babye petree gets her groove on

I had a great post on the striped ceiling in baby petree's nursery, but blogger decided to eat it...after i spent forever writing and getting the photos placed. oh blogger, you and i might be headed for a separation...

anyways, it's friday!!! i hope you enjoy this little video of baby petree dancing to dave matthews band and enjoy your lovely weekend.

awesome.

 

when you have a vision for a photo shoot and one of your best friends happens to take awesome photos and doesn't mind you co-directing the shoot. (most photogs tend to get a little uppity about stuff like that)

after our second shower this weekend we had a semi-maternity shoot. i say semi because it wasn't as belly-centric as most maternity shoots. most maternity shoots just aren't my style. i know what i want. i have a vision. i also happen to have another half of my brain, my friend da, who i know just loves to work with my visions.

so on sunday morning we got up way before anyone should be up, trekked it down to fayetteville, got some donuts, and headed to the park to set up a "picnic" before the sun was up. it was chilly. it was damp. husband confirmed his status has quite possibly the most awkward person ever in front of a camera...and i fall close behind. but we had a blast.

here are a couple of pics from the shower to entertain yourselves with.

 
only 3.5 weeks until baby petree is set to make her grand entrance! we shall see if i make it that far. none of the hens seem to think i'll make it.

hello, coconut

baby w,

at 36 weeks you are the size of a coconut. the doctor says everything is looking great and that if you came right now you would more than likely be perfectly healthy. i hope you are happy in there because i'm not quite ready for you to join us yet.

even though you have now officially given me stretch marks, bruised my belly button, make me have to pee all the time, made my iron counts drop, and squirm around like it's nobody's business...i want you in there for as long as you can stand it so you come out perfectly baked.

and baby w, i want you to know that you are so worth every stretch mark, every bruise, every trip to the bathroom, and every uncomfortable squirm. i can't wait to hold you in my arms and kiss your soft little baby skin. you are so loved already, by so many....more than you will ever know.

an ugly "n" no more

maybe it wasn't so much ugly as just too plain. after all, the lines of it are perfect--a nice serif font. well, it is no longer ugly or plain.

for baby petree's room we decided to spell out her name using different letters that we found.  the poor "n" was just not cutting it so i decided to give it some character--with buttons.

it's very easy to do. just find some buttons and hot glue. that's it, you're set! and now it has pizzazz!

on a side note we are one month away from our due date!

our weekend in 3

1. baby head. baby petree was a movin' and a groovin' on saturday. that would be a head, or quite possibly a butt, jutting out from my belly.

2. musical genius. husband decided that sunday morning in bed would be a great time to introduce baby petree to some new music. the band of choice: band of horses. she seemed to dig it. {no judgement on the appearance please. i had just woken up.}

3. compost, baby. husband and i put together our new compost bin! now if only we could get our garden started.

august 19, 2011

baby girl,

that photo right there is from the day i found out i was pregnant with you. august 19, 2011.

so many emotions ran through me that day -- disbelief, shock, pure excitement, overwhelming sense of love and happiness. your aunt da had to bring me two more boxes of sticks to pee on...just to make sure they were all in agreement. after confirming with several sticks, we headed to the doctor's office to get the official word. after that it was time to figure out how to tell your dad.

i bought him a package of pacifiers, wrapped them up into a pretty package and put them in the console of my car. we had plans that night to go to an event in downtown rogers so giving him the present would have to wait until later that night. however, your dad is a snoop and when we went to pick up nana he looked in the console of my car and asked me about the pretty package. i told him that it was for him but he would have to wait until we got home that night to open it.

we went to 3rd friday with your nana, papa mark, auntie da and uncle ryan. we walked around and enjoyed the local artists. we ate dinner - where i turned down a beer which raised an eyebrow from everyone at the table. we listened to the live band playing. it was weird and amazing walking around knowing you were already growing inside of me. it was my little secret (well, mine and auntie da's) and i cherished that fact for the moment. it was an amazing thought to know that i would have you with me at next year's 3rd friday events.

and of course the whole night your dad kept bugging me about what was in the package. i'm pretty certain he was mainly afraid that he had forgotten some sort of occasion that warranted presents.

after the event we went home and got ready for bed. your dad excitedly brought in the package and asked if he could open it now. he was so excited to see what was in the pretty box!

he opened it...

and then he sat there confused. just staring at the tiny little pacifiers.

i told him he would be needing these in about 9 months. and he stared some more. it was a lot to take in.

after the staring came the excitement. we were beginning the last of our adventures as the two of us. in nine months we would have you, our beautiful baby girl, to join our adventures. and oh the adventures we will have, baby girl!

you have been loved since the moment i saw those pink lines and you will be loved more and more each and every day. you have already changed our world and made it a better one.

so that is the story of the day i found out you would make us a family. oh, you are wondering why am i standing there holding a happy 5 years sign? it was the 5 year wedding anniversary of a friend. why do i look so rough? well, let's just say that taking pregnancy tests while at work isn't the best idea...there was some crying involved. it's an emotional event and lord knows those hormones raging through your body produce tears like it's nobody's business.

design thursday: baby petree's nursery fabrics

guess what! the custom drapes and crib skirt for baby petree are in!!! and i could not be happier with the results! i know the pictures don't do it justice, but i was pressed for time and my iphone was just so handy vs. walking 10 steps for the real camera! i promise more pictures (with the real camera) when we get a little further along.

1. i started off with an inspiration picture of the kind of crib skirt i wanted and then did a drawing for the curtains. then it was time to shop for fabrics. and shop some more. and maybe just a bit more. but we found the right stuff, baby!

2. the next shot is of me putting everything together in one spot to see what it will look like.

3. & 4. the finished goods are in!

5. the curtains are hung with care.

6. husband holds up the crib skirt to try and picture what it will look like.

7. i was trying to get a good shot of the floor, ceiling, and curtains....the lighting was not working for me.

they look really amazing in person! a lady name shana down at the rabbit's lair did all the sewing. if you have any custom projects you need done i would highly recommend her.

i'm hoping that the ceiling will be all finished up next week so i can get some good pics of it and do a "how to" post on striped ceilings on a textured surface. hear that husband? the ceiling is calling your name to finish it. it would like its time in the spotlight next week. :)

happy thursday, dear readers!

our weekend in 4

this weekend i really tried to do much of nothing. it kind of worked.  we will basically be insanely busy every weekend until the baby comes so i really wanted to soak in the laziness, and apparently laziness doesn't make for great photos. but here is what we did...

1. num. num. num. saturday morning my awesome mom took me out to breakfast at this little french dessert salon and cafe in dotoro (downtown rogers) and then we hit up the mall to do some shopping for my birthday! it was a much needed break from the real world. oh, and those would be cornmeal pancakes with honey butter and nutella....yeah, you might need to wipe that drool off of your keyboard now.

2 & 3. this is hog baseball. and more specifically this is baby petree's first hog baseball game. it was such a great afternoon with friends at the ballpark. perfect weather. hogs won. and any time spent with "the crew" is guaranteed fun.

4. husband and ponca do some gardening. most of sunday was spent doing laundry and other mundane household chores.(it's a glamorous life i know) husband likes spicy things...no. no, husband loves spicy things. so this year husband will be growing the hottest peppers in the world. i'm not sure i see this ending well.

so another weekend pre-baby can be marked off the calendar. it's getting so close! we start our 4 week "prepared childbirth" class this week and then the showers and the final push to ready the house are not too far away

how did you spend your weekend?

design thursday - a crib for baby petree

we did it! we decided on a crib! it has been ordered and everything. it might not arrive before she does, but that is fine since she will be spending her first few months in a co-sleeper next to me.

we have decided not to do a bumper in the crib. have you guys read all the studies out there about infant deaths and bumpers? i just don't know what to believe about it all - but i decided it didn't hurt to do without so why chance it. what do you guys think - to bumper or not to bumper?

27 weeks

 

we had our 27 week appointment with the doctor today. he said everything is looking groovy!

i have only gained 18 pounds, and figure i am right on track to hit that 25-35 pound window. no, i'm not embarrassed to admit how much weight i have gained on here. i mean, come on, it's all coming out in a couple of months anyways. i really enjoy being pregnant and am not bothered by the weight gain at all. it is only a number and this little girl is so worth the weight and the wait.

baby petree's heartbeat was at 150 today and the doc says that is perfect! my fundal height...wait, you don't know what that is? yeah, i didn't either. well, let's take a minute to get all medical here. according to mayoclinic.com fundal height is:

"generally defined as the distance from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone measured in centimeters. After the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, your fundal height measurement often matches the number of weeks you've been pregnant. For example, if you're 27 weeks pregnant, your health care provider would expect your fundal height to be about 27 centimeters. It isn't unusual, however, to measure somewhat smaller or larger than expected."

so, back to me and baby petree...i measured at half a mark under 27. which then led to a hilarious conversation with the doctor about height. he said it is normal to measure under when i am so tall....um, i'm only 5'2".

in other baby related news - i am in the home stretch! we are in the third trimester, people! i am 10 weeks from full term! which, depending on the minute, either sounds like an eternity or like it's gonna be here tomorrow.  we signed up for our labor and delivery class too! what are some other good classes you would suggest taking, moms?

the bones of baby petree's nursery part 1

for baby petree's nursery i wanted something that would grow with her and not be too themeish, too girly, or too baby. i also knew i wanted a space that would be a a good base for my ever changing design tastes. {please note this is not a step-by-step of my actual design process- it has been edited for content and formatted to fit for blogging :)}

so, i started by sketching out some ideas...

then, i found some great labor! we measured, we made several trips to the depot and then we painted.

 

while the painting was taking place in the nursery. outside in the garage, there was a lot of cutting going on to prepare for the next step. installing the wainscoting.

ok, i don't want to overwhelm you so the rest will be put into part 2. Happy Monday!

you know it's love

it's getting big, folks. real big.

sleeping has become quite the challenge. the belly button is about to pop. and the back hurts...constantly. and the kicker (pun intended) is i haven't even hit the roughest patch yet.

yet despite all of the whining that i do, i am so in love with this little girl already. she has significantly and undoubtedly changed our lives for the better and she hasn't even taken her first breath.

it is funny how, from the minute you pee on that magic stick, your whole life changes. it is no longer about that new pair of shoes, that raging party this weekend, or that deadline you should really pull an all nighter for at work. nope, it instantaneously becomes about protecting that life and providing the best environment for it.

and so far she has paid me back by practicing to be a cirque de soliel performer around 2 am, making my face break out worse than a twelve year old boy, making me fall asleep during at least two conference calls, making me walk in to countless walls and doorways, making me frantically search for my phone so i can leave the house...then realize i'm talking on it, making me pass out during my non-stress test, making my body produce gas that puts my husband's to shame, and her latest trick of locating my bladder to use as a soccer ball.

she is so worth all of that and much more.

thumbs high

no design thursday this week.



we had a little scare this morning but everything is good to go. i was ordered to go home and rest today so that is exactly what i did. which meant the blog was neglected.

don't worry though. next week's design thursday will feature progress on baby petree's nursery! i know you will all hold your breath until then.