Spirited Art

Over Christmas break, Stephanie found this great place called Spirited Art in Knoxville where you follow along with the instructor but put your own personality into the art work.  We went to the class on monogramming to make art work for Aiden's room.  We had a blast!  Here is our progress and finished pieces.  Thanks "Auntie Steph" for such a great evening!

The 20 Week Baby Bump

I promised I would show the "bump" along the way- especially for my Aunt Denise in Wyoming.  Here it is, at the half way point!!

Aiden's Room

I have been mentally decorating Aiden's nursery for the past few weeks.  The color scheme has been determined; I like to think of it as sea glass colors.  I am now looking at bedding options.  This is too much fun!

Here are some of the colors I love:



I am loving the mix of blues, greens, and chocolate brown.

Here are the bedding options:

Land of Nod (Full Circle), my favorite so far.




Alli Taylor "Circle Time Blue"




Beautiful room!



Love these colors




Aqua Flashback - Modern Pea Pod 

 


 



Love the shelf idea- and the colors too!!





DaVinci Jayden 4-in-1 Convertible Crib, definitely the bed I like.





So, as you can see, it's been a lot of fun browsing around.  Now we just need to find the perfect house to put this nursery in!  Hopefully our TN house will sell and we can do just that!!

The Joys of Christmas and Pregnancy

The past 2 weeks have revealed quite a few new aspects of being pregnant.  I started having Braxton Hicks contractions to get Aiden and me ready for the big day in May.  They don't hurt at all, it's just weird to be sitting there and your stomach muscles suddenly get rock hard.  I think about it as a little hug from my body to Aiden.  Another new experience has been swollen ankles- not exactly cute.  Ha!  The first time I saw this was after being on my feet all day and not drinking enough water.  I freaked out!  Mom simply said, "Welcome to pregnancy."  It's just another lovely reminder of all the changes that take place.

Needless to say, Eric and I got all kinds of fun baby stuff.  From onsies and bibs to books and pregnancy massages, it was indeed a baby-to-be Christmas.  Eric wanted to be the first to buy a box of diapers for us, so he wrapped up a box of newborn diapers and wipes from Aiden to me with the most precious Christmas card.  I cried of course!  Ha! 

It was so good to have my family and friends so excited about our little bundle of love.  He will be totally surrounded by people who adore him and would do anything in the world for him.  That is the best feeling ever.

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails,
And that's what little boys are made of.

Aiden Thomas

We went for the 18 weeks ultrasound yesterday and found out we are having a BOY!  He's a healthy feisty boy at that!!  He had no problem showing his "manhood" to the world...several times.  Ha!  Aiden is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way.  We couldn't be more excited.  I dreamed about his sweet face all night and couldn't wait to get up this morning to see his picture again on our computer.  It makes it so much more real now when I feel him flipping around inside.  I can't wait to look at all the boy things.  What a little love bug.  ♥

Waiting!

Monday is the big day!!  I am so glad  mom could work it out and be here in KY for the ultrasound.  I know this will be the longest weekend ever trying to wait.  How exciting to be able to know for sure what we are having- and right before Christmas!!  It will be the best present to see that little face again. ♥ 
Yesterday while working on a final project for one of my master's classes, I came across a saved IM conversation between Eric and I dated December 1, 2006.  He was living in TX and I was living with Jenn in Jefferson City.  We were talking about getting married and he was sending me links of possible engagement ring choices that I might like.  I didn't know it at the time, but he had already planned our trip to the Grand Canyon to ask me to marry him right before New Year's Eve.  I was going on and on trying to guess what we were going to do for New Year's and he was giving very vague clues.  It was definitely a trip down memory lane!
And look at us now, finding out four years later if we will be having a boy or girl.  It's just amazing to think that we made this relationship work from across the ocean when he was in Iraq and across the country when he was stationed in Texas.  No one would believe our story.  It seems throughout the first year or more of our relationship, we were constantly counting down the days until something- usually seeing each other.  This time we are once again counting down the days, but instead it is to see the face of the little life we have been blessed with.

Tater Tot

We are 17 weeks along today and the little one is the size of a baked potato!  Ha!

You Might be Pregnant If...

You wake up looking like a Victoria's Secret model...at least the top half anyway.
Shaving your legs while standing in the shower is a workout and leaves you breathless.
You seriously consider purchasing the cotton candy maker from Wal-Mart.
You added lanugo to your list of "Cutest Words in the World."
A thimble full of water makes you pee 8 times at night.
Your husband texts people to proclaim how much food you just put away at the Mexican restaurant. (true story!)
The baby sock aisle makes tears come to your eyes.
You literally beg and plead with your pants to fit for just a little bit longer.
You swear your ultrasound pictures are cuter than any other parents' pics.
You decorate your imaginary nursery in your sleep, curtains and all.
You want to hold anything that is a baby- baby sheep, baby goats, baby skunks; it really doesn't matter.
You actually know what lanugo is and compare all soft things to it.

Moving Right Along

Today was another good check-up.  Little Winnie is doing just fine and had a heart rate of 145 beats per minute.  We have the official appointment set up for Monday, December 13, around lunch time to do the hour long detailed ultrasound.  We will then definitely know the sex and I can start decorating my imaginary nursery! ♥
Our house in TN is going to be seen this week by a very interested couple.  The wife/fiancee has seen it, now the husband/fiance will be coming into town to see it.  We are trying our best not to get our hopes up, but are excited at the prospect of this being the end of all the waiting. 

A Few Days of Thanks

Thanksgiving was indeed time for me to capitalize on my eating frenzy!  I am pretty sure I ate more than Eric at mom's house.  Ha!  We arrived in TN Wednesday evening and had lunch with my group Thursday afternoon.  It was so good to see Sam and Sawyer and hear all about their fun adventures playing "Diaper Pirate" and "Diaper Ninja."  I laughed so hard at this little 3 year old trying to explain what this newly discovered game was about. 
Friday we went to Eric's parents house and once again ate incredible food and watched the kids play.  Our little niece is growing like a weed.  It is so exciting to think about our own little one next Thanksgiving scooting around all over the place.  It will be fun! 
Now that we are back to our house in KY, it's time to buckle down for me and finish out this semester's classes.  I will be SO happy when I finish this degree.  With any luck, I will be a reading specialist in a year and be able to go into a school system when the baby is older.

The Jumping Bean

As all of you know by now, Eric and I are expecting our first baby on May 14, 2011.  That makes us officially 15 weeks and 4 days along.  Lately, within the past week, I have definitely felt the baby moving.  It is something I can't quite describe except for a quickening feeling, like a quick jumping in my stomach.  As I sit here and type this, I can feel it even now.  It is the most amazing thing in the world to realize something is actually living and thriving inside of you.  I can see why moms reminisce about this feeling after the baby is born.

We should know around December 14th what we are having.  I have said all along that I think it's a girl- and so have many of my friends and family.  I know it will be hilarious to see "boy parts" after I have talked about a girl for so many months.  The names we have decided on are Winsley Ray for our girl and Aiden Thomas for our boy.  "Winsley" is my great-great-great grandmother and mom and I just love that name.  About 2 weeks before I found out I was pregnant, I dreamed I was stitching the name on a pillow in green thread.  "Ray" of course is my beloved Grandad's first name, the man who was my Daddy for the first five years of my life.  It's also the middle name of my wonderful brother Jason, whom I adore.  As for "Aiden," I just always loved that name and have heard it means "heaven" and also "little fiery one."  Ha!  "Thomas" is Eric's first name and also his Dad's name.  I can think of no better way to honor them both.  My dear friend Stephanie has nicknamed the baby "Winnie" because of our love of the name "Winsley" and because my family calls me "Pooh Bear."  We refer to the baby as Winnie right now, so if you happen to see that on any post, you will know why. 

Winnie and I are waiting for Eric to get home so we can drive to Tennessee for Thanksgiving.  We love the holidays and any excuse to go back "home."  I know once the baby is born, holidays will take on a totally different feel.  I keep thinking about how much fun Christmas will be next year with a 7 month old around!  But for now it's fun too and this growing baby is a wonderful reason to eat lots of holiday foods!