Saturday Mornings

Brett and Ems have been on their own for the last few Saturday mornings. I have had baby showers, garage sales and various other things to attend and while it's been fun, I do miss them. I also know that my moments alone are going to be far and few between once I'm back to a nursing schedule. I told them last night that they got to have a date together this morning and they both said "where are you going?" at the same time. It was cute. :)

Today they decided to wash my van while I was at a friends baby shower. Brett took some cute pics and they were too sweet not to share. Summer has finally arrived in Oregon and we're having a lot of fun enjoying the sun!

In less then a month....

My baby will be turning THREE years old. Her party is a week from tomorrow. We're going super simple and basically just having a bbq at the park with friends. I will be 37 weeks pregnant and needing to keep things nice and easy. :)

And...

I will have another baby in my arms. Because Everett was measuring kinda big last time, my dr. is pretty confident that she won't let me go much past my due date (which is officially one month from today).

It's hard to believe how in a moment your family can transform. So much to think about and do still. I laid awake at night, laughing at a story that my friend told me that night about PF Changs and going into labor, and all of the sudden couldn't sleep because I was afraid that if I did go into labor, our camera wasn't going to be charged. I would have gotten out of bed to plug it in but hauling this pregnant body out of bed didn't sound fun and I was too nice to make Brett go do it. Still though, it kept me awake for awhile.

Speaking of PF Changs, I had a super fun girls night last night with some of my closest friends from church. Last year when Rachelle was about to pop, I thought it would be fun to do a "last hurrah" for her before her life was overtaken by a sweet newborn. Who knew a year later I would be planning one for myself and another girlfriend (Stella's mom) who is due just 2 weeks before me! It was a great night!

Wordless Wednesday- Baking with Ems

Sibling Gift?

Pants are optional in our family apparently. :)

As the impending arrival of my sweet Everett David gets closer, I am thinking more and more about a sibling gift. I would say that most of my friends have had a gift for their child from the new baby at the hospital and vice versa. I think this is a sweet idea and I would like the gift to have some sort of special meaning if possible. That is where I look to you, blog friends, for any insight?

We decided that we are going to take Emersyn to "Build-a-Bear" and let her pick out any bear or animal that she wants to make for Everett. I think it will be cute to keep the bear in the crib until he is coming and then when it's time, she can pack him up in the little cardboard house container that they give you and bring it to the hospital for him. If Everett is anything like Emersyn, he will love it. She LOVES stuffed animals and gets very attached to them. She can go to sleep at night and have like 30 animals and babies in her bed (literally) and like 5 minutes after putting her down we'll hear her calling for whatever animal or baby that she left downstairs. It's so funny! Anyways, we are excited to let her pick something out for Everett from big sister.

Now my dilemma is what should Everett get Emersyn? I don't want to get her a stuffed animal from him because she really has so many already. A friend of mine that had a baby girl got the big sister a jewelry box from the baby and I thought that was sweet but more of a sisterly gift. What is a brotherly gift? I kind of want it to be something special and lasting, not like a toy or something. I just don't know. I'm not stressing about this by any means but would like to do something special. Maybe something that they can play together? Hmmm.

Let me know your thoughts!

Weekend

Saturday night I went to a lingerie shower which was actually just what I needed. It was for a family friend that is getting married in a couple weeks and Emersyn is the flower girl.

Side note: We went to a wedding a couple weeks ago (see picture above of the VERY happy girl with her glass of sparkling cider) and when we got home Emersyn saw her flower girl basket for the wedding she will be in later this summer. She picked up the basket and gave me the most pained and distraught look and says, "I FORGOT TO TAKE THIS TO THE WEDDING!!!!". It cracked me up, she totally thought that she had forgotten to be the flower girl. I explained that there is ANOTHER wedding coming up that she will get to use her basket at but she still seemed distraught. :)

Okay, back to my weekend recap. I went to the lingerie shower for the lovely bride to be (who actually used to watch Emersyn for me when I was working) and it was fun hanging out with a bunch of girls and celebrating sweet Erica. It was also a good distraction for me. I tend to obsess over things when people aren't pleased with me and it can literally make me sick and a bit crazy.

Got home from the lingerie shower and we painted the first coat of the nursery stripes!

(Pictures to come)

Sunday morning we overslept for church. Brett was desperate for a morning to sleep in since he hasn't had one in forever. Sleeping in isn't a big deal to me anymore for some reason but he loves it. I told him that we could let Emersyn be our alarm clock and I guess she needed the extra sleep too because she didn't wake up until 9. Brett was thrilled to sleep but I was kind of bummed to miss church. Oh well.

Had a lazy morning, went to Starbucks, ran some errands and came home to get some more things done around the house. Sunday night we went to a friends house for a BBQ to visit an old friend that is in town for a couple of days and that was a lot of fun. Emersyn actually came out of her shell a bit and was running and chasing some of our friends and that was fun to see. Last night when we got home we painted the second coat and then removed the tape and I have to say, the stripes turned out SO cute!!!!

All in all, an okay weekend. I'm so glad to get the painting done. The nursery is about 80% finished now. All that's left to do is touch up paint where needed from shelves and letters that we took down, clothes need to be washed and put away (which makes me so happy, I'm saving it for the last step as an incentive to get everything done), finish some decorative touches, and pack the hospital bag!!

It's going to be a great week, I'm certain of it!

PROGRESS!!!

Yesterday one of my dear friends came over and helped me get control of the upstairs again. This is the first time EVER that I have let a friend help me with a mess. Normally I am too prideful bashful when it comes to disorganized spaces but I was desperate and know that Brett is so busy at work and I am growing more and more tired by the day. Britt helped me get the loft totally cleared out and we went through all the clothes and sorted out the NB, 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes for me to wash.

We also got the nursery put together and now all that's left really to do in there is paint over the pink stripe and add some finishing decorative touches.

Today my crafty friend (and now fellow blogger) Rachelle came over and we sewed Everett's crib blanket and crib skirt. It was SO much harder then we thought it was going to be but hey, sometimes you can only learn by trying. All that matters is that it was sewn with love by Everett's mama and potential future mother-in-law if our Sophia/Everett match making quest is ever a success. Here is a sneak peek at his bedding!

I am SO so pleased with the fabric that we have chosen for his nursery and I still have some crafty ideas in mind for decorations for his nursery. Fun fun fun!

It's all coming together, slowly but surely and a huge reason for that is my incredible friends. Thank you thank you!!!!

Family day!!

Last Saturday we decided to take a day *off* from yard work and house work and head over to the Oregon Coast. I had bought a Groupon for the aquarium several months ago and had blocked out this last weekend on purpose to use it. I know if I don't get something on my calendar, it will likely not happen because time is going by too stinkin' fast.

We got up early, started our morning off with a Starbucks visit, and then headed south down I-5 so we could cut over to Newport through Albany and Corvallis. We'd never been that way before but it was a great drive.

Emersyn is not a huge fan of the car. We took our car versus our van to save on gas mileage and it was a bummer to not have the DVD player to keep Emersyn occupied. We had books and toys for her but I could tell she was just tired of sitting in her seat. We are hoping to take a road trip shortly after Everett is born that would be about 10+ hours long....we'll have to get a little dvd player for her or something if that ends up working out.

Ultimately we survived and arrived in Newport at about 1pm!

It was slightly rainy this day, hence her jean jacket. Ems was for sure the most fashionable girl at the aquarium, don't you agree?

This is a popular exhibit in Newport and the line was super long to buy tickets. Thankfully, we had pre-paid for our tickets so we didn't have to wait at all!

Overall, I give the aquarium a B-/C+. I was glad that we had gotten in with discounted tickets and that Emersyn was free because she's under three. It's not something I would have been happy about paying full price for. I was kind of disappointed because I felt like half of the things there we can see locally at our zoo, like the sea lions, otters, seals, etc. The indoor stuff was cool too but not mind blowing cool. I think Brett and I can be kind of tough to please with things like this because at Emersyn's age there is SO much we can do with her for free that she loves just as much so it's hard to decide what's worth spending money on. Anyways, I don't regret going by any means, I just don't want to give a glowing review and I'm not sure that we would go back at this point unless our kids were older and another Groupon presented itself. :)

After we did all the exploring that we could at the aquarium we headed north to Lincoln City to eat at one of our family's favorite resteraunts, Mo's.

This was taken last Fall when my family was in town. See how happy everyone looks? We love Mo's. :)

Emersyn and Twinnie enjoying the view of the ocean from our table.

Twin continued to enjoy the view while we ate our delicious dinner of clam chowder, salad, and clam strips. I know, clam strips sound so weird and they kinda are but I love them! It's my dad's fault, he loves them too. Emersyn had chicken fingers which she normally doesn't eat but I told her she could dip them in ketchup and she was sold. She's very into dipping.

After dinner we went over to the outlet malls, where we decided we shouldn't really spend any money until we get our kids' rooms more organized. Hard to know what you *need* when you aren't sure exactly what you have. We went into one store and then turn around and left. We headed north to Tillamook to look at the cheese factory and enjoy their amazing ice cream for dessert.

Someone REALLY liked their ice cream. :)

Originally I had wanted to stay overnight at the beach but logistics prevented this from happening and it's just as well. It was fun to be able to have a full family day but then be productive the next day (see the post below about our nursery progress).

I can't wait for our family days to include a sweet little boy!! Won't be long now.... :)

Everett Update

I am 34 weeks pregnant as of yesterday. Can.You.Believe.It?? I cannot! Time has gone by SO fast and I hear that with your second child, it goes by even faster. I've been struggling this summer with savoring these last months alone with Ems and with trying to be productive. Let's just say, Emersyn and I have been having a lot of fun. :)

I had an ultrasound a week and a half ago to check on Everett's size. My OB seemed to think that I am measuring *big* and wanted to see where our little guy is on the percentile charts. As of my 32 week appointment, he was approximately 5lbs. When I heard this I panicked a little bit. That just sounded HUGE considering I was *only* 32 weeks. Percentile wise, this puts Everett in the 86th percentile. I'm not overly surprised in a way. Brett is taller, his grandpa is tall (like 6'5), his uncle was 6'7, my dad is 6'5, my uncle and aunt are tall....a tall little boy wouldn't be a shock considering his genetic pool. I know that the ultrasounds they do in utero aren't exactly scientific (right Caitlin?? ha ha....they told her that her baby was going to be a "big 7, small 8" pound baby the day before she was induced and she was 9lbs 10oz, ha ha). Anyways, all that to say that it appears we've got a big boy headed our way.

Until yesterday I really haven't been able to work on the nursery because so much of what needs to be done is stuff I just don't know how to do, like reorganize and purge. I am the girl that walks into a cluttered room and has NO idea where to start. I am good at reorganizing small things (like linen closets), but not rooms. That is my husband's expertise, thank the Lord. But because of that, I tend to rely on him a little too much for these things. On Sunday we FINALLY got Emersyn's bed moved into her new room and got the guest room cleared out (which is now her new room). It was important to me that when she moved into her new room that it was totally cleared out and organized. She's very sensitive to messes, if there is something on the floor during nap time she will call me and ask me to pick it up and put it away. It bothers her and I get that. :) We made some great progress on Sunday and now the nursery is a bit of a mess but thankfully I have a good friend coming over to help me tomorrow. I think it will be the first time I have ever let a friend help me with a mess but I am getting desperate. :) I run out of energy quick these days, go figure. :)

Here are some pictures of our work in progress. Don't judge me!!!

Tearing apart the nursery, getting ready to convert it to a little boys room!

The guest room being converted to a big girl room!

This picture overwhelms me. Taking stuff out of the guest room = putting them in our loft area so we can sort, organize, throw away and garage sale!

Seems like yesterday that we were just putting these letters up.....

Emersyn using a magic eraser to clean off baby brother's crib!

Checking out the new view from her room! She loves the low window even though it freaks me out! Need to get a lock for it when it's open.

Cleaned up at last! Side note: I plan on vacuuming this room everyday because the carpet is hardly used and it still makes glorious vacuum lines when vacuumed. Vacuum lines = happiness.

She LOVES her new room! She's going to love it even more once it really comes together. We decided to wait until after Everett is born before painting and decorating her room. At first I felt guilty moving her out of her beautifully painted nursery into such a stark and blah room but she doesn't really care. Plus, we got her some fun things to enjoy in the meantime such as a play mat that looks like a city with streets, an easel, etc. I am so excited to decorate her room, such a blank canvas! We're getting her THIS quilt from PBK but it's backordered until the end of September which is kind of a bummer but it's summer, not exactly quilt needing weather so I think she'll be fine. :)

Everett's nursery just needs to be cleaned up and clothes gone through and organized. My in-laws have offered to paint the stripe that needs to be painted this week since my father-in-law is off on vacation. That would be a big blessing to us since it feels like we're running out of time but I know that Brett wants to be the one to tape it off so we'll see if that happens this week. I'm hoping that my time tomorrow organizing is VERY productive.

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing how disorganized and unprepared I have been with this pregnancy but it's what's going on in my life. I'm excited to replace these kinds of posts with pictures of my sweet boy once he arrives. :)

Also, don't forget to check out my friend's crafty new blog!! Seriously great ideas!!