SHE is here!

Kendree Rae arrived today at 12:28p.m. after what I can only say was a crazy labor (more details on that, but all I can say now is no time for any drugs whatsoever).

6lbs. 3oz. and 18.75 inches

She is perfect and looks almost exactly like her older brother did as a newborn.

I know you all want to kill me for not having pictures on here yet, but I PROMISE I will put some up early tomorrow.

No baby yet, but...

39 weeks it is. Sorry for the delay in posting. I got hit with a flu bug on Sunday night and no one wanted to see a picture of me yesterday--believe me. It's times like that, when I ship my kid off to Grandma's house so I can sleep for 4 blessed hours that I LOVE living by family. Don't worry though, I'm feeling good now and it's a good thing because....

I'm scheduled to go into the hospital at 8pm tonight! So crazy to think about! Don't be thinking that a baby will be popping out very soon, since last Thursday I was still not dilated at all and only 60% effaced. I'm just hoping that all goes well--I don't really care how long it takes. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm determined to push for less than 2.5 hours this time. :)

There is still a slight chance that I will be bumped, but only if 3 other ladies in Laramie decide to go into labor on their own, so I don't think that will happen (fingers crossed).

It's so surreal to think that I could be holding a baby in my arms by midday tomorrow.

Don't worry, we'll keep you posted!

The end of the crafts

My crafting to-do list (well, the realistic one) is complete. I wasn't sure with the earlier induction if I would have to let a few things go, but I was able to squeeze it all in.

First, my good friend Lindsey, taught me how to make these beaded watch bands. I've been wanting to do this for almost a year, but the price of the pre-made ones is too much for my pocket book, so would you believe I made all five of these (with LOTS of beads left over) for $20? I love when crafting actually saves you money.
When we were in Cali over Christmas break, I found some oilcloth on sale and my sweet mother-in-law bought it for me. Ever since then, a crafting/baking apron for Easton has been on my list. I finally got it all done yesterday (less than an hour from start to finish) and used this tutorial and pattern. I did make a few adjustments (mainly the ones she recommends in her post. The bottom measures 9 inches (where hers is 6) so it goes all the way around Easton's legs, the neck straps are separate pieces so I can tie the apron as high as I want on his body and I added the pocket. Now, if I could just get him to wear it, we would be set. :)

And finally, I made this minky blanket for the new little one (if it is a girl of course). Easton can not survive without his blanky, and I have what seems like a million "castoffs" that didn't satisfy him when I was trying to come up with a back up solution for him (just in case, you know). So, a boy baby has plenty of those to choose from and now, thanks again to my mother-in-law, a girl will be set as well.

I even had enough fabric to make a "lovey" so I can have a smaller size for the diaper bag, etc.

If I was really good, I would have also found time to make the Mr. Potato Head out of felt or the felt playhouse that goes over a card table, but alas--maybe another time!

And the Quilts are Complete!

Nothing like procrastination, I always say. Let's remember that the tops for these quilts were done in mid-October. Then, it was Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas and I kept on coming up with excellent reasons why it wasn't a good time to call my machine-quilting lady. I finally got on the ball about two weeks ago, and the saint of a woman that she is turned these around in less than a week. Next, all I had to do was cut them down and finish the binding.

First, let me say that I do my binding by machine. Hardcore quilters would shun me, but I'm a "quick results" kinda gal and it works great for me. There was no other way on earth that I could have done four quilts in preparation for this baby.

I LOVE the way this one turned out. The "vintage-y" type fabric with the shrinking 100% cotton batting was the perfect blend.

The boy version of this quilt still has the shrinking aspect, but isn't quite as charming since the fabric is so "in your face" bright. Ronnie thinks that the polka dot fabric I used for the backing is incredibly girly, but I disagree. Thoughts?

This one is by far the largest and I didn't intend for it to be that way at all. I am loving the way it came out, but do question my judgement (just the slightest bit) as to why I thought so much white was a good idea.

And finally, my Ruffle Strip Quilt. I love it. Just as much as the day I decided to make it happen. I decided that I wanted the ruffles to shine, so I didn't do any kind of a border and kept the binding simple. I do think a ruffle edge would have been absolutely charming, but time just wasn't going to let me learn/figure out how the heck to do that.

Now, we just need to see what this little one is, so I know which two quilts to put away for next time!

38 weeks

I have to admit that the thought of a baby in just a little more than a week is a bit daunting. Why is it that these last few weeks of pregnancy always seem to fly by for me? I am still feeling great, and I've even been sleeping better this last week. I think part of it is that I refuse to let myself look at the clock anymore during the night, so I have no idea whether I just adjusted my position 30 minutes ago or three hours ago. It's all mental, right?

My to-do list before this baby seems to have grown exponentially since we got the news that I am going to be induced. For instance, on Saturday I NEEDED to make the throw pillows on my couches fluffier. There was no getting around it. Luckily, I had all of the supplies on hand and just a short time later, that was crossed off, but seriously....throw pillows?

I'm down to two pairs of shoes that comfortably fit. The flats you see below and my trusty Mary Jane Crocs. You may think that those shoes right there let my swelling feet go whatever way they want to, but you would be wrong.


See? Even my toes want to swell, but the darn flats just won't let them. It should be noted that these pictures were taken at 11a.m., so you can just imagine the huge-ness at the end of the day. I know, you wish you were me.

My sister Erc and I were having a discussion about swelling feet on Saturday and she was telling me about a pair of flip flops that are stretched so much from her pregnant feet that she can't wear them anymore (she was in St. George when she was pregnant, so flip flops were an option). After going on about how huge her feet were, I decided to take off my Mary Jane Croc and show her what mine were looking like. I put one up on the bar stool and she says, "Oh! Mine were never that big!"

Thanks Erc. Thanks a lot.

Let's talk a little bit more about this baby

as if that isn't what this blog is all about anyway (well, at least lately).

So, I'm due Feb. 22nd.

Ronnie leaves for Phoenix for regionals of a law school trial competition on the 25th. He'll be gone until the morning of March 1st.

This was causing me some stress.

Call me crazy, but I'd kinda like my husband to be there when the baby is born (although, now that I think about it, it would give me sole responsibility of the naming...hmmmm....something to think about).

So, I mentioned it to the doctor this time, assuming that they would just tell me "Good Luck!"

Next thing I know, I'm on the induction schedule at the hospital for the evening of Feb. 16th. Based on what happened when I was going to be induced with Easton, I fully expect to be pushed back a few times for women who actually need to have their babies, but as long as I can have this baby before Ronnie is gone, I don't care one single bit.

So it looks like this nesting business might actually happen

Proof: Yesterday I scrubbed all of my baseboards with a Magic Eraser*.

*Let it be known that I'm not completely insane, it was only the baseboards that can be seen without moving furniture. Also, why were the kitchen baseboards the least dirty? It made no sense at all.

37 weeks

Full-term baby! Not that that means anything to someone like me who has literally no chance in this world of going early. It's just not in my genes.

It has been almost comical to me with how much I really had forgotten about being pregnant with Easton. The second time around, I thought I would remember it all, but every time some new feeling, movement, stage of baby's growth comes up, it's like I'm learning it all again. Something to do with selective memory I'm sure?

While I do feel "ready" to welcome a baby into our home, at this point the discomforts of pregnancy are in no way outweighing the work of a newborn. This baby can stay right where it is for 3 more weeks, thankyouverymuch. I continue to feel really good, just the waking up at night thing. And remember last week when I bragged about my feet not swelling? Well, this week they came out in all of their glory. Welcome back cankles, I [in no way] missed you. If you are wondering where the pictures of the monstrosities are (you sick and twisted people you), I'll be sure to get some good ones before my next update.

But guess what? Since you have all been so patient with our struggle to come up with, let alone share names with you, I'm going to reward you by sharing all 7 of our boy names. I'm convinced that we will be going to the hospital with at least 7 boy names. We may even be paying that fee that I hear about if you don't name your baby by the time you leave. Ahh well.

You'll remember that our girl names are (in alphabetical order--mainly because Ronnie and I can't agree on anything, and this makes things the least complicated): Brynn, Camryn and Kendree(I'm fairly confident that would be the spelling if this last name was selected).

And the boy names (again, in alphabetical order--see above reason): Bridger, Brock, Bryson, Caden, Drew, Jayce and Tate. I'm sure Ronnie would want me to add that he is not certain that the name is even on this list (sigh).

Other belly shots: 36 weeks, 34 weeks, 30 weeks, 28 weeks, 24 weeks, 20 weeks, 17 weeks

It's time to make your voice heard

You've all been listening to me go on and on and on (or I'm sure it seems) about how this baby is a surprise.

You either think I'm crazy (generally those of you under 50)

or

You think that I am the coolest person you know because that's the way you did it (generally those of you over 50)

So now, it's your turn. Tell me what this little bundle of joy is going to be!

Do I need to be washing all of Easton's clothes, or begging my sister and friends for the pink stuff?

You'll notice a little poll on the right sidebar there. You have until 2/21/10 at 11:59pm to vote.

It's almost like he knows

I'm starting to think that Easton is smarter than I give him credit for.

For the last about two weeks, he has been what I would classify as an "angel" child. Now, don't get me wrong. We still have time out sessions and he is still two after all, but he has just been so much fun!

Everything is an adventure, whether it be a trip to Wal-Mart, playing with Play-dough, or doing some puzzles. He tells me about his day in 3-4 word sentences and laughs when I am being silly. He is going down easily for naps and bedtime, sleeping through the night and taking 2.5-3.5 hour naps.

Overall, he is making my job as a mom and parent easy.

I'm loving this last little bit of time as a family of three.

It's like he knows that things are going to change and is giving me memories to cherish.

Bless that boy.

[he has no idea what is about to hit him]

36 weeks

Dudes, I am 4 weeks away! Seriously, where did the time go?

I'm feeling a little bit more prepared for this whole thing. I actually have a box of diapers, I made Ronnie get down the baby stuff and I have washed what I can at this point [never mind that that only includes one gender neutral outfit and about 10 onesies]. We are thisclose to having the bassinet set up and ready to go and then I think I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, a sigh of relief over that stuff anyway.

I continue to feel really good. In fact, that weird hip pain thingy I discussed a while ago is actually gone for the most part. I only have one complaint at this point and it is this: [prepare for a bit of a rant] I understand that when you are pregnant with your first baby and you have to wake up every 2-3 hours to switch the position of your growing belly, your body is helping you to "train" for having to wake up all of the time with a newborn. I do, I get it. But, with subsequent babies, it just doesn't seem fair. I remember! I know that it will not be fun to wake up every 2-3 hours when the baby is here, so for the love of Taco Bell, can I not just sleep through the night until the baby gets here?!? [end rant]

Other than the sleep thing, I really am feeling great. My energy is decreasing, but that is to be expected. I never really did "nest" with Easton, so I'm curious to see if I get that this time around. Also, I'm excited to report that only in the last week or so have I seen some swelling in my feet. Based on the size my feet were for the last month with Easton, that is a major accomplishment! I'm even still wearing my wedding ring (just the engagement band and not the other two bands, but still--it counts).

Other belly shots: 34 weeks, 30 weeks, 28 weeks, 24 weeks, 20 weeks, 17 weeks

34 weeks

Please excuse my facial expression. I believe that Ronnie said something to me right as I was taking the picture (at least that is what I am blaming it on).

6 weeks to go! It is crazy to think about. Especially since I am having a hard time working up any kind of motivation to do anything (strange since before Christmas you couldn't pay me to slow down, well you probably could have paid me). I still have to take my five quilts to be quilted and finish those, not to mention regular baby preparations. Oh well, 6 weeks should be enough time, right?

I'm still feeling good. I have definitely started to waddle, and it seems more pronounced at work, since I sit at my desk for longer periods of time and then get up so I am a little stiff. Baby is moving all of the time and is head down. The doctor this week even told me what a few of the "sticky-outy" body parts are so I can better identify them when the baby is moving.

My mom asked this week if I had any feelings as to whether I will go early or late with this baby, and my inkling is late. But most of that could be because Easton was late, and because I semi-begged the doctor to give me the earlier due date at my first appointment.

I have apparently entered the time in pregnancy when it is okay for complete strangers to touch my belly. Luckily it doesn't bother me too much, but I always wonder if I will ever be the stranger who does that at some point in my life. I just don't see it happening.

Easton gave us a big speech at dinner last night about the baby being a sister (we didn't even know he knew the word "sister") so who knows what that means. We probably shouldn't put too much stock in it though, considering when you ask him if the baby is a boy or a girl, he answers "boy-girl!"

We're continuing to narrow down those boy names, don't worry, I promise to share as soon as we have a "modest" list.

Other belly shots: 30 weeks, 28 weeks, 24 weeks, 20 weeks, 17 weeks

While I was gone...

a few things of note happened.

• I broke my little toe but I'm too cheap to go to the doctor to have him tell me to tape it to the next one and that is all they can do
• We drove for approximately 34 hours and all lived to tell about it
• Ronnie and I narrowed down our boy names from 21 to 7 (we have a bit more weeding to do and then I will share, I promise)
• I realized that I probably didn't break my little toe, but it still hurts, just not like a broken bone
• We had a great Christmas and New Year (pictures coming soon)
• Easton's talking exploded, he can pretty much communicate whatever he wants
• Lots of people touched my tummy--apparently I am to the stage in the pregnancy where people are drawn to it

30 weeks

And here we are again with a belly update. I've decided to take these as I have appointments. It seems about right to me.

I continue to feel good. I have had to start sleeping with pillows around me (I've never invested in one of those "pregnancy" pillows--tell me, are they worth my money?). I still sleep great, and don't need to get up in the middle of the night yet (I know that will come in time). I also have had very minimal swelling (hallelujah!). I can wear any pair of shoes I choose still! I suppose the frigid temperatures here are helping some with that (don't worry, no complaining out of me).

Ronnie and I are trying really hard to transition ourselves to not referring to Easton as "baby" at all anymore, as he gets a little confused and runs over to point to my belly. We've always teased him with phrases like "Where's momma's baby?" when he is hiding, etc. It's been a surprisingly hard habit to break.

Baby is moving all of the time, and when he or she stretches it is crazy to feel how long the baby is! I've definitely noticed a difference in the last two weeks of how quickly I can get up or down, and my energy is slowing some, but I'm still really enjoying this pregnancy.

No updates on boy names. We will have 34 hours of driving in the car when we go down to California though, so plenty of time to talk that out. :)

Other belly shots: 28 weeks, 24 weeks, 20 weeks, 17 weeks.

28 weeks

Time really is flying by. Third trimester, here I come! Baby is moving all of the time, and has even woken me up during the night a time or two with his or her little antics. I continue to feel really good. I have a bit of a hip muscle thingy that makes me walk a little slow when I first get up (in the morning and if I have been sitting for a while) but that is really the only complaint I have and it is so minor, I feel a little silly even telling you about it.

Easton has now learned to point to my belly when you ask where the baby is, but I still believe that he is clueless as to what that will mean to his life in 3 short months. If you ask him if we are having a boy or a girl, he answers with girl and if you say a girl or a boy, he answers boy. Whatever word he hears last. He's really playing it safe with his prediction.

Ronnie and I continue to struggle coming up with a boys name. We just don't have any that we really love, and a heck of a lot that we like okay. I'm not looking to get it down to one name, but I would like to narrow our list of 10 down to about 3 or 4. Girl names we are down to 3, so we are good to go there (although I'm sure there will be more discussion in the next 3 months). And since talking about names, and not actually telling you our list would be absolute torture for most of you, the girl names are Camryn, Brynn and Kendri or Kendrey, or Kendree, or Kendry, in no particular order (spelling issues are another hurdle altogether). I won't share the boy names until we narrow it down a bit, but feel free to leave us suggestions!

And if you are dying to see all of the belly pictures of this pregnancy, here's a list: 24 weeks 20 weeks 17 weeks

The Project That Caused Me Pain

Okay, so I guess it wasn't technically the project that caused me the pain, but instead my own stupidity for allowing my guiding finger to get under the needle, but still....

I'll always remember.

I had a package of simple cloth diapers left over from other baby gifts and decided that my future child needed some cloth diaper burp cloths as well.

They are incredible simple to make (fabric strips 4.5" x 20" and two strips of ribbon 20" long) and went really quickly (minus the incident of course).

It felt good to used up previously quilted strips.

And darn it if they aren't just plain cute as well.

This one had fabric that was not quite 20" long, so I used an additional piece of ribbon on the ends to cover up that raw edge.

The last quilt top of 2009

Or, at least Ronnie is hoping.

Let's back up a bit and go through just why the heck I felt like I needed to make another quilt. You see, when I was pregnant with Easton, I made his crib bedding (quilt included) as well as a simple square quilt. In my head, the crib bedding quilt is his. If I have a girl, she is already set with two quilts, the crib bedding one and a simple square quilt, however, if this baby is a boy, I only had a simple square quilt ready for him.

Seriously, so unfair.

I have had this quilt bookmarked for what seems like years, and decided it was time to make my own.

So I did.

And I love it.

All of my quilts have now been trimmed, backing fabric has been ironed and all I have to do is make sure I have enough batting for the interiors and then they (all 5 of them) are off to the machine-quilting lady.

Step Four

Yesterday I finished the valances for my Baby Girl Bedding. That means that all I have to do is get the quilt quilted and then bind it and I am done! Hooray!

I've had several questions about how I have time to get all of this done. First, I cut out the material and patterns for all of these projects at the same time. There were days and days of cutting that you didn't see, but now, all it takes is a few straight lines of sewing and wa-la, a finished project. Second, Easton sleeps for 2-3 hours a day, right after I get home for work. I am able to get housework done, start prep for dinner and usually get at least 30 minutes of crafting in. Third, I have a husband in law school. This means late nights at the school studying sometimes and after Easton is in bed, I can craft without feeling guilty about neglecting my precious "husband" time. Fourth, I have an extreme case of "anxious energy." I hate just sitting and watching TV (the majority of the time--we all have veg times) so I am usually crocheting, stamping, cutting, sewing, reading, playing with Easton, making dinner, cleaning, etc. You get the idea. I don't claim to be a superwoman, and fully expect that the "spare time" I speak of now will virtually disappear after this second little one makes his or her appearance.

Step Three - check

And.....


the Baby Girl Bedding crib skirt is complete!


You know I love you, but there was no way on earth that I was going to strip Easton's crib and remake it all with girl stuff, just to undo it all again, so instead, you get crib skirt on my love seat.

What's left? A valance, and then the quilting/binding of the quilt. Almost there!

Step two--complete

So, we all remember the Ruffle Strip Quilt.
It's still not done, but step two of Baby Girl Bedding (if I ever even need it) is.

Here are the crib bumpers. I just love how easy these suckers come together. The only catch is that each one requires a bit of hand sewing, and I have yet to find anything I hate more than hand sewing.

Next up? The crib skirt.