Nursery Pics!

Parker's nursery is almost finished and I am loving the way it's coming together.  I am semi-obsessed with grey and the moment so as soon as we found out we were pregnant I knew I wanted a grey room with white furniture and when we found out it was a boy, we decided to add a robin's egg blue in as an accent color.

  We found the exact crib and hutch I was dreaming of at Buy Buy Baby and amazingly it matched our crown molding, shutters, shelf and doors perfectly, so Mike only had to paint the ceiling white and the walls grey.  The grey paint is a little more purple than I expected but I still love it and it has quickly become one of my favorite rooms in the house.  I can't wait to just sit in there with baby Parker and just stare at him, rock him, cuddle him and appreciate all life has given us.

 The room still needs some decorations and we are waiting for the bedding to finish being sewn but it's coming together and it's truly everyhing I could ever dream of.

  Our crib, changing table and hutch are from the Davenport collection, which is made by

 Baby Appleseed.  I found it at Buy Buy Baby and I was able to get 20% off of it, which made it even more perfect!

 

My mom and I found this glider at Four Chairs Furniture on Small Business Saturday.  I happened to have a large credit there and when I saw it I knew it belonged in Parker's room, and it came home with us that day.  It fit perfectly and was just the piece his room was missing.  The blanket is from Home Goods and I had the boppy pillow cover made on etsy.

I had his bedding made on etsy by The Classy Crib since I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. We are still waiting for our bumper to come but the crib sheet in the robin's egg came yesterday, as well as the changing pad cover, which is in the grey, and it looks perfect!  Can't wait to get the rest and pull the room completly together.

I have a slight obsession with stars and words such as dream and wish and have since my dad died when I was 15.  I knew his room needed stars and when I found this mobile, I had to have it.  It's a little high to the ceiling right now but I am going to change out the ribbon to make it hang lower but it's one of my favorite pieces in his room and matches his nightlight perfectly!

I found this vase in Toulouse, France after seeing this idea on Pinterest
.

 

My mom bought this for me in Colorado two years ago on a family ski trip and has been patiently waiting to give it to me.  I finally got it for Christmas :)

 

 

Definitely love intials/letters and found these at Thanksgiving Point.  The cute sheep is from Olive and Cocoa thanks to our dear friends Chris and Matt

 

 

My mom found this during her trip to Europe

 

 

I really love this frame and it matches his room perfectly.

 

 

I love organization and am a sucker for bins.  They definitely make finding and using stuff much easier and make it look a lot more clean and put together.  I still need a few more for the closet and bathroom but it's definitely coming together.

 

I am loving stripes for this little guy and can't wait to dress him up in all of cute outfits.

I found this perfect baby book on etsy through two giggles and I love it.  It was a bit pricey but it goes all the way up to year 5 and asks a lot of questions I wouldn't remember to document without them being asked.  I also love the formatting inside; it's totally me.

 

Can we just say I have an obsession with blankets?  This isn't even all the muslin ones I have acquired over the years.  Mike has even put a moratorium on my blanket buying.

 

 

Thanks to my amazing work friends, including a faux grammy, I was spoiled with a lot of baby things including this awesome swing (that my mom thinks is a spaceship), as well as a pack'n'play, which Parker will be using for his first few weeks/months.

We finally booked our newborn photography- Lisa Sweeney.  Lisa and I went to high school together and used to carpool and she has become a very talented photographer.  Here are a few of my favorites of her shots.

 

 

Now onto some other fun stuff.  We finally said goodbye to the Grandpa car/pabstmobile and bought a 4 door car. 

Mike was adament that we would never have a car payment again so after paying off both our cars a few years ago, we continued to make a car payment to ourselves to save for a new car.  After three years of saving and 6 months of looking, we finally found the car we have been searching for and were able to pay cash for it, which I am super proud of.  Its a certified pre-owned 2009 Lexus GS350 AWD, so on the snow days when Mike takes my 4 runner to go skiing, I will also have a car that is good in the snow.  The only downside to this car was in was in Colorado but luckily his brother (who used to be a mechanic), went and checked it out for us before we bought it and gave us the thumbs up.  Mike is currently driving it home and is having fun playing with all the fun new features it has to offer.  I can't wait to go for a drive when he gets home tonight!

Mike got into back country skiing last year and after one of the big snowfalls around Christmas, he went up by Brighton and had one of the best ski days of his life.  I find it incredibly sexy what an amazing skiier he is and this is great photo of him doing something he loves.

 

I finally found some peonies that look more real and at 40% off at Modern Display, I had to snatch them up.  So in love and can't wait for peony season...

 

My sweet hubby knows how uncomfortable I have been lately and surprised me with some beautiful roses.  I am lucky he is mine...

 

I learned on Christmas I am going to be an aunt again!  Mike's little brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child in June.  We are so excited for Parker to have another cousin and can't wait to find out what Steven and Courtney are having!

 

Lastly, we are finally on the downswing of this pregnancy with only 34 days left until my due date.  We passed our child birth class yesterday so I guess we are ready to have baby Parker.  I am so blessed to have so many friends and family that love Parker and I am being spoiled with three showers this month (one that was yesterday) so more posts on those to come... someday.  Happy Sunday!

Our little Parker Vincent...

Mike left for France for 5 weeks the day we had our 20 week ultrasound and while I was so glad he was able to be there, I was sad he wasn't going to be here for any of the big changes I knew would be happening to Parker and I while he was gone.  So to make sure he didn't forget and could experience my pregnancy half way across the world, I made a video of our 20 week ultrasound and set it to one of my favorite songs "Small Bump" by Ed Sheeran.  It still brings tears to my eyes to watch the miracle that is pregnancy and our son.  I especially love that we caught him sucking his thumb. 

Parker has been an amazing little guy who didn't move much until about 4 weeks ago, and even now he spends most of his time sleeping unless he needs to adjust (must take after his daddy). We have had quite a few ultrasounds of him but haven't been able to get very many pictures of his face because he is a bit shy and doesn't like to look at the camera. He also tends to face inward and keep his fist up by his face, so it's hard to get a good profile shot of him.  The few times we have seen him though melts my heart.  He appears to have my nose and lips and we have been told a couple of times that he has a lot of hair.  Here is a picture from a 4-D ultrasound a few weeks ago.  His face is a bit smooshed against the sac so he looks a bit distorted and someone told me he looked like Shrek talking on a cell phone but I think he is absolutely perfect.

   

I may be biased but I know he is going to be one beautiful/handsome little guy.  We can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like on the outside.  Here are a few more pics; we just can't get enough of him...  We really are so blessed to be having this little man join our family in a short 6 weeks.
 

 

Here are some stats as of late...

How far along? 34 weeks...getting close!

Total weight gain/loss: Give or take 23 pounds

Maternity clothes?  I still wear a couple of regular shirts but I am having to buy even bigger maternity pants because he is getting so big and sits so low that they are beginning to rip.  I am currently living in my sweats,, much to the chagrin of my husband.  I definitely am looking forward to being back in my regular clothes.

Stretch marks? Nope, thank goodness!

Sleep: Depends on the night.  I am waking up 2-3 times a night and sometimes can't get back to sleep.  I am also having to sleep in a fortress of pillows in order to become comfortable. 

Best moment this week:  We started our child birth class on Saturday and it makes it seem so close!  I have also started to remove tags and start setting things up that we will use as soon as he gets here and my aunt Teena spoiled him with some adorable Gap clothes.

Miss Anything? I have been seriously craving sushi and a bottle of wine or some saki.  I also really miss my old clothes, being able to walk instead of waddle and the flexibility and mobility I had before I got pregnant and not having to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes.

Movement: All the time.  He has a pretty set schedule and tends to move a lot at night and after I eat or drink something.  I love feeling him move until ge gets in my ribs, which is where he likes to be lately.

Food cravings: Pasta especially fettucini alfredo and Olive Garden; I swear I could eat it every day.  Also loving gummy bears or any kind of chewy candy, green apples, garlic bread, Kraft cheese in the individual sleeves, water, marshmallow Santas, cinnamon hearts, salads, etc..  I think it depends on the day though. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I think this has been my best trimester with the headaches and feeling sick.  I think the only thing that irritates me is the smell of whiskey or scotch and my nose is a lot more sensitive so I smell things around the house Mike can't, hence why I cleaned the entire fridge and freezer yesterday, am having the carpets cleaned (again), have a million plug-ins and am going to clean the washing maching tonight.
 

Have you started to show yet: Yes and I hear, "oh you are REALLY pregnant now",  "getting close, only a couple more weeks right?" or things about how big my belly is, my inability to bend over and how slow I am now walking.  At least I feel that my belly in the only place I have gained... (at least that's what I tell myself)
 

Belly Button in or out? It's still in but barely

Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing them but they are starting to get super tight and leave indents in my fingers

Happy or Moody most of the time: I think this has been my best trimester with headaches so I have been feeling really good.  Still freak out when I am hungry (sorry Mike) and have had a couple meltdowns when my body aches or I am overwhelmed but for the post part I feel I am pretty happy and am just anxious for our little guy to get here.

nter;">

er;"> Looking forward to: Baby Showers!  I have the best friends and family and Parker is already so loved that we are being spoiled with three this month.  I just can't wait to see everyone!

Finally, for those who didn't get our Christmas card, here is an electronic copy of it.  Hope you all had as wonderful Christmas as our little family of three did (minus Mike being struck with a bout of stomach flu Christmas eve and being diagnosed with diverticulitis a week prior)

Stay tuned for nursery pics and a few other updates...  :)

A few bump pics...

Life has been crazy lately with Mike being in Europe, my job being extra busy, trying to get the baby room ready, a weekend birthday trip to Seattle, not to mention the holidays and lots of Christmas parties at our house.  I have also been slowing down thanks to my bigger state, get tired and ridiculously hot easily and have finally realized I need some help to do stuff such as lifting and putting things away in high places.  Life is amazing right now though and honestly this is the first time in my life I feel complete and wouldn't want to be living any other life then the one I am living right now.  We truly are blessed and are so grateful for the gifts we have been given over the past year.  I will try and find some time to post about France and Seattle but for now, here are some bump pics over the last 10 weeks...

22 Weeks

 

 23 weeks

 

27 Weeks 

 

29 Weeks

 

Happy holidays to each of you!

20 Week Bump and 21 Week Update!

 

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Finally gaining!

Maternity clothes? I finally broke down and bought maternity clothes and I don’t know why I was so resistant because baby P is pretty low so he likes to push my clothes down. Motherhood and A Pea in the Pod have become my two new favorite stores (although I will only buy things from the sale rack at A Pea in the Pod). I have found some great jeans, work pants and skirts at Motherhood for a very reasonable price and some great tops at A Pea in the Pod. Plus each time I buy stuff from there I get a 20% off Buy Buy Baby coupon; double score!

Stretch marks? Nope, I read the other day that stretch marks are mostly genetic and my mom never got them so I am hopeful I won’t either.

Sleep: I haven’t been able to get a very restful sleep for a while now that I am waking up to pee once or twice a night and am having a hard time getting comfortable but sleep is overrated right?

Best moment this week: We went and registered at Buy Buy Baby (Hannie I linked it for you) before Mike had to head back to France and it feels good to know what we want and have all of the research done.  Seriously though, we were there for 6 hours and I was ready to go after 2.  Mike was a trooper though and compared everything in his trusty consumer report handbook and I feel really good about what we picked.

This week I also had the most amazing massage at Sanctuary that was just what I needed. People are also starting to ask me about showers and I am visibly pregnant now, so it’s fun to think Parker will be here in only 4 more months!

Miss Anything? IB Proufin- seriously these killer headaches are no bueno. Also full strength Starbucks.

Movement: No kicks yet and I am desperately waiting to feel some just to make sure he is ok!

Food cravings: Alfredo dipping sauce from Olive Garden, milk, candy, candy, candy, Cafe Rio salads.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still feeling really good minus the headaches! I swear they are getting worse.

Have you started to show yet: Yup, no hiding it now.

Gender Prediction: We are having a little boy and plan to name him Parker Vincet

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired and uncomfortable but for the most part I am doing well. I have had a few “pregnancy meltdowns”, including one yesterday after having to move my 20 week ultrasound but I feel like I have been handling most of this ok minus having no energy to do anything and dealing with headaches.

Looking forward to: Our 20 week ultrasound tomorrow to make sure all is ok! Taking a picture of Parker and I in front of the Eiffel Tower and getting some pressure therapy/botox therapy done to my nerves to hopefully allieviate the headaches.

 

Another fun thing is I finally found baby bedding that I love.  I want a really clean classic room for Parker and since my new obsession is grey, this works perfectly.  It's a custom from Carousel Designs and I can't wait to get it and really start putting his room together.

 

 

Finally, I am going a little clothing crazy... I think because I have resisted for so long I am now buying everything I see that is cute out of fear I won't be able to find anything for him when he gets here (totally irrational I know).  My latest clothing obsession is little boy polo clothes.  Here are a few of the totally adorable items I bought for Parker.  He is going to be one dapper little dude!

 

 

 

 

Loving that this little guy is going to be here in a short 4 months and can't wait to meet him!



Diary of a single, pregnant wife...

Mike left for Europe last Sunday and in his absense I have been doing a lot of baby planning and trying to get some things done in order to make the days go by faster.  It's been interesting having him be 8 hours ahead of me and it makes communicating hard because when I am waking up it is 2 pm for him and when I get off work he is already asleep for the night, but we have been able to talk via email and get some things accomplished.  I think it's really starting to hit me that in a short 22 weeks we will be bringing home baby Parker and our lives will be forever changed by this little guy we already adore so much.  Here is a little recap of the past week...

Childcare- As many of you know, I absolutely LOVE my job and I go into work every day with a smile on my face and feel very accomplished and appreciated in my role.  I work with the best people, have so much fun on a daily basis and just love what I do.  When I was working in the insurance world I wanted to be a stay at home mom because it had become incredibly stressful and I would dread going to work every day but after being in a job I love and being home on unemployment for three months, I decided that I didn't think being a stay at home mom was really for me.  My mom always worked and she has told me that she was a better mom because she was able to interact with adults, do something she was good at and could provide so many more opportunities for us because there were two incomes coming in instead of just one.  When we started undergoing fertility treatments, we began to seriously compare the pros and cons of me working versus me being a stay-at-home mom.  After many hours of conversations regarding the matter, we came to the conclusion that I would stay at work and we would find someone to watch baby Parker during the day.  A lot went into this decision but some of the key points were my incredible benefits including my health insurance that covers IVF 100%, which we will most likely need to do again in order to give Parker a sibling, the enjoyment and satisfaction I get out of the work I do and the extra income to do the "fun" things such as traveling, going out to eat, golfing, shopping as well as turning our house into a home and paying someone to do the not so enjoyable things like cleaning and mowing the lawn.  While being a working mama isn't for everyone, I feel like for now it's the right choice for our family (although this very well could change when he comes) and am looking forward to the new challenge of it and turning the moments when I am not at work into quality moments with my hubby and son.

After making the decision that I wanted to stay at work (after taking advantage of my three months of maternity leave of course), Mike and I were trying to figure out who we would trust to watch baby Parker.  We looked into multiple options including family, care.com and daycare and I after a lot of research, I think we found a wonderful facility to watch him.  It's called Christ Lutheran and it was recommended to me by many people and it is literally 3 minutes from my house.  They have a fantastic Early Childhood Education program with great reviews and credentials and are very reasonably priced.  Mike and I have an interview set up when he is back and I am really excited and relieved to have found such a great and trustworthy place to watch him because it will make the transition of going back to work that much easier.  Wow, the decisions that come with parenthood are crazy and it makes becoming a mama so much more real.    

Maternity Clothes-  Baby P is getting bigger by the day so I finally made the time to buy some maternity clothes.  I don't know why I was so resistant to buying maternity clothes (maybe because I wasn't sure where to shop), because they are SO much more comfortable than trying to stuff myself into my normal jeans and work pants.  As much as I wish Express had a maternity section, they don't, so I have found myself at Target, Motherhood, A Pea in the Pod, Marshalls, TJ Maxx and other various places trying to find reasonably priced, but still stylish items to wear.  I have found most of my stuff at Motherhood, including some tops, jeans, work pants and skirts, but have also found a couple of things at A Pea in the Pod and Target.  My sweet friends Annie, Liz and Rachel also gave me a bunch of stuff so I feel much more prepared as this belly of mine gets bigger. 

Stuff for Baby Parker- I think that we have settled on this crib set and Mike and I are going to go look at it when he comes home next weekend before he leaves for his 5 week stint in Europe.  My friend Rachel, who had her son the day after Baby P is due, told me that she waited until Black Friday to buy all of her baby stuff and she was able to get a great deal on everything so I think that's what we will probably do as well.  We have also decided that his room will probably be a blue, grey and white color scheme and I am now on the hunt for crib bedding.  It's fun to have an idea of what his room will look like though and again, makes it so much more real!

I am really obsessed with grey and blue right now, as well as blankets and have been buying a lot of both (seriously I should really stop buying blankets because I probably have 20 already).  They are just too cute and I am slightly obsessed with buying blankets for myself so mini blankets with cute designs are even more fun to buy!  

I also found this adorbs boppy cover on etsy...

 

as well as this dapper Utes polo... 

 

 

and these super cute onesies we bought the day we out we found out Baby Ricci was a boy. 

 

 

Marshalls and TJ Maxx actually have some great baby clothes at a super reasonable price and I can't wait to see what little Parker will look like in all of this fun stuff!

 

In Other News... Ok, enough about baby stuff (as you can tell it's kind of consuming my life.)  As I mentioned, Mike has been in Europe working with Airbus on a new airplane design and will be there on and off for the next 2 months.  While we miss him here, he has had a great time exploring Spain and southern France, trying new food and living the European lifestyle.  I will actually be going out to visit him in October for 10 days and I am really excited to explore France and visit Paris and the Eiffel Tower and cross something on my bucket list.  Mike has been sending me pics of his adventures so here they are...

 

 Outside of Mike's hotel in Toulouse

 

Spain

 

 

 

 

My cute hubby sent me this from Spain...

 

as well as these beautiful flowers.  I really am a lucky wife.

 

 

Baby Miracles... In addition to our own miracle, the prayers of two of my sweet friends were also answered.  Do you remember this previous post about Taylor looking to adopt?  Well at the end of August, Taylor and her hubby Darren were blessed with their sweet little boy Cohen through the miracle of adoption.  He is adorable and I am so glad her wait for her little one is finally over.  She truly deserves the happiness and love this little boy is bringing into her life.

 

My dear friend Hannie also has been trying for the past three years and after a round of IVF, she was blessed with the miracle of pregnancy and is currently 8 weeks with her little one.  I am so thrilled for her and her hubby Ryan and love that our babies will only be 10 weeks apart.  She and I have been friends for 14 years and I feel like we are kindrid spirits and have gone through many of the same experiences at the same time.  She truly is one of my constants and I know I can count on her for anything.  Love you Han and I am so happy you are on your journey to motherhood and will be a fantastic mama!

 

 

2012 has been an amazing year and it just keeps getting better.  I really feel truly blessed.  Hope you all have a great week!