Pregnancy and Family Update

Lots of people have been asking when I'm going to have this baby, how I'm feeling, or just how our family is doing. 

First, I have NO idea when this little girl will make her appearance in the world. I think most everyone knows that I'm opting for a natural birth with a midwife this time around. So unless there is a major problem, she will come when she and my body is ready! What I do know is that my due date is December 9, and my midwife will let me go two weeks (longer if everything looks good and healthy) past my due date. So anytime in the next few weeks :) 

I have been feeling ok, but am getting a little uncomfortable. On thanksgiving day, I started having cramping and my belly would tighten (maybe Braxton Hicks?). I've also been nesting. Cody and I spent all day Thursday cleaning and organizing. I've been getting last minute items packed, bows and headbands made for the little girl, and finishing decorating the nursery. 

One popular question I get over and over is, "are you ready?" The answer is yes and no! I am ready to see this little baby, hold her, and give her lots of kisses. BUT I still feel a little hesitation about the unknown--how will the birth go? How will breastfeeding go? How will Knox react? And I still have a few things I need to get done, like making up some freezer meals ahead of time. 

Everyone is doing great in our family. Cody is done with football season, which has made my life a lot easier! Knox is talking SO much and learning a lot. He loves learning shapes and colors. He also likes counting (he can count to 13 now) and singing (some of his favorite songs are the ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, and The Wheels on the Bus). It's so funny to hear what little phrases he picks up on and uses. 

Over the summer, we were on a mission to get Knox to sleep in his own bed, seeing as how we will have a newborn in bed with us soon and all four of us wouldn't fit in a queen bed comfortably. We moved his toddler bed into our room and put it right next to my side of the bed. I think it helped ease him into sleeping by himself, and if he got scared or had a bad dream in the night, he could just climb up and spend the rest of the night with us. To get him to sleep, I would lay him in bed with me, read a book, and then sing to him until he or I fell asleep :) Cody would then move him down to his bed when he came to bed. We had gotten really bad about falling asleep and not moving him or just leaving him in bed with us the last month or so (partly because he had a bad cough and wasn't breathing the greatest). 

I haven't been sleeping very well at all with him in bed with us--between his crazy sleeping positions and me being so big, it was very uncomfortable. So I decided the first day of thanksgiving break to try to get him to sleep in his own room. I made it seem like it was his idea and he got really excited. We moved his bed back in his room. The first night he slept all night in his bed, so I made a Mickey Mouse (his favorite) sticker chart. He got to put a Mickey Mouse sticker on it and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse when he woke up. When it was nap time that day, I explained to him that he needed to rest, that he didn't have to sleep but he couldn't come out of his room. I checked on him about 15 minutes later and he was awake still. I held him for a minute and then laid him back down. He fell right to sleep! He has now slept in his room all night for the last 3 nights, and has taken 2 naps in his room with little effort to get him to sleep. 

I can't believe how big he is getting! I do miss snuggling with him at night but I also have enjoyed the extra space in bed. I'm hoping this new sleeping arrangement sticks when the new baby gets here. I'm afraid he will be jealous that she gets to sleep with us. Although it wasn't always the most comfortable waking up with Knox kicking me in the ribs or smacking me in the face, I wouldn't change anything about it. Being a working mom, it seems like I miss out on spending time with him some days. Just having the extra 8 (or so) hours of snuggles at night help make up for that a little bit. 

Family and Pregnancy Update!

Lots of people have been asking when I'm going to have this baby, how I'm feeling, or just how our family is doing. 

First, I have NO idea when this little girl will make her appearance in the world. I think most everyone knows that I'm opting for a natural birth with a midwife this time around. So unless there is a major problem, she will come when she and my body is ready! What I do know is that my due date is December 9, and my midwife will let me go two weeks (longer if everything looks good and healthy) past my due date. So anytime in the next few weeks :) 

I have been feeling ok, but am getting a little uncomfortable. On thanksgiving day, I started having cramping and my belly would tighten (maybe Braxton Hicks?). I've also been nesting. Cody and I spent all day Thursday cleaning and organizing. I've been getting last minute items packed, bows and headbands made for the little girl, and finishing decorating the nursery. 

One popular question I get over and over is, "are you ready?" The answer is yes and no! I am ready to see this little baby, hold her, and give her lots of kisses. BUT I still feel a little hesitation about the unknown--how will the birth go? How will breastfeeding go? How will Knox react? And I still have a few things I need to get done, like making up some freezer meals ahead of time. 

Everyone is doing great in our family. Cody is done with football season, which has made my life a lot easier! Knox is talking SO much and learning a lot. He loves learning shapes and colors. He also likes counting (he can count to 13 now) and singing (some of his favorite songs are the ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, and The Wheels on the Bus). It's so funny to hear what little phrases he picks up on and uses. 

Over the summer, we were on a mission to get Knox to sleep in his own bed, seeing as how we will have a newborn in bed with us soon and all four of us wouldn't fit in a queen bed comfortably. We moved his toddler bed into our room and put it right next to my side of the bed. I think it helped ease him into sleeping by himself, and if he got scared or had a bad dream in the night, he could just climb up and spend the rest of the night with us. To get him to sleep, I would lay him in bed with me, read a book, and then sing to him until he or I fell asleep :) Cody would then move him down to his bed when he came to bed. We had gotten really bad about falling asleep and not moving him or just leaving him in bed with us the last month or so (partly because he had a bad cough and wasn't breathing the greatest). 

I haven't been sleeping very well at all with him in bed with us--between his crazy sleeping positions and me being so big, it was very uncomfortable. So I decided the first day of thanksgiving break to try to get him to sleep in his own room. I made it seem like it was his idea and he got really excited. We moved his bed back in his room. The first night he slept all night in his bed, so I made a Mickey Mouse (his favorite) sticker chart. He got to put a Mickey Mouse sticker on it and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse when he woke up. When it was nap time that day, I explained to him that he needed to rest, that he didn't have to sleep but he couldn't come out of his room. I checked on him about 15 minutes later and he was awake still. I held him for a minute and then laid him back down. He fell right to sleep! He has now slept in his room all night for the last 3 nights, and has taken 2 naps in his room with little effort to get him to sleep. 

I can't believe how big he is getting! I do miss snuggling with him at night but I also have enjoyed the extra space in bed. I'm hoping this new sleeping arrangement sticks when the new baby gets here. I'm afraid he will be jealous that she gets to sleep with us. Although it wasn't always the most comfortable waking up with Knox kicking me in the ribs or smacking me in the face, I wouldn't change anything about it. Being a working mom, it seems like I miss out on spending time with him some days. Just having the extra 8 (or so) hours of snuggles at night help make up for that a little bit. 

Bridal Shower Favors

Thanks to Dollar Tree, I was able to create a cute, cheap favor for the bridal shower I helped plan. I found favor boxes, ribbon, and tulle circles at the Dollar Tree. When I saw these, I started getting a vision in my head.

I decided to buy some various chocolates to go inside the boxes. I started by laying out two tulle circles since they were pretty thin. I then put some chocolates in the middle. I gathered the circle in the middle and tied it with the ribbon.

After putting the chocolates inside the favor boxes, I thought they looked a little too plain. I found some scrapbooking stickers that I had leftover from my wedding, and decided they would be great to decorate with!

And the finished product.....

Yarn-Wrapped Letters

The original inspiration for this project........

http://www.sarahortega.com/2011/05/diy-yarn-wrapped-letters.html

When I saw this project, I thought it would be a great gift for my soon-to-be-married friend. I bought two different colors of yarn: her favorite color, purple and a complementing color, teal. I found block letters at Wal-Mart, but they kind of bowed out on the ends, making it a little more difficult to wrap the yarn.

I followed the tutorial almost exactly. I used hot glue to glue down the start and end of the yarn. I also used hot glue around some of the edges that were sliding off. For the A, you can see how I did it by looking at the tutorial. For the T, I started by putting a vertical layer on the top part of the T. Then I put a horizontal layer all the way down the bottom of the T. I went back and put a horizontal layer across the top and a vertical layer from top to bottom in the middle. This way all the blank areas would be covered up!

I'm terrible at explaining things. I'm definitely better with showing. Maybe I'll start taking step-by-step pictures. Anywho, here's the finished product.......

Magnet Project

The original inspiration for the magnets...

http://www.creationsbykara.com/2009/05/glass-marble-magnet-tutorial.html

I found this post on craftgawker.com. I was excited to find an easy project as I was helping plan a bridal shower for a friend's wedding. When I saw these, I decided this would be a great idea for a prize for games we were playing. I found the glass marbles at the Dollar Tree (a whole bag for only $1!). I had some vintage floral paper laying around at home as well as brightly-patterned scrapbook paper. My friend loves bright colors, so I made some of each.

I followed the tutorial almost exactly. I used a different brand of glue, but it sounded about the same. I also decided to hot glue the magnets to the back instead of super glue. I made sets of four. I'm not sure why, but I guess I just figured four sounded like a good number. When I was finished, I wrapped them in a circle of tulle. I gathered it and cinched it together with a ribbon.

And the finished project...