it's a . . .

We are so excited to meet this little lady in September!  I shared this video on Facebook and Instagram in May, but am just now getting around to posting it here (sorry for the really bad quality!  It was the only way I knew how to compose a small video).  As you can see, I've already started shopping for girl clothes.  I'm trying to resist the temptation but they are so cute!  Just this week, I started on her nursery and I'll share the progress here soon.  H loves hanging out in his sister's room.  He can now identify a baby when he sees one.  When we ask him where the baby is, he either lifts his shirt up and points to his belly or lifts my shirt and point to mine.  So we're not really sure if he fully understands what's going on here. 

I'm currently in my 28th week and feeling huge!  I swear I'm a lot bigger this time around.  I'm more tired and seem to run out of breath more easily these days.  Baby girl is kicking and moving around comfortably in there which makes it hard to fall asleep sometimes.  But an active baby means a healthy baby, so I don't mind at all. 

September will be here before we know it!

i'm back with some BIG NEWS...

I'm so sorry for the three-month hiatus.  It's gotten busy around here.  Keeping up with a toddler is hard work!  Little H is now a walking machine and loves to babble about who knows what.  He's got quite a personality and Paul and I are enjoying these moments with him.  We're so proud of the little man that he's become, that we've promoted him to...

brb

See you soon, baby!

see ya later, alligator

This past Saturday, my sister and my Mom threw me a baby shower.  Since we are currently living under the same roof, it was hard to keep anything a surprise.  So I ended up helping with the decorations.  They were my sister's ideas, I just went with the flow. 

The pretty backdrop was made by my sister with the help of my brother's gf.  I'm thinking of hanging it somewhere in the future nursery.  Maybe turn it into a mobile for above the crib and/or changing pad?

My very talented friend Stephanne made me a blue velvet cake with cream cheese icing and marshmallow fondant.  Not sure if you can see it on the picture below, but it's blue inside.  As always, it was super delicious!

For the centerpieces, my sister made cake pops (which also served as party favors) and stuck them on a roll of diapers.  For you NHL fans (especially those from Vancouver), don't the cake pops have sort of a Canucks feel to them??  She also used some leftover blue and green ribbons from our wedding two years ago.  Funny how much life has changed since then!

My sister-in-law made this beautiful diaper cake.  My Mom loves it so much that she wrapped it in a plastic bag to preserve it for as long as possible (until we run out of diapers of course)!

We received our very first funko pop from my friends who are avid collectors.  Kermit the Frog is going to look so awesome in the baby's nursery!

Karina and I were so sad we forgot to take a picture together during the actual shower, so we did a re-enactment later that night.  Not the same =(

Me at 36 weeks.

This banner will be going in the baby's nursery above his crib.  We're not quite ready to share the baby's name yet on this little blog so I had to do a bit of editing.  And I'm thinking we'll hang the diaper wreath outside our door in the hospital when baby arrives.

We had way too much food, drinks, and a pretty intense game of scramble.  Hopefully everyone had just as much fun as we did.  We're so thankful for those who have traveled near and far to celebrate with us.  Your love and support is very much appreciated!

Ok little man, we're ready for you!

antique cradle

I've been in love with this cradle ever since I bought it last week from my coworker's stepdaughter.  They picked it up at an antique store last year and she used it for her son who was born last December.  I was a little hesitant to get it, but after my sister-in-law convinced me (and it didn't take much) that I'd need a co-sleeper for the first few weeks, I ended up getting it for $40.  I took it home last Tuesday and I couldn't be happier with how it looks!

I'm having a hard time finding a mattress cover since it's a little bigger than a changing pad, yet smaller than a crib mattress.  So I wrapped it in a throw blanket temporarily until I find the right one that fits. 

I'm hoping this will save me some sleepless nights, but somehow I doubt it.  We're keeping this in our bedroom for a few weeks while the baby sleeps with us.  This is truly a timeless piece that I'm sure I'll enjoy using with Baby T and future babies to come!

Pregnancy Update:  I'm 35 weeks today!  Paul assembled the stroller this past weekend and even installed the carseat in my car.  His fatherly instincts sure kicked in!  As excited as we are to meet this baby, we want him stay in just a little while longer until he's "well done."  We're so smitten with him already!

baby's first book collection

As I mentioned on a previous post, I'd love to put a bookshelf in Baby T's future nursery.  So for the past week, I've been on a hunt for some picture books for the baby's first book collection. 

I Wish... by Jillian Harker / Love You Forever by Robert Munsch / Arthur Goes To Camp by Marc Brown / On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier /  Clifford Collection by Norman Bridwell / Henry's Amazing Imagination by Nancy Carlson / Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney / Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin / Good Sports: Rhymes About Running, Jumping, Throwing and More by Jack Prelutsky / The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery / Corduroy Lost and Found by B.G. Hennessy / The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter / Curious George by H.A. Rey / The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle / Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown / Corduroy by Don Freeman

I purchased the majority of these books at Half Price Books, ranging in price for as low as $2.00 and as high as $8.00.  If you don't care for new books and are on a budget, I definitely recommend buying used books at your local used bookstore. 

As for The Little Prince Pop Up Book, I splurged on this one and bought it at Anthropologie.  I saw it last year and I've been waiting to get pregnant to have a reason to buy it - ha!  Here's a little peek of the inside.

 
This was one of my Dad's favorite books and it has many lessons on life.  I'm sure Baby T won't really appreciate it until he's a little older, but I thought this would be a good one to add to my his collection.

Bailey was not happy with all the attention the books were getting, so she decided to lay next to them.

This little basket is filling up fast, but I'm not done yet!  My goal is to try and collect all of the books on this list.  My sister also sent me this link on kids' books about color.  With these great lists combined, we might end up with a whole study full of books before the baby arrives!

Do you guys have any favorite kids' books that you recommend?

dream nurseries

Lately, I've been dreaming about the perfect nursery.  It's a little frustrating not having a nursery to start decorating in preparation for Baby's arrival.  I'm sure it will get worse once I'm in the "nesting" phase (when does that kick in anyway?).  So for now, Pinterest has become my place to gather my ideas and inspirations.  And since I don't know how to create a mood board yet, I'll just dump pictures of the ones I love here.

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I love everything about this nursery - from the gray walls, curtains, turquoise chair and that retro dresser!

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 I also thought about painting the walls this dark teal color.  Too dark?  I think picking the right shade, like Benjamin Moore's Calypso Blue would do the trick. 

 

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I love this whole dresser/changing area.  We're planning on getting this exact Hemnes dresser from Ikea, either in this color or black-brown to match the crib that we picked at Babies R Us.  This color is more appealing though, that way it's not so matchy matchy.  This is a great piece of furniture that will grow with the baby.  And I would love to do a gallery wall like this, but I'm a little nervous about it being so close to the baby's changing pad!

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This bookshelf is happening!

{via here and here}

I think I've almost convinced Paul to let me paint stripes in the Baby's room!  If he completely vetoes the idea, I have a back up plan:

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Striped curtains from Pottery Barn Kids.  It's a little less dramatic but still makes a statement.  I think I'll be pretty happy with either one.  But I WILL have striped walls somewhere in the house!

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Lastly, I'm in search of a really good, stylish rocking chair like this one, but one that's a little easy on the bank account.  This pretty one is $800 - eek!  And I would also love an ottoman like this.  Hopefully they've got it at a Home Goods somewhere.

If you have any favorite nurseries that you stumbled upon lately, or any suggestions on where to find any of the above I mentioned, please let me know!

labor day BLUES

I hope everyone is having a very fun and relaxing Labor Day!  Sorry for those of you who had to work today (like Paul).  I guess you would have the Labor Day blues =(  And speaking of blues, I wanted to share some good news with you.  We found out a few weeks ago that we are having...

A BOY!

We are over the moon with excitement!  We actually knew that we were having a little boy at 12 weeks when I had an NT screening, but we wanted to wait and announce it when we were absolutely sure.  During my 21-week sonogram a few weeks ago, they confirmed that it was still a boy!  I'm already dreaming of nurseries (pretty evident if you are following me on Pinterest) and hopefully I can share my ideas and inspirations here in the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, we won't have a house for me to start decorating a nursery just yet (this is another topic on its own), but I can start planning ahead - well, as much as I can anyway.  I really need to start our baby registry!

As for baby and me, we are doing fabulous.  Oh, and my due date really is December 20th (read more here).  Based on my last sonogram, baby is on track as far as size, so we were right all along.  I guess he was just a little late bloomer.  I will be 25 weeks this Thursday and am getting bigger and bigger every week!  I can finally feel him kicking and it amazes me every time!  We might have a little star athlete on our hands!  Paul is excited to teach his little rookie about sports, and the fact that he will no longer be outnumbered.  Let's face it, Bailey and I run the house!

So if you have any tips on how to raise a baby boy, let me know.  I'm all ears!  I heard baby boys are very sweet to their mommies.  I can't wait for all those hugs and kisses!