New Uses for Old Things

Since it took me several days to craft together this etsy-inspired sign/banner for Kyle's Baptism, I couldn't possibly trash it after only a few hours of use. For the time being, I've decided to hang it from the curtain rod in his nursery. The colors go really well with his room, and it actually looks like it was meant to go there all along. God Bless Kyle! (night after night after night ...) ;)

K-Y-L-E

Our latest addition to Kyle's nursery. He'll be spelling his name in no time! ;)

Kyle L.O.V.E.S. Frames (or pictures) ;)

We finally got a few of our professional pictures framed (thanks to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and their 20% coupons that NEVER expire) and hung (thanks to Chris and his big boy tool kit). It's a good thing too. Not only do the pictures add a little something to the nursery. They add a little something to Kyle's smile. Well, at least the frames do. Kyle LOVES frames! The verdict's still not out about the pictures. Or maybe it's the other way around? Who knows, but either way he is one smiley guy during diaper duty since the frames are on the wall next to his changing table.

Chickie's Nursery is FINALLY Finished!

We plan to hang some cute newborn photos around the wall decal.

Whooo's joining us ... baby boy Alp or baby girl Alp???

All washed, hung, and ready to try on!

It's All Coming Together ...

Since our showers, Chris has been busy putting together a couple of Chickie gadgets around the house. Check them out! Don't they look fun?! :)

"I'm Elmo and I know it ..."

The pack-n-play has dangling owls ... right up Chickie's ally :)

Popping Pumpkin

This past Friday (5/25), we rolled right into week 38 ... and since then time just hasn't bothered to pause and steal a moment's breath all weekend long. Chickie, popping out to pumpkin status, is now what they call "full term," meaning that he or she could potentially pop out to meet and greet everyone most any day now. Scary. But exciting. Thebump.com suggests that week 38 babies average between 6.2 and 9.2 pounds. I'm hoping Chickie is closer to the 6.2 side, although the relief I get from locking my hands together underneath my belly when standing for too long would suggest otherwise.

We had our weekly check-up last Wednesday. Nothing really new to report. It took the doctor what seemed like an eternity to find Chickie's heartbeat, so after lying there for a good 20 seconds of shear panic, it completely slipped my mind to ask what the heartbeat was. I was just happy to finally hear that light thumping, along with the doctor's reassurance that everything was perfectly a-okay. It seems as though Chickie was just curled up a little more toward the right side of my belly than the left side where she started with the monitor.

Friday night I had a little trouble sleeping. I kept waking up to unfamiliar stomach cramping. I'm not sure if I was experiencing mild contractions or rather reminders of the strawberry cheesecake I had enjoyed earlier that night with Chickie's Auntie LoLo. After a later start to Saturday, Chris and I eventually found ourselves all over Village Crossing. For once we actually came prepared. We were the people we always strive to be. The ones with all the right coupons, the gift cards, the agenda, and the energy to get it all done. Our first victim was Target. We picked up a new bookcase for Chickie's nursery to hold all the cute and cuddly stuffed animals that apparently are just plotting for parents to turn off the lights so they can suffocate their innocent children during the wee hours of the night. How horrible is that? No stuffed animals in the crib until Chickie can successful turn him/herself over. Got it. Our next victims included Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart. Yes, Walmart ... Actually, we were more the victims there. I had received two of the same receiving blankets, and after standing in line at customer service for a good day or so - and getting cut off by a couple of regulars - we made a quick return and went off in search of sour flavored suckers, a must have in my hospital bag, or so I'm told. Of course Walmart only sells sour flavored suckers inside a jumbo mixed candy bag that retails at $7.99 and only includes 2 - maybe 3 - sour flavored suckers max along with a bunch of candy neither Chris nor I wanted/needed, but after feeling that sense of pure suffocation that creeps in on you after stepping one foot in any Walmart store, we grabbed the bag and ran for our lives!  Little did we know that one of the first things we would find after strolling into the Babies R Us next door would be a bag of assorted sour flavored suckers. Dang. Along with the suckers, we also filled our cart with a few items to make my life easier while trying to nurse Chickie over the next year or so, and braved Walmart for one final return of the day. So maybe we weren't quite the people I always strive to be, but we sure got a lot of errands done for a little amount of gas, and that's certainly something to be proud of these days. After refueling with some PB&J, Arnold Palmer, and House Hunters, Chris and I headed out to Lake Villa for my cousin Matt's graduation from U of I. It feels G.R.E.A.T. to have another U of I alum in the fam. Even though we had a long day, Chris still found a little bit of energy to put together Chickie's bookshelf when we returned home from the party. I watched and took pictures :)

 

 

 

They've got the look.

It took a certain pregnant lady a good  hour to get them to stand for this shot. Lazy.

U of I Alums!

Hard at Work.

I found Nemo!

Chickie's Nursery (Part 12)

Check out what's been growing in Chickie's nursery!

Our "Larger" Sweet Honeydew?

So, thebump.com told me that Chickie was roughly the size of a honeydew melon around 33 weeks, and apparently they liked this fruit so much that they decided to use it again. At 36 weeks, Chickie is once again the size of a honeydew melon, just a larger, more riper one? Exactly 4 weeks from today marks my last day of work for the school year, and I'm crossing my fingers that Chickie holds out at least that long. We have so much to do between now and then that we really do need all the time we can get. Last night I washed all of Chickie's bedding so that we could finally put the mattress in the crib. While I was busy doing that, Chris put together the pack-n-play in the living room, as well as the car seat. We also went out to Babies R Us and bought a second car seat loading station so that we can have one in each of our cars, as well as two car mirrors, and a small bin to hold stuffed animals in Chickie's nursery. We're getting there, slowly put surely ...

Chickie's Nursery (Part 11)

I was doing SO WELL staying away from etsy, one of my fav craft sites, but this afternoon I couldn't resist the urge to take a little peak ;) What I found was this new vendor who sells really cute neutral nursery prints with woodland animals, so of course I spent 3 + hours searching through every single print - multiple times - and ultimately settled on the following three to spruce up one of the walls in Chickie's nursery.

Take a little peak yourself!

Chickie's Nursery (Part 10)

After three short hours, and plus or minus three minor back aches, Chris has officially checked off Chickie's dresser as another one of his weekend masterpieces! This nursery is really starting to come together ;)

Chickie's Nursery (Part 9)

The owl ceiling fan chains and hedgehog woodland light switch cover I purchased from etsy.com finally arrived! All critters were super cooperative upon installation, yet super unphotogenic when it came to their post-installation photo op. It was really challenging to pull off a good shot of the owls, what with the overhead lights blaring down on them and all. Despite the poor quality photos, the way the birds dangle and flutter around, mirroring a mobile of their own, really is very cute. Chickie is going to be in one enchanted trance for sure. It's all part of our master plan to promote the wonder that is nap time :)