32 weeks

For the first 6 months of pregnancy, I really didn't mind being pregnant. There were very few bad side effects (aside from losing 1/2 my wardrobe and needing prescription heartburn meds that I am bound to daily). Being 5'10" helps a little with spacial issues/crowding... that is, unless you're married to a 6'7" (maybe 6'6", we debate) man, who gives you a lanky baby. I'm convinced this kid is enormous - in length, if nothing else.

Ethan, I do believe we'd both be more comfortable if you were more into the fetal position than the "L" position - or whatever it is you're doing with your butt on my right and your foot on my far left. Yes, I am officially uncomfortable. I wake up with backaches, sit crooked at work so I can stretch out, and recline at every opportunity. Son, we have about 8 weeks left. Let's figure something out.

Bear made his appearance this morning (his ratted up toy, too).

 This week, theBump.com says baby is the size of a squash (a round one). Let's just refer back to the pineapple from last week: he feels bigger than that, and about as comfortable.

There's a baby in there!!

In other news, progress was made on the nursery, thanks to Austin!

Apparently, the only picture I took was of the one upside-down outlet.
I'm very excited that they're tamper-resistant! Yay!

Yes, the other thing(s) are those closet doors. Hate, hate, hate. I'm sure when they're done, I'll be the happiest mama on the block.

They still look like that, but the extra trim and compressor/nail gun is gone.

How far along? 32 weeks (starting month #8!)
Maternity clothes? belly-banding it today
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Lots this weekend, none last night.
Miss anything? my wardrobe
Movement: All. The. Time. He just elbowed my hip for the 14th time today, and has already had hiccups once.
Food cravings: More like, "nothing sounds good and I'm not hungry, are you sure I have to eat?" every day.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only when I forget my heartburn meds, or don't take them with food (they're serious about taking them with food).
Have you started to show yet: Undeniably
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: None yet, thankfully
Belly Button in or out? Hanging in there!
Wedding rings on or off? On, no sign of that changing yet.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Argumentative? Not sure that's new though.

Looking forward to: Baby showers!

This weekend is our last "free" weekend until Ethan comes, with the exception of Labor Day. The others are full of showers, and/or not making plans in case a little man wants to cancel them. We have one or two more house projects that we'd like to wrap up before Ethan gets here.. but I also have a couple to post about later that we did in the last week!

I didn't get a video of it, but Austin and I both watched Ethan drag his foot across the left side of my stomach on Saturday night. Seeing that makes things a little more "real" for Austin, but I also think it scared him a little. Yes, there's a real live human in there!

Excited to meet our little man... :)

love,

31 weeks

We had a great checkup today! Ethan is measuring right on schedule, had a heartbeat of 131, and is head down. This Thursday, we get a walk-through of the check-in & labor process at the hospital.

Fortunately, this only reflects
his size, not the way he
 feels in there. Ouch

I realized this week that Austin hasn't read any baby books. The man literally has zero idea what to expect. So I started discussing with him what newborns are like, what we should expect, etc. Fortunately for him (and me) our moms have volunteered to be at our beck and call when we need them. We're blessed, because we have no idea what we're doing. I think that's a healthy confession for first-time parents...

How far along? 31 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yes - I love this dress! So comfortable.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Pretty good today!
Miss anything? not really
Movement: Lots!
Food cravings: Nothing special!
Anything making you queasy or sick: not lately
Have you started to show yet: yes
Gender: boy
Labor Signs: zero
Belly Button in or out? a very shallow innie
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: meeting Ethan!!

For those of you who can stomach it (not my cousin Angela, who, ironically, is also pregnant!) here is a video of Ethan moving around last night. He is definitely a night owl! I uploaded this from my iPhone so forgive the quality!

Love,

Baby Announcements

Being the planner that I am, I've definitely already chosen & designed our baby announcements. All that's missing is Ethan! (And no, I won't show you yet!) They're going to be gorgeous, though.

Their baby announcements are generally adorable and range from print/design only to photo annoucements. As I've said before, I love Paperless Post because you can pick a card that can either be printed or distributed digitally (ecard) or just pick a digital design.

Check out their {baby section}, and look at other options! I won't drop any hints as to which one we picked!

We plan on distributing this card via social media and email before posting any other pictures of Ethan, so be on the lookout! Of course, aunts & uncles who can't be here for his birth have to see it before it goes on Facebook!

In the meantime, here's a glimpse at the thank you letter set I've put together:

I'm only a little excited to use our return address stamp! We got ours from Etsy.
I'd have shown it more clearly but the Internet doesn't need to know our address!

I am getting so excited about meeting our little man!! 9.5 weeks, give or take!

love,

The Neverending Tile Project

When we moved into this house, we knew we would one day have to replace the white tile. The primary reason was because it was hideous and hard to clean (which made it more hideous). It had a shiny top that liked to keep debris despite my desperate Swiffering, sweeping, and scrubbing.

The design on the tile was textured, which is also awesome for retaining dirt and crumbs.

Not to mention that two pieces were broken, and that dark grout from the '80s was thick. For a while, this tile was the subconscious bane of my existence (now that title has been granted to the Master Bath, since this tile is dead).

The breaking point came when the two tiles that were broken (right in front of that trash compactor that we don't use) shattered. They started splintering into tiny pieces. Shattered tile + brand new baby = bad idea. I mean, he won't crawl for lots of months, but who wants to redo tile with an infant anyway? So the new tile was picked out, scheduled, paid for, and installed. (The "paid for" part was painful.)

Fast-forward to two weeks ago:

So fresh and so clean, clean.

However, we weren't thinking straight and didn't remove the trash compactor before they tiled (they told us we didn't need to. Don't listen to "them"). So the tile somehow ended up not-so-straight right where the broken tile used to be. We have the tile-man in our house right now fixing that problem...

If you look closely, you can kind of see where the cut tile is crooked.

And my awesome husband pulled out the trash compactor! It's definitely going to be in the charity garage sale (for anti-human trafficking) at our house next week. I'd rather have a hole there than have a nasty trash compactor that we don't use! I was honestly too grossed out to open it.

We were also disappointed that our grout didn't match the tile like we wanted it to. The grout is about 16 shades lighter than what we picked, and a totally different hue. The name of the grout was correct, but could someone please tell me why grout companies don't just give you a legitimate sample color?

Light grout is pretty much the worst since it stains so easily, and we did not want that. We did opt for the super-sealed grout (which supposedly will never stain). I'm still confused by how they are adding a grout stain to a grout that won't ever stain? Riddle me that.

If you look closely, you will see that the white grout disappears! That's where they've added the stain. I am so excited to go home and see the finished result! Sometimes, it's the little things...

Love,

Haynes' Home Tour: Before

Since I'm always posting about our projects on Facebook, I thought I'd consolidate and add those updates to this blog. We'll still update on Ethan each week, since he is a priority over our house anyway! Remodeling has been a huge part of our pregnancy (I wouldn't be surprised if my son came out with a hammer in hand), so we might as well add those posts.

That said, we've done so much to our house since February 8th that it's almost unrecognizable. Almost.

I love looking back at what it was, and basking in the gem that it is. We still have issues to address, but we have put in more man-hours than I'd like to count/admit (mostly Austin) and learned more than a few valuable lessons at the hands of my father. We find that often the reason we are struggling with a project is because we don't have the right tools. Then in comes dad to the rescue! If he doesn't have it, he knows where to rent it!

On to the tour: several of these pictures came from the HAR site, because we are terrible at remembering to take "before" pictures... but also because we immediately started making changes. If you know me, you know this is typical!

Blue trim! This was gone before we bought the house.
Also, that's the front door! Right there! On the LEFT side of the house!

Can you see the front door now?
That garden is going to be removed very, very soon!

And that's the driveway... on the RIGHT side of the house!
From this angle, if there wasn't a sidewalk, I'm not sure anyone would know where to go.

Jacuzzi tub in the Master. It's really not all it's cracked up to be!
Gorgeous wallpaper (they kindly painted over it before we moved in).

Don't you love that tile? I call this the picture of broken things. Why? Well, with cell
phone pictures (yes, they posted those online) it's hard to tell, but lots of things are broken.

Muuuuch better. Now you can see all the broken things.

Close-up of the cheap cabinet hardware (the hinges were painted over) and the awesome
crookedness. They tried... 

Hey, neighbor! Don't you want to look right into our master bedroom through this
rickety door?

Crowning glory of this house: everything about this living room.
(Notice that there are no air return vent covers in the entire house).

It's enormous! The carpet is brand-new (though a super weird color that grows on you).
And that gold ceiling fan.... yes.

I'm so thankful the former owners took this picture, otherwise we would have no
evidence of the gorgeous floral border that once was.

Ooooh, granite! Wait, why is a seemingly new sink not under-mounted? Ugh

1) yes, the tub is surrounded by 3 walls. This used to be a hallway.
2) yes, there is a mirror there. It's huge, but I am too pregnant to help remove it.
3) no, we have never, ever used this tub.

Doesn't this mauve beauty just draw you in?
We seriously struggled with showering here for a while.
The grout is now white (the original color was gray, but it looked disgusting).
There's a perma-layer of soap scum/residue on the glass and walls.
This bathroom is the bane of our existence.

I like to make fun of our house, obviously, and there have been times (more than one time) that I have cried and wondered what the heck we got ourselves into. However, having recently completely remodeled our kitchen made a few simple, time-consuming updates, I now LOVE our house. We still have quite a list of to-dos, but they feel so much less burdensome. Aside from that master bathroom...

That's it for the "before" pictures (AKA a trip down memory lane). Come back later for some "after" pictures (or progress/during pictures)!

love,

30 weeks!

Alright, Ethan! We are 3/4 of the way done! At our last doctor's appointment, the doctor said I should gain 1 pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy (yikes, that seems like a lot!), and that Ethan is perfect. He's getting so big that we can now hear him moving around when we listen for his heartbeat. I love that the doctor's visits are getting more frequent, and that we get updates on Ethan more often.  Since I'm getting a little overwhelmed by baby advice, I like being reassured that he is perfect and exactly where he should be! It's a reminder that the Lord is in control and that things will be fine! I was also prescribed heartburn medicine this week, which has made a huge difference. I had salsa for the first time in months last week!

If you read this blog, I'm guessing you're interested in our little guy, so I ask that you join us in praying for two things for Ethan over these next 10 weeks whenever you think of us or Ethan, or whenever you find yourself reading this blog!

1. The first thing is that Ethan would be healthy, happy, and growing strong. I think this one is fairly obvious, because every parent wants these things for their baby!
2. The second is much more important: we want to see Ethan grow in knowing the Lord intimately. Our hope is that he would surrender his life to the Lord and follow Him even to the ends of the earth.

I know the next ten weeks will go by quickly (give or take a week or so) and that our little man will be here before we know it, but I am still grateful for the time we have to get ready for him physically, mentally, and spiritually. Pray also for us, that our primary role as parents would always be to set an example for our son in godliness, service, and in pursuing a relationship with Christ.

This week, Austin and I are resting from working on our house. If the mood strikes us, we might, but yesterday we enjoyed an afternoon with family, watching Tyson & Bear play at my parents' house, sitting outside with our pup on our patio, (and Austin enjoyed playing Call of Duty for a couple of hours...). I love that we've done the bulk of the work we need to do on our house - it is a huge relief. I'm looking forward to some time at home with Austin and relaxing!

Mommy, play with my milk carton!

Look how fun it is!

Did you get any good pictures?
(Bear does not care about pictures)

Hey bump!

How far along? 30 weeks!! 3/4 of the way done!
Maternity clothes? Not today, but they are forgiving...
Stretch marks? Not yet - I put on special lotion every night in trying to avoid them.
Sleep: Most nights are fine; Sundays in particular are awful.
Miss anything? a flat stomach, my clothes... 
Movement: Very often!
Food cravings: Nothing special, a bit of an aversion to sweets though (probably from excessive amounts on Saturday!)
Anything making you queasy or sick: not with my new medicine :)
Have you started to show yet: yes
Gender: bouncing baby boy!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In... but it may actually become an outie by the time this is through!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: A mixture of both?
Looking forward to: baby showers! All FOUR of them!

love,

week 29 + 1 day

I realize that I'm not posting on Mondays... but it just so happens that my partner-in-crime has been unavailable, and I decided that these posts really need a bump picture. That said, here's hoping we actually see a decrease in hubby's travel, and more time together in the 3rd trimester than we had in the 2nd! Unfortunately, he still is not home, so until next week....

Ethan is moving around more than ever, and things are getting real - he is due in 11 weeks (I really hope he comes in September!) and I can no longer pretend that this birth-thing isn't going to happen. Yikes. Ethan, we're excited that you're coming, but mommy is not excited about that little part. Never have been! It is a means to an end, however.

Right now, we're working on a packing list and a phone tree to get the word out to the family when I go into labor (if I don't end up late/induced). Things are going to feel much more "real" when when showers are over and the bag is actually packed in a few weeks!

Austin and I still have quite a bit on our house to-do list that we want to knock out in the next couple of months, but as my ability to help becomes limited, we're prioritizing that list! We also realize that Ethan could come early, so we're trying to get the "necessary" stuff done early.

My parents (Grandma & Grandpa to Ethan) came over last night to see the completed work on our tile in the kitchen, and said they really liked how our house was coming together (yay! Our hard work is paying off!). The best part was when my dad started inspecting Ethan's room. My mom asked cosmetic questions, like whether I'd paint those stupid closet doors (yes, ugh.....). Dad, on the other hand, asked if I was going to secure the items on the floating shelves because, "if any of those fall on my grandson's head, I'm going to be angry." I guess you never stop being a dad! He also asked about other safety concerns, such as the outlets, but we all know that's on "the list." Needless to say, I'm excited to see my parents as Ethan's grandparents. My mom is what I call a "baby-snatcher" (meaning that she will take your baby and hold it all day if you let her) and my dad is a sucker for kids. I also can't wait to see Ethan play (someday) with his cousin Jackson... and hopefully many more cousins one day. Ahem...

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: gained more than I wanted to!
Maternity clothes? always
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: I try to...
Miss anything? not having heartburn/reflux/sleeping flat
Movement: lots - especially during church on Sunday. That was cute, son :)
Food cravings: Tex-Mex (when am I not craving that?)
Anything making you queasy or sick: bending, trying to bend, thinking about bending, sleeping flat
Have you started to show yet: yes
Gender: bouncing baby boy!
Labor Signs: Zero, don't even have Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I think this question is better for Austin to answer...
Looking forward to: meeting this little guy!

love,

week 28 + 1 day

I'm starting to think we should have opted to name our baby "Wiggle Worm" instead of "Ethan." This last week, he's been moving so much that it's distracting when I'm trying to get work done! Or sleep, or watch TV... I'm always wondering what he's doing in there.

These are officially bogus.
Last week, it said up to 2.5 lb.
How is he shrinking?

I haven't made much more progress on the nursery this week, but all that's left are the closet doors (sigh... I'm afraid that may have to happen) and the tamper-proof plugs. We're almost ready for you, Ethan! We've been working hard to get the other "big" house stuff done before Ethan comes. This week, we're replacing our tile floors in the kitchen and entryway, because some of our tiles in the kitchen (which were cracked when we bought the house) shattered... and we can't have a baby around that. By the time it's done, it'll be like we're in a whole new house! We'd hoped to replace our carpets and windows before Ethan comes, but decided we were being a little over-ambitious. We really just want to wrap up projects we've already started, which includes our master bathroom. The more Ethan grows, the less helpful I am, so the less work we can do! Our house is going to be a complete mess starting on Friday, but this time next week, we will have new floors that cover about 25% of our house. Yay!!

It hit me like a ton of bricks this weekend that we are having a baby soon. This pregnancy has zoomed past us, and I know Ethan will be in our arms before we know it. Weren't we just in Hawaii last month? Next month we have the baby showers, and then it's September - when Ethan comes! (Hopefully September - we have too many October birthdays in our family already!) We made another trip to Babies R Us this weekend and I think we have the registry done. I mean, we've never done this "baby" thing before, so who knows...?

The lighting is a little off, but look at our cute furbaby!
Oh, and that big ol' bump. Hey there, giant baby!

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: not sure
Maternity clothes? yep - and I have lots of new ones, thanks to my mother-in-law, Laura! (thanks Laura!)
Stretch marks? doing my best to avoid them with cocoa butter.
Sleep: What sleep? I don't think I slept last night.
Miss anything? more caffeine, not having heartburn (rather, not having to take heartburn meds daily)
Movement: Lots right now!
Food cravings: Salty food!
Anything making you queasy or sick: just heartburn...
Have you started to show yet: Yes!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Zero
Belly Button in or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Is tired an option??
Looking forward to: having new floors :)

love,

week 27 - third trimester

I am hungry this morning! I went to the doctor for my gestational diabetes screening, and I was not excited. It's a long, slow appointment, and I don't like being poked and prodded! I guess it's just prep for labor though. Joy!

Baby Ethan is getting bigger! I'm finally admitting to myself that I am at the point where people can really tell that I'm pregnant without knowing me, but it still surprises me when they ask when I'm due and they don't know me! When I was waiting for the elevator this morning, a lady asked me if I was having a boy. I've heard I carry like I'm having a boy but... really?!

How many of you have
actually seen a rutabaga?

Hey there, Ethan!

How far along? 27 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: still just 16 lbs
Maternity clothes? none today!
Stretch marks? none yet! Starting to see the Linea Nigra, though
Sleep: Better since Austin is here, except when he hits me in the face 3 times in one night... thanks.
Miss anything? Multiple cups of caffeine in a day
Movement: So much!
Food cravings: Peach cobbler this morning, though it doesn't sound good now that I've had breakfast.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, and apparently my lack of appetite is totally normal
Have you started to show yet: Yes!
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!! Austin is HOME and won't leave again for at least a week; even then it'll only be a few days.
Looking forward to: REALLY finishing this nursery!

Love,

UPDATE: Austin & I finished the chair rail!! We also hung the floating shelves, as well as a print we got when we were on Maui. The book on the shelf is also the one we got in Paia, Maui!

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,