Can't Wait to Get Back in My Heels

I've seriously been missing wearing heels since I got pregnant.  I'm one of those people who actually feels more comfortable in heels than flats, and I got used to wearing them on a daily basis when I worked in an office.  Now that I'm working from home, and knocked up, my adorable pumps spend a lot of time on my shoe shelves.  I'm looking forward to being able to wear them again, and that feeling grew even stronger with a purchase I made this past weekend.  I went to the Gilt Warehouse Sale in downtown Dallas and stumbled upon a pair I just couldn't resist.  They're Emilio Pucci, and they were marked down by almost 80% from retail! 

I'm in love and can't wait to find the right occasion to wear them!

My Big Ol' Baby

A couple weeks ago I went to my normal doctor appointment and she did the fundal height measurement.  All along I had been measuring right on with the baby's gestational age, but at this appointment I measured large.  I was 34 weeks along, but the fundal height was more like 37 weeks.  My doctor recommended I get a sonogram to make sure there wasn't too much fluid or that the baby was getting too large.  I went a couple days later and the sonogram tech took a few measurements from the ultrasound to try and guesstimate the baby's weight.  Her estimate was 6lbs 13oz.  At 34 weeks, that's quite a large baby!  Considering the baby had the potential to gain 1/2 a pound a week, and I could still have 6 weeks to go at that point, we were talking about a 9-10lb baby!  Yowza.  I went again this week (36 weeks along) to see if he had continued his growth, or if it had slowed down some.  Luckily he didn't follow the 1/2 a pound a week pace, and they estimated his weight to be 7lbs 6oz at this point.  So, he gained about 4.5oz a week based on their measurements.  With 4 weeks potentially left, that would put me on track for more like an 8.5lb baby.  I have another sonogram set up for 2 weeks from now (38 weeks along), to check and see how things look at that point.  Assuming baby Dutch doesn't decide to come on his own in the next two weeks, we probably won't make a decision as to how to proceed with the delivery until we get the results from the 38week scan.  In the meantime, I am going to my doctor weekly now to see if the preparations for labor have started.  No dice yet! 

With Skinny Comes Problems

I wish I could say I'm talking about myself, but the skinny refers to my dog, Riley.  I mentioned previously that he's lost 20 pounds since we switched him to diet food and increased his exercise.  While I am very thrilled with the results, with it has come a few problems!  His weight loss has increased his agility and he's quite the spry little guy now.  We're discovering that we have to Riley-proof our house while we're gone.  The first casualty was my Michael Kors purse.  Overnight, I had left it on the kitchen counter, and apparently he smelled the gum I had in it and decided he had to have it.  It would've been alright if he had just gotten the gum out of it, but for some reason he felt the need to also totally destroy my purse.  Straps had been chewed apart, and there were multiple holes.  It was beyond repair.  :(

The amazing part about it was how he even got up there to get the purse in the first case.  He jumped first on our bar stool, then onto the counter.  At his former weight, this never would've been possible! 

A few hundred dollars down the drain was bad enough, but the second casualty was more painful to me than the first.  I learned my lesson with the purse and stopped putting it on the counter overnight, but I failed to realize our other counters were vulnerable as well.  We keep the dog treats and rawhides next to our sink, and Riley got into them when I was out running errands today.  Here's the path he took:

First he jumped on the window seat, then on the wooden cooler, then onto the counter.  He's too damn smart and skinny for his own good!  There were lots of treats and rawhides up there, which is why I call it more painful than losing my purse.  He doesn't know when to stop when food or treats are in front of him (hence his former weight of 60 pounds), so pretty much everything was gone by the time I got home.  That can't be good to ingest all of that in one sitting, and it sure doesn't help our weight loss attempts.  The ironic part was that I was at the vet buying him more diet food when this happened.  Doh!

Journal of Janet

I was fortunate enough to be thrown two more baby showers this past weekend, and we are feeling much more confident now about being prepared when the little munchkin decides to make an appearance!  Our nursery is filled to the brim, thanks to our generous friends and family!  Besides things from our registries, we received a few more very thoughtful homemade gifts! 

My friend, Katie, made this adorable knitted cap:

My friend, Rachel, (who is 37 weeks pregnant btw!) made Dutch this blanket in my favorite colors, orange and green.

Previously I picked out fabrics that I liked for a blanket my mom would make, and she gave it to me on Saturday.  I love, love, love it!

Here's the sweet little tag that she stitched into it:

I saved the best homemade gift for last.  My mom did an awesome job of keeping journals while she raised my sisters and I.  When the two of them got pregnant with their first child, she transcribed their journals onto her computer and then printed them out and bound them.  I knew she had done this, so I have been eagerly anticipating getting my journal for the past few months!  She gave it to me this past weekend, and it's truly an amazing gift to give your child.  Now I have a written record of so many memories and milestones from my birth through age 11, as seen through the eyes of my mom.  It's neat to see when I started crawling, walking, talking, etc, and I'll be able to compare Dutch's future milestones to mine.  Here's a few pics of excerpts from the journal.  Lots of entries cracked me up!

Around 9 months old

just shy of 2 years old

27 months old

34 months old

35 months old

44 months and 47 months

just shy of 7 years old

7 years and a few months (my skepticism apparently started early!)

And then, of course, the last page of the journal that I can't read without getting choked up:

It's Coming Together!

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting close to a functioning nursery.  Even though our munchkin will be spending a lot of his time early on in my arms or in the co-sleeper in our room, it'll still be nice to have everything ready when it's time for him to move into the nursery.  Here are a few pics showing where it's at now:

I'm guessing the sink in the room will come in handy!  I like having it separate from the toilet and tub/shower that's next door because I can decorate this area for a kid, but leave the main part of the bathroom still looking like an adult's guest bathroom if we have a guest staying in the adjacent bedroom.

I picked up this wall decoration from Bed, Bath & Beyond.  It doesn't scream out child's room, but I really liked what it had to say, and thought it would be good to serve as inspiration to us and our kiddo when he's able to read.

I did this quick little painting to hang above the closet doors.  My favorite quote is "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."  So, I shortened it just a bit and fancied it up with the orange dots.  I'd like my son to learn from an early age about selflessness and charity, and this will help me teach him that.

Here's a wide view of the majority of the room.  We don't have a lot of floor space left because we've got all our big furniture pieces bought, but we're still lacking in the bedding area.  I need a mattress pad, some sheets, and possibly a bedskirt and then I think we'll be in good shape.

And lastly a close-up of the crib and bookcase.  Next to the crib (not shown) is a dresser filled to the brim with clothes for Dutch, and once we get a changing pad, we'll put that on top of it.

34 weeks today, so let the countdown begin!

She's Nesting Again!

With the realization that my munchkin is just a little more than a month away from gracing us with his presence, I'm back in the nesting mode.  Our master closet is not small by any means, but I still found myself feeling like it was disorganized, cluttered, and cramped.  After getting my hubby to move our dresser closer to the wall, I set to work on getting everything into its place and opening up some more floor space.  I think it looks good now!

  

Now, let's see how long we can keep it in this condition!

Riley's Before and After Photo

I've mentioned many times that we're on a mission to help our dog, Riley, lose weight.  We are at about the 20 pound weight loss mark, and we're hoping for at least 5 more.  I ran across an old picture I had of him, at his heaviest, and figured it was a good time to pose him the same way so everyone could see the major change that has taken place!  Here's the difference between 60 pounds and 40 pounds:

Quite amazing!  I know he is experiencing health benefits from this weight loss, and hopefully that means he'll be hanging around for many years to come!

Makes Me Smile

I couldn't be more excited about what this new year has in store for Meezy and I.  On that note, this post is about a couple of things that have made me very happy lately!  Our friends, Casey and Rachel, welcomed their precious baby girl, Madison, into the world last week.  I got to meet her and visit with the parents, and everyone is doing great!  Here I am holding the new addition to their family:

We traveled to Amarillo for the weekend to celebrate a late Christmas and the new year with my in-laws.  I love spending time with that side of the family since we only get to see them every couple of months, especially my nephews and nieces.  My niece, Kaitlyn, is always so sweet and comes up and pats my pregnant belly when she gives me a hug.  Her little brother, Noah, is a ham and makes me smile and laugh with his funny comments.  My other sister-in-law also has two little young ones, and they are a joy to be around.  At one point, her son KC snuck off into the other room where our dog Riley was in his crate, and proceeded to feed him some dog food through the slats.  Every time Riley would eat a piece, KC would giggle and say, "NICE!"  It was adorable.  Here are a couple of videos I took:

 



I look forward to many more smiles happening in 2012.