one month out: a letter to our son

Ethan,

I can't believe it's already been a full eight months that I've been carrying you! I can remember the excitement of going to tell your dad - at work - that we were going to have a baby! We were both completely shocked and in disbelief; God had blessed us immensely, and it was only beginning to hit us.

Now, eight months later, we've had time to process what it is to be parents (to some extent), to prepare a room for you, and to prepare ourselves for your arrival. I know that it will still totally shock our routines and completely change our lives, but we are eagerly awaiting that with great anticipation (and appreciating the wonderful nights' rest we are getting now).

In the last eight months, we took you to Hawaii, we went to Tennessee, and we've traveled all over Texas. You're not even here yet, but we're getting you use to traveling a lot, because we love it (and we hope you do, too). We've done major renovations on our first house, and you were with us from the start - sometimes, you kept me from being as productive as I'd like!

Though sleepless nights, diaper changes, and attempts to soothe your cries await us, we are already so full of love for you, and we can't wait to meet you. I'm excited to see how much you've grown in the last sixteen weeks when we have one last ultrasound next week - I love seeing you!

You've already stolen our hearts, sweet son. We pray that you continue to develop as a healthy, active baby, and that the Lord would lead us so we can lead you to Him.


love,

Mom

week 35

This is a long one... are you ready? (Plus some awesome news about our next appointment at the very end.)

We had some awesome showers this weekend! Some picture highlights from the shower with my work and the one my Aunt & cousin threw for me:

so much food...

diving duckies!

my Aunt Barbara made this!

And these are from my work shower on Friday:

my coworker, Lauren, made this!

we ate at Arturo's in Uptown Park

they both say Ethan, and there's a matching onesie!

At this point in pregnancy, I am:

• tired - but maybe our new mattress will help fix that! 
• uncomfortable. It reaches a new level every day 
• hot. At this time last summer, I was using a space heater almost daily at my unreasonably cold office. Not anymore... 
• thirsty. I can't seem to drink enough water. My body needs it!
• nesting. If my house isn't clean/organized, I can't sleep (Austin can't relate). 
• packed. I have my new black Vera Bradley duffel loaded & ready to go!
• irritable. I've noticed a shorter fuse in the last few days when inanimate objects didn't cooperate. One time included being sprayed by the sprinkler repeatedly while trying to set it.
• starting weekly appointments. Today was the first of the weekly appointments in my last month of pregnancy! 

We only have five weeks left until our due date. I think little Ethan will outgrow his living quarters before I hit 40 weeks, but my mom says she thinks he will be an October baby. Aside from being tired of being pregnant, I'm fine with Ethan hanging in there until he is totally ready to come out.

We've come a long ways - a whole 35 weeks - without any say from Ethan's padre on this blog. I think it's time for that entry...

An Interview with a Dad-to-be
What do you love most about pregnancy (or Liz being pregnant)? I don't really notice a difference (but I do like seeing her waddle in the mornings ;) )
What do you look forward to most about your son? I look most forward seeing what interests we share and having more of an excuse to be a kid
Did you think he would be a boy or a girl? Girl, not sure why though
What is your biggest fear in parenthood? I can't think of anything serious, but I am not looking forward to the smell of poo...
Do you think Ethan will be early, on time, or late? Early, because I have to travel for work and Liz will force labor to spite me :)

I'm not sure I will force labor (is that possible?) but I did warn him against traveling in September!

This week's bump picture - my cousin Angela
& me at dinner after the baby shower.
Baby Olive is coming in December!

How far along? 35 weeks (my doctor said 35.5, I'm still confused).

Weight gain: 18 lbs
Maternity clothes? Not today, just a really forgiving maxi skirt.
Stretch marks? None!
Sleep: It's been pretty good (I can't get enough). We just got a new mattress, too!
Miss anything? Caffeine - I still struggle through the day.
Movement: Seems to be slowing down a bit, but I could be wrong.
Food cravings: Not craving, but grazing. Right now there are goodies from the shower in the kitchen... too tempting.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I get really lightheaded - fast. I have to drink a ton of water.
Have you started to show yet: Very obviously so.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Nothing big.
Belly Button in or out? IN! But it is flattening out...
Wedding rings on or off? Still on. I never take them off, so I have to make sure they're not stuck every once in a while.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody lately...
Looking forward to: An unexpected ultrasound next THURSDAY! I can't wait!!

love,

The Nursery

The nursery is.... mostly done! We're still waiting for a few things that are on the registry, as well as the bedding (which I can't wait to see!). I decided to take pictures in a circle so you could get a good idea of what everything looks like when you're in the room. Unfortunately, we aren't fancy enough for a 360-view.

The doors are up in the room... they're painted, trimmed, reinstalled, and ready for their doorsy-duty.

The accessories on the floating shelves have been secured to the shelves, per Ethan's grandpa's request. He was here Wednesday night and he didn't even check to see that they were secured! Then there's the bed, complete with the pillow I made:

And, my favorite part, the whale and the net! I love it. (Yes, we've already played with the monitor on the wall. Thanks Jennifer!)

And now we're back at the door!

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath on seeing the crib set that my mom is making (well, maybe just me) so look for an update to this post!

I think we're about ready for a baby... almost! {5.5 more weeks!}

love,

week 34

It's so hard to believe that I have (approximately..) SIX weeks left. The part of me that is uncomfortable and exhausted thinks that six weeks is entirely too long, and little Ethan needs to come sooner. The part of me that is thankful that I am not yet responsible for Ethan's little life outside the womb thinks that six weeks sounds great!

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to paint those doors. Austin took the doors down and laid them on drop cloths in the garage and I set out to paint them! They also need to be trimmed, but we're really ready to be done with the nursery so I opted to paint them first. We are crossing our fingers that trimming the bottom (an inch or two because of the thickness of our carpet) doesn't damage the paint too much...

I kind of like having the doors off. It's so much easier to shove those boxes of diapers in there when they're not in the way..(click here to see the guideline we're using on to how to stock up on diapers before baby - note that we think E will weigh more than 6 lbs, so we're minimizing the newborns). However, I know the closet won't always look this neat, and getting into the closet will be much easier when the doors have been trimmed.

The closet in his room came with this
awesome storage system!

We had a shower (thrown by the hosts of our church small group) on Saturday with some friends from church. It was so awesome! Our church takes a small group haitus in the summer, so it's always awesome to gather with them, even if it's just to hang out. We're glad they're starting back up September 9th, since Ethan shouldn't be here yet and we should get to be there! We got a lot of really awesome, useful gifts from them, including some really cute clothes. Some, in particular, support our Cougar addiction pride.

As you probably noticed, in the above closet shot, we did receive a lot of clothes from Kristin, Austin's sister, whose son is about a year older than Ethan. Unfortunately, they only had UT gear, since that's where Aunt Kristin went. Not our kid, he's a Coog like his parents!

Don't you love these?!

The cake was delicious - and so cute!

We're looking forward to the next round of showers! I have a shower with my company (more like a sweet luncheon, I think) this Friday, one thrown by my aunt & cousin-bff, and one in two weeks thrown by Aunt Kristin (& Gigi). We're so blessed that so many people want to be involved in Ethan's life & help us get started with this sweet baby!

How far along? 34 weeks

Weight gain: 19 lbs?
Maternity clothes? None, aside from my belly band! (I get excited when I get to wear normal clothes)
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: It has been great, aside from waking up with those sharp mini-contractions.
Miss anything? Being comfortable!
Movement: Lots! Little guy is still head down :)
Food cravings: None. I'm lucky if I even get hungry.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing, as long as I take my heartburn meds!
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Not official ones
Belly Button in or out? IN! Barely, but it is in!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired. Always tired. I need that caffeine!
Looking forward to: More baby showers, Labor Day/a three-day weekend, and a fantastic date night before little E comes!

I have to say, I am finally at peace with the birthing process. It's just scary when all you hear about is the pain and the grossness of it (and a short mention about how beautiful and miraculous it is). An epidural is in the plans, however, only God knows how things will go. We've agreed to do whatever it takes to get little Ethan into this world safely... and we've been working on that for almost 8 months now! (I really can't wait to meet our son!)

love,

PS - here's a little snippet of what our evening "walks" look like with Bear. We're so fortunate to have this little bayou so close to our home!

Before & After: Guest Bath

We started the remodeling process on this bathroom the day we got the keys; before we even moved in, I found myself joyfully peeling off wallpaper. I don't think anything could have wiped that grin off my face! I was excited because the floral wallpaper came off like butter - it was a sign! This had to mean that I was right in insisting on remodeling this nasty bathroom first.

Thanks for the picture, mom! Anyone notice there are
two (different) knobs on the right side?

After the wallpaper, we removed the vanity, the self-adhering tile, the tile trim, the light, the furdown, and Sheetrock around the vanity area. We'd hoped to just paint over the existing Sheetrock, but contrary to my hope, the existing Sheetrock was not water-resistant and had not resisted water well. it warped like crazy once we tried painting it.

Goodbye, Sheetrock!

My dad helped/showed Austin how to hang the Sheetrock, and my parents, wanting to make sure the job was done well/correctly, paid for the taping and floating of the new Sheetrock. We were still a little daunted by the amount of money we just put down on the house, and felt determined not to pay anyone. We're so glad they gave us this housewarming gift!

Yay! Water-resistant Sheetrock all taped & floated.

When the Sheetrock was in, Austin textured it (also something my dad showed him how to do/supplied tools for). I painted it with a zero VOC/low odor paint, and then installed the tiles - very nerve-wracking. The flooring cost a whopping $16 (yay, peel and stick!) and was steal my parents found on clearance.

We went through three bathroom vanities. I knew I wanted the decor to be gray, red, white, and black, so I tried to get a modern, cherry vanity set from Lowe's. When it arrived and we got it home, I knew it wouldn't work, and I was very disappointed. We returned it and opted for a vanity from Home Depot. That one was brown, not black as we'd believed, and we took that one back, too. We finally ended up with a beautiful black vanity and a modern white top. I'll note that this sink is not easy to clean because it doesn't slope water toward the drain, but I still like it a lot. It does wipe clean rather easily, and it was fairly inexpensive.

View when you walk into the bathroom.

The only thing I don't like is that the top "drawer" is
really just a facade. I wish I had the drawer! The others
are plenty deep, so that makes up for it.

I just finished painting the trim around the doors white in this bathroom a few weeks ago. And, for some reason, the upper shower curtain rod will not stay hung - it likes to spontaneously fall down. Someday, I'll either buy a new one or permanently fix it... but I do love my double curtain rods!

This project took us at least two months to complete (if not longer) and was the first project that made me cry (it was also the first project we tried at all). It was a big project, and when it wasn't going smoothly or quickly, it made me feel like the entire house was impossible. We finished it in March (except the trim, which happened in July!) and I still use it as motivation to upgrade/update the rest of the house!

Now if only remodeling our master would be this inexpensive...

love,

week 33

I had an awesome doctor's appointment today! First, she told me I'd only gained 18 lbs, which I thought I'd gained 6 weeks ago, so this was awesome news! And she smiled and told me that was perfect. Then she said Ethan is also perfect (heartbeat of 135), my mild contractions are normal (but they're not Braxton Hicks), and that he is head down, but hasn't dropped. Basically, things are exactly as they should be!

Back to the contractions bit: this happened yesterday. I was very uncomfortable/experiencing some cramping, and not in the same way that I'm uncomfortable when Ethan kicks or bears into my bladder. They're only in my lower abdomen and they go away if I do the opposite of what I'm doing (sitting or walking). The doctor said this is normal, and only to worry if they encompass the whole abdomen and I get more than 4/hour, or if they're accompanied with bleeding. So far, so good.

As for weight gain: ideal weight gain for someone with my BMI is 25-35 lbs, and I'm on target to gain 25... also exciting news!

Ethan is always moving in there, which is also an indicator that he is healthy. His anatomy scan at 20 weeks showed no reason for concern, so we will not see him again until he makes his appearance! The doctor also told me that 37-42 weeks is considered full term, so depending on how/what Ethan is doing, we will see him in the next 4-8 weeks! After 42 weeks, some stuff happens with the placenta that isn't good, so we will get him out before then.

How far along? 33 weeks, though my doctor said I'm almost 34 weeks?? I'm confused.
Weight gain: 18 lbs!!
Maternity clothes? None, aside from my belly band
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Lots this weekend! I love having my doctor appointments on Mondays and sleeping until 7!
Miss anything? Not right now!
Movement: Often!
Food cravings: Still having mostly aversions, and not being hungry very often
Anything making you queasy or sick: Those crampy contractions make me feel sick!
Have you started to show yet: Undeniably
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Yikes, I guess so...
Belly Button in or out? IN! I hope it stays in. I think it'd be a rarity.
Wedding rings on or off? On! The swelling hasn't started yet.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Sleepy and cuddly this week. And maybe a little needy. I love my husband :)
Looking forward to: a baby shower this weekend! (And maybe painting those doors... sigh)

We DID get in Ethan's bed frame. This is what we ordered:

We actually got the twin size, but this looks like what we have under our bed. They take about 10 seconds to set up, are incredible durable, never squeak or shake, and it's tall so you can store a LOT under it. It also replaced a box spring, which we did have, but Austin thought the extra storage space would come in handy. Plus, these things outlast a box spring! I'm just glad to have one less thing on the list. All that's left are the doors. They literally haunt my dreams.

And lastly, the hubby is in Louisiana until this evening, so these photos from the beach this weekend will have to do. Our scaredy furbaby got over lots of fears this weekend! 

Bear the scardey-dog

Bear who conquered the ocean

He got IN the ocean (he was afraid of any depth of water/pools), and he did not vomit in the car after a 1.5-hour car ride! We'd say we were beaming with pride, but he did whine his way through the night at my brother's house like a big baby. Can't win them all...

Hope your weekend was as fun & restful as ours was!

love,

Progress: Front Porch & Entryway

Tonight, we're going to League City to visit Matt (and Tyson), and then to Galveston tomorrow, to see some waves, introduce Bear to the ocean, and see my cousin, Sarah. We haven't seen that island since we went in October 2010 for Austin's 24th birthday. It's been a while - we were dating, and the island was still recovering form Ike (the Pleasure Pier didn't exist!). We're looking forward to spending one of our last free weekends with some people (and dogs) that we love!

A late-night beach walk.

-----------

As I've said before, We're really bad about the "before" pictures. I've gotten better as time goes on, but I totally forgot to take a "before" shot of our entryway. it had a reddish-stained door that hadn't been updated in... forever. The front of our house is brick with taupe trim, so I wanted to add some pizzaz to the front door, which actually faces our neighbor's house. You're supposed to get approval from the HOA first, but we were safe since our door is not highly visible.

At first, I was a little unsure of my color choice (yellow) and Austin was very unsure of having a yellow door, so I took a Facebook poll... and all the men tried to veto my yellow door! I spent an entire Sunday painting our door yellow, and I love it. I'm pretty sure it was the best door color choice ever.

Note the tools leading outside, and the old Terrazzo tile.

I think it's a little more complete with the pretty wreath I made (couldn't have cost more than $15 with coupons to Hobby Lobby and Michael's). All those white flowers are from Michael's and they clip onto the wreath. The burlap was wrapped onto it with wire, and the blue flower stems are woven in. It's been several months, and nothing has moved or fallen!

A few of my favorite things.

Don't forget about the railing project... that took 4 months, broke two (three?) hammer drills.. and looks awesome!

He started this project in long sleeves, and ended it in shorts and a T shirt.
Look at that hodge-podge of plants!

And finally, we removed paid someone to remove the mosquito-breeding habitat that consisted of some ill-planted shrubbery:

Who knew a barren flower bed could bring such joy?

The next phase involves planting some anti-mosquito plants, making that flowerbed MUCH more narrow, and possibly putting in more grass (though that area doesn't grow well since it is so shaded.. but that makes it the perfect place for our cafe set!). If not grass, then some rocks that were leftover from the other side of the house, where we also removed plants.

The rubble of rocks that remain.Why they left the one potted plant, we will never know.

Now our entryway looks like this (actually, the grout has been stained, but you get the idea!):

I love the brick pattern, and the new shelf I found at Marshall's!

Look for an updated post on the garden(s) - hopefully sometime before Ethan arrives. We're too busy going to the beach to work on a garden in 100-degree heat!

love,

the nautical pillow

I've had the fabric and materials to start this pillow for probably a month now, but there were many, many other projects going on at the time! Once this is done, my mom is going to help me make Ethan's bumpers. She's been working away at his quilt for weeks!

The goal was to imitate this pillowcase from The Land of Nod without spending $20. I spent $15 (not including the insert) and I bought way too much fabric, so it is definitely doable with $10. (PS - their entire collection of nautical little boys' bedding is by far the cutest I've seen anywhere!)

The Land of Nod
(I'm fairly sure their rope is NOT round. More on that later)

Materials:

• 1/2 yard Wonder Under
• 1/2 yard white fabric (something thick)
• 1 yard navy blue fabric (don't need a yard, but it depends on the size of your pillow)
• Navy thread
• White thread
• 1/2 yard White rope (from ribbon section)
• Fray Check (take your mother's, you don't need that much)
• Printed outline of anchor (I fit the entire anchor on one sheet of printer paper)
• Pillow insert (mine was 16"x16")
• Sewing machine

Make sure you get the Wonder Under instructions when they cut it.

I knew from the beginning I did not want to embroider this, so that's why we opted for iron-on. I also used Fray Check to keep the edges of the anchor from fraying, since I didn't want to have to sew a seam on all those edges.

I washed my fabrics first, then pinned the navy fabric around the pillow. I probably should have left some gaps on the left and right side that I could sew the rope into, since I didn't want the frayed rope edges that the example pillow had.

I wanted to make a zipper-less case so I made sure my ends met on the
back side, and sewed up those seams.

Once the pillow was done, I ironed my Wonder Under on and traced my anchor, which I could see through the white fabric. If you don't use white fabric, you may want to trace first, then iron. There are specific instructions for this on the instructions sheet.

Sharpie pen: later, I learned this was a bad idea. Wonder
Under is not thick enough.

I made notes to myself about my lines as I went,
because  I knew I would forget which one to use!

Once it was cut, I laid it out on the pillow. I laid out my rope a little differently than they did (and changed it later):

The rope ended up being a huge pain in the butt for the novice seamstress that I am. I regretted using a round rope entirely. It seems obvious, but it moved a LOT, and then wouldn't line up with where I wanted it to be. I couldn't machine-sew this, so the whole thing was very frustrating.

I ended up just sewing down the crossed part of the loops and the bottom of the loops, as well as the edges and the rope that went under the anchor. I think a semi-loose rope is more realistic (just go with me on this one). 

When I ironed on the anchor, I learned two things: 1) Fray Check should be the last thing you use because it is wet and will activate the Wonder Under even if you leave the backing on; 2) don't use a sharpie pen to outline your anchor (it bled through in one part, luckily it was blue and you can't tell). Because the Fray Check activated the Wonder Under, I had to sew the edges of the "T" part of the anchor.

This is what this issue reminded me of:

At 0:12, Pearl says "but you can't really tell, especially when I twirl it like this." Yup, that's this pillow.

The moral of this story? Don't use round rope, Fray Check should be last, the instructions for Wonder Under kind of stink if you aren't doing a basic task, and keep the pillow away from the baby.

All that matters at this point is that I'm happy, the pillow is DONE, and Ethan's bed looks cute!

love,