Nursery is Finished!

The nursery is done--or more accurately--the nursery is as done as I hope to get it before the baby comes. Which is good since I'm due ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

So, without further ado....

The paintings on the wall aren't quite finished, but I'm done badgering my husband to get them done. I mean, after all, he cleaned the ENTIRE house today and did lots of odd jobs to get ready for the big day. I actually think he may have a touch of the "nesting bug". But, interestingly enough, the paintings were the whole inspiration for the room and I'm glad they at least have a place on the wall for now (even if they are missing some details).



As I've already mentioned, I love my rain gutter shelves. I am still planning on adding one more shelf when time allows.






I have big plans for the window in the room, but would like to determine the baby's gender before committing to the fabric. For those of you who don't know, the crib was made by my dad and Jason's grandpa who worked together for many months to complete it in time for the arrival of Amelia.



Poor Baby Pom Pom's shelves are a little barren. I am still working on what I would like to put on them. Once we know the gender, I think things will come together a little better.






I knew I wanted to do some vinyl stickers in the room but was having a hard time committing to a specific one. I found a HUGE set at Target and got it on sale for $9. I have only used about 1/4 of the stickers in the set and we are still playing around with their placement.






The two owls are my favorite and I move them around pretty much on a weekly basis.



Amelia loves the squirrel under the window.



The little hedgehog is a popular addition to the room too!



Baby Pom Pom has some pretty special gifts in his or her room as well. My extremely talented friend, Erin, whipped up this super special mobile for the room. If you stop by to see Baby Pom Pom (assuming he or she eventually comes), you will have to see this mobile in person!






Another friend, Susie, MADE this diaper bag for me! Beautiful, isn't it? I am still in awe at the talent of my friends.



Of course, she didn't stop at the bag alone, she also made a matching burp cloth.



My mother in law made this adorable baby book for little Pom Pom, too!



It has a page inside designated to capture each month of the baby's first year. The months are coordinated to the holidays that will be taking place at that time. For example, the "2 month" page has a Valentine's Day theme.



Love the first birthday page--I'm sure it wasn't easy making the whole thing so gender neutral!





One of my favorite pages because it matches the room so well!



Amelia even got to design a special "Me and Amelia" page!



And lastly, I couldn't resist a picture of my diaper/wipe stockpile. It is a little bit out of control, but I know it will dwindle quickly....



So, I guess all we need is the baby!

All in all, I am so happy with the way the nursery has come together! It makes me so happy to walk by the room and catch a glimpse of one of the special touches that took so much time to complete. I would have been in big trouble without the help of my parents and Jason to get it all ready. I hope she or he will be very happy there and look forward to perfecting it completely once the baby arrives!

The Craziness of Christmas!

In the midst of trying to get ready for Baby Pom Pom and Christmas simultaneously, I was afraid we would have to miss out on all of the fun activities to do this time of year. Surprisingly, we've gotten the opportunity to do TONS of things. My goal was to do a different activity each night for Advent (although some nights involved watching a Christmas special on TV). What I haven't had time to do is blog about each one. So, here I will just make a quick note of each one for future reference.

We actually started with this activity before we had even made it into the month of December. I bought a gingerbread house making kit at 75% off last year after Christmas and decided to give it a try with Amelia. It was perfect! So easy to assemble and she was really into doing it. An added bonus was using our own candy to supplement what the kit came with--no more Halloween candy in these parts!









I got my turn a couple of nights later at a Gingerbread House making party given by one of the moms in my playgroup. I had a blast making it and used the entire 3 hours allotted to complete my house.











Early on in December, Amelia's friend Natalie invited us to her school to have breakfast with Santa. Much to our delight breakfast was "catered" by McDonalds and was enjoyed by all. Amelia was determined to have me sit on Santa's lap and then decided she would sit on my lap. She was in mid-sentence telling Santa what she wanted when he said, "I'm having trouble hearing you, come closer" while grabbing for her at the same time. She wanted nothing to do with sitting on his lap after that, but he did talk her into holding his hand while Jason snapped a quick pic.



There were lots of cute crafts to make at Breakfast with Santa and even an opportunity for the kids to shop for family and friends without their parents. Amelia decided to pick out gifts for Jason and I as well as both grandmas, a friend, and our dog. Should be interesting come Christmas morning. The helper that took her to shop commented that Amelia "knew exactly what she wanted" and was finished shopping very quickly. I will say she must have done a good job picking out the dog's gift. Truman has attempted to open the gift (and only HER gift) on multiple occasions and it had to be put up from under the tree.



Also in early December, my dad got us tickets to see The Nutcracker at the Fabulous Fox. Although Amelia was familiar with the story, I was concerned she would be too young to last through an entire production. Turns out, I was wrong! She, Jason, Jason's mom, and I all got dressed up (which she loved, of course), had dinner, and headed to the show. She was pretty engrossed throughout the whole thing and told us her favorite part was watching the fight between the Nutcracker and the Mice King.

We also took a trip to Main Street St. Charles for their "Christmas Traditions" celebration. Unfortunately, the minute we stepped from the car it began to pour. We had to duck into the first shop we came to and luckily for Amelia it was a candy store. We somehow managed to kill some time in there until the weather let up. We strolled for a little while and went down to check out the ice skating rink, but the rain wouldn't stay away. We found a little cafe to get some hot chocolate, apple cider, and dessert. Even though the night didn't go quite as planned, it was still a really fun time!





Of course, we put up our tree as well. Amelia took the job of keeping the tree on the roof of our car very, very seriously. She did not let go of the string the entire 15 minute drive home.



Of course, we had to decorate our tree too. Yikes, look at that belly!






Amelia putting the finishing touch on our tree!



We checked out a very impressive Christmas lights display near our house. All of the lights were set to music that plays on a radio station. The owner of the home broadcasts the station from his house.



After walking by the giving tree numerous times at the mall during Stroller Aerobics, we decided to snag a few tags and grant some wishes. I was so proud of Amelia for taking the job of finding gifts for the kids we picked so seriously. In fact, after dropping off our first round of gifts, she talked me into picking up another tag because she was concerned that there were still so many left on the tree. I will definitely have to be more organized next year and start a little earlier in the charity giving process.



Over the weekend, Amelia and I joined our friends Natalie and Susie to visit Journey to Bethlehem at a nearby church. I have heard about this each Christmas season for the last several years and have been meaning to check it out. One year Jason and I even drove around aimlessly looking for it before giving up and returning home. It is essentially a live performance that starts inside on the stage. There they tell the story of Mary and Joseph. After about 45 minutes, you start an outdoor journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted for the census (basically you are following Mary and Joseph). You encounter characters along the journey including angels and the 3 Wisemen. There are also live animals and a fire at most stops to help keep warm. At the end of the journey, you arrive in the barn where you see Mary and Joseph rocking Baby Jesus. Afterwards, they even give you hot chocolate and cookies! I read somewhere that over 100 members of the church participate each year to make the event happen (I would imagine its more, though) and 14,000 took the "Journey" during its 4 day run. Amelia was a bit young (or was it the 45 minute wait outside to start the program?) and I'd have to think awhile before deciding to take her again next year. But, it will surely become a tradition for our family at some point--it was really beautiful.

Today we had the chance to bake lots and lots of cookies with GG. Amelia actually told me during the process that I "filled her bucket" because I let her crack an egg on her own while we were mixing up the chocolate chip batter. It really is the little things!

And lastly, one of my favorite holiday traditions happens each December with Jason's family. They hold a progressive dinner where we visit and admire each other's decorated homes for Christmas. And, of course, there is always a plethora of wonderful food at each location. I have no photos from this year, but it was wonderful as usual!

Last Minute Big Sister Stuff

So, wwwwaaaayyyy back in September (I believe), I attended a "Preparing for the New Baby" Parents as Teachers class. They gave some great handouts and lots of ideas for ways to involve your child in the preparations for the new baby.

We've done many of the suggestions so far, but the PAT class also gave us a few projects to work on with our children and I decided I better get them out! The first is a birthday cake coloring page--you know, since its the baby's "birth day". Amelia decorated it the way she wanted and I told her that it would go with us to the hospital to hang near the baby's bed so he or she could see it. She thought that was a great idea!

After I took this picture, she even added a little drawing of herself next to the cake. At some point, we will be putting the baby's name on the cake.

The next project is supposed to help the baby enjoy "tummy time" a little more. Amelia put all of the pieces together and glued them on with great precision.



The finished project! It stands up and gives the baby something to look at while they are on their tummy. It is also done in the black, white, and red hues that babies apparently love.



PAT also gave us some black/white drawings to mount on black paper and hang near the changing table so that the baby has something to look at during diaper changes. I decided to add to the creepy guy they provided with a few simple drawings of my own. Amelia liked coloring in the "pattern".

Hopefully these things will make Baby Pom Pom super calm and content (one can dream, no?)! If nothing else, we really enjoyed making them together as a family!

Dance Class Finale

I hesitate to actually call this a "recital", but I guess it as close as a three year old can come to one while taking a dance class through the Park District. I think the brochure refers to the final night of the six week class as a "See What We've Learned Performance", but recital is a little shorter, so I'll go with that.

Here, I asked her to show me her best ballerina smile.

We enjoyed the class, but 1 hour for the 3-4 year old set is a LONG time.

I was pretty proud of my girl for doing such a great job during her last class. There is something really cute about little girls in pink leotards trying to dance with the same grace and poise as their teacher.

Not only was Amelia's "recital" attended by her mom and dad, but GG, Papa, and Grandma also came to check it out. We also have the WHOLE hour on tape if anyone is interested ;)

Part of the reason Amelia did such a great job during her recital was because one of the kids spotted some cupcakes the teacher brought in and informed all of the other kids of their presence. Amelia pretty much went straight for the icing, but got a couple of cupcake bites in there too!

Extreme Nesting

Anyone who doubts that nesting is a real thing should just ask my mother. As I recently mentioned, 3 weeks from my due date with Amelia led us to a move in with my parents. And while I love them both dearly, they accumulate a lot of stuff. I wouldn't exactly call them pack rats or hoarders, but my dad gets tons and tons of great things from work (golf bags to luggage to electronics) that they have a hard time letting go of--even though they don't need the particular item. Luckily (or perhaps, unluckily) for them, I moved in while I was in the middle of my nesting phase and went to town.

And, before I hit my parents house up, I did my own. The people who bought our house during those final weeks of my pregnancy commented that the deal was sealed when they saw our basement. Although it was not finished, it was spotless and everything was organized and labeled with great care and precision. The buyers actually wrote our basement shelving into the contract. No doubt a direct reflection of the nesting instinct. We sold the house ourselves and I specifically remember pointing out a spot near the master bathroom window that I felt needed to be re-caulked about 20 minutes before our open house was scheduled to begin. Needless to say, I was asked to leave by my super-patient husband who managed to sell our house, unsealed window seam and all.

This time around, the nesting instinct has been a little different. I mean, sure, I spent an entire Saturday a month or so ago cleaning the entire refrigerator. I removed every shelf and drawer, wiped down every bottle, and discarded anything near its expiration date. A couple of days later I did the lazy susan of spices and baking goods.

But all in all, my nesting urges have been for BIG (read: expensive) projects that have been time consuming, but have produced big results. Luckily for me, most of these projects involved a lot of work---work that had to be done by someone else.

The biggest project we undertook was replacing our downstairs carpet with hardwood floors. The carpet, which we believed to be original with the house, was 12 years old and had lived through numerous children and pets. The thought of my little baby crawling on it was just too much for me. Not to mention it looked terrible too. The hardwood installation was done by Jason and a friend of ours and it went surprisingly well with very little inconveniences. And, it looks so much better!



(Still looking for a rug for the playroom. Amelia has requested a US Map rug and I've yet to find one that meets both of our requirements).



(We also put hardwood flooring in our dining room, but its still a mess in there, so I will spare you the photo).

Our next upgrade came at the hands of Black Friday when Jason and I got up at 3:30 AM to ensure the purchase of a new television. I am guessing the TV that we had (leftover from Jason's college days) was at least 11 years old. We knew it was time for another one and the price was right at Target. Merry Christmas to us!

Another example of extreme nesting was in our bedroom. Jason and I were both bothered by our mattress and knew it was time to invest in a new one. But, we had to make the decision whether we wanted to buy another queen or take the opportunity to update to a king-sized. You may have already guessed--we upgraded! Of course, we justified this by stating that in the near future there may be as many as two extra people in our bed on some nights.

Given our choice of moving to a king-sized bed also meant our hand-me-down queen furniture was no longer going to cut it. So off to the store we went and came home with some furniture we truly love (and actually fits the size of our room!). We are still in the process of finding king-sized bedding that we like, though.

And, last but not least, was the nesting in the baby's room. No surprise there, I'm sure. We had a big job ahead of us since the bedroom was a catch-all room of sorts. Its been a challenge trying to find a place for all of our junk...er stuff. Not to mention we needed to paint the room, put an organizer in the closet, and bring all of the baby furniture back upstairs. The room isn't done yet, but here is a tiny sneak preview.

One of my favorite parts of the room are the rain gutter shelves that my mom created last week. I had been wanting to plan a trip to IKEA for a bookshelf and ran out of time. In reality, this worked out much better because I think the shelves would have taken up too much room.





The room really is ready with the exception of a few finishing touches that I am so excited about--hence not wanting to show off the room until they are all in place.

One of the little touches that I am so proud of is Amelia's contribution to the room. This is her painting (that is finally finished, unlike someone else's...ahem, ahem). We used contact paper to block off the tree on the canvas and then let her go to town with some of the colors from the room. I love how it turned out and cannot wait to find just the right spot to hang it!



And so, there it is. I am hoping these next few weeks will bring some extra motivation and energy to get some more things done around here. Although, given the procrastinator that I've become, I wonder if I might have to wait until I go into labor to knock out the rest of my list...

Full Term

Ahhhh....what a great feeling to know that Baby Pom Pom has officially reached Full Term status. I was terrified that I would (for some reason) go into pre-term labor this time around. I think this concern was mostly fueled by my fear of the H1N1 virus. Come to find out I did ALL of that worrying for NOTHING! One of these days, I might learn....

So along with the "how are you feeling?" question, I have been getting the "are you ready?" question a lot. I could give the short answer and say yes. Or mabye I would say no. Because pretty much given the day and time, the answer changes. Of course, it also depends on what is meant by the term "ready".

For instance, am I physically ready to be done with this pregnancy?
Yes! The getting up 3-5 times each night is wearing on me. And I'm huge and uncomfortable and lacking energy.

Am I ready to be done with pregnancy in general given that this is 99% likely my last one?
I think so, but it makes me sad occasionally to think about it.

Is the room ready?
Uh, sort of. I mean a baby could comfortably sleep in there. The clothes are washed and hung and their is a ridiculous surplus of diapers. Although I am sure it won't be 100% to my specifications before baby arrives.

Are you ready for sleepless nights?
No!

Are you ready to figure out how to divide your time fairly between two children?
Er, no?

Are you ready for the guilt trips that you will get from your oldest AND youngest, possibly simultaneously?
Definitely not.

Are you ready to meet your little bundle of joy?
YES! I am getting very eager to learn his or her gender especially!

There you go! I guess from now on when someone asks, "Are you ready" I will just refer them to my blog. For what its worth, I feel a lot more ready than I ever did with Amelia. I wouldn't say that I DREADED her arrival because that wouldn't be entirely accurate, but I knew once she arrived everything would change for us and the changes are what I dreaded.

At this point in my pregnancy with Amelia (3 weeks until the due date) we were moving in with my parents after selling our house quicker than expected. We had to give one of our dogs back to her previous owner, prepare for a move to a new city in a new state, and put a lease on an apartment that we never once saw before move in day. Jason was changing jobs (and so was I for that matter). Things were pretty stressful to say the least and I knew that as long as Amelia stayed put, those things would not happen either. Luckily, it all worked out much better than we could have ever imagined and we survived all of those enormous life changes coming at us at once.

So, this time around, my only added stressor is Christmas and I think I can handle that given that I've had 30 years of practice.

So am I ready? Sure, bring it on Baby Pom Pom. Let's get this thing started!