nursery phase II: finishing the bottom

I am unable to procrastinate on things, and knowing that I have things to get done makes me crazy. So on Wednesday night, I wrapped up as much of Ethan's nursery as I could do alone. Needless to say, I was in bed by 9, and slept very well that night.

I have to say that the white looks awesome against the blue... and that his nursery wouldn't look half as good without it. It brightens up the blue in a way I really didn't expect. Was it worth all that time (and money)? Maybe...

The original color of the entire room house.

I'll also say that I am sick of painting, so I think I'm taking those closet doors down and leaving them off. I don't care right now whether they ever go back on. They need to be trimmed anyway, because the carpet is too thick. Yes, curtains sound more appealing by the day. Or new closet doors, but I am not interested in installing more doors.

Austin has been gone a lot, so fortunately I had a lot of help from other people on this nursery. One of my best friends, Lindsey, helped me paint his nursery blue. When that dried, Leslie, Meredith, and Danielle from our small group came and helped me with the wallpaper (which is the highlight of the room, is it not?). I painted the chair rail, Austin cut it, and I nail-gunned it up while Austin held it. I really love that nail gun! It freaks me out when I use it and Bear is in the room. I don't think I'd nail him accidentally - I don't think that's possible - but it still scares me!

What's left, then? Austin's job! Changing all the beige, old, gross outlets and light switches to new, white, tamper-resistant plugs and switches. Hopefully, that won't take too long. I bought them in bulk because half our house had white plugs when we moved in, and we need to replace the beige ones anyway. Might as well make them tamper-resistant, while we're at it.

Austin also needs to add one 2-3 foot section of chair rail that he didn't get to do last Sunday because he was already late in leaving for Laredo. I may use a nail gun, but I am not putting my hands on a saw! After that (and DAP-ing the holes and caulking it...) I think the room itself will be done... I think.

Without further ado, the very handsome, partly-decorated nursery:

I'm obsessed with that whale and that net. Best part
of the room so far!

I decided I hate the white curtains, so they've already come down.
They look pretty bad in person.
Isn't that lantern the best?

The pieces on the bed are going up on the wall to the
right (there are shelves for them to sit on but they
are hard to see in this picture).

This is the section of the wall (on the left) that needs to
be finished, along with that tiny piece on the right.
Directly to the left of this picture is the closet; the door
faces Ethan's crib.

I just did the math on the nursery, and it  blew me away. The cost is huge compared to what I anticipated. We're talking a few hundred dollars! Considering that real beadboard would have cost this much on it's own, I want to feel like this is a good deal.

Was it way more expensive and time-consuming than I imagined? Yes. Am I ever going to repaint this room again, ever in my life? NO. If you'd told me it'd cost this much time and money to make this room..... I probably would have skipped it all. When I told Austin what the cost was, he said, "that's nothing for my little man." Awwwwwww. I can't wait for Austin to come home and see how awesome this looks in person. Overall, the way the room looks today has totally exceeded my expectations, and I know we aren't done yet.

The dresser/changing table was a gift from Grammie Cindy, the crib was a gift from my parents, and my mom is working on Ethan's quilt, bumpers, and crib skirt (though right now, Grandma is in San Francisco enjoying time with Grandpa. Am I jealous that they're in California Wine Country without me? No.....). Grammie C also gave us that twin bed. The headboard was $25 on clearance at Target. We still need to actually put the bed together.

My friend Sarah Blome (who makes fabulous paper flowers) has volunteered to make the mobile for Ethan, which is super sweet, and I am really excited about - her work is always awesome! It'll hang through the net above Ethan's crib.

That's all for now... more to come when it is FINISHED!

love,

25 weeks, 6 days

This post is a day early, because I wisened up and realized that no one will be here tomorrow to take my week 26 picture! Honestly, I'm having a hard time even remembering which week it is. I'm fortunate to remember that they start on Mondays!

Next week starts my third trimester and my bi-weekly doctor appointments. My doctor will be measuring my belly externally to make sure that Ethan is as big as he needs to be. If you're wondering, yes, I feel huge. Austin made the comment today that he thought I wouldn't get much bigger, but he doesn't understand how pregnancy works. I get bigger because Ethan gets bigger - not because it's just a fun thing to do! :) He is in for a surprise.

{courtesy of theBump.com}

I don't get these size comparisons sometimes. Last week he was the size of a head of cauliflower, which I tend to think of as larger than a head of lettuce... I guess I'm wrong?

I also felt Ethan hiccup this week. I don't think it was the first time, because I've felt this kind of rhythmic movement before, but it occurred to me that it probably wasn't him kicking - it was hiccups (thanks to a little research on Google!). Austin was very disappointed he couldn't feel that!

This weekend, my mom and I went shopping for fabric for Ethan's bedding. The above swatches will go into his quilt, which will have a soft white backing (my mom is nervous about the white!) and white trim. The material for the bumpers and skirt had to be ordered, so that will come later... but it going to look awesome.

Nursery update! 85% of the trim is up, but the rest of it needs to be painted white... and I need wood filler. Almost there!

I painted the window sill today!

For bump pictures, I opted to wear a tighter shirt (I really should come up with a standard shirt...) because I think the shirt from last week was a tiny bit big/misleading. Whoops!

I have to say, it's hard to manage a smile when you know your husband is leaving in a few hours!

How far along? almost 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I'm not sure
Maternity clothes? 90%
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: Good! I can't make it through the night without a bathroom trip anymore.
Miss anything? My husband!
Movement: So much!
Food cravings: Nothing unusual this week!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! I finally bought some heartburn meds that my doctor approved and seem to work!
Have you started to show yet: Look at those pictures!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, mostly! Sad that Austin is leaving :(
Looking forward to: My husband coming home! And decorating the nursery in the meantime :)

Love,

week 25

I can't believe I only have 14 days left in my second trimester. I feel like the third trimester is when it's time to get down to business, so I'm a little intimidated! This pregnancy has flown by. So much for all the plans I had! Fortunately, the heartburn has subsided (somewhat).. either that, or I've gotten really smart about what I eat. I just miss Tex-Mex so much...

We still haven't finished the nursery, but we hope to this week. We just need to go get the trim and a few useful tools from Ethan's super-Grandpa (seriously, I have no idea what Austin & I would do without my daddy!).

That's me, at about 1 1/2 years old, playing with my dad!
Don't you love his jeans?

We've decided to slow down on home improvements, which is a really hard commitment for me to make! Austin is traveling to Laredo so often (and with such little time at home in-between) that we don't want our time to revolve around our house - or our money, for that matter! So we're whittling down our list to affordable things and things that we have to do (like fix that ugly, broken window!). It's just as well, because I'm starting my third trimester and need to chill out a little for Ethan's good :) Let's just get this nursery done!

And now, without further ado, a photo of the mondo-belly! I'm sorry if you don't think it's huge, but it feels huge.

I'd like you all to know I was going to take this picture in a very cute outfit that I wore to work today, however, I managed to spill all the oil from my sun dried tomatoes all over my pants when I was plating dinner. Awesome. It's also in a different room because we're waiting on an electrician to fix the light in our living room!

How far along? 25 weeks.. and it's getting harder to remember which week it is.
Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs
Maternity clothes? None today! Just a belly band - the rest are "my" clothes :)
Stretch marks? Avoiding them with cocoa butter
Sleep: It's not bad, but now when I roll over, Ethan moves around and wakes me up
Miss anything? A cold beer/glass of wine on a hot summer day.
Movement: Lots! You can SEE it! I wish I could tell where he was by the way he was moving.
Food cravings: Mexican, which is unfortunate because it gives me heartburn. One of these days I'm going to do it anyway.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Bear's breath. It is terrible, and nothing is making it better.
Have you started to show yet: Obviously
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? Shallower by the minute, but in.
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, mostly. A little mood mixed in. I have the best husband...
Looking forward to: Finishing this nursery!

week 24

Oh little Ethan... you sure are getting big! TheBump.com says you're about the size of a cantaloupe... but who are we kidding, you're clearly larger than that! All you wanted to do yesterday was prove that you're a big boy and taking over my body. You pushed something into my right rib - hard. I had a sharp pain for about an hour. And you wiggled all afternoon, which is new because I usually only feel you in the mornings before 11 am and at night after 8. I also felt you roll over for the first time, which was a very weird feeling. "Big" feels like an understatement, and we still have 16 weeks to go! I'm thankful for that extra time, because I know you need the time to grow, and your dad and I need that time to get ready for your arrival.

This Saturday, some of the women from our small group helped me wallpaper your nursery while your dad was traveling.

Beadboard wallpaper! The darker white lines are where
the seams are. I did an extra coat of paint on those to
make sure that they didn't show any blue paint through
the seam. This nursery is coming together!

Sunday, I painted the wallpaper and a little of the trim in the room. Your dad is going to come home and install tamper-resistant (babyproof) plugs in your room this week, along with the chair rail.

This is the dresser your Great Grammie gave us (thank you Grammie C!):

I put this together all by myself! It is SO TALL - taller than our kitchen
counter tops! I know Austin will be so glad he doesn't have to stoop over
to change Ethan!

I couldn't lift the package (even if I wasn't pregnant), so the people at IKEA and your Grandpa had to help me get it home. This is where we are going to change all your (cloth) diapers. :)

I also went this weekend to Nurtured Family to check out cloth diapers! Though Grandma still isn't on board (and will probably choose to use disposables at her/Grandpa's house) we both liked BestBottom the most. We will have to go check out a class sometime before we get them, but they seemed like the most reasonable option... Either those, or bumGenius!

So here it is... the weekly update!

How far along? 24 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: I really try not to weigh myself. But my doctor says I'm perfect!
Maternity clothes? Lots!
Stretch marks? None yet, and I've been applying a special Cocoa butter I got on Maui.
Sleep: Last night was TERRIBLE - I had what Austin called "lava" (horrible heartburn) all night. Thanks, son!
Miss anything? Not having heartburn!
Movement: So much more than he was doing before! Rolling, kicking, pushing....
Food cravings: Sweets!
Anything making you queasy or sick: EVERYTHING gives me heartburn except milk/cereal.
Have you started to show yet: Definitely!
Gender: Boy... rambunctious little boy.
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On! Though I keep forgetting them and hope no one thinks I'm single!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Oh goodness. It's been a moody week (poor Austin).
Looking forward to: putting up trim in Ethan's nursery, and hanging things on the walls!

I'm definitely looking forward to meeting our mondo-cantaloupe, but I am NOT looking forward to the third trimester! My prayer is (and will be) that he is a healthy and happy baby boy. 16 more weeks....

Love,

PS - I was waiting to post this so I could take a bump picture, but I'm not a fan of selfies so... maybe we'll get one tomorrow when the hubby is home!

week 23

We have had an insane weekend! We went to visit our old small group in Clarksville, TN, and enjoyed some wonderful weather and some great time catching up with out friends. We left Clarksville this morning at 3:45 AM and landed in Houston at 8 AM... the furloughs are that bad, and I'm 100% signing up for whatever that line is that just jumps through security. My pregnant, tired self (and my grumpy husband) envied those people this morning. Unfortunately for me, I can't just take a RedBull (like Austin can) to get over how tired I am!

Even more craziness will ensue: between Austin's trips to a border town (not awesome) weddings, and fixing our house up, Ethan is going to be here before we know it! (Anyone down for a beadboard wallpapering party??) We now have fewer than four months left. In the beginning, it seemed like this was going to take forever. After all, we found out on January 22nd. September 30th seemed like a long time to wait. So, sweet Ethan, you seem to have turned your mother into some kind of procrastinator; please do slow down time for me, as we have much to do before you arrive!

Hey little grapefruit-cantaloupe.

How do we make these pictures
NOT awkward?

How far along? 23 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Plenty of gain :) but in a healthy range, according to my doctor!
Maternity clothes? Daily!
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: It's been pretty good! If I get up for the restroom, it hardly disturbs my sleep. Think of it as being slightly more conscious than a sleep-walker.
Miss anything? Caffeine.. more so each day.
Movement: His arm/leg flinging is getting harder every day!
Food cravings: Yogurt. Right now. Cookies (which would never have been true pre-pregnancy). Fro Yo. Sweet things!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Spicy foods seem to bring on the heartburn!
Have you started to show yet: Yes, and I can't really hide it anymore!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Nada
Belly Button in or out? Innie!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! And tired!
Looking forward to: finishing the paint in the nursery, and putting up beadboard wallpaper (eeeek)!

This weekend, a good friend asked what we were nervous about as parents, and what our parenting style is. Austin and I haven't had a serious conversation laying down the law on how we will be parents, because we feel that will largely be reflected in who/how our child(ren) is/are. I hope that we will address discipline and rules from a standpoint that they understand personally, not in a "because I said so" way. I think the Lord does that for us (sometimes we still can't understand, but I think He likes to grow us in those "teachable moments").

May my heart, eyes, and ears always be open to hearing and doing the Word of the Lord; especially with regard to raising our son (and any other kid(s)).

love,

nursery phase I: painting the top

The nursery has been the monkey on my back for the last three weeks (when we found out the baby was an Ethan rather than a Hannah). I had the paint, and much of the decor. We still need to finish the top, possibly add a second coat, buy the beadboard wallpaper and chair rail, as well, but this is a darn good start!

I used tape as a rough marker to remind us not to
paint the entire wall!

My friend Lindsey came to help me get started, and I was/am really thankful because Austin is gone and I had zero motivation to paint, but every motivation to decorate! I started by laying some plastic liner around the edges of the room to protect the carpet (after moving the furniture and clothes toward the middle of the room) and then I taped off the trim and ceiling. I should have put more liner down, because I am, evidently, the messiest painter on the face of the earth. (We're replacing the carpet anyway, right?) Then, I marked how low we need to paint. I don't want to paint any more than I have to!

It would be SO easy to skip the top edge and add crown
moulding instead, don't you think? ;)



Valspar Ultra
Low Odor
No VOC

We decided on navy blue (update: we used Filoli Dark Iris 4009-5. This is one of their historic preservation colors) because neither of us are fans of "typical" baby rooms. We had a lot of ideas for this room, but Austin was really stuck on something ocean related, so we settled on the vintage nautical look. This may seem like a lot of forethought for a baby's room, but he is our first baby, and we don't want to have to "un-baby" the room in two years. The paint we used was Valspar Ultra (my new favorite). It's what we've used all over the other parts of our house. It covers fairly well, but if you did an entire room, I definitely recommend two gallons. They're around $27 here at Lowe's in Houston.

Removable Beadboard Wallapaper | Lowe's

We've also decided to use wallpaper that will be easy to remove, because wallpaper in this house will be a HUGE headache. We want the one from Lowe's because it is significantly cheaper than Home Depot's - we're always price-comparing between the two.

We do plan on reusing this bedroom for our next baby, so since beadboard is a classic look, we think we'll be safe with that. I'm now wondering what I can do with navy blue for a girl's room since I don't want to repaint this, and I really hope we have a girl next... you know, in 4 years ;)

We're also thinking of moving our dining room table to the kitchen/breakfast area, and opening up the dining/kitchen to the living room. The dining room would then be a play room - a perfect place to play so the baby's toys stay out of the main living area, but in sight all the time. His room is so small going to have so much furniture in it that he won't have room for toys anyway. I finally decided on the layout the other day, too... maybe.

Mentally rotate this counter-clockwise 90 degrees -
for some reason my computer shows it that way but it
uploads wrong!

That's it for now! We leave for Tennessee tonight at 9 (it's going to be a late night!) and we can't wait to see all our friends in Clarksville tomorrow and Sunday! I'm hoping to have this completely done in the next month....

love,

week 22

I can see my toes! Only because I have big
feet, I'm sure!

Talk about a bump! Ethan is probably close
to the size of a grapefruit.

How far along? 22 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Gain..
Maternity clothes? Daily!
Stretch marks? Not yet.
Sleep: I'm getting back into waking up to go to the restroom... Ethan is getting big!
Miss anything? Caffeine!
Movement: Lots - all throughout the day, and especially when I roll over at night.
Food cravings: None really, just lots of milk to chase away the heartburn
Anything making you queasy or sick: Spicy foods seem to bring on the heartburn!
Have you started to show yet: Yes, and I can't really hide it anymore!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: None yet, thank goodness.
Belly Button in or out? Still in there!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy because Austin is home, sad because he leaves again today.
Looking forward to: getting the nursery done... I'd be even more excited if someone else were painting it for me :)

Love,

21 weeks + 1 day

Austin and I had a crazy weekend. My dad came over and showed Austin how to install a door, and helped finish the railing in the front. Austin installed new locks (I screwed one up big time!), downspouts for our gutters (which were flooding our backyard), a new hook rack for the garage, and changed/fixed the ceiling fan in the guest room. Needless to say, the house is really coming together! I did work, too - I put together some furniture I got for my birthday from our moms:

New side table (I think we need a bigger
bin for controllers!).

New chairs & side table to form a separate sitting area
(An entertainment cabinet for the back left corner is next
on the list). The pillows came with the chairs but I dyed them.

Entryway! All cleaned up, and bright! The
yellow bench actually faces those two chairs
featured above.

I also adjusted some other decorations, installed peel-and-stick tile under our kitchen sink, and cleaned up after my husband! Sunday, I got a French bakery sign to add to the left wall of the living room, too.

On Saturday, we got two huge trash bags full of clothes sized 0-6 months for Ethan. This is what it looked like as I was sorting through it:

Lots of camo means Ethan will blend in with the Strickland men

I ended up keeping a little over half of it. The hoodies and onesies have used over 65 hangers! The pants and pajamas are still on the floor because we don't have a dresser for them. I know that we don't need any more pants (there are a ton), but considering that it will be getting chilly shortly after little Ethan joins us, I think we could use more hoodies/jackets/hats for when we go places.

Ethan is also measuring ahead of where he is supposed to be (right now he "should" be a pomegranate but according to his 19 week ultrasound, he is probably closer to a papaya) so I don't think we will need/use the newborn sized clothes. That's just as well, because we only received a few of those.

Let's all pretend my hair doesn't
look that bad today...

How far along? 21 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: 10 + lbs. That's TMI already.
Maternity clothes? Yes... only one pair of my own pants still fit!
Stretch marks? Not yet.
Sleep: I haven't slept through the night without even a light wake up in a while. The good news is that I'm not waking up to go to the restroom.
Miss anything? Caffeine!
Movement: Yes! Morning and night are his favorite times. He always moves when I lay down for sleep and when I first come in to work. He also wiggles throughout the day, and Austin has felt him move!
Food cravings: None lately, but I am forcing myself to eat more fruit... all for the good of my son!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, fortunately, and the heartburn is either getting better or my food hasn't been as spicy
Have you started to show yet: Yep! But I could still be confused as having a pudgy belly. Good news is that I still have a small waist (trying to keep it that way).
Gender: a sweet little boy.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Still in there! But getting shallow.
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy?
Looking forward to: Dressing Ethan in some of these cute clothes we just got!

Love you all,

Ethan's Ultrasound!

I finally figured out how to get Ethan's ultrasound on YouTube. I only get two at my doctor unless there are issues, so this may be the last time we see him until September/October!





Enjoy!

Love,

week 20 updates

Last week, at 19 weeks, the ultrasound technician measured Ethan as 5 days ahead and a whopping 30% heavier than he was supposed to be (anyone surprised?).  I have to say, I can't really follow the fruit-of-the-week thing anymore, since he actually weighed more last Monday than he is supposed to weigh today. Let's just say that he is big... bigger than the cantaloupe/banana he was last week!

How far along? 20 weeks!! Hooray!!!
Total weight gain/loss: Let's not and say we did :)
Maternity clothes? Yes. In the last two weeks, I have ponied up and started wearing maternity clothes. But hey, my dress today only cost $8! Thanks, Old Navy!
Stretch marks? Not yet...
Sleep: Usually great! Last night was awful - we are tired!
Miss anything? Caffeine. I really, really wish I could have some more.
Movement: SO MUCH! Apparently he isn't big enough to feel outside of my body, though. He was wiggling around like crazy last night and I was trying SO hard to let Austin feel it. I loved it - a perfect Mother's Day, with my son wiggling around... :)
Food cravings: Ice cream, which would make me sick pre-pregnancy. Really I just want the cookie dough that is in the ice cream...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, just heartburn, which is controllable depending on what I choose to eat!
Have you started to show yet: YES. But you can't feel him move yet, so there isn't much reason to touch the belly! 
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Slowly coming out...
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Hahaha, depends on who you ask!
Looking forward to: Austin getting to feel Ethan kick for the first time.

I love that we now know the baby's gender, but it honestly feels a little weird to call him Ethan! I guess we will get used to it!

We went to Babies R Us this weekend to actually look at the baby stuff we have registered for, and I think Austin must be sick. I asked him to get some diapers while I was in the restroom since we had a coupon (still undecided on cloth vs. disposable, but I hear you need a few disposable anyway, so we are stocking up). He is usually a very discerning, cheap shopper, but somehow when I got out, he had the Pampers sensitive diapers in his hand ($$$). We had a crash-course on diaper buying right there! We got to see in-person a few of the things we'd registered for online, and add a few boy things as well. Ethan's room may be 18th century nautical, but his stuff will be all sports!

We sure do love you, Ethan Michael! When things slow down a bit, we will definitely be painting & preparing your room!

love,