Ready for school...

Okay, not really, but if he could... he'd be on his way! I don't know why he's suddenly talking about going to school so much, but he is and he's very excited because he thinks he'll get to ride the school bus as well. Travis told him that I was going to be sad when he leaves me to go to school and now Tyler tells me in a pathetic voice, "You're not happy with my school?" haha. I suppose we'll start looking into a preschool program soon. Next Fall will be here before you know it (and I'm already sad just thinking about him going!! It will be separation anxiety at it's very worst- on my end, of course!).

Nursery is Complete

I thought it would be fun to show pictures of how the nursery was set up for Tyler and how it's set up now. It was heartbreaking to take all of Tyler's stuff down, but I had a ton of fun shopping for new girl decor. I said that I wasn't going to cave in to the pink craze, but it's HARD! Everything is pink and pink is so girlie/cute! I've been sucked in! haha. A lot of people have already given me a hard time (jokingly) about setting up the room and then not using it again, but the truth is, Tyler played in his room almost daily and we had a lot of fun in it... he just never slept in it. I'm thinking that with having Tyler in his big boy room next door, it will make the transition of moving her to her room a lot easier. Of course, I say that now... guess we'll see. Fingers crossed. ;-)

Walking into the room before. Theme: Little Fishies.


Walking into the room now. Theme: 'Where flowers bloom, so does hope.'




New dollhouse bookcase~






I painted this tree to match the bedding~

Baby Sprinkle

I had been back and forth about having a baby shower for our little girl since our family and friends went completely overboard for Tyler and we already have everything (seriously, I had a pretty big shower with family and friends, a couple's shower with all of Travis' friends, a work shower and a brunch with my girls where they pampered ME with gifts while I was preggo with Tyler), but I really did want to do something to celebrate our new baby, so my mom and bestie, Ashley, put together a little 'Baby Sprinkle,' which was more of a girlie get-together here at the house this past Saturday. It was supposed to be 'simple' (no decorations, etc.), and yet they brought bouquets of flowers, balloons and a yummy lunch (baked potato bar, fajita meat, chips/dips, veggies, desserts and mimosas!). Everything was great(!) and it was so much fun to spend a couple of hours with my close girlfriends and 'the grandmas.' I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful group of ladies around me and it makes me miss my girl time!! Our little one made out with a lot of adorable clothes, blankets and diapers and I think we're completely set now! :-)







My two wonderful hostesses~


Some of the girls (wish I got one of everyone and one with the Grandmas)~


One of my besties, Danika- we're 7 weeks apart (she's about to pop any day!)~


And just a sample of the a.dor.a.ble clothes we got~

New Big Boy Room!

After searching for nice furniture, and returning our box spring to get a low profile one so that Tyler's bed doesn't sit too high, and getting a good guard rail so that he doesn't fall out of the bed, and getting a video monitor so I can check on him anytime I want, and installing fire extinguishers in all the rooms upstairs, and replacing batteries in the smoke detectors, and child-proofing the bathrooms, and getting the right decor for our little boy that has many interests (we ultimately chose car decor), and picking out the perfect/cozy sheets and comforter (I say 'perfect' because I must have bought and returned 10 different sets before choosing the one we kept- what else is new, right?), Tyler's big boy room is FINALLY complete! And after we've exhausted all excuses on why we haven't started letting him sleep in his room (from Uncle Justin staying with us, to being sick, to holiday madness), he is FINALLY sleeping in his room and has been since this past Saturday! YEAH!

Of course, we couldn't just throw him in there on his own... yet. I lay with him until he falls asleep for his nap and Travis is actually sleeping on an air mattress next to him at night and then I take Travis' place when he gets up and goes to work in the mornings. It has worked well for Tyler so far and I'm not sure how long we will continue doing this new routine, but I think we ALL have to ease into this transition. We're just not completely comfortable with sticking him upstairs by himself after he's been snuggling next to us for the last 2 1/2+ years. And, we still have to set up our home alarm system before letting him be so far away from us alone (okay, so I am THAT crazy mom.... I don't care!). I do have to admit that I love having the king size bed all to myself, where I can spread out and surround myself with pillows, but I'm still so sad that my little boy is growing up so fast and my snuggle days are really nearing an end. I know that this HAS to happen before our little girl gets here, but I can honestly say that even though co-sleeping was the one thing I was firmly against (before Tyler's first night at home, obviously) and despite the many mornings I complained about having to breastfeed all night or how I didn't sleep well because Tyler's feet were planted in my sides... I am really glad that things ended up the way they did and I have been able to wake up next to my sweet baby every morning. He'll never remember these days and yet I'll cherish them forever. It was absolutely worth any sleepless nights I ever had.

Regardless of how I feel about Tyler sleeping in his new room, he absolutely loves it and I actually love the way it turned out as well.

These pictures came out pretty dark. The furniture is stained in espresso, but it's not black and the comforter is blue, not black.




I'm definitely not crafty or artsy, but I actually painted this road! Once Tyler is sleeping in his room by himself, his train table will go next to his bed.




View to the closet and Tyler's bathroom. Next on the list: letting him pick out some fun bathroom accessories.


Closet: Travis built these nice shelves!


And this is what the slumber party looks like at night. :-)

28 week Pregnancy Check-up

28 weeks and 3 days to be exact! :-) Just a little over 11 more weeks to go... crazy! I had to do the 1 hour/gestational diabetes testing this morning and that sugar/syrup drink had Little Miss amped and ready to go! She was kicking up a storm during the appointment, which made for some fun conversation while trying to get her heart rate. Her heart beat is now in the 140's- slowing down a bit, but she's becoming increasingly active and getting A LOT stronger. I hope we didn't jinx ourselves with all the talk about having a super calm baby in comparison to Tyler because of how laid back she appeared at the anatomy ultrasound appointment. She is definitely a mover and shaker now (not so laid back), and her most restless period is between 10pm-2am. I sure hope she doesn't think she's going to continue that schedule when she gets out here. [sigh]. Just thinking about the sleepless nights again is exhausting. She is in a horizontal position across my belly and the doctor says that they typically take a little longer to move head down in the second pregnancy (probably between 32-34 weeks). I gained 5lbs this past month, but on a very happy(!) note, I just realized that I have been stressing over thinking I am gaining more weight or gaining it at a faster rate than I did with Tyler for nothing! I finally dug out Tyler's baby book (should have done that a long time ago!) and not only am I right on track with my weight gain during pregnancy with Tyler, I am actually one pound less at this point!! I can handle that! Looks like I will be indulging in cheesecake or something to make up for that one pound difference! haha. I start going in for check-ups every two weeks now, so there will be more to report soon.

As for how I'm doing: I'm feeling big, slow and tired these days (I know... I still have a long way to go!). Still having some back pain and I'm adding insomnia and really bad round ligament joint pain to my symptoms list now. I wouldn't mind one bit if she decided to come a little early (not too early though) and relieve me of some of these pregnancy symptoms.

28 week belly. Total weight gained so far: 19lbs


27 week comparison with Tyler


And this just cracks me up!!