Week 24 Poppy Seed Update

How far along? Picture taken at 24 weeks, 6 days

Size of baby? Approx. 8.5" long (crown to rump) and weighs 1.5 pounds 

Total weight gain/loss? +10

Maternity clothes? Yep. And I'm trying not to look at all the cute non-pregnancy spring clothes that are out. Maternity clothes are just not super cute.

Stretch marks? Not so far...fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Sleep? Some nights are better than others, but pretty good overall.

Best moment this week? We started the baby registry! Also, I thought we had her name narrowed down to our top contender...until BD came home and announced that he still "just isn't sure" about it. ARGH.

Food cravings/aversions? I've been craving Wendy's Frosties -- but I've only had one. I can't tell you the last time I had a Wendy's Frosty before now...probably 10 years ago in college? In fact, when I ordered the Frosty, the cashier asked me "What kind?" and I just stared at her. I had no idea that they now come in chocolate and vanilla! (I got chocolate.)

Gender? Girl! I guess I can stop answering this question each time.

Belly button in or out? Innie, although getting noticeably shallower.

Movement? Yes, lots of movement - especially early in the mornings and late in the evenings. I feel her most when I am still. When I'm up and moving about either she's still or I just can't feel her moving as well. BD has been able to feel her moving as well, which is very fun for both of us.

What I miss? I find it very challenging to keep myself full enough throughout the day without consuming waaay too many calories. So, I guess I just miss eating like a normal person and not thinking about food all the time.

What I'm looking forward to? Her nursery furniture arriving (should be soon!) and painting the nursery. More accurately: supervising BD paint the nursery. We currently have a gazillion paint chips up on the walls but no final decision.

How's Mommy feeling? I've been feeling pretty good lately. I still have full-on morning sickness once or twice a week, but that is so much better than how it was in the beginning that I don't really even feel justified in complaining about it. (Believe me...I still *do* complain about it!) I feel a little overwhelmed at all the things that I feel like still need to be done -- especially if I stop and realize that I am 6+ months pregnant at this point.

How's Daddy feeling? Anxious to get her nest built in the nursery.

Milestones? According to my pregnancy books, she can now tell if she's upside down or right side up, and her lungs are developing rapidly.

Tales of the Tail: Doggie Jail

Kip likes to lay on the balcony upstairs and keep his eye on us.

We joke that it looks like he's in some kind of doggie jail. But before you put a call in to PETA, rest assured that he has the run of the house, as always.

Belated Valentine's Cupcakes

I'm not sure who's more excited about my Pinterest addiction - me or my co-workers who benefit from all the yummy baking ideas I find.

I used this recipe and modified it like the idea on Pinterest -using brownies on bottom, strawberry cake in the middle, and vanilla frosting on top.

I guess this is really a 'Neapolitan' flavored cupcake, but because of the colors I thought it was cute for V-Day. Plus, it was delicious!

This could be modified to use any flavor combination that sounds good or to fit a party theme or whatever.

Sunday Stitches: The Turkey's Done

The Thanksgiving piece is finally done! I think it turned out pretty cute, and now I just need to find time to get it to the framer's.

This is a Bent Creek design, stitched on 32ct natural light linen with a mix of hand-dyed threads and DMC floss.

Shelved and Shuttered

BD's dad was here visiting us this week to celebrate his birthday by attending the Carolina/Dook basketball game at the Smith Center (which Carolina lost by 1 point at the buzzer in a heartbreaker). As usual, while he was here, I put him to work doing things around the house.

I just can't figure out why he doesn't visit us more often.

  

They built shelves in the garage so that BD could get his stuff organized and off the floor.

Now both vehicles can be parked in the garage!

In other house news, the week before last our plantation shutters were installed. After getting several quotes back in December, we ordered these from a local company.

We had them installed in the dining room,

the guest room,

and the bonus room (which we're currently using for storage).

YAY for window treatments! Now we just have approximately 500 other windows to cover. At the rate we're going, we should have all the windows done sometime around the year 2025.

Poppy Seed Nursery Update - Furniture and Bedding

We have made a start on Poppy Seed's nursery!

I ordered this bedding for her. It came last week and is even cuter in person. I haven't decided what color we're going to paint her room. I'm leaning towards yellow, but I don't have a good track record with picking out yellow paint. And BD is not keen on the idea of painting the room 10x to get the exact right shade of yellow. I have also thought about doing wainscotting on the bottom half of the walls and painting the top half. (Reading this post will be the first BD has heard of that idea so... surprise, BD!)

Her crib and dresser are ordered and should be here in a few weeks.

The other big thing that we still need to get is a glider rocker. This is the one thing that we can't agree on, style wise. BD wants one with an exposed wood frame, similar to this:

And I want a fully upholstered one, similar to this:

There are still a million things we need to get for her and the nursery, but I think this covers it as far as things that have to be ordered.

If you follow my Pinterest boards, you've seen that I've pinned some wall art for her nursery. I'm having trouble finding anything that I really like. It seems that most everything has words on it - which, the quotes are lovely and all...but it's going to be a while until she can read, you know? I'm not really sure what exactly I'm looking for, which is part of the problem. I'm planning to hang the quilt from the crib set on the wall, so that will take up some space, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest. 

Tales of the Tail: That's Typical

Let me paint you a picture...

It's January, so it's cold and dreary outside - perfect weather for settling in on the couch, watching TV, and perhaps taking a long winter's nap.

You've got your pillow situated juuuust right, and you're covered up with your favorite down blanket, and the cold leather couch has warmed up and is nice and cozy.

You flip on the TV guide channel and notice there's a good movie coming on in 10 minutes. You decide a last minute run to the fridge and a trip to the bathroom would be a good idea before you really get settled in for a while.

So you make those last trips in record time - that warm, cozy spot on the couch calling your name the whole time you're gone.

And then you round the corner to the den...only to discover that warm, cozy spot was apparently also calling someone else's name.