Liam vs. the Lamp

Can you tell which is which? Or who is imitating whom?

 

Mama Bird

I have got the nesting urge. With the baby potentially only 7 weeks away (I’m 33 weeks today) I’ve felt the need to cross some of my to-do’s off my list. The first was baby laundry. I can’t believe how much clothes we have already. Here is a picture of some the shower gifts I have received (of course, ordered by size).

Here’s the laundry basket full of blankets, hooded towels, and larger size baby clothes that I laundered and folded this weekend. Although, there is still more to do.

I also worked on some nursery decorations. Joe and I always make up songs and change them with Liam’s name. We actually pretend that Liam sings these songs…he has quite an extensive collection of classic rock hits with Liam in the lyrics. One thing I said back early in the pregnancy was that we should have a picture called “Liam in the sky with diamonds” as an ode to the Beatles song. This weekend, I finished the picture and put it up in the nursery. I think it’s a cute touch and I an proud of my work.

The finished product.

On the wall.

Last but not least, here I am at 33 weeks. Let me say the heat has already become uncomfortable. I think we are just going to have to suck it up and pay more on our electric bill this summer so I can at least be comfortable at home. Summer camp for work is certainly going to be interesting.

Liam Lamp

So there are a million baby things out there to buy that are more than likely unnecessary. But, I did have one splurge item for the baby’s room…a dachshund lamp. I just couldn’t resist. He needs a lamp of his “big brother.” But, I did want to comment that I love Target. I can find almost everything I need in life at that one store. But, I ordered this lamp from target.com and I have to say that $11 for shipping and handling is absolutely ridiculous. I guess it is a good thing I buy all my Target stuff at the store for instant gratification.

Nursery Update

So, I’ve worked on the nursery a few days ago, but have been too exhausted this week to post anything until now. I’ve been at work late every day this week and had to work a little on Saturday, which has taken it’s toll on me. But, let me get to the interesting stuff.

So, I ordered some wall stickers/decals from Blik. If you haven’t been to their website, they have some really cool stuff. It took a while for it to get here but it finally did and I worked on it a few hours before Lost came on. (By the way, did you see that episode?)

So, here is the baby’s room decorated above his crib with stickers. I think it was a nice choice, since it will give him something to look at, it covers the big space, and we don’t have to worry about anything falling off the wall.

Also, this isn’t so much nursery related, but one of my interns got me this awesome bib for the baby. I love it. It reads “My brother is a dachshund.” Here is a picture of Liam modeling it, since we don’t currently have a baby model.

 

IKEA + Nursery

On Easter Sunday Joe and I went to Ikea for a cinnamon roll and hot dog (okay, we went there to go shopping, but they were a nice snack). We were looking for a bookshelf for the babies room and also snagged a chair, as well. I decided that I just wanted a soft comfortable chair with an ottoman instead of glider, so that we could use the chair in another part of the house later.

 So, we ended up purchasing the Tullsta chair without a slipcover and the Flarke bookcase. I really liked the color of the chair without the slipcover, but I may get one down the road, since it will help to have something I can throw in the washing machine. The bookshelf will probably be painted, since the wood doesn’t quite match the other furniture in the room. But, we were happy with our cheap buys, and now I just need a footrest/ottoman.

So, we brought the furniture home and set it up to see which arrangement looked the best. Poor, Joe. I had him move the furniture 6 or 7 times, before we decided that the first way Joe suggested was probably the best. So, here is the setup we are going with. Still more decorating to do, but we are getting there.

What the room looks like when you first walk in the door.

Better view of the chair and bookshelf.

Crib with all the clothes and blankets inside of it.

Crib Bedding

So, I must confess at the beginning of the pregnancy, and even before, I had been checking out crib bedding and thinking about what set I would want. I know, it’s weird, but it’s a real tangible thing to look at and think about. So, when I was in Seattle and I visited Land of Nod, which is Crate and Barrel’s baby store, that I knew if I was having a boy this would be the set that I wanted.

I originally wanted something a little more modern, but I like the colors so much. I am not a big theme room person, so I thought this would give me a good palate to work with. I particularly liked the polka-dot sheets. I decided to not get the comforter (although it is adorable) since it’s a SIDS issue for a newborn and we probably won’t use it. I like that you can order just the pieces that you want. In even better news, Joe’s aunt Sara, has offered to buy the set as our baby gift, so yeah for aunts and gifts!!

In a slightly unrelated note, I had some fourth graders tell me something so sweet today. They are very interested in learning about the baby and when he will come. They told me today that they wanted to get me something for my baby.  I was like, “Kids don’t have money.” They replied that they wanted to ask their moms to buy my baby an outfit. It was really sweet…you have to understand that these kids have very little. I was touched by the gesture. I told them not to buy the baby anything; they could give him hugs or draw him pictures. So, when they left, they all asked if they could give the baby a hug and hugged my stomach.

Spring Break: Recap

So, our Spring Break is coming to an end. This is our last day of break and then it’s back to work like everyone else. It was certainly nice to have a break, though. So, this is a recap of what adventures Joe and I got to have during this past week.

Saturday – Monday

We took Liam to Waco to see my family and to show them how big I have gotten. The weather was cold (then eventually rainy) the whole time we were there so I was thankful that we decided not to go camping during Spring Break. It was nice to see my parents and I got to spend some time with my brother, who will moving to Oregon at the end of the month. My mom was sweet enough to buy us the crib mattress, so now the baby’s bed doesn’t look so scary. Joe and I even drove to West, Texas in the rain on Monday morning because I have been craving kolaches from the Little Czech Bakery at the Czech Stop for a long time, and we are never in that area. I am happy to say that I satisfied my kolache craving for now.

Tuesday

We didn’t do much on Tuesday. But we did go to lunch with Aron, Sarah and Brian at the Clay Pit for their delicious Indian food lunch buffet. Joe and I love going to eat there, and the lunch buffet is reasonably priced. Before we found out if we were having a boy or a girl, we didn’t have any bets, but we said if it was a boy we would go out to eat Indian and if it was a girl we would eat Thai food. So, we ate at the Clay Pit to celebrate our little boy.

Also, a teacher from Joe’s school gave me some maternity clothes. So, now I have some nice shirts I can wear to work. I just need to find some pants.

Wednesday

This was our big trip to Brenham, Texas. Our friend Sarah made us a reservation to tour the Blue Bell factory. We all concluded in the end that the tour did not live up to our Willy Wonka-esque expectations, but the scoop of ice cream at the end was pretty awesome. Both Sarah and I had the new flavor, Centennial Cupcake, which was pretty tasty with little pieces of cake in it.

The farmer inside Joe.

Aron, Sarah, and Joe at the Blue Bell Factory waiting for our tour to start.

Here’s my 22 weeks pregnant picture (plus a few days).

Pregnant lady’s dream come true!

After Blue Bell, we went and had lunch at Must Be Heaven, which is a sandwich shop downtown. After browsing some of the shops, we headed down the road to the miniature horse farm at the Monastery of St. Clare. Nuns raise and sell miniature horses, which were absolutely adorable. Apparently I wasn’t the only pregnant one there; many of the horses and one dog were expecting.

Joe giving some of the pregger ponies a pet.

We were exchanging some pregnancy advice.

The pregnant dog looked really exhausted.

Aron trying to get the pony to give him a kiss.

One of the new babies.

Saturday

My friend, Jessica, invited to go to with her and her neighbor to the Mommy and Me Consignment Sale at the Palmer Events Center. She actually had a pass for the Pre-Sale, so we got to do some shopping before they opened the doors to the public. I got the baby two onesies, a sleep outfit and a book. I also managed to get me a pair of khaki maternity pants and shorts. Total price: $18. I was pretty proud of myself. Plus, Jess was kind enough to lend me her maternity jeans, so now I actually have pants I fit into.

Sunday

Clean the house day. We’re talking dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping. Joe said I was nesting because I started to clear out the closet in the nursery, which required me to reorganize three other closets in order to make room for all the things that were once stored in the baby’s closet. My friend Courtney had some toys and maternity clothes to pass down, so I made room for those, as well. It’s starting to feel real…I mean, that there will be a baby soon.

I just realized how incredibly long this post is and how this can be of interest to no one. But, to wrap it all up, we’ve enjoyed our time off with friends and family.

Sweets & Sacrifice

Part 1: Sweets (actually food in general)

I find myself dreaming about food almost every night. These aren’t dreams that I am having dinner with someone or that I am making dinner. I am talking about dreams where there are mass quantities of food available and I am hungry for it all. The other night, I was eating all the samples at the grocery store, and going back multiple times to have more. These weren’t the plain old deli slice samples either; they were things like cakes and tarts and fruit. So, I wake up very hungry for food I never had the satisfaction of eating.

Part 2: Sacrifice

They say when you have children, you will have to make sacrifices as a parent. Joe and I offered up our first victim: our sanity. Joe’s aunt gave us a crib and a dresser, and last night I decided that I wanted to put the crib together and see what it would look like. Now I should mention that while we had all the parts, we did not have any instructions. We were working off of our own pure genius.

So, you can imagine for 2 hours were completely crazy. It was like a scene from a cheese-y comedy about the new parents who do all the wrong things. We screwed together so many parts on the wrong side or upside down. But, we figured it out and we have the crib up. No more messing with that thing until the baby grows out of it (I’m thinking sometime between 14-17 years old).

For those of you who are concerned, the crib is about 9 years old, but I have checked all the safety standards to make sure we are not putting the baby in a deathtrap. I’ve checked all the screws, pieces, rods, and measured the distance between the slats personally.