GG's Nursery

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to share the details

of our baby girl's nursery.

It has been ready for a while now but I just kept forgetting to take pictures.

I hurried through the room with my camera yesterday

so I apologize if any details are missing.

 

We plan on this room being the nursery for as long as we stay in this house.

For that reason, we have kept things pretty neutral in case our next babe is a boy.

 

 

 

 

^^^ I am somewhat obsessed with wreaths. ^^^

I found this one made of twigs at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section.

My dear friend, Kelly, made the bows as decorations for GG's baby shower.

They were too precious not to reuse in her nursery.

I picked my favorite two bows and simply hot glued them to the wreath.

 

 

^^^ We got her crib on one of our IKEA trips.^^^

We love grey, obvi, so we picked the grey-brown wash.

I love how simple it is and apparently it turns into a toddler bed

but I have no idea how just yet.

 

The bedding is from Land of Nod.

I love the patterns but am a little disappointed with the fit.

My perfectionistic brain can hardly handle the white

that shows from the top of the bedskirt.

And, I am sure this was my fault for not paying attention to the details when I ordered it

but the bedskirt has panels on all four sides,

making it difficult to position under the mattress evenly

since our crib is closed on both sides.

 

 

^^^ My mom {aka Gigi} gave us this PB Kids rocker ^^^

 when we officially made it through the first trimester.

For a while, it was really the only furniture in the room.

I absolutely LOVE it!

We also ordered the legs that go with it,

so when we are finished with rocking babes

we can replace the rockers with legs

and use it as a regular chair within our home.

^^^ My dad {aka Papa P} bought GG her PB Kids quilt ^^^

and Gigi embellished the lampshade sitting behind the rocker.

^^^ Next to the rocker, we placed a small end table from IKEA^^^

with a coral tray from Target which holds a beautiful Bible verse {from Kelly & Amanda},

GG's pacis {in a jar from Home Goods}, and her iPod dock/sound machine.

 

^^^ We snagged the round rug at a garage sale in the spring.^^^

The two ottomans below the window are from Overstock.com

and the grey ruffle curtains are from Urban Outfitters.

 

My brother and sis-in-law gave us the animal prints for Christmas.

They are so precious!

We have 4 total: a lamb, piglet, fawn, and kit {baby fox}.

We framed them in white IKEA frames.

 

 

 

^^^ Our dresser is also IKEA. ^^^

{We really made the most of our two trips during pregnancy.}

My bro and sil also gave us the "G is for greta" print

which we put in a gold frame from Home Goods.

The changing pad is secured to the dresser with rug grippers

and the cover is from Land of Nod to match the crib sheet.

The dresser handles are from Anthro

and the mirror is from Home Goods.

^^^ Next to the dresser we have a wicker chair that I have had since high school. ^^^

I think it is from Pier 1 but I am not 100% sure about that.

The pillow was a gift from Al's parents from Urban Outfitters

and the sheep skin is from IKEA.

We ordered the green morrocan pouf from Overstock.com.

 

^^^ GG's bookshelf is {surprise, surprise} from IKEA ^^^

and so is her little wicker chair.

The coral pillow is from Target.

The owl hooks on either side of the book shelf were a gift from my aunt

from the local shop, Work the Metal.

 

I sure hope our little princess enjoys her room.

We can not wait to meet her tomorrow

and hopefully show it to her Monday!

Baby on the Brain

Hilarious Evian commercial!

39 Weeks

{Picture taken at 38 weeks}

How far along? 39 weeks
Weight gain? 31 pounds
Maternity clothes? Ummm... yeah. And, since GG has dropped, most of my maternity pants don't fit anymore -- it's awesome... NOT!
Stretch marks? No :)
Sleep? Well, since we purchased our king sized bed from IKEA I have been sleeping so-so-so soundly {with the exception of a few sleepless nights}. It is truly a miracle mattress!
Movement? Yes!... and I LOVE it!!  She is big enough now that when she moves my whole belly moves. It is so much fun! I crack up every time it happens.
Food cravings? Not really. I haven't had the best of appetites lately to be honest.
Anything making you queasy or sick? It has been pretty common the past couple of weeks for me to wake up nauseous and not be able to shake it all day. And... I have been getting SO HOT! Thank the Lord I wasn't pregnant during the summer. The second I get hot, I swell up like a puffer fish and feel super claustrophobic. It's really uncomfortable.
Wedding rings on or off? On ... sometimes! If I am hot, forget about it! If not, they fit just fine.
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy... SO HAPPY!
Looking forward to? The arrival of Greta Grace -- just one week from today! I can not wait to meet this little girl and kiss her face and wrap her in a soft blanket and soothe her when she cries and dress her in all sorts of pink and watch her sleep and hold her hand and wiggle her toes and smell her skin and love her until my heart bursts!

Babymoon BUST!

Last Saturday, 

Alex and I had intended to set out on a big adventure to Cincinnati

for our last huh-rah before Greta made her debut.

We knew we wanted to do something special, just the two of us,

but didn't have the vacation days

nor the finances to make a true babymoon work.

So we decided a nice romantic day trip would suit us just fine.

Our original plan included a quick trip to IKEA in the morning

{to get some last minute items for the nursery and our KING sized bed}

and then a full day of exploration and discovery downtown

with a romantic dinner to top it all off before we drove home.

Let's just say, things did not go according to our plans.

You see, we had this trip planned for over two months now.

Last weekend was the only weekend we could make it work.

Between traveling {to Chicago & Asheville}, baby showers, 

and other local events that we had previously committed to,

our humble little babymoon was only possible on this particular Saturday.

The BUST part of our babymoon all started when

we had mistakenly not anticipated for the interference 

the Final Four games would cause us.

Our beloved Louisville Cardinals played against the Wichita State Shockers at 6PM,

making our romantic dinner {that was supposed to top off the whole day} rather tricky.

We had already picked out a restaurant in downtown Cincinnati, 

so Alex called ahead to make sure they were going to be playing the game. 

Since they said they were, we thought we were all set 

and could maintain our original schedule without any further modifications.

 

But as we were driving our borrowed SUV with an attached trailer up I-71,

we realized maneuvering this beast of a motor vehicle 

downtown might be more than we had bargained for.

So, we created a new game plan for our lovely babymoon

and decided to just go up to IKEA, return home and unload our goods,

and then hit up some local hot spots in Louisville for more of a staycation kind of babymoon.

We were pretty proud of ourselves for adjusting to our new babymoon plan so easily

and went on our way to IKEA with smiles on our faces.

Originally we had planned to spend an hour, maybe two, in IKEA.

I had scoured the website weeks in advance and had a very specific list.

We thought we would be in and out and on our way to babymooning fun in no time!

{If you have every been to IKEA, you might be laughing at our naivety at this point,

because surely no one on God's green earth has ever made it through IKEA in under two hours.} 

We ended up spending three hours there
and we didn't even stray too much from our original mission, 

whizzing by all those adorable and perfectly furnished 500 sq. ft. apartments.

 

When we finally made it out of the time-sucking warehouse 

we then had the delightful task of packing the car.

I think we both {wrongly} assumed the mattress and box-springs

 of our new KING bed would easily lie in the trailer bed. 

This was not the case.

We ended up packing the back of the SUV several times 

before some old-and-very-sweet man came to our rescue. 

He was a car packing wizard 

and I wish I had him with me for every move and roadtrip in our future. 

He was absolutely brilliant at packing the back of the SUV and the trailer.

At this point in the day we were both famished and HAD to stop for lunch.

 

We decided on Jimmy John's and had a nice "romantic" meal

 over a couple of subs, some delicious chips, and a shared cup of water.

When we got back on the road we realized that by the time we made it back to our place

we would only have a solid 45 minutes to get everything carried inside before the UofL game. 

I am not really sure what kind of optimism we were both clinging to but we, again naively, 

believed that would be plenty of time to set up shop at home
and then whisk away to a nice (truly) romantic 

dinner with a TV nearby so we could still cheer on the cards
and maintain some aspect of our original intention for the day.

My dad met us at our home shortly after we pulled in to help us unload the trailer and trunk.

He was a mighty big help but despite his valiant efforts, 

we did not get everything situated before the start of the game. 

For obvious reason, we were all a little anxious to watch the game

so we decided to leave everything where it was 

{which I will admit was a little rough on this nesting-hard, 37-week preggo, 

but I took one for the team and decided to just walk away from the mess}

and go and watch the game.

We totally crashed a friend's house last minute
{because, remember, we don't have cable}
and were totally stoked the Cardinals won!

But, then we realized we didn't have a bed to sleep on that night.
Before leaving for IKEA in the morning,
Alex had taken apart our bed in order to make room for the king.
So, when we returned home after the game,
we called the strongest friend we have and he and Alex carried the bed inside.

 

It was quite the process actually.
Turns out king beds are HUGE!
Leave it to our naive and humble hearts,
to fully believe we would be able to carry this mattress
up our narrow stairs with no problem.
Thankfully, after some careful planning,
the boys were able to get the bed up the stairs.

Even though we were totally excited to have our new bed in our room,
Alex still had the daunting task of assembling the bed.
Again, our naivety took us by surprise here
because we thought this might be a 45 minute task
but, oh no, it turned into a couple of hours.



We had the bed made at 12:45AM
and crashed so hard,
I am not sure if I even remember climbing into bed.

So.... babymoon turned out to be a BUST!

No exploration of the city.
No romantic dinner.
No fun discovery shopping.

But, I think it might have been God's way of preparing us
for the unpredicatability of parenthood.
The most well-intended plans will go awry,
and from what I hear, they will go awry more often than not.


And, we are totally grateful that despite not having the most romantic of days
we did get to spend it together and we did get a NEW KING SIZED BED
and the Cardinals did win their game and we just have a lot to be grateful for.

A Message from Cody-Bear

 

Hey there.

I know, it's been a while. Quite a while, in fact.

But, you see, my parents have been obsessed with this thing they refer to as GG

and have sort of forgotten my internet privileges.

Anyway, Mom remembered today, so here I am!

 

And... back to this GG...

I totally knew something was up WAY before they did -- feline instinct.

At first, I was not cool with it AT ALL.

I am the baby, darnnit!!

So, I attacked Mom a lot hoping that she would get super annoyed

and change her mind

and somehow, pouf!, not be pregnant anymore.

But, that didn't happen.

 

Eventually, I came around to the idea of sharing the spotlight with another little

and have actually taken a liking to the idea over time.

 

My parents finally did something with that horrid {empty} guest bedroom.

Remember the double wall-paper?!

 

I wouldn't even go in that room with those awful patterns layered one on top of the other.

Not to mention, the disgusting dust and general grossness left behind

from the rents half-way attempt to peel the ugliness from the walls.

 

Now that they have cleaned it up a bit

{Mom says she will post a nursery update soon}

I love being in there.

They put a stool right below the window just for me to perch up on.

I guess I will keep an eye on GG from there, too.

 

I don't know what has come over me.

 I am sort of feeling protective of this little GG.

 

I can't have any sister of mine be pestered by birds, bugs, or mice.

{Don't worry, GG, I am pretty good at showing them who's boss!}

 

Also, Mom and Dad have talked a lot about being a good older sister

and not scratching her or biting her or peeing on her...

 {you get the point}

so I guess I can just be nice and cuddle and watch out for her.

 

 

 

 

But, I am totally confused as to why my mom is STILL pregnant.

Us cats pop those pups out (see what I did there) in nine weeks flat.

Not that I would ever know... Mom never lets me out of the house,

so I will never be able to find a suitable mate

{not that I would really want to be in the filthy outdoors anyway. Ew! Gross!}

 

Anywho!

This whole GG thing seems to be a L-O-N-G waiting game

and I am handling it pretty well, thanks for asking!

 

 

Nothing but Nesting

 

After thoroughly scouring the web {Pinterest being the most helpful source} for tips

 on how to best prepare for the postpartum recovery process,

I came up with a list of items to have ready to go

for when I come home from the hospital.

 

Alex and I spent a large portion of a Saturday

walking through aisles in Target I hadn't previously known existed.

It was much more daunting than I had mentally prepared for.

In fact, there may have been a moment of miscommunication

in the breastfeeding aisle and I may have nearly started crying

and I may have told Alex to not look at the aisle behind us because I really needed him. 

It was like I became emotionally and physically paralyzed over disposable breast pads.

Surely it was not the breast pads' fault but

this particular Target shopping trip made everything seem so real.

It was overwhelming to say the least but also super helpful in the end.

Now that everything is nicely organized in a basket in our bathroom,

I can rest easy knowing I have everything {or nearly everything}

I will need for a healthy recovery

when I come home with our bundle of joy.

 

Here is the list:

 

-Two packs of 6 Hanes cotton undies

{that I can throw away if necessary}

 

-Always extra-absorbent pads

 

-Tucks wipes

 

-Dermoplast

 

-Colace

 

-Witch Hazel

 

-Nursing bra

 

-Nursing tank

 

-Disposable breast pads

 

-Reusable/washable breat pads

 

-Nipple shield

 

-Nipple cream

 

-Infant formula

{just in case the breastfeeding gig doesn't work out}

 

-A pair of fuzzy slippers

 

-Sitz bath

{I actually found this at CVS}

 

 

 

I have obviously never recovered from birthing a child before,

so I am hoping this list is sufficient.

 

Moms, got any other suggestions for me?

Anything I left off the list?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrapbook

^^^ Alex and I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of GG's last shower. ^^^

The shower started at 5:30

which was just 30 minutes after tip off in the NCAA tournament game

 of our beloved Cardinals against Colorado St.

Thankfully the Cards won;

or else it would've really put a damper on the whole party.

We ate dinner at halftime

and opened presents after celebrating our team's sweet victory!

L, Yes!

^^^ My aunt Debbie's contribution to the shower decor. ^^^

She makes THE BEST desserts!

 

^^^ Macklin & Eli kindling their romantic relationship early. ^^^

 I did a horrible job taking photographs during the shower

{no blog recap this time}

but I am praising God above that I just so happened to have my camera

nearby when these two lovebirds decided they couldn't resist each other any longer.

 

 

^^^ Homemade pizza! It doesn't get any better than this.^^^

 

I am beyond picky when it comes to food.

It has more to do with my sensitive tummy than it does with my taste buds

but, nonetheless, eating out can seem like a real downer when you are with me.

I am usually not very adventurous and can find fault with just about any and all seasoning.

Pizza sauce is one of the worst offenders when it comes to upsetting my stomach.

Therefore, Alex and I have learned to master the sauce-less pizza at home.

Trader Giotto's pizza dough + cherry tomatoes +

mushrooms + baby spinach + cheese {lots of cheese} =

my FAVORITE pizza in town!

 

 

 

^^^ School baby shower ^^^

 

A few women at work hosted a baby shower for me

and the FOUR other expecting teachers at school.

It was such a thoughtful and kind gesture.

 

 

 

 

Maternity Favorites

I am forever grateful for our dear friend, Jenna,

and her God-given talent to take beautiful photographs.

 

She is such a blessing in our lives;

much beyond her mad photography skills.

She is one of the most encouraging and kind-hearted women

I have ever been blessed to know.

Jenna has a way with words,

a way that lifts you up and

a way that speaks truth straight into your soul.

Her gentle spirit eases anxiety

and her calm, confident demeanor

makes even the most awkward

{big red arrow pointing at ME}

 feel comfortable.

 

If you are in the Louisville area

and are in need of a talented photographer,

I highly recommend Jenna Maddux.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is crazy to look back at these photographs from 6 weeks ago!

My belly has grown SO much since then.

And to think that I thought I was big then ... HA!