAnn's forever ago but since the store was closing, they weren't ordering more items and I needed some boning for around the neck. Hobby Lobby finally restocked their's and I was able to finish it. It's a little time consuming to make it but fairly easy! And since Baby Brother is due during the first round of NCAA tournament, I just had to make him a UK burp cloth. I've also packed a UK sleeper as his going away outfit. You can be sure that the game will be on if UK is playing while I am delivering. If the baby comes early, maybe I'll just decide to take him down to New Orleans next month for the Final Four. What do you think Guy???? :)

Pillows

Nursing cover

Burp cloth

I just finished a pinterest project that I've been wanting to work on. I love using Pinterest! It's awesome! I have saved so many DIY's and recipes, that I'll never get to them all. But this one caught my eye because Guy and I both grew up in different states. I thought it would be cute to have in our house. I think it turned out great! And Guy loves it! The pic is from my phone so it's a little blurry but you get the idea.

Happy Wednesday!

38 Weeks

In two days, I will be 38 weeks. These past nine months have gone by very quickly, but this last month has been slow. I've enjoyed lots of activities with my family which has made these last few weeks "bearable." My sister's family came into town last weekend for a visit and it was awesome to spend time with them. My super cute nephew, Kaleb, was so much fun to be around. I miss them so much! Jess and Kaleb will be up here for a whole right after the baby is born. Can't wait!

I know this is just my second time, but I just don't like it! You can seriously ask any one of my friends and family. I guess I complain about it, but I like to think I'm just being honest. Guy will say, how are you feeling today? And I'll tell him exactly how I feel. I'm tired, my back hurts, and I've had hearburn all day long. I'm not one of those mom's who totally bond with their baby right away either. I had a hard, unexpected pregnancy with Braylen and then it took me a good 4 weeks after he was born to really connect with him. I was over the moon to have a son, but the complete uproot of my life had me struggling. Being pregnant this time, however, I have been much more accepting of things. I knew the heartburn, back pains, swollen feet, restless nights, etc was inevitable. And I've been asking the Lord to prepare my heart for the drastic change once the baby gets here. I'm such a creature of comfort! I love "me time" which is so sinful but I always try to protect it. You definitely don't have any extra time on your hands with a baby! But, for the past few days, I'm actually starting to feel excited to hold our son, to see what he looks like, and to be a family of 4. I guess now is a good time to start feeling that way since he'll be here in 2 weeks. :) Thank you Lord for slowly changing my heart.

Movement:
He's still moving like crazy. It's been pretty painful at times. He's supposed to be around 7 pounds right now but I'm sure he's bigger. His head is in the right spot, so I've been feeling lots of kicks to the ribs.

Weight Gain:
Up to 40 pounds. Bah. Most people have been so sweet to say that I look great for how far along I am. I try to take the compliment but I just hate being this big. It really sucks! I'm nervous that the weight won't come off as easily as the first time but I'll just need to kick butt in the gym.

Sleep:
I'm up and down constantly throughout the night. I usually just wake myself up from all of the snoring, drooling, and sweating. Oh and I burp every single time I roll over to my other side. I seriously do. Nothing glamourous about being pregnant. :)

What I Miss:
Wearing normal clothes, crossing my legs, working out, drinking Coke, sleeping on my back and stomach, riding roller coasters and jumping on trampolines. I don't really get to do the last two very often but I miss them anyways.

Cravings:
Lately it's been milk shakes. Anything chocolate-like the Chocolate Devotion from Cold Stone. I don't even like Cold Stone but that particular mixture is seriously amazing. Ice cubes, hummus and pretzels.

Symptoms:
Heartburn, back aches, swollen feet and fingers. I've actually been pretty light headed today but I've just tried to drink my water and have rested a bit more. And I don't want to jinx myself, but I think the baby has dropped a little more so I've had less heartburn!

Big Brother Sayings:
Braylen loves to hug and kiss his baby brother. When I ask him what he's going to look like, he says a big, scary monster. He also says that his name should be Frosty. Today, while I was resting on the bed, he asked to see my stomach and pretended to be the "doctor." He told me how big I was and that he could hear the heart beat. He tells me everyday that my stomach is "so big!" He's really going to be a great big brother. Praying that the two of them love each other and become great friends. :)

Life Lately

Valentine's Day party at school

Happy Mardi Gras! 

Baseball practice outside

The sock hop at preschool. It was "too loud" for Braylen

He's a dancing machine at home

Last weekend before a wedding

If Beyonce can wear heels while pregnant, so can I!

I wore flats. 

Stayed home from school the other day because he's been sick

Pretty soon we'll be a family of 4! Can't wait! 

DIY: Fabric Bulletin Board

I made this a few months ago and of course didn't take before pictures, but I really like the way it turned out. This is like my first DIY item ever! Not counting the time that I was obsessed with making homemade candles. I gave them as Christmas gifts one year. I have a book on it if you'd like to borrow it. :)

Supplies:

-Any picture frame (I bought mine from Hobby Lobby for $10! It had a few broken pieces of wood around the frame)

-Peel and stick bulletin board (Micheals)

-Sand paper

-Fabric

-Staple gun

1) Remove the glass from the frame and sand all of the wood down to where it is a smooth finish.

2) Once it is finished, you can apply a coat of paint or wood stain. I didn't use either because I loved how it turned out.

3) Measure the inside of the frame to make cuts for the bulletin board.

4) Cut bulletin board and stick on the back of the frame.

5) Cover with fabric and attach using your staple gun.

6) Attach to frame!

*You may need to add foam before you attach the fabric. The bulletin board is a little thin. I just use long needles to attach things to the board because they can slide in sideways.

We hung up the frame in our hallway which is right next to our kitchen. It's the perfect place to hold family news, cards, invitations, pictures, etc.

I didn't know that I had bought "designer" fabric but I have seen it all over the place in different blogs and etsy!

Kojodesigns Bow Tie Tutorial

Nursing Cover at Etsy

You can buy the fabric here.