The First 2 Months: Recap

Ok, so this "mom" thing totally takes some getting used to. I have taken a little hiatus from blogging, as you can see, to fully embrace my new found title and figure out what the heck this new life will be like. I have a new found respect for all you moms out there. This is by far the most important and difficult job I will ever accept. 

Dear Jackson,

 

You are now 2 months old! Where did the time go? The past 8 weeks have been pure joy  - despite those sleepless nights. You may have started your first week of life in the NICU at the hospital, but that didn't stop you from capturing the heart of your mommy and daddy from the first second we met you - even with scary heart monitors and IV lines. You are a happy and healthy little boy weighting close to 12 lbs now. In the last 3 weeks you have started smiling which literally makes my heart skip a beat. I hope you never lose that little twinkle in your eyes when you smile. I cherish this time we have together because I know I will blink and you will be going off to pre-school and I will be that crazy mom crying as I drop you off. I know this to be the case because today I dropped you off at daycare for the first time, and my heart literally broke into a million pieces. Like Kelly Clarkson sings, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Our time apart will only make our time together much more magical. I love you more than words could ever describe.

 

Love,

Your mommy

 

 

Baby Boy in the 'Burbs

Our little angel has finally arrived...

Welcome to the world baby Jackson!

August 14, 2013

7 lbs 3 oz

19.5 inches 

Pregnancy Moment #693

Today's pregnancy moment trumps all previous pregnancy moments I have had and makes those seem not even worthy of the title of a "pregnancy moment". BAHAHA.

Today I showed up at my OBGYN's office for my routine prenatal visit. Except it was the wrong day. DOH! The sweet receptionist smiled at me and said "That baby is sucking all of your brain juice". She was so sweet, bless her heart. We both got a good chuckle and went on about our days.

I am sure those of you who are moms are thinking that this is a very MINOR pregnancy moment and they will only get worse. I am not disagreeing with you. I believe that to be true.

Can't wait.

Patriotic Pinterest Project

With pregnancy comes laziness, no surprise there. But I was feeling the urge to do a project and came across this idea on Pinterest for red, white & blue painted mason jars. I am giving credit where credit is due and copied this blog's idea - where you can find the step by step instructions. It took a little bit longer than anticipated but I am pretty happy with the results. What do you think? 

Here is a a closer look... 

The only step I didn't do was coat with a clear enamel spray only because I just didn't have any. 

I hope you all have a 

wonderful & safe July 4th! 

Pregers Update:

33 weeks...and growing!

Showered with Love

This past weekend my mom & sister hosted a baby shower for my side of the family and some close friends. I can think of no better way to spend an afternoon than being surrounded by the ones I love and celebrate this wonderful time in my life. Kudos to my mom & sister for coordinating a wonderful and fun afternoon. They did an awesome job!

 

I was overwhelmed by everyone's outpouring of love and generosity. The "peanut" is truly blessed to be welcomed into such a loving group of people. A huge thanks also goes out to those who traveled such a long way to be there for the occasion. It really meant a lot to have them all by my side on such a special day. And another huge thanks goes out to my friend Katie of SugarPrints Photography for capturing the day in photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Note: All above photos (C)SugarPrints Photography)

 

 

 

 

29 Weeks

TRUTH: Pregnancy sucks the life out of you and makes you tired and also makes your brain turn to mush.

9 months sounds like an eternity but apparently it's not. I've officially entered into the 3rd trimester. My body now feels like a sausage casing. I know, lovely description, right? I find myself forgetting things mid-sentence, which I am sure has done wonders for my professional career. Proof that my brain has gone to mush...without missing a beat, I used the word "enlargen" in a sentence (I meant enlarge). And yes, I am a college graduate. Hold the applause, please. 

Overall, I am still feeling pretty good. Believe me, I have definitely had my moments, as the husbo can attest to :) But I really can not complain.

I've been lazy with taking belly progress pics, no surprise there. Here I am at 29 weeks. Please excuse the creepy work bathroom pic. And no, I am not holding my crotch, I am trying to hold my shirt in to make it appear less tent-like.

Nursery Pin-spiration

Obviously the next room in the house to get a makeover is the 2nd floor spare bedroom that will be transformed into the baby nursery. This room is currently the husbo's changing room. Let me explain. We have one closet in our "master bedroom" (if you can even call it that) which houses all of my stuff. So the husbo uses the closet in the spare bedroom. Works out great until you decide to have a baby and that room can no longer function as the husbo's changing/place-to-store-stuff-you-don't-know-where-to-put/crap room. Oh well. 

 Thanks to Pinterest, here is some nursery inspiration I found: 

PS-Still feeling great these days. The Peanut is moving around a lot more and I am enjoying every minute of it. And my belly is growing by the minute!

It's a...

AND WE ARE THRILLED! 

Literally speechless...

The Halfway Milestone

 Today I reached a milestone in my pregnancy - 20 weeks, otherwise known as the 1/2 way point. I am literally in awe at how fast things are progressing. When I first found out I was preggers, 9 months (40 weeks, really) seemed like an eternity to have something growing inside of you. Apparently not. 

We find out if "The Peanut" is a BOY or GIRL in 3 days. That's approximately 4,320 minutes or 259,200 seconds, but hey, who's counting?

Stay tuned for the reveal!


"A grand adventure is about to begin" - Winnie the Pooh

The Adventures of Emmit: Professional Paper Shredder

Who needs an electric paper shredder when you've got this guy?

Prego Update: 18 Weeks

Just a quick prego update for my friends and followers. I am in my 18th week. Holy crap time flies! I've resorted to calling what is growing inside my uterus as "The Peanut". The Peanut weighs approx 7 ounces and measures about 5 1/2 inches long from head to bum - about the size of a bell pepper. I'm still feeling great - let's hope that continues. I can no longer zip up or button my pants (my sis was right...this came out of nowhere!). Not a huge problem, except for the hours between 9am - 5pm when I must look presentable. I've been wearing a belly band with my regular pants, which has worked fine so far. But my maternity jeans (a la Liz Lange) with elastic waist band and lounge/yoga-type pants have been my best friends lately.

I have felt a few flutters of movement from The Peanut over the past few days. One of the most amazing reminders of the miracle that is growing inside me. I have 2 more weeks to go before the gender ultra sound. Stay tuned! 

"A moment in my tummy...a lifetime in my heart"

Kitchen Mini-Makeover: Reveal

I will warn you that you may be a bit underwhelmed by our kitchen mini-makeover. Let's just say that we gave our kitchen a few botox injections instead of a full face life. You know what I'm sayin'?

BEFORE:

In its original state, our kitchen screamed BLAH. It was a horrible combination of cream/white/yellow. I especially hated the white Formica countertops. Hated. Them. So with some help from our trusted handyman (not the husbo), we upgraded to classic butcher block countertops (courtesy of Ikea)...

We opted to seal them with a product called Waterlox to make them extra durable. We also invested in a new electric range hood. The original one was crusty, rusty and just plain gross. Oh, and that vintage brown eggs sign is courtesy of my parents. They had that in their kitchen in our childhood home. Love it! And check out that awesome curtain that was custom made by my talented Mom. THANKS MOM!

We had our 1960's metal cabinet doors (don't be jealous!)freshly painted white. Ahhh.

The new wall color is light gray. It's Martha Stewart's "cumulus cloud" (we chose to have the color matched in Benjamin Moore paint - per our handyman's suggestion). The ceiling and all the trim were also freshly painted. I can't stop staring, can you? Ha.

Yup, that's it folks. What do you think?

AFTER:

So much better than the BLAH before, right?!

Snow Day Project

I'm technically "working from home" today due to the snow storm hitting the Washington DC area. In between checking emails, snacking (a prego girl has to eat!), and watching all the daytime talk shows that I never get to watch, I tackled this quick project.

I've had this picture frame hanging on the wall for well over a year with no pictures in it. No surprise there :) I couldn't figure out what 3 pictures I wanted to frame. I am the WORST decision maker EVER. I came across this idea on Pinterest and decided to give it a whirl. I found 3 images online and printed them out using my color printer and regular old printer paper. Is this illegal? Probably.

I grew up in the great state of New Jersey (can I get a fist pump?). The husbo grew up in Maryland. And we now reside in Virginia. What do you think? 

Blonde Babbles

Babble #1: The reason for no kitchen makeover reveal post yet is simple. I forgot to take pictures this past weekend, and by the time I get home from work during the week, it's already dark out side which ='s poor pictures. Sorry. You are going to have to wait a few more days. Is the suspense killing you? I didn't think so.

Babble #2: My baby belly hasn't officially "popped" out yet...I don't think. The waist of my pants are definitely tight and in some cases, will not even close. But I have come up with a few creative and discreet ways to extend my waistband...shhh don't tell anyone. Ok? I just feel fat at this stage.

Babble #3: We celebrated Emmit's 3rd birthday last week. I can't believe he's 3! He enjoyed some doggie cupcakes from Sprinkles Cupcakes. Yippee!
 

Happy Friday everyone!
I promise to get back on the blog post bandwagon!